Atlanta Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez will not bring Craig Kimbrel in eighth inning - MLB Update
A certain victory slipped off the hands of the Atlanta Braves against the New York Yankees as reliever Jonny Venters gave up a grand slam and blew the lead. When asked from the Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez that whether he will stick to the plan of using
relievers in the eighth inning or will he bring the closer Craig Kimbrel for last two innings, he denied bringing any change.
He clarified that failure in one game will not let him initiate sweeping changes in his bullpen’s plans.
Braves possess one of the strongest bullpens in the National League. Instead of overusing Kimbrel, who is their most dependable closer; they have many relievers who can replace Venters in the eighth.
Since Kimbrel has done a perfect job as a closer and has ensured victories for the club on number of occasions, it was believed that by giving him more chances, late-innings runs-spree can be plugged.
To this, Gonzalez maintained that there are plenty of options available and hurried changes will only prove counter-productive.
However, the fact Eric O’Flaherty and Chad Durbin, two relief pitchers, are not available in the Braves' bullpen can force manager for changes in the use of pitchers, during later part of the game.
Gonzalez is unrelenting and says Kimbrel has hardly done such a job at the Major League level before and therefore making experiments with him in the season is out of question.
“Not five outs,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t know if he’s even done it in the major leagues. I know he’s done it in the minor leagues. Could he do it? I’m not sure. It’s not about the pitch count. It’s not about the stressful innings. [John Smoltz] could do
it all the time, but he was a starter. He knew how to come out, sit down and then go back out there. There is an unknown when you are dealing with a young pitcher.”
Excluding the game against Yankees, Braves’ relievers have been excellent by-and-large. On some occasions, they pulled off stunning victories for their starters.
Therefore, grand conclusions cannot be drawn based on performance in the single game. Upcoming games will decide as to where their relievers stand and whether they can sustain through the season.
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