Games » St. Louis Cardinals
Jun24Walks that score
Lee Judge
The Kansas City Star
If you’re looking for the deciding factor in this ballgame, try this: The Royals issued nine walks, and six of those St. Louis batters scored. The Royals also had an error, missed the cutoff man a couple of times and misplayed a fly ball into a double. Teams that have overwhelming talent can make mistakes and overcome them. Teams with less talent need to play clean baseball and not beat themselves.
Give credit to the Cardinals for taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them, but at least in this game, you can blame the Royals for creating those opportunities.
Game notes
First inning: With one out, the Cardinals’ Allen Craig hit a sinking line drive to center fielder Jarrod Dyson. Generally — depending on the pitchers and how many runs you believe they might give up — the idea is to stay out of a big inning early and play to prevent single runs (as long as they matter) late.
So most of the time, especially in the first inning, an outfielder should concede the single, keep the ball in front him and keep the double play in order. Jarrod dived, the ball got past him, and the play was scored a double. Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez walked Matt Holliday, then Carlos Beltran homered on an 0-2 pitch.
In the bottom of the inning, the Cards returned the favor, walking Irving Falu and giving up the first of two home runs to Mike Moustakas. Mike is hitting third with Billy Butler behind him. Of the nine pitches Mike saw in this at-bat, six were fastballs, including the pitch he hit out of the park. Hitting in front of Billy has its advantages.
Second inning: Two more walks scored, and the Cards now led 5-2.
Fourth inning: Moustakas homered again. He saw five pitches, all fastballs. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Butler was on deck. Jeff Francoeur homered and Brayan Pena singled. Pena then scored on a Jarrod Dyson triple. The score was now tied at 5.
Sixth inning: Sanchez came out to start the inning. Sanchez struggled in the first two innings, then threw well for three. Manager Ned Yost tried to get every out he can from Sanchez before going to his overworked bullpen. The decision was made. Yost would pull Sanchez if a runner got on base. Unfortunately, Yadier Molina got on — and off — base in a hurry when he homered on a 1-0 change-up. The Cardinals led 6-5.
The Royals got the run right back in the bottom of the inning. Francoeur singled then went from first to third on a Pena single. The Cards’ right fielder, Allen Craig, was moving away from the play, which meant a weak throw. Frenchy’s heads-up base-running turned into the tying run when he scored on Salvador Perez’s grounder to the shortstop. The score was tied at 6.
Seventh inning: Matt Holliday walked and stole second without a throw. The culprit was really Tim Collins’ delivery time. His high leg kick meant catcher Salvador Perez had no chance to throw out Holliday, who later scored from second on a David Freese single. The Cardinals now led 7-6.
Eighth inning: With one out, Matt Carpenter tripled. With a runner on third, one out and right-handed Shane Robinson at the plate, the Royals suspected St. Louis would try a squeeze play. Collins threw two curveballs down — Perez blocked one in the dirt to prevent the runner on third from scoring — hoping that the squeeze was on and Carpenter would bunt and miss. Carpenter didn’t bite on the curves down, so the Royals next tried a pitchout. Once again, Carpenter wasn’t bunting, and the Royals ended up walking him intentionally.
The walk allowed Yost to set up the double play and move his infield back. All they needed was a groundball from Daniel Descalso to get out of the inning. They got the grounder, but it was hit between Irving Falu and Billy Butler. Francoeur came up throwing when Robinson went from first to third, and the throw allowed Descalso to advance to second.
Rafael Furcal was intentionally walked to once again set up a double play and allow the Royals to play their infield back. There was another seeing-eye grounder from Daniel Craig, followed by a sacrifice fly from Matt Holliday and that was your ballgame. The Cardinals led 11-6.
Ninth inning: Billy Butler hit a two-run shot just short of the fountains in right field, but it was too little, too late. Cardinals win 11-8.
The pregame routine
(Awhile back, a reader asked me what goes on in the stadium before the gates open, and I figured I ought to tell everybody at the same time. The Royals have three more home games before going on the road. The next home game will be July 13 against the Chicago White Sox. This information might come in handy if you’re looking for an autograph. What follows is the typical schedule for a 7:10 game.)
Early work: This is usually done in shorts and a T-shirt, depending on the weather. Early work can take place whenever the coaches and players arrange it, but there often is something going on by 3 p.m. —sometimes it’s even earlier. Early work can be done in groups (outfielders throwing to bases, bunters in the batting cage, base-stealers practicing breaks) or individually. For instance, a player might want help with his double-play footwork. Coaches often do really early work. Some days first-base coach Doug Sisson is at the park at 10 a.m., studying video of pitchers.
4:20: Pitchers stretch. The pitchers come out first and loosen up.
4:30: Team stretch. This is the first time all the players have to be on the field. By now they are wearing baseball pants and batting-practice jerseys. They stretch and do some light jogging and agility drills. Then play catch.
4:50 to 5:45: Royals batting practice. The players are divided into hitting groups. One group is in the field shagging fly balls, another group is getting ready to hit (finding bats, putting on batting gloves) and another group is hitting. Pitchers stay in the outfield and shag balls the entire time. The starting position players for that night’s game hit first. Here’s what they do:
First round: The hitter lays down two bunts, one to first base, the other to third and then hits seven balls to the opposite field.
Second round: First swing, hit and run (the ball needs to be hit on the ground). Second swing, move the runner over from second to third (the ball needs to be hit to the right side). Third swing, get the runner in from third with the infield back (a ground ball up the middle will do). Fourth swing, get the runner in from third with the infield in (the ball needs to be hit in the air). The fifth swing: a suicide squeeze. The last three swings: hit away.
Third round: Each player in the hitting group takes five swings, then rotates through again and takes two more hacks. There are four hitting groups before home games and three before road games. (Field time can be a bit more limited on the road.)
(If you want to ask for an autograph, pay attention. Make sure the player has finished BP and ask as he leaves the field. This is the first time that the players are not supposed to be somewhere else, at least for a while. Fans asking before the player hits might be ignored or asked to wait because the player is on a schedule. And “please” and “thank you” don’t hurt.)
5:45 to 6:30: When the visiting team takes batting practice, the Royals head up to the clubhouse. Some shower again and put on a fresh uniform. They relax in the clubhouse. TVs play video of that night’s starter for the hitters or video of the opposing hitters for the pitchers. Some players eat a light dinner or have a snack. Now it’s time for game uniforms.
6:30 to 7:00: The visiting team is in its clubhouse now, and the grounds crew is getting the field ready.
7:10: Game time. Let’s play ball.
(For 6:10 or 1:10 games, the spacing between events remains the same. Also be aware there are times when the pregame activities are curtailed. Players got a rare Saturday night out before this game. The high temperature was supposed to be more than 100 degrees on Sunday, so the Royals kept pregame activity to a minimum.)
Royals Mitch Maier explains the routine of being a bench player to Lee Judge
Lee Judge hears from Kansas City Royals bench player Mitch Maier how he stays ready to come into a game, when never really knowing when that might happen. 6/25/12 (Video by John Sleezer/The Kansas City Star)
Moustakas
Francoeur
Butler
Thayne Griffin
12 months agoAfter this game, it confirmed (to me) that if Yost wants the L-R in order, we should go Gordon, 2B, Moose, Butler, Hos, Frenchy, 7, 8, 9. But that’s just my opinion.
Don’t look know but Gordon continues to heat up (BA up to .264 now) - Hopefully this doesn’t jinx him like my last comments about Collins yesterday (or was it 2 days ago) did to him tonight.
As always, need to play clean baseball to win - too many walks, error, Dyson misplaying Craig, and missed cutoff men.
Jim Fetterolf
12 months agoMoose has earned the move-up and Gordon is productive at lead-off. Pieces are going back together, but too many rough edges at the moment.
Watched most of game on Game Day and I don’t think Jon Sanchez’s arm is right, yet, 88mph fastball, 87mph change. He looks like Bruce Chen without the command and control.
Thayne Griffin
12 months ago“*Is there any reason, barring the absurd, why Jonathan Sanchez should get another start in Royal Blue, ever?”
His lack of control is EXTREMELY bothersome. If we didn’t have the injuries to Duffy and Paulino I don’t know that he would be pitching right now, he hasn’t earned it that’s for sure.
“*Man, it’s nice to have Salvador Perez back. He makes an almost infinite amount of difference in this lineup. And it’s only 2 games in.”
He makes it look so easy for him at such a young age. He really understands the game and it must be moving so slow for him in real time.
“Dyson. Fielding. Not so much. Next.”
Some days it seems like his head isn’t in it.. Needs a talking to maybe about that.
Jim Fetterolf
12 months ago“Yet again, the innings appear to be starting to take their toll on the bullpen. This time, it was Collins who looked like a different player.”
35.2 innings for Collins, 30.2 for Crow, 39.1 for Herrera, 24.1 for Holland, 28.2 Broxton, 29.1 Mijares, hardly an unmanageable weight.
The talking point on the bullpen starts with the aggregate innings, which includes our various long-relievers. The key relievers aren’t being particularly overworked. They just also sometimes deliver poor performances, as do most athletes.
Terry Payne
12 months agoJeez. Sanchez could not have teed up that home-run ball to Beltran any fatter. Very sad.
Let us hold our collective breath and hope this is not the annual slide which puts first place completely out of sight. Let’s hope the April debacle took care of that. Ending up double-digit games back before the All-Star game arrives could be psychologically crushing.
Don DeCelles
12 months agoLost weekend. Though when I saw the starters lined up for the three game series, I had a really bad feeling. Mark put it best above - Sanchez is Bruce Chen with terrible command. He’s gotta go. Shame to waste a good-hitting game by the offense tonight.
Jim Fetterolf
12 months ago“Either way, there’s no spinning this weekend into some sort of bizarro-world positive.”
And no one is trying too. Just pointing out that your ceaseless beatings of the same drums misses what is actually going on down on the field. Starters were bad, relievers were bad, offense was generally bad, defense was not good, and the Cards were hot. That happens in baseball.
“Sometimes, this causes the natives to get restless.”
One niche of the natives is always restless. Surprised you’re not morally incensed over Big Bill’s AB in the 7th.
“Though when I saw the starters lined up for the three game series, I had a really bad feeling.”
Would have been an even worse feeling if you had known the vaunted relief corps would also falter and that the offense in the first two games would under perform their 3.88rpg and that the defense would be iffy. Mendoza pitched a good enough game, just had three or four grounders sneak through Yuni and Moose.
Ben Weddle
12 months agoThe only thing that could have made the 3 game sweep any worse was listening to Hudler continue to stumble his way through the commentary. An interesting side note though, thanks to Rex’s close friendship to the second base umpire, I now know where to buy my crappie jigs. What is the going rate for a :90 second TV commercial read? (Saturday’s game)
It’s not bad enough that Sanchez couldn’t find home plate with a seeing eye dog and a divining rod, we have to listen to this buffoon as he conjures up fantasy dialog, from the players perspective, as though they were secretly miked directly into Rex’s aluminum foil bonnet. Is it just me? And if so, I’ll retire to watching the rest of the season with the sound off.
Terry Payne
12 months agoIt would be nice if Rex could use the King’s English a little more appropriatel, but I like his insights into how difficult it is to play the game of baseball at the Major League level. Just give him a Xanax before he goes on air and he’ll be fine. And let Ryan Lefebvre call all the TV games, please! Steve P. is just too dry.
Jim Fetterolf
12 months agoSome more pitching news from AAA:
“Veteran Doug Davis won his third start for the Storm Chasers, as he threw six shutout innings. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six.”
Courtesy Jen Nevius at Kings of Kauffman.
Derek Taylor
12 months agoRandom Thought For The Day: I seem to remember a story a while back in which Dyson said he might try to surprise the defense by bunting for a base hit in a two strike count… I wonder when (if ever) he’s going to try it?
Eric Miller
12 months agoMark…let’s just clear the air. I think that, until your ultimatum to Jim comes to fruition, that is, until we have a winning season, I can basically sum up every single post you have, or plan to, post. Let’s see how accurate I am:
That there are problems with this team. That the young players are playing like young players and the pitching, at least the starters, aren’t playing well. That Yost, GMDM, Eiland, Sisson, Rodriguez and the rest are all, at best, idiots and at worst, what, affirmatively trying to lose. That Frenchy’s OBP is too low and his strike outs too high and you don’t care how nice of a guy he is. That the owners don’t know how to run a baseball team and have a vested interest in losing. Rex Hudler is an idiot. The local media run away from real reporting with their tails between their legs. Naivety and unbridled optimism is ruining and obfuscating the reality. That you have run the numbers and found everything about the team wanting. The rest of us are simpering sycophantic slaves, too blinded by loyalty and wishful thinking to come to the light of your obvious and eternal truths. Oh and that Jimbo sucks.
Does that basically sum it up? I’m pretty sure that we haven’t, and probably won’t, see anything new from you on these matters.
So, here’s my deal about your drum and beating it: if you can’t find something to write that isn’t an echo of something you: 1) have already said; 2) divined from a skimmed reading of moneyball and the baseball reference; 3) read on a different blog; or 4) decided to say to Jim based on an ad hominem fallacy…don’t post.
Deal?
Josh Heer
12 months agoMark is not in the wrong, contrary to Jimmy and Eric, Yes there are positive signs like Moose, Billy, Gordo, Sal, Esky, the Pen, and Hos will come around. But there is a huge glaring issue pitching, and for some reason Dayton has not developed some. he has done a good job of building the farm up, but when you see teams like the nationals, rays, giants bringing up studs, and we have nothing that is a fair point to contest. Ned has done an ok job, but remember he said that we should be well over.500, and i know we are young, and have had some tough luck, but when the Pirates with Clint Hurdle, the O’s with Showalter, the Nationals with Davey, are competing now and they are young, and they were all losers prior to their arrivals. It shows that it can be done, so Ned is not some saint that we put him out to be, GMDM is no genius, there are reason to protest. Like Mark I am still optimistic about this team, but when other teams with similar situations are succeeding and we have not yet, good competitive fans should be a little upset and demand excellence. Finally when comments like “our bullpens innings are hardly unmanagable weight” are being thrown out,who can blame the outcry. We lead the majors in bullpen innings, having them pitch around 70 is a ton and that is not desirable. Especially when they have throw big innings back to back days…common sense is needed royals fans…get a backbone be optomistic but not pushovers…P.S. Rex is the worst, i have heard many, I always thought hawk would keep that title but Rex surpassed him
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoJust when I thought that Leo Nunez for Mike Jacobs was the dumbest trade ever, Dayton Moore ups the ante with the Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez trade. That trade is looking more and more idiotic every time Jonathan “I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if my life depended on it” Sanchez toes the rubber.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“Finally when comments like “our bullpens innings are hardly unmanagable weight” are being thrown out,who can blame the outcry. We lead the majors in bullpen innings,”
I gave the breakdown for the core relievers and pointed out that it is the long relievers who shuttle back and forth to Omaha who are being abused. Tim Collins, claimed to be buckling under his heavy load, pitches an inning every other game, on track for 81 innings this year.
“Mark is not in the wrong, contrary to Jimmy and Eric”
Mark has some points and they are well polished from years on other sites by other bloggers and other commentators. I’m sure I’ve discussed them with one of Mark’s screen names in the past.
“he said that we should be well over.500”
As did I and I stand by it in spite of the injuries and the lack of production from an offense that should be producing over 4.5 rpg. Good thing you guys aren’t Tigers fans, you’ld be having strokes over a $140 mil payroll two games ahead of the Royals in the standings.
Eric Miller
11 months, 4 weeks agoJosh: Did I say he was wrong? That I’m perfectly happy with the starting pitching?
Or that he is redundant and repetitive?
I do, however, think your post shows some inconsistency:
“Yes there are positive signs like Moose, Billy, Gordo, Sal, Esky, the Pen, and Hos…”
Followed by:
“but when you see teams like the nationals, rays, giants bringing up studs, and we have nothing…”
Butler, Moose, Gordo, Hosmer, Sal and parts of the Pen are from our farm system, so I don’t know that I would call it nothing.
Here’s my question, in response to “get a backbone be optomistic [sic] but not pushovers” Why do you think that it takes particular backbone or courage to rant on a blog?
Am I angry about the losses? Of course. Would I rather be winning? Absolutely. Do I pace take every game way to seriously and feel a little sick to my stomach when we lose (especially in spectacular fashion)? Yes. But, what good does it do me to write a post about how terrible everything is, how much smarter I am than those professionals both paid to play and paid to manage? None. Zero.
This is, by far in my opinion, the best of the Royals blogs. Part of that reason, is that the attitude and intelligence of the posts that are written here. Go on over to some of the other blogs where abject despair, anger, animus and outright dislike are the norm. Personally, I like the Royals, the players and the management.
I’m and Alabama football fan (went to law school there). This year, when we lost to LSU, I went to the game with my wife. There were 200 thousand people in and around that stadium and I’ve never been to a more nerve wracking game. We lost in overtime.
Well, in the postgame interview Nick Saban got a little angry (as he is wont to do) and basically called out a reporter saying, essentially, “we know the fans are disappointed. But no one, not a single person that wasn’t on the field, understands the disappointment of not performing well. No matter how much the fan hurts, I can promise you, the player hurts more.”
I try to remember that when I think that vitriol is the answer. That somehow being a jerk and mocking the efforts of another will bring about a positive. It simply won’t.
It isn’t lack of a backbone, it’s an ability to control my disappointment. I was born and raised in Missouri and I love the Royals, always have. Are there reasons to be upset? Sure there are. But I can promise you this: if they caused me to be as callous, hateful and caustic as they seem to make some posters, I would give up watching them. It isn’t worth watching to let them make me into an unpleasant or angry person.
William Wolfe
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim - I don’t 100% disagree with your point about bullpen usage in that the long reliever shuttle is taking on a lot but I think you picked a poor example to make your point with Tim Collins. He’s on track for 81 innings, which based on the way you wrote it is no big deal. There were only 6 relievers who threw that many innings last year, and one of them was Jeff Samardzija who was a starter in the minors and is again this year. Perhaps some of the reason you take some flak from other commenters is poorly thought out examples like this one. Regardless, this is all moot if competant starting pitching could be found. Not Cy Youngs, just competance. Sanchez is killing us, Paulino and Duffy got hurt and the whole thing is crumbling because of it. Next year when another E-Jax is on the free agent market, Dayton cannot say “We have enough pitching” like he did this year. That’s ridiculous and it’s costing us. Hope we find a way out of this mess.
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim,
I actually have this breakdown for the core relievers and what their projected GPed & IPed will be:
2012 Projected: Collins 76 GP & 86.3 IP Crow 81 GP & 75.2 IP Herrera 79 GP & 91.2 IP Holland 63 GP & 57.2 IP
2011 Final: Collins 68 GP & 67 IP Crow 57 GP & 62 IP Herrera 47 GP & 52.3 IP (split btwn 3 minor levels & 2ip in majors) Holland 46 GP & 60 IP
% increase from prev season: Collins - 11.7%
Crow - 42.1% Herrera - 74.3% Holland - 36.9%
This is a recipe for blowing out their arms. Now, lets take a look at the Cardinals 2011 Pitching stats via this link: http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/pitching/_/name/stl/year/2011/cat/thirdInnings/order/true/st-louis-cardinals
It will show you that the team that won it all, meaning pitched more innings than any other team in the league, only had 1 pitcher that wasn’t a full time starter log over 78 innings and that pitcher started 17 of the 43 games he pitched in.
Now lets look at the AL rep in the WS, the Texas Rangers: http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/pitching/_/name/tex/year/2011/cat/thirdInnings/order/true/texas-rangers
They didn’t have a non-starter go over 62.1 innings.
The Royals have 5 relievers that are going to log at least 62 innings this season and 2-3 that will log at least 78 innnings.
FACT: Teams that have strong SPing, or at least SPing that can get you into the 7th innning with consistency, WIN more games!! There is a reason that these guys are all relievers. It is b/c they don’t have the stamina, mindset, durability, pace to be SPers. GMDM is not exploiting a “market inefficiency”. He just hasn’t been able to put together a good enough SPing staff. I believe his reasons for failing in this is b/c he is too hung up on a pitchers “stuff” and not the pitchers mental makeup and ability to actually pitch. See Hochevar, Luke; Sanchez, Jonathan; Davies, Kyle; Meche, Gil.
Listen, I am a BIG advocate of the Meche signing. I actually think that the first 2 yrs of that deal were worth it for the return. He just broke down.
Hochevar is what he is. I am not buying the injury theories. Sanchez is a train wreck and do we really need to re-hash Kyle Davies. From the looks of things the whole farm system is littered with these types of guys too, Lamb, John; Dwyer, Chris; Montgomery, Mike; Duffy, Danny. These guys all have great stuff but also don’t know how to pitch. I get it that some guys take longer to learn to do it but it seems like the whole damn system from the low minors to the majors is just a bunch of boom/bust guys. Why not go for a mixture of both types of players? The boom/bust pitchers with “great stuff” & the tough minded gamers that have guts and an ability to pitch to contact and work at a quick pace to keep the hitters off balance? It seems like the pitching philosophy of this team is not diversified enough. Unfortunately all of the boom/bust guys are busting right now and there is no relief to that in sight. So, they need to go out and buy some of major league pitchers that have proven they can get major league hitters out with consistency and get into the 7th inning with consistency. Will that cost alot of money? Yes. Will it be worth it when this team that has somehow played 3 games over .500, save for the 12 game losing streak, is 10-15 games over b/c they have reliable starting pitching and The K is drawing 35k-40k a night? MOST DEFINITELY!!
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim,
What is your problem with bloggers and those that read/respond to their posts?? I get this overwhelming sense in your posts of a negativity towards them.
Josh Heer
11 months, 4 weeks agoEric, I agree that having a backbone means that we become angry and hatred, I believe it to mean that it is ok to share your critiques of the team. Yes there are many positives to this team, but they are not without fault. I was not sold on Ned’s Kool-Aid of well over .500, but I thought and expect us to be better, but I am not fuming after every loss, nor having a heart attack.
I know I am not paid analyst, but i do not think it always has to be a paid analyst to make a fair point.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“Will that cost alot of money? Yes. Will it be worth it”
So who will you buy and who will you trade for? How much will you give?
“I get this overwhelming sense in your posts of a negativity towards them.”
Not so much negative as amused by the herd behavior. I read several blogs and have suggested a couple for Mark to write for, as he’s much more literate and energetic than most of their bloggers and synopsizes the talking points of the niche quite well. You should also consider a fanshot somewhere. Mentioning me and Lee will get lots of attention.
“He just broke down.”
That is the risk of five year deals and we got lucky that Meche retired and saved the team $11 million. If you want to sign Zack for $25 mil/1 year, great.
“WIN more games!!”
Again, where do you get them? Proclaiming conventional wisdom is a big step from making it a reality. Royals don’t have their two best pitchers due to Tommy John injuries and have been wisely unwilling to do a reverse Greinke and trade Moose, JaKKKe, and Cuthbert for a couple of years of an ace. This winter there may be some signing opportunities if it is thought that the rest of the team is good enough.
“This is a recipe for blowing out their arms.”
That is the meme. I disagree, young, strong guys should be able to handle that load. One inning every two games just doesn’t scare me that much.
“Regardless, this is all moot if competant starting pitching could be found.”
Who would you get and how much would you give? With the trades of Greinke, Gonzales, Cahill, Latos, and Pineda recently we have a good idea of the market. Are you willing to trade that much? Would any of those individual pitchers win a World series for the Royals, minus what had to be given up for them?
Milwaukee is a good recent example of trading the farm for a couple of frontline SPs. When Greinke and Marcum leave they’ll look like the Royals six years ago, in exchange for spending a bunch of money and getting beaten in the first round of the playoffs when they still had Prince.
I prefer our current management path of building internally, then, if a key piece can be had without gutting the future, make a move. Right now there are too many missing pieces to think that bringing in one 3.00 pitcher to lose games 3-2 rather than 7-2 will make a long-term improvement. If the offense had bothered to show up this year, the current runs allowed would have us around .500 and around 1st place, rather than six games back.
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim,
There HAS to be a time in which it’s GM and it’s owner has to be willing to spend some money for a 2-4 yr window of going for it. I am not asking for that kind of commitment every year but I believe that the core of the position players is largely in place, except for plugging in some minor league potential like Myers in a corner OF spot or MAYBE Colon at 2nd, that a commitment like that starting in 2013 and ending in, say, 2016, is expected.
Why do you always default to the thought of what minor league prospect are you willing to give up? I believe there is a time to give up top talent for proven big league top talent. In the case of the Brewers I actually don’t think they should have gone after Greinke. They weren’t going to win the World Series with Greinke regardless. Now, if you are the Texas Rangers and you have made two straight World Series, then that makes sense. Trade some young talent to get a proven pitcher like Greinke.
I guess my point is that there are options on the Free Agent market. Next off-season will see Zack Greinke,Cole Hamels,Edwin Jackson,Anibal Sanchez,Joe Saunders.
I believe the Royals can make a realistic run at Greinke and then sign somone like Anibal Sanchez for money somewhere near the Meche deal. If you get Greinke at $18mil/yr & Sanchez at $12mil/yr, both for 5yrs. Why isn’t that a smart move. Now your rotation looks more right with a legit #1 SPer in Greinke, a legit #2 or #3 SPer in Sanchez and then Hoch and whomever you want to slot in from the current crop at #4 & #5 spots. If you can get current production from Greinke and Sanchez for 2 or 3 yrs of their deals then it is money well spent. That is the nature of the beast. I think the Meche deal, even if he doesn’t give back the $11mil is a great deal overall b/c for 2+yrs he was a legit #2 for most teams, and our #1. With baseball players you inevitably overpay at the back end of most of their deals, esp if you sign the player when he is approaching 30 yrs old. But if you can get 2-3 great seasons from him on the front end and make a legit run then it makes it worth it. YOU CANNOT build a whole major league roster entirely from your minor league system. It hasn’t been done. It won’t be done. You have to supplement other avenues of player acquision. IE Free Agency. I am not asking for GMDM and Glass to be the Yankees. But to extend the payroll by $29 mil for each of the next couple of years while their young players are still under team control and thus not costing so much overall, I don’t think that is a bad thing.
Bob Post
11 months, 4 weeks agoSo I went to the Friday night game, and I was TICKED OFF! Who here still thinks Vin Mazarro is a Major League pitcher? And to insult the fans by throwing him against the hated Cardinals and their obnoxious fans! (Dear Cardinal fans. I know not all of you are obnoxious. In fact, I met some great folks at the game wearing Cardinals gear. And one of my very best friends is a huge Cardinals fan. I’m complaining about the loud ones that start “Let’s Go Cardinals” chants, when your team is up by a 10-1 score. I’m talking about the fans that won’t shut up about how great your team is, while we’ve sucked for 27 years. We already know that, and don’t need you rubbing it in our face every time your team of all-stars slaps another run on the board against Mazarro or Colon, neither of which should be in the bigs.) Slap in the face to Royals fans! Why should we have to sit in OUR stadium, rooting for OUR team, just to hear all of St. Louis clapping, cheering, and out-yelling us. Made me sick to my stomach. C’mon Royals! Do something to make us proud!
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoBob,
While I agree with your overall assessment of Mazzaro as a capable major league pitcher I feel like I need to point out that Mazzaro pitched fantastic just the previous weekend while in St Louis against that very same lineup.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“There HAS to be a time in which it’s GM and it’s owner has to be willing to spend some money for a 2-4 yr window of going for it.”
Agree, just don’t think it is right now.
“I am not asking for that kind of commitment every year”
Of course not, after awhile we run out of prospects to trade and payroll to burn. That gets back to the Brewers’ model.
“but I believe that the core of the position players is largely in place,”
That’s still an open question with the need for a long-term 2nd baseman and questions about the OF and whether Hosmer is for real. RPG under 4 raises many more questions than it answers.
“except for plugging in some minor league potential like Myers in a corner OF spot”
Myers has been playing CF quite a bit. Makes sense, as Dyson has options.
“or MAYBE Colon at 2nd,”
On the DL and has, unfortunately, hasn’t lit up Springdale yet.
“that a commitment like that starting in 2013 and ending in, say, 2016, is expected.”
That is the Process, but that will depend upon what the current young guys show. If Cain can’t come back productive, if Salvy shows that last years experience with September pitching was a fluke, if Frenchy doesn’t produce, if Getz can’t stay healthy there will be too many holes for an SP to change the arc, so there won’t be an “all-in” next winter.
“If you get Greinke at $18mil/yr & Sanchez at $12mil/yr, both for 5yrs. Why isn’t that a smart move.”
It won’t happen on Greinke. Word is $125/5 for him. Sanchez is more possible, $15 mil/yr. Only way either happen is if the Royals win over 85 games this year and the position players are solidified. I only see them spending about $30 mil extra, max, and that only if they think 6 more wins take the Series.
“But to extend the payroll by $29 mil for each of the next couple of years while their young players are still under team control and thus not costing so much overall, I don’t think that is a bad thing.”
I see the possibility of an $80 mil payroll next year.
“Mazarro”
Mazzaro has produced fairly well this year, as have Adcock and others. Colon has been designated, likely worn out from four inning relief stints. I think our next two new starters will be Teaford and Doug Davis, both outpitching Odorizzi in AAA.
“Why do you always default to the thought of what minor league prospect are you willing to give up?”
Because that is the only thing that can be done now. That also requires naming some names and estimating trade costs, actual specifics. When winter comes and it’s time to look at a bunch of NL pitchers, then we can see how many millions a 4.00 pitcher in the AL will be worth. We’ll also have a better idea of John Lamb’s recovery, whether JaKKKe Odorizzi is the next Danny Duffy, or not, or if Mike Montgomery has gotten command or if he’s going to be a closer, and Duffy and Paulino’s prognosis. This year was supposed to answer some questions, but Duffy, Paulino, Lamb, Montgomery, and even Hochevar are still very much open and that makes it difficult to confidently sign FAs for 5 years and divert money needed for further extensions of our internal players.
“the fans that won’t shut up about how great your team is, while we’ve sucked for 27 years.”
Were you sitting next to Mark:)?
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim,
I forgot to mention. I believe you are missing the point about the core relievers and their appearances. It isn’t so much the innings pitched that bothers me as the total games pitched. I believe it to be much more taxing on their arms for a pitcher to get loose, warm up and throw an inning every other day then I do a reliever that may throw 90 innings over the course of 50 games. There is actually a pretty substantial amount of data to back up this thought process as well.
Josh Heer
11 months, 4 weeks agoJimmy why call up Davis when Odarrizzi is the future or we hope. You make it sound like he had pitched poorly. He is 5-0 with a sub 3 ERA, we know what Davis and Teaford bring, why not Jake? He has outpitched what Duffy did last year
William Wolfe
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim — I don’t understand the obsession with signing an ace SP for one year. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN. E-Jax is not Greinke or Hamels. They’re not going to do it. So by your logic, we should just do nothing because we can’t sign a legit ace for 1 year only. We might overspend in years 4 and 5, yes, but if we win just one championship, who cares? The point of all this is to win, not to sit around and wait until all farm prospects show themselves as absolute busts or absolute studs. I’m not advocating throwing money away like when we signed Jeff King and Greg Gagne etc., but you have to pick a time to do this, and the young guys are here, so why not now?
Thayne Griffin
11 months, 4 weeks agoI don’t think the Royals would bring back Zack after he forced his way out last time, but Anibal Sanchez may be worth going after.
He’s had some good seasons and could probably be had on the cheaper end compared to the other alternatives mentioned (I think).
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“I believe it to be much more taxing on their arms for a pitcher to get loose, warm up and throw an inning every other day then I do a reliever that may throw 90 innings over the course of 50 games.”
That is valid, the cost of “dry humping” a pitcher. Aaron Crow mentioned that one of his problems last year was that he was using too many pitches to get warmed up. Collins and Herrera have more innings than games, Crow, Holland, and Mijares more games than innings.
“why call up Davis when Odarrizzi is the future or we hope.”
Davis is currently pitching better than JaKKKe and, along with Teaford, shows the difference between the majors and AAA. I expect Odorizzi this season, but also expect him to perform at about the same level as Duffy in his first year, so the main reason to bring up JaKKKe is so he’ll take his lumps in a wasted season and be ready to step up to the next level next year. Not everyone thinks this is a wasted season, six games out in a weak division. When the FO decides the season is over we’ll probably see Odorizzi and Myers.
“He has outpitched what Duffy did last year”
Agree. Duffy showed flashes but was inconsistent, a pattern he continued in the Bigs.
“IT DOESN’T HAPPEN.”
And that is why it likely won’t happen, signing an ace to a long-term deal.
“you have to pick a time to do this, and the young guys are here, so why not now?”
The young guys are here but not playing at a championship level. With what they are showing this year, I don’t think Zack and Anibal win the Series with the position players we have now. We had Zack once upon a time and watched him lose 2-1 and 1-0.
“We might overspend in years 4 and 5, yes, but if we win just one championship, who cares?”
A lot of people do, including me. I prefer a steady dynasty like the Atlanta one that Dayton Moore grew up in. That’s what he and David Glass are trying to create, an organization like the early years of Ewing Kauffman instead of a Wayne Huizenga Marlins pattern of boom and bust.
“E-Jax is not Greinke or Hamels.”
True. Not sure Greinke will be Greinke back in the AL and away from Milwaukee’s stadium. I would think, though, that Greinke might be the only migrant ace interested in a year or two contract so he doesn’t feel tied down and trapped in a rebuild. Can’t hurt to ask. If he thinks he can carry the team to a championship he might take $25 mil for one year.
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim,
Are you implying that because of the fact that Detroit spent $140 million to be at .500 that we should let the Royals off the hook for once again going on the cheap?
Everyone BUT the Royals knew that the rotation was going to be a problem, and Dayton, in all of his infinite wisdom aquired Jonathan Sanchez to address it? I’m sorry, but that is and was a monumentally STUPID trade, even dumber than Nunez for Jacobs was.
Also, contrary to what you claim, the bullpen IS getting overworked. The Royals bullpen has pitched more innings than anyone else. That’s a fact that can’t be disputed, no matter how hard you try to spin it.
If you can’t understand why fans are pissed after 20 years of losing and a complete embarassment of a weekend series, than I don’t know what to tell you. Fans SHOULD be pissed, and quite frankly, the fans in KC deserve MUCH better than this.
KC Guy
11 months, 4 weeks agoI’ve only been able to watch two games in the last almost two weeks, so I haven’t been able to comment much, but this comment from a few days ago caught my attention:
“Certain baseball fans (the anti stats crowd) and certain music fans (the vinyl record crowd) might be the only two groups in America that automatically assume that more advanced technology is worse than old-fashioned technology.”
I like this analogy because, as both a baseball fan and an obscure music geek, I’ve seen this argument a million times. I think a lot of the disconnect with mostly stats-based fans vs. “traditional” fans comes down to the understanding of where each other is coming from.
The vinyl guys don’t feel records are a superior technology – they just like the whole aura around it. The feel, the bigger / bolder covers, the experience of putting on a record and enjoying the nostalgia / ambiance (not to mention being able to find music that you may not be able to find in any other format, but that’s an aside..)
But I think that’s where stat guys think traditional fans are stuck at, which is absolutely not the case. It’s not a Digital Music vs. Vinyl records type thing. It’s not an advanced SABR vs. Batting Avg/RBIs type thing. The vinyl records guys have CDs and MP3s and Ipods. The traditional fans are well aware of a lot of the advanced stats. It’s more of a matter of how helpful are the advanced stats towards winning ballgames. Some things have definitely helped the understanding of what’s important in a game, what advanced stats might give you a better picture of what’s happening game to game to better explain why a team is or isn’t winning.
But most stats guys tend to carry a kind of aura about them of, “We’re redefining the game. We’re telling you all kinds of stuff you just didn’t know.” Which is absolutely not the case. It’s not a, “Hey, look: CDs and MP3s are way better than records, let me list the ways,” which is kind of where stats guys seem to come from. It’s more like the people saying, “You’re still listening to MP3s?! Don’t you know that insert current file format is way better? Much clearer / no loss / better format / etc.?” A lot of times, what gets lost is the basic premise: “I want to listen to music.” Records do a pretty damn good job of that.
Same as baseball: “I want my team to win ballgames.” The level of knowledge among both teams and regular fans is fairly advanced as is. The advanced stats can definitely be helpful. Knowing a stolen base attempt in a certain situation should be successful 70% of the time in order to help overall assists in the decision making process. But Doug Sisson leaning over to Alex Gordon and telling him, “You need to be able to steal this base at least 70% of the time here” doesn’t help with playing the game on the field at all. Some of the traditional knowledge came about from a pretty good place: on-field experience.
I think a lot of reaction from traditional fans is in response to the persistent barrage from newly knowledgeable fans who are riding the crest of “advanced” stats to tell you why patience, scouts, and eyeballs aren’t worth anything anymore. It’s the guy telling you your Ipod sucks. That you should just throw all your records in the trash. That what you know from years of experience and observation doesn’t really count. Just because technology moves and advances doesn’t render everything before it obsolete..
KC Guy
11 months, 4 weeks ago“Everyone BUT the Royals knew that the rotation was going to be a problem, and Dayton, in all of his infinite wisdom aquired Jonathan Sanchez to address it? I’m sorry, but that is and was a monumentally STUPID trade, even dumber than Nunez for Jacobs was.”
The Royals definitely knew the rotation was a weak spot before the season started. The difference is fans look at every year trying to figure out if the team can compete. The front office looked at this year as a loss to begin with. That’s why the Royals had “plenty” of pitching — this year was going to be basically an audition for next year. They just can’t say that in the marketing..
Darral VanGoethem
11 months, 4 weeks agoChris,
Hindsight is always 20/20 with trades like Sanchez for Melky. I loved the trade when it happened b/c I didn’t think Melky could duplicate last season and the upside on Sanchez was so great. Now, 6 months later, I HATE the trade. We could really use Melky this year and the more I think about, Melky was a huge reason for the success of the whole teams offense last season. But as far as baseball trades go it was actually a smart deal at the time. However, I didn’t like the rumbling a couple of month after the trade in which there was talk that Sanchez was about to get DFAed but at least Dayton rolled the dice and traded away a player, who has had a questionable career for another high ceiling major league ready pitcher. You can tell though that Sanchez is not right, in the head or in the arm. He can’t even hit 90 on the gun any more. He was a mid to high 90s high strike out pitcher with the Giants.
Jeff Frost
11 months, 4 weeks agoDisappointing weekend, to say the least. I agree with a lot of what is being said. Sanchez- something is not right, even worse than before. His fastball is in the mid to upper 80s, best. Can’t control anything. Very tough to watch.
We need to bounce back and have a good next two weeks or I say it is time to become a trader and bring Myer and Odorizzi up. If we are out of it, it would be time to trade Frenchy, for whatever we can get, Yuni, Getz, and Chen. Nobody would want Hoch, Sanchez, or Mazzaro. Hell, put Broxton in the mix. At that point bring Gio up and let him play every game the rest of the year and see if he is a AAAA player like Kila, or can be a MLB player. It is amazing what one series can do to your attitude! Keep plugging Royals!
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“Are you implying that because of the fact that Detroit spent $140 million to be at .500 that we should let the Royals off the hook for once again going on the cheap?”
No, I am flat-out stating that throwing a bunch of money at free agents doesn’t always work and can cripple a franchise.
“Everyone BUT the Royals knew that the rotation was going to be a problem, and Dayton, in all of his infinite wisdom aquired Jonathan Sanchez to address it?”
The rotation, on paper, was going to be adequate if the offense, defense, and bullpen preformed to expectation. The pitching we have gotten would be adequate if the offense was scoring some runs. Sanchez was what the blogosphere had been shouting for, high k/9 and the meme all last year on Melky was “reversion to the mean.” At the time the trade looked good, essentially Sanchez, Verdugo, a space for the superior defender Lorenzo Cain in exchange for a ballplayer who had a fluke year and would go back to career numbers. Sanchez hasn’t been healthy and Cain has been hurt, so that stuff happens.
“The Royals bullpen has pitched more innings than anyone else. That’s a fact that can’t be disputed, no matter how hard you try to spin it.”
It’s a fact and broadly irrelevant as the long-relievers shoulder much of the load and get recycled to Omaha as needed.
“If you can’t understand why fans are pissed after 20 years of losing and a complete embarassment of a weekend series, than I don’t know what to tell you”
Some fans have been upset for years. I mainly meet them on the blogs. I think most fans have enough life experience to know that it takes time to things around. I think the Process is working well, actually.
“Hindsight is always 20/20 with trades like Sanchez for Melky. I loved the trade when it happened b/c I didn’t think Melky could duplicate last season and the upside on Sanchez was so great.”
I was involved in discussions on several sites over several months and am surprised that you may be the first poster who now admits to liking the trade at the time. I appreciate that.
I thought Melky would stay good, though not this good, because his career year was based on change in fitness, approach, and swing and those were repeatable inflection points. I hoped Sanchez would continue to be a strike out machine but worried about his health, lot of pitchers seem to need about half a season after supposedly being healthy o regain form. I thought Cain would be about a .275 hitter with speed, a little pop, and a significant improvement on defense. I didn’t predict the injuries.
“You can tell though that Sanchez is not right, in the head or in the arm. He can’t even hit 90 on the gun any more.”
Yep. Surprised he isn’t back on the DL, arm just doesn’t look right, which will mess with a pitcher’s head as much as anything, the body breaking down.
Josh Heer
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim Teaford has put up better numbers than Odarizzi but Jake and his 2.78 ERA, is better than Davis’ his 38 strikeouts are better than Davis’ and Teafords…Teaford I like a middle reliever I think everyone know he is probably not a starter. I think Odarizzi may be a bit better than Duffy, but saying that is tht not better than what we got now? I mean Tampa has thrown their young guns out there in the there and they have responded positively, I see Jake as a win win, he is an upgrade and he grows and takes his lumps which I feel still will be an upgrade over at worst Sanchez
Thayne Griffin
11 months, 4 weeks agoI can’t imagine what some people here would feel like if they were Cubs fans. They may have to be checked into rehab.
Complaining about the team won’t help or change anything since we don’t get paid to make the decisions. Yes, the Royals team and organization frustrate me at times, but there is nothing I can do but try and stay optimistic and hope for change. And if people get this worked up over a baseball team that has almost no effect on how you live your life, they may need to look at their priorities.
I enjoy the talking points about players we have and who should/should not play because of how they are performing (both by the eyes and stats), but reaming the FO is unecessary - just think about where we were only 2 years ago: 100+ losses every year. For now, I think 81-81 would be reasonable and if the rotation was better and the offense produced more, we could get there with this team imo and not having a losing record would be a huge step towards the start of a successful future.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“I think Odarizzi may be a bit better than Duffy,”
Not sure, but I think he may be more consistent with more repeatable mechanics.
“I see Jake as a win win, he is an upgrade and he grows and takes his lumps which I feel still will be an upgrade over at worst Sanchez”
But JaKKKe won’t replace Sanchez or Hochevar, he’ll replace some random 5th starter, if he came up today Mendoza would go back to long relief, probably his most natural role.
Thayne, good points well said.
“Jake and his 2.78 ERA, is better than Davis’”
Davis had six innings, no runs last night, has major league experience, so probably gets called up soon, maybe next for a couple of spot starts. He’s not the future, just is a body to fill a spot.
Brian Rose
11 months, 4 weeks agohey guys, what do you think about this theory for poor hitting with RISP: the players just need more experience…Seems most of our problems are lack of hitting with risp. this is the time defense muscles up, pitcher pitches differently to induce a certain type of hit or so, defense may shift to better cover that hit, and you may have someone on 2nd dancing around in your sight line (kind of like playing doubles in tennis against a poacher), plus everything else that goes on for an AB. I think some guys just need more experience in that position. Seemed like Jason Kendall was a low 200 hitter but always got one of those key hits when we needed it. Some of the guys have been around long enough to figure all this out too and maybe are sitting higher in the order than they should…
William Wolfe
11 months, 4 weeks agoJim - “Not sure Greinke will be Greinke back in the AL and away from Milwaukee’s stadium”
Miller Park has the 4th highest park factor this year, 10th last year…even adjusting for leagues, I would call the home park a wash, so Greinke will be the Greinke we expect. KC Guy’s post was very well written about old school vs. new school, but this is another example of just being misinformed or wrong. And not just to pick on you because Darral mentioned J Sanchez used to be mid to high 90s and I thought the same thing but it turns out his fastball was 91 at its peak—surprising but true. This underlines the issue I have with a lot of the comments we read—they feel right to the writer but they are based on something incorrect. We’re all guilty of it.
And for the record, I LOVED the Sanchez trade when it was made, I was so excited that we got rid of a fluke OF for an exciting strikeout pitcher. Oops. At least I can wait for Melky to come back down to earth, his BABIP is already down to .389, so he’ll settle into a funk here any day now and end up with a good but not great season. And still make the trade tremendously lopsided. You win some, you lose some…unless you choose not to play at all by not signing any free agents at a time when all your young guys are hitting their prime. Again, we shouldn’t go all Herk on it and sign every free agent available, but make some smart decisions, have fewer injuries and everyone gets a little better offensively, and we’ve got something going here.
KC Guy
11 months, 4 weeks agoI remember at the time Greinke was drafted, it was criticized because the Royals drafted a high school pitcher again. Now, people like Rany are all about drafting the youngest high school players. Funny how things change.
Anyway, win some, lose some, but no matter what…Greinke is going to be a good pitcher in either league.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“so Greinke will be the Greinke we expect.”
Greinke has a severe home-road split last I heard. Park factors don’t seem relevant.
“I thought the same thing but it turns out his fastball was 91 at its peak”
As I recall it was 90.6 average in 2009, about 89 this year. I watch Game Day sometimes and he can hit 91 once or twice, then drops down to 88 and lower. Justin Verlander is averaging 94.1, but capable of busting 100. Sanchez seem to have a hard time with 90 and 88 looks a strain after 30 pitches. And the fast ball is up, often a sign of trying to overthrow.
“make some smart decisions, have fewer injuries and everyone gets a little better offensively, and we’ve got something going here.”
That’s the Process. The injuries and offensive funk weren’t really predictable. Bad luck. If Cain and Getz get back and Frenchy and Hosmer start producing, then the FO will be more likely to write a big check than if the club ends the year with <4 rpg. Zack losing a bunch of games 2-1 isn’t a goal.
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoDarral, I may be in the minorit
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoStupid iPad. I may be in the minority, but I never liked the trade. Sanchez was horrible last year too. You don’t trade a good player for some that used to be good, but isn’t anymore because they got injured, you trade for someone that’s god now, or is young and has upside. Sanchez was neither.
I didn’t object to trading Melky, but I was less than thrilled with what they got in the trade. It sucks to be right this time.
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoThe load on the bullpen is irrelevant because of the long relievers going up and down to Omaha? Are you kidding me Jim? Having a short bench during inter league play because the rotation sucks had no impact? BRUCE CHEN HAD TO PINCH HIT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Irrelevant MY ASS.
Thayne Griffin
11 months, 4 weeks agoMark,
My personal feeling about your posts it not necessarily that you are wrong (I do agree with you at times, not at others - as I do with anyone), but that there is typically nothing optimistic/positive in them - sometimes there are, but it seems that usually you weigh on the negative end. But I still read the posts to see your thoughts since you seem fairly well educated on baseball (as are most here) even if I don’t agree with them. I believe most people just feel you are too negative and don’t think you have much respect for many in the organization (this is an assumption, I may be wrong, but that is what I have gleaned from the previous posts).
Personally I think if you are upset about the organization taking your money and not delivering on promises, you should not buy any more of their tickets, memorabilia, gear, or broadcasts on cable/satellite/whatever you have; then if thousands of others would do the same it may prompt the change you seek (or stop cheering for the team - may be impossible). However, I appreciate that you have seen the team succeed (I have not been alive since the Royals made the playoffs) - so you have more good experiences in your fandom than I.
In other news: I heard the Dodgers are looking for a corner OF, 3B, SS, or 1B with some decent offense. Maybe we could work something with them for pitching (Billingsley?) Anyone’s thoughts on that (Francouer, Starling, insert prospect for Billingsley possibly?)
KC Guy
11 months, 4 weeks agoMark,
The thing is, your complaints – about the pitching, the hitting, everything else – they’re the same thing every knee-jerk fan is saying. Honestly, they’re the same thing every fan is saying: the Royals would be better if they got better players and/or their players played better. It’s a generic argument, yet you’re phrasing it as if it’s a revelation. What do you want the fans to do? You express your frustration as if fans can change what happens, rather than discuss it. As a fan, I can try to understand what happens and why. As a fan, I can also not really do anything about it. The point of this particular website is to see what happens within the game, yet you’re always on here to tell us the Royals are losing & failing again, and change MUST happen, without really expanding on that premise. What happened during the game (Sanchez walked too many? We know that). Which players should the Royals pick up, and what will it cost (not just: “better starting pitchers”)? Your posts are lengthy and well-written, but it seems to be a lot of frustration without a lot of constructive criticism to go along with it..
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks ago“I didn’t object to trading Melky, but I was less than thrilled with what they got in the trade. It sucks to be right this time.”
I had hoped for better, but pitching is a premium item, look what we got for Greinke after a 10 win year, and I imagine other GMs were wondering if Melky was a one-shot wonder or had turned a corner. He had disappointed some other teams before the Royals took a chance on him for dirt-cheap. Just the nature of trades.
I had hopes for Sanchez as a solid #3 starter, but his arm just doesn’t look right. Somebody may take a chance on him next year for $2 million and he goes back to ‘10 production. Or he may do a Jeff Francis and take a AAA contract. Too bad, he had talent and may yet produce. May even get hot for the Royals.
“insert prospect for Billingsley possibly?”
Billingsley looks a solid middle #3 SP, so Clint Robinson and maybe Frenchy or David Lough could be considered, depending on the contract. Let me check:
He’s on a 3 year/$35 mil contract through ‘14 with an option year. That seems full price and then some for him, better off looking at FA’s this winter for that money, unless the deal could be done for prospects we don’t need, C Rob and Gio coming to mind.
Jim Fetterolf
11 months, 4 weeks agoHoch seems healthy and mechanically adjusted, like the 2nd half last year. He may never be as dependable as we like but he can be productive.
Chris Campbell
11 months, 4 weeks agoThat’s three good starts in a row for Hoch. It would be nice if he could put together an entire solid season..
KC Guy
11 months, 4 weeks agoHochevar was a man with a purpose tonight. Multiple times he started walking off the mound knowing he had already struck a guy out before he was wrung up. If they could just harness that Luke..
William Wolfe
11 months, 4 weeks agoOne more point on Greinke for ol’ Jim…park factors don’t seem relevant to the discussion because they don’t help your cause. The guy’s BABIP on the road is .385. I’m not concerned that we’re getting a mirage of a pitcher. And citing him as a 10 win pitcher in consideration of trades is blatantly ridiculous. I’ll take 100 Greinkes at 10 wins over 100 Chens at 12 wins. Sometimes you get the run support, sometimes you don’t. He didn’t but he will, and if he doesn’t, it’s not a reflection on making a poor free agency decision by signing him.