Quote from a bleacher report article titled “The 9 Most Boneheaded Decisions of the MLB Season”…
https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2947477-the-9-most-boneheaded-decisions-of-the-mlb-season.amp.html
It was a big deal when the Chicago White Sox acquired ace reliever Craig Kimbrel on deadline day, but then they had the brilliant idea of turning one of baseball's all-time great closers into a setup man.
Though the thinking these days is that elite relievers should be able to work in any high-leverage situation, Kimbrel always has been and still is an old-school type who lives for when the game is on the line.
His career ERA in non-save situations is 57 pointshigher than in save situations. His ERA in the eighth inning is 127 points higher than his ERA in the ninth, in which he's only allowed eight hits and zero runs in 2021.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa has nonetheless brought Kimbrel out in the eighth inning in nine of his 10 appearances with the team. He's unsurprisingly struggled to the tune of a 6.48 ERA in those outings, with one blown save and one loss.
It's easy to pin this all on La Russa, particularly in light of the other controversies (see here, here and here) he's courted this season. But the blame for the White Sox's misuse of Kimbrel also flows up to the club's front office. In any case, they'd better hope the damage isn't irreparable.