TIMOTHY STEPHEN WAKEFIELD (TIM WAKEFIELD) .RED SOX STARTER, the longest tenured member of the RED SOX has a stress fracture in his ribs.
Recognized throughout Major League Baseball as one the most community-minded individuals in the game, Wakefield is believed to return to the team in 3 weeks.
The knuckleball specialist said after Thursday’s game, “It’s in a different spot now.”Before, it was my lower back; now it’s in between my sciatica and my spine. I’ve had [massage therapist] Russell try to rub it out for four days, but it just never got better.”
This would result in six days off.
“I don’t know what’s causing it or what the problem is, but physically, it’s not allowing me to finish my pitches when I need to,” he said
And the team knows it. “He started out with a knot in his back,” Francona said. “He’s trying to pitch through it and every time he pitches, it seems to kind of move around. We’ve all had it, it hurts. If he didn’t have to pitch, it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
This veteran knuckleballer ,who was a consistent starter for his team, who won his last three decisions and was back to .500, despite battling back woes, is not supposed to be put on the disabled list immediately as his team is looking for options both inside and outside the organization to fill his spot in rotation.
Originally slated to pitch on Sunday, 39 years old knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield will be taking the mound in Monday night’s opener against Royals in Fenway. Right-hander Luke Hudson will start for the Royals.
. “He would’ve pitched on Sunday, but it makes sense,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “It gives him an extra day [of rest] the next time out. With the All-Star break, you have the ability to move a guy back, and I just didn’t see why we shouldn’t.”