Reilly
03-22-2005, 03:54 AM
Byung-Hyun Kim remains a mystery (http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/03/21/not_up_to_speed_kim_likely_not_going_places/)to the Red Sox.
Backup catcher Doug Mirabelli says that Kim remains an outsider in the Boston clubhouse (http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=74373) and that he has failed to make any attempt to connect with his teammates.
Kim pitched a 1-2-3 inning during Sunday's 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh but scouts had his fastball at 84 MPH, the same place it was late last year, and a dramatic dropoff from the low 90s that he threw when he was acquired from Arizona.
The bigger mystery? There is nothing apparently wrong with Kim physically. But Mirabelli's words point out that the problem is probably more mental than physical anyhow.
Kim's lack of velocity is making it hard for him to make the team and for Boston to shop him, even with rumors that the Sox are willing to pick up all but $1 million of this $6 million salary this year if they get a prospect in return.
"He was at 84 miles an hour," said one major league scout. "I thought my [radar] gun was stuck. He might have touched 85. He's just a shadow of the pitcher he was in Arizona. This is a guy who threw in the 90s when he was in Arizona, and his slider had incredible movement. Now, his slider is flat.
"He's a very, very marginal pitcher right now. I wouldn't give the Red Sox $500,000 for him, and they want a player back because they're willing to eat the money."
I have to admit I was a big fan of the trade that brought Kim to Boston in exchange for Shea Hillenbrand, figuring the Sox couldn't go wrong getting a young arm that could throw in the 90s and struck out as many guys as Kim did. Chalk that one up to one that looked good on paper but has been terrible in reality.
Backup catcher Doug Mirabelli says that Kim remains an outsider in the Boston clubhouse (http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=74373) and that he has failed to make any attempt to connect with his teammates.
Kim pitched a 1-2-3 inning during Sunday's 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh but scouts had his fastball at 84 MPH, the same place it was late last year, and a dramatic dropoff from the low 90s that he threw when he was acquired from Arizona.
The bigger mystery? There is nothing apparently wrong with Kim physically. But Mirabelli's words point out that the problem is probably more mental than physical anyhow.
Kim's lack of velocity is making it hard for him to make the team and for Boston to shop him, even with rumors that the Sox are willing to pick up all but $1 million of this $6 million salary this year if they get a prospect in return.
"He was at 84 miles an hour," said one major league scout. "I thought my [radar] gun was stuck. He might have touched 85. He's just a shadow of the pitcher he was in Arizona. This is a guy who threw in the 90s when he was in Arizona, and his slider had incredible movement. Now, his slider is flat.
"He's a very, very marginal pitcher right now. I wouldn't give the Red Sox $500,000 for him, and they want a player back because they're willing to eat the money."
I have to admit I was a big fan of the trade that brought Kim to Boston in exchange for Shea Hillenbrand, figuring the Sox couldn't go wrong getting a young arm that could throw in the 90s and struck out as many guys as Kim did. Chalk that one up to one that looked good on paper but has been terrible in reality.