Comments on: Opinion: Kyle Kendrick Isn’t Cut Out Yet

By: KM

KM — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:55:12 +0000

His psyche is just too fragile at this point, while his stuff isn’t quite good enough. The reason he was so successful in 2007 is because he could give up a couple runs in one inning, and completely forget about it in the next. We could see in 2008 that he would get shelled in one inning, and then come back the next and get shelled some more. His stuff has never been good enough to compensate for a fragile mindset, and until he develops an effective 3rd pitch, i doubt it will. I am sorry to say this, but I think he is a long-relief man at best.

By: Joel

Joel — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:43:47 +0000

Nice Article! You’ve just stated what I’ve known for a while now. Kyle Kendrick cannot cut it in the major leagues. We should trade him before his value continues to tank like our economy!

By: Chuck P

Chuck P — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:48:49 +0000

Rose might have been the catalyst but there are other guys with his intensity that could have bred similar success with those players around him…

We’ll have to agree to disagree on Rose but the point is that the list is subjective. You value players on championship teams and intangibles higher than others… I tend to lean towards guys that spent their careers here.

By: Tom G

Tom G — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:55:47 +0000

Chuck P…Tommy Boy is a must see film…appreciate the ref…
Yes, to point remains….Panties are no longer waded…

By: Albert

Albert — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:41:32 +0000

Well Brett Myers got knocked around in the B squad game. I wonder how “bad taste in his mouth” is now?

By: nick

nick — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:37:05 +0000

I could not agree more about Pete Rose he showed the phils how to win and that can not be mesured in stats. Kind of like what Jamie Moyer does for the pitching staff and the team, granted he never won anything before coming here but he helped this team mature.

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:49:11 +0000

kendrick all too often gets that ‘deer in the headlights’ look about him. he ain’t cut out for the mental aspect of the game. and he doesn’t exactly have great stuff either. It really looks like Happ is going to be the 5th starter. and thats fine by me.

By: metsblow4show

metsblow4show — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:24:32 +0000

What Pete Rose brought to this team couldn’t be measured in stats. This was a team that dominated the regular season and couldn’t win a pennant. Rose showed this team what it took to get over the hump. He was only here for 5 seasons but they went to the World Series twice. What Rose brought to the Phils was attitude, a winning attitude.

By: Chris.I

Chris.I — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:16:54 +0000

Happ is going to be the #5 guy. Kendrick will get sent back down to the minors, until (or if) he improves on the control of his curve. He might get called up later in the season if someone goes down in the bullpen, but I think thats pretty much the end of making it into the rotation this season. I personally think he would be great in the Bullpen against Righties.

By: Albert

Albert — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:33:16 +0000

I totally agree with William. Send KK down and let him compose himself and work on pitches. If he develops a respectable change up, and he can locate his sinker I would welcome him as our 5th starter. He has proven in the past he can win, I’d like to see regain this.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:30:14 +0000

Thats because youre prely looking at stats here and so is he. They were a bunch of playoff choke artists until he showed up in town. He was the final piece and the guy that taught them to stay cool in big situations.

By: Chuck P

Chuck P — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:16:33 +0000

Geoff- Rose spent 5 out of his 24 seasons with the Phillies. He averaged 165 hits per season with the Phils close to 200 per season with the Reds. He never had more than 100 runs as a Phillie… he did it 10 times as a Red. He hit 8 total HR as a Phillie in 5 seasons… he’s a top 5 Reds player but I would argue that he’s barely a top 50 Phillies player.

By: Chuck P

Chuck P — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:51:31 +0000

Calm down Tommy Boy. Geoff was the only one that said anything about the reference; everyone else kind of built on that comment and I would guess that everyone understands what you were getting at. When successful, they are pitchers that should have similar results; a bunch of groundballs and some strikeouts on the corners. No need to get your panties in a bunch… it does seem wrong to mention KK in the same breath as Maddux. I would start with Derek Lowe…

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:48:13 +0000

Dude, Tims list is flat out insane…I stopped reading it when He put Pete Rose waaaaaaaaay down there…

Who needs a pitcher that cant maintain his composure anymore when things go wrong, who doesnt have good stuff, and who apparently didnt do much about it in the winter when he shouldve been working on it!

They already have a pitcher who has below average stuff and who relies on guile, mental toughess, and some calls to get by – Moyer – in case, you know, you ddint understand that..chief.

You can NOT have two guys like that in the same rotation. You need varierty and depsite his weaker stuff its ok to have a guy like Moyer at the back of your rotation. You need a sinkerballer (Blanton), Strikeout guys who can get ground balls when they want to or have to (Hamels, Myers), and guys with good stuff who just make their way through the lineup however they can (happ). They have those ingredients so to have another guy like Moyer but not even half as good (Kendrick) is unacceptable.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:45:19 +0000

I think we used to scratch our head a bit back in ’07 when Kyle was lulling opposing bats to sleep after they would routinely score 2-4 on him every first two innings. There are talented pitchers who have projected high ceilings once they overcome mental issues or fix a mechanical flaw (Gavin Floyd, Homer Bailey, Kazmir, Chad Billingsley, Bobby Jenks) and then there are young pitchers who overachieve in their debut seasons who have too little to fall back on once hitters figure them out to sustain prolonged success (Dontrelle Willis, Hideo Nomo, Horacio Ramirez, Zito, John Q. Flamethrowing-turn-of-the-century-closer). I think you can add Kendrick to the latter group. If he developed a killer change then obviously he’s a different pitcher with a higher ceiling, but in the unliklihood of that happening, I’d say the party’s over.

I agree with Geoff though, not only have you just returned from your offseason failing to achieve your only priority, you (for now) share a rotation with a pitcher that has the best or second best change in the majors. That’s like being back in middle school, having only one book assigned for Summer Reading, living next door to the author of the book, and then just buying the Cliff’s Notes the last day of August. Kendrick blew it.

By: Tom G

Tom G — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:37:48 +0000

Idiots…my reference to ‘stuff’ and ‘Maddox’ is writing about the fact KK is not a power pitcher, he relies on off-speed, location and ground-balls…If I have to spell that out…you need to be worrying about your food stamps…
I was not comparing the quality of stuff…you fools!
I see a bunch of poor SAT’s on this site…you idiots complain about TIM’s choices for HIS list, you complain about a reference (mine) that points to the absolute NEED for a pitcher like KK, who brings similar types of pitches to the game as Maddox, to have the edge mentally…you lacks it is you fools!

By: william

william — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:29:35 +0000

k.k. needs time in AAA to work on a change up and regain some degree of self control. remember myers had this same problem and was able to work it out i am not ready to give up on k.k. yet he is only 24 and i think he was rushed up from AA too soon. besides you’re talking about the 5th rotation spot !! C.C. needs time in AAA also and happ really has not proved himself in the majors just yet, park should get the 5th spot and let happ work either from the pen or give him more starts at AAA

By: reddeath

reddeath — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:28:52 +0000

I don’t think having a lefty heavy rotation is going to kill us. All the lefties in the rotation rely on a fastball and change-up combo, even Happ. A lefty with a good change-up can get righties out. Thats the problem with Kendrick no change-up to get out lefties.

By: Chuck P

Chuck P — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:11:46 +0000

You can’t force your ducks to be eagles… He doesn’t have great stuff and he’s never going to have great stuff. He can try all he wants but he’ll always be a duck. He needs to command his pitches and improve his presence… Dubee nailed it. KK is not going to survive if he’s not strong mentally because he’s a groundball pitcher that relies on getting calls on the corners; he’s not always going to get those calls and errors are going to happen. He needs to focus on the things that made him successful and his strengths… he needs to be a rock. Ultimately, his upside is limited but he can be a solid back-end guy.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:58:33 +0000

Thats the big thing for me: What has Kendrick been doing the whole winter? If youre a guy like that, you need to go to the indoor training facility and throw until you improve the slider and the changeup and learn to better locate the fastball. thats 5 months. im pretty sure if i worked on just that for 5 months id be able to throw some decent off speed pitches too…come on man, what were you doing all winter?

This guy shouldve improved the pitches he has and maybe even learned a new pitch (curveball) to throw batters off and to give himself new life…I get nervous that Hamels has three pitches and its Hamels..even though its more like 4 or 5 because he can move his fastball around anywhere he wants and make it cut (in on the hitter) & run (away from the hitter) like maddux used to.

Anyways theres no excuse for Kendrick not having improved his pitching arsenal.