(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
I guess the picture says it all. Oh, it doesn't? Let me clarify then.
Joe Maddon managed the All-Star game in a terrible fashion Tuesday night.
Yes, it is true that the American League garnered the win, and it is also true that many players saw time. But my beef is with one specific manager, and one specific player.
Tim Wakefield.
The 42-year-old All-Star rookie didn't play Tuesday night. Yet there is no possible reason on this Earth why Wakefield didn't pitch.
Maddon, who had two 11-game winners on his pitching staff, chose to go with everyone else but the two.
Now, I don't have a problem with Maddon not throwing Josh Beckett. Beckett came off a game this past Sunday where he threw a complete game, albeit a low-pitch effort.
However, there is no excuse for not allowing a first-time All-Star like Wakefield to play.
If you watch the video on MLB.com, you'll see Wakefield glowing ear-to-ear with the experience of just being at his first All-Star game in the majors, and quite possibly his only All-Star game.
Maddon, who was a first-time All-Star manager himself, must not know the courtesies of the game yet.
Wakefield has all the credentials to not only be an All-Star this year, but to be a starting pitcher in the game as well. Even though "Wake" has an ERA over 4.00 and 61 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched, wins are what count in this day and age...and Wake's got them.
As a matter of fact, any fanatic of the Red Sox would know that Wakefield's record is less stellar than what it actually should or could be, with losses coming from very decent outings.
Frankly, Wakefield could've had 13 or 14 wins going into the All-Star break. The reality is he didn't, but he still has more than any other pitcher not named Josh Beckett.
It's a shame that a man like Joe Maddon can prevent Wakefield from pitching in his lone All-Star game.
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