Baseball Prospectus notes an interesting last-minute lineup change for the Boston Red Sox today:
Terry Francona, apparently concerned with the status of
Tim Wakefield's back, has decided not to include Wakefield on the postseason roster. Instead, catcher
Kevin Cash will be on the squad.
According to BP, Francona made the decision because Cash allows for greater flexibility, including for speedster
Jacob Ellsbury, who Francona expects to use in plenty of pinch running situations.
(UPDATE: This is only for the ALDS, pending Wakefield's condition. Phew. And now back to my premature whining.)Where this leaves us, though, is with a severe lack of Tim Wakefield. Thus, allow me, if I may, an attempt at a proper eulogy: when Wakefield is on -- and that's about a 50/50 proposition -- there is nothing in baseball more aesthetically captivating than watching Wakefield float knuckler after knuckler past confused hitters. That we will lose that pleasure this year, or lose the equally thrilling threat of a Wakefield stinker, is already the biggest disappointment of the postseason.
Well, except for that
Matt Holliday slide. That really sucked.
