Consistently Average

When you describe people, it is very infrequent for "average" to be a compliment. In terms of baseball, it is very much so. It is extreme difficult to find someone that can give you consistently average performances, year after year. Thankfully for the Red Sox, we have someone like that in Tim Wakefield. I give Tim a lot of grieve, but my main issue is the Doub Mirabelli factor. He is truly a special pitcher and I am becoming more and more convinced that he could pitch till he is 45. To illustrate how consistent he has been, look at his ERA+ and IP since joining the Red Sox.

1995 - 195.3 - 163
1996 - 211.7 - 100
1997 - 201.3 - 110
1998 - 216 - 101
1999 - 140 - 100
2000 - 159.3 - 91
2001 - 168.7 - 116
2002 - 163.3 - 157
2003 - 202.3 - 115
2004 - 188.3 - 100
2005 - 225.3 - 106
2006 - 140 - 100
2007 - 157.3 - 104

I challenge anyone out there to find 3 other pitchers in the American League that have similar or better numbers than those above over the same span. Wakefield will never win a Cy Young, but that's not what he is here for. He is an innings eater, and a really good one at that. For these reasons and many more, I would be extremely shocked if Wake is not back with the team next season.