Stokes Notches First Save in 12-0 Squeaker

This here is Brian Stokes. He recently got the call up to the bigs for the Metros and made a spot start about a week back. He was decent, throws hard and has temporarily found himself a home in the Mets (horrific) bullpen. We’re pulling for the kid (although, he’s a few weeks from 30, so maybe not so much a “kid” anymore).

So, why am I bringing up Stokes you might ask? Because last night he notched the first major league save of his career! So, how’d he do it? Did he come in with runners in scoring position in the ninth and put out the fire? Maybe on account of Wagner’s absence and Heilman’s recent atroticies he swooped in for a four-out save to lock down a Mets win? Or perhaps he just came in and protected a three-run lead to keep Mets fans blood pressure in check for one evening?

Nope. Unfortunately, Stokes first career “save” lacked any significant drama. Why? It could have been the fact that the Mets won last night’s contest 12-0. That could have been part of it…potentially. Stokes pitched admirably over four innings, giving up no runs and three hits while striking out three Nats. But c’mon. A “save.” What exactly did Stokes save last night? If we’re talking “saving Mets fans from nausea,” he may have earned one, but how exactly does this equate to, say, Percival and Nathan coming in from the pen in the 9th of their games last night with their teams holding on to one and two-run leads respectively?

Answer: it doesn’t. I’ll be honest. I haven’t read much about the save rule, its origins and history, but the rationale behind “awarding” a save for a guy coming into a game up 12 and finishing, is suspect at best. We’re just saying…