THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Tim Wakefield pacifies the Devil Rays

May 18, 2004 ... In a dandy performance on a night his knuckler danced, the sleep- deprived new father, Tim Wakefield befuddled the beleaguered Devil Rays over seven innings to propel the Sox to a 7-3 victory before a crowd of 12,836 at Tropicana Field overrun with Boston fans.

Wakefield, 37, made the 400th appearance of his resilient career after a chaotic three days in which he traveled from Toronto to Boston for the delivery, drove Stacy and the baby home, then rushed to Florida to rejoin the team.

Wakefield allowed only one run on three hits and a pair of walks, but he readily confessed he needed all the help he could get from Doug Mirabelli, his catcher and close friend.

Sox hitters presented Wakefield their own baby gift by erupting for five runs in the seventh inning to break open a 2-1 game. Mark Bellhorn put a bow on it by launching a three-run homer off reliever Jeremi Gonzalez after Gabe Kapler and Johnny Damon touched Tampa Bay starter Mark Hendrickson for run-scoring doubles.

Bill Mueller, who went 3 for 4 as he returned from a three-game absence because of an inflamed right knee, started the game- breaking rally by doubling off Hendrickson. Pokey Reese (2 for 3 with an RBI) also scored after reaching on a sacrifice fielder's choice. But nobody gave Hendrickson a harder time than Manny Ramirez, who went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a walk to improve to .533 (8 for 15) against the lefthander.

All in all, the Sox were pleased to win it for Wakefield. The Sox ruined the 500th game at the Trop for the Rays, who lost for the 18th time in 21 games. In losing their first four games against the Sox this season, the Rays have been outscored, 24-6, while batting .167 (21 for 126).

For Wakefield, the greatest challenge was surviving the first inning. Lightning-fast leadoff hitter Carl Crawford made things difficult by beating out a grounder to second base. Crawford stole second for his league-leading 19th steal before he advanced to third when Rocco Baldelli lined to right. He scored on Tino Martinez's ground out. Otherwise, the Rays were easy prey for Wakefield, who improved to 9-1 with a 2.61 ERA against them in his career.

After Crawford's single, Wakefield retired 15 of the next 16 batters before he needed to snuff a minor threat in the sixth. He yielded after the seventh to Scott Williamson, who allowed a run in the eighth. Mike Timlin took it from there, surrendering another run in the ninth in clinching the victory, which ranked among the most precious of Wakefield's career.

Count Pokey Reese among the players who support Major League Baseball's decision to provide financial support for 29 surviving Negro leagues players. MLB gave the former players the choice of accepting nearly $40,000 over four years or $375 a month for life. The players had received $10,000 each from MLB in 1997. "I think it's great," Reese said. "They paved the way for players like me to get an opportunity. I think it's right what MLB is doing."