Games » Pittsburgh Pirates
Jun8National League rules
Lee Judge
The Kansas City Star
Let’s count the ways the Royals were at a disadvantage while playing an interleague game in Pittsburgh: 1. Eric Hosmer was in right field. 2. Billy Butler was at first base. 3. Luke Hochevar was hitting. Each had a moment that showed how an American League team can be hampered when playing by National League rules.
Let’s take a closer look…
First inning: Neil Walker singled and right fielder Eric Hosmer took a good route to cut off the ball. By running to a spot deeper than necessary, then turning and fielding the ball while coming back toward the infield, a good outfielder can take away extra bases. Take a lazy route, go directly to the ball and field it going sideways (a lousy angle for throwing), and a bad outfielder can give away extra bases.
Second inning: I mentioned the good fielding play by Hosmer in the first inning, because in the second inning he made a bad one. Rod Barajas hit a sinking line drive Eric’s way (one of the more difficult plays in the outfield) and Hosmer had to choose between trying to make the catch or letting the ball drop and keeping it in front of him for a single. Hos split the difference, got too close to the ball and it bounced past him for an E9.
Barajas then scored on a single by the number eight hitter, Clint Barmes. Several interesting things happened on this play: With nobody down the third base coach generally does not send a runner home unless he’s sure he’ll be safe. After all, they’ve got three more outs to get a runner home from third. Jeff Francoeur’s throw actually beat the runner — but put catcher Humberto Quintero in a bad position to make the tag.
So why did the third base coach take such a risk? National League rules. The pitcher was on deck so the Pirates played the situation more aggressively than if the game had been played with a legitimate hitter up next. It might have been too aggressive, but the play worked out for the Pirates.
Back to Franceour’s throw: It was up the line on the third base side and that had two consequences. First, it pulled Quintero away from the plate, which is why he missed the tag. Second, it missed the cutoff man in the middle of the infield. Barmes saw this and advanced to second base. That allowed the Pirates to use their pitcher to bunt Barmes to third instead of second and that meant Barmes scored easily on Neil Walker’s single to right field.
Yuniesky Betancourt deflected the ball Walker hit and Hosmer was charging hard, so if Barmes had still been on second base, there would have been another play at the plate.
Next, Walker stole second base and did it rather easily. In the sixth inning, Jose Tabata tried to steal second base and was thrown out by a big margin. So what was the difference? (Other than Neil Walker might be faster than Jose Tabata and Tabata was probably going on a hit and run not a straight steal.)
Luke Hochevar’s left foot. When Walker stole second, Luke lifted his front foot all the way in his stretch delivery. That makes the knee go higher and is a more natural delivery — but it also takes more time. In the sixth inning, Luke barely lifted his foot — a slide step — while delivering the ball home. The first delivery takes Luke over 1.7 seconds, the second one can get him down to about 1.2. Humberto Quintero made good use of an extra 0.5 seconds.
Third inning: Luke Hochevar started the inning by trying to bunt for a hit — maybe. When the stated goal of the team is making sure none of its pitchers gets hurt at the plate or running the bases, the bunt might have been a painless way to get an at-bat over with — not an ideal situation for an offense that’s already struggling.
In the bottom of the inning, the Royals messed up a rundown. Luke Hochevar pulled the first-and-third pickoff move that never works — and it worked. Luke picked Jose Tabata off first base. But then things went horribly wrong.
Luke looked the runner on third, Pedro Alvarez, back and then ran at Tabata, who was caught between first and second. According to Ned Yost in the postgame interview, Luke needed to get the ball to shortstop Alcides Escobar. Escobar could then run the batter back to first while keeping an eye on the runner on third. Instead, Luke ran the runner back himself and then threw the ball to Billy Butler. If Billy had been able to make the tag right away, the runner on third would have to stay put, but Tabata simply ran away from Butler. Billy couldn’t catch him, glanced into the plate once and then threw the ball to Yuniesky Betancourt. Making the play nearer second base than first made for a longer throw home and Alvarez scored easily.
Fourth inning: With two outs, the number eight hitter, Humberto Quintero, singled. This is a semi-big deal. It means the pitcher did not lead off the fifth. Number eight hitters in the National League can have a tough gig. They’re generally hitting eighth because the seven other guys are better. But with two outs, a runner in scoring position and a base open, they’re not going to get anything to hit. Why let a legitimate hitter beat you when the pitcher’s on deck?
But the eight-hole hitter is expected to expand his zone in that situation: he might be a better hitter on a lousy pitch than the pitcher is on a good one. In this case, having the pitcher behind him probably helped Humberto: with nobody on and two outs he was going to get a pitch to hit. Nobody wants to walk the eight-hole hitter and bring the pitcher to the plate to make the last out. They’d like to save that easy out — if they can — to lead off the next inning.
Sixth inning: Eric Hosmer hit an opposite field single. According to Ryan Lefebvre, 48.9% of Eric Hosmer’s hits have been to left field. The average major league hitter gets about 30% of his hits by going the other way. Pitchers are staying on the outside part of the plate to dampen Hosmer’s power. If he tries to pull those balls, Eric will rollover and hit a lot of 4-3s. If he waits and take those balls to left, Hosmer can drive up his average.
A conversation with Alex Gordon
The other day, Alex Gordon walked by and asked what I was reading. I get out to the dugout early most afternoons and often carry a book to kill time when no one’s around. The book Alex asked about was “Liar’s Poker” by Michael Lewis (same guy that wrote “Moneyball”). It’s the story of his days working as a bond salesman and it’ll convince you that burying your money in the backyard is a viable alternative to investing in stocks. The conversation turned to baseball (it always does) and here’s what Gordo had to say:
He likes being in the same spot in the lineup every day (I think we had this debate last winter) it gives him one less thing to think about and he prefers the leadoff spot over the 6-hole.
Gordon’s game preparation includes chewing three pieces of bubble gum of a certain type and he lays them out on the bench before he heads to the field. Last season, I was there when Greg Holland walked by, grabbed a piece and popped it in his mouth. Alex made Holland go back up to the clubhouse to replace the missing piece. (Some people didn’t think moving in the lineup was a big deal for players — Gordon doesn’t want to go out there with the wrong brand of chewing gum.)
I asked if the leadoff spot clarified things: get on base twice and he’s had a good night. Alex started laughing and asked if he should just go through the motions if he started the game with a hit and a walk.
Speaking of which, last Friday against the Twins he came to the plate with two down in the ninth inning, the Royals losing by four. Alex said those are really tough plate appearances: the team appears unlikely to win, there are two down and it’s been a long night already. It takes mental effort to not mail in that type of at-bat. Alex saw eight pitches and walked. He pointed out that it’s his career, giving away at-bats—whatever the situation — is not a good idea.
Gordon likes the outfield better than the infield. He feels like he can make all the plays in the outfield, but worried about making the plays when he was in the infield. Trying to avoid screwing up is not a great mind-set for a ball player.
Doug Sisson walked by and Alex said, “Hardest working man in baseball.” I can confirm that not too many people make it to the field before Doug or do more once they’re there.
I wanted to know if being in the leadoff spot had anything to do with things going better at the plate (by my scorebook 12 for 38 with seven walks and a HBP since moving back there on May 23). Alex said he didn’t know, maybe.
It was then time for Alex to get back to work. He went off to play catch with Mike Moustakas and I went back to reading about the stock market. I’m almost finished with the book and I think I’ll start putting money in my mattress.
Another point of view
Chris Getz, who is in competition with Yuniesky Betancourt for playing time, is a bit more understanding of Betancourt’s recent performance than some people who don’t play at all. Chris thinks part of what may be hampering Yuni’s fielding is his ankle. Getz thinks Yuni may still be favoring it…even though he doesn’t need to.
Once you’ve hurt something, it takes a while before you trust it again. I can confirm this: I blew out my left knee years ago and still take every opportunity to avoid putting any kind of strain on it. And the only kind of strain I’m putting on it nowadays is when I buy a 12-pack of beer and have to lift it out of the trunk of my car.
Getz told Betancourt he ought to test the ankle in batting practice, “Be obnoxious about it.” Make moves and cuts until Yuni begins to trust his ankle again. Obviously, Betancourt had some fielding issues before he hurt his ankle, but it’s interesting to hear a teammate’s take on what’s happening right now.
P.S. Getz may be facing the same problem: his rib injury has improved, but it’s not totally healed. Chris thinks it’s probably going to hurt every time he dives, but plans to play through it.
Hochevar
Moustakas
Betancourt
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks agoChris Getz had a couple of hits tonight in Omaha, Sal Perez went 5-5, but Jon Sanchez pitched 5 innings with 3 runs.
I thought Luke Hochevar pitched a decent game, hardly dominant, but a workman-like effort for 6 innings. Hope he’s turning it around.
Ed Johnson
11 months, 2 weeks agoA thought that has been going thru my mind with Luke H…..How much does he love the game of baseball and how does that affect his baseball IQ? Is he a student of the game the way Chen is? I’m not knocking him as a person but, he chose to sit out an entire season over a million dollars when first drafted. He strikes me as a guy that has made good on a freakishly good ability to make a ball dance but is he passionate about the game.
I know the same thing happened with Aaron C and he’s getting the well deserved love with his work in the pen. Does he love the game and competing enough to develop a third pitch and make himself what this team really needs?
Some of my favorite pitchers have been Paul Byrd, Kyle Snyder, Bruce Chen, and the on again off again magic of Brian Bannister. None had the nastiest stuff. Some had injuries to fight thru. All loved to pitch and play the game and know how to get outs.
Dan Holmes
11 months, 2 weeks agoLee, I’m curious if you could shed any light on whether the team told Verdugo upfront that he would only be up for a day or two. Obviously, the roster moves made perfect since given the interleague schedule, but I imagine it would be deflating to be called up for the first time only to not actually get a chance to play.
Ned has been very vocal about how he likes to “get guys into the action”, so I imagine they probably let him know upfront what was going on?
KC Guy
11 months, 2 weeks agoI’m curious how a guy running on the foul territory grass between 3rd & Home could cut inward to avoid the tag at home, end up sprawled out on the 1st base side of home plate, and somehow not have run more than 3 feet out of the baseline.
As far as the comparison between the two steals: the first guy stole entirely on Hochevar’s lack of attention. The second guy was thrown out on a completely obvious hit and run — Hochevar missed so badly inside that the hitter couldn’t even put it in play.
I’m not sure what the Royals teach on the rundown, but it was lost when Butler had the ball — that’s when Alvarez broke towards home. I’m sure there has to be some kind of cue to let the fielder on the backside of a rundown situation know when the lead runner has made a break. That clearly either didn’t happen or didn’t register. I guess Yost wanted Hochevar to run the guy towards 2nd (based on Lee’s recap of his comments), but the guy went back to 1st, so it sounds like they were caught in-between. Still, I’m sure they’ve practiced this play 1,000 times — how have the Royals been caught twice on the steal-to-2nd/steal-to-Home this year?
Lee Judge
11 months, 2 weeks agoCouple of things: I had a mistake in the first version of the story. I said the ball ended up in Escobar’s hand on the rundown, it ended up in Betancourt’s.
My TV blew up and the temporary replacement has a screen the size of a postage stamp. The players are so tiny I couldn’t tell who had the ball. I thought it was Betancourt, but someone said Esky on the broadcast and I went with that until I saw Bob Dutton’s story this morning.
Lee Judge
11 months, 2 weeks agoJim: I’m with you, a so-so outing by Luke Hochevar. Three bad innings followed by three good ones, but it could’ve been a very good outing with better defense.
I neglected to mention the ball that went over Francoeur’s head. A tough play on a line drive hit pretty much right at him, not really a misplay on his part, but it made me wonder if Dyson with more experience in center would have had a better chance.
Also, Hochevar caused some of his own problems when he stuck out his pitching hand and deflected a ball which probably would have been an out otherwise.
One of the things I’ve been saying from the beginning is that this team is much better defensively, but it hasn’t looked it since Chris Getz went down.
When he’s on the field and Perez comes back this team is solid-to-Gold Glove caliber all over the place. Last night the Royals were playing with Frenchy and Hosmer out of position and Butler and Betancourt on the right side.
As they say, the ball will find you—it did—and the Royals paid the price. And not enough offense to cover the defensive mistakes.
Lee Judge
11 months, 2 weeks agoEd: My experience has been that pretty much all these guys love the game and care deeply about their performances. They’re very competitive people.
Maybe somebody is just cashing a check and I’m unaware of it, but even if they were doing that, the best way to cash a big check is to perform well.
Lee Judge
11 months, 2 weeks agoDan: No idea what they told Verdugo. You’re right, Ned likes to get guys on the field as quickly as possible when they come up—like Clint Robinson last night. He figures get it over with, don’t let them sit there and stew for days on end.
On the other hand, what if they told Verdugo he was just here for a cup of coffee and he wasn’t going to play, then something unexpected happened and they needed him? Not an ideal mindset for his first major league appearance.
I’ve got no inside information on how they handled Verdugo, but you can see they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
Lee Judge
11 months, 2 weeks agoKC Guy: Back to the rundown. I thought Luke handled his end OK: look the runner on third back, run at the trapped runner and force him back to where he came from.
To me, the play broke down when the ball was in Billy’s hands. Lack of footspeed meant he couldn’t tag the runner out. If Butler quickly makes the tag and turns to home, no run scores.
But the runner just simply ran away from Billy and was gaining ground. Butler took a glance at home, but that was it. When he threw the ball to Betancourt, the play was being made much further away from home plate than if the tag had been made nearer first base and that gave the runner the chance to score.
According to what I’ve been taught, Hochevar did OK. But they do some things differently in the major leagues. One of the things you’ll notice is they generally want the ball out of the pitcher’s hands as quickly as possible—get it to a position player and let him make the play.
That was what Ned was saying after the game: he wanted Luke to get the ball to Escobar—the best athlete on the infield last night—and let him conduct the play.
Charles Purvis
11 months, 2 weeks agoOne other thing that I noticed—on the pop foul that Butler could not get to, I think Hosmer would have made that play. Not that that would have saved the game, but it is just illustrative of how tinkering with the defense to accomodate National League Rules is not a good idea.
This team went without Butler’s bat last night anyway and was hampered by too many players in unfamiliar territory. I think they’d be better off letting Billy pinch hit in a definite scoring situation and THEN come in the game. Or not.
Charles Purvis
11 months, 2 weeks agoI thought Luke handled the rundown as he should have. The runner was looked back to third and the play was going to be made at first, where the runner came from, out of scoring position. Nothing wrong with that. But Billy couldn’t make the tag and is too slow to catch…well, anybody. But somebody out there has to be watching the runner on third and alerting whoever’s got the ball that the runner’s going home.
Luke’s only mistake was trying to bare-hand that that ball but how can you fault a player for doing that?
Devan Shopinski
11 months, 2 weeks agoDid anyone else notice that Yuni looked tentative on the play that he scored from second? Had he not gone on contact, I don’t think he would have scored. Is his ankle 100%? He missed two balls to his left last night too. Having poor range to begin with, if his ankle is not healed, it’s not helping.
Jim F. Joel mentioned Getz having two hits and Petez two (it was early in the game) and Sanchez still struggling. Wonder what the plan is for him.
Howard Taylor
11 months, 2 weeks agoI cannot sit still any more after the Royals game I watched last night. I have said from day one Ned Yost is no major league baseball manager and once again he proved me correct last night.
Let’s just talk about last night’s game. To begin with any one who knows anything at all about how this season has gone it is our defense that has kept us in games and won games. That assertion is supported by the fact that the Royals win few games by three or more runs. The Royals don’t blow other teams out – the Royals hang in there blow for blow and stay one step ahead in most of their wins. Playing people out of position so he can keep Butler’s bat in the game was the wrong thing to do. As it turned out on this night Butler’s bat played no part in the game. Defense is more important than that extra bat. In all likelihood their pitchers aren’t going to hit any better than ours and in fact they didn’t.
Hosmer’s error that allowed Rod Barajas to advance to second in all likelihood would not have happened had Francoeur been playing his normal position. Also the ball that was hit near the left-center wall looked like it could have been caught had Dyson been playing his normal position. In addition Betancourt is not out best choice for second base with Giavotella on the bench. I personally believe Betancourt should be released but that is a conversation for another day.
As much as I like Billy Butler he made a tactical mistake last night that fortunately didn’t blow up on us. In the 5th inning Garrett Jones grounded out to Butler allowing Neil Walker to advance to 3rd. That was an easy slow ball that bounced over the base that Butler fielded a step or two behind the base. Had that ball hit the base Walker might have scored. The correct play was to field the ball in front of the bag to make sure that scenario could not play out and Butler had plenty of time to make the play that way. It is a minor technical aspect of the game but one that should be observed at the professional level.
There was also a failed play at the plate when Quintero missed a tag. The root cause of this failure is played out every day in baseball across this country. Players don’t seem to realize the goal of the runner is to get to the bag – the play is at the bag. Had Quintero made his dive toward the plate he may have made that tag. All too often fielders go after the runner instead of taking the ball to the bag and cutting off the escape. Maybe he makes the tag – maybe he doesn’t but he made the wrong play.
What really sets me off about last night’s game was the failed run-down play. This play more than anything else clearly shows that Ned Yost must go. Ned Yost blamed the failed play on Hochevar saying “… he held the ball too long …” Not true. Hochevar made exactly the correct move. Let’s forget about the specifics of that play and step back to analyze the run down play in general.
First of all when a fielder has a runner caught between bases the correct thing to do is move toward the runner to shorten the throw. While this is happening the other fielders get into place to start the hotbox. Ideally the first throw should be to the fielder on the upstream side to force the player back toward the base he came from. You don’t want an error on the downstream side that will allow the runner to advance. If the fielder throws to the upstream side first and the ball is misplayed the ball is in front of the runner making it more difficult for him to advance. Typically it should take no more than three short tosses to get any runner.
Last night’s play was more complex as there was a runner on 3rd base. Hochevar makes his initial move by the book and shortens the distance between himself and the other fielders involved and while not in the base path he was upstream from the runner forcing him back toward 1st base. Hochevar makes his throw to Butler and this is where things went wrong. Note how Hochevar is looking back over his shoulder at the runner on 3rd. The other players are also watching the runner on 3rd. How can you watch the runner on 3rd and still make the play in front of you? You can’t and they didn’t – at least they didn’t make it correctly. The correct play was for the left fielder to move in close to the play and monitor the runner on 3rd and signal the fielders if a throw was needed to the plate. But wait! We don’t have a left fielder out there – we have a first baseman playing that position and he is no where near the play so his voice can be heard so Hosmer obviously doesn’t know where he is supposed to be so the other players are forced to wing it on their own and watch the runner on 3rd.
Now look where one of the best short stops in the game is playing - Escobar is standing on 2nd base when Butler receives the throw from Hochevar. Escobar should have run down the line toward 1st and been at least on a line where Hochevar was when he threw to Butler. Now Butler has the ball and the runner is making his way to second … Butler takes off after him and this is when the runner on 3rd breaks for home. Butler is a fine fielder but he is no ballet dancer so he is probably not going to make an athletic pivot throw on the run and get him and Butler knew he couldn’t do it so he went after the runner. Had Escobar been closer to 1st base Butler would have had the option to quickly throw to him and let Escobar attempt the play at the plate. The 3rd base coach instantly saw this and that is why he sent the runner on 3rd and the gamble paid off.
This is not armchair quarter backing or second guessing after the fact. This is the way this play is made. It is painfully obvious the Royals have not practiced this play enough. It is painfully obvious Ned Yost is not drilling the team on the basics. It is painfully obvious Ned Yost must go.
If I had been keep track of all the mistakes New Yost has made and detailed them here you would still be reading this 45 minutes from now.
Our Royals have the talent to make a good run at winning this division but not as long as Ned Yost is in town.
Howard Taylor
11 months, 2 weeks agoI mistakenly called out the left fielder to move in and help with the run-down play. I meant the right fielder.
Howard Taylor
11 months, 2 weeks agoAlso it was Betancourt on second - still waaaaay out of position.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks ago“Sanchez still struggling. Wonder what the plan is for him.”
At the moment, probably cross fingers and hope. He’s still having some trouble even with AAA hitters and strike zone. I think they’ll probably call him up if nothing is sore and tight and get him back on the mound.
“Our Royals have the talent to make a good run at winning this division but not as long as Ned Yost is in town.”
Unfortunately, too much of the talent is injured and what is left is scoring two runs per game.
Thayne Griffin
11 months, 2 weeks agoImo, the defense gave up 3 unnecessary runs tonight - and imagine this: we lost 4-2.
Quintero HAS to make that play. The runner was so far away from the plate he didn’t need to dive.
Yuni HAS to keep that ball on the infield to make the runner hold. (Calling Chris Getz! Hurry back!)
The rundown. SMH
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks agoThayne, agree that it is ultimately a matter of execution, and yeah, human beings don’t always perfectly execute. Try again today.
Brendan Woodbury
11 months, 2 weeks agoI agree that the Royals defense looks better to me than it did two years ago, and I certainly think we’ve made moves to upgrade the defensive talent (especially Escobar instead of Betancourt at SS), but, for what it’s worth (and I’m not totally sure how much it’s worth), only the Detroit Tigers, who clearly do not care about defense, are turning a smaller percentage of balls in play into outs than the Royals.
AL Central Defensive Efficiency Rating (outs/balls in play):
CHW: .718 (2nd in AL / 2nd in MLB)
CLE: .700 (7th / 11th)
MIN: .684 (12th / 24th)
KCR: .678 (13th / 26th)
DET: .670 (14th / 28th)
The typical team has about 6000 chances in a year, so every 1 point is about six balls a season that go for hits instead of outs, so the difference between Chicago and KC is about 180 hits a year at this rate.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks agoGood work, Brendan.
Curtis Ruder
11 months, 2 weeks agoBrendan, how much of that is a function of the size of the home field? Chicago has the smallest field, Detroit the largest. It seems like the ranking matches the size of the ballpark. Is there a part effect in there? How significant is it?
Larry Tindle
11 months, 2 weeks agoBrendan, great info. don’t unterstand everything that goes into that stat but wouldn’t the pitching staff also have an effect on those numbers.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks ago“It is painfully obvious Ned Yost is not drilling the team on the basics. It is painfully obvious Ned Yost must go.”
Or it’s painfully obvious that the team isn’t executing, in the field or at the plate. Baseball is sometimes like that. The root concern of the defensive moves was to get Big Bill’s bat in an NL style game and that effort failed in result. Many people will blame Ned Yost, including a recent five-part series elsewhere, probably ignores that the actors are young guys who are pressing.
Good summation of the charges and marshaling of the evidence. Glad you could join us. Thanks.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks ago“It seems like the ranking matches the size of the ballpark.”
Infields are the same size and, given the number of chances, infielders probably let more chances become bases.
“And Wil’s blocked by Frenchy. I’ll allow you to let that sink in for a moment.”
All Frenchy, all the time. For our readers, ‘Zo Cain is having problems with his rehab and has come back to KC to see the doctors, so CF is the obvious opportunity, although a case could be made for LF or 1B also. Alex is a good 1B, so that opens LF, doesn’t it?
As for Myers in general, he looks good against AAA pitching or injured major leaguers in spring training, but he’s only facing a close to legitimate major league arm every week or so. There’s a big step between Omaha and KC and rushing Myers also has financial considerations. After the ASB he and JaKKKe Odorizzi may get a chance.
“Frenchy may be turning back into, well, Jeff Francoeur before our very eyes”
As others are also slumping recently. Last I looked, Humberto Quintero had the highest RBI/PA on the team. It takes more than one batter to lose a game and more than one to win a game. Just the nature of the sport.
Larry Tindle
11 months, 2 weeks agoBilly at first, Hos in right, Frenchie in center. What was Ned thinking. Wonder what would have been said if Billy would have been left on the bench and the offense looked this anemic. What was Ned thinking. Guess you can’t win as manager.
We should be able to wins games when the opponents score 4 runs.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks agoWhat Larry said:)
Brendan Woodbury
11 months, 2 weeks agoCurtis and Larry -
I think Larry is definitely right that the quality of the pitching staff makes a difference. The more line drives a pitching staff gives up, the lower we’d expect the defensive efficiency rate to be. And, sure enough, the Royals pitchers have given up the 5th highest line drive percentage (21.7%) in MLB. Even the best defenders in the world would struggle converting line drives to outs.
I think Curtis is right that the park makes a difference. The Royals outfield is bigger, so there’s more ground for the OFs to cover. Also, since home runs aren’t included in balls in play (the defense has no chance to make a play on them), there are balls that go over the fence in smaller parks, not hurting that team’s DER but go for doubles at the K, hurting the Royals’ DER.
Still, I think ranking as lowly as we do is a cause for concern.
Brendan Woodbury
11 months, 2 weeks agoBy the more advanced defensive metrics, the Royals are doing better.
Dewan Runs Saved: 3 runs above average (12th in MLB) Ultimate Zone Rating: 2 runs below average (18th in MLB)
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 2 weeks ago“In a word? No.”
Like I said, all Frenchy, all the time. CF at the moment is a much better fit, which is why they are playing Myers there in Omaha.
“The Royals offense is struggling. They have one of the best offensive prospects in all of baseball who’s wearing out pitching at the AAA level.”
Kind of like Hosmer, Gordon, and Giavotella did? You may not have noticed, but it’s a big step from Omaha to KC. Irving Falu is hitting .340 for the ‘Chasers.
“regardless of Super 2 status.”
You might look at the arbitration awards for some Super Two folks the last few years. A month or two isn’t worth a bunch of millions.
“At minimum, it’s impossible to argue that what they’re doing right now is effective. They’re not scoring runs, and the defensive lineup gymnastics it takes to put this curious group on the field has cost the Royals 4 runs the 4th inning of this game tonight alone, after costing them 2 last night, as well.”
And the defense was looking bad before Pittsburgh, Escobar has even been making some errors.
“Still, I think ranking as lowly as we do is a cause for concern.”
Agree. Royals need defense. Getz will be back soon, as will Perez, so that will leave CF. May be time to see what David Lough can do for awhile, doesn’t look like Cain will be back soon.