Inside Pitch

Wakefield and his knuckler call it a career

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who burst on the scene in 1992 with the Bisons and then the NL East champion Pittsburgh Pirates, announced his retirement Friday afternoon at the Red Sox spring camp in Fort Myers, Fla. 

Wakefield, 45, won 200 games with the Red Sox -- third in team history behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens. His career,  of course, began with the Pirates and he helped them get within an out of the World Series in 1992. Wakefield was 10-3 in Buffalo under Marc Bombard in 1992 (right) before getting called up but his career then quickly flamed out.

By 1994, Wakefield was back in Buffalo and posted one of the worst seasons in franchise history -- 5-15 in 29 starts that saw the team go 7-22, a 5.84 ERA, 98 walks, 16 wild pitches and only 83 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings. The team went 55-89 as it never posted more than a four-game winning streak, with Wakefield representing a new term for the word stopper.

Wakefield went to Boston the next season and turned his career around by going 16-8 and pitching for the Red Sox in the postseason against the Indians. He won 17 games in 1998 and again in 2007 as the Sox won their second World Series in four years. In the knuckleball world, Wakefield is right there with Wilbur Wood, Charlie Hough, Hoyt Wilhelm and his mentors, the Niekros.

But Wakefield's knuckler lost its bite last season (7-8, 5.12) and it was arduous for him to just get to 200. He wanted to return to go for the club victory record but the Red Sox apparently declined to offer him a contract.

Click here for Wakefield's major- and minor-league stats from The Baseball Cube.

Wakefield is a pillar in the community service world in both Boston and his native Florida. His career is a fascinating study of someone making a lot out of nothing, as his career as an infielder was not getting out of Class A ball. He's not going to make the Hall of Fame but he's certainly going to always have his unique place in the history of the game.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Photo: Wakefield with the Bisons in 1992/Buffalo News files

Weather watch: It's a little iffy for Game Three

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It's spectacularly bright and sunny this morning in the Dallas area and temperatures should be close to 80 -- 80! -- around the 7:05 CT first pitch tonight for Game Three of the World Series. But there's a growing chance of rain during the game, with a 30-40 percent chance on this hourly forecast at Weather.com and upwards of 50 percent according to some other sources.

It was two weeks ago tonight, during Game One of the ALCS against Detroit, that there were two rain delays in Arlington that pushed the final out to about 1:30 a.m. Eastern time. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.

And we should all remember the time-tested caveat of Bisons GM Mike Buczkowski: If the weather man says there's a 50 percent chance of rain, that means there's a 50 percent chance it won't rain!

---MIke Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Around the horn: Yankees in charge, Bisons' MLB connections

Mother Nature has really spun the American League division series in the Bronx in favor of the Yankees. The rain poured down Friday suspending the game and now Justin Verlander will only pitch Game Three. A whole different scenario than having him pitch Games One and Five.

I hate the suspended games rule in this situation for the postseason. It should only apply to games that are already official, which was the case in Game Five of the 2008 World Series in Philadelphia. In the case of Game One, they should have just started over. 

As it was, they finished Saturday night and as the Daily News puts it, "Here's to you, Mr. Robinson". And the Yankees certainly have rookie Ivan Nova to thank. What a job by a guy who hasn't lost since June.

The Bisons, it should be noted, dealt poorly with the two rookie mound studs of the postseason thus far during their season.

Nova went 7 2/3 innings and fanned 10 in a 6-2 win over Buffalo July 7 in Scranton. Nova gave up a two-run homer to Fernando Martinez in the first inning and wasn't touched after that. Tampa Bay's Matt Moore, the Game One winner Friday at Texas, threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball and also fanned 10 for Durham Aug. 12 at Coca-Cola Field. He left with a 2-0 lead but got a no-decision as the Bisons rallied to win,3 -2.

Courtesy of Bisons PR director Brad Bisbing, here's the list of former Herd men in the MLB postseason:

Yankees: Freddy Garcia, CC Sabathia (rehab only)
Tigers: Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez, Omir Santos
Rays: Kelly Shoppach
Rangers: Mike Adams
Phillies: Cliff Lee, Ben Francisco, Wilson Valdez
Cardinals: Jake Westbrook
Brewers: None
Diamondbacks: John McDonald 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

The Presidents come to Buffalo

Perhaps it's a reflection of how completely unforgettable the Buffalo Bisons' season was on the field, but I have been deluged with inquiries about the Washington Nationals' Racing Presidents appearance Thursday night in Coca-Cola Field.

So I poked around YouTube and the folks at Buffalo.com posted a video of the Presidents' race, where Teddy -- who has never won -- got overcome by the aroma of Chicken Wing and forgot to finish a race he was leading and George got the win.

I haven't found any clip of the match race between Teddy and Celery that ended with neither one winning. The Presidents, by the way, visited Toronto, Niagara Falls and the Wilcox Mansion on their trip north and tweeted shots of each. They're also included at that link of the "Let Teddy Win" blog. Hey, the Nationals stink too so the folks in DC have to get some entertainment.

The Wilcox Mansion on Delaware, you ask? Come on, history buffs. That's where the real Teddy got inaugurated after the assassination of Wiliam McKinley here in 1901.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Bisons set for home finale

The Racing Presidents are in the house (I just saw them in the basement trying to work their heads under the stairwell doors), and the Buffalo Bisons are set for their home finale at Coca-Cola Field against Syracuse.

There's all manner of news here as we wonder about callups. But tonight's first item of business is the release of the 2012 schedule for the 25th anniversary of the ballpark (which includes the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11, 2012). The season opens with a game April 5 at Pawtucket (brrrr) that kicks off a six-game road trip.

The home opener is Wednesday, April 11 against the team a good buddy of mine today dubbed the Wandering Yankees. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, in case you missed it here last week,  are expected to barnstorm next season while their ballpark is renovated. There has been no announcement yet on where they will play their home schedule.

The Bisons will unveil a 25th anniversary season logo and video tonight. I just saw the video played here in the press box and it gets a three thumbs-up review. The theme of the anniversary is "Simply The Best", the Tina Turner anthem that has greeted the final out of every Buffalo win for many years.

Dylan Owen pitches tonight as the Herd tries for a .500 record at home; they enter the game 35-36. 

(UPDATE: Owen was KO'd a scant four pitches into the game by a Roger Bernadina liner that struck him on the right elbow and deflected into left field for a double. He has been replaced by Brian Sweeney. Ouch).

Here's the Herd lineup:

Jordany Valdespin, ss
Luis Figueroa, 3b
Mike Baxter, lf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Salomon Manriquez, c
Raul Reyes, rf
Dylan Owen, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Bisons' bobbleheads are en route

The Bisons announced during Wednesday night's game that the Buster Bison/Mr. Met bobbleheads that were stranded in the port of New York City during Hurricane Irene have been released and are scheduled to arrive at Coca-Cola Field on Thursday. The dolls were scheduled to be given away Monday night but the team instead gave out coupons to claim them. They can be claimed according to the following policies:

1). For fans coming to Thursday's Fan Appreciation Night game against Syracuse, the coupon can be redeemed inside the main concourse by the Washington Street gate. Gates open at 5 p.m.

2). For fans not attending Thursday's game, the coupon can be redeemed at the ballpark box office beginning Friday. The box office will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, excluding holidays.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

 

Two home games left for Herd

The Bisons meet the Syracuse Chiefs in the penultimate home game of the season at Coca-Cola Field (Don't know what that means? Follow Marv Levy's advice to Thurman Thomas: Look it up). Buffalo is just 4-10 against the Chiefs this season and 10-20 vs. its Thruway rivals the last two seasons.

Oddly enough, a Syracuse win tonight would even the all-time series between the teams since the return to the IL in 1998 at 112-112. Mark Cohoon (4-9) will start for the Bisons and try to prevent that. Leadoff man Jordany Valdespin has an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .406 in that span.

Outfielder Jesus Feliciano has 369 career hits, nine shy of equaling Bill Selby's modern era record with six games left. DH Val Pascucci is tied for the IL RBI lead with 91. Here's the Herd lineup tonight:

Jordany Valdespin, ss
Mike Baxter, lf
Josh Satin, 3b
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Raul Reyes, rf
Raul Chavez, c
Mark Cohoon, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Bobbleheads won't make it to the ballpark tonight

This just in from the Bisons: Because of Hurricane Irene, the shipment of Buster Bison/Mr. Met bobbleheads that was to be given away tonight at Coca-Cola Field has been delayed at the Port of New York City and will not be available at the game against the Rochester Red Wings.

The Bisons will instead hand out special coupons for the bobbleheads in the same manner as when they have the dolls -- the first 4,000 fans through the Swan Street gate only, one per person.

When the bobbleheads arrive, fans must then use the coupon to pick them up at the ballpark box office during regular business hours.  The Bisons will have another media release and statement on their web site, Bisons.com, with more information when that process will begin.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Scranton/WB Yankees may barnstorm in 2012

Here's a bit of a bombshell that's been pointed out to me: It appears the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees won't be playing in Scranton in 2012. At least that's what this report in Baseball America says.

PNC Field, the team's decrepit stadium that only dates to 1989 but has been poorly maintained, is getting a $40 million facelift and the work will apparently be much cheaper if it can be done through one whole season rather than being split over two years.

The Scranton Times-Tribune, surprisingly, didn't have a lot more insight to add to the Baseball America report with its story on the situation, other than some comments from team president Kristen Rose and some local politicos. 

So it looks like the Yankees will play next year somewhere else or in a variety of somewhere elses. Lehigh Valley, Syracuse and the Yankees' Class A stadium in Staten Island appear to be good options. Baseball America also suggest a return to Ottawa for a season is possible.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle speculates that Frontier Field could be a seasonlong option.

What about Buffalo? The Bisons run too many other events in Coca-Cola Field and would not be interested in hosting a large number of additional games. But there's a lot of Yankees interest here and I wonder if each IL North team will be asked by the league to host a Scranton series or two.

If I'm the IL, I pick Staten Island or Ottawa. As IL venues, we already see the Scranton/WB Yankees eight times a year in the North Division. No great shakes if we see more. It would be more special in a non-IL place.

Stay tuned. The final word on this should come in a couple of weeks.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Herd to face alum of Rays' World Series team

The Buffalo Bisons have posted a trio of four-game winning streaks this season and will try to do it for a fourth time in the opener of tonight's doubleheader against the Durham Bulls in Coca-Cola Field. To do it, they'll have to beat one of the key cogs of the Tampa Bay Rays' 2008 World Series team.

Right-hander Andy Sonnanstine, a 13-game winner for the '08 Rays, will be the starter for Durham in the opener. Sonnantine has struggled to find his '08 form as he went 6-9 for the Rays in 2009 and 3-1 last year in 41 appearances (23 starts). He was 0-2, 5.71 this year in 14 games (four starts) before being optioned to Durham, where he is 2-3, 4.17 in six games (five starts).

In '08, Sonnanstine was the starter and winner in Tampa Bay's Game Four division series clincher over the Chicago White Sox. In the picture at right from the St. Petersburg Times, Sonnanstine is wearing the goggles while getting doused from behind by Rocco Baldelli and hugged by Rays outfielder Fernando Perez -- who will be starting in center field and batting ninth tonight for the Bisons. Small world this game is sometimes.

Sonnanstine also pitched 7 1/3 innings to get the win in Game Four of the ALCS over the Red Sox in Fenway Park. His Game Four luck ran out, however, in the World Series at Philadelphia as he gave up five runs in four innings and took the loss in a 10-2 defeat.

The Bulls, by the way, already have one canceled game on their schedule (a May contest at Syracuse) and need to get these two in as they open play today 1 1/2 games ahead of Gwinnett in the IL South. The weather forecast gets a little dicey as the night goes on.

Here's the Bisons' lineup:

Jordany Valdespin, ss
Josh Satin, 2b
Zach Lutz, 3b
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Fernando Martinez, dh
Jesus Feliciano, lf
Mike Nickeas, c
Bubba Bell, rf
Fernando Perez, cf
----
Mark Cohoon, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)