KANSAS CITY — Once a major league game is finished, the first thing reporters do is speak to the manager. Then comes the starting pitcher.
That's how it works. Whether the starter lasts one inning or throws a perfect game, he knows he has to speak to the media afterward. Even the most ornery starters in the game adhere to that tradition.
When we walked out of Terry Francona's office tonight, Tim Wakefield leaning against a couch a few week away. He had already showered and dressed and was waiting.
On what had to be tough night for him to take, Wakefield didn't duck.
Wakefield took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning, putting himself on the doorstep of 200 career wins. The Sox were only a few outs away from placing the game in the hands of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon.
Disaster struck. Wakefield got one out then allowed two runs on three straight hits as his knuckleball stayed up. In came Matt Albers and it got worse. Before the inning was over, the Royals had scored eight runs and sent 12 batters to the plate. It matched their largest inning of the season.
“Tonight was just one bad inning,” Wakefield said. “It’s a long season and things like that happen.”
That's five starts now where Wakefield has failed to get 200 and two times he has left the mound with a lead. He gets hard-hitting Texas on Thursday. Then, if the Sox stay in rotation, the Yankees.
Wakefield said he was not frustrated, pointing out the Sox need to win games, period.
“It is what it is, you know?” he said. “We’re trying to win the game, not trying to do a favor for me. We’re trying to win the game as a team.”
The milestone will come eventually. The immediate question right now is whether Albers can be trusted with high-leverage situations.
One of the team’s most reliable relievers for the first four months, Albers has been shaky in August. He has allowed 11 earned runs on 11 hits and four walks over his last eight innings.
“He had a little stretch like that earlier in the year. But he’s done some really good things for us,” Francona said. “We’re certainly not going to run away from him.”
Said Albers: “I feel good physically and mentally. It comes down to execution. It’s a fine line. You definitely can improve, but you don’t want to be making complete changes, either.”
Albers has been an unsung hero for the better part of the season. Non-tendered by the horrid Orioles, he resurrected his career by relying more on his sinker and cutting out the breaking pitches that were less reliable.
Is this a bad couple of weeks or a sign that Albers is worn down? Meanwhile Dan Wheeler has a 1.47 earned run average and 0.88 WHIP since coming off the disabled list in May. He looks ready for a promotion to more important innings.
The clubhouse was graveyard quiet tonight. The Sox gave away a lead to a last-place team on a night when they could have gotten Wakefield a historic win and moved back into first place despite having three regulars out of the lineup.
Every loss hurts a little. But this was stung more than most.
It's nothing Jon Lester can't cure tomorrow. But for now, Wakefield must be wondering what he has to do to get that 200th win. This is makes Yaz chasing 3,000 hits look like a picnic.
