Pitching Previews: Tim Wakefield

At age 43, Tim Wakefield will hope to keep the knuckle ball on point. Entering his 16th year with the club, Wake is the longest tenured member of the Sox and just signed on for two more years. Last season was cut short due to a back injury, and it was only the second time in the past eight years he hadn't made at least 30 starts. The veteran's body has not let him down over time. Today, we will focus on his 2009 statistics, his career highs in parentheses, and a 2010 outlook.

Games Started: 21 (33 - 1998, 2005)
ERA: 4.58 (2.15 - 1992)
WHIP: 1.44 (1.05 - 2002)
Wins: 11 (17 - 1998, 2007)
K's: 72 (169 - 2002)
Innings Pitched: 129.2 (225.1 - 2005)
Batting Average Against: .270 (.204 - 2002)
Pitches/Game Started: 96.1 (102.8 - 2005)

2010 Outlook: Wakefield signed a two-year contract that will pay him base salaries of $3.5 million in 2010 and $1.5 million in 2011. Entering the spring with six starters, Wake was adamant that he was a starting pitcher and did not seem welcome to the idea of a bullpen role. However, with the recent injuries Daisuke Matsuzaka's back and neck, it appears that Wake will have a spot in the rotation for the time being.

When he's healthy, Wakefield has shown the ability to be one of the most reliable back-end starters in all of baseball. Hitters still haven't figured out his devastating knuckler, and although he is susceptible to the gopher ball, his mid 4.00 ERAs are certainly passable on this Red Sox team. One major concern with Wake is that he hasn't topped 200 innings since 2005, but with the plethora of pitching that the Sox have, they don't need to rely on him to do so.

Look for Wake to play a significant role as a contributor to the club as his veteran leadership and strong performance will continue to be crucial to the team's success in 2010.

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