Midday Mailbag: Where was Craig Kimbrel on Sunday?

Every weekday, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: Why was Craig Kimbrel not available for the last game of the Pirates’ series on Sunday? I have not seen any news on that. From: Ron Foreman

Answer:  Ron, closer Craig Kimbrel had pitched on Friday and Saturday, and manager Brandon Hyde generally doesn’t use relievers three days in succession, and certainly not for April games when pitchers are still building up. Perhaps I should have mentioned that in my story about the game.

Question: We’ve noticed that the scoreboard is showing vertical and horizontal break for the pitchers. Will you please explain how this is useful for the average fan like me? I’m assuming it shows how much movement is on an offspeed pitch. From: Beth Ely Torres

Answer: Beth, I’m glad you noticed that because I hadn’t noticed it. I don’t see the point or benefit of it. Of all the metrics to display, vertical and horizontal break might be the least useful among them.

It will show the movement for all pitches. A curveball will have more vertical movement because it moves more north and south than it does east and west, whereas a slider will have more horizontal movement because it moves more east and west than it does north and south. But since the graphics don’t include other context, such as how much an average curveball or slider moves, or how much that pitcher’s curveball or slider moves, they’re not super useful.