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Chicago Cubs News: Closer Craig Kimbrel experiment is over
Chicago Cubs pitching closer Craig Kimbrel has been a disappointment after turning in too many excuses and lackluster performances.
Joining the long line of ‘would-be’ pitching closers, it’s time to face the reality that the Craig Kimbrel experiment is over, and the Chicago Cubs need to keep their best interests in mind going forward.
In Kimbrel’s appearance against the Detroit Tigers (on the last game of the series), I was utterly amazed at how Chicago Cubs Marquee Sports Network broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies spoke about the star during his performance.
With coddling phrases such as getting Kimbrel into a rhythm or let’s see if he can get some good momentum going, you’d think they were talking about some rookie having a bad start and not a World Series Champion. Worse yet, what is he teaching the rest of the bullpen as a high-paid leader of the team?
Yes, this is his job: leadership and being a killer-closer and Kimbrel has yet to live up to his end of the bargain. He won’t be a free agent until 2022, but it looks like Kimbrel will be happy to show up with his mediocre performances and walk batters until Ross pulls him or management does.
Kimbrel’s disastrous performances have cost the Cubs winning opportunities and put pressure on other players to step up and fill his shoes. These players are not even making near the salary of Kimbrel and, in some cases, like Cubs stand-in closer Rowan Wick, only just over $500 thousand compared to the scarecrow’s $16 million this year.
How is that fair? Better yet – how does he get away with it?
Chicago Cubs: Excuses are like armpits
Kimbrel has never seemed to really adapt or even ‘try’ to join the team.
Really it was just a lot of excuses, right? I love the saying excuses are like armpits, everyone has at least two, and they all stink and we know the scarecrow pitcher loves to show those armpits.
In June 2019, Kimbrel signs with Cubs, two months after the season had started and then complains he couldn’t get ready properly. Then Kimbrel gets his chance to prepare in spring training and does nothing to show any signs of the legendary hurler of the ball his reputation is staked on.
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Next, he gets a break, as a substantial COVID outbreak keeps everyone at home and delays the season. So what does Kimbrel do with all this time? Indeed, it wasn’t improving on his performance in the spring.
Thank goodness we have new manager David Ross who isn’t putting up with Kimbrel’s pouting and tantrums. Instead, like any good manager, Ross moves him down to the eighth inning in hopes he can regain some insight into his job.
Kimbrell has gotten his chunk of flesh (pay) from the Cubs organization, why should he perform now? We’re stuck folks, what can we do with him? If we play him, he sinks us most times; if we bench him, we put pressure on our other guys who weren’t hired to do his job – how long do you think that lasts before awesome-ace stand-in closer Jeremy Jeffress ($850 thousand this season) has had enough?
Chicago Cubs: Hall of ‘Blamer?’
You can expect after this scathing article, we’ll next see that Kimbrel possibly on an injury report; the easiest way to get him out of the limelight and save the future Hall of Blamer any more embarrassment as he looks for another sucker out there.
Cubs president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, should squeeze every last bit of juice he can out of the scarecrow and then dump him as soon as he can find any deal worth making.
While Kimbel’s time being part of a historic franchise with the Cubs could have been marked as the highlight of his career, the outlook is looking dismal. Especially after his time with the Boston Red Sox, Kimbrel could have reinvented himself like Cubs ace, Jon Lester, instead he joins the ranks of ‘used to be greats’ like Brandon Morrow and Pedro Strop.
Next. Maybe a reunion with the Strop?. dark
I doubt that these words will ‘inspire’ Kimbrel to greatness or proving me wrong; he’s already showed his colors. These words hurt me as I wrote weekly, very early in 2019, to sign Kimbrel. Like many, I thought he was our new closing Savior.
‘Savior’ may have been off though; maybe the red hair should have given him away.