Veteran Timlin quiets uprisings, restores order
Maybe the Red Sox should call reliever Mike Timlin "the sheriff" because when there's trouble, the 38-year-old righthander often comes in and quiets the situation.
Last night, when Bronson Arroyo obviously didn't have his best stuff and the Sox needed someone to shut down the Blue Jays, Timlin came out of the bullpen and took care of business.
The only thing that was missing was the white hat and spurs as the Sox rode away with an 11-5 victory.
Timlin took over for Arroyo and threw bullets, mostly fastballs placed so perfectly that Toronto batters could not hit them.
With Scott Williamson, the Red Sox' proven setup man, sidelined with elbow woes, Timlin came in and cleaned up.
Six batters up. Six batters down. He threw 19 pitches, 12 for strikes. He gave the Sox the opportunity to put up the big inning and Timlin was rewarded with his third victory of the season.
He earned the victory. After Arroyo gave up a leadoff home run to Simon Pond that tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh, Timlin quieted the Blue Jays.
After Kevin Cash took him to a 3-1 count, Timlin got the Toronto catcher to pop up to shortstop Pokey Reese on a 92-mile-per-hour fastball. Against Reed Johnson, who had earlier extended his hitting streak to 13 games, Timlin got a called strike and then induced Johnson to ground to third. Timlin finished the inning when he got Orlando Hudson to fly to left.
Timlin came back out in the eighth and fired just nine pitches to retire the Blue Jays. Vernon Wells, who hit a monster home run off Arroyo in the third, skied to Johnny Damon in center. He worked cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado perfectly, getting him to strike out swinging on another heater. Josh Phelps, who homered in the fourth, flied out to right. Six up, six down.
Nothing fancy, no big contract, not a marquee name, just a get-the-job-done attitude.
"That was a lot to ask," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "And it was in a situation where we can't give up runs. And he was outstanding. It's not surprising. We talked about this before the game. You don't want to lose Willie [Williamson] for any amount of time, but we still have good enough professional hitting that we can be very successful."
Timlin said he doesn't feel any pressure now that Williamson is on the shelf.
"It doesn't do anything to our staff," said Timlin. "We have Anastacio [Martinez] here now. He's been throwing the ball well in the minor leagues and he threw well in spring training. He's got a great attitude. He's real quiet and he throws strikes. I don't think [the loss of Williamson] is going to devastate us."
As for the victory, he doesn't see it as a personal victory. "It's always nice. If the bullpen can have more wins than the starting rotation, all the better . . . just kidding," added Timlin, who is savoring every game with the Red Sox.
He said he can relate to the pain felt by the Toronto bullpen, which got hammered for six runs in the eighth.
"Absolutely. I was in the very same situation when I was with Seattle," said Timlin. "In fact, in this very same ballpark. And we came in and had a four- or five-run lead and they kept coming. It didn't matter what we threw up there, they kept hitting it . . . feel good for your teammates because they are getting on base and hitting home runs, but you feel bad for the other team because you've been there."
No matter, he is just enjoying the season.
"I know I am closer to the end than I am to the beginning [of his career]," said Timlin. "I'm having a lot more fun."
Pitching coach Dave Wallace said Timlin is like having a coach on the field.
"You don't get any more professional than Mike," said Wallace. "I like the way he shows everybody how it's done. He shows everybody how to act professional. He takes pitchers aside and helps them with their delivery, their mechanics, and their pitch selection. He's really like a second coach. He's a good coach because they listen to each other, rather than to me."
