Will someone with Insider please post the article in this thread?

 

Saving Grace

 

A journeyman for his entire career, Todd Jones is flourishing in his role as the Marlins' closer this season. Jerry Crasnick examines the 37-year-old's resurgence.

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/sto...erry&id=2153989

 

Looks pretty interesting...

Although I haven't read it, I'm sure it reads something like looking into his suckiness in the past, then moving to the Marlins forward thinking in giving him a shot, then the great stats he's put up today and lots of quotes about how he loves it here.

Although I haven't read it, I'm sure it reads something like looking into his suckiness in the past, then moving to the Marlins forward thinking in giving him a shot, then the great stats he's put up today and lots of quotes about how he loves it here.

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im sure it will be more well written then that :thumbup

Consider yourselves lucky, my friends, because I've got the hookup. :thumbup

 

MIAMI -- The Fox Network planted a microphone on Florida closer Todd Jones during a recent Marlins-Cubs game, and viewers enjoyed a few one-liners with their two-seamers. At one point, Jones retrieved a baseball from the home plate umpire and said, "Give me one with some strikes in it."

 

As a regular columnist for The Sporting News, Jones knows the meaning of the term "entertainment value." He's written about everything from steroid testing and gays in the clubhouse to more innocuous topics like fan mail and life on the road. Jones types the columns on a laptop and dutifully e-mails them to an editor who is entrusted with cleaning up the spelling and punctuation.

 

When a man plays for eight teams in his major-league career, and five in three seasons, he feels liberated from the usual constraints and more free to express opinions. In recent years, Jones had been typecast as a setup man, but that didn't prevent him from approaching Florida manager Jack McKeon in spring training with a little lobbying effort.

 

"He told me, 'Hey, give me a chance to close one of these days,''' McKeon said. "I told him, 'You'll get it.'"

 

Jones got his chance out of necessity in April, when Guillermo Mota went on the disabled list with an inflamed elbow. Now he's putting exclamation points on victories and earning his $1.1 million salary in ways that the Marlins couldn't have imagined.

 

You can start with 35 saves in 37 opportunities, a 1.15 ERA and a terrific strikeout-to-walk ratio of 52-to-12. Jones saved McKeon's 1,000th career victory last weekend in Miami -- presenting him with the game ball -- and converted his 25th straight save opportunity Tuesday night against Washington.

 

The Florida lineup is suspect outside of Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado, and starters Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett have been too inconsistent lately for the team to get on a roll, but Jones has given McKeon and his teammates a welcome sense of security in the ninth inning.

 

"He's lights out, man, and his mound presence is second to none,'' said Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis. "He comes in there no matter what the scenario is and he pretty much has the mentality of, 'Nothing else is going to go on but us getting outs.'"

 

As a scout at Dolphins Stadium last weekend said, "He's really saved that team.''

 

How drastic an upturn has Jones' career taken this season? Well, consider that last year he won 11 games in 78 outings with Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and he still appears with Ken Griffey Jr., Andy Pettitte and three others on the National League's Comeback Player of the Year ballot.

 

Although Jones lacks Billy Wagner-type stuff, he knows the drill. He saved 131 games for Detroit during 1997-2000, and performed well enough for the Tigers to offer him a three-year contract extension in spring training of 2001. Jones passed on it, then pitched such mediocre ball that the Tigers shipped him to Minnesota midseason and handed the closer's job to Matt Anderson.

 

Jones has spent the past three years on the Jose Cruz Jr. Tour America plan. He flopped in Colorado, passed through Boston, was released by Tampa Bay at the end of spring training last year, and set up Danny Graves in Cincinnati before a cameo in Philly last August and September.

 

Some scouts and front office executives figured Jones was a good fit in Florida for a couple of reasons. The Marlins are a solid defensive team -- especially in the infield -- and spacious Dolphins Stadium is well-suited for Jones, who has had problems in the past with left-handed hitters.

 

At 37, Jones has a closer's mentality and a starting pitcher's diverse repertoire. He throws in the low 90s with two fastballs -- one sinking, one riding -- and complements them with a curveball, changeup and a cut fastball. "If I'm rested, it's a cutter,'' Jones said. "If I've pitched three or four days in a row and my arm is hanging, it's a slider.''

 

While variety is a great thing, it can be the baseball equivalent of going to a restaurant and seeing too many choices on the menu. Jones has been indecisive in the past because he had too many options at his disposal. He credits Marlins catcher Paul Lo Duca with helping him eliminate the mental clutter and avoid the trap of giving hitters too much credit.

 

Lo Duca has a positive impact on Jones' psyche the way Brad Ausmus did a few years ago in Detroit. "Look back over my career, and every time I've had a good catcher, I've had a good season,'' Jones said. "I was so bad in Colorado, even Charles Johnson couldn't help me.''

 

McKeon and pitching coach Mark Wiley marvel at Jones' meticulous preparation. Jones keeps a "cheat sheet'' in his back pocket with notes on hitters' tendencies, and he's quick to share his insights with teammates during pregame pitchers' meetings.

 

Once the game begins, Jones will take part in the obligatory banter and sunflower seed-spitting contests in the bullpen. But you'll never catch him taking naps in the clubhouse, a la Lee Smith, because he says he would feel "guilty'' if he didn't pitch well.

 

Jones likes to pound the strike zone. He has issued only 12 walks in 62.2 innings and made 0-2 and 1-2 counts a habit this year. It's a refreshing change for a guy who averaged 4.6 walks every nine innings in his first 12 seasons.

 

Even with the stifling humidity, Miami feels nice and comfortable to Jones these days. McKeon is OK with kids in the clubhouse, so Jones gets to come to work with his son Alex, 10, who is right at home shagging flies, playing catch and bantering with the big leaguers. Little Alex looks like a portable version of the old man. "The spittin' image,'' Willis said, laughing.

 

Still, there are no guarantees for a late-career fantasy league mainstay-come-lately. The Marlins haven't approached Jones about a contract beyond this season, and he is unfazed by the uncertainty. He relishes the prospect of going on the open market and being able to choose his destination, instead of scrambling for employment.

 

While Jones considers himself a survivor, he has plenty of company in his chosen profession.

 

"Your whole career there are people telling you that you can't do stuff,'' Jones said. "In high school ball it's, 'You'll never play college ball.' In college it's 'You'll never play pro ball.' Then it's, 'You'll never play in the big leagues.'

 

"With me it's always been, 'He'll never be a dependable closer.' Then when I was a dependable closer in Detroit it was, 'He can't get big outs.' Then people said, 'He's not a top-tier, front-line closer. He's a guy who'll do an OK job for some mediocre team.'"

 

Maybe because the joke was on everybody else, Jones assesses this year's turn of events without a trace of bitterness. Here he is, a reformed setup man pitching almost flawless baseball for a team in the middle of the National League wild-card race.

 

It's a heck of a story. Now all that's left is the ending.

 

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN Insider. His book "License To Deal" has been published by Rodale. Click here to order a copy. Jerry can be reached via e-mail.

Although I haven't read it, I'm sure it reads something like looking into his suckiness in the past, then moving to the Marlins forward thinking in giving him a shot, then the great stats he's put up today and lots of quotes about how he loves it here.

933599[/snapback]

 

im sure it will be more well written then that :thumbup

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And indeed it was Thanks for posting the good read stranded

Heck of an article. You will never read a bad article about that man. What a breath of fresh air. Thanks bro for hooking up the article!

SIGN THIS MAN! :deal

The Marlins haven't approached Jones about a contract beyond this season, and he is unfazed by the uncertainty. He relishes the prospect of going on the open market and being able to choose his destination, instead of scrambling for employment.

 

Honestly, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that...

The Marlins haven't approached Jones about a contract beyond this season, and he is unfazed by the uncertainty. He relishes the prospect of going on the open market and being able to choose his destination, instead of scrambling for employment.

 

Honestly, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that...

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the marlins made it clear from day one win loria and co. took over that they wouldn't worry about contract negotiations during the season. we've seen it with castillo, lowell, mckeon, and we'll see it with gonzalez and burnett this season, as well as TJ. don't worry my friends.

The Marlins haven't approached Jones about a contract beyond this season, and he is unfazed by the uncertainty. He relishes the prospect of going on the open market and being able to choose his destination, instead of scrambling for employment.

 

Honestly, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that...

933703[/snapback]

the marlins made it clear from day one win loria and co. took over that they wouldn't worry about contract negotiations during the season. we've seen it with castillo, lowell, mckeon, and we'll see it with gonzalez and burnett this season, as well as TJ. don't worry my friends.

933720[/snapback]

 

Well, no, I mean it might be a good thing that we're not bringing him back...we may end up overpaying because he had a tremendous season, but that doesn't change the fact that he was very close to being out of baseball all together, and he still isn't a dominant closer, and this is a winter where there will be several dominant closers on the market. (BJ Ryan, Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner)