Blue Jays’ Giles not lacking in confidence
Reliever on same page as pitching coach, likes prospect for success in Toronto
When the Houston Astros kicked him in the teeth earlier this summer, it could have been a blow to the confidence of reliever Ken Giles.
After all, the closer was a key part of at least getting his team to the World Series last year, had established himself as an elite finisher and was a perfect 12-for-12 in save situations with the Astros until a dust-up with manager A.J. Hinch earned him a one-way ticket to triple-A.
But now afforded a new life with the Toronto Blue Jays since coming over in a deadline deal that sent the legal baggage of Roberto Osuna to Houston, Giles has every intention of being a go-to closer.
The trouble with Hinch never muted Giles’ belief in himself.
“Not really, because I know what I can do in the big leagues,” Giles said on Tuesday when asked if his confidence had taken a hit. “I’ve already established myself in the big leagues. Everybody knows what I bring to the table.
“What happened was nothing to be disappointed in myself for. I’ve already established myself in the big leagues. I’m a great pitcher. I have elite stuff. I just have to con- tinue on.”
Though he has a bloated ERA of 11.12 with the Jays so far, that is misleading.
Lately, Giles has been money. “He’s perfect on the year in save situations (14-for-14 including his time with the Astros). His slider has been really good,” Jays manager John Gibbons said.
“He uses it a little more than I expected he was going to, but if he keeps that down, it’s almost unhittable.”
In his 4.2 innings of work with the Jays, Giles has six strikeouts — including two in his most recent outing — and just one walk. Four of the six hits he’s allowed came in the blowout, garbage-time effort vs. the No. 1 Red Sox.
Giles acknowledged that he needs to be better in non-save sit- uations, the difficulty being that those outings work sharply against the killer mindset of a closer.
“Sometimes it’s one of those funny things about closers when it’s not a save situation, we tend to probably not focus as much,” Giles said.
“It’s more going out there, throwing the ball, working on some things. It’s kind of like a spring training type mentality. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
“Sometimes you have to be more focused and if stuff doesn’t go your way, you try too hard and things get out of proportion. For me, I just need to focus a little more and not stress too much.”
Giles said he’s on the same page as pitching coach Pete Walker and likes the prospect for success with the Jays.
“Overall everyone’s been a posi- tive influence since I’ve come here,” Giles said.
“TheyaskedmewhatIwanted to work on and what I wanted to accomplish and they were on the same page and speaking the same language. We’re al ways working on something until I get comfortable with it and then I’ll move on to the next one.”
Going forward, it will certainly be interesting to track the progress of Giles versus Osuna, who has yet to taste a save situation with the Astros.