Unbelievable
What's more unlikely?
--That the Royals, after looking so horrible the last two weeks, will win three in a row.
--That Lima will win another game.
--Or that the Royals will beat the Twins, one of their Central Division nemesis, for the second time in a row after losing their first eight meetings of the season.
I feel like the Royals hit the Powerball.
Lima's Last Stand
We know, we know. We've been down this road before. But this time, all signs point to this being Lima's final start for the Royals. Kyle Snyder is due one more rehab start on Monday and after that the Royals will have to make a move. The prediction here is Lima is thanked for his half-season of inflating the team ERA and shown the door.
So if this was Lima's final start, he did quite well for himself. His line of 6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO compares favorably to the recent starts (and wins) the Royals have received from DJ Carrasco and Runelvys Hernandez. Good, but not great. But most importantly, good enough to help the team win the ballgame.
And credit to Lima for keeping his cool in the first inning when it could have all gone wrong. After surrendering a one out homerun, Lima gave up a single and a two out walk. This is where WTP begins wondering if we were going to see a spectacular Lima crash and burn, but he recovered and got the final out of the inning. Nice job, Lima.
Mmmmmmm, Donuts!
After Wednesday night when 10 of the Royals 12 hits were singles, they reached perfection on Thursday. 12 base hits, 12 singles. Unlike the previous two wins when most of the hits came from the lower half of the lineup, on Thursday the hits were more evenly distributed.
Four Ugly Swings
That's how Twins starter Kyle Lohse describe Angel Berroa's first four at bats which resulted in four singles. Moving up one spot to number six in the lineup, he was 4-5 with two runs scored. Berroa is trying hard to get out of the WTP doghouse.
| Month | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | .229 | .277 | .305 |
| July | .423 | .444 | .500 |
Yes, we are making a comparason between 25 games and seven games, but still... You can't ignore Berroa's hot start to the month of July. And like we've said before, if we're going to pile on we have to acknowledge when things go his way. Even if it's just for a handful of games.
Coming Soon
Monday the grades are coming. Be sure to check back for the Royals progress reports from the first half of the season.
posted by Unknown @ 7:24 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Any thoughts on where Lima is going? I hope he goes to Pittsburgh because I think he'd look great in their colors. (Then he should also get yellow contacts). I don't know if they need someone with Lima's "talent" or if they have anything to give the Royals in return.
BTW, could the Royals please when some games against the White Sox when their time comes? Twins fans would greatly appreciate it.
Do you think we can actually get anything for Lima, or will he just be given the clean release? If we released him, would we be on the line for all his salary?
I have a bad feeling that if he pitches somewhere else in the 2nd half, he'll be decent (4.4ish ERA). Someone like that could still be of value to the Royals with all these tender young arms around the clubhouse.
Thoughts?
I'm thinking along the lines of just an outright release for Lima. Sure, someone will pick him up but I just don't see how the Royals get anything in return. Of course, I thought the same thing about Benito Santiago before we dealt him to the Pirates for Leo Nunez so anything can happen.
As for his salary, the Royals still owe him $1.25 million. Even if the Royals are able to trade him, I would expect them to pick up most (or all) of his remaining salary.
They would still be on the hook for his salary if they released him. Not a huge deal given the current low payroll, and the Royals have done it in the past (Albie Lopez!)
a million bucks is still a big deal even with the low payroll. you have to remember that in the lean years you really have to BE lean. Then you can dig in and go for it in the contending years. We should be saving money this year, playing with a bunch of rookies so we can afford them in 2-3 years. You gotta ride the economic waves smartly and with a steady hand, not giving in to wishful thinking (Lima), the fans (Santiago), or blindness (Eli Marreno, T. Long, etc.)
I hope they can pick up a 3rd tier prospect for Lima if we're going to be on the hook for 1.23 mil.
frustrating.
thanks for the thoughtful response.
Sad as it is, I really don't see Lima going the rest of the year without being picked up. It's not that he's any good, but sometimes teams get that desperate.
But no team will touch him before he clears waivers -- that much I'm sure of. But pluck him from the depths of Hades and put him in AAA in case someone gets hurt?
Yeah, I can see some schmuck of a GM doing that.
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