The Craig Kimbrel experience is currently trapped between the tension of "It's just a first spring training game" and "It's just a first spring training game after two months where he looked just that bad."
Kimbrel departed his 2022 debut against Texas on Wednesday after just two-thirds of an inning, during which he gave up five runs (four earned) on two hits, two walks and an HBP.
Kimbrel downplayed both the results and the velocity, which would ordinarily be the bigger concern given that he sat 93-94 mph.
“Overall, I felt pretty good,” Kimbrel said after his outing. “Ball was coming out a little harder than the effort I was putting into it. Today, I was working on direction, getting down the mound, trying to stay in my pitches. I did that for a couple batters, and didn’t for a couple of other ones.
"Overall, coming out of the outing, I feel good, I feel strong, just going to work off of it and go into the next one.”
This could very well be the case, because while we are too familiar with what Kimbrel might look like at the end of the season, we're not acquainted with his process before the season. At the same time, plummeting velocity was a big part of his post-trade issues, as it gradually dropped after peaking in June ...
... and given that the last time his velocity covered that range was during his equally miserable 2019 season, Sox fans have the right to be wary about any display that's less than his best.
The last thing anybody wants to see is Kimbrel entering the season walking this high wire with reduced velocity, because he's taking Rick Hahn's decision-making process with him. One of the reasons I understood the team's reasoning for withholding the qualifying offer from Carlos Rodón is that the White Sox shouldn't be making an $18.4 million decision without conviction. If they thought there was a chance of wasting time and resources trying to offload it for commensurate value, the potential draft pick might not be worth the distraction.
It's just hard to square that up with giving Kimbrel $16 million for the express purpose of trading him. If a suitor fails to materialize, the chance of defining the sunk-cost fallacy for a new generation of White Sox fans is a little too present, as is the chance of "throwing good money after bad" being too literal in multiple senses.
Meanwhile, Nick Madrigal is out there solving outfield corners.
SPARE PARTS
Speaking of pennywise and dollar stupid, James Fegan tries to make sense of the White Sox's unwillingness to close a very narrow gap in Lucas Giolito's 2022 salary negotiations, which could head to a trial over a difference of $200,000. His situation is one I had in mind when writing about Tim Anderson being the last of his kind a couple of days ago.
Now that the lockout is over, Friend of the Show Jim Callis is free to unleash the full fury of his prospect rankings to an adoring audience. We're just an Eric Longenhagen review away from having all lists to compare.
Because we have to meet a quota, this inside look at the Twins' signing of Carlos Correa could offer some insight on a potential negotiation process for Michael Conforto, if one is ever going occur. With Pham signing with Cincinnati, he's the last outfielder standing.
In the latest Chronicles of Cheapness, the Cleveland Guardians are spending as much on their payroll as they did when Ellis Burks occupied their DH spot, while the Baltimore Orioles are the only team not sending either TV or radio teams on the road. They're still using "out of an abundance of caution" with a straight face.
Jonah Keri's prolonged fall from grace ends with a prison term that was nearly twice the prosecution's minimum sentencing request. Notably, the judge rejected letters of support that Keri provided at the sentencing hearing two months ago, because they merely emphasized how Keri went undetected.
“Several describe how they were shocked when they found out about the charges because they did not believe the offender was capable of such violent behaviour towards a spouse. That statement leads to three troubling observations. First, it shows how the offender is able to construct an image of himself that is very different from reality,” the judge said while reading from his 20-page decision. “Next, one wonders who would have believed the victim if she had not carefully documented the violent incidents. Finally, (the letters) are also a perfect illustration of the insidious nature of conjugal violence; it is a tragedy experienced in private by women from all walks of life that is unfortunately all too infrequently reported.”
As a big Earwolf listener (and somebody letting a Stitcher Premium subscription runs its course), I've been wondering about why notable shows have departed the network to go their own way, and others sound bitter about celebrities getting the priority lane for a medium they helped develop. Not that I have a stake in this or anything.
