200th win eludes Wakefield again

Look, I know we're not supposed to care who gets the win, as long as the team wins, and we don't root for the players individually, necessarily, we root for the laundry. Last night, the Red Sox won in Minnesota, keeping them 1.5 games up on the Yankees, and that's really all that should matter. But if ever there was a player that warranted at least a momentary diversion from those higher priorities, it's Tim Wakefield. When he says in that NESN commercial, "I am a part of Fenway Park," it's a hairs' breadth away from being literal. His longevity alone has made him not just a favorite but a symbol, a link to history -- a walking, talking, knuckleballing heirloom for Red Sox fans. If there is an exception to most rules, it seems, Tim Wakefield is it. So watching him try yet a third time for his 200th win in a Red Sox uniform, and watching him, this time, get so close and still fall short -- the Sox went up 6-5 in the top of the eighth while Wake was s...