Notebook: Kelvin Herrera continues adding weapons to repertoire ahead of World Series
KANSAS CITY – Kelvin Herrera has added another weapon. As if he needed one.
The Kansas City Royals right-hander made the All-Star team this season as one of the top setup men in the game, relying on a 100 mph fastball and groundball-inducing changeup.
Now hitters will also have to deal with his slider.
Herrera, who used the slider during his days as a starter in the minors, incorporated it back into his repertoire in mid-September and is pleased with the results.
"I've combined the fastball with a new slider that I've been throwing to get swings and misses or weak contact,'' he said. "I think it's going to help me a lot in my career because it makes the fastball more effective."
That's downright unfair. Herrera has given up five hits and one run in 8 2/3 postseason innings, striking out 16. Closer Wade Davis calls him "our most valuable guy,'' referring to the bullpen.
But Herrera wasn't quite as untouchable this season as in 2015, his ERA nearly doubling from 1.41 to 2.71. His walks and hits per inning were nearly the same. Herrera wanted to give hitters something else to think about, and the slider serves that purpose.
"It's a pitch I needed and thankfully now I have it,'' he said. "It has been effective, so I want to keep throwing it.''
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Cespedes good enough: Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes received a cortisone shot Thursday, the day after leaving Game 4 of the NLCS in the second inning with a sore left shoulder.
Cespedes, playing in the postseason for the third year in a row, said he still feels a bit of pain but not enough that it would limit him on the field. He expects the adrenaline of game action to take care of any soreness.
"I might not be at 100%,'' Cespedes said, "but I will be in plenty good shape to play and give my best.''
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Poopy diapers: Just hours after making major league history, Daniel Murphy found the means to remain humble.
The morning after hitting a home run in his sixth consecutive playoff game - a major league record - Murphy was flying back to New York with his wife Victoria and 18-month-old son, Noah after their sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
“Fortunately, he slept most of the time,” Murphy said of Noah. “I don’t know how she does that by herself. There were two of us this time.”
Certainly, Murphy’s recognition factor - and that of the Mets - has gone up since they won the pennant and he went on a home run binge. Four players made a guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Murphy was among a handful of Mets lauded at a New York Islanders game. Monday, the traffic in front of Murphy’s table at the World Series media day was heavy.
Yet Murphy insists his life has not changed in the wake of his postseason heroics, saying the greatest thing is “this group being able to play in the World Series. That’s pretty cool.”
And Noah isn’t afraid to remind him that life doesn’t change that much.
”My son still does poopy diapers,” says Murphy, “and he still wants them to get clean.“
PHOTOS: 2015 World Series matchup