Bobby Jenks: High Stakes Late Inning Reliever of the Day

THE BEST LATE INNING RELIEF PERFORMANCE SO FAR THIS SEASON GOES TO:

• BOBBY JENKS of the CHICAGO WHITE SOX.

JENKS IS ALSO THE BIG LOSER TODAY, AS I'LL EXPLAIN. THE WHITE SOX WERE FACING A SEASON-OPENING SWEEP IN THE LAST OF 3 GAMES, 8TH INNING AGAINST CLEVELAND, WITH ONLY A 1 RUN LEAD BOBBY JENKS COMES WITH A RUNNER IN SCORING POSITION, 2 OUTS

• JENKS GETS OUT OF THE 8TH.

• JENKS COMES BACK OUT IN THE 9TH, SCORE STILL 4-3 AND EASILY GETS 3 OUTS.

• THE BAD PART IS--JENKS GOT THE WIN AND NOT THE SAVE. THAT'S NOW BAD DUE TO THE PASSIVE BASEBALL CONSUMER ALLOWING LATE INNING RELIEVERS TO BE MEASURED AGAINST A RELATIVELY MEANINGLESS STAT, THE SAVE.

• SO, THE LOSER OF THE DAY SO FAR FOR CLOSERS IS BOBBY JENKS. HE GAVE THE GUTTSIEST, MOST HIGH PRESSURE PERFORMANCE, BUT WILL BE A FAILURE FOR CY YOUNG CONSIDERATION, AS HE DIDN'T GET THE SAVE. (You can ask Bartolo Colon about this fact, as reported by Matt Hurst).

P.S. The MLB headline now doesn't even mention Jenks, just "Hit Batsman gets win for White Sox." Sorry for mentioning the facts--I know it disturbs you bots out there.

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