As It Turns Out, Craig Kimbrel Is Just Fine As Red Sox Closer
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- This may come as a surprise to you, so hopefully you're sitting down, but here goes: Sometimes, the city of Boston can overreact.
That's not to say that everyone in this fine city is incapable of occasionally taking a deep breath and looking at the big picture, but it is to say that when even one little thing goes wrong with any of the local sports teams, some people are quick to jump to extreme conclusions.
Without naming names or pointing fingers or take-shaming, let's just say that when new Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel got off to a shaky start, the takes were getting quite toasty as to what could be the problem.
He can't adjust to the American League!
(Kimbrel entered 2016 with a better ERA and WHIP against the AL than he had against the NL in his career.)
He doesn't have PETCO Park to save him anymore!
(Kimbrel spent four years in Atlanta and one year in San Diego. He was better in Atlanta.)
He's giving up too many homers!
(He gave up two homers.)
He forgot how to pitch!
(His 2016 velocity was the highest of his career. And also, what?)
Let's light our hair on fire!
(The worst month, stat-wise, in Kimbrel's career: April.)
Even the most rational thinker in Boston sports media, Alex Speier, said in late April that the Red Sox had "reason to harbor some concern" about giving up prospects for Kimbrel. (Speier did caution against overreacting and provided plenty of reason to stay calm.)
The regional concern about Kimbrel reached a fever pitch on Sunday Night Baseball against the Astros on April 24. At that point, opponents were hitting .154 against him, he had 16 strikeouts in nine innings, and he had a WHIP of 1.111. His 5.00 ERA was unsightly, but really in 10 outings, just two were bad. There was enough there to see that to be the dominant closer he'd been since 2011, it would require just minor tweaks.
And since that date, here's what Kimbrel has done: He's pitched eight innings. He's allowed one (1) hit. He's walked three and hit one more batter, posting a 0.500 WHIP. His ERA is straight zeros. Opponents own a .043 batting average against him. He's struck out 11 of the 27 batters he's faced, and he's collected five saves along the way, capped off with a 13-pitch save against the defending World Series champions on Wednesday night.
Add it up with his work in the first month of the season, and Kimbrel's now tied for the AL lead with 11 saves. His 29 strikeouts rank him fourth in the AL among relievers, and his 0.778 WHIP ranks him second among AL relievers with at least 18 innings pitched.
Simply put, Kimbrel is Kimbrel. And Kimbrel's very good.
"Crisis" averted.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
