Let's give the man a hand...

I wake up today and see that Tim Wakefield leads the majors in wins with 15. The man just keeps going and going and going. I can not state how much I appreciate what this man has done for Boston and the Red Sox since he arrived in 1995, both on and off the field. He has done what has been asked of him over the years...starter, reliever, closer, and has done it well. He's been left off playoff rosters, something that must have been very hard to accept, but continued on without much of a peep. And of course his charitable contributions in Boston are pretty much unparalleled.

I'd say that I'm not the only one to appreciate this man's contribution to the Red Sox. In the aftermath of what must have been the low point in Wakefield's career, the 2003 ALCS, game 7, extra innings, walk off home run to Aaron Boone, nobody that I knew or heard on sports radio got on Wakefield's case at all. In one of the most crushing defeats in Red Sox history, people did not and could not blame Wakefield. Of course Grady Little may have had something to do with that, but even still, when the Boone home run is replayed today, I never hear anybody say anything about Wakefield. In a city like Boston, that says something.

Things that make you wonder...

Driving home around midnight gives you lots of time to think. Well last night I came up with this doozy...

Everyone knows about the 1978 collapse of the Red Sox, ahead of the Yankees by 14.5 games, only to eventually concede the division title.

The Red Sox biggest lead over the Yankees in 2007 was...you guessed it, 14.5 games, and shrinking very quickly.

Well let's do some simple math. 14.5 + 14.5 = 29. Now, how many years ago was 1978? Yep, 29 years ago....how about that??