Terry Francona remembers a time, not that long ago, when Corey Kluber may well have been the best starting pitcher in the game.
In a five-year span between 2014 and 2018, Kluber won two Cy Young Awards and finished third in the balloting two other times.
The Corey Kluber who last week signed with the Red Sox is not the same pitcher. He's older, obviously, and battled injuries that limited him to just 36.2 innings between 2019 and 2020. Never the overpowering sort, Kluber's fastball now registers in the upper 80s while occasionally hitting 90 mph.
But Francona has little doubt that Kluber, who turns 37 in April, can still be effective and a good addition to the Sox' rotation.
"Like all good pitchers,'' Francona told BostonSportsJournal.com, "he has a feel for manipulating the baseball. And he's right at the top of the list, man.''
In an era when velocity is king and even faceless middle relievers routinely throw 95 mph-plus, pitchers who rely on guile and location can still succeed.
"I don't think it's harder to succeed throwing that way,'' said Francona. "But I think it's harder to get people to value it because everybody looks at swing-and-miss and strikeouts and exit velocity and all that stuff, and the guys who have a good feel for pitching become undervalued. He can still spin it. He doesn't throw anything straight. He still has a really good breaking ball -- he can bend it. He kind of changes the shape of it. You can call it a slurve, you can call it a curveball, you can call it a slider.
"But he just has that feel to kind of do what we wants with it.''
After 12 years in the big leagues, regardless of the diminished radar gun readings, Kluber has learned his craft. And his work ethic, said Francona, is something that could positively influence and impact others on the Boston pitching staff.
"It was impeccable, the way he worked,'' said Francona. "I told our guys, 'Hey, if you can keep up with Kluber, good for you.' Sometimes, you get a veteran who says a lot, but doesn't back it up (with his effort and commitment), I'm not sure how helpful that it. But a guy who maybe says less, but goes about it the right way, regardless of what he's doing on the mound -- being a pro, being a big leaguer - that can help guys a ton.
"Everything he did had a purpose. Every side day, every drill.''
Kluber isn't terribly outgoing in terms of his demeanor, and mostly went about his business in an unassuming manner.
"He was far from the loudest guy,'' recalled Francona. "But he didn't need to be. That's just how he is.''
Thanks to a decrease in velocity and his career workload -- he topped 200 innings in every one of the seasons between 2014-2018 -- Kluber doesn't have the same margin for error he once did. His arm slot has a tendency to drop when he's tired, and the stuff that gets over the heart of the plate as a result has a tendency to get hit harder.
But Francona said Kluber has learned how to work with what he has, and his knowledge of the league -- he's pitched exclusively in the American League -- can cover up the dropoff in raw stuff.
Kluber struggled at times against quality lineups last season -- with an ERA of 5.03 against New York, Toronto and Baltimore -- but Francona doesn't believe that will be an issue for his former ace.
"Not if he's healthy,'' said Francona. "I don't know that he's going to go eight innings on a consistent basis anymore. But he knows how pitch, man. He has the ability to stay off the barrel with that cutter. He's not really Rich Hill from the right side, but he knows how to pitch. He doesn't throw it straight. Nah, he'll be OK.''