 Congratulations, Wake! I can’t wait to watch you play in St Louis! Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission. |
The Red Sox are sending 6 players to the All Star Game this year. They have the most players representing one team this year. This, coupled with the fact that Youk made the team even though he didn’t make it as a starter, takes away a little of the sting of Teixeira beating out Youk in the voting. I fully admit to being surprised that Dustin Pedroia made it past Ian Kinsler. Stunned even. I really expected Kinsler to get through and Youkilis to beat Teixeira. So what the hell do I know, right?
Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay will be starters with Kevin Youkilis on the bench and Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield in the bullpen. My preference is usually to have our guys not do much and not wound any part of them. That’s still my preference. But I’d love to see all of them get in the game at some point, even if only briefly.
At Fenway today, each player was introduced on the scoreboard and it was announced they were All Stars. They saved Tim Wakefield’s announcement for last and the fans went wild. I was almost disappointed that I was at Fenway today and not home to see Wake on NESN until that moment. I can always catch a repeat on NESN but I’d never get to see what happened at Fenway today were I not there. It was pretty damn special.
Based on extended reading tonight, I’m finding many fans (Yankees fans and the stat-head Sox fans mostly) who think Tim Wakefield shouldn’t be in the All Star Game. I’m usually a big proponent of looking at the stats and making decisions. And thanks to Bud Selig, I understand that “this time it counts”. But the way Wake has pitched this season, I don’t see him as a liability on the All Star Game and I think he’s as deserving as anyone else on that team.
My happiness when I found out that Joe Maddon chose Wake for the team absolutely overshadowed my disappointment when I found out Youk didn’t get voted in. Now the focus is on getting through the rest of this week (successfully!) and then getting the job done in St. Louis. As a total, admitted, homer, I’m not going to lie – I can’t wait for the All Star Game now!