Is Kimbrel Shook?

[YastrzemskI]

Kimbrel is pitching like he has a pocket full of turds in the post season so far.

Forget about a 123 inning.. how about one where he doesn't allow any runs.

Too much to ask?

 

GO RED SOX!!!

[illinoisredsox]

Kimbrel is pitching like he has a pocket full of turds in the post season so far.

Forget about a 123 inning.. how about one where he doesn't allow any runs.

Too much to ask?

 

GO RED SOX!!!

 

No, but he needs to work more often. 3 and 4 days between appearances is too much. They flashed the stat that his ERA on 3+ days of rest is over 6. On 2 or less days it’s around 1.50.

[moonslav59]

...as in Shaken Baby Syndrome?

 

Maybe.

[Slasher9]

yes. his confidence is low.

[TylerD]

Every time they say Kimbrel can go 6 innings if need be I shutter. The guy barely makes it 3 let alone 6. I hope we never see him go multiple innings. He gets saves I’ll say that much. But nearly blows it in the process.

[dgalehouse]

No, but he needs to work more often. 3 and 4 days between appearances is too much. They flashed the stat that his ERA on 3+ days of rest is over 6. On 2 or less days it’s around 1.50.

 

Agree completely. He needs to pitch more often to stay sharp. The stuff is there , but the control and command are way off.

[SoxnCycles]

Every time they say Kimbrel can go 6 innings if need be I shutter. The guy barely makes it 3 let alone 6. I hope we never see him go multiple innings. He gets saves I’ll say that much. But nearly blows it in the process.

 

I hope you meant 6 outs, not innings.

[Kimmi]

Kimbrel is no Koji.

 

The drama in the 9th inning is sometimes maddening, but he typically gets the job done.

[Kimmi]

I hope you meant 6 outs, not innings.

 

Maybe managers should roll with the idea of the 'opener' and start using their pitchers backwards.

 

Let Kimbrel pitch the first inning, Barnes pitch the second inning, a combination of middle relievers pitch the 3rd, and let Sale take it from there.

[jung]

Kimbrel performs in a very narrow range. Bring him in for "work" without a save on the line and he seems to sleepwalk through the stint. So how much good did you really do for him? Bring him when he has not worked for 3 days or more and he seems to struggle with that. The more I see of him the more I think he is a managerial nightmare and I am tired of there being excuses to the left of the narrow range he performs in and excuses to the right of it.

 

As it is he cannot get more than 4 outs in a save situation. So that is another limiting factor. I suspect Cora will use him all the way up to a crunch time, do or die, win or lose the series appearance and then make a judgement at that point. I do not think Kimbrel is at this point in this series the automatic choice in that particular spot.

[jung]

The other thing that really hurts Kimbrel is that if he does not think that FB he is just addicted to is getting it done he starts to overthrow it. When he overthrows, his arm angle drops, his head starts to finish high because in fact he is not finishing at all. His head finishes high because he is more upright on the mound and the ball sweeps across the plate, yanked outside to the RH hitter.

 

The thing that absolutely murders me is that when he simply throws correctly but just harder, he gets the result he is looking for, a bit more velocity on a ball that moves but not so far off the plate that nobody will swing at it. It is beyond maddening when that stupid FB starts sweeping across the plate, yanked toward the first base dugout because he just cannot get it through that cement skull of his that sits between his ears!

[Jason33]

Me too. Heck Porcello has looked like the best reliever in the late innings, but Cora would never keep him in to close. It’s against all the analytics he goes off of.

[Bellhorn04]

Me too. Heck Porcello has looked like the best reliever in the late innings, but Cora would never keep him in to close. It’s against all the analytics he goes off of.

 

Are you really this stupid or are you just trolling?

[notin]

Me too. Heck Porcello has looked like the best reliever in the late innings, but Cora would never keep him in to close. It’s against all the analytics he goes off of.

 

Right. Do you even know what those analytics say?

[Slasher9]

Are you really this stupid or are you just trolling?

 

he's been trolling since the jump....

[oldtimer]

Maybe managers should roll with the idea of the 'opener' and start using their pitchers backwards.

 

Let Kimbrel pitch the first inning, Barnes pitch the second inning, a combination of middle relievers pitch the 3rd, and let Sale take it from there.

 

I like your humor. To be effective in multi-innning stints, Kimbrel would need more in his arsenal than a four seamer that moves and a knuckle curve. If he has trouble locating either of those, the hitters can sit on the other. The Astros as smart hitters and make Kimbrel less effective.

[Larry Cook]

An over rested kimbrel tends to over throw and lose movement and control, Which then leads to runs for the opposition.

 

Cora has to find the fine line between enough use to keep him sharp while not over using him.

[sk7326]

I like your humor. To be effective in multi-innning stints, Kimbrel would need more in his arsenal than a four seamer that moves and a knuckle curve. If he has trouble locating either of those, the hitters can sit on the other. The Astros as smart hitters and make Kimbrel less effective.

 

Every reliever is like this - Kimbrel needs the endurance. But as long as you don't turn the lineup over, there is no reason he couldn't.

[Slasher9]

just keep putting up 8+ runs and we wont have to worry so much about our leprechaun....

[greenwell]

Kimbrel needs to pitch tonight no matter what the score is

[mvp 78]

Kimbrel needs to pitch tonight no matter what the score is

 

He's terrible in non save situations.

[greenwell]

He's terrible in non save situations.

 

I'm not entirely sure this is true, it might be more the issue with long rest. I'm willing to bet most of the time he pitches in a non-save situation it's because he needs work, i.e. hasn't pitched in a while.

On top of that, I don't believe this would apply in the playoffs, every outing is important, save situation or not.

[illinoisredsox]

He's terrible in non save situations.

 

Doesn’t matter. Stats say the more rest he gets the worse he is. They put up a stat the other day that his ERA with 3+ days rest is around 6.50 and his ERA on 2 days or less is around 1.50

[fxkatt]

I have never totally understood the need for a designated CLOSER. I guess it works for the most part, but because the inning is called the 9th does that necessarily draw drama and import to it. In these tightly played playoff games, it becomes readily apparent that each relief appearance is crucial, no matter the inning.

 

To me you go with the hot hand, the stable arm, the competent experienced relief pitcher... for the most part, screw what inning it is.

 

The whole closer thing has become too automatic, just like not choking up on the bat has become automatic. But winning games because of these things is not automatic, and accounts for some telling losses.

[notin]

I have never totally understood the need for a designated CLOSER.

 

Well, it does make for much easier press conferences for managers, when asked why they went to some pitcher who eventually coughed up the lead.

 

Before they had to go thru some whole justification about why Pitcher X was on the mound, but since teams started using designated closers, there's no point in even asking the question...

[fxkatt]

Well, it does make for much easier press conferences for managers, when asked why they went to some pitcher who eventually coughed up the lead.

 

Before they had to go thru some whole justification about why Pitcher X was on the mound, but since teams started using designated closers, there's no point in even asking the question...

 

It never occurred to me. Yup, that's a good point-- at least in the manager's favor.

[Bellhorn04]

I have never totally understood the need for a designated CLOSER. I guess it works for the most part, but because the inning is called the 9th does that necessarily draw drama and import to it. In these tightly played playoff games, it becomes readily apparent that each relief appearance is crucial, no matter the inning.

 

To me you go with the hot hand, the stable arm, the competent experienced relief pitcher... for the most part, screw what inning it is.

 

The whole closer thing has become too automatic, just like not choking up on the bat has become automatic. But winning games because of these things is not automatic, and accounts for some telling losses.

 

Don't forget the Red Sox tried the 'closer by committee' thing in 2003. And that offseason Theo signed Keith Foulke...

[notin]

Don't forget the Red Sox tried the 'closer by committee' thing in 2003. And that offseason Theo signed Keith Foulke...

 

And the "closer by committee" failure 1) never had a committee and 2) should have been overshadowed by the entire bullpen pitching poorly...

[fxkatt]

Don't forget the Red Sox tried the 'closer by committee' thing in 2003. And that offseason Theo signed Keith Foulke...

 

I do recall that it didn't work. But I still think any kind of CLOSER idea has a way of feeding on itself. If you need a CLOSER that means that the 9th inning is loaded with Danger and therefore calls for heroics. This is now part of all our psyches. And it makes all other relievers look in awe at the 9th.

 

I mean the 9th might be a hard inning or it might be the easiest inning... if you're facing the 6-8 batters, do you need a heroic, overpaid pitcher for that??

 

Anyway right now, things are starting to be shaken up by teams like Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. So maybe we can de-mystify the 9th to a degree.

[Bellhorn04]

And the "closer by committee" failure 1) never had a committee and 2) should have been overshadowed by the entire bullpen pitching poorly...

 

That all may be so.

 

Let me say this. However Alex Cora deploys his relievers is probably about as good as you can do it. He's a good manager, I think, and he's got all the information at his disposal.