No need to fret about him

Wakefield works through perils

Brian Roberts stole second and got a bonus; he took third on Jason Varitek's throwing error. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

Orioles manager Dave Trembley remembered when Tim Wakefield played first base for him in the instructional league in 1988.

"He couldn't hit a lick," Trembley said. "And he's from Melbourne, Fla., and now he's a great pitcher and he's making all this money in the big leagues."

Wakefield (5-6, 3.75 ERA), tonight's starter against Baltimore, has played in the major leagues for 16 years, 14 with the Red Sox. He is known for his knuckleball, sure, and for his effectiveness at age 41.

But Red Sox manager Terry Francona said there are times he gets uneasy when Wakefield is pitching. There's a level of patience required for a manager to have a knuckleball pitcher on his roster, Francona said.

"I just take my hands and sit on them, stay out of the way," he said.

Francona's patience has paid off.

Though the second-oldest player on the Red Sox roster (Mike Timlin is 42), Wakefield is second in innings to Jon Lester, 125 to 115 1/3. He has started 18 games this season and has averaged 30 starts the last five years. He has eight consecutive starts of at least 6 1/3 innings while allowing three earned runs or fewer. He is also consistent, holding lefthanders to a .222 average and righthanders to .225.

"I remember back when I was a kid watching guys who were knuckleballers and guys that were switch hitters batted righthanded off them," Trembley said. "Guys try all sorts of things."

When the bullpen has struggled this season, some observers have called for Wakefield to pitch in relief, but Francona isn't interested. Wakefield has pitched some relief in the past (he earned 15 saves in 1999), but Francona said that's unlikely at this point.

He was asked about giving Wakefield more days between starts because of his age, to which the manager said he thinks "we're going OK with him."

Wakefield doesn't speak the day before he pitches or before starts, but Francona said there is a big misconception about the knuckleball.

People think that because it is a relatively slow pitch, it's easy to throw, Francona said. Most knuckleballs are in the mid-60-miles-per-hour range.

Francona emphatically denied that notion.

"Whatever miles an hour it is and it looks easy, it's not for him," he said. "It takes a big effort. A lot of the same things normal pitchers do, he has to do. It's just the ball comes out different."

Trembley said that with all a pitcher must account for - base runners, countless in-game situations, scouting reports, and so on - it's tiring no matter what he throws.

"I would think mentally this game is fatiguing no matter if you throw a knuckleball or a Wiffle ball," Trembley said. "It takes its toll on you. It's to Wakefield's credit he has pitched this long."

You won't find many knuckleballers in the major leagues. The only other one is the Seattle Mariners' R.A. Dickey, who was recently moved into the starting rotation after beginning the season as a reliever. There were concerns that Dickey couldn't be consistent with his knuckleball, which Francona said isn't an issue with Wakefield because he is a consistent pitcher, not just a consistent knuckleballer.

"There are some days when he'll go out in an inning and it's not moving, but you always know he has the ability to get it along," Francona said.

This leads back to the patience Francona talks about with a knuckleballer.

"I just think as a manager you have to learn how to be patient because there are going to be some walks," he said. "There are going to be some passed balls. There's going to be some stolen bases. And if you don't get too impatient, there's also going to be some really good innings after it's all said and done, so you try not to let the other things get in the way."