Mike Timlin has 30 relief wins for the Sox during his six seasons with the Red Sox, and is tied with former Sox pitcher Ike Delock for fifth all-time in franchise history among Boston’s bullpen men.
Updated 23:22, August the 4th, 2008
Back on track
Unique program has veteran Timlin headed in right direction
There’s an old baseball adage that says a pitcher relying on a sinking fastball needs constant work to keep his pitches down in the zone.
It seems that a simple return to that little bit of baseball wisdom has led to a breakthrough for 42-year-old Mike Timlin this season.
Timlin was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 21 with left knee tendinitis, and both the veteran reliever and Sox coaching staff hatched a plan to get the righty setup man back on track. Timlin was assigned to throw every other day — whether it was actually during a game appearance or in a bullpen session — in order to sustain the downward action on his heavy sinker.
“He’s been throwing every other day for quite some time, and more importantly, his outings of late have been more like the Timlin he’s been throughout his career — and the guy we saw down the stretch last season,” said Sox pitching coach John Farrell.
“It’s not uncommon for all of our relievers to get consistent work if they’re not getting in games, but he’s continued it since preparing to go on the rehab assignment.”
Since coming off the disabled list and adhering to a consistent throwing program, Timlin has looked more like the active all-time leader in appearances with 1,043 games pitched. Entering last night, in 8 2/3 innings pitched, he’s allowed only a single run since adopting the throwing program (1.04 ERA), and even picked up the win during Friday night’s extra innings win over the A’s.
Timlin is something of a “Lazarus Man” in the way he’s been able to continually come back when casual observers believed his career was close to over. This may yet be another amazing example of that.
If Timlin can give the Sox some consistency out of the bullpen as a middle reliever, landing a veteran reliever during the waiver wire trading period might not be quite as important.
“We need every guy in that bullpen to contribute, and his veteran presence and ability to come in and throw strikes [is key],” said Farrell.