Detroit – The smirk creates suspicion. Ice on his left knee, right arm encased in an Ace bandage, Todd Jones makes you wonder if this was all an elaborate ruse.
He’s a writer, penning columns for The Birmingham (Ala.) News and The Sporting News. So is it possible that he got cut by the Rockies, Red Sox and Devil Rays, traded by the Reds and discarded by the Phillies just to sandbag hitters and create the coolest of pinch-yourself endings?
“Hard to believe I couldn’t make the Devil Rays, huh?” said the 38-year-old Jones, sarcasm dripping in puddles off his tongue.
If the path weren’t such an embarrassing blow to his ego, it would seem plausible Jones had orchestrated this symphony of success. The Detroit Tigers, winners of seven consecutive playoff games as the World Series opens Saturday, are a spicy blend of exuberance and experience. Jones, in a scenario implausible when the Rockies designated him for assignment in June 2003, is the exclamation point on baseball’s best pitching staff. He closes out opponents, winning games and losing fans’ fingernails.
They have nicknamed him “Roller Coaster” here, a moniker as fitting for his saves as his odyssey.
“I can understand why fans wouldn’t want to watch me,” Jones said. “So I just tell them either turn down the radio or turn off the TV and go get a sandwich. In 15 or 20 pitches, it’ll be over one way or the other.”
Beyond his Wyatt Earp mustache, Jones doesn’t fit the profile of a traditional closer. He pumps strikes, but rarely strikes anyone out. He’s not afraid of contact – he walked just 11 batters in 64 innings – but opponents have hit him at a .276 clip, an abnormally high figure for a top closer.
And yet he’s posted three saves and hasn’t allowed a run in five postseason innings this year. He’s only flirted with danger once – striking out Oakland slugger Frank Thomas with the bases loaded last Wednesday.
“I stay pretty relaxed because of how many times I have been through it,” said Jones, who closed for the Tigers from 1997 to 2001 and is the franchise’s all-time saves leader with 179. “What I do is build a wall around myself and pretend like nothing’s going on. When it’s going bad, that’s my self-defense thing.”
But what is his explanation for a career revival that began with a 40-save season for Florida in 2005? Try confidence, and commitment to using a cut fastball more.
Jones performed well for the Rockies in 2002 as a bridge to closer Jose Jimenez. But he dissolved the following season, posting an 8.24 ERA before getting released with $1.5 million owed on his contract. He relied almost exclusively on a sinker and slider then and rarely touched the 94-mph range he reaches now.
“He was there occasionally, but certainly didn’t live there. And he had the cutter, but he didn’t throw it much,” Rockies bench coach Jamie Quirk said. “I think he’s one of those guys who is calm on the outside and has that fire on the inside. He really benefits from the adrenaline of the closer’s role.”
Even when Jones was in Colorado, he insisted he could still handle the ninth inning. In Florida, after layovers and espressos in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, he proved it. He delivered 40 saves, which spawned a Detroit reunion at the free-agent price of two years, $10.6 million this past winter.
Jones was nervously effective in the first half this season, converting 23-of-26 saves but with a 5.82 ERA. Manager Jim Leyland had to remind Jones of his talent, to stop “over-thinking everything.” Jones feeds off reassurance and a manager’s faith. It’s why he’s still intensely loyal to former Rockies manager Buddy Bell.
After the all-star break, Jones pieced together a 1.80 ERA. After a late September hiccup, he appeared refreshed in the postseason. In fact, he has become Mr. Tiger, perhaps the most quoted player on the team.
For either Jones, the closer or the writer, it’s one heck of a story.
“But,” he reminded, “it’s not over yet.”
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
Keeping up with Jones
Tigers closer Todd Jones has had an incredible odyssey the past three years, playing for seven teams, including five who turned him loose. A look:
2003: Rockies pay him $1.5 million on June 30 to go away after he posts an 8.24 ERA; Red Sox quickly sign him, but he’s used little and is a non-factor in the playoffs.
2004: Released by the Devil Rays in spring training, gains traction with the Reds as a setup man before getting traded to the Phillies.
2005: Signs $1.1 million contract with Marlins. Converts 40-of-45 saves.
2006: Signs two-year, $10.6 million contract with Tigers. Converts 37-of-43 saves. In postseason, he has a 0.00 ERA and three saves.
TROY E. RENCK
