Games: Chicago White Sox, Sept. 18: Judging the Royals with Lee Judge

Games » Chicago White Sox

Sep18

Three fastballs

Tuesday afternoon, the Royals were about to play their 16th game of the season against the Chicago White Sox. After seeing the same team so many times, were the Royals planning on throwing something new at them?

According to several coaches and players, the answer was no. Everyone knows what the opposition brings to the table. They just don’t know how well they will execute it that night.

And that brings us to Luke Hochevar. Luke pitched well. He threw seven innings, gave up three earned runs and didn’t walk anybody. But he didn’t execute three fastballs as well as he would have liked, and those three poorly executed fastballs cost him the game.

1.) In the first inning, Hochevar threw a 1-0 91-mph fastball to leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza. Luke wanted it “belt in” (belt high and inside), but left it in the middle of the plate. De Aza homered to right.

2.) In the sixth inning, Hochevar threw a 1-0 91-mph fastball to Gordon Beckham. Luke wanted the ball down and away. It ended up in the middle of the plate. Beckham homered to left.

3.) In the seventh inning, Hochevar threw a 3-0 91-mph fastball to Alex Rios. Luke had a gut feeling that Rios had the 3-0 green light (managers like to give it to power hitters). Thinking Rios might be hacking, Luke tried to “step on the gas,” but the pitch stayed up and Rios homered to deep left.

Cy Young winner David Cone once said any pitch was the right pitch if it was well-executed. Any of the pitches Hochevar threw would have been fine if he had got them to their intended locations. Any time you can look at a game and say three pitches did all the damage, the pitcher pitched well — but in this case, not well enough.

Blame those three fastballs.

Game notes

• Alex Gordon hit his 48th double of the season in the first inning. It seems as though about half of them were hustle doubles. Gordon has the good sense to always bust it out of the box and take advantage of any momentary bobble or lack of hustle by the defense.

• Hal McRae ranks first in doubles in a single season by a Royal (54 in 1977). Billy Butler is second (51 in 2009). And Alex is now third. He passed Jeff Francoeur’s 47 doubles last season.

• Butler then drove in Alex and David Lough (who led off the first with a walk) for his 96th and 97th RBIs of 2012. That is another personal best, and with 14 games left, it seems Billy has a very good shot at his first 100-RBI year.

• In the fourth inning, the Royals put on a left-handed shift against Chicago batter Adam Dunn. Second baseman Tony Abreu was playing in short right field, and Hochevar was pounding Dunn inside, trying to make the White Sox DH pull the ball. Luke got the job done, but Abreu didn’t. Dunn pulled the ball, but Tony made an error that allowed Dunn to go to all the way to second base.

• Two things about that error: Abreu did not “body up.” That means getting his body behind the ball so that if he missed the catch, the ball would hit his body, fall to the ground and give Tony a chance to make the play.

Here’s the second thing: The ball was smoked. Most of the time, if an infielder gets a glove on a ball, it slows the ball down so it still is somewhere in the infielder’s vicinity. This ball ate up Abreu and just kept going into right field.

• Before the game, one of the White Sox told Trevor Vance that the Royals’ infield is the fastest infield in the league. Trevor wasn’t buying it, but even if it’s one of the fastest that will affect the number of balls that Kansas City infielders can reach.

• Of course, if your infielders have more range than the opponent’s infielders, a fast infield can be an advantage.

• Chicago’s A.J. Pierzynski didn’t get the memo and decided to challenge Alex Gordon’s arm in the fifth inning. This was bad idea for two reasons. One, A.J. was the leadoff batter and was trying to stretch a single into a double. That’s a better risk with two outs than none. Two, Alex is really good at throwing out runners.

• After the game, I asked Alex whether playing third helped with outfield assists. Gordon is not afraid to charge a ball and has a quick release. Both are necessary skills for a third baseman.

Alex agreed then said something I hadn’t considered. The angles for a third baseman and a left fielder are somewhat the same. A third baseman throwing to first is working the same angles as a left fielder playing a ball down the line and throwing to second. The distances are just greater.

• Alex added that when he first started playing the outfield, he made a lot of mistakes on balls off the wall. He had to learn to slow down and make sure he fielded the ball cleanly. Any bobble, and he wouldn’t get the runner. Fielders can make up time by charging the ball and throwing it hard, but the time in between — the transition between catching and throwing the ball — is bad time to rush.

• In the fourth inning, Francoeur hit a ball off the top of the left-field wall. A couple feet higher, and this would have been a different ballgame.

18 games

This game marked the beginning of the Royals’ sixth series against the White Sox. Speaking as a fan — and a fan that has to watch all 162 games — I would rather see the Royals play division rivals less often and teams outside the division more often.

But the Royals coaches might not agree.

Until recently, I hadn’t considered what a pain in the neck interleague play can be for a coaching staff. Any time a new series begins, coaches have to spend hours putting together a game plan.

Outfield coach Rusty Kuntz and infield coach Eddie Rodriguez have to study spray charts and hitters’ tendencies to decide where to position the defense. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has to study pitcher tendencies and decide on an offensive plan of attack. Pitching coach Dave Eiland, the catchers and pitchers have to devise a plan for getting opposing hitters out.

All this takes hours of homework. On the first day of a series, coaches might be at the stadium by 10 a.m. to prepare for a 7:10 p.m. game. This work has to be done whether the team is preparing for three interleague games or 18 division games.

But by the sixth series, the coaches have a pretty decent idea of what the other team does. They may need to brush up the game plan by adjusting to any new tendencies that the other team has begun to exhibit, but at least they’re not starting from scratch.

So while I might like to see a new team play the Royals, a series against a familiar team is a lot less work for coaches.

Who knew?

It’s amazing. I played baseball for 20 years. I’m in my third year of covering the Royals, and just about every day someone tells me something I didn’t know. Here’s Tuesday’s revelation: A base-runner has to start his slide sooner in the latter stages of a game.

This came from Rusty Kuntz while he was talking about Jarrod Dyson over-sliding second base on a steal attempt in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game. According to Rusty, baseball fields dry out as the game progresses. The infield dirt is harder later in a game than it was at the beginning.

Speedsters such as Dyson need to take that into account. Their slides will not stop as quickly in the ninth inning as they did in the first. Rusty said most over-slides happen later in games.

It wouldn’t be fair

Unless he gets in a bind, Ned Yost will not play any September call-ups against contending teams. Ned doesn’t think it would be fair to the Detroit Tigers to play anything less than his best team against the Chicago White Sox. He will take the same attitude when the Royals play Detroit.

If you want to see the rookies in action, check out the games against Cleveland. The current plan is for rookie right-hander Jake Odorizzi to start against the Indians this weekend.

Comments

Terry Payne
8 months ago

I glanced at next year’s schedule. It’s going to be weird playing the Phillies the 2nd series.

But I like the way they’re going to be handling interleague play, what with the schedule balanced now that each league will have 15 teams. One divion in the other league is concentrated on, playing, I believe, each team in that division, plus a regional rival from the other league. I assume they’ll be rotating play against the different division each year, meaning in 3 years time, we’ll get to see every team in the NL.

I am NOT a fan of playing more interleague games. Playing each team within your division more often makes for more intense, “natural” rivalries.
Adi Rosenblum
8 months ago

Keep in mind that this made no difference in the game last night, but…

In the bottom of the 4th Francoeur pounded the ball off the top of the wall in left-center field. As he was rounding first, the play was directly in his line of sight over the top of 2nd base as he was running. And I use the term ‘running’ lightly. It really looked like he thought it was a HR so he was jogging. When the ball hit the top of the wall and got away from the outfielder, I instantly thought “TRIPLE!” but his lack of hustle left him standing at 2nd for a double.

I think most other guys on the team would have easily had a stand up triple on that play.

It was all for not as Hosmer ended the inning by lining out to left, but in a 1 run game, that could have been crucial.

Hochevar wasn’t awful last night by any means. But is anyone surprised that he gave up 3 HRs on 3 Fastballs that he didn’t “execute”? Yeah, me neither.

Non-tender the guy in 2013. Sign Guthrie to a 2 year deal and move on. This team is soooo close to a .500 team or better. Hochevar is a nice guy. But we need wins, not smiles.
Josh Cooper
8 months ago

I actually prefer the division games. It gives you a chance to really get to know the other teams in your division and create some fun rivalries. I think it’s one of the first things Terry and I agree on!
Brendan Woodbury
8 months ago

I didn’t think Luke pitched that well last night. In addition to the three home runs (on a night when Ryan kept reminding us the weather was suppressing home runs), he gave up a five line drives, which is more characteristic of Bad Luke than Good Luke.

He was bailed out by some excellent outfield defense, including the great catch by Lough and Gordon throwing out Pierzynski at second.
Jim Fetterolf
8 months ago

Luke had a seven inning quality start, I’m fine with that. The offense just didn’t come through. That happens to pitchers sometimes, happened to Zack twice this year at the K.
KC Guy
8 months ago

I think most other guys on the team would have easily had a stand up triple on that play.

Francoeur definitely looked like he thought he had a HR at first, though in his defense, it was about 2 feet away…and the CF backed up the play pretty nicely. If Francoeur gets thrown out at 3rd, it would be one more thing about how he’s the worst regular in the majors, and the Royals baserunning is awful, and all that.

Besides, when you say “most other guys”, there are probably only two regulars in the Royals lineup that are slower than Francoeur anyway, and the bench guys (aside from Pena) are faster, too..
Jim Fetterolf
8 months ago

KC, has Frenchy slowed that much? I mentioned last year about late August that the Handsome Frenchman looked like he had lost a step and wondered if he was hurt, and the speed thing seems to have continued this year. I’m seeing “slower”, but still faster than Moose and a touch slower than Hoz. Frenchy’s legs do seem a bit less coordinated than before.
KC Guy
8 months ago

I debated who was faster between Francoeur and Moustakas, and it’s probably pretty much a draw, with Hosmer maybe a step ahead. Frenchy seems to have kind of a gallop to his gait, and I wonder if he’s covering up a leg or knee injury. I don’t think you just magically lose speed all of the sudden from one season to the next simply because of age, but he definitely doesn’t look the same as he did most of the season last year..
KC Guy
8 months ago

In addition to the three home runs (on a night when Ryan kept reminding us the weather was suppressing home runs), he gave up a five line drives, which is more characteristic of Bad Luke than Good Luke.

Gavin Floyd had fewer strikeouts, and gave up more fly balls & line drives. Did he pitch a worse game than Hochevar?
Jim Fetterolf
8 months ago

KC, that gallop is what I’m seeing that suggests uncoordination. I’ve got some nerve damage, so understand legs not going exactly where I tell them to. Frenchy did mention awhile back that he’s going to work on leg strength in the off-season. His legs do look a bit skinnier than last year and his weight is, I think, too far down for his height.
Curtis Ruder
8 months ago

I missed the game last night, so I don’t know that this is a fact, but I daresay Luke probably failed to execute on more than three pitches last night. Those are just the three that got belted to the seats.

How many times do we say Hosmer, for example, got his pitch and fouled it straight back instead of putting it in the water spectacular? If that is true, the pitcher didn’t execute any better on that one. And if the Royals are missing hittable pitches, then so are our opponents.
Terry Payne
8 months ago

Something’s wrong with Frenchie’s legs if you put any stock in the fact that his stolen base attempts are waaaay down from last year.

I’d say considering how much pride he took in his steals last year, something’s mos def wrong.
Joel Kallem
8 months ago

Good comments. One thing we can all agree on I think is that right now the future for the Royals is brighter than the future is looking for the Chiefs.
KC Guy
8 months ago

Hochevar, at times, had hitters absolutely confused — he struck out Konerko looking in a 3-2 count in an RBI situation with a 91 mph fastball (his apparent nemesis on the evening) over the outer half of the plate. Then, he would spend three pitches trying to get 2 feet within the target. As much of a competitor as he’s supposed to be, it’s absolutely baffling how he can still lose focus so often during games. Mendoza tends to do the same thing, but his misses still get swings, and sometimes get put (weakly) into play. Duffy would do the same thing as Hochevar — his misses are too far to draw swings — but he also has more stuff, and can still get away with it sometimes.

Hochever has all the tools to make it, but when he misses, he misses bad..
Jim Fetterolf
8 months ago

Mendoza is an interesting mention. I think, like Hoch, Luis is best when coming over the top. In games that Luke gets bombed he tends to drop and turn his curve into more of a slow slurve while his FB loses dip and location. Both need to pitch downhill and let their stuff work. Luis seems to be having better luck at that this year.
Terry Payne
8 months ago

JF - isn’t that the main compaint about Mike Montgomery: that he doesn’t pitch downhill very much?
KC Guy
8 months ago

Pitching downhill is a pretty difficult thing to do. Your arm is coming out from the side and staying outside the elbow, but still trying to get on top of the ball at the same time. Tall pitchers (like Montgomery) have much longer arms and, by the time they finish the pitch, are closer to the plate than most pitchers, so that’s an advantage if they can master it. But staying on top of the ball is hard for every pitcher.

Some guys try to compensate to an extreme, which gives you a Coleman or Hottovy (or, for a still local example, Brad Ziegler). But that’s an entirely different thing to pull off as well..
Terry Payne
8 months ago

PS - Josh C - I suspect LOTS of people on this site disagree with me, but that’s OK. I’ve learned so much from Lee, you, JF, KC, B Dub, etc. Besides, I only let members of my immediate family hurt my feelings :))
KC Guy
8 months ago

KC, that gallop is what I’m seeing that suggests uncoordination

Read more here: http://royals.kansascity.com/games/491/#storylink=cpy
KC Guy
8 months ago

KC, that gallop is what I’m seeing that suggests uncoordination

Err…had a post accidentally!

Francoeur, to me, has been battling bad legs all year. He’s tried to cut off multiple balls, both on the ground and in the air, the he just didn’t get to this year…but that he would have in years past — even last year. And, if you don’t have your legs beneath you, your hitting is going to go pretty much automatically..
KC Guy
8 months ago

I missed the game last night, so I don’t know that this is a fact, but I daresay Luke probably failed to execute on more than three pitches last night. Those are just the three that got belted to the seats.

Not saying you’re wrong, but nothing like just throwing stuff out there whether it’s true or not..
Terry Payne
8 months ago

French was very slow getting to DeAza triple. I think he could have held it to 2b if he was playing that ball as aggressively as he bats.

Judging the Royals