Mirabelli Back to Boston (Wakefield Jumps for Joy)

[AcidRock23]

W/ the video they showed of Bard during the game, it seems like a pretty intelligent move. It almost seems though that having Mirabelli in the lineup almost turns the Bosox into an NL team if he doesn't start to hit?

I found the parts of 'Ball Four' dealing w/ Bouton's having to lobby for practice time w/ the Pilots so he could get the knuckler into game shape pretty entertaining. I was trying to explain the whole knuckleball thing to AcidDaughter (until the Cubs game started anyway... ) and it was a bit too esoteric for a 7 year old. "well, you see those numbers [pausing DVR]? That guy can't hit and the other guy can't catch. Now see all those Indians scoring and touching home plate? That's BAD for the Red Sox and the guy who catches it might stop that stuff...."

[Omaha Red Sox]

Mirabelli had a great game. He's there to catch Wakefield so any hits he gets is just extra gravy. He made a few really nice plays and kept the ball in front of him. BB51, being a Yankee fan I'm not sure you understand this, but, you don't have to be a superstar to get a standing O. Majority of major leaguers aren't superstars.

[quitesanemax]

He got a standing O from Fenway.

It was a good move, but it's not like he's a superstar or even a former Red Sock hero returned home. He's a backup catcher folks.

He's not just a backup catcher, he is, arguably, the best backup catcher in baseball. He had quite a few clutch hits back in 04. More importantly, he caught for Wakefield. Wakefield was a very important part of that 04 team. Those who are not Red Sox fans, and don't watch them everyday have more difficulty understanding how important Mirabelli is to the team. Never was it made more clear than last year when Mirabelli went onto the DL. I had Wakefield on my fantasy team at the time. All of a sudden, he did horrible. This went on for 4 or 5 starts. When Mirabelli came back, all of a sudden Wakefield started doing great. The difference was like night and day. (Unfortunately, I had already dropped him... lol).

When Mirabelli is behind the plate, Wakefield is reasonably confident that his knuckleball is going to be caught. He is able to throw it with more confidence. Without Mirabelli back there, he doesn't throw the knuckleball with confidence, or worse, he doesn't throw it. Of course, if this happens, he gets shelled.