Is this how it ends for Tim Wakefield?

Terry Francona was not talking before or after the game, but a report from Rob Bradford Thursday night indicated that Wakefield would be the odd man out of the Red Sox rotation when Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his return from the disabled list.

It's the right move by Francona (or Theo, or whoever is the show runner on this stuff.) If Daisuke had a one-year contract for six hundred grand it would be one thing, but you and I know that he's going to get every chance to stick. And Clay Buchholz needs to be left in the rotation for a season. Time to see if he's the real deal or not (he sure did look the part of potential ace on Thursday night.)

And Wakefield has looked more like a 43-year-old pitcher with little left the tank, posting an unsightly 6.38 ERA in his three starts this season. Looking at the numbers and measuring the upside of the three candidates for the fourth and fifth spots the only reasonable conclusion is for Knucksie to move to the 'pen.

But I still can't help feeling some sympathy for Wakefield. It's not as if he's going to be moved into a key bullpen role. Not a lot of knuckleballers as late- inning guys, in case you hadn't noticed. Would you want to see Tim Wakefield coming into a one-run game in the eighth inning, especially with a runner on base and Victor Martinez catching? So it'll mostly be long relief or mop-up duty, which for a guy with 391 starts in a Red Sox uniform will seem way, way off-Broadway. 

And believe me, I'm fully aware that we shouldn't be getting the rocking chair and watch ready just yet for Wakefield. How many times over his decade and a half in Boston has it seemed like he's done? Would it shock anyone if Daisuke spent another, I don't know, two months on the disabled list in 2010? 

Wakefield could get another shot in the rotation and get on one of those streaks that he seems to put together every year, a five-week burst where he goes 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA.

Could happen. I still wouldn't be stunned if Wakefield was the American League Pitcher of the Month in July. I also wouldn't be stunned if Wakefield had an 8.50 ERA in July. Can't say that about any other pitcher in baseball, can you?

But if this is the end of Tim Wakefield as a regular member of the Red Sox rotation I have to confess a twinge of sadness. Why? Because you know that means he'll probably be gone after this season. And I like having Wakefield around, if only because he brings a little institutional memory to the table. 

If you say goodbye to Wake you say goodbye to the longest-tenured member of any of the four sports teams in town.

Remember, we are talking about a guy that was teammates with a skinny Barry Bonds and a fat Roger Clemens. Wakefield was here pre-Cowboy Up and Sweet Caroline. Sellouts at Fenway Park were far from a lock in 1995. He was here before, during and after the Red Sox careers of Nomar, Pedro and Manny (and maybe Ortiz -- we shall see.) 

And through Jimy Williams and Carl Everett and Wil Cordero and the steroid era and Mike Gimbel and Way Back Wasdin and B.K. Kim and all the other Movie of the Week craziness Wakefield has generally stayed out of the way. Kept his head down and turned in 13-10 kind of seasons since the first term of the Clinton presidency.

But none of that stuff matters if the guys who make the call for the Red Sox think that Tim Wakefield isn't one of the five best options to start a game. And it shouldn't matter. This is a business, and it's not one that is generally kind to teams that lean on nostalgia when making decisions that have ramifications on the field. And guess what? If Tim Wakefield had an ERA of 3.38, not 6.38, he probably wouldn't have to worry about the bullpen.

So he'll probably end up short of 192 wins, the Red Sox franchise record held by the man with the most Cy Young Awards and the man for whom the award was named. He's 43 years old, out of the rotation, 18 wins away from breaking the record and last recorded a win on July 8 of last year. Not looking good. And by every account setting the record was a huge factor in Wakefield signing a two-year deal in the offseason. 

Now it looks like he might be spending his last baseball days pitching the middle innings of blowouts and hoping for the occasional spot start.

Far from a perfect ending.