Post by grandsalami on Jun 28, 2017 17:55:21 GMT -5
it was not the normal batting practice image.
One day after throwing 30 pitches in his four-out save against the Yankees, Craig Kimbrel could be seen in deep center field at Yankee Stadium. That wasn't uncommon. What wasn't the norm was that his manager, John Farrell, had joined him for what appeared to a good portion of the BP session. While Farrell will roam throughout the outfield to check on his relievers' availability prior to games, to be locked into such a lenghty conversation, that far away the infield, wasn't typical.
As it turned out, according to sources familiar with the situation, the talk was a meaningful one, apparently serving as the impetus for the Red Sox' change in approach toward using Kimbrel in the eighth inning.
While it isn't known exactly what was said, the meeting was clearly a chance to define the best course of action going forward when it came to how Kimbrel would be used.
Multiple sources have insisted Kimbrel has never shied away from being called on to pitch the eighth. But there was a consensus that the closer was having to extend much more energy in order to keep the high 90's velocity that has meant so much to the pitcher's success this season. That warning sign served as the chief motivation behind Farrell's decision to just use his closer in the ninth inning for the time being.
That outing in New York (which marked the third time within a week Kimbrel was used beyond just the ninth inning) and the analysis/conversations that followed, proved to be the tipping point where an alternative plan would be put in place.
It is unclear how much influence Farrell's coaches had in the process -- with Barstool Sports reporting they were a driving force to bringing concerns over Kimbrel's usage to the manager. But the outfield meeting between the manager and the pitcher prior to the Red Sox' series finale in New York has been identified as a chief springboard for definitively not using the pitcher in the eighth. [\quote]
www.weei.com/blogs/rob-bradford/why-craig-kimbrel-isnt-pitching-8th-inning?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
One day after throwing 30 pitches in his four-out save against the Yankees, Craig Kimbrel could be seen in deep center field at Yankee Stadium. That wasn't uncommon. What wasn't the norm was that his manager, John Farrell, had joined him for what appeared to a good portion of the BP session. While Farrell will roam throughout the outfield to check on his relievers' availability prior to games, to be locked into such a lenghty conversation, that far away the infield, wasn't typical.
As it turned out, according to sources familiar with the situation, the talk was a meaningful one, apparently serving as the impetus for the Red Sox' change in approach toward using Kimbrel in the eighth inning.
While it isn't known exactly what was said, the meeting was clearly a chance to define the best course of action going forward when it came to how Kimbrel would be used.
Multiple sources have insisted Kimbrel has never shied away from being called on to pitch the eighth. But there was a consensus that the closer was having to extend much more energy in order to keep the high 90's velocity that has meant so much to the pitcher's success this season. That warning sign served as the chief motivation behind Farrell's decision to just use his closer in the ninth inning for the time being.
That outing in New York (which marked the third time within a week Kimbrel was used beyond just the ninth inning) and the analysis/conversations that followed, proved to be the tipping point where an alternative plan would be put in place.
It is unclear how much influence Farrell's coaches had in the process -- with Barstool Sports reporting they were a driving force to bringing concerns over Kimbrel's usage to the manager. But the outfield meeting between the manager and the pitcher prior to the Red Sox' series finale in New York has been identified as a chief springboard for definitively not using the pitcher in the eighth. [\quote]
www.weei.com/blogs/rob-bradford/why-craig-kimbrel-isnt-pitching-8th-inning?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
