Jenks can handle the heat -- and deliver it
CHICAGO -- Bobby Jenks has a scar on the back of his pitching hand, a reminder of the long road he has taken to find a spot as the closer on the team with the best record in the American League.
No wonder then that the rookie with the scar the size of a silver dollar on his money hand wasn't worried when he was called upon by the White Sox last night to save Game 2 of the American League Division Series and give his team a 2-0 lead over the Red Sox.
''In the sixth and seventh innings, when I would warm up, I would get a little nervous," said the soft-spoken 24-year-old. ''Then when I went out to pitch, I was fine by then."
That might be easier said than done for most, especially with Manny Ramirez leading off the eighth, and the Red Sox down by just a run.
''I had faced him before in Boston and I tried to do what worked then," said Jenks.
What worked this time was a first-pitch fastball that registered 97 miles per hour for a strike. What followed was a breaking ball at 85 for a ball, another fastball at 97 for a ball, and then a heater at 98 for a strike. He hit 100 on his fifth pitch, and Ramirez hit a line drive to center, which was caught.
''I always just try to go out and get the first batter out and go from there," Jenks said.
He got Jason Varitek on one pitch, survived a long foul ball by Trot Nixon down the right-field line before walking him, and then got Bill Mueller to ground to second to end the inning.
In the ninth, a one-out double by Tony Graffanino provided some drama. But Jenks got Johnny Damon to pop meekly to the catcher and Edgar Renteria to ground out to short, leaving David Ortiz in the on-deck circle. ''I never worry about who's coming up," Jenks said. ''I just look at the batter."
That's one reason White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was comfortable making Jenks the closer the last part of the season ahead of Dustin Hermanson, who has been bothered by back problems. And Guillen had no problem making the call to Jenks in the eighth last night to relieve starter Mark Buehrle.
''I've got to throw my best bullpen guy against the best hitter they have," Guillen said. ''They have Manny and Varitek, I mean, they're all good hitters, but I was facing the hardest ones in the lineup, and I wanted to go with my best man, he was my best man."
That Jenks is even in the majors is hard to believe. He says a few things in his past have been exaggerated, which would seem fitting since he is of Bunyanesque stature at 6 feet 3 inches, 270 pounds. But he doesn't dispute the fact that after being discovered at a showcase camp in 2000, he signed his first contract with the Angels for $175,000 at a Hooters at age 19.
But just two years later, he burned his hand with a lighter after having a few too many beers, and then lied to the team about what happened. The Angels later suspended him from their Double A team for bringing beer on the team bus one too many times. The final straw came when he was sent home from the team's minor league facility after getting into a fight with a teammate shortly after undergoing surgery on his arm.
''It's something I learned from," Jenks recently told the Chicago Tribune. ''I was a punk and it made me kick myself in the butt, but maybe if I didn't go through that, I wouldn't be here now."
He has found a place with the White Sox, who acquired him off waivers last December and had him in the majors by July.
''Bobby's a special guy," said Carl Everett, another wayward type who has found a home in Chicago. ''I can't say enough about him. When he went in, there was nothing to worry about. He's just special. If you ever shake his hand, then you'll know what I mean."
Everett said that with a smile. No telling if he was referring to the scar on the back of Jenks's right hand or the strength of the reliever. It was probably both.
