Now is the time to truly get a sense of our top 25 teams, and it's wide open as usual heading into October.
1. Oklahoma
2. Auburn
3. Oregon
4. Alabama
5. Florida St
6. Texas A&M
7. Baylor
8. UCLA
9. Mississippi St
10. Michigan St
11. Notre Dame
12. Mississippi
13. Oklahoma St
14. Georgia
15. BYU
16. LSU
17. Wisconsin
18. Nebraska
19. USC
20. Stanford
21. Kansas St
22. Clemson
23. Arizona
24. Arkansas
25. Ohio St
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
The fall of the Big 10
The fall of the Big 10 is now complete. The once power conference, who had a run throughout much of college football history where you argue their supremacy over other conferences, has reached rock bottom. Once a threat to compete for the #1 final ranking year in and year out, the Big 10 is now no more than an afterthought.
The conference started winning national titles in the early 1900's and continued to churn out champs every few years until this recent stretch. The last title was the 2002 Ohio State team, and before them Michigan and Penn State claimed trophies in the 90's. We started to see the decline when mid-2000's Buckeye teams were manhandled by the likes of Florida and LSU in BCS Title games. The downward slide in quality of teams became more apparent the last couple of years with only 2 Rose Bowl wins since 2000. Michigan has been in decline for some time now, and the addition of former power Nebraska has done about as much to boost the conferences depth as Miami has in the ACC.
But after yesterday, we can comfortably say the league is nationally insignificant. Sure, Penn State-Ohio State and Nebraska-Wisconsin will have some meaning in the mid-west, but not much interest anywhere else. For those that missed it, a quick run-down of the Big 10's results from yesterday by category of disaster.
Group 1 - The "Top Tier" teams
1) Michigan State played well in Eugene and looked ready to make a statement, but Oregon outscored MSU 28-3 in the 2nd half and routed the Spartans.
2) Michigan failed to compete against Notre Dame, failing to score (after putting up 41 last year) and being humiliated by the Irish 31-0.
3) Pre-Season favorite Ohio State followed up their sluggish performance against Navy by getting rolled by Virginia Tech at home, 35-21.
4) Northwestern, a team thought to be on the rise, fell to 0-2 after losing at home to Northern Illinois.
5) Wisconsin rolled over FCS Western Illinois, but their collapse against LSU in Week 1 was magnified by the above results in week 2. The league really needed that win to point to after yesterdays results.
Group 2 - The "They've been good, maybe they are better this year" teams (spoiler alert: They aren't)
1) Nebraska needed a 58 yard TD with 20 seconds left to hold off FCS McNeese State.
2) Iowa scored with a minute to play to take their 1st lead of the game and beat Ball State 17-13
3) More MAC problems for Purdue, who were blitzed by Central Michigan 38-17
4) Maryland turned the ball over 6 times against USF (who beat FCS Western Carolina 36-31 in week 1) but came back to win 24-17.
Group 3 - The "there's no way they are that bad" teams
1) Rutgers followed up a decent win over Wazzu last week with an ugly 38-25 win over FCS Howard, who were beaten by Akron 41-0 in week 1.
2) Minnesota looks OK from the outside at 2-0, but an 11 point win over MTSU when your QB completes 6 passes (1 to the Blue Raiders) for 67 yards is certainly alarming.
Group 4 - The "Please God let them keep winning so we can have a team in the top 25" tea
1) Penn State is 2-0 with a quality win over UCF.
There's your good news, Big 10 fans...you are counting on Penn State.
There was a time when the Big 10 was a league of big, tough, fast studs that could go head to head with anybody, anywhere. But that time has come and gone.
The conference started winning national titles in the early 1900's and continued to churn out champs every few years until this recent stretch. The last title was the 2002 Ohio State team, and before them Michigan and Penn State claimed trophies in the 90's. We started to see the decline when mid-2000's Buckeye teams were manhandled by the likes of Florida and LSU in BCS Title games. The downward slide in quality of teams became more apparent the last couple of years with only 2 Rose Bowl wins since 2000. Michigan has been in decline for some time now, and the addition of former power Nebraska has done about as much to boost the conferences depth as Miami has in the ACC.
But after yesterday, we can comfortably say the league is nationally insignificant. Sure, Penn State-Ohio State and Nebraska-Wisconsin will have some meaning in the mid-west, but not much interest anywhere else. For those that missed it, a quick run-down of the Big 10's results from yesterday by category of disaster.
Group 1 - The "Top Tier" teams
1) Michigan State played well in Eugene and looked ready to make a statement, but Oregon outscored MSU 28-3 in the 2nd half and routed the Spartans.
2) Michigan failed to compete against Notre Dame, failing to score (after putting up 41 last year) and being humiliated by the Irish 31-0.
3) Pre-Season favorite Ohio State followed up their sluggish performance against Navy by getting rolled by Virginia Tech at home, 35-21.
4) Northwestern, a team thought to be on the rise, fell to 0-2 after losing at home to Northern Illinois.
5) Wisconsin rolled over FCS Western Illinois, but their collapse against LSU in Week 1 was magnified by the above results in week 2. The league really needed that win to point to after yesterdays results.
Group 2 - The "They've been good, maybe they are better this year" teams (spoiler alert: They aren't)
1) Nebraska needed a 58 yard TD with 20 seconds left to hold off FCS McNeese State.
2) Iowa scored with a minute to play to take their 1st lead of the game and beat Ball State 17-13
3) More MAC problems for Purdue, who were blitzed by Central Michigan 38-17
4) Maryland turned the ball over 6 times against USF (who beat FCS Western Carolina 36-31 in week 1) but came back to win 24-17.
Group 3 - The "there's no way they are that bad" teams
1) Rutgers followed up a decent win over Wazzu last week with an ugly 38-25 win over FCS Howard, who were beaten by Akron 41-0 in week 1.
2) Minnesota looks OK from the outside at 2-0, but an 11 point win over MTSU when your QB completes 6 passes (1 to the Blue Raiders) for 67 yards is certainly alarming.
Group 4 - The "Please God let them keep winning so we can have a team in the top 25" tea
1) Penn State is 2-0 with a quality win over UCF.
There's your good news, Big 10 fans...you are counting on Penn State.
There was a time when the Big 10 was a league of big, tough, fast studs that could go head to head with anybody, anywhere. But that time has come and gone.
You should all be ashamed of yourselves....
All of you. I don't know how many there are, but more than just a few voters clearly don't understand how to vote in the top 25. The USA Today poll came out today and Ohio State is ranked #18 and Virginia Tech is #19. Are you serious? They just played, and VT beat OSU handily. So, because in your pre-season poll where you had no idea how good any team actually was, you thought OSU was top 5 and VT was not a top 25 team means you can't drop OSU too far or move VT that far up?
Nonsense. Everyone who voted OSU ahead of VT clearly doesn't have a clue and should be stripped of their vote. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Nonsense. Everyone who voted OSU ahead of VT clearly doesn't have a clue and should be stripped of their vote. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
How to vote in a College Football Poll
There will always be preseason college football polls. As ridiculous as they are, they produce things that media outlets such as ESPN love: web clicks, debate topics, and reveal shows. The new committee that will decide the sports first "Final 4" later this year won't announce their 1st poll until late October, and that's really the only poll that matters. Nevertheless, if we are forced to see numbers next to a schools name in September, let's at least vote the correct way.
Here is the list of rules all voters should follow:
1) Watch multiple games each Saturday from multiple conferences
2) Don't give unwarranted credit to a team you picked high in the preseason
3) Don't ever rank a team behind a team it has beaten, especially if they have a better record (see rule 2)
4) Don't give unwarranted credit to a team because of how they performed last season
5) a. Give credit to those who beat quality opponents
b. Don't take credit away when losing while playing well to higher ranked (or unranked) team
So that brings us to Week 1, where the AP Poll heading into Wednesday's opener was:
1) FSU
2) Bama
3) Oregon
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Auburn
7) UCLA
8) Michigan St
9) South Carolina
10) Baylor
11) Stanford
12) Georgia
13) LSU
14) Wisconsin
15) USC
16) Clemson
17) Notre Dame
18) Ole Miss
19) Arizona St
20) Kansas St
21) Texas A&M
22) Nebraska
23) North Carolina
24) Missouri
25) Washington
Heading into Sunday, the only teams to lose in the top 25 were South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Clemson. South Carolina showed little in their game to deserve a spot for week 2, they will have to play their way back in after losing at home. Wisconsin (14th) had a 17 point 2nd half lead against the #13 and lost by 4 at a neutral site. No need to drop Wisconsin because of that performance (see rule 5b). Clemson lost on the road to a higher ranked team and the game was tied in the 2nd half. The Tigers are likely to be the toughest to rank this week, as they failed to compete in the 2nd half, giving up 31 straight points.
The others all won, some more impressively than others. Washington definitely will not return to the poll as they squeaked past Hawaii by a point. Missouri and North Carolina were very unimpressive in wins over FCS schools, and others dominated weak competition and we still don't know much about them.
As for unranked teams, Oklahoma State absolutely looked the part of a top 25 team in their loss to FSU, which was a one score game. West Virginia made a strong case too, playing Alabama tough and showing promise on both sides of the ball. Penn State looked to boast a top 5 QB in the country in their win overseas. Cal beat up on a good Northwestern team, and Texas/Michigan overwhelmed a couple of over-matched opponents. All of these unranked teams will receive consideration for the poll this week.
So, considering there are still 6 teams left to play this week, if I had to release a poll this morning, it would look like this:
1. Florida State
2. Texas A&M
3. Auburn
4. Oregon
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. Alabama
8. Michigan St
9. LSU
10. Baylor
11. Stanford
12. UCLA
13. Wisconsin
14. Oklahoma St
15. USC
16. Arizona St
17. Notre Dame
18. Ohio State
19. Penn State
20. Clemson
21. California
22. Nebraska
23. West Virginia
24. Texas
25. Arizona
It's not that complicated - play well and move up, play poorly and drop.
What needs to stop is teams keeping their ranking just because they won, even if they looked bad in doing so, like UCLA and Ohio State. No need to place those teams anywhere near the top 5 after what we saw from them. No need to drop teams just because they lost if they did so to a higher ranked team. That's the idea of the poll, to rank the teams from best to 25th best, so if #14 loses to #1 by 6 points on a neutral site, why drop them from #14? Seems like that ranking was appropriate based on the results.
So rank them yourselves if you wish, and feel free to use the rules I posted above. If we are always going to have these August and September polls, we might as well do it right.
Here is the list of rules all voters should follow:
1) Watch multiple games each Saturday from multiple conferences
2) Don't give unwarranted credit to a team you picked high in the preseason
3) Don't ever rank a team behind a team it has beaten, especially if they have a better record (see rule 2)
4) Don't give unwarranted credit to a team because of how they performed last season
5) a. Give credit to those who beat quality opponents
b. Don't take credit away when losing while playing well to higher ranked (or unranked) team
So that brings us to Week 1, where the AP Poll heading into Wednesday's opener was:
1) FSU
2) Bama
3) Oregon
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Auburn
7) UCLA
8) Michigan St
9) South Carolina
10) Baylor
11) Stanford
12) Georgia
13) LSU
14) Wisconsin
15) USC
16) Clemson
17) Notre Dame
18) Ole Miss
19) Arizona St
20) Kansas St
21) Texas A&M
22) Nebraska
23) North Carolina
24) Missouri
25) Washington
Heading into Sunday, the only teams to lose in the top 25 were South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Clemson. South Carolina showed little in their game to deserve a spot for week 2, they will have to play their way back in after losing at home. Wisconsin (14th) had a 17 point 2nd half lead against the #13 and lost by 4 at a neutral site. No need to drop Wisconsin because of that performance (see rule 5b). Clemson lost on the road to a higher ranked team and the game was tied in the 2nd half. The Tigers are likely to be the toughest to rank this week, as they failed to compete in the 2nd half, giving up 31 straight points.
The others all won, some more impressively than others. Washington definitely will not return to the poll as they squeaked past Hawaii by a point. Missouri and North Carolina were very unimpressive in wins over FCS schools, and others dominated weak competition and we still don't know much about them.
As for unranked teams, Oklahoma State absolutely looked the part of a top 25 team in their loss to FSU, which was a one score game. West Virginia made a strong case too, playing Alabama tough and showing promise on both sides of the ball. Penn State looked to boast a top 5 QB in the country in their win overseas. Cal beat up on a good Northwestern team, and Texas/Michigan overwhelmed a couple of over-matched opponents. All of these unranked teams will receive consideration for the poll this week.
So, considering there are still 6 teams left to play this week, if I had to release a poll this morning, it would look like this:
1. Florida State
2. Texas A&M
3. Auburn
4. Oregon
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. Alabama
8. Michigan St
9. LSU
10. Baylor
11. Stanford
12. UCLA
13. Wisconsin
14. Oklahoma St
15. USC
16. Arizona St
17. Notre Dame
18. Ohio State
19. Penn State
20. Clemson
21. California
22. Nebraska
23. West Virginia
24. Texas
25. Arizona
It's not that complicated - play well and move up, play poorly and drop.
What needs to stop is teams keeping their ranking just because they won, even if they looked bad in doing so, like UCLA and Ohio State. No need to place those teams anywhere near the top 5 after what we saw from them. No need to drop teams just because they lost if they did so to a higher ranked team. That's the idea of the poll, to rank the teams from best to 25th best, so if #14 loses to #1 by 6 points on a neutral site, why drop them from #14? Seems like that ranking was appropriate based on the results.
So rank them yourselves if you wish, and feel free to use the rules I posted above. If we are always going to have these August and September polls, we might as well do it right.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
College football thoughts
Well, we've seen 4 weeks worth of games and with October approaching next week, it's time to see what we've learned so far in 2013.
1). Of the 6 SEC teams that finished in the top 12 last year, only LSU and UGA appear to be as good as last years versions.
2). The Big 10 and Big 12 are still without any really good teams.
3). The PAC-12 is clearly the 2nd best league and Oregon may be the nations top team
4). The ACC is improved and their championship game may actually mean something this year.
5). Louisville will go unbeaten, but they won't deserve a spot in the title game.
Predictions
1). Melvin Gordon gets a Heisman invite - dude is legit threat to go for 2,000 yards this year
2). LSU-UGA next week is a SECCG preview
3). The game of the year will be FSU-Clemson
4). Stanford will give Oregon fits again, but the Ducks win this time
5). 2 of the top 3 jobs in the country will be open this off-season in USC/Texas. The 3rd (Florida) may be open soon as well
Top 25 Poll for 9/22
1). Oregon
2). Alabama
3). LSU
4). Stanford
5). Clemson
6). Florida St
7). Georgia
8). Texas A&M
9). Ohio State
10) Oklahoma St
11). Louisville
12). Miami
13). Oklahoma
14). South Carolina
15). Washington
16) Mississippi
17). Northwestern
18). UCLA
19). Florida
20). Maryland
21). Michigan
22). Baylor
23). Fresno St
24). Arizona
25). Missouri
1). Of the 6 SEC teams that finished in the top 12 last year, only LSU and UGA appear to be as good as last years versions.
2). The Big 10 and Big 12 are still without any really good teams.
3). The PAC-12 is clearly the 2nd best league and Oregon may be the nations top team
4). The ACC is improved and their championship game may actually mean something this year.
5). Louisville will go unbeaten, but they won't deserve a spot in the title game.
Predictions
1). Melvin Gordon gets a Heisman invite - dude is legit threat to go for 2,000 yards this year
2). LSU-UGA next week is a SECCG preview
3). The game of the year will be FSU-Clemson
4). Stanford will give Oregon fits again, but the Ducks win this time
5). 2 of the top 3 jobs in the country will be open this off-season in USC/Texas. The 3rd (Florida) may be open soon as well
Top 25 Poll for 9/22
1). Oregon
2). Alabama
3). LSU
4). Stanford
5). Clemson
6). Florida St
7). Georgia
8). Texas A&M
9). Ohio State
10) Oklahoma St
11). Louisville
12). Miami
13). Oklahoma
14). South Carolina
15). Washington
16) Mississippi
17). Northwestern
18). UCLA
19). Florida
20). Maryland
21). Michigan
22). Baylor
23). Fresno St
24). Arizona
25). Missouri
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Braves dropping like flies
The Braves list of injuries continued to mount today as Brandon Beachy received the call to visit Dr. James Andrews. With Jason Heyward going down yesterday with a broken jaw, Tim Hudson's ankle getting crushed, Tyler Pastornicky's ACL, and Dan Uggla's eyesight, the last several weeks haven't been kind. However, the team continues to win and is in little danger of missing the playoffs.
But this injury thing has just gotten silly. It was bad early with Jonny Venters, Eric O'Flaherty, Christian Martinez, and Ramiro Pena going down with serious injuries. Then the injury bug calmed down a bit, but Paul Maholm, Evan Gattis, Jordan Schafer, and Reed Johnson still missed some time.
These latest injuries have been the worst of the bunch, but this Braves team seems has been good all year at picking each other up. The rotation still has Mike Minor and Julio Teheran at the top and rookie Alex Wood has been dominant in his August starts. The team really needs Maholm to regain his April form and team up with Kris Medlen to solidify the rotation.
The bats can overcome the Heyward loss for a while, and maybe he can return before the end of September since his jaw didn't need to be wired shut. If anything, these injuries will give guys like Schafer, Gattis, and others more playing time as the team prepares for the postseason.
This years version of the Braves has looked like a dangerous October team all year. Their overall depth and dominant bullpen still make them a threat in a series against anyone. Having a 15 game lead gives you options and time to rest.
The Braves won 12 postseason series from 1991-2001 but are 0-5 since plus last years Wild Card debacle. This needs to be the team to break the drought. Let's just hope there are enough healthy players to field a team this fall.
But this injury thing has just gotten silly. It was bad early with Jonny Venters, Eric O'Flaherty, Christian Martinez, and Ramiro Pena going down with serious injuries. Then the injury bug calmed down a bit, but Paul Maholm, Evan Gattis, Jordan Schafer, and Reed Johnson still missed some time.
These latest injuries have been the worst of the bunch, but this Braves team seems has been good all year at picking each other up. The rotation still has Mike Minor and Julio Teheran at the top and rookie Alex Wood has been dominant in his August starts. The team really needs Maholm to regain his April form and team up with Kris Medlen to solidify the rotation.
The bats can overcome the Heyward loss for a while, and maybe he can return before the end of September since his jaw didn't need to be wired shut. If anything, these injuries will give guys like Schafer, Gattis, and others more playing time as the team prepares for the postseason.
This years version of the Braves has looked like a dangerous October team all year. Their overall depth and dominant bullpen still make them a threat in a series against anyone. Having a 15 game lead gives you options and time to rest.
The Braves won 12 postseason series from 1991-2001 but are 0-5 since plus last years Wild Card debacle. This needs to be the team to break the drought. Let's just hope there are enough healthy players to field a team this fall.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The Rise of Craig Kimbrel
Every MLB team wants a great closer. A guy the manager can call on in the 9th inning in a tight game and everyone in the parks knows the game is all but done.
When the Braves drafted Craig Kimbrel in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft out of Wallace State CC, his initial dominance was such that he quickly moved up in the Braves farm system. Assigned to Danville after signing, he posted a 0.47 ERA in 12 games and picked up 6 saves. After a brief stop in Rome with 10 more appearances with a sub 1 ERA and a ton of K's, Craig was already in Myrtle Beach.
The 2009 season saw Kimbrel end in AAA Gwinnett, but not before some trouble with control came up early in the 09 season in Myrtle Beach. He allowed 28 walks in 26 innings, leading to a career high 5.47 ERA, but straightened things out in time to complete 12 dominant innings in AA Mississippi before his AAA debut.
However, the 2010 season was when Kimbrel went from prospect to legend. His AAA numbers that year included a 1.62 ERA, 23 saves, and 83 K's in 55 innings. Kimbrel made his MLB debut on May 7th and although control was an issue at times, he still finished 4-0 with a 0.44 ERA.
Those numbers turned a few heads, but most scouts didn't think he could go through an entire MLB season with similar numbers. He was on the radar as an up and coming closer, but not many predicted the Rookie of the Year season Craig put together in 2011. He had ridiculous numbers - 127 K's, 46 saves, 64 games, and was one of the best closers in the game.
So after an All-Star rookie season, most Braves fans hoped he could stay healthy and maybe produce similar numbers the next year. Little did we know then, his 2011 season was just the beginning.
Craig Kimbrel in 2012 posted one of the best relief pitcher seasons of all-time. The legendary Dennis Eckersley posted 7-1/1.91/51S/93 K's in his 1992 MVP season. Eric Gagne in his 2003 Cy Young season put up 2-3/1.20/55S/137 K's.
Kimbrel's 2012 season was right up there with those 2 recent examples. Craig finished the year 3-1/1.01/42S/117 K's - and he did all this in 62 innings while the other 2 worked 80+ in their seasons.
Also in 2012, Kimbrel worked 17 straight scoreless innings and then finished the season on another 13.1 inning streak. An incredible year, one that certainly wouldn't be topped by Kimbrel, or anyone else, in the near future.
But then 2013 happened. After pitching his first 8.2 innings in '13 without giving up a run, it appeared Craig Kimbrel was human after all. A Dexter Fowler double led to the seasons first blown save and a David Wright home run gave Craig back-to-back blown saves. Just 4 days later, Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo both left the park against the Braves closer and there was now some worry across Braves nation.
But not that much worry.
The only blemish on Kimbrel's last 31 appearances since the blown save in Cincinnati on May 7th is a Texas-Leaguer to right by Donovan Solano that tied the game in the game in Miami on July 4th.
Kimbrel has lowered his ERA from 3.38 to 1.22 in this current stretch and has picked up a save in his last 12 appearances, putting him on a 50 save pace at this point.
His 1.41 career ERA, 124 saves, 353 K's in 204 innings are too large of a sample size to dismiss as a guy the league hasn't "figured out.". Mariano Rivera is without a doubt the greates closer of all time, but Kimbrel's performance from 2011-13 is one that no reliever in MLB history can match.
Every MLB team wants a great closer, that reassurance that if it's close late, there is no worry. The Atlanta Braves don't just have a great closer - they have an all-timer at the closer position...and he's only 25 years old.
When the Braves drafted Craig Kimbrel in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft out of Wallace State CC, his initial dominance was such that he quickly moved up in the Braves farm system. Assigned to Danville after signing, he posted a 0.47 ERA in 12 games and picked up 6 saves. After a brief stop in Rome with 10 more appearances with a sub 1 ERA and a ton of K's, Craig was already in Myrtle Beach.
The 2009 season saw Kimbrel end in AAA Gwinnett, but not before some trouble with control came up early in the 09 season in Myrtle Beach. He allowed 28 walks in 26 innings, leading to a career high 5.47 ERA, but straightened things out in time to complete 12 dominant innings in AA Mississippi before his AAA debut.
However, the 2010 season was when Kimbrel went from prospect to legend. His AAA numbers that year included a 1.62 ERA, 23 saves, and 83 K's in 55 innings. Kimbrel made his MLB debut on May 7th and although control was an issue at times, he still finished 4-0 with a 0.44 ERA.
Those numbers turned a few heads, but most scouts didn't think he could go through an entire MLB season with similar numbers. He was on the radar as an up and coming closer, but not many predicted the Rookie of the Year season Craig put together in 2011. He had ridiculous numbers - 127 K's, 46 saves, 64 games, and was one of the best closers in the game.
So after an All-Star rookie season, most Braves fans hoped he could stay healthy and maybe produce similar numbers the next year. Little did we know then, his 2011 season was just the beginning.
Craig Kimbrel in 2012 posted one of the best relief pitcher seasons of all-time. The legendary Dennis Eckersley posted 7-1/1.91/51S/93 K's in his 1992 MVP season. Eric Gagne in his 2003 Cy Young season put up 2-3/1.20/55S/137 K's.
Kimbrel's 2012 season was right up there with those 2 recent examples. Craig finished the year 3-1/1.01/42S/117 K's - and he did all this in 62 innings while the other 2 worked 80+ in their seasons.
Also in 2012, Kimbrel worked 17 straight scoreless innings and then finished the season on another 13.1 inning streak. An incredible year, one that certainly wouldn't be topped by Kimbrel, or anyone else, in the near future.
But then 2013 happened. After pitching his first 8.2 innings in '13 without giving up a run, it appeared Craig Kimbrel was human after all. A Dexter Fowler double led to the seasons first blown save and a David Wright home run gave Craig back-to-back blown saves. Just 4 days later, Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo both left the park against the Braves closer and there was now some worry across Braves nation.
But not that much worry.
The only blemish on Kimbrel's last 31 appearances since the blown save in Cincinnati on May 7th is a Texas-Leaguer to right by Donovan Solano that tied the game in the game in Miami on July 4th.
Kimbrel has lowered his ERA from 3.38 to 1.22 in this current stretch and has picked up a save in his last 12 appearances, putting him on a 50 save pace at this point.
His 1.41 career ERA, 124 saves, 353 K's in 204 innings are too large of a sample size to dismiss as a guy the league hasn't "figured out.". Mariano Rivera is without a doubt the greates closer of all time, but Kimbrel's performance from 2011-13 is one that no reliever in MLB history can match.
Every MLB team wants a great closer, that reassurance that if it's close late, there is no worry. The Atlanta Braves don't just have a great closer - they have an all-timer at the closer position...and he's only 25 years old.
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