Tim Wakefield couches it nicely, but you can sort of tell that one of the nicest guys in baseball doesn’t like that he’s been shuffled around between rotation and bullpen in the past:
“I know the situation with Wade Miller, too,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why I should be the guy who goes to the bullpen.
“It’s either me or Bronson. I think Bronson’s the more likely candidate for that. He’s more of situational type of guy. He can come in and get righties out better than lefties out. I can get both guys out.
“At his age [28], he might be a little more resilient than I am right now. I could probably pitch every day, too, but he’s shown in the past that he can pitch back-to-back days - two innings, two innings, then get the day off.” (Boston Globe)
I hate to see it come down to Wakefield vs Arroyo for the last spot, but of course I have a soft spot in my heart for any of the 2004 team. Objectively speaking, Miller if healthy would be an awesome starter.
Wake’s definitely been a team-first person - those 3 innings in that Game 3 loss to soak up innings were crucial - and his words sound like he feels like his versatility (willingness to be starter, long man, swingman, and so on) has worked against him. Hence perhaps the comments on Arroyo’s resilience.