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8/21/2007 11:09:00 AM

AL Central: Jenks' brush with history

by Joe Lemire

With the fans at U.S. Cellular standing and chanting "Bob-by! Bob-by! Bob-by! Bob-by!" White Sox closer Bobby Jenks took the hill hoping to nail down a save to preserve a 4-3 win over the Royals.

But let's be honest, the South Siders had long since stopped caring about a win that would move the ChiSox out of the AL Central cellar and back into a fourth-place tie with Kansas City. The fans were there to see history, and Jenks needed to retire just one hitter, Joey Gathright, to set a major-league mark by recording 42 consecutive batters, dating back to July 17.

Jenks nearly lost it on the second pitch, as Gathright laced a line drive down the left-field line. It landed a mere foot foul, leading the oft-obnoxious Hawk Harrelson to cry "mercy!" On the very next pitch, Jenks unleashed a 96 mph fastball, high and tight, as Gathright tumbled to the dirt.

And in just two pitches, the magic of Jenks' streak was demonstrated. Had that liner been one foot to the right or had that fastball been six inches more inside, Gathright would be standing on first base. As many fluky ways as there are to reach base -- from bloop base hit to error to catcher's interference -- to retire 41 in a row as Jenks had done, which is roughly a game and a half of perfection, is inconceivable.

Sure enough, after a few foul balls, Jenks shook off a slider and threw a hanging curve, which Gathright grounded through the left side of the infield for a single (cue Hawk: "Dadgummit!"). Just like that, Jim Barr -- co-holder of the record from his time with the Giants in 1972 -- could rest a little easier, his name still etched in the history books.

Jenks settled down to get his 34th save, in itself an impressive number considering Chicago only has 55 wins, and he finally broke his media silence after the game. Not wanting to be distracted by incessant queries about the streak, he self-imposed a gag order, and frankly, I don't blame him for having done so. Jenks told reporters after the game that he "messed up" on that curve, explaining, "I was so amped up facing him that I got out of control a little bit."

For the record, Gathright didn't know he was almost the historic batter, claiming he thought Jenks already had the record.

(Oh yeah, a worthless footnote from the game: the White Sox broke an eight-game losing streak with the win. But no one really cares.)

I'll still remember Jenks more as the tall, fat reliever Ozzie Guillen signaled for in the 2005 World Series, but this was an historic streak. Jenks' performance places him in great company among the top five pitching performances of the season, four of which have been completed by members of the AL Central.

Yankee fans, always prone to nauseating hype, will likely protest that all seven innings of Joba Chamberlain's career ought to make this list, and Phillies fans will only acknowledge the following as secondary to Cole Hamels' bullpen sessions, but I stand by my list.

Top Five Pitching Performances of 2007:

1. Brandon Webb's consecutive scoreless innings streak. At 42 innings and counting, the Diamondbacks' ace has thrown three consecutive complete-game shutouts, which follow two straight starts of seven shutout innings. No one else in the majors has three total shutouts, much less three consecutive. Webb hasn't allowed a run -- earned or otherwise -- since July 20.

2. Justin Verlander's no-hitter. On June 12, Verlander fired 112 pitches for the season's second no-hitter against Milwaukee, whiffing 12, walking four and compiling an 11:4 groundout-to-flyout ratio. With 100-plus fastballs in the ninth and breaking pitches with unholy movement, Verlander could have thrown another complete game without allowing a hit that night.

3. Mark Buehrle's no-hitter. Back on April 18, the southpaw threw the year's first no-no against Texas, needing only 106 pitches to strike out eight, walk one and have a 11:7 groundball-to-flyball ratio. Always efficient and pitching to contact, Buehrle was obviously unhittable in his no-hitter, but he's one spot behind Verlander for having less dominating stuff.

4. Jenks (see above). As great as 41 consecutive outs is, considering the aforementioned pitfalls of fluke base runners, Jenks still benefited of never getting more than three outs in any one appearance. He was always well-rested, wasn't pitching in a pennant race and didn't have to face any team's entire lineup, much less worry about hitters making adjustments between at bats. I don't mean to slight the man, as it's still ranked fourth on this list, but I thought I'd clarify why it's not higher.

5. Johan Santana's 17-strikeout, eight-inning masterpiece on Sunday. Any other week I'd be writing about Santana's gem in Minnesota's 1-0 win over Texas, except I did write about him last week. Instead I'll defer to the Star-Tribune's Joe Christiansen, and I'll only add that this game was mildly reminiscent of Pedro Martinez's 17-strikeout, one-hitter against the Yankees.

Honorable Mention: Curt Schilling's 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball against Oakland on June 7 and Erik Bedard's 15-strikeout, complete-game shutout of the Royals on July 7.

Arugments about the order? Think I missed something? Fire away in the comment box below ...



  • The official slogan of Fungoes: "Forget Morrie. I spend my Tuesdays with the AL Central." And that just so happens to be a perfect segway for my first link, a Mitch Albom column on Tiger rookie Cameron Maybin.


    • The Tigers' bullpen gets a boost with the return of Joel Zumaya in time for tonight's home game against division-leading Cleveland. The Indians lead the Central by 1.5 games and have 14-game winner Fausto Carmona starting in the opener of a three-game series.

  • The dark days in the AL Central continue: No team even has a winning record in its past 10 games.


  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams is optimistic for a quick turnaround.


  • A coup for the Plain-Dealer: Terry Pluto is leaving the Akron Beacon-Journal after 22 years to rejoin the Plain-Dealer.


  • The Royals recently passed the White Sox in the AL Central standings (though they're now tied after last night's game) ... but Kansas City leads big time in the fake (i.e. adjusted) standings.

    • Labels:

    posted by SI.com | View comments |  

    Comments:

    Post a Comment
    Posted: August 21, 2007 9:53 PM   by Anonymous
    Buehrle's no-hitter 3rd for having less dominating stuff? He pitched better than Verlander did, for God's sake! What a joke.

    Some people would argue that 41 straight is harder for a reliever because you can't just get on a roll like so many SP can. I don't really agree with that, but still.
    Posted: September 7, 2007 7:28 AM   by Anonymous
    A segue is a transition. A Segway is a 'Personal transportation machine" or something like that.
    Post a Comment
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