Giles gets a grip, might be an all-star
Ken Giles knows all about lost seasons, lost temper, lost chances.
The 28-year-old closer has crammed pretty much all the yin-and-yang of baseball into his major-league — with demotion downthrusts to the minor leagues (lost temper, lost chance) — career.
In 2015, as a sophomore with the Phillies, his club finished with a 63-99 record. Just avoided the century L stigmata, which his current team is projected to surpass. (Underpass?) But it’s unlikely Giles will be a Blue Jay by come-Septemberthen, arguably Toronto’s most fetching piece of trade bait tinsel afore the July 31 deadline.
That might be a pity because Giles figures he could help these teammates, so many of them raw rookies untested by failure, handle the ignominy of it, same way he — one-time short-fused and tightly wound and, man, whack job-y — was soothed, professionally nurtured, by the veteran likes of Jonathan Papelbon, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley.
“Those guys molded me into the person I am today, the player I am today,” Giles was saying on Saturday, after running extended sprints in the outfield and playing a bit of catch ahead of Toronto’s teatime 7-5 win over the Royals. “Maybe some of them weren’t doing well at the time but they enjoyed baseball, just as much as I do right now, and they were willing to grind it out.”
It would be a low bar to set for this metamorphosing (fingers crossed) Jays lot — grinding it out, just past the midway mark of a gut-punch campaign. Though there have been, recently, flashes of a brighter future. First career grand slam home run by Cavan Biggio Saturday was glitzy, animating the middling Rogers Centre crowd. Danny Jansen thrilling with a walk-off ninth-inning jack.
“I tell the guys, hey, it’s nice to win and it’s nice to be on a winning team. But you know what? Winning is not everything. Just enjoy the moment. Enjoy what you do in everyday life. Having a positive mental side is more important than being stressed out. And failing more often than not, in this game. “Savour the moments.” Savouring — and saving — is what Giles has been doing, taking his own advice, albeit the save opportunities have been much too infrequent. He’s converted 12 of 13 opportunities, his only blown save back in April, in Boston.
“I’m here (for) more than just trying to get saves,” Giles continues.
“I’m here not only to solidify myself as a baseball player, but I’m also trying to help these younger guys out. I enjoy myself the most when I’m able to teach the game, what I’ve learned that can maybe benefit somebody else down the road. That’s a bigger success than saves or wins or losses, for me.”
Such a mellowed, sanguine mood note from a moundsman who was off the soprano chart scarcely a year ago, who famously punched himself in the head after a bust outing on the hill, who snapped an F-bomb at his manager over getting the hook and found himself trundled off to Triple-A. Then, almost heaven-sent, swapped to Toronto for fraternal (but spoiled goods) closer Roberto Osuna.
Now, for the first time in his career, Giles is in the all-star conversation: “I have not ever been in the all-star game discussion before.”
To be perfectly honest, Giles, while pleased at the prospect, would just as soon spend four off-days lazing around the pool at his Toronto house, with a heavily pregnant wife Estela and their 2-year-old Brody. Estela will soon be returning to their other off-season residence in Phoenix to prepare for childbirth and restricted from travelling. “I only have a couple of more weeks with her, so I’m going to savour that.”
Again with the savoury. But yes, Giles can taste the spicy and the sweet of his personal season: averaging almost 16 strikes per nine innings, with a 98 to 99-m.p.h. fastball and deathly slider, a WHIP of 1.036 and minuscule 1.29 ERA. Except Giles wrinkles his snub nose at that last figure.
“For relievers, ERA is an irrelevant stat. A reliever can have one bad outing and it can ruin the rest of the stats. Thing is, people see the ERA and they judge you for that, because it was so important for a long time in baseball. Not a big deal anymore. Teams look deeper. Of course no one wants a 4.00, 5.00, 6.00 up on the scoreboard. The ERA looks nice, but I look at more important stats for myself — strikeouts per nine, walks per nine, the swings and misses.“
Doubtless, interested teams are scrutinizing those numbers right now. Relievers are gold at the trade deadline. In the past few seasons, those who’ve moved as clubs make a lastgasp bid for post-season inclusion and playoff odds include Papelbon, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Mark Melancon, Sean Doolittle and Zack Britton. Among teams believed to be cruising for a closer are the Red Sox, Rays, Twins, Braves, Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers.
Giles wouldn’t be a short-term rental either. He’s under contract for at least another season.
“I do understand the value,” Giles sighs, and he’s talking about the shutdown closer cadre in general, not himself specifically. He’s hardly unaware of the trade rumour mill and the urgently needed pitching prospects depth the Jays might get in return.
Giles wasn’t summoned from the ’pen to close out the ninth Saturday, with the Jays nursing a one-run lead, surrendered by Daniel Hudson on a sac fly with one out. Huh. They were clearly disinclined to use Giles in back-to-back games and risk any harm befalling their prized bagatelle.
“From my standpoint, I really do not focus on that. It’s not something to stress about. I am enjoying myself in Toronto, I’m enjoying the guys I’m playing with. We’ve been playing some good baseball, so it’s been really exciting to watch.”
Goodness, he might just mean it. This fellow who refers to his cream-of-the-crop, yearone MLBers as “studs” and sings the praises of perchance future Jays closer Jordan Romano.
Giles has been a stabilizing force and mentor, a clubhouse leader, as intimated at spring training when he loudly dressed down mound-mate David Paulino for dogging it during field drills.
“For me, this is a serious job. You could be doing well one day, you could be shipped out the door the next. You need to hold yourself accountable. Set a good example and show that we’re not lallygagging out there — oh yeah, we make a lot of money, blah-blah-blah. But you have to show why the Blue Jays are putting you out there. That’s what I wanted to impress. You put your blood, sweat and tears into this, even if the game runs you to the ground. You go out there and that’s the example I wanted to set.”
Yet Giles seems a little taken aback that’s he’s morphed from maverick to paradigm.
“It wasn’t a plan of mine, to be in a leadership role. It kind of just happened.”
Thank you, next.