Tim Wakefield

Tim Wakefield recently told Jon Paul Morosi of CBS Sports about how he is settling into his retirement.

In his exact words as reported on Twitter:

"It's been difficult. The fire to compete is still there. But it's been fun to be home, be a dad, a husband."

One of the opening weekend highlights of the ongoing TriBeCa Film Festival in New York was Saturday's outdoor screening of the new documentary Knuckleball!, which tells the stories of (to date) the last two professional pitchers to use the dancing, dazzling knuckleball as their primary weapon, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey. 

With the Pittsburgh Pirates riding a hot streak and sitting near the top of the National League Central standings, much mention has been made of the 1992 Pirates team.

Everyone knows how that season came to an end for the Pirates, and the Bucs haven't hit the .500 mark since.

There comes a time in every athlete's life when he must adapt or retire. Some players stubbornly fight on, maintaining the same style and insisting it still works.

We feel sorry for them (I'm looking at you, Mr. Favre).

These are players who are at this point in their careers. And we plead with them to change. 

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In trying to assess players at Spring Training for the Boston Red Sox this season one can take several different approaches from a few different angles. You can look at those current roster players on the depth chart and say you need to pay attention to those guys since they are slated to play in the majors as it stands today, or you can look at the guys who have made their living in the minors and are ready to make the jump by replacing the major leaguers if they slip up in Ft. Myers this spring.

Voted on by baseball fans and members of the media, the Roberto Clemente Award has been given annually since 1971 to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contribution to his team". 

Named after 12-time All-Star and Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente in 1973, the award was named after Clemente died on New Year's Eve 1972 while trying to deliver supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

Giacomo Casanova once said, "By recollecting the pleasures I have had formerly, I renew them, I enjoy them a second time, while I laugh at the remembrance of troubles now past, and which I no longer feel." We could say that about quite a few players on the Red Sox roster, and the Red Sox franchise itself. It's funny how you can use a quote by a ladies man and use it for baseball, isn't it?

Red Sox pitching, of course, refers to just two men:

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.

Remember how both those guys dominated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park three weeks ago over a span of 18 hours?

Well, both righthanders will be out to repeat their wizardry of the Phillies this weekend, while the Phillies will be given a shot at redemption, a chance for revenge.

Caption: In a scene that has become all-too-familiar during Red Sox games, a Red Sox starter hands the baseball to manager Terry Francona after getting bombed. Last night, it was Tim Wakefield’s turn to get pulled mid-inning, after surrendering a grand slam to shortstop Yunieski Betancourt that gave Kansas City a 9-5 lead. The Red Sox lost, 12-5.