It might be easy to write off the re-signing of Wake as sentimentality run wild. But for the money, you can’t find a better number five guy. Thing is, you never know what Wake’s gonna do. He might give us fourteen wins. He might crap out faster than a science fair robot. It’s a roll of the dice worth taking. Because in the age of the athlete as megalomaniac, they just don’t build ’em with more heart, soul and drive than number 49. Guy also knows that team comes first, as Mike Timlin pointed out in this now-classic moment from the 2007 World Series clincher:
Perhaps most importantly, as he’s been with the team since 1997, Wake provides the all-important link to the Ricky Trlicek/Butch Henry years. That, alone, makes him worth the cash.
