Sox win...barely

A win is a win, right? After the Sox hung on to defeat Detroit 6-4 in 10 innings today, they are still sitting comfortably atop the AL Central, a game and a half ahead of the Twins. The win also ensured a series win for the Sox over the Tigers, taking three out of four in a very important series.

While I am still very happy that the Sox pulled it out and took the series, I am NOT at all happy about how it ended up getting accomplished this afternoon. This all rests squarely on the shoulders of Bobby Jenks. In case you haven't watched the Sox during the second-half, or heck all year for that matter, Big Bad Bobby just ain't what he used to be. From 2005 through last year, he was a force out of the 'pen. Once he entered the game, you could all but count on him closing it out in quick fashion, using his blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve to shut down the opposition. However, Bobby's expiration date as a closer seems to have passed, since he has been blowing games in spectacular fashion lately.

Let's just begin with the last three he has failed to close out, shall we? The first one was back on July 18 in Minnesota. With the Sox leading the Twins 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, it appeared as if they were primed to leave Target Field with a series split, which is really the best you can hope for whenever you play a four-game set with the Twins. Jenks had already had his shaky moments earlier in the season, but after a solid month of June, my confidence was restored in him once again. Unfortunately, that confidence was soon broken as he immediately walked the first two hitters he saw before giving up back-to-back RBI singles to Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer to cut the lead to one. Ozzie wisely yanked him from the game after that, but the damage was already done, as the Twins would eventually win on an Alex Rios throwing error a couple of batters later.

Even though that loss sucked, you would think it was just an isolated incident against a good team. If it was a sub-.500 team he was pitching against, it would have been game over, right? Wrong. Let's fast forward three days later to July 21 in Seattle, when Jenks entered the game after the Sox took a 1-0 lead on the Mariners in the 11th inning. Jenks coming in against a sorry Seattle ballclub that's already playing out the string? I was thinking that this would be easy work for Bobby, and a nice confidence boost as well. Once again, I was wrong though, as Jenks gave up two runs in the bottom of the 11th for the Mariners to win 2-1, and avoid a three-game sweep. Making matters worse, the Twins won earlier that night against the Indians to gain a game on the Sox. Damn, damn, damn.

So with those two incidents already in the back of many Sox fans' minds, Jenks enters today's ballgame with the opportunity to slam the door on the game, and on the series. What does he do though? After getting the first out, he surrenders a single to Don Kelly, then hits Ramon Santiago to put two men on with one out. He strikes out Austin Jackson for the second out, then gives up a three-run homer to Ryan Raburn to tie the game at four. Ryan @#$&^%* Raburn. The same Ryan Raburn who has only hit two stinking home runs all year before that at-bat. Thankfully, Mark Kotsay got Jenks off the hook in the 10th inning, as he hit a two-RBI triple off of Jose Valverde to give the Sox a 6-4 win.

How mind-numbingly aggravating have these recent struggles by Jenks been? Ozzie Guillen was nearly speechless after the game as to what to do about him. When do you EVER see Ozzie speechless?

While I can understand the loyalty Guillen might have toward Jenks, you have to wonder how much rope he'll leave for him before he decides to make a change in closers. When you're in a tight pennant race, you don't have much room to simply hope that Jenks will snap out of his funk. Those games could potentially end up being the difference between playing in October or going home. There are three other viable options for closers in the 'pen, including J.J. Putz (who already has experience with closing games), Sergio Santos and Matt Thornton. All three are hard throwers, with good off-speed pitches to keep hitters off balance. After today's meltdown, it might be time to hand the ball to one of those three to close out games instead of Jenks.