Craig Kimbrel 2024

[Aristotelian]

6 hours ago, EddeeEddee said:

I doubt there is anything much wrong with Kimbrel's head.  He just doesn't have the stuff he used to have and his arsenal doesn't work as well at a lower velocity.  How do you turn him into a 6th or 7th inning pitcher?  He just got older that's all.  Happens to all athletes.

That said I'm not an expert on pitching, so anyone out there who knows a lot about it please give us your take.

I thought it was weak and unprofessional of him to literally pound sand after giving up the walk. There may be physical stuff going on but the physical stuff has affected his confidence..If he was mentally 100% he wouldn't be letting his emotions show like that.

 

[RZNJ]

6 hours ago, Roy Firestone said:

He fades later in the season usually, We saw him last year in LA...he had a good run EARLY, but faded...Hes fading already. He'll be 36 in two weeks...He's pitching on bald treads.Fumes.

What do you consider late in the season?   Last September he had a 1.50 ERA.  In 12 IP he had 6 walks and 18 strikeouts.

[sportsfan8703]

He threw a pretty stiff punch at the mound last night. That’s about it. He probably needs the Ubaldo pot hole treatment. There’s not enough consistent low leverage innings going around at the mlb level. Although, I don’t know what a stint in the minors would do other than sharpen his command. He can’t get by with the FB on anywhere near FB counts, and he can’t consistently pinpoint the curve for strikes. Batters are just laying off then teeing off on him. 

These dudes pitch their whole life’s so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kimbrel adjusts and incorporates more of a two seamer or cutter. He’s a pro. He’s got to make pro adjustments. 

Edited May 9 by sportsfan8703

[RZNJ]

1.  Kimbrel was dominant the first 2 weeks of the season.

2. His fastball sat around 93 but his command was plus with both his fastball and his curve.

3. He’s throwing 95 now but with little command.

4. I have no idea what the problem is

5. Neither do you.

6. Is Kimbrel available to be interviewed by the media?   I haven’t seen one comment from him in the last two weeks, maybe longer.  Maybe never.

[drdelaware]

9 hours ago, Uli2001 said:

Kimbrel has the yips. Strange that a long-time veteran can get it.

Anyone can.  I played organized ball until I was 49. (school, rec, over 30, over 40)   Struggled with that my last 2 years.  You're almost afraid to throw the ball.   Can't imagine how frustrating that would be at the pro level.

Edited May 9 by drdelaware

[maybenxtyr]

9 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think he's got a case of the old.

I'm far from a professional athlete, but there's just certain things in life that you can still do and just not recover from as quickly. Time is undefeated. He may only be a twice a week guy at this point.

[EERinthe804]

Since GRod likely won’t need any rehab starts, I’m thinking they conveniently time a Kimbrel IL stint with GRod’s return next week (or the following week).  That would shift either Means or Irvin to bullpen.

Edited May 9 by EERinthe804

[RZNJ]

Again, I don’t know what the problem is but:

Kimbrel’s first 9 appearances came in a 20 day span.   On 3 separate occasions he pitched on back to back days.   In those 9 appearances.

9 IP

3 Hits

0 walks

14 strikeouts

His velocity was down (93) but he was great.  Did he grow old between April 20 and April 22?   I don’t think so.   I can only speculate like everyone else.  Maybe the back tightness is a lingering issue?   Seems to me he’s overthrowing and loses command when he does.  Why is he overthrowing when he was dominant at 93?    I don’t know.

He has looked despondent the last two blown saves when he was taken out so this really seems to be getting to him.   My best guess is that he’s still dealing with something physical that they consider minor but that he’s trying to pitch through and the results say it’s not working.  

[Rbiggs2525]

I am not worried about his velocity at all. He’s not throwing his knuckle curve for strikes. When you go from a 2 pitch pitcher to a 1 pitch fastball guy, then you are going to get hit. He needs to find his release point on knuckle curve. It’s been 2 weeks of guys just waiting fastball.

[Hank Scorpio]

8 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

@Hank Scorpioget on your horse and show this to Hyde. 

Don't ever get horses. They are a pain in the ass.

[bpilktree67]

9 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

The absolute loss of command so quickly makes me think there’s something wrong with him physically. I understand not having the power stuff, everyone slows down at some point. 
 

But for his last couple batters tonight, he had a hard time throwing strikes. I can’t imagine that’s guy who’s had the battles he’s had was rattled by the homer. 
 

It’s hard to pinpoint what the actual issue is that’s manifesting the problems and the results other than age, not in his prime, etc. 

But they brought him here to be the closer and you can bet they’re gonna keep sending him out there to see what they’ve got.  Maybe SG is right, maybe this is just a flare-up or maybe he’s just not well physically or maybe he’s just at the end of his line. I can see reasoning for all three scenarios. 

Agreed the whole he is getting old argument is not even an argument.  Did he just get old the last two weeks?  He was by far our best reliever the first 4 weeks of the season.  He had pitched 11 innings gave up 5 hits and  walked 2 with 7 saves.  Then the struggles came and the back injury which most likely made him change something in his mechanics even if he isn't still hurt sometimes you get in bad habits trying to keep away from the pain.  It is more mental then physical at that point.  

[Moose Milligan]

12 minutes ago, bpilktree67 said:

Agreed the whole he is getting old argument is not even an argument.  Did he just get old the last two weeks?  He was by far our best reliever the first 4 weeks of the season.  He had pitched 11 innings gave up 5 hits and  walked 2 with 7 saves.  Then the struggles came and the back injury which most likely made him change something in his mechanics even if he isn't still hurt sometimes you get in bad habits trying to keep away from the pain.  It is more mental then physical at that point.  

I'm not discounting anything, really.  I'm sure there's a reason for his recent struggles.  

Playing devil's advocate with the "old" argument, there's no reason he couldn't have just hit a wall.  I think getting old for different players manifests itself in different ways and maybe he'll be effective for some stretches but ineffective for longer ones?  It's hard to say.

I'm leaning towards that he's not fully healthy but that's probably a byproduct of being old, too.  10 years ago, this wouldn't have been a big workload for him, now it is.  He could withstand this usage at one point in his career, he can't now.  That's because he's worn down a bit.

[OnlyOneOriole]

Hasn't he always been kind of a streaky reliever?

Really good for 2 months and then bad to average for a month and then good again.

 

That is how I have always remembered him.

[interloper]

Personally I think he'll be fine eventually. He should have gone on the IL, but he didn't, and so now Hyde is stuck trying to manage his closer through a back injury that probably isn't all the way gone still. 

[RichmondVA Orio]

Seems like his release point is a little later than it should be causing his velocity to go up and his misses to be more down and away than not.