I love the knuckleball. It just looks so soft when it comes to the plate, floating there, inviting people to hit it, before darting out of the way. And I have a theory that says it especially frustrates great sluggers, who get all excited about hitting the deceptive pitch: it’s like some kind of baseball jujitsu, using the strength of the mashers against themselves.
All of which is to say, I love how Tim Wakefield frustrates the Yankees. In a home opener, and his 200th appearance at Fenway (1 more than Roger Clemens) no less. He deserved to pitch the opener, and he deserved the win.
Sadly, even with the win, the Sox are last in the entire American League. Of course, so are KC, Cleveland, Seattle, Texas, Oakland, and New York itself. Extreme parity has landed. I’m not sure I like it. It’s funny, though, to see that the entire AL is at worst only half a game behind in the Wild Card standings.