Inside Pitch

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

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Torey Lovullo had his interview with the Boston Red Sox Friday in Fenway Park, officially getting into the ring to replace Terry Francona as manager. Lovullo, who served as first-base coach in Toronto last season and managed the Bisons from 2006-2008, has told me several times in the last few years he thinks he's ready for a big-league gig.

Here's the MLB.com story on Lovullo's day, which spells out the candidates: Lovullo, Sandy Alomar Jr., Pete Mackanin, Dale Sveum and Gene Lamont.

Check out this Boston Globe video to hear some of his comments during his post-interview news conference in the ballpark's press box.

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

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Torey Lovullo apparently has his hat in a big ring as the former Bisons player and manager will interview Friday for the vacant manager's slot with the Boston Red Sox. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweeted the news about Lovullo late Tuesday afternoon.

Lovullo spent last year as the first-base coach under John Farrell in Toronto and the word is that Farrell, the former pitching coach under Terry Francona, has pushed Boston brass to give Lovullo serious consideration to replace Terry Francona. From this view, Lovullo has a chance to mesh well with young GM like Ben Cherington and the Red Sox know him from his stint as the manager in Pawtucket in 2010.

As a manager, Lovullo had a terrific run in Class A and Double-A with the Indians from 2002-2005, winning two league championships and producing four playoff teams. He posted back-to-back 73-68 seasons with the Bisons in 2006 and 2007 and then had a 66-77 record in 2008 when the Indians had one foot out the door on the way to Columbus. His next two years (57-85 in Columbus and 66-78 in Pawtucket) weren't much better but those teams had few prospects.

Still, Lovullo is highly regarded and has interviewed in the past for the top job with the Indians and Dodgers. He's a great communicator with players, the front office and media and he played for seven big-league teams in addition to having terrific years in the minors (notably with the Bisons in 1995, 1997 and 1998, and Scranton in 1999).

Lovullo was the most valuable player of the 1997 American Association playoffs and batted .326 on Buffalo's 1998 team that won the Governors' Cup and produced the franchise's only back-to-back championships.

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

ST. LOUIS -- MLB just announced a change in the Media Day schedule, shifting the Rangers' time from 1:45 Central to 4 p.m. Central. Later dinner for all of us tonight. So now things don't start until C.J. Wilson and Ron Washington hit the podium at 2:15 CT.

So while we wait to mine some nuggets at Media Day, here's some reading material for you to peruse:

---Today is the 25th anniversary of Game One of the 1986 World Series,  a 1-0 win for the Red Sox over the Mets in Shea Stadium. The only run scored in the seventh inning on an error by Mets second baseman Tim Teufel, who let a routine groundball go through his legs. ESPN has a look back at that game and also provides a fascinating link to a career retrospective on Teufel, who managed the Bisons last season and will be Terry Collins' third-base coach in New York in 2012.

Interesting to note the child that Teufel was celebrating the berth of when he and teammates were arrested in a celebrated 1986 bar fight in Houston was Shawn, the Toledo Mud Hens pitcher who threw against Teufel's Bisons this season in Coca-Cola Field.

---Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Jeff Manto and ex-Bisons catcher Tim Laker appear to be the candidates for the White Sox vacant hitting coach job. Manto was the team's roving instructor last year while Laker was at Triple-A Charlotte under manager Joe McEwing, who has been hired as Robin Ventura's third-base coach. But remember this: McEwing is regarded as one of Manto's best friends in the game and another is Sox minor-league director and former big-league manager Buddy Bell. Interesting.

Then there's this: Owner Jerry Reinsdorf is apparently gauging Jim Thome's interest.

---The Fallout at Fenway continues. The Boston Globe got a hold of fried-chicken-eating and beer-drinking pitcher Jon Lester and he admitted to doing just that in the clubhouse during games as the paper reported last week. Columnist Dan Shaugnessy says it's time for Josh Beckett and John Lackey to issue similar mea culpas. Wrote Shaughnessy: "Time for the rest of the beer-swillin’, biscuit-eatin’, fried-chicken munchin’ Red Sox starting pitchers to fess up. The 1919 Chicago White Sox had Eight Men Out. The 2011 Red Sox have Three Men and a Bucket of Popeye’s."

---Speaking of the Red Sox, if they don't make a deal today with the Cubs for compensation for GM Theo Epstein, it's got to be put off until after the World Series. Alex Rodriguez circa 2007 aside, you're not supposed to make any announcements during the Fall Classic.

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

While the Red Sox are going through the process of not renewing Terry Francona's contract today (e.g. he's getting fired), the real focus of the baseball world is the start of the postseason. The American League division series opens on two fronts with the Rays and Rangers meeting in Texas and the Yankees and Tigers meeting in the Bronx. That's Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia and that's must-see TV.

Right from the top, I'll put this out there: I got the Tigers and the Phillies in the World Series and I'm taking the Phillies in six. Sorry, Yankees fans. If Sabathia doesn't win tonight, I think it's possible the Tigers sweep the Bombers in three. And wouldn't that make for an interesting offseason. Remember, all division series games are on TBS.

So here's some quick analysis off the cuff. Hey, I gotta do Sunday's Inside Baseball column on the collapse of the Sox and Braves and I'm still working hockey previews too. Some multi-tasking. I give you some polls at the bottom too. Be sure and vote!

Tigers vs. Yankees -- I know all about the Bombers' offense but you have to like the Tigers' combination of Verlander, Doug Fister and Max Scherzer. You have to love closer Jose Valverde. Miguel Cabrera should get plenty of MVP looks. As for the Yankees, can you really count on Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia in this spot? Seriously? And does A-Rod show up in this series or bat eighth like he did in when he was humiliated in Game Four in Detroit in 2006. Tigers in four. 

Rays vs. Rangers -- I'm tempted, very/very tempted, to pick the Rays to go to the World Series. Maybe I should. Now that they're actually in the postseason, they have the best starting pitching in the AL. I think they get through this series and avenge last year's division series loss but you wonder how much energy they have left after that crazy September. Rays in five.

Cardinals vs. Phillies -- I don't think a lot of analysis is needed. The Phillies' losing streak near the end of the season was rooted in injuries and boredom after clinching the division title. They're ready. Halladay-Lee-Hamels-Oswalt with Worley in the bullpen. Do they need a bullpen? This is one of Tony LaRussa's better managing jobs but this is a case of thanks for playing and please drive home safely. Phillies in three.

Diamondbacks vs. Brewers -- Who had this matchup in March? Thought so.  In Kirk Gibson and Ron Roenicke, you have your two main candidates for NL manager of the year. Think the Yankees wish 20-game winner Ian Kennedy had found his game when he was with them until waiting to getting to Arizona?  The Dbacks are a great story but the Brewers have the motivation of Prince Fielder's last season. They have an MVP in Ryan Braun, a great rotation, a supreme closer in former Canisius College pitcher John Axford. I think Brewers-Phillies could be a fabulous NLCS. Can't wait. Brewers in four.

Now you vote.

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

I saw every minute of it, well past midnight, and I still can't believe it. No one has ever seen a baseball season finish like that. The Rays were once down seven runs and still a run short and a strike away from losing, the Red Sox were a strike away from winning, the Braves two outs away from winning. And every result changed.

See you, chokers from Boston and Atlanta. Welcome to the playoffs, Rays and Cardinals. Take your places in home run history, Dan Johnson and Evan Longoria (showering fans at the Trop above).

Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe might have the start on new fodder for more of his Curse of the Bambino books. Wrote Shaughnessy on Page A-1 of today's Globe: "Truly unbelievable. This feels like revenge for 2004 and 2007. It is as if the baseball gods are punishing Red Sox Nation for hubris and arrogance and good times that seemed so good, so good, so good."

I like this Shaughnessy crack too: "They are the first team in baseball history to hold a nine-game lead in September, then fail to make the postseason. This makes them worse than the ’64 Phillies or the ’78 Red Sox. They are the poster boys of the Heimlich maneuver."

Wrote great friend of the blog Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant: "Now we know why 2004 happened. Now we know why 2004 was followed by 2007. Somehow the baseball gods knew Red Sox fans would never have been able to handle September 2011 if two exhilarating world championships hadn't interrupted all those decades of suffering. No, a few verses of Sweet Caroline and a pink hat under the Christmas tree aren't going to cure this hurt."

Another great friend, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post, was in Baltimore and recaps the chronology of events by calling it "the single most-exciting, most intense, most exhilarating night in baseball history."

In the St. Petersburg Times, John Romano calls it "Miracles 2, logic 0" while recounting the Rays' bizarre finish through the eyes of several team personnel who weren't on the field. 

No one, of course, paid much attention to the Braves' collapse given the Red Sox situation. But as Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, "But even a choking dog can have his day, or night, and the 2011 Braves tried to give themselves one Wednesday. They failed. They failed in the way this entire month had been a failure."

The Cardinals took until the last night of the season to finally get it together and win their 90th game. And it was shades of the 1964 team that came back on the Phillies.

So there we have it. Yankees-Tigers and Rays-Rangers in the AL. Phillies-Cardinals and Diamondbacks-Brewers in the NL. No Red Sox, no Braves. No way you thought that could happen when September started.

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

Photos of Evan Longoria (left) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (right)/Associated Press

It all comes down to this on the final day of the regular season: The Rays and choking Red Sox are both 90-71 in the AL, the Cardinals and choking Braves are both 89-72 in the NL. Will we decide the wildcards tonight or get one-game playoffs Thursday in Tampa Bay and St. Louis?

The schedule remains the same as the last two days -- Tampa hosting the Yankees and Boston at Baltimore, while the Braves host the Phillies and the Cardinals are in Houston. All night games. Have your remotes ready to be clicking between YES, ESPN and the MLB Network.

The Red Sox are 7-19 in September with a team ERA of 5.90. Once-impenetrable reliever Daniel Bard is 0-4, 11.90 and not trustworthy. Look at the starters' ERAs: Bedard and Wakefield, 5.25; Beckett 5.48, Lester 5.96, Lackey 9.13. The Rays have pulled even by going 16-10 despite a .237 team batting average in September. But that 3.50 team ERA sure helps.

The Braves, meanwhile, have gone 9-17 and hit just .235. Their team ERA of 4.25 isn't ghastly, especially when you consider Derek Lowe fell to 0-5, 8.75 in September when he was booed off the mound last night. The Cardinals are 17-8, batting .293 and have a 3.25 ERA.

See SABRhounds, I don't need a lot of made-up acronym stats to tell me why these races have changed this month. 

How is this going to end up? Take the polls.

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

That was one wacky Wednesday in the AL East.

The division race is over as the Yankees got the combination they needed to clinch -- a sweep of the Rays in a day-night doubleheader coupled with yet another Red Sox loss to the Orioles. The Yankees took care of business in the Bronx with a pair of 4-2 wins, using seven relievers to piece together the first game and getting a two-run pinch single in the eighth from beleaguered veteran Jorge Posada to win the nightcap.

Good friend of the blog Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post surveyed the champagney scene in the postgame clubhouse. This has been quite a ride for the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez says Joe Girardi should be manager of the year.  Pretty good point, although I would imagine Jim Leyland and Joe Maddon are going to get a ton of votes too.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, fell to a stunning 5-16 in September with yet another loss to the Orioles, a 6-4 defeat in their home finale at Fenway. But they somehow went from a two-game lead in the wild card race to 2 1/2 games. The Rays dropped a half with their double loss while the Angels pulled into position at 2 1/2 back with their second straight win in Toronto. Not even a Josh Beckett start or a 4-1 lead could save the Sox, who are in desperation mode to save their season from going down the drain.

“I’ve been here nine years. We’ve never collapsed that bad," said David Ortiz. “Trust me, we’ve been through some tough times. But this is bad. No matter what we do, things are going to be bad. Right now it’s depressing."

The Yankees' magic number to clinch homefield throughout the playoffs is two. The Rays and Yankees meet again tonight, and so do the Angels and Blue Jays. That will leave the wild-card contenders with six games left starting Friday, all played in a pair of three-game series. The remaining sets look like this:

Red Sox: At Yankees, at Orioles
Rays: vs. Blue Jays, vs. Yankees
Angels: vs. Athletics, vs. Rangers

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

AP Photo: Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera celebrate another division title.

Things are getting quite a bit more interesting in the American League East. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said tonight prior to his team's game in Seattle that Alex Rodriguez likely won't play until Friday night's series opener in Toronto because his lingering thumb issues.

A major subplot for the Yankees this week will be the work of closer Mariano Rivera, who has 599 career saves. He's going to become the second man to 600 and is on the edge of breaking Trevor Hoffman's all-time record of 601. That would be something for Yankees fans to see this weekend in the Rogers Centre.

The Red Sox, meanwhile are taking the night off after a 1-6 road trip included getting swept at Tampa Bay. The Sox are suddenly just 3 1/2 games up on the Rays in the wild card race (pending Tampa's game Monday at Baltimore) -- and have four more this week with Tampa, starting Thursday in Fenway Park. No less an authority than David Ortiz said it is, in fact, time to panic. Given the way Tampa's pitching looks and the way Boston's looks, he's right.

First up for the Sox, however, are two games against Toronto. Tuesday's contest will mark beleaguered knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's eighth chance at his 200th win. We all properly crabbed at the start of September about having no races to watch and we were right at the time. Looks like we might get a doozy after all.

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

This is one of the most baffling stats of the entire baseball season: Yankees ace CC Sabathia is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA against the Red Sox this year -- but is 17-3, 2.40 against everyone else! That's going to have to change starting tonight when the Yanks and Sox meet in the opener of a three-game set in Fenway. (It starts at 7 and is a local New York City My9 game, which means you'll have to poke around on your service to find it. It's on radio on WECK-AM 1230.)

Both teams enter on two-game winning streaks and Boston has a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL East. The Red Sox, however, are 10-2 head-to-head with New York this year and the Yankees have a 5.98 ERA in the series. The teams have only one other series remaining, a three-gamer in the Bronx Sept. 23-24-25.

With a win tonight, Sabathia would become just the fifth Yankees pitcher to win at least 18 games in at least three straight seasons, and the first since Vic Raschi had four straight seasons of at least 18 wins from 1948-51. Sabathia will be opposed by John Lackey, who is 12-9 but has a ghastly 5.98 ERA.

Phil Hughes meets Josh Beckett on Wednesday while A.J. Burnett gives thanks that August is over to face Jon Lester on Thursday. Burnett had an 11.91 ERA and looked completely lost during his five August starts but still managed to go 1-2.

On the injury front, Alex Rodriguez (thumb) looks like he could miss the series while Derek Jeter (knee) could be out tonight. Kevin Youkilis (back) is starting rehab tonight for Pawtucket in Rochester.

For Jerry Sullivan's take on Sabathia, see this entry at the Sully on Sports blog.

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

Boston prospect Ryan Lavarnway is putting up absurd numbers and continued them Friday night with his home run and double here. At least the Bisons get a break and won't have to deal with him tonight as he's getting a day off, his first since June 22.

Lavarnway has homered in four of his last five games and seven of the last 10. He's batting .381 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs for the Pawsox and a combined .322-27-74 in 90 games between Pawtucket and Double-A Portland. Luis Esposito will be catching for Pawtucket tonight.

Mark Cohoon (3-5) will pitch for Buffalo tonight against Pawtucket veteran Brandon Duckworth. The Bisons are just 2-7 against Pawtucket this year, including five straight defeats. Here's tonight's Buffalo lineup:

Luis Figueroa, 3b
Ruben Tejada, ss
Jesus Feliciano, rf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Jason Botts, lf
Josh Satin, 1b
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Fernando Perez, cf
Mike Nickeas, c
---
Mark Cohoon, p

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

Get in line early if you're looking for the promotional item at tonight's Bisons-Pawtucket game. The first 4,000 fans through the Swan Street gate will receive a replica of the late, great Memorial Auditorium as part of the team's annual Replica Night giveaway.

Offermann and War Memorial Stadium and Coca-Cola Field have all been previous replica giveaways and now the team has moved to local landmarks like last year's Crystal Beach piece and the Aud.

The Aud replicas will only be given away at the Swan Street gate, one per person. The line in the past has stretched from the third-base gate all the way to the parking lot in right field, but history has shown patience works because it moves fast once the gates open.

The Bisons lost the opener of the four-game series Friday night, 4-2. Red-hot Pawtucket catcher Ryan Lavarnway homered, doubled and drove in three runs as he continues to make a splash among Boston prospect watches. In 35 games at Triple-A after being promoted from Double-A Portland, Lavarnway is batting .381 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs. Pretty sick numbers.

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

If you missed my look forward to the second half of the MLB season in today's editions, here's the link to the story. It's pretty fascinating to see there is tremendous parity in baseball even when the public perception is otherwise. In the last six years, 11 different teams have made the World Series! Pretty amazing.

My choice for a newcomer this year to that group would be the Brewers, especially now that they've acquired Francisco Rodriguez. That said, my prediction would still remain what I called in March -- the Phillies and the Red Sox. It's going to be really hard to knock either of them off come October.

So based on what you've seen so far and what you think might happen the rest of the way, take our little poll to choose who will be in the Fall Classic.

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

Not good days to be a Yankees or Mets fan right now. The boys in the boroughs just about can't stay out of their own way.

The Jorge Posada affair, which lingered Monday with a conference call involving Derek Jeter, is really masking a much bigger problem for the Yankees: They stink. For the second day in a row, a lead went kaput as A.J. Burnett gave up a 5-1 cushion in a five-run sixth and the Bombers lost at Tampa Bay, 6-5.

And it only got worse for the Yankees a couple hours later at Fenway, as Adrian Gonzalez's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth gave the Red Sox an 8-7 win over the Orioles in a game they trailed, 6-0, in the fifth. The Blue Jays won their sixth straight, 4-2 at Detroit, and joined Boston in a virtual tie with the Yankees for second place.

The Mets, meanwhile, waited 90 minutes for rain to stop and suffered a head-scratching loss to the Marlins, 2-1 in 11 innings. It was a full-moon kind of night at misty, fog-shrouded and largely empty Citi Field. Before the game, the Mets learned that David Wright has been playing for nearly a month with a stress fracture in his back, a likely culprit for that .226 batting average. The game itself was a good pitching duel between Josh Johnson and Mike Pelfrey but was won on a two-out RBI single in the 11th inning by Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop.

With the Mets playing a man short because Wright had yet to go on the DL, they had to pinch-hit pitcher Jon Niese with two out and no one on in the 11th. So what does Niese do? Triple to the left-center gap. But can Jose Reyes get him home? Noooo. Whiffs.

The Mets have called up Ruben Tejada from the Bisons and Nick Evans might be next, assuming Wright goes on the DL. Infielder Chin-lung Hu and reliever Ryota Igarashi, the losing pitcher last night, have been sent here. The Bisons are big losers in that swap.

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

Bottom line first: Jorge Posada asked out Saturday night. Of a Yankees-Red Sox game on national television, no less. And don't believe the pathetic attempt by his wife on Twitter to claim an injury was involved.

Pretty odd coincidence this all comes late Saturday night when my Sunday Inside Baseball column was on Yankees mega catching prospect Jesus Montero. All this talk they have to trade him for pitching but how about using Montero as your catcher?

The New York media, obviously, was unleashed on the Posada story all night and here's some of their work. 

---Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch said Posada's simmering temper finally bubbled over in what will be remembered as the lowest point of his career.

---Post columnist Joel Sherman says this is another example of how tough it is for Yankee icons to ride into the sunset peacefully and that the catcher set off a five-alarm Bronx Zoo flashback.

---In the Daily News, Bill Madden wonders if Posada forgot Brian Cashman was the guy who put emotion aside in ending the Yankee careers of Bernie Williams and Joe Torre and had the acrimonious contract talks with Derek Jeter.

---ESPNNY's Wally Matthews says the Posada affair is a warning sign on what's to come as the Yankees' stars all age deep into their deals. Andrew Marchand goes one step further and says Posada had a sittin like Pippen moment that is now forever a part of his legacy.

---In the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy says the two AL East rivals have suddenly reversed course this month.

This won't go away for some time of course and tonight's game is on ESPN. Stay tuned.

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

CLEVELAND -- We've made it three hours to the west for tonight's Indians-Mariners game at Progressive Field in what will be ex-Indians and Bisons manager Eric Wedge's first game here since he was fired following the 2009 season. Keep it here for some updates later today on Wedge's pregame chat with the media, set for 5:25 p.m., and perhaps an update on Grady Sizemore's latest knee injury.

It's a busy Friday around the majors as well. Among the highlights: 

---The Yankees and Red Sox meet for the first time this year as they open a three-game set in the Bronx. Tonight's game at is 7 on YES and features a pitching matchup of Bartolo Colon and Clay Buchholz. Lots of questions around both teams, with the Yankees coming off Thursday's 11-5 whipping at the hands of the Royals and the Red Sox still reeling below .500

---Calm and cool Tigers ace Justin Verlander is the latest to try to match Johnny Vander Meer as he faces the Royals in his first start since Saturday's no-hitter in Toronto.

---Jered Weaver goes for his seventh win as the Angels play the Rangers in Texas.

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

Don't look for any info on Wednesday night's Red Sox-Angels game in our paper or any other paper on the East Coast for that matter. It took five hours to play and the Angels won it in 13 innings, 5-3 -- after enduring a 2-hour, 35-minute rain delay in the fifth inning. Bobby Abreu's game-winning single off Dice-K, who was pressed into relief, came at 2:36 a.m. and the last out was at 2:45 to finally wrap up the Angels' first win in seven tries against the Sox this season.

There were plenty more bizarre entries in this one. The Angels had a combined no-hitter going until Jed Lowrie's single in the seventh, which came just before midnight. Boston tied it with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, and Jacoby Ellsbury's down-to-his-last-strike RBI single forced extra innings.

In the 12th, Kevin Youkilis just missed a walkoff home run over the Green Monster. The ball hit the top of the wall and the Angels threw out Marco Scutaro at home. Bobby Jenks, who's been brutal all year, came up with a tight arm and Dice-K had to make his first relief outing in the 13th.

"When I showed up today, I didn't think I'd be talking to you guys at 3 in the morning," Boston manager Terry Francona told reporters afterward.

I feel for my media brethren in the press box. A long night, all the leads to their stories torn up by the Boston rally in the ninth, and then there's this point: The teams have a day game today at 1:30. The clubhouses open at 10 a.m.

Yeeesh.

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

Greetings from Coca-Cola Field. If you're not here, you might want to hustle on over.

It's an absolutely perfect spring afternoon in downtown Buffalo, with a temperature of 63 degrees. The Bisons will continue their six-game homestand to start the season in about a half hour, when they open a four-game series with the Pawtucket Red Sox.

I'm getting my first look at the Herd's new HD video screen, and as promised, it's awesome. Sadly, I won't be able to visit the new craft beer stand here at the ballpark today, so a return trip will be in order when I'm not on the clock.

As for today's game, Pat Misch takes the hill for Buffalo. Misch led all lefties in the International League last season with 11 wins, and finished third with a 3.23 earned-run average.

Here are the Bison starters:

Jason Pridie, LF

Justin Turner, 2B

Fernando Martinez, DH

Valentino Pascucci, 1B

Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF

Ruben Tejada, SS

Russ Adams, 3B

Salomon Manriquez, C

Jesus Feliciano, RF

Pat Misch, P

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

The Red Sox gave Carl Crawford seven years and $142 million in the biggest deal ever for an outfielder.  Cliff Lee got a seventh year on his offer from the Yankees and is still listening to the Rangers. Those were the big highlights as the Winter Meetings wrapped up in Florida today.

But the final day's traditional business at the meetings was the Rule 5 draft, and that included some local intrigue. North Tonawanda's Ricky Brooks, a right-handed pitcher in the White Sox organization, was selected in the Triple-A phase by none other than the New York Mets and that means he could be a candidate for the Bisons' bullpen come April. At the very least, his family will be able to quickly see him at Double-A Binghamton.

Brooks, 26, was 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 24 appearances (two starts) last season for Double-A Birmingham. He struck out 38 and walked only 10 in 41 2/3 innings.

Brooks, who pitched at East Carolina, has been in the White Sox system since getting drafted in the third round in 2005 and became a reliever in 2007. His best season was in 2009 at Birmingham (3-1, 2.68 in 25 games with 35 strikeouts and just five walks in 37 innings).

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

The MLB regular season winds down today (maybe -- more on that in a second) and you needed to stay up until 1:22 this morning to be fully versed on what was at stake in today's games. That's the time the Red Sox wrapped up a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Yankees in the second game of a day-nighter that stretched nine hours and featured the teams splitting 10-inning decisions.

Meanwhile, the Rays posted a 4-0 win at Kansas City. So that means the Rays and Yankees are both 95-66 heading into today's finales (the Yankees are at Boston at 1:35 on YES while the Rays are at KC at 2:10). Tampa has the tiebreaker edge so a Rays win wraps up the AL East and sends the Yankees on to Minnesota as the wildcard for the division series. The Yankees can only win the division with a victory in Boston and a Tampa loss. Dustin Moseley -- yes, Dustin Moseley -- will start for the Yankees today.

There is no one-game playoff, remember, because both teams have already qualified. In that case, Tampa's 10-8 regular-season edge is used as the tiebreaker. That's not going to be the case in the National League as we could be looking at the first three-team, two-day tiebreaker in history.

If the Padres win today at San Francisco for the third straight day and the Braves beat the Phillies, we would have three teams (Atlanta, San Diego and San Francisco) tied at 91-71. So what would happen? The Padres and Giants would play for the NL West crown Monday in San Diego with the loser going to Atlanta Tuesday to determine the wildcard. Oddly enough, it might behoove the Phillies to lose today to potentially force the three-teamer and make all of their potential NL opponents run through some pitching before the division series starts.

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

Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman earned a slice of history last night by throwing the fastest recorded pitch in major-league history, a 105-mph heater -- yes, I said 105 mph -- in an eighth-inning at-bat against Tony Gwynn during the Reds' 4-3 loss at San Diego.

Here's the MLB.com highlights from Chapman's outing, including the 105-mph pitch. I love hearing the oohs and aahs in the crowd as each speed is posted on the left-field wall at Petco Park. The guy has thrown 74 of his 159 big-league pitches at or above 100 mph since being recalled from Louisville. Amazing.

Things are starting to sort themselves out in the National League races. The Phillies have won 11 straight after last night's 3-2 win over the Mets and their magic number is two to clinch the NL East. The Padres' win has them a half-game ahead of the fading Braves in the NL wild-card race. San Diego is a half-game behind San Francisco in the NL West after the Giants' 2-1 win at suddenly-fading Colorado. The Rockies have dropped five straight and are four out of the wild card with nine to play.

So much for the Yankees' 2 1/2-game lead in the AL East, huh? They've lost three straight, including Friday's 10-8 defeat to the Red Sox, and Tampa Bay has won three straight to go back up by a half-game. The Rangers, meanwhile, can clinch the AL West with a win today at Oakland.

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

I've been covering Bisons game off and on for 23 years and on a full-time basis since 1992. From time to time, an umpire has a family situation, an illness, some time off coming or gets the call to the major leagues and the crew needs a substitute so there's still three men are working the game. You don't see guys promoted from Double-A. You usually get a top local amateur working for a night or two. They work third base and largely stay out of the way.

I've never seen one in the middle of things as poor Wally Bissett was Wednesday night in Coca-Cola Field.

Bissett is a highly respected, veteran umpire from Buffalo who does college ball as well as local amateur contests. But he blew two calls at first base on the tail end of double plays, one that cost the Herd a first-inning run in a game it would eventually lose in 10 innings to Pawtucket, 8-3.

Bissett got impatient with Herd manager Ken Oberkfell in the ninth and quickly tossed the Buffalo skipper after calling Pawtucket's Jeremy Hermida safe at first. He had called Herd OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis out in the first, denying the game's first run. Replays showed he blew both calls. Unless Oberkfell said the magic word, Bissett ran him way too quickly.

Oberkfell was diplomatic after the game. He was more upset with reliever Sean Green's pair of 10th-inning walks. I was always under the impression fill-ins were never supposed to work first or the plate. So was Oberkfell. So too was Buffalo General Manager Mike Buczkowski. IL president Randy Mobley can expect some phone calls from them today (he might get one from me too).

"I always thought they were just supposed to be at third but it's one of those things I guess," Oberkfell said. "I can promise I'll find out why he was at first base in a crucial game. Nothing against Wally but we're battling for a playoff spot. For me to have a substitute umpire at first base or home plate is something I don't feel should happen."

Pawtucket manager Torey Lovullo, the ex-Bison player and skipper, agreed with Oberkfell.

"You should call Randy and if you do, you have my support," Lovullo said. "We had episodes when we went into Columbus where we were embarrassed by the umpiring behind home plate that cost us in a couple of key situations. I'm not really commenting on what went on out here but I think there's a place and time for an umpire to be out at a base but they really shouldn't be at first or behind the plate."

This kind of stuff should not happen. It's Triple-A baseball. If you use fill-in umpires -- a practice I hate in the first place -- they should never be anywhere but third base. 

(It should be noted that the umpires room is off-limits to reporters so I could not speak to Bissett after the game).

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

Some quick updates as the Bisons and Pawtucket get ready for game five of a six-game series that feel like the PawSox have been in town for a month:

---Bisons outfielder Fernando Martinez and infielder Justin Turner are both headed to New York tomorrow for MRIs on their injured knees, manager Ken Oberkfell said during his daily pregame interview with Bisons radio voice Ben Wagner. Tomorrow is Martinez Bobblehead Night in Coca-Cola Field but the man of the honor won't be on the field. 

---According to the Twitter feed of Pawtucket radio voice Dan Hoard, the Boston Red Sox reversed their field on Hideki Okajima and have him pitch on rehab here again tomorrow night rather than return to the big leagues. Just saw this note on Hoard's Twitter feed; I did not talk to PawSox manager Torey Lovullo before today's game. Okajima got hit hard Monday night, giving up four seventh-inning runs. Two came on Russ Adams' first home run off a lefty all season. 

---Carlos Delgado joined his Pawtucket teammates on the field for batting practice today, doing only stretching and running. He's apparently still a few days away from returning to game action.

---The Bisons are going with the same lineup that produced 12 runs and 15 hits last night. the only difference is that Adams and also-hot Mike Cervenak (.333 in August) are flip-flopping in the 7-8 spots in the lineup against Pawtucket righty Adam Mills, who is 0-2, 8.36 in three starts against the Bisons this season. Lefty Michael Antonini, who gave up six runs to Pawtucket on Aug. 14, makes his fourth start for the Herd.

Here's the Buffalo lineup:

Luis Hernandez, ss
Andy Green, 2b
Lucas Duda, lf
Nick Evans, 1b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Russ Adams, rf
Mike Cervenak, 3b
J.R. House, c
---
Michael Antonini, p

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

Johnny Damon is staying put, telling the media in Detroit this afternoon he's not waiving his no-trade clause to go to the Red Sox on a waiver claim. Damon has been a winter jumper during his career but he's intensely loyal to his team and didn't want to jump ship from the Tigers. He was concerned about the reaction he would get in Boston and liked playing for Jim Leyland and mentoring Austin Jackson in Detroit. Fair enough.

You would imagine the Tigers would want him back next year on another one-year deal.

Here's a quick reaction from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

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

Dillon Gee takes his second shot at win No. 13 tonight as the Bisons and Pawtucket play a 7:05 game on TWC 13 and SNY. Gee, who pushed his strikeout total to a franchise-record 144 in his last start, got a no-decision Wednesday against Rochester after giving up four runs (but only one earned) in 5 1/3 innings. He's 3-0, 4.44 in August with 26 Ks and just four walks in 24 1/3 innings.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis is back from a family wedding but Fernando Martinez and Justin Turner (knees) are both out of tonight's lineup. No word of any moves to the DL on Turner as of yet. Hideki Okajima is slated to pitch another inning on rehab tonight for Pawtucket.

Tonight's Herd lineup:

Luis Hernandez, ss
Andy Green, 2b
Lucas Duda, lf
Nick Evans, 1b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Mike Cervenak, 3b
Russ Adams, rf
J.R. House, c
 -----
 Dillon Gee, p

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

If you were hoping for a glimpse of veteran Carlos Delgado playing for Pawtucket over the next five days, it's not going to happen. PawSox manager and old friend Torey Lovullo told me today that Delgado is going on the DL after suffering back spasms Sunday against the Herd unrelated to his surgically repaired right hip. According to Lovullo, Delgado actually tweaked his left side while overcompensating for the injury.

Lovullo said Boston reliever Hideki Okajima will pitch an inning of relief in the opener of today's doubleheader (5:35 first pitch). Okajima has made 198 appearances with Boston the last three years since being signed out of Japan and has never pitched in the minor leagues. He has a 2.11 ERA in 17 postseason appearances, the most ever by a Japanese-born pitcher.

Fernando Nieve will start the opener for Buffalo and Adam Pettyjohn will start in the nightcap. The Famous Chicken is in the house as well. The Herd's Game One lineup:

Jesus Feliciano, cf
Justin Turner, 2b
Lucas Duda, lf
Nick Evans, 1b
Fernando Martinez, rf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Mike Cervenak, 3b
Luis Hernandez, ss
Michael Barrett, C
---
Fernando Nieve, p

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

The Bisons completed a 5-2 road trip with Monday's 5-3 win at Pawtucket and are off today before opening a nine-game homestand Wednesday night against Rochester. The Herd is 2 1/2 games behind Louisville in the wild-card standings with 23 to play so this race is probably going down to the last weekend of the season as Buffalo tries for its first postseason berth since 2005.

And while the team has plenty to look forward to over the next three weeks, it's already looking forward to 2011 as the schedule for next season has been announced. The IL has given teams the go-ahead to announce the schedules before this season is over so fans can get some early-early-early planning in (and probably as a way to entice some season-ticket renewals too).

The '11 schedule looks good too: There are 12 Friday night games -- with eight in either June, July or August. There are also 10 Saturdays and 11 Sundays. There are a pair of 10-game homestands (June 24-July 3 and Aug. 10-19). The home and season opener are slated for April 7 against Syracuse and the Chiefs are also the opponent for the July 3 Independence Eve celebration and the Sept. 1 home finale. The season concludes with a four-game roadie Sept. 2-5 at Lehigh Valley and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Read all about the schedule with a link to download a PDF copy by going here.

In other IL items:

---The PawSox sat out Carlos Delgado from Monday's game with the Bisons after he left Sunday's game early. He might sit all week too but the linked Providence Journal story makes it sound like he's going to try it again here this weekend (the teams open a six-game set with a doubleheader Saturday night). 

---Scranton reliever Jonathan Albaledajo, who has had a stints with the Yankees the last couple years, set the IL save record Monday night by picking up his 39th in a 7-4 win at Toledo. I'll have to ponder my votes because he might be worthy of MVP or pitcher of the year consideration in the league based on some of the callups that have shortened others' seasons.

---Syracuse had the Stephen Strasburg Show this season and will probably get a glimpse of Bryce Harper either next season or early in 2012 as the Nationals and agent Scott Boras did a Strasburg-like move, getting Harper signed to a $9.9 million deal just before the stroke of midnight. The top pick in the draft had to sign by that hour or the Nats would have lost rights to him.

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

The big news for the Bisons Sunday was their 3-1 loss at Pawtucket in a game in which they allowed just two hits and saw outfielder Lucas Duda's hit streak end at 11 games. The big news to the Boston Red Sox, meanwhile, was an early exit from the game by veteran Carlos Delgado.

Delgado, signed to a minor-league deal in the wake of Kevin Youkilis' season-ending thumb injury, left the game due to stiffness in his back around his surgically repaired hip. He was 0 for 1 in the game. No word yet if Delgado plays in tonight's series finale. And the injury bears watching as the Torey Lovullo's PawSox hit town for a six-game, five-day series that starts with a doubleheader Saturday night at 5:30 in Coca-Cola Field.

The Bisons' nine-game homestand opens Wednesday night at 7 against Rochester.

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

Stayed up past 1 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning for some full-moon baseball. Take your pick: It was the morose Mets sleepwalking through a 2-0 loss at Dodger Stadium or the reeling Red Sox pulling out an 8-6, 13-inning win at Seattle after blowing a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth.

The Mets are 1-7 on their West Coast road trip and, remember, should be 0-8 if not for umpire Phil Cuzzi's blown call at home Sunday in San Francisco. They're 7 1/2 out in the National League East, horrific Jason Bay was benched last night and the Jerry Manuel Watch is on again. GM Omar Minaya was in LA and said his manager was safe last night. Uh-huh. Hey Omar: Are you safe too?

The Mets, by the way, designated reliever Fernando Nieve for assignment and called up Manny Acosta from the Bisons after the game. Memo to Mets: Acosta won't help. Throws hard and straight and barely gets Triple-A hitters out. The Bisons have also put Andy Green on the (phantom) DL to make room for Justin Turner's return. Sure, Green will be listed with some injury but he looked fine getting three hits Wednesday night.

As for the Red Sox, their relievers are a bunch of phantoms. John Lackey was actually four outs from a no-hitter before Manny Delcarmen and Jonathan Papelbon imploded in the ninth.   Among other things, Boston needs bullpen help if it has any hope of staying afloat in the AL East. At least the Sox get Josh Beckett back tonight.

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