The Hub Crawl 2/17: Wakefield to retire, C’s fall

Knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield will announce his retirement from baseball today after 19 seasons in Major League Baseball.
Wakefield spent 17 of those years with the Red Sox as he accumulated 186 wins, just six short of the club record held by Roger Clemens and Cy Young.
He has a career record of 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA and 2,156 strikeouts. Pittsburgh drafted Wakefield as a position player but he soon changed course and became one of the lone knuckle-ball pitchers in the Majors.
Wakefield won two World Series rings with Boston and appeared in the NLCS with Pittsburgh.

Celtics: The Celtics dropped their second game in as many nights Thursday night as they fell to the Bulls in Chicago, 89-80.
Free throws plagued the Green down the stretch as Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce could not convert.
Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bulls were led by Carlos Boozer, who had 23 points and 15 boards.
The C’s are back in action Sunday night in Detroit (6 p.m., CSNNE).

Red Sox: Boston signed free agent first baseman Mauro Gomez and former Pittsburgh hurler Ross Ohlendorf to minor league contracts, multiple reports said early Friday.

MLB: Gary Carter, who played a pivotal role in the Mets dramatic 1986 World Series Game 6 comeback over the Red Sox, died Thursday at the age of 87.
“I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 pm.,” Carter’s daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the family’s website. “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know. He is in heaven and has reunited with his mom and dad. I believe with all my heart that dad had a STANDING OVATION as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus.”
It was discovered that Carter had new brain tumors this past month after doctors originally found four tumors last spring.
Carter may be best remembered for his single to left field in 1986 off Red Sox pitcher Calvin Schiraldi with two outs in the 10th inning and the Mets trailing Boston, 5-3.
The hit sparked a furious Mets comeback and paved the way to New York winning the series.

NBA: Celtics boss Danny Ainge told WEEI that he put in a waiver claim on New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin after he was cut in December. Houston, however, also put in a claim and had priority on the waiver wire.