2039.05 TWC - Chris Kelly Struggles lead to Pitching Coach Dismissal
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:50 am
Chris Kelly
3 Wins - 3 Losses - 10.57 ERA in Last Three Starts
As good as Chris Kelly's potential should be, there's some who are starting to question whether his career may end up being a dissappointment when all is said and done. There's always been something each season that's prevented Kelly from having that Break Out performance, sometimes it's been injury, sometimes he's just been off..
The River Monsters went all in with Kelly last season, signing him to a 6 year extension. He was very effective and had a career high 5.3 WAR. However, still had a 3.99 ERA and an 11W-11L record.
His best season was actually 2036, where Kelly went 9-3 with a 2.44 ERA for a half season that was cut short due to injury... He earned whopping 4.1 WAR in just 17 starts, which projects to an 8+ WAR for a full season. The team knows such seasons aren't achievable year to year, but Kelly's performance has been trending in the wrong direction since that time.
Therefore the decision was made to fire long time Pitching Coach, Jimmy Newton and bring in Double AA PC Mario Velaz. Velaz has an excellent repertoire with Chris Kelly and was his coach when Kelly added his splitter and vaulted him from a nice middle of the rotation starter to future #1 Ace.
It also didn't help Jimmy Newton's cause that the River Monster's are the number #1 scoring team in the Frick while having one of the worst Team ERA's at the same time. However, many will debate whether's that's Jimmy Newton's fault or GM Scott Piccoli's. But no one can deny that Chris Kelly's troubles were a dark spot on Jimmy Newton recent performance.
Unfortunately for Newton, he's more expendable than the GM at this time...
