I have to think they were going for chapman all out if not for the poorly timed (and generally bad) assault thing
Some guys take different routes to get "ready" for the season... and getting scheduled outings in ST in the 2nd or 3rd innings, with no semblance of pressure or save situations around, is really hard to extrapolate anything... especially when he had similar numbers last year. At this point, I really hope its mechanical/injury related... that's far easier to fix or rehab than a broken brain.
Demotions are not typically morale boosters. Neither is beating up on AAA talent necessarily. If steady work somewhere else to work out something, then OK. But comments to this point have our staff as well as Giles himself always saying everything is fine and not to worry, which is not indicative of a mechanics issue that simply needs working out. But who knows?
Agreed... if he's truly sucking and is a mental case all stemming from not being the closer to begin with... how the hell is him being back in AAA for the first time since 2014 going to feel? But again, something needs to be done. At the very least, Harris should be getting these opportunities until Giles can put together a decent run of games (let alone just one freakin 1-2-3 inning!)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A.J. Hinch met with Ken Giles this morning. The manager will "ease the burden" of the 8th inning off the struggling reliever.</p>— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jakemkaplan/status/726476181491474433">April 30, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros to 'ease the burden' on struggling reliever Ken Giles <a href="https://t.co/5jVfWpFH77">https://t.co/5jVfWpFH77</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonChron">@houstonchron</a></p>— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jakemkaplan/status/726494022726868992">April 30, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://climbingtalshill.com/2016/05/02/houston-astros-ken-giles-looking-statistics/ Hitter ave vs: Fastball-- .500 Slider---- .208 Pretty well sums up Giles problem in one easy statistic.
Yep... poor velocity/location on a fastball without much movement. The slider is his best pitch... but hitters have no reason to worry about it because his fastball is that hittable right now. You also don't want him to have to try and throw the slider for strikes... it takes away from the effectiveness of the pitch (much like Lidge's good slider, it looks like a fastball... but has the late break out of the zone that hitters will swing/miss on). Of course at this point, with hitters looking for nothing but fastballs, he will get away with a looping "in the zone" slider that usually deserves to get crushed.
I wonder if he could be telegraphing his pitches? One would think our catcher would pick this up if it were the case. He would be in a better spot if he has a 3rd or 4th pitch to throw. Maybe he wouldn't be struggling at all if that were the case.
If he had a quality 3rd or 4th pitch... he'd be a starter. I just think hitters are sitting/guessing fastball... and are clobbering it when they're right (which given his pitch selection frequency, gives them a greater than 50% chance of being right). If he doesn't get better speed and/or location on the fastball, he's going to continue to struggle. They still look silly at times on the slider because its designed to look like the fastball... but if he throws that pitch solely or too much, or the batter simply decides not to swing, he's going to walk a lot more guys as well (and as of late, he's had a lot of 3-ball counts that forces his currently sub-par stuff in the zone).
Gotta send him down . He needs to get his mojo back in the minors , the team cannot afford to try and help him gain in back in games that count . He either has lost command or speed of his fastball .... Or has a mechanical issue in which he is tipping his pitches . To be fair , I didn't watch him pitch tonight . It's entirely conceivable he is just suffering some ****ty luck . But bad luck is bad luck , and he needs to try and work off that voodoo in the minors . He can get back to pitching frequently and getting into a groove .
He's bringing a bad energy to this team. I knew the game was likely lost when he came in with the Astros just up by one. Can't afford to coddle this guy and try to get him going at the expense of the team.
What can we do with Giles??? hmm See if he can spin a nice pink cotton candy and put him to work in concessions.