No reason at all to save Kimbrel. He's better when he works frequently. I want to see him pitch every game of the Series. Give him the Chapman treatment and let him walk this winter.
Pics or it didn't happen.They made a complete change to his set position.
He was bring his glove up to his head and today he left it at his belt. Big change that looks like it paid immediate dividends.
Tipping your pitches doesn't make you miss your target by a foot and a half consistently.So yah. Cora says it was pitch tipping so the position of his hands.
They said he was tipping his pitches for TWO WEEKS!
He was tipping pitches and that led to not throwing strikes? I'm not following. Tipping pitches has nothing to do with not throwing strikes.So yah. Cora says it was pitch tipping so the position of his hands.
They said he was tipping his pitches for TWO WEEKS!
From Tyler kepner of the NYT. Cora’s quoteHe was tipping pitches and that led to not throwing strikes? I'm not following. Tipping pitches has nothing to do with not throwing strikes.
Or did he say that his hand position was out of whack, leading to messed up mechanics and the tipping of pitches?
If hitters know the breaking ball is coming it's easier to lay off and not swing at a pitch out of the zone - a pitch he often relies on whiffs out of the zone. Relevant tweet from earlier:He was tipping pitches and that led to not throwing strikes? I'm not following. Tipping pitches has nothing to do with not throwing strikes.
Or did he say that his hand position was out of whack, leading to messed up mechanics and the tipping of pitches?
Yeah...the dude wasn't close on a lot, so was just looking for a bit more of exactly what Cora said.That being said, Cora also noted his fastball command has also been off.
This is the right answer to All Things Kimbrel this postseason.No reason at all to save Kimbrel. He's better when he works frequently. I want to see him pitch every game of the Series. Give him the Chapman treatment and let him walk this winter.
That trade FINALLY pays off. Figured he'd do something useful for the team eventually.
GAGNE!
Yeah, by not being on it.Gagne may have helped the 2018 team more than he did the 2007 team.
Yeah, and Correa did him some favors by aggressively swinging at some bad pitches too, although I suppose that would fit the narrative of the Astros thinking that he was still tipping pitches. Anyway, its great to see him finally come through, but I'm guessing there's still a bit of wild ride with him before we win the championship.I kinda believe the tipping thing because Gonzalez struck out on 3 pitches taking the last one almost down the middle. That may have been a late proper response to oh shit, he's not tipping anymore, I thought a curve was coming in and I just got frozen.
he still walked Gurriel on 4 pitches, not as wild but still missing, and Kemp almost got it to the wall on another missed FB. Better but lots of work to do still.
Because he was tipping. And to expand on this RE: the post saying it was command not tipping... Craig Kimbrel is a 2 pitch pitcher. If he was tipping his curve it means he was also tipping his fastball. While you can just watch the game and say "well he just isn't throwing strikes" you must understand that Craig get's a lot of strikes outside the zone. If hitters know what pitch is coming in then he isn't going to get those high fastball swing and misses, those low curve swing and misses.Thanks. Wonder why he changed---you do something for so long it's like muscle memory.
Maybe this is selective memory, but since the playoffs started, I don't think I've seen anyone swing at a breaking ball. He does occasionally get them over for a called strike but the majority miss. So, hitters are just geared up for the inevitable fastball and with his current command it is likely to drift to the center of the plate.
Hard to read these quotes in hindsight without thinking about the effect of Kimbrel tipping his pitches...He's getting behind by throwing curves that hitters don't bite on. Then when he tries to catch up, he misses with the fastball as well, and gets further behind or walks people. For whatever reason, that's his preferred pattern right now.
This is a substantial change from one day to the next (well all in the same day too). Like, damn they really do work their ass off 24/7.
Fangraphs has the data, but you can only see it (as far as I can tell) by graphing it. The tables have links for postseason but they don't do anything.Is zone % available for postseason? Curious how it compares to his 36.6% regular season.
DOes this mean they were swinging and missing 33% , 44%, or 70%If hitters know the breaking ball is coming it's easier to lay off and not swing at a pitch out of the zone - a pitch he often relies on whiffs out of the zone. Relevant tweet from earlier:
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats12h
In the post-season players have swung at only 9 of 41 Kimbrel curveballs, 22%, which is nearing a 50% drop from the regular season. They have taken 12 of the 14 he has thrown in the strike zone. I wonder if something is going on there.
That being said, Cora also noted his fastball command has also been off.
I was trying to come up with a partner for Kason Gabbard, for a joke. Well played.So Kyle Snyder fixed Eovaldi and Eric Gagne fixed Kimbrel.
Now Kason Gabbard and Devern Hansack need to step it up and find a way to help us this year too.
Pitch tipping doesn't explain the missed location.So yah. Cora says it was pitch tipping so the position of his hands.
They said he was tipping his pitches for TWO WEEKS!
Brooksbaseball has this.DOes this mean they were swinging and missing 33% , 44%, or 70%
Wouldn't be surprised if part of was mechanical as well. I don't expect Cora to tell us everything that is discussed between coaches and players in the dugout and bullpen. It's been noted previously that pitching schedules get thrown way off in October.Pitch tipping doesn't explain the missed location.
I think he meant, why did Kimbrel change before this? If he's been tipping his pitches for 2 weeks, what caused him to change 2 weeks ago?Because he was tipping. And to expand on this RE: the post saying it was command not tipping... Craig Kimbrel is a 2 pitch pitcher. If he was tipping his curve it means he was also tipping his fastball. While you can just watch the game and say "well he just isn't throwing strikes" you must understand that Craig get's a lot of strikes outside the zone. If hitters know what pitch is coming in then he isn't going to get those high fastball swing and misses, those low curve swing and misses.
He looked like a different pitcher last night. The Astros were very late on the fastball and clearly had more uncomfortable at bats. I'm bullish on him moving forward.
As a varsity coach, I have my own Ernie Adams. He doesn't come to our practices and maybe only a game or two per year. The kids know of him but don't really know him. He has access to all our film breakdowns. His advice is more valuable to me than any of my assistants. He is outside the program providing fresh eyes on everything we do without having seen all the processes that go into what we do. It really blinds him to any bias that can exist - relationships, confirmation, and so on.OK, I love the Eric Gagne seeing something on the video -- like Dustin Pedroia a year or two ago -- but if something is so noticeable on the video, why aren't the players/coaches discovering this on their own? Doesn't everyone do film study these days?
It is a generally understood thing that if you were part of program or respected by the coach, they welcome the fresh eyes viewpoint. I invite a couple of retired coaches to come to my last day or two of high school tryouts. They often see something, good or bad, in a kid I missed.As a varsity coach, I have my own Ernie Adams. He doesn't come to our practices and maybe only a game or two per year. The kids know of him but don't really know him. He has access to all our film breakdowns. His advice is more valuable to me than any of my assistants. He is outside the program providing fresh eyes on everything we do without having seen all the processes that go into what we do. It really blinds him to any bias that can exist - relationships, confirmation, and so on.
I don't recall him regularly pulling his fastball during the playoffs. Tipping pitches makes sense. Kimbrel has always been effectively wild, getting swings out of the zone. If he's tipping his pitches that changes what hitters swing at.Kimbrel yanked a lot of fastballs even when he was pitching well.
We need to see footage of the before/after. I find it hard to believe those two glove positions were curveball (1) versus curveball (2) versus fastball (all). It's just too obvious. Tipping is usually a lot more subtle than that. Those positions are like screaming "breaking ball!" at the hitter during the windup.
Are we dealing with Red Soxian subterfuge (MLB's new favorite word)?
Maybe same stuff here, although doesn’t say exactly what Craig was doing.Could you summarize? Most of us don’t want to fall for the “1 week for free” scam.
Could you summarize? Most of us don’t want to fall for the “1 week for free” scam.