Timlin goes the distance

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Based on some rough calculations and a formula that shall heretofore be known as Euclides' Theory of Reliability, the total currently stands at about 45,000. That's the number of pitches Mike Timlin has thrown in his career.

Give or take.

"That's a lot of pitches," Timlin said last night at Tropicana Field, where the Red Sox turned the Tampa Bay Rays to pulp in 13-5 victory that created a virtual tie atop the American League East. "And that's not counting the minor leagues."

And so, in the middle of a pennant race and with a mere 13 days remaining in the 2008 regular season, we interrupt this programming to bring you the following message: Mike Timlin now has made more relief appearances than any righthanded pitcher in history. In an age when major league executives and managers use middle relievers and setup men like Q-tips, the 42-year-old Timlin continues to plod along in what will likely be his 18th and final big league campaign. His career has gone from one Bush administration to the next.

Death, taxes, and Timlin.

In the wake of a lopsided Sox victory that left for little in the way of analysis, let's stop here for a moment to recognize just how truly amazing an accomplishment this is. Professional baseball has been played for more than 100 years and has its own time line. We have advanced from the Dead Ball Era to the Live Ball Era to the Steroid Era and now, perhaps, beyond. Pitchers are now almost as likely to end up with an arm injury as they are the common cold, and we live in an era in which tendon transplant surgery has become the modern answer to "take two of these and call me in the morning."

Remember, too, that Timlin is righthanded, which is a significant detail. Due to the shortage of supply and overwhelming demand -- isn't it always about economics in baseball? -- it is an accepted fact (if not a scientific one) that lefthanders live longer. Along with John Franco, Dan Plesac and Jesse Orosco, Mike Stanton is one of the four lefthanders ahead of Timlin on the all-time list for relief appearances, and Stanton's career lasted an additional three or four years solely because he was a lefty.

In Timlin's case, he is having a poor year. Fine. But since entering the majors in 1991, teams and managers have continued to use him far more like stainless steel dinnerware than their precious sterling silver, special occasions be damned.

"It's a blessing from God," Timlin said when asked how he has been able to endure. "I'm 42 years old now and I still throw in the low 90s. He's given me the ability to do what I do every day. I just try to honor that. That's very important."

Indeed, honor is a nice word choice here, because what Timlin has done, quite simply, is nothing short of honorable. From the moment Timlin arrived in Boston in 2003, the praise for him has been as consistent as his effort. Sox manager Terry Francona has said countless times that Timlin is always willing to take the ball. General manager Theo Epstein similarly has spoken about Timlin's professionalism and about the influence he has had on younger pitchers. Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen once offered an assessment similar to Epstein's.

For the Sox alone, Timlin has now pitched in 391 games and contributed to a pair of World Series titles. Overall, he has four world championship rings. As much as America continues to celebrate Cal Ripken for his consecutive games streak, Timlin has been every bit the iron man, always showing up for work and pitching through the invariable aches and pains. The fact that he has avoided major injury is a gift, yes, but it is also a testament to his work ethic and the consistency of his approach and delivery.

There is a great deal to be said for all of that.

"I really haven't had a whole lot of [physical] problems," Timlin said. "I've had the end of my elbow shaved off and I had some bone chips taken out. I had surgery on my knee."

Added the pitcher in self-deprecating fashion: "Probably the toughest thing I've ever had to pitch through is my own mental shortcomings."

But then, as any professional athlete will tell you, a sense of humor is often the best medicine for combating the inevitable failure that results from competition.

Of that, too, Timlin has had his fair share, laboring through the mental anguish of closing (he has 141 career saves) before settling into the role of middle reliever and setup man. Obviously, the role has been a perfect fit for him. Trapped between the high-priced bookends known as starters and closers, Timlin will not finish at or near the top of any other statistical category at the end of his career. He is not going to the Hall of Fame and has never been to the All-Star Game, which makes his story better, not worse.

Don't you see?

Despite the absence of glory, he kept showing up.

Four or five years ago, during Timlin's first years in Boston, the bullpen coach was Euclides Rojas, who charted every pitch thrown by the members of the Boston relief corps. Rojas kept track of everything from workouts to warm-up sessions, even when relievers did not enter the game. Rojas ultimately came to the conclusion that someone like Timlin threw about 2,500 pitches per season, not counting spring training and offseason workouts or, for that matter, the playoffs.

"There's really not a whole lot of rewards in relief pitching," Timlin said. "If you go out and do your job, you get a pat on the back. If you go out and don't do your job, you're the scapegoat. Being in between the starters and the closer, you're just kind of there."

He'll be there again tonight.

As always.