Warning Track Power

Mariners Preview

2005-08-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

The Losing Streak hits the road for three in the Pacific Northwest.

THE MARINERS

If there’s a team the Royals can win at least one from, it would have to be the Mariners. Seattle is coming off a sweep at the hands of the Angels and has dropped nine of their last 13.

Seattle is actually the one team in the league that the Royals look equal to, at least on the offensive side. Seattle is dead last in the AL in basehits, total bases, AVG, OBA and SLG.

Here’s how the two teams look:

Team	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Royals	.261	.317	.399	.717
Mariners	.255	.314	.392	.706

This is a team that went out in the offseason and spent millions adding Richie Sexton and Adrian Beltre. Money helps, but you have to know how to spend it.

It’s the pitching that’s keeping the Mariners in the ballgames. Their team ERA is just below the league average at 4.73. And, of course, they have one of the top “closers” in all of baseball in Eddie Guardado. Actually, given their offense, if the Mariners had pitching like the Royals, their record would probably be like…the Royals. Duh.

THE MATCHUPS

Mon – Runelvys Hernandez (8-10, 4.93) vs. Feliz Hernandez (1-1, 0.69)
Tues – Zack Greinke (3-14, 6.09) vs. Joel Pinero (4-7, 5.69)
Wed – DJ Carrasco (5-6, 4.37) vs. Jamie Moyer (9-4, 4.34)

We're happy to see Royal-killer Ryan Franklin will not be making a start in this series.

THE PLAYERS

Another series, another hot slugger is waiting. Richie Sexson has been en fuego since the month of July when he finished second in the player of the month balloting. (I didn’t know they kept track of second place finishes. Maybe he got a nice plaque.) Since July 4, Sexson is hitting .309 with 11 home runs and has hit safely in 24 of his last 35 games.

Ichiro! Is Ichiro! A base hit machine, although he just endured an 0-22 slump at the plate. Since Ichiro! Is supposed to hit about .350 and collect over 200 base hits, this cannot bode well for the Royals pitchers. We see a couple of multi-hit games in his immediate future. Like Monday and Tuesday.

Raul Ibanez has reached base in 37 of his last 43 games…Willie Bloomquist has raised his average almost 80 points since early July. He was at .197

ROYALS TO WATCH

We’re not sure you really want to watch the Royals at this point.

Remember the time, Zack Greinke made Richie Sexson look foolish on a 61 MPH curve? Maybe he’ll do something like that again.

That’s all we’ve got.

Tiger Preview

2005-08-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

So, are they gonna fight? Runelvys goes on Saturday.

THE TIGERS

Detroit comes to KC struggling, winning only one of their last seven. Of course, next to the Royals, that record qualifies as a success. The difference with the Tigers is before their recent slide, they were actually flirting with a .500 record and some respectability. They are three years into their youth movement and the heat is on Alan Trammell as many in Motown feel that the improvement from their 119-loss season back in 2003 hasn’t been enough.

The Tigers are one of those teams that are difficult to pin down. They’re good enough to be a .500 club, but they have yet to put together a sustained run of victories. They were 11-11 in April, 12-15 in May, 13-13 in June and 14-15 in July. That’s some consistency.

Their starting pitching is alright, with an ERA of 4.50 and their bullpen has been surprisingly good with an ERA of 3.50. The proof of the strength of the bullpen comes from a 39-7 record when leading after six innings. This club doesn’t cough up that many leads, which could spell trouble for the Royals given their recent history of falling behind early.

THE MATCHUPS

FRI - Jason Johnson (7-9, 4.06) vs. Jose Lima (4-10, 6.84)
SAT – Mike Maroth (9-11, 4.89) vs. Runelvys Hernandez (8-10, 4.93)
SUN – Sean Douglass (4-2, 4.08) vs. Mike Wood (3-4, 3.82)

THE PLAYERS

Magglio Ordonez is a Royal killer. In a little over 100 lifetime games against the Royals, Ordonez has a line of .328/.378/.559 with an OPS of .937. No wonder he opted to stay in the AL Central. Well, that and the fact the Tigers panicked and overpaid him.

Ordonez missed the first couple of months due to a hernia, but has played awfully well since his return. From July 1st to the present, he has 36 base hits, the most in the AL in that stretch. Since the All-Star break, he has been one of the top hitters in all of baseball, posting splits of .353/.407/.500.

Pudge Rodriguez missed the last four games due to a suspension and you have to wonder if the time off will help him rejuvenate his game. He’s struggled since the break, going .298/.295/.464. And no, we didn’t transpose the BA and the OBP numbers. His on base percentage is actually less than his batting average.

Placido Polanco has hit safely in 31 of his 40 games since joining the Tigers…Chris Shelton was their player of the month for July…Carlos Guillen is coming out of a slump going 11 for his last 35, after enduring a 9-53 stretch…Brandon Inge has fallen back to Earth after a hot start to the season. He’s .202/.278/.340 since the All-Star break.

ROYALS TO WATCH

Battling a slump over the last couple of weeks, David DeJesus has to be pleased to see the Tigers come to town. He has been nails against Detroit this season, going .395/.478/.632 in the 10 games between the two teams.

Mike Sweeney on the other hand has struggled with only eight hits in 40 at bats.

And did we mention Runelvys pitches on Saturday?

Both photos AP Photo/Duane Burleson
July 17, 2005

On The Record

2005-08-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here's some of the gems as the Royals losing streak approached a team-record 12 games:

"If I get that call on the 2-2 count, it's a different ballgame."

Jose Lima
Topeka Capital-Journal 8/7/05

After giving up seven runs in less than five innings, Lima needs to realize his outings rarely come down to one single pitch.

“If you ain’t got heart, you might as well pack your stuff up and go home. That’s what it’s gonna take. And I can question that on this team in a lot of people. I will. If they don’t like it, I’ll tell them. If you want me to name names — if they read this article and don’t like it — I’ll point them out.”

Terrence Long
KC Star 8/8/05

Long finally makes some noise.

“In some respect, I think we’re content with it. I’m not. I guess everyone takes it different. I don’t like losing."

Terrence Long
KC Star 8/8/05

It about time someone on this team stepped forward with a statement like this. That is was Terrence Long says volumes about the Royals.

"Everybody knows how I feel about coming back here. I want to finish my career here."
Matt Stairs
KCRoyals.com 8/9/05

As much as we love Stairs, he might want to rethink that statement.

“Little popper, out into left centerfield. Out goes Berroa…and he drops it. And now he kicks it.”

Denny Mathews
WHB 8/9/05

After Berroa recovered to get a forceout, Denny said the Royals were “fortunate” to get an out. Little did he know what was to follow.

“Flyball toward the left field corner. Ambres into the corner. He dropped it. In comes the tying run.”

Denny Mathews
WHB 8/9/05

See?

“The Indians score 11. That’s right. Eleven.”

Denny Mathews
WHB 8/9/05

“This is the worst I’ve ever been through in my 10 or 11 years here. The absolute worst. I don’t ever remember anything like this.”

Mike Sweeney
KC Star 8/10/05

No argument from us.

“Hopefully, this is rock bottom, because if this is not, I don’t know what is.”

Buddy Bell
KC Star 8/11/05

We said the same thing after Sunday.

“I remember when I got my first glove.”

Mark Teahen
KC Star 8/10/05

If Teahen still knows where it is, he might want to loan it to Angel Berroa who apparently has misplaced his.

Buy Your Tickets

2005-08-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is irony. Just as the Royals are hitting the lowest point in franchise history, they are honoring their greatest moment.

We have mentioned the World Series Reunion Weekend before, but with recent reports of lagging ticket sales, WTP has decided to make another push.

Ever since the special promotions were announced last winter, we've been looking forward to this upcoming weekend. This is a must-see event for any Royals fan. It doesn't matter if you were at the World Series games, watched them on TV or weren't even born yet. 1985 was the watershed moment for this franchise and deserves to still be celebrated. Especially now.

It's memories of that postseason that can help us through the miserable times like this week. Try it. Better than paying a therapist.

No matter how many games the Royals lose this season, no matter how many ninth inning leads get blown, and no matter how many times both Joe McEwing and Denny Hocking appear in the same lineup, we'll always have those flags in left field.

Get out there and support your team. We've got our tickets for this weekend and we hope to see you there.

For more info, please visit the Royals website.

WTP 2.0

2005-08-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Since the launching of Royals Authority about a month ago, I've been kicking around a couple of ideas as to what to do with WTP. We've got the recap and analysis angle covered at the Authority, so that left me with a couple of options.

After some brainstorming, I've come up with a couple of ideas that will hopefully enlighten as well as entertain while maintaining our allegiance to the Royals.

So for the remainder of the season, we're going back to hopefully posting something everyday here at WTP.

Here's the schedule for the rest of the week:

Thursday - Royal Quotes
Friday - Detroit Tigers Preview

As usual, we're flying by the seat of our pants. We'll see where this takes us.

Spread the word. WTP Version 2.0 is up and running!

Tampa Bay Freakin' Devil Rays

2005-07-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

For a recap of an awful weekend of baseball, visit us at Royals Authority.

Locked-In Zack

2005-07-20T07:37:00.000-05:00

For a recap of the brilliant performance by Zack Greinke, please stop by Royals Authority.

BREAKING NEWS

2005-07-19T15:35:00.000-05:00

You didn't think Allard and the Royals would stand on the sidelines as the trading deadline approached, did you?

Here we go...Deal #1.

Tony Graffanino to the Red Sox in exchange for OF Chip Ambres and LHP Juan Cedeno.

Ambres is a former #1 draft choice of the Florida Marlins who was signed as a minor league free agent last winter. He's known for his speed and above average plate discipline.

Cedeno features a mid 90s fastball and is working on a curveball/changeup combination to go along with the heat. Some control issues, but nothing we haven't seen before.

Sad to see Graff go, especially when you consider the type of season he is having. He's the type of player that should help a contender. Best of luck to him.

If both Ambres and Cedeno are added to the Royals 40 man roster, that will make 39 with room to add one more player. Something tells me the Royals aren't done dealing.

Hop over to Royals Authority for some more analysis.

When Did The Royals Switch Leagues?

2005-07-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

Is this just because of that Greinke home run in Arizona?

That screen grab was taken Monday at around 4 PM from the Royals website. Good for a laugh on a rainy Tuesday.

Bring It On

2005-07-18T10:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday’s Royals-Tigers tilt brings to mind several other bench clearing incidents through the years. Here are my top five most notable Royals bench clearing incidents in reverse order:

Round 1:
Mike Sweeney gets MidEvil on Jeff Weaver August 10, 2001

Weaver calls the Royals first baseman a choice name and Sweeney goes after him. Weaver’s a punk. Sweeney’s a good guy. A classic battle of good vs. evil. Who knew, Sweeney had that kind of fire in him?

Round 2:
Brian McRae charges the Texas Ranger dugout, July 29, 1993

After Ranger starter Charlie Liebrandt hit two Royals (including McRae) in the game’s first five innings, tensions were high. When Bob Patterson hit McRae in the eighth, the centerfielder had had enough and decided to confront who he considered to be the source of the pitches…Rangers manager Kevin Kennedy. In walking toward the Rangers dugout, McRae starts one of the strangest fights in baseball history.

Round 3:
Felix Martinez goes Daniel-San vs. the Angels

An otherwise ordinary bench clearing “meeting” gets intense when Royals shortstop Martinez freaks out and lays a drop kick on an unsuspecting opponent. As if his career .214 average wasn’t enough, the Royals sour on the young shortstop and he is released the next season.

Round 4:
Ed Farmer wipes out the Royals May 8, 1979

In this game, Farmer hits Frank White in the hand in the first inning, breaking it and causing the second baseman to miss 33 games. Not done yet, in the fifth Farmer drills Al Cowens in the head, fracturing his jaw and causing him to miss 21 games. Cowens gets revenge the next year when he charges the mound after hitting a ground ball against Farmer. I have never and will never forgive Farmer for what he did. Clearly not one of my “favorites” but included on this list for the way it altered the Royals season.

Round 5:
George Brett vs. Graig Nettles, Game 5 1977 ALCS, October 9, 1977

Brett slides hard into third going for a triple, Nettles kicks at him, Brett comes up swinging and all hell breaks loose. One of the best moments of the Royals/Yankees rivalry. I remember watching in horror as it unfolded, fearing that Brett would be tossed, but that didn’t happen for some reason. The fight was also notable when Yankees catcher Thurmon Munson was lying on Brett at the bottom of the pile and tells him, “Don’t worry George. I won’t let anyone hit you while you’re down.” Years later, Brett would recall that Munson was a man of his word. Considering the situation, the opponent and the combatants, it is unlikely this fight will ever be topped.

Today on Royals Authority:
My recap of the weekend and round by round breakdown of the Hernandez-Guillen tilt.

ANNOUNCING ROYALS AUTHORITY

2005-07-15T07:37:00.000-05:00

On Monday of this week, I alluded to an upcoming announcement regarding WTP.

Here it is:

I'm pleased to report that I, along with cfos from the always excellent OP-ED Page, have been asked by the guys at Most Valuable Network to provide them with Royals content on their site formerly known as Royals Court.

We have spent the better part of this week getting everything lined up, including renaming the site The Royals Authority. I'm excited to collaborate with Clark and look forward to working with him in bringing you the best Royals content on the web.

The best part of the move is I don’t have to give up my writing at WTP. When I began this blog back in April, I really didn’t know what to expect. After all, this is the Royals we’re talking about. Not exactly a glamorous team by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and kind words I’ve received from so many readers, I’m not ready to go Lima (i.e. give up completely on) on WTP.

WTP will still be updated with some random Royals thoughts, maybe expanding my scope just a bit to include some other teams. I’ve got some ideas kicking around my head, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.

If you like what you’ve been reading over the past three months, please add a new bookmark to your list of “must-visit” Royals sites:

http://royals.mostvaluablenetwork.com

Thanks for visiting WTP. We'll see you at Royals Authority!

Idler's Dream

2005-07-14T00:15:00.000-05:00

Here is our wish list for the second half of the season:

• Allard Baird resists the temptation to trade Jeremy Affeldt.

• Jeremy Affeldt gets healthy, stays healthy and finds a defined role.

• Mike Sweeney gets healthy, stays healthy and continues to crush AL pitching.

• Sluggrrrrr continues his disappearing act from the K.

• Buddy Bell turns in the correct lineup card every single game.

• The Royals sign Alex Gordon.

• Mike MacDougal gets 20 saves (I can’t believe I just wrote that.)

• Emil Brown doesn’t wake up.

• Allard deals Terrence Long for an actual prospect.

• Ambiorix Burgos returns to the bullpen.

• The K is packed for the 20th anniversary tribute to the champs, August 12-14.

• Zack Grienke figures it out.

• Mark Teahen starts hitting more doubles.

• The Royals retire that awful “dance-off” between innings.

• Matt Stairs finishes the season as a Royal.

• Lima misses his exit to the K on I-70, continues east, and ends up at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals miss the playoffs.

• Rob and Rany officially give up on the team for the 216th time.

• DJ Carrasco keeps doing whatever it is he’s doing to get hitters out.

• Guy Hansen quits being quoted in the papers and actually works to drop the team ERA below 5.50.

• The Royals sweep the Yankees in New York to go 6-0 against them on the season.

• The Yankees to miss the playoffs by one game.

• Angel Berroa doubles his walk total to 22.

• Leo Nunez gets sent to the minors.

• The Royals actually adopt the slogan: “It could be worse. It could be the Devil Rays.”

• Calvin Pickering figures it out.

• The Royals rediscover how to correctly use Andy Sisco.

• Andy Sisco continues kicking ass.

• Ruben Gotay begins to feel comfortable fielding his position.

• Angel Berroa has at least one game where he doesn’t swing at a pitch in the dirt.

• John Buck hits .270.

• Buddy Bell learns how to use his bullpen.

• David DeJesus continues his recent trend of NOT attempting to steal bases.

• Angel Berroa doesn’t get near the leadoff spot.

• JP Howell gets sent to the minors and gets his confidence back.

• Runelvys Hernandez gets stronger.

• Denny Mathews and Ryan Lefebvre have a conversation…On the air.

• Matt Stairs leads by example and the Royals raise their team OBA.

• The Royals announce the Tony Pena era never happened and lobby MLB to expunge all records from the previous two seasons.

• Mike Wood continues thriving in the bullpen.

• A Royals pitcher hits triple digits on the stadium radar gun.

• Denny Bautista heals.

• The Royals go 33-42 to avoid 100 losses for the third time in four seasons.

Hey, it can't hurt.

Mid-Season Report Card (Part 3)

2005-07-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

Here are the managers.

Managers. Damn, that's sad.

Manager Buddy Bell
GRADE: D

What an uninspired choice for manager of this team. It’s been over a month since his hiring and we’re still trying to come to grips with the fact that Bell will be in charge of this team for at least the next two years, maybe longer.

An 11-4 start was quickly forgotten after a 2-14 fade. And Bell has already opened himself up to second guessers against the Twins when, with a plethora of southpaw relievers at his disposal, several times opted to go with a righthander when the Twins bench is loaded with left-handed bats. We could excuse that if Bell had been in the NL before coming to Kansas City, but he was in Cleveland for crying out loud.

Or how about the time when he filled out his lineup card wrong and it cost the Royals a leadoff single? A boneheaded blunder to be sure. The problem here is, this isn’t the first time it’s happened to a Buddy Bell team. (See 6/2/97)

Royals fans were told that Bell would be the right manager for this team because he has experience and has learned from whatever mistakes he made in the past. At least they got the experience part right.

Manager Bob Schaefer
GRADE: D

The man who elevated Angel Berroa to the leadoff spot. And Greinke’s struggles began on his watch.

Manager Tony Pena
GRADE: F-

The reasons he quit aren’t important, we’re just glad he decided to leave. The worst manager in Royals history. And when you’re preceded by Bob Boone and Tony Muser, that’s saying something.

Pena was costing the Royals wins. Schaefer was never a serious candidate for the opening created by Pena’s departure. And Bell so far has made some boneheaded moves that will open his hiring up to questions.

Not an inspiring bunch. If this were the military, we’d say there isn’t a guy in this bunch that is officer material. I guess sometimes that’s what you get when you go for the youth movement.

We’ll wrap things up tomorrow with a look at what needs to happen in the second half.

Mid-Season Report Card (Part 2)

2005-07-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today, it’s the pitchers. If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip this entry altogether. But then again, if you have a weak stomach, you shouldn’t be reading a Royals blog to begin with.

Same criteria as yesterday. The numbers under each entry might be a bit unconventional, but we thought it was as good a way as any to measure a pitcher’s worth. The numbers are ERA/K per 9 IP/BB per 9 IP.

Proceed with caution.

Mike MacDougal
3.76 ERA /9.52 K per 9/4.20 BB per 9
GRADE: A-

Talking about saves makes me queasy. But we have to give some serious props to MacDougal. Over the last month and a half, with the game on the line, there hasn’t been anyone better. Since May 31 when he was anointed the Royals “closer,” he’s nine for nine in save opportunities with an ERA of 2.87. He hasn’t given up a run in a save situation since June 1. If you’re looking for a feel-good story, this is your guy.

Andy Sisco
2.72 ERA /9.42 K per 9/5.44 BB per 9
GRADE: B+

We anointed him our favorite early on, and nothing he has done has made us change our mind. An absolute steal in the Rule V draft, the Cubs loss is the Royals gain. He has struggled at times, but when he’s on it’s lights out for the hitters. His delivery makes it look like he’s releasing the ball about 40 feet from home plate. I pity the lefty that has to stand in that batters box. Currently being mishandled by the Royals as a LOOGY. His future is in the rotation so he would be better served entering the game at the beginning of an inning rather than with runners on base.

Mike Wood
3.59 ERA /5.64 K per 9/4.27 BB per 9
GRADE: B

After his early season success from the bullpen, we lobbied for Wood to rejoin the rotation. But after some careful research where it was revealed that hitters pound the ball after he goes through the lineup once, we are changing our position. Opponents are hitting almost 300 points higher the second time through the lineup against Wood. A terrible stat, to be sure, but that doesn’t diminish his value in pitching up to three innings of middle relief.

DJ Carrasco
3.57 ERA /3.71 K per 9/3.04 BB per 9
GRADE: B

Another Rule V success story (so far) for the Royals, Carrasco has shown flashes of brilliance since being converted from the bullpen. He’s faltered of late, having given up 10 base hits in each of his last two starts. Another concern is his low strikeout rate, (3.71 K/9 IP) by far the lowest on the team. The Royals will have to watch him very closely after the break to make sure he doesn’t tire and break down. Given the Royals track record with young pitchers, we’re not particularly optimistic.

Runelvys Hernandez
4.53 ERA /5.35 K per 9/4.20 BB per 9
GRADE: C

He’s going to give you about six innings, 10 baserunners and hopefully keep you in the game. He followed a mediocre first two months of the season with an outstanding June where the opposition hit only .185 against him. Since he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery, he’s a strong candidate to fade in the second half of the season.

Jeremy Affeldt
3.21 ERA /7.71 K per 9/4.50 BB per 9
GRADE: C

Is this the Mike Sweeney of the pitching staff or what? Just one season where he stays healthy and has a defined role on the staff. That’s all we ask. Currently, he’s being labeled as trade-bait, but we think it would be asinine to give up on a left-handed pitcher who can hit 96 on the gun. Stay well, Jeremy.

Jimmy Gobble
5.40 ERA /8.10 K per 9/6.30 BB per 9
GRADE: C-

Currently the third lefty in the pen. Damn, is this a messed up pitching staff or what?

Ryan Jensen
7.11 ERA /6.39 K per 9/2.49 BB per 9
GRADE: D

When he came up the first time, we had him pegged as a useful fourth or fifth starter on a last place team. Today, we have our doubts…

Leo Nunez
6.98 ERA /5.16 K per 9/2.73 BB per 9
GRADE: D-

In a nice touch of irony, Nunez was called up from the minors the day after the Pirates released Benny Santiago. The Royals are doing him no favors keeping him in the bigs. If the only pitch you can throw for a strike is a straight, 98 mph fastball you’re not going to get too many hitters out. Pitching is a difficult craft to learn, especially at the highest level.

JP Howell
8.65 ERA /5.54 K per 9/5.88 BB per 9
GRADE: D-

Here is the worst-case scenario for pitchers who are rushed to the big leagues. Currently, there’s not a hitter in all of baseball he’s fooling. Hell, he makes me want to grab a bat. Get this kid to Omaha or Wichita before he freaks out and barricades himself in the clubhouse with Greinke’s lucky necklace and Lima’s CD collection.

Zack Greinke
6.20 ERA /5.36 K per 9/2.40 BB per 9
GRADE: D-

OK, this is getting serious. He was the Royals best starter the first month and a half of the season. Through May 15 he was dealing, with a 3.09 ERA but his record was 0-4. That's fine. Wins for pitchers are overrated, and besides he was the victim of an unbelievable lack of run support. Everything was alright…He was pitching well and it was understood the wins would come eventually. But something happened. Something horrible. And since then he’s been a disaster. From May 20 onward, his ERA is above nine, his walks per 9 IP has doubled, his HR allowed per 9 IP has tripled and he has yet to pitch beyond the sixth inning. Not the kind of struggle you want anyone, let alone your future ace go through.

Jose Lima
7.33 ERA /4.44 K per 9/3.28 BB per 9
GRADE: F

WTP is beyond the point where we can rationally discuss this.

As you can see, WTP feels there aren’t many bright spots on this pitching staff. The starters have been a disaster (5.83 ERA and second-fewest strikeouts in the majors) and the relievers have been inconsistent.

Quite frankly, we’re worried. Royal pitchers are dropping quicker than an amateur poker player going heads up against Fossilman. One week we’re encouraged: Kyle Snyder, Brian Anderson and Denny Bautista were all in minor league rehab and were progressing nicely. No, those three aren’t world beaters, but they can spare us the carnage of another Lima or Howell start.

Suddenly, Snyder is going to be limited to 80 pitches per outing the rest of the season, Bautista hurts when he throws a breaking ball and Anderson is out for the year. Exactly what the hell is going on? Were these guys hurt worse than we were led to believe? Were they rushed into rehab before they were fully healed and then reinjured? Or when it comes to pitchers, is this organization just hampered with old-fashioned bad luck? It sure would be nice for someone from the Royals to address this problem with the pitching. It’s bad and it’s getting worse.

There is reason for some optimism. The bullpen is stocked with some really good, live arms. Future starter Sisco, MacDougal, Nunez, Affeldt and, when he returns, Ambiorix Burgos all tickle the radar gun at 95+ MPH, a luxury the Royals have never had. The problem is, we’re not convinced the Royals know what to do with these live arms. The track record isn’t encouraging.

Damn, this is fun. And we’re not stopping. Tomorrow grades are due for a couple other areas, including the manager(s).

And don’t be shy. Click that comment thingy and let us know how we’re doing.

Mid-Season Report Card (Part 1)

2005-07-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

It’s midterm time.

Here’s how this works. Today, we are only looking at the hitters. The grades for the pitchers will follow later in the week. Also, we are limiting our grades to only the players who are currently on the roster. Given the revolving door that was installed in the Royals clubhouse, this would be dissertation material if we had to critique every single player who wore a Royals jersey this year.

In assigning the grades, we tried to look at the big picture. How are they doing compared to expectations entering the season? How are they doing in relation to their salary? And, how are they doing in relation to their entire career?

Let’s get started.

Mike Sweeney
.318/.355/.547
GRADE: A-

The Royals captain is also their leader in slugging and in OPS. His grade would be even higher if his attendance were better. You hope and you hope, but it just seems like the guy can’t catch a break and stay healthy. There’s been some debate among fans whether or not you trade Sweeney and we have to admit, we’ve gone back and forth on this issue. Right now, the answer is no. Keep him a Royal. The guy is a warrior and a leader and someone who knows how the game is played. He’s simply too valuable on too many levels to deal for some prospects.

Matt Stairs
.252/.369/.421
GRADE: B+

Sometimes we feel like Stairs is the pupil who brings the teacher a shiny red apple every morning. We like him, we really like him. WTP gave Stairs a ton of credit during the Royals hot streak back in early June and deservedly so. The man knows how to get on base. Stairs is currently second on the team in OBA and third in OPS. He and a healthy Sweeney are the main cogs in the Royals offensive machine. A slow start to the month of July bumps him down.

Emil Brown
.287/.355/.445
GRADE: B+

The surprise of the season, Brown is currently second on the team in SLG and OPS. A non-roster spring training invitee, Brown made the club after he was one of the hottest hitters in all of Arizona. A slow start led to some early season grumbles about how, “Once the games start for real, spring training numbers mean jack.” The Royals player of the month for June, Brown had a 16 game hitting streak and has currently reached base in 30 of the last 31 games. He’s made some nifty defensive plays in right field as well.

David DeJesus
.290/.359/.424
GRADE: B

No he’s not Carlos Beltran. But here’s what he is: An above average defensive center fielder and an above average leadoff hitter (when the Royals actually let him lead off.) DeJesus is still terrible as a base stealer (2 for 7) but at least Buddy Bell appears to realize that fact. And remember, being a bad base stealer doesn’t mean you’re a bad base runner. DeJesus can go from first to third with the best of them. He struggled a bit at the plate in May, but other than that he has been the model of consistency.

Tony Graffanino
.309/.387/.409
GRADE: B-

Super-utility man who has played every infield position this season. Graff has been terrible at the K going .224/.327/.294 but he’s a different man when he can order room service hitting .385/.443/.510 on the road. His versatility has to make him trade bait for a contender.

Mark Teahen
.252/.303/.354
GRADE: C

Whether it’s Moneyball or the fact he’s the centerpiece of last year’s Beltran deal, all eyes will always be on Teahen. The verdict so far: He’s doing all right. His defensive numbers (10 errors and a RF around 3) compare favorably to other third basemen. Most impressively, he seems to be making the adjustments needed to succeed at this level. His batting average and OPS have improved every month of the season.

Shane Costa
.264/.321/.375
GRADE: C

Costa has had a promising start to his big league career. Part of the youth movement that would be better served in Wichita or Omaha, he is proving that he can handle himself at the highest level. The progress of Billy Butler will determine his future with this team.

John Buck
.228/.271/.358
GRADE: C-

Keep repeating the WTP Official Mantra of John Buck: “The hitting will come. The hitting will come. The hitting will come.” Does it make you feel better? The one-time top prospect in the Astros organization, Buck is distinguishing himself for his performance behind the plate, rather than at the plate. His defense is above average and will get better. Strong, accurate arm. Quick release. Good at keeping the ball in front of him. And pay close attention to whenever a Royal starter pitches a good game. One of the first things they say when they address the media post-game is something along the lines of, “I have to give credit to John Buck.” The hitting will come. The hitting will come…

Ruben Gotay
.244/.305/.376
GRADE: C-

Is there some way we can give Gotay two grades, one as a left-handed batter and one as a right-hander? Really, isn’t it about time for him to ditch this switch-hitting thing? It’s not working! Defensively, he’s getting better at turning the double play and has shown the ability to flash the leather on a couple of occasions.

Terrence Long
.264/.297/.370
GRADE: D

What you see is what you get. And in this case you’re getting a corner outfielder with a .317 career OBA. Hopefully, a hot June made him a tradable commodity.

Alberto Castillo
.207/.267/.329
GRADE: D

Our favorite “stat” of the year was something along the lines of the Royals being 3-0 in games Castillo started. Why, start him every game! Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

Joe McEwing
.268/.286/.293
GRADE: D-

No reason for him to be on the club.

Angel Berroa
.265/.303/.366
GRADE: D-

We’re much happier now that Berroa has been moved down in the batting order. Nobody in the league with as many at bats has taken fewer walks. That’s not a good distinction to have, especially when you spend a month and a half of the season batting leadoff. Mentally, he just doesn’t seem focused on the issues at hand. The problem is, we doubt that we will ever see the 2003 version of Angel Berroa again.

So that’s it for the offense.

Now is your turn to grade WTP. How did we do in assigning the grades? Someone too high? Someone too low? Or did we hit the nail on the head and get everyone right? Use the comments to let us know.

Don’t forget, we’ll follow up with pitchers tomorrow.

And later this week, there should be an announcement concerning the future of WTP. It could be exciting. Stay tuned!

Unbelievable

2005-07-08T07:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Let The Good Times Roll

2005-07-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

Baseball is a funny game. The Royals, after looking so horrible in the first game, win the next two and take the series from the Mariners.

For the most part, a great night at the K. Let's get straight to the bullets:

• Starter Runelvys Hernandez stepped up and pitched well on Wednesday. He did give up nine hits, one off his season high, but was able to work out of every jam he found himself in. A one out triple in the second, a leadoff walk in the third, a one out double in the fourth, a leadoff single in the fifth and a one out double in the sixth netted the Mariners only one run.

• The Mariners didn’t help their cause by running into outs. Catcher John Buck twice gunned down would be basestealers and Hernandez picked another runner off second. For the season, Buck is throwing out 31% (17/55) of the runners attempting to steal.

• Only one day after writing about how we are displeased at the way the Royals are using WTP Favorite Andy Sisco, they were at it again. This time bringing him in the eighth inning with one out and a runner on second. Sisco was brought in strictly as a LOOGY to face Raul Ibanez and promptly issued a walk. Please, we beg you, stop using him in this manner. He’s not effective in this role and is not learning anything from it. Stop!

• Mike MacDougal, on the other hand is becoming quite good as the appointed pitcher who makes appearances late in the ballgame when his team has a slight lead. (Yes, the “closer.”) Good ‘ole MacDougal. Always able to interject some fun in the proceedings. Wednesday night it was back to back walks with two down in the ninth inning, but he was able to get the third out and seal the series victory.

• Offensively, the Royals singled the Mariners to death. Of their 12 hits (whoooo, free donuts!) 10 were singles. In fact the Royals first couple of runs came early in the game when they were able to string together at least three singles in the second and third inning. Not too shabby for a team that was struggling to get anyone on base over the weekend.

• For the second night in a row, it was the bottom of the lineup getting it done for the Royals. Long, Berroa, Teahen and Buck combined to go 7-14 at the plate with three of the five runs.

• And to show that we don't always hate on Angel Berroa, we will happily tip our cap to the Royals' new number seven hitter on his three for three night at the plate.

• It couldn’t be a happy Royals post without some bad Mike Sweeney injury news. Sweeney left the game after his at bat in the first when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch. He was taken to a hospital for X-rays and at the time of this entry, the results were unknown. What is known is that the injury is to the left wrist, the same one that caused him to go on the DL last month with a torn ligament. This is like one of those recurring nightmares. Someone make it stop!

Up next, the Twins. The Royals will send Lima to the mound on Thursday to try to make it three in a row. Let's not spoil a good evening. No comment.

A Win? We'll Take It!

2005-07-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

A rare occurance these days.

Any win is a good win, but there were in particular a couple of positives to take from this one.

The six runs the Royals scored in the second and third innings all came with two outs. Impressive for a team that hasn’t been hitting. Particularly the second inning where Matt Stairs leads off with a single and is followed by back-to-back strikeouts. You can forgive the Royals fan who, at that moment, wrote off the Royals’ chances in that inning. Kind of amazing what two singles, a walk, a wild pitch and another single can do, isn’t it? In this case it was good for turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead.

Starter DJ Carrasco was not sharp and was working around trouble all evening. The warning sign was early when he walked Ichiro on four straight pitches. He put at least two runners on base in every inning but the first, but he was keeping the ball on the ground and staying out of trouble for the most part. Of the 16 batters he retired, 10 were on ground ball outs. That’s how you stay in the game for a little over five innings when you allow 12 baserunners.

It was good enough for the win, something the Royals have been needing over the last two and a half weeks.

Some other notes:

• Steve Penn, a columnist for the Metro section in the Kansas City Star had a piece in Tuesday's paper about putting Buck O'Neil in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. WTP is very much in favor of the enshrinement of Mr. O'Neil into the HOF. Frankly, it's an outrage that a true pioneer and ambassador like Mr. O'Neil is not already in the Hall. WTP is currently investigating the steps that need to be taken to move this issue forward. We'll keep you updated on what you can do to help. Let's work together to do something positive.

• We’re not liking the way the Royals are using WTP Favorite Andy Sisco these days. It seems Sisco is entering a number of games in the middle of the inning with runners on base. That wouldn’t be such a big deal, but these runners eventually score. His ERA is still a sexy 2.89, but he would be better suited coming out of the bullpen at the beginning of an inning.

• We haven’t touched on this earlier, but we are thrilled, THRILLED that Angel Berroa was dropped in the order. Seventh is a good spot for him, but we’d really like to see the Human Out Machine dropped to eighth or ninth.

• Of course you already know this, but that stench drifting across the Midwest is the Royals performance at the plate. In Buddy Bell’s first 16 games as manager (remember, when they were winning?) the Royals had nine players with an OBP above .388. In the last 16 games Emil Brown has the highest OBP at .373. Look at this breakdown in OBP:

Name	5/31-6/16	6/17-7/4
Stairs	.500	.280
Graffanino	.447	.333
Brown	.429	.373
Long	.419	.286
Costa	.414	.250
DeJesus	.403	.324
Gotay	.388	.304
Buck	.341	.211
Teahen	.321	.341
Berroa	.296	.217

A few things stand out from this table. First of all, hats off to Mark Teahen who was the only Royal to have a better second half of June than the first. Second, we don't think it's coincidence the Royals recent slide coincides with the drop in Matt Stairs' production. And third, those percentages are abysmal across the board, but special mention must go to Berroa and John Buck. To only get on base roughly 21% is truly noteworthy.

All-Star Time
There was a time when the All-Star Game meant something to us. We remember spending those early summer nights at Royals Stadium, punching our Gillette sponsored ballots for George Brett at 3B, Frank White at 2B and Amos Otis in the OF. The Star would print the early results and Brett would always be leading, but stiffs like Graig Nettles and our own Buddy Bell would always be too close for comfort. What would we do if our beloved number 5 was not voted in by the baseball-loving public? The very possibility of that happening kept us awake at night.

Maybe it age, but priorities have shifted over time. Mike Sweeney is the Royals lone All-Star representative? Yawn. It’s just too damn hard to give a flip about this kind of stuff anymore.

But in some sort of small way, we’re relieved that Sweeney will be representing the Royals for the fifth time in his career. Look at it like it’s a multiple choice test.

The Royals All-Star representative will be:
A) Emil Brown. Career minor leaguer and non-roster invitee who has already doubled his career high for plate appearances in a season.
B) Andy Sisco. Rule V draftee who before this season never pitched above A ball.
C) Mike Sweeney. Career .305/.374/.498 batter.

We’ll take C every day of the week.

Lost Weekend

2005-07-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a better holiday than the Royals.

What a brutal weekend. If not for a couple of timely basehits on Saturday night, we're talking about four consecutive shutouts.

Since returning home from a dreadful road trip the Royals have played four games. In those games, they have scored a grand total of three runs.

Some more numbers from the current homestand:
.159 Batting Average
5 extra base hits (all doubles)
3 walks

Yech.

I was an embarrassing weekend from the beginning when, due to a dugout mixup, Angel Berroa was listed as the leadoff batter but David DeJesus took his turn. Angels manager Mike Scoscia did exactly what he was supposed to do...Let DeJesus take the at bat, get a base hit, then point out the error to the umpires. The result: A leadoff single is erased and Berroa doesn't get to swing the bat. Maybe one good thing came out of that after all.

Probably the best starting pitcher of the last four games was Lima. Another reason to keep him around, I guess.

The Buddy Bell honeymoon is officially over.

Stuff

2005-07-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

The Royals finally return home to finish out the first half of the season against Anaheim, Seattle and Minnesota.

I’ve got ticket to the game on Saturday night and see that Lima is pitching. It’s always extra special when you go to the ballpark with the chance to witness history. In this case I’m hoping the history is Lima’s last ever game in a Royals uni! Keep your fingers crossed.

Since the Royals are off today and work has actually picked up this week, I’m doing kind of a hodgepodge sort of thing.

Inspired By Lima’s Impending Start On Saturday
Top 5 Moments I’ve Witnessed At The K:
1) 10/27/85, Game 7, 1985 World Series
2) 10/26/85, Game 6, 1985 World Series
3) 9/29/93, George Brett’s final home game
4) 9/16/96, Paul Molitor’s 3,000 career base hit
5) 10/4/78, Game 2 ALCS, KC 10, NY 4 (My first playoff game)

Do you have a top five? Post them in the comments!

Ever Get The Feeling You’ve Been Had?
ESPN.com is moving more and more of it’s writers behind their “Insider” wall. It now costs money to read John Kruk. Unnnnnngggh.

The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Anyone?
By far, my favorite class while an undergrad at KU was Literature of Baseball taught by James Carothers. I took the class in the fall of ’91, but still have all the books. The reading list included:

“You Know Me Al,” Ring Lardner
“Eight Men Out,” Eliot Asinof
“Babe,” Robert Creamer
“The Natural,” Bernard Malamud
“The Southpaw,” Mark Harris
“The Universal Baseball Association, Inc.,” Robert Coover
“I Had A Hammer,” Hank Aaron
“Once More Around The Park,” Roger Angell
“The Bill James Historical Abstract,” Bill James

The final exam included a question on the lyrics to “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Not a bad way to burn three credit hours.

Just Give Us Your F-ing Money!
1985 was a huge year for a number of reasons (World Series!) one of which was Live Aid. Twenty years on, they are trying to recreate the magic with Live 8. I’m a believer that you can never go back, but this should be a good show.

Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
This week Apple released it’s latest version of iTunes, which integrates podcasting into the program. I’m a bit divided on this. On one hand, I think it’s cool that I can download clips from various radio networks. But on the other hand, it’s only a matter of time before those same networks begin charging money to access their downloads.

What Do You Have To Do To Be A Buff?
Happy Independence Day to everyone. By the way, if you are a history buff I highly recommend David McCullough’s 1776.

The preceeding was composed while listening to U2.

Snapping The Streak

2005-06-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Good win for the Royals on Wednesday. Anytime you lose eight games in a row, but can win the ninth…That’s a good win.

Just a couple of quick comments before moving on to other business:

• Does it piss you off when the second batter of the game bunts? Since it was Angel Berroa, there’s every reason to believe he did it on his own. We hope.

• DJ Carrasco rebounded nicely from the anomaly that is Coors Field.

• Big day for the leadoff batter, David DeJesus. 4-5 with two doubles and a run scored.

• Emil Brown not only pushed his career-best hitting streak to 16 games (.391/.435/.531), he turned in the defensive gem of the game when he cut down Shannon Stewart at home to end the third. And a WTP tip of the cap to Alberto Castillo for blocking the plate to prevent the run.

OK, on to some other random stuff:

The Case Against Angel:
• In 153 at bats with two strikes, Angel Berroa is batting .183/.219/.294 with 56 strikeouts.

• Among players with over 290 plate appearances in 2005, no player in the AL has drawn fewer walks (11) than Berroa.

Generous:
The reason Jose Lima is second in the AL in home runs allowed.

Fools Gold:
Thurday's post was written while listening to The Stone Roses.

Eight Ball

2005-06-29T00:15:00.000-05:00

After losing their eighth straight game, the Royals are now 8-8 when scoring more than eight runs. That’s unreal. What percentage do you think the average team wins when scoring eight or more runs? .750? .900? Honestly, we don’t know the answer but there can’t possibly be many other teams with a worse record than .500 when scoring that many runs in a game.

Some random thoughts while watching the game:

• The Royals used the correct approach at the plate to chase Carlos Silva from the game. Silva gives up walks about as frequently as Montgomery Burns donates to charity, so the Royals went up there looking for pitches to hit. It worked as they had 10 hits through five innings and were only down 7-6 when he left. Not surprisingly, the Royals drew a grand total of zero walks off Silva, but that’s fine because the team was hurting him with their bats. The problem is, when you have a bullpen like the Twins, it’s OK to have your starter throw only five innings.

• The Royals had their chances, but while the Twins pitchers were around the strike zone all night, the Royals’ pitchers couldn’t resist giving out the free pass. WTP Favorite Andy Sisco gift-wrapped this one with back to back walks in the seventh. Yes, he’s still our favorite. We’re not a bunch of front-runners here. If we were front-runners, this would be about the Red Sox. But Sisco needs to be more consistent around the strike zone.

• Between Silva, Johan Santana and Brad Radke they have thrown 316 innings and given up only 35 walks or almost exactly one walk per nine innings. That’s sick. We hear people in the Twin Cities are worried about their team. Please. At the end of the season, they’ll be in the playoffs as the wild card at the very least. They’ll be fine.

• Angel Berroa watch:
He came to the plate five times and saw 14 pitches. Of those 14 pitches, he swung at nine of them. And of the five he didn’t swing at, three were first pitch strikes and two were balls.

• WTP wholeheartedly endorses the idea of moving Berroa to the lower third of the lineup.

• Another good night for John Buck. He went 2-4 at the plate and is now hitting .277/.290/.377 for the month of June. Sure, we’d like to see a higher OBP and slugging percentage but after the horrid start to the season he had, who are we to complain?

• We first broached the subject a couple of weeks ago, but Shane Costa is on his way to becoming a fan favorite. He puts the ball in play, hustles on the bases and plays an aggressive style of ball. And it helps that he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered in making the jump from Wichita to the major leagues. If he can keep it up, it’s going to happen.

• The Royals have to get Leo Nunez back to Wichita. They’re not doing him any favors letting him get his brains beat in every time he makes an appearance.

• As much as we deride the whole “closer” thing, WTP must tip it’s cap to Joe Nathan when he’s throwing against the Royals.

Apps	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Opp. AVG
6	6	2	0	1	10	0.00	.100

Day game in the dome tomorrow. The Royals will be looking to avoid an 0-9 road trip which would equal the worst trip in team history. Ugh.

Not Good. Not Good At All.

2005-06-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

The equipment guys must have packed the Royals bats in a freezer for this road trip.

This has been a brutal stretch of offensive ineptitude.

We’re not feeling in particularly charitable mood, so let’s see if we can find something…anything good to say about Monday’s performance.

• Zack Greinke didn’t suck. Again, he jumped ahead of hitters and made them work in their at bats. The problem is, his pitch counts continue to pile up early and that’s limiting his ability to go deep into games. The guy is a total enigma. One game, he’s a strikeout pitcher. The next game, he can only strikeout a single batter. Give the Twins credit. They went up to the plate and really worked the count, fouling off pitches they couldn’t handle until they got one they could put into play. That got Greinke out of the game after six innings, but by then the Royals were already down 2-0, these days an insurmountable lead.

• David DeJesus returned to the leadoff spot for the last two games, and hit a bomb for the Royals lone run. This is good because it means someone has moved down in the order. More on that later.

• There is at least one Royal who is performing at the plate. Emil Brown had two hits, extending his streak to 14 games. (.393/.429/.519)

Unfortunately, there’s plenty of other stuff to discuss. None of it good:

• The Royals are now 0-6 against the Twins this year. Add that to the 0-9 against the White Sox. Yeeech.

• Oh yeah, they’re 0-7 on the current road trip.

• Angel Berroa’s at bats are becoming as predictable as the sun rising in the east. If you were watching Monday, there’s absolutely no way you could have been surprised that he swung at that pitch out of the zone in the eighth inning to strikeout. The first step has been taken in removing him from the leadoff spot. The next step would be getting him out of the number two position in the lineup and burying him eighth. Please.

• By the way, Berroa’s slash numbers on this road trip are .192/.192/.192. We know you don’t want to walk, but at least throw in an occasional extra base hit.

• The offense is gone. Disappeared. Missing in action. Choose your superlative and it fits. On this road trip, the Royals are batting an anemic .218/.268/.314. and are averaging 3 runs a game. This is a team that just played three games in the home run haven that is Coors Field and hit a grand total of two extra base hits (1 2B, 1 HR). That’s not good.

• Metro Sports is running a poll asking you to vote for your favorite Huck Huck Boom Jam Athlete. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what that means.

It doesn’t get any easier Tuesday, facing Carlos Silva, who walks a batter about once every 20 IP. The Royals will counter with rookie JP Howell. Last time out, he was burned by allowing too many two out baserunners.

The Royals still have a chance at posting a winning record for the month of June, but that’s looking more and more remote. This road trip can’t end soon enough.

That Was Truly Awful

2005-06-27T07:49:00.000-05:00

What a disgusting weekend for the Royals.

Swept by the Rockies.

Now we know how the Yankees and Dodgers feel.

I don't have much to say this morning, since the anti-depressants haven't kicked in so I will point you to Friday's post. If you haven't read it, it might be worthwhile. It's a breakdown of the pitching during the last six weeks of the season.

Looking at the numbers posted by the starters over the last six weeks, the latest hot streak has mostly come courtesy of the hitters. Although guys like Runelvys Hernandez and DJ Carrasco have been solid contributors, it's not surprising once the bats cooled off, the winning would slow down. That's what makes this weekend even worse. You knew that Lima would crash spectacularly in the mountains, but the starts from Carrasco on Friday and Hernandez on Saturday were downright disappointing.

Not a good weekend. Not at all.

It sucks to lose three in a row to the (previously) worst team in baseball.

There's Something About The Pitching

2005-06-24T12:01:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, WTP provided a breakdown in the improvement of the offense since Tony Pena quit the team. Numbers were up almost across the board. That got me wondering, what about the pitching, particularly the starters?

Overall, the starters aren’t any better today than they were at the beginning of the season. Here are the numbers from the first six weeks:

Name	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	BB/9	K/9
Lima	38	44	28	17	16	6.63	4.03	3.79
Grienke	40	36	15	8	21	3.38	1.80	4.72
Hernandez	44.1	47	24	18	23	4.87	3.65	4.67
Bautista	33.1	31	18	12	23	4.86	3.24	6.21
Anderson	30.2	39	23	4	17	6.75	1.17	4.99

We remember this because we lived through it. Lima got rocked opening day and continued to be brutal. Greinke was 0-4 at this point, but could have easily been 4-0. Hernandez, coming off of Tommy John surgery, was inconsistent. The starters were keeping the team in games, but the losses were piling up due to the lack of hitting and a bullpen that at times couldn’t get an out.

The Royals lost Bautista and Anderson about the time Pena left. So, plugging in Carrasco and Howell into their spots, here’s a look at the rotation since May 11th:

Name	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	BB/9	K/9
Lima	38	53	38	11	24	9.00	2.61	5.68
Grienke	40.2	66	40	13	33	8.85	2.88	7.30
Hernandez	47.1	43	23	24	32	4.37	4.56	6.08
Carrasco	45.2	41	13	13	15	2.56	2.56	2.96
Howell	16	16	10	9	13	5.62	5.06	7.31

The first thing that jumps out is there hasn’t been really any improvement from the starters. Lima and Greinke have regressed, and Lima’s stats include his stellar performance against the Dodgers. Otherwise his numbers would be off the charts. The only area of improvement comes from the number four spot in the rotation where Carrasco has taken over for the injured Bautista.

If you want to be freaked out, look at Greinke’s numbers side-by-side:

Date	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	BB/9	K/9
4/4 – 5/10	40	36	15	8	21	3.38	1.80	4.72
5/11 – 6/22	40.2	66	40	13	33	8.85	2.88	7.30

That, my friends, is a train wreck. He’s pitched roughly the same number of innings, but he’s given up 30 more hits?!? 25 more runs?!? I knew he had struggled over the last month and a half, but was shocked as to actually how bad he really has been. The organization has to be worried. If they’re not, we’re in some serious trouble.

What do these splits tell us?

First of all, the good times aren’t going to last. Without any kind of tangible improvement from their starters, the Royals hot streak to begin the month of June is just that, a streak. When the bats begin to cool off like they are doing right now and the pitching maintains the status quo, the losses will once again begin to pile up. Hopefully they will be able to delay things this weekend in Colorado, but I’m thinking that by the end of June, the Royals will be sub .500 for the month.

Secondly, these stats kind of make you wonder about Guy Hansen, doesn’t it? Guy was brought in for his second stint with the Royals as some sort of genius pitching coach who was finding flaws in deliveries, new arm slots, and a injecting a positive outlook on his staff.

"I thought three years ago in Atlanta was the best group of arms I'd ever seen, but this is the best group I've personally ever witnessed.”
-Guy Hansen 2/27/05

So what has Guy done with all of this talent?

Year	ERA	H/9	BB/9	SO/9
2004	5.15	10.11	3.20	5.48
2005	5.36	9.72	3.59	6.14

Judging from the chart above, it sure doesn’t look like much.

Now to be fair, despite his spring training proclamations, Guy hasn’t had a ton of talent to work with. His staff is stocked with pitchers who should be in AA and AAA, not the big leagues. The bullpen has been some sort of revolving door nightmare with injuries, demotions and undetermined roles. There’s going to be some growing pains, so it’s probably too early to ask for across the board improvement.

But there already is some improvement, relative to the league. In 2004, the Royals finished dead last in each of the categories listed above except for BB/9 (they were fifth.) This year, mainly thanks to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Royals aren’t in the basement in any of the above categories.

So how long does Guy Hansen get? At least the rest of the year, for sure. Here are some things to look for as the Royals prepare for the second half of the season:

• Dump Lima. The numbers don’t lie, he doesn’t have it anymore. I don’t care where you put him, just get him out of the rotation.

• A rebound from Greinke. This is Guy’s biggest challenge to date. He has to figure out how to reach Greinke and connect with him on some level to get him back on track. The excuse that he marches to a different drummer doesn’t cut it anymore. We are in crisis mode. Zack must regain the form he showed in the first month of the season. Like Allard Baird says, at this level it’s all about the adjustments.

• Continue to get solid performances from Hernandez/Carrasco/Bautista. These guys all have talent and ability to be solid number three starters in the league. They’ve all made some progress of some sort this season. These guys can’t pull a Zack Greinke and have a bad month, they must continue to move forward. Consistency is what we will be looking for from these guys.

Here’s a rotation WTP would like to see over the final half of the season:

Greinke
Hernandez
Carrasco
Bautista
Wood

Send Howell back to AAA where he can continue to refine his craft. There’s no doubt he can be a good pitcher, but I fear he’s come too far, too fast.

The second half of the season will be a great opportunity to evaluate where the Royals are regarding the progress of their rotation under the guidance of Guy Hansen. The key to all of this will be the young prodigy, Zack Greinke. Can the Royals get him back to where he needs to be? If they can, there is some reason to be optimistic about the future of the Royals rotation.

Running Commentary

2005-06-22T13:13:00.000-05:00

Alright, let's have some fun.

LINEUP

McEwing	SS
DeJesus	SS
Graffanino	1B
Brown	RF
Long	LF
Buck	C
Teahen	3B
Huber	DH
Gotay	2B
Howell	P

FIRST INNING
Royals go weakly in the first. Can someone explain to me why Joe McEwing is leading off? I guess we can forget about David DeJesus leading off ever again.

Nice job by JP Howell in his half of the first. He walked Tadahito Iguchi, but made a nice pitch to jam Frank Thomas and get him to ground into a double play to end the inning. Good start for the rookie.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	0	0
White Sox	0	0	0

SECOND INNING
Buehrle is working to improve his 1.8 groundball to flyball ratio. So far four of his six outs have come on the ground. John Buck is looking better and better at the plate, lining an 2-0 pitch up the middle for the Royals first hit. He's stranded at first when Mark Teahen strikes out. We feel your pain CFOS, but at least Teahen swung the bat.

The White Sox are agressive in their half of the second, getting back to back singles to lead off the inning. Looks like Howell might be in trouble with Jermaine Dye coming to the plate. Today's mantra: "The double play is my friend." The Royals turn two again and get out of the inning.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	1	0
White Sox	0	2	0

THIRD INNING
Thanks to RSTN and their desire to graphically illustrate just how good the White Sox are this season, we pretty much miss the Justin Huber at bat. We hope someone explained in this morning's production meeting that Buehrle likes to work fast leaving little time for the usual filler between pitches. It's not like we missed anything though. McEwing got jobbed by home plate ump Bruce Froemming on a check swing call for his second strikeout of the game. Hey Bruce, ask your first base umpire. Maybe he can help. A truly awful call.

Howell has a nifty curveball today. It's really got some drop to it. Twelve to six movement as they like to say. He uses it to get Chris Widger for his first strikeout. Defense comes into play when Teahen makes a nice diving stop and Graff digs out the throw for the second out. I love Teahen's defense. Sure he still makes some boneheaded plays from time to time, but overall, there's not much to complain about. He's only going to get better.

After jumping ahead in the count 0-2, Howell loses Pablo Ozuna and walks him. The two out walk really bites Howell as Iguchi and Thomas hit back to back doubles.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	1	0
White Sox	2	4	0

FOURTH INNING
The ground balls keep coming. Nice AB from Emil Brown, fouling off a couple of pitches before extending his hitting streak to 10 games. By the way, Brown had a checked swing that went further than McEwing's and they actually appealed to first. That's how it's done Froemming! We try to notice the little things here at WTP. None of that matters if you're going to get picked off first, though.

The curveball is still working for Howell, but he again runs into two out trouble. He hits Aaron Rowland with a pitch and gives up a double to Widger, but is able to get out of the inning with no damage.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	2	0
White Sox	2	5	0

FIFTH INNING
Buehrle is tough. He strikes out Buck on a 3-2 pitch with a changeup. A changeup! Teahen gets his bat shattered, but manages to muscle it down the line for a double. First run scoring opportunity of the afternoon for the Royals, but Huber flies out to deep center. Just got a little bit under the pitch. Nice swing though.

It's the same old story for Howell. He gets the first two outs, walks the next batter and then gives up a double. Six hits for the Sox and four have been doubles. Luckily Thomas was the lead runner, so he barely gets to third. He's just gotta be dying out there. But he gets to walk the last 90 feet when Carl Everett hits a three run bomb. Everett doesn't believe in dinosaurs, but he can sure hit the ball.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	3	0
White Sox	5	7	0

SIXTH INNING
Ruben Gotay works a leadoff walk and McEwing swings at the first pitch to fly out to center. Grrrr. DeJesus looked like he was picking up Buehrle well, hitting a couple of pitches foul, but he ends up hitting into a double play. This is Buehrle's year.

Howell is done for the day. Not bad, but he's going to have to figure out how to get that third out. Nine of his 12 baserunners and all five of his runs today came with two down.

Mike Wood enters the game for the Royals. I know he's been an asset in the bullpen, but he really needs to move into the rotation in place of Lima. Among all Royal pitchers, he's the second most difficult to hit (only Andy Sisco is better) holding the opposition to a .221/.313/.386 line. Maybe he's only good for five innings, but he still needs to start.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	3	0
White Sox	5	7	0

SEVENTH INNING
RSTN announcer Bob Davis notes that this is the 43rd consecutive appearance where Buehrle has pitched at least six innings. That's insane. Apparently he gets better as the game goes along. Six pitches, six strikes, three outs.

Wood pitches around the fifth White Sox double of the day. Let Wood come back for the eighth and the ninth, then give him a regular spot in the rotation.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	0	4	0
White Sox	5	8	0

EIGHTH INNING
Teahen becomes the only Royal with two hits when he singles to right. Jermaine Dye decided to throw behind Teahen who makes a wide turn at first. Only problem is Paul Konerko isn't looking for a throw. Leadoff runner at second. Sweet. This is the first real opportunity for the Royals and they kind of cash in with a pair of groundouts. No shutout for you Buehrle!

Wood is done and makes way for Jonah Bayliss. You can't tell the players without a scorecard. Bayliss has a 90+ mph fastball and an 88 mph that looks like a two seamer with a little bit of movement. He's keeping it low and using it as his out pitch. He has to get four outs when McEwing's throw to first is in the dirt, but it's not a problem thanks to the double play.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	1	5	1
White Sox	5	8	1

NINTH INNING
Former closer Shingo Takatsu enters the game for the Sox and picks up where Buehrle left off. Froemming has a plane to catch and begins expanding his strikezone. Not that that's going to make a difference as the Royals aren't hitting today anyway. Three up, three down. Ballgame.

Team	R	H	E
Royals	1	5	1
White Sox	5	8	1

WRAP
Not much to report that you haven't already read above.

Howell pitched alright, but couldn't close out an inning. As noted, most of his baserunners and all of his runs came with two down. The walks especially hurt Howell today. The bullpen pitched well, allowing three runners and no runs in three innings.

As Royals had no answer for Buehrle, there were no offensive stars to note. On the negative side, McEwing stands out for his three strikeouts in the leadoff spot. DeJesus in the number two position in the lineup, struggled all series going 0-11.

The Royals get a much needed day off before heading to Colorado where they get the rare opportunity to face an opponent who is worse than they are. After starting the month strong, the Royals are sputtering, dropping five of their last six. In all fairness, in four of those games they have faced pitchers who are at the top of their game. (Clemens, Oswalt, Garland, Buehrle) It's not going to be near that difficult in Denver.

Road To Recovery?

2005-06-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

It’s not everyday you can say a pitcher is looking better after he gives up five runs in a little over five innings. But then again, Zack Greinke isn’t exactly an ordinary pitcher.

You might not believe it when you look at the box score, but the Royals’ Pitching Savant had his best outing in a long time.

5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO

Normally, Greinke throws five different pitches. But before the game Alberto Castillo said he was only going to call Greinke’s three best pitches, using whatever pitches were most effective while warming up in bullpen. For someone like Zack who is so talented and has so many weapons, maybe that’s the trick. Limit your options. That way the tendency to overthink won’t be there and you will be bringing your best stuff with every pitch.

For the most part that approach worked because he really was overpowering, striking out eight. His fastball had a little more velocity and that was setting up his other pitches, especially his breaking ball which had some nasty bite to it.

Through the first four innings, Greinke was equal to White Sox starter, Jon Garland. And if Matt Stairs had been able to cleanly field a hot-shot ground ball at first to start a double play, the game would have been scoreless through five.

The wheels fell off in the sixth when a hit batter and a pair of singles loaded the bases, chasing Greinke. For some reason, whenever pitches start getting away from Greinke on the inside part of the plate, that’s the sign he’s tiring. WTP Favorite Andy Sisco came in with the bases loaded, but allowed all three runners to score. And the way Garland was throwing, five runs was more than enough.

So there you go. Five runs for the Sox and all of them charged to Greinke. Yes, it is a loss and yes, five runs is five runs. But for a pitcher who has struggled as horribly as Greinke in recent outings, Tuesday night should act as a confidence builder.

Other items of note from Tuesday:

• Justin Huber made his debut as a pinch hitter for Stairs in the ninth. After falling behind 0-2, he got the count back to even before flying out to center. With his first AB out of the way, we’re hoping he’s in the lineup Wednesday afternoon.

• Another major league debut to note when recent call-up Jonah Bayliss pitched a clean seventh inning. In his brief outing he looked good, throwing strikes with some nice action on his fastball. Bayliss posted a 2.66 ERA and struck out 52 batters in 47 innings at Wichita.

• With the addition of Bayliss, the Royals now have nine players on their roster who began the season in the minors.

• Emil Brown extended his hitting streak to nine games. (.417/.500/.656)

And a couple of links of note:

• If you can get past that annoying “ping” sound, there are some happening games in the College World Series. In a wonderful, see-saw game Tuesday afternoon, the University of Nebraska was eliminated by Arizona State in extra innings. Of course, that means Alex Gordon is now free to begin his negotiations with the Royals. Any guesses as to where he starts, once he signs?

• The folks down under are happy with the progress of Justin Huber as he is now the 20th Aussie to make the big leagues. According to former hitting coach Jeff Pentland, Huber is “one of those tough Australians.” Quotes like these don’t make me miss Pentland.

• Since Brian Anderson has a little bit of free time on his hands, being on the 60 day DL and all, he’s become a blogger. Check out Confessions of a Left Hander over at mlblogs. Turns out BA is a huge Arrested Development fan, so he’s alright by me.

• Cincinnati Reds outfielder and part-time GM, Adam Dunn, thinks the Cubs would be a good fit for his recently demoted buddy Austin Kearns.

Matinee game on Wednesday. If things go according to plan at "the real job," there might be some time for updates throughout the afternoon.

The Roster Shuffle

2005-06-21T00:23:00.000-05:00

After his last start, we wrote that Lima was given a stay of execution.

Not after Monday.

Lima made sure the universe was back in order, delivering another in a string of horrible performances that is his 2005 season:

4 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Watching Lima pitch is kind of like watching Dr. Kervorkian examine a patient. You just know it’s going to end badly.

Any kind of good will he was able to stockpile following last week’s victory should have completely evaporated with this start.

Some brief game notes:

• Under Buddy Bell, these Royals have become fighters. They never seem to count themselves out of any game, no matter the odds. Monday, Lima buries them in a 7-3 hole, but the never-say-die Royals battle back to tie the score at 8. The Royals will lose more games than they will win under Bell for the rest of the season, but you get the feeling they will be in most of them. Royals baseball is becoming exciting again.

• Speaking of exciting, did you catch Matt Stairs’ at bat in the fifth inning? He comes to the plate with the bases loaded and the Royals down by four. After swinging and missing at the first two pitches of the at bat, Stairs digs in and prepares for a fight. A ball, three fouls and two more balls later (and a balk mixed in to bring in a run,) Stairs ropes a double off the top of the wall to the opposite field in left. Watching the action, you just knew that he was going to win the battle, coming up with either a walk or a run scoring base hit. Sorry to get all geeked up over one single at bat, but if some of these young players follow the lead of Stairs, the Royals will be an offensive juggernaut for years to come. Hell, it looked like Graffanino was inspired, working a nine-pitch walk himself immediately after the Stairs plate appearance.

Alright, enough about the game. Monday was a busy day off the field for the Royals:

• Mike Sweeney, Ambiorix Burgos and Jeremy Affeldt all found themselves on the DL. That Sweeney and Burgos landed there was not all that surprising. It looks like Sweeney’s stay on the DL could be a lengthy one, while hopefully Burgos will recover quickly and return to the bullpen.

The surprise was the disabling of Affeldt. It’s the same injury as before (groin strain) but there was no indication that it was bothering him again. Overall, he hasn’t pitched poorly since returning to action, but looking back at his last two appearances where he was hit pretty hard, the groin was most likely bothering him.

What hurts the Royals here (pun intended) is two of their top trade commodities are now on the DL. Although we never thought it was likely the Royals would deal Sweeney, Affeldt has always been a possibility. His most recent setback should scare whatever teams might have been interested.

• With Sweeney landing on the DL, the Royals have called up some guy you might have heard of. After spending the weekend in Kansas City, Justin Huber is now officially with the team. We’re beginning to wonder why the Royals need a AAA team, since all of their prospects are bypassing Omaha completely and heading straight to the big leagues. Huber was mashing the ball all season in AA, but apparently was prevented from reaching the heights of Omaha by the dynamic duo of Ken Harvey and Calvin Pickering.

After all the pitching prospects who have been called up since the beginning of the season, WTP is pleased to see a hitter, and supposedly a damn fine one at that, get the call.

• Buddy Bell was allowed to reshuffle his staff with the reassigning of first base coach Joe Jones to minor league instructor. His place will be taken by former Houston Astro Billy Doran. Bell and Doran worked together in Cincinnati on their minor league system.

Rebound

2005-06-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

The last couple of weeks, the Monday entry of WTP has been devoted to breaking down each game over the weekend. That’s not going to happen today. Mainly because Friday and Saturday were so damn predictable and depressing. Perhaps it can best be illustrated by an equation:

Roger Clemens + Roy Oswalt = 2 runs and 0 wins.

So the fear is this is where the Royals come back to earth. After all, haven’t they been playing out of their minds since Buddy Bell was hired? They’re winning games and scoring runs. They win four out of six, they sweep playoff contenders and play fundamentally sound baseball. It has to stop sometime, right? This was going to be it: The weekend when the honeymoon ends.

Enter Runelvys Hernandez.

After spending the better part of the last two days being dominated by your opponent, you need someone to come forward and stop the bleeding. That’s always been the role of the number one starter. He’s the guy who is called upon to put a halt to those little two and three game losing streaks before they snowball into something much more serious. And didn’t it feel as though the Royals had just a little too much “downhill momentum?”

Hernandez, after missing the last part of 2003 and all of 2004, isn’t the “ace” or the number one starter on this staff. Anyway, as long as Zack Greinke is around, Hernandez won’t ever be thought of as the number one guy. Hell, he doesn’t even have “ace” material to begin with, so it’s pretty much irrelevant. But what’s not irrelevant is how Hernandez stepped forward on Sunday afternoon and prevented the Royals from being swept by Houston.

Hernandez pitched like an “ace”:

7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

Just what was needed after a terrible start to the weekend series.

Challenging Astro batters, Hernandez was ahead in the count most of the afternoon, mixing his fastball with a wicked slider. The coincidence should not be lost on anyone the fact that one of the few batters he fell behind, (Morgan Ensberg in the fifth) drew a walk, stole a base and scored. As Hernandez may come to find out, it pays big money when you are a pitcher who consistently works ahead in the count.

Some other Royal notes:

• Emil Brown continues to come up huge for the Royals in the big situations. Sunday it was a three run bomb to break the game open in the sixth. Of course, we have to point out the role Matt Stairs had in drawing a walk to get on base before the Brown home run. It bears repeating, Stairs and Brown are the key offensive performers for this team.

• Don’t be surprised if Mike Sweeney lands on the DL, possibly as early as today. An MRI revealed a torn ligament in his wrist. Apparently, a ligament in his wrist was already torn and doctors aren’t sure if this is the same one. Nothing infuriates WTP more than the cloak and dagger shenanigans regarding Captain Sweeney and his multitude of injuries. Just admit what everyone knows and put him on the DL for cryin’ out loud.

• Ambiorix Burgos left the game in the eighth with shoulder stiffness after facing only one batter. It seems odd that someone could go through his entire warm-up routine, enter a game, throw even more warm-up pitches and then experience shoulder stiffness. Hopefully, it’s minor and he’ll be ready to go this later this week.

• Did you see where Darrell May beat Johan Santana? Writing as someone who suffered through May’s three seasons with the Royals, all I can offer is baseball’s a damn funny game sometimes.

• The Royals are 12-6 since Buddy Bell was hired as manager. In a somewhat related story, the Cleveland Indians are 13-5 since Buddy Bell left as the bench coach. Hmmmm.

Maybe I'm Amazed

2005-06-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Stunned really.

A month ago, did you think the Royals were capable of winning five games in a row?

Did you think the Royals could sweep the Yankees and follow it up a couple of weeks later with a sweep of the Dodgers?

Kind of fun, isn't it?

Some items of note from Thursday:

• The Royals were able to chase Dodger starter Derek Lowe in the sixth inning without ever hitting the ball hard. Lowe is a groundball pitcher whose fortunes will often depend on the quality of defense behind him. In the sixth inning that defense failed him miserably.

• It was the Dodgers inability to turn a double play, not once, but twice kept the Royals alive in that inning. The beauty is that’s exactly the kind of break the Royals weren’t catching back in April. The ground ball hit by Emil Brown was tailor-made for a double play, but for whatever reason Dodger shortstop Antonio Perez didn’t get in front of the ball. Instead of inning over and a wasted opportunity for the Royals, it’s the tying run in and runners on first and second with one out.

• If Shane Costa keeps up his aggressive play, he is destined to become a fan favorite at the K. His hustle down the first base line kept the Royals out of the other potential inning-ending double play in the sixth. Then, he made it from first to third on a soft liner to right field off the bat of Mark Teahen and was safe only because of a nifty slide to get around the tag. If he was out, it would have been the third out of the inning and we could have called the play reckless. But he was safe, so we can call it good, agressive baserunning.

• Speaking of Teahen, his single in the sixth was a nifty piece of hitting with a 1-2 count. Too often this season, Teahen is falling behind in the count and letting his at bat get away from him. He didn’t let that happen Thursday.

With two chances to turn two, the Dodgers got only one out and allowed the Royals to score two runs. By the time the Dodgers were finally able to close out the inning, the Royals had batted around and six runs had come home.

Ballgame. Five in a row.

Other notes:

• Zack Greinke's struggles continue. Obviously, his line from Thursday looks better than his line from his last outing, but he was going to be hard pressed to top that one. Thursday, Greinke needed 111 pitches to get through five innings and was far from sharp. Runners were on base all night and twice, he worked out of bases loaded jams. That the Dodgers were only able to score three runs is more an indictment of their offense than anything else. If Greinke had pitched like that against almost any other team in the league, he would have been shelled.

• Jeremy Affeldt isn’t happy with his role on the club. He wants to be the closer and isn’t pleased he lost his job to Mike MacDougal. Fine. But giving up three runs in the ninth inning of a blowout isn’t exactly the way to make your case, is it? A walk, a single and a double to the first three batters made things uncomfortable enough for Buddy Bell that he had to get MacDougal warmed up in the bullpen, just in case Affeldt couldn’t seal the deal. Memo to Affeldt: If you’re going to complain about your role on the team, you’d better be able to back it up with your performance.

But enough nit-picking. Today, the Royals own a five game winning streak for the first time in two years.

It’s going to be a challenge tonight for the Royals as Roger Clemens goes for the Astros. A month ago, I’d put it down as an automatic loss. But now, nothing would surprise me. And that is a very good thing.

Tonight, Drinks Are On The House

2005-06-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

"If I win tomorrow, I'm going to get drunk."
-Lima on KCSP-AM (6/14/05)

I never thought I'd see it.

Even now, a couple hours after the game, I'm still in a state of disbelief.

Lima won.

Lima…

The guy who hadn’t won a regular season game since September 14, 2004.

The guy who hadn’t won for the Royals in 15 consecutive starts.

The guy whose ERA entering the game was 8.16.

Yes, Lima won.

He did it the old-fashioned way…Throwing strikes, working ahead in the count and keeping the ball down. His velocity was up as well. He’d been throwing flat fastballs around 82-86 mph, but on Wednesday he was consistently hitting 90 mph on the gun. But most important of all, he held the lead and he avoided the big inning.

Lima’s line for the night:

8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

Consider it a stay of execution. He's going to need to run off four or five quality starts before we will be convinced.

But I will say it...

For one magical night at the K it was Lima-Time all over again.

Other notes from Wednesday:

• After going almost two years without a four game winning streak, the Royals have now posted four wins in a row twice in the month of June.

• Mike Sweeney’s return from injury lasted about a game and a half. Preliminary diagnosis is a sprained left wrist and elbow after Jayson Werth collided with him on a play at first. Werth, attempting to beat out a drag bunt, was clearly at fault on the play. Running down the first base line, he was in fair territory when he collided with Sweeney, which means he should have been called out for interference. That call belongs to Bill Miller, the home plate umpire, but he chose not to make it.

I want to be angry at someone. I want to be angry at Werth, but I don’t think he ran into Sweeney on purpose. (I’m more angry at the fact that he ran inside the baseline a second time later in the game.) I want to be angry at the home plate umpire, but his blown call didn’t effect the outcome of the game. I’ll just have to be angry at the fact that Sweeney, once again, is injured.

That play at first led to two things:

1) The only run of the game for the Dodgers, which prevented Lima from going for his second career shutout. How difficult would it have been for Buddy Bell to pull Lima if he had been carrying a shutout into the ninth?

2) A defensive shift on the part of the Royals, moving Tony Graffanino from second to first base and bringing Ruben Gotay into the game at second. Gotay made the defensive play of the game in the seventh inning, ranging to his left to rob Hee Seop Choi of a basehit. A truly spectacular play. If Graffanino was at second, there’s no way he reaches that ball. That Gotay's play was rated only the fifth-best Web Gem on ESPN is just another case of the man keeping the Royals down. Play of the day, by far.

• Emil Brown, RBI Machine. Brown picked up two more RBI’s with a pair of clutch two-out base hits. He now has 12 RBI in June, 27 RBI since May 11th and for the season is batting .357/.453/.690 with runners in scoring position.

As far as the RBI, that is the first time in the history of Warning Track Power that this statistic has ever been mentioned. And with good reason. Without baserunners, there’s little chance for a hitter to drive in a run. So with that in mind, we mention the key role Matt Stairs had in prolonging both innings ahead of Brown by drawing a walk in the first and a single in the fifth. Stairs is so key to the success of this team.

The Royals go for the sweep on Thursday. Let’s see if Zack Greinke can channel the spirit of Good Lima and get back on track.

Another One For The Good Guys

2005-06-15T00:45:00.000-05:00

The bats weren’t as hot, but Royal Express keeps on rollin’ with a good win over the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Key for the Royals was a quality start from Runelvys Hernandez, a pair of home runs and a solid effort from the bullpen.

Let’s break some things down, shall we?

• It just so happens that Hernandez is becoming a starter who is usually good for about 6 IP, 8-10 baserunners and hopefully under 3 runs. Seriously, look at his last five starts:

Date	Opp.	IP	H	ER	BB	SO
5/24	@ TEX	6	5	3	2	5
5/29	@ LAA	5	10	7	3	6
6/3	vs. TEX	6	3	1	3	5
6/8	@ SF	6	4	1	4	3
6/14	vs. LAD	6	8	2	0	2

Throw out his start in Anaheim and he’s become the poster child for consistency.

The problem is, he’s still allowing too many runners on base, which is forcing him to throw too many pitches. That’s why he’s not pitching later into games. So far, he’s been able to make adjustments, but eventually allowing this high volume of baserunners will catch up to him.

• The WTP Offensive Star of the Game award goes to Shane Costa who went 3-3 with the home run in the fifth inning that was the difference in the ballgame. Costa’s homer, which just barely scraped over the fence in right, came one pitch after a push bunt attempt for a base hit rolled foul before it could hit the third base bag. Whoever said baseball is a game of inches wasn’t kidding.

• The bullpen did its job again. Damn, if there aren’t some live arms out there. Jeremy Affeldt pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning and showcased a large curveball against Hee Seop Choi that’s going to give me nightmares. He was followed by Ambiorix Burgos who had his splitter dancing out of the zone, but that was alright because he was setting it up with 98 mph gas that no one could touch. He worked around a couple of baserunners to strike out the side.

• Why is it when Mike MacDougal enters the game, my blood pressure skyrockets? I’m seriously considering putting my physician on speed dial for this reason. But the good news is I’m still alive, and MacDougal secured the victory for his fifth save since Bell was hired.

• Speaking of saves, can someone explain to me how the Royals are 10 for 20 in save opportunities, but have an 18-1 record when entering the ninth inning with a lead? Wait, I know the answer. Saves are a meaningless stat.

• Grip-Cam (the freeze frame close-up of the ball in the pitcher’s hand just before release) is the coolest thing on the Royals telecasts. Nothing better than a super slo-mo of Burgos releasing a splitter.

• Another note on Royals TV broadcasts: Bob Davis needs to be replaced. It pains me to write that since Davis is the voice of my beloved Jayhawks and is one of the better radio talents in the business. His calls on basketball are not to be missed.

But this season, I’ve read some criticism of Davis’ baseball work from several bloggers, so I’ll have to add my two cents. Davis is horribly miscast as a baseball announcer. He has little to no feel for the game and often misses opportunities to provide insight to bring up some inane point. Tuesday night, every time Shane Costa got a base hit, Davis brought up how big the moment was since Shane is from Southern California and he was getting hits against his home town team. Hey Bob, we get it!

OK, rant over.

So, for those of you inclined to keep track, the Royals are now 9-4 under Buddy Bell.

When things are going good for a team, like they are for the Royals, they show up to the park every night expecting to win. That’s where the Royals are right now and it's a good place to be.

Change Is Good

2005-06-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

An off day following a successful 4-2 road trip calls for a little more analysis of the Royals resurgent offense.

The improvement over the last month of the season has been nothing short of amazing:

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG	W-L
First 33 Games	.232	.290	.372	8-25
Last 29 Games	.290	.356	.436	13-16

But why?

When Tony Pena quit on this team, something changed. Something other than the tangible statistical improvement noted above. The team changed it’s approach to the game. Gone were the days of “working the count” where hitters would look at a great pitch for strike one and spend the rest of the at bat battling from behind in the count.

When the Royals dismissed hitting coach Jeff Pentland in late May, they were acknowledging a total shift in approach that had begun under interm manager Bob Schaefer was necessary to prevent this team from sliding into the depths of a 120 loss season. It’s too early to tell what impact new batting instructor Andre David will bring, but it seems safe to say his instruction will fit the new organizational philosophy of “selective aggressiveness.”

For the Royals, the current success lies in this new approach. Plate discipline doesn’t mean looking at two strikes and then deciding to swing the bat. Plate discipline is about waiting for a good pitch…your pitch, and then putting the ball in play.

The results of this new approach at the plate are becoming clear. Numbers are up almost across the board. As a team, the Royals have gone from scoring 3.5 R/G to almost 4.5 R/G. Even though they are swinging at more pitches, they are drawing more walks, while putting more balls into play.

And most importantly, it’s translating into wins. The Royals won eight games the first month and a half of the season. They’ve won that many in the last two weeks.

Yes, things are looking up in K.C. Let’s go down the batting order to see exactly how the Royals are doing it:

ANGEL BERROA

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.230	.271	.341
5/11 - 6/13	.266	.305	.395

Berroa is one of the few Royals who have only seen modest improvement over the last month.

Currently, Berroa is horribly miscast as a leadoff man, a point documented on this website. If you break the numbers down even further, in the 12 games since Buddy Bell took over this team at the first of the month, the only Royal getting on base less than Angel Berroa is Mike Sweeney.

Getting Berroa out of the leadoff spot is becoming the WTP cause celebre for the last month of the season.

DAVID DEJESUS

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.262	.323	.377
5/11 - 6/13	.309	.387	.433

David is not Carlos Beltran. It seems the Royals have finally gotten the message.

Immediately slotted into the number two spot in the lineup after Pena quit, DeJesus is quietly regaining the flashes of brilliance he displayed his rookie season when he went .287/.360/.402. It is much to the relief of WTP that DeJesus has finally stopped being asked to steal bases. He might have above average speed, but his base stealing instincts are terrible. He’s only attempted one steal since May 11 (he was thrown out of course.)

But the time is right to move him back into the leadoff spot. He has the ability to get on base and seems to have rediscovered what it took for him to be so successful in 2004. That and he's a much better option than Berroa.

MIKE SWEENEY

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.333	.380	.628
5/11 - 6/13	.241	.259	.304

The only Royal regular to have regressed over the last month. Is it coincidence that this is the exact time when he began missing games due to injury? He’s missed 10 of the last 29 ballgames with the mysterious “strained oblique” that was apparently reinjured while taking extra batting practice in San Francisco. I’m not buying that. I hope I'm wrong, but I don’t think he was fully recovered from when he initially hurt himself in mid-May.

It is somewhat comforting to know the Royals’ best stretches of baseball have come with their captain sidelined. If he’s ever healthy enough where the Royals are able to flip him for a couple of prospects, you would get no argument here.

EMIL BROWN

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.208	.305	.361
5/11 - 6/13	.330	.392	.557

Given the everyday job in RF, Brown’s turnaround is nothing short of stunning. Comparisons are being drawn to another Allard Baird reclamation project: Raul Ibanez. While we caution jumping the gun a bit with any kind of exuberant comparison, it is a pleasant sight to see a corner outfielder produce these types of numbers.

Speaking of corner outfielders…

TERRENCE LONG

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.200	.236	.306
5/11 - 6/13	.329	.373	.447

If he continues playing like this the Royals might actually be able to get something of value for him at the trading deadline.

MATT STAIRS

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.247	.345	.466
5/11 - 6/13	.290	.476	.532

The man we will give credit to for starting the Royals offensive renaissance. He went on a base on balls tear immediately after Pena quit, walking 12 times in six games, scoring nine runs in the process.

Stairs led by example, and his teammates took notice. Since May 10th the Royals have bumped their walk rate from 2.5 BB/G to 2.9 BB/G. It’s not a coincidence that the Royals have been scoring more runs since that time.

JOHN BUCK

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.163	.209	.256
5/11 - 6/13	.319	.368	.507

Another amazing turnaround. These slow starts are killing him.

The fact that he’s an above average defensive catcher helps his cause tremendously. The guy is a leader, who you can tell has the respect of his teammates, most importantly the pitching staff.

MARK TEAHEN

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.250	.325	.361
5/11 - 6/13	.265	.294	.388

Teahen is included here as part of the lineup, but due to an injury the first month of the season, gets an incomplete.

He’s started to come alive since Bell took over as manager, posting a .326/.356/.395 line over the last 12 games. Teahen has been very solid defensively while looking more and more comfortable at the plate. Expect him to continue to improve as the season progresses.

RUBEN GOTAY

Date	AVG	OBP	SLG
4/4 - 5/10	.200	.235	.289
5/11 - 6/13	.315	.407	.534

Gotay, who is supposed to be better with the bat than with the glove was roundly awful in all aspects of the game the first month and a half of the season. Despite his improvement, he’s still in and out of the lineup too much to get totally comfortable. Much of that has to do with the fact no Royal is getting on base more than Tony Graffanino (.438/.471/.547) over the last month. It’s difficult to sit a guy who’s playing like that, but Graff is the ultimate utility guy. If Sweeney is still hurt when the Royals return home, look for him and Stairs to trade off between 1B and DH.

CONCLUSIONS

If you made it this far, thank you. The point is not to bore with statistics, but to illustrate how almost every player on this team has improved since Pena quit. In this case the numbers don’t lie. The Royals are a better team today than they were a month ago.

We are seeing the tangible results from a change in philosophy. Batters have gone to the plate with an aggressive, not a reckless, attitude. That means more runs, which means more wins.

Are the Royals as good as their numbers over the last 29 games indicate? No.

Are the Royals as bad as their numbers over the first 33 games indicate? No.

The answer to that question probably lies somewhere in between. But this last month has been a helluva ride for Royals fans. WTP is going to enjoy it while it lasts.

It's A Dry Heat

2005-06-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Don’t you love it when a “best-case scenario” actually happens?

That’s what happened for the Royals, wrapping up this roadtrip taking two out of three from the Diamondbacks and going four for six overall.

I refer to it as a best-case scenario for two reasons. Entering this roadtrip it was generally known that:
1) Lima would start one game. (Expected loss)
2) J.P. Howell would make his major league debut (Could have been a loss, but was a win.)

FRIDAY

Unfortunately, the Royals non Lima-related loss came from the inability of Zack Greinke to get anyone out on Friday night. There has been much speculation over the weekend as to what is happening to our young pitching prodigy. Is it injury? Is it stuborness? One of the more plausible theories comes from Clark at the excellent OP-ED Page who is convinced Greinke is tipping his pitches. Entirely possible. But the problem is, if young Zack has been tipping his pitches, it didn’t begin on Friday night. Check out his numbers from his last five starts:

Date	Opp.	IP	H	ER	BB	K
5/20	vs. StL	5	9	6	1	3
5/25	At TEX	5	6	4	3	4
5/31	Vs. NY	5	3	3	3	2
6/05	Vs. TEX	4.1	10	7	0	3
6/10	At ARI	4.1	15	11	2	2
Totals	5 starts	23.2	43	31	9	14

That's an 11.79 ERA.

I don’t know what’s more troubling. That Greinke is tipping his pitches or that it will have taken the Royals braintrust at least five starts before they figured out that’s what he was doing.

Lost in all the fuss over our young prodigy was a potentially epic comeback Friday night. Down nine runs and all but left for dead, the Royals once again gallantly battled back to tie the game and force extra frames. We will remain stubborn on the issue of Buddy Bell, but we will acknowledge this team has shown more fight over the last two weeks than we have seen in the previous two years. And that is a very good thing.

SATURDAY

Before the Buddy Bell hire, we had used this space time and again to speak of our admiration for Royals General Manager Allard Baird. But frankly, since the Bell decision, some of the luster had gone. The latest criticism coming from the decision to option (and possibly lose via a waiver claim) Ryan Jensen and the call up of J.P. Howell to start on Saturday.

Well, apparently Allard does know best.

Jensen clears waivers before ultimately returning to the big club due to an injury to Steve Stemle. He goes to the bullpen as a reliever.

But best of all was the debut of Howell. We have to admit, we were skeptical with the latest decision to rush a prospect through the minor league system. Lacking a single, dominant pitch, Howell is, by all accounts, a pitcher who relies on control to get batters out. Obviously, the margin for error is much less the higher you progress and he had only made one start at Omaha for crying out loud.

Tip of the cap to J.P. Howell for making us look the fool.

Howell was awesome in his major league debut, throwing five innings, allowing four hits and best of all…striking out eight batters. It seemed the Diamondbacks were having troubling picking up his pitches. It probably didn’t matter since his pitches were dancing on the corners, never seeming to catch the heart of the plate. If you are a Royals fan (and if you’re reading this, you probably are) I hope you were in front of the television or your computer on Saturday night. It was, as they used to say, “Must See TV.” Oh, if you didn’t get to see Howell in action, his next scheduled start is next Friday, against another UT alum…Roger Clemens.

Don’t you just love happy endings?

SUNDAY

There was another happy ending on Sunday when the Royals scored six runs in the 12th to take the game 9-4. Three times in extra innings, the Royals got their leadoff man on base. And three times in extra innings, the Royals took the lead. Yes, it was frustrating that Jensen couldn’t hold the lead, but credit to him for maintaining his composure after giving up the leadoff homerun to Craig Counsell in the tenth and the tying triple to Quinton McCracken in the eleventh.

And we would be remiss not to take note of yet another strong starting performance from the current ace of the staff, D.J. Carrasco. Carrasco got into a bit of hot water in the fourth and wiggled out of another jam in the sixth. You just had a feeling after the last two nights, Sunday’s game would turn into a pitching duel. Carrasco and Diamondback starter Brandon Webb did not disappoint.

THE HAPPY TOTALS

After a wild weekend of baseball check out some of these offensive numbers posted by the Royals:

28 Runs
46 Hits
.343 AVG

Yes, the Royals bats were warming up, out in the desert.

The Royals return home this week for three against the Dodgers and three against the Astros.

And be sure to check back Tuesday for some more analysis of the Royals hot bats.

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

2005-06-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Especially when one of those three features Lima as your starter.

What else is there to say? At least he’s consistent. You know exactly what you’re going to get with every Jose Lima start. It’s like paying to see a really bad movie, again and again and again…You fork over the money, thinking maybe tonight will be different, but in the end it’s still crap.

Lima’s Thurday troubles began when he gave up a two out double to Noah Lowry. Yes, the starting pitcher. Then the floodgates opened and by the end of the inning, a tight, 1-0 game had turned to a 4-0 deficit. Thank you, Mr. Lima.

But that wasn’t even the worst part of the afternoon.

After Lima allowed the Giants to blow the game open, the Royals gamely battled back, scoring four runs the following inning to tie the score and get back into the game. Hey, this team never gives up! They fight, they claw, they scratch! The Royals are still alive!

Unfortunately, perhaps inspired by Lima’s fifth inning meltdown, rookie reliever Leo Nunez decided to have a meltdown of his own. He actually out-Limaed Lima. (Did that make any sense? That last sentence sent my word processor into a frenzy.)

Nunez had nothing for the Giants. I was a little surprised he was allowed the remain in the game, particularly after the first two batters reached base and the lead was gone. It was obvious the Giants had his number. The only reasoning I can come up with is that since Nunez had only worked a little over two innings since Buddy Bell was named manager, Bell wanted to see what Nunez could do. That's the only explanation I can come up with. Especially since there wasn't a reliever in the bullpen until three or four runs were in. I have to think that if this game had a larger meaning, Nunez would have been out of there after facing the second batter.

By the time he got out of the inning the damage had been done, and it's all too depressing to recap here. There would be no sweep.

Some other thoughts from what was actually a really good series for the Royals:

• You’re probably going to be hearing a lot about Angel Berroa and how well he’s been doing at the plate. Don’t be fooled. Yes, he had a good series against the Giants, going 6-15 with five runs scored. But right now, the only time he’s making good contact is when he’s ahead in the count. He still has next to no plate discipline or even a hint of a clue about where the strike zone is located. Berroa did take a walk Thursday, but that was after fouling off a couple of pitches that were thrown out of the zone and looking at a ball four that was buried in the dirt. He can still be my leadoff batter, but that’s only because there aren’t any other candidates to fill that role.

• After going 2-4, is it safe to say John Buck is on fire? No? Check out these numbers on Buck:

2004
First 113 Abs: .177/.231/.292
Rest of season: .288/.323/.544

2005
First 98 Abs: .173/.226/.276
Rest of season: ???

The number of at bats I chose for each season are relevant because it illustrates John Buck at his lowest statistical point in each season. Since his first 98 at bats this season, he has come to the plate 45 times and has posted a much more respectable .267/.298/.444. These slow starts are brutal, but I can justify sticking with the guy if he’s going to be able to turn it around. It looks like he just might be on the road to recovery.

• After smacking five triples in the first two games of the series, the Royals sadly had none on Thursday.

Now it’s on to Phoenix and three against another team in the dumps, the Arizona Diamondbacks, losers of eight of their last 10.

The Royals still have not announced their Saturday starter, but all signs point to the call-up of lefty J.P. Howell. As good as Howell might have been in the minors this year, I still fail to see the point in bringing him up at this time. He'll probably prove me wrong (and I hope so) but he just seems to have moved along too fast for someone who will rely on his location to be successful.

It's Getting Better

2005-06-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, it’s getting better/
A little better, all the time/
(It can’t get no worse.)
-Getting Better (Lennon/McCartney)

It’s been about a month since we’ve taken a close look at some of the statistical trends that have been developing over the course of this season. Since the Royals are on the west coast and the games are ending around midnight, now seems as good a time as any to revisit some of those stats. And the good news is the results show improvement in some key areas.

Another nice thing about this look at the Royals offensive production, is it nicely illustrates the Royals switch in management. Our first look at the numbers came on May 6th, just four days before Tony Pena quit on his team. So we are looking at the production during Pena’s dreadful 2005 tenure, and comparing them to the Schaefer/Bell tandem.

RUNS PER GAME

When we last checked about a month ago (29 games into the season), the Royals were last in the American League in scoring runs, averaging 3.57 R/G. Today, the Royals are no longer in the cellar. Here’s the current bottom three in runs scored per game:

KC……..4.18 R/G
OAK…..4.16 R/G
CLE…...3.96 R/G

Each team has improved over the last month of the season, but the Royals have posted the largest gain of the three. And it actually translates into the win column. After the first 29 games when the Royals were averaging a paltry 3.5 runs per game, they were a pathetic 7-22, which is a .250 winning percentage. In the 28 games since we did any kind of analysis the Royals have gone 11-17, for a .393 winning percentage. Still not a great record by any means, but realize that if the Royals played .393 baseball for an entire season they would win about 64 games, missing the magical mark of 100 losses by two.

LINE DRIVE PERCENTAGE

The Royals are still dead last in all of baseball in line drive percentage (LDP), posting a really weak .147. It’s going to be difficult for them to climb out of the basement, as the next closest team, the Cleveland Indians, have a LDP of .161. Remember, LDP is the percent of batted balls that are line drives, which fall for base hits roughly 75% of the time. This compares slightly favorably to the last time when their LDP was .143. It’s a small improvement to be sure, but any gains deserve to be noted.

A FUN COMPARASON

Finally, just for fun, take a look at this comparison between two American League teams:

TEAM A: .252/.309/.395 4.18 R/G
TEAM B: .252/.315/.381 4.23 R/G

Which offense would you rather have? It’s a tough call. Both teams are well below the league averages of .265/.331/.415 and 4.69 R/G, so it’s safe to say neither team does very well at the plate. One teams gets on base a little more often, while the other slugs at a better clip.

Since this is a Royals blog, it’s obvious that one of these teams is our beloved Royals. That would be team A.

Team B? That would be the Seattle Mariners.

Yes, those Seattle Mariners. The team that features hit king Ichiro! at the top of the lineup, followed by big boppers Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson and Bret Boone has virtually the same offensive production as the Kansas City Royals.

It’s still way too early to condemn the Beltre and Sexson deals, but who would have thought that the “youth movement” Royals would out slug the free-spending Mariners?

The good news is, since Pena bailed on this team, the Royals offense is slowly improving and it shows in the record as well as the overall quality of play. Like Lennon and McCartney said, it is getting better.

Textbook

2005-06-08T07:54:00.000-05:00

Starter D.J. Carrasco looked great on Tuesday, pitching the Royals first nine inning complete game of the season. He cruised through the middle innings, at one point retiring 16 in a row. That he finished the evening throwing 111 pitches and getting 17 ground ball outs (10 of them to his shortstop) only illustrates how well he was pitching. I know that SBC Park favors the pitchers, but if you’re going to get that many groundballs, it really doesn’t matter where you pitch. Your chances for success are well above average.

With Wednesday’s starter Ruynelvys Hernandez struggling, Zack Greinke’s recent problems and Lima being Lima, Carrasco, for the time being, is the Royals most dependable starter.

The catalyst in the Royals exploding for eight runs was lead-off batter Angel Berroa. He singled leading off the first, singled leading off the third and tripled leading off the fifth. Each time, he came around to score. Really, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Nobody in baseball strikes out fewer batters than the Giants’ Kirk Rueter. He averages about 3 K per 9 IP for his career. Naturally, I was nervous last night that somehow, he would figure out how to be a strikeout pitcher. The Royals handled him perfectly, working the count, finding a good pitch and swinging away. Rueter finished the night without a strikeout while allowing ten Royal baserunners out of 23 batters faced in 4.1 innings.

The Royals are now 5-2 under Buddy Bell. (An aside: I will never, ever refer to Royals baseball as “BuddyBall.”) It’s a nice bounce, but the Royals really need to perform well on this short, six-game road trip. They’re up against the Giants who are struggling and the Diamondbacks who are fading as well. If the Royals return to K.C. next week after going 4-2, would you be happy? I would.

Draft Day Odds and Ends

• In their projection of the first round, Baseball America nailed the first 18 picks. 18 picks!!! Uh, I think those guys know their stuff.

• According to Baseball America, the Royals called Justin Upton shortly before the draft began to tell him if he fell to number two, he would be wearing Royal blue.

• I’ll try to track down some good Alex Gordon links and post them later this morning.

It's Alex Gordon!

2005-06-07T12:09:00.000-05:00

Whooooo-hooooooo!!!!!!

With the second pick in the draft, the Royals select 3B Alec Gordon from the University of Nebraska.

Kudos to Allard Baird, Senior Director of Scouting Deric Ladnier and the rest of the Royals scouting department!!!!!!

2nd Round

Jeff Bianchi, SS, Lancaster, PA

The Royals select Jeff Bianchi a high school shortstop from Pennsylvania. Bianchi has signed a letter of intent to play ball at N.C. State, but has said he would consider signing if he was drafted high enough. And that was when he was projecting as a third or fourth round pick!

He's rated as the 57th batter and 126th overall in the draft by Baseball America.

Bianchi had a great senior year, batting .573, 13 HR, 37 RBI in 61 ABs.

One scout says he's better than Upton right now! He has good instincts, with a line drive stroke. Ultimately projects as a second baseman.

John Sickles says: "Surprise pick. Good athlete, will need time to develop."

3rd Round

Christopher Nicoll, RHP, U-Irvine

You just knew that Allard would take a pitcher in the third round. I think there is some sort of unwritten rule somewhere that a pitcher must be taken at least every third selection.

Nicoll is rated as the 69th pitcher and the 121st player overall in the draft by Baseball America.

Nichol has improved every year at Irvine:

Year......Inn....ERA.....K/9.....BB/9.....HR/9
2005....111.2....2.50....9.1.....1.9.......0.4
2004.....80.0....3.49....8.0.....2.7.......0.7
2003.....38.0....4.03....8.8.....4.3.......0.5

Another high-strikeout, low walk kind of guy. Nice.

Can he start in place of Lima on Thurday?

John Sickles says: "Budget pick. RHP version of JP Howell."

4th Round

Joe Dickerson, OF, Esperanza HS (Anaheim, CA)

A left-handed CF, Dickerson has signed a letter of intent to play ball at Texas.

He was one of the leaders of his high school team that was tabbed as the 33th best team in Baseball America pre-season prep rankings.

He was batting .423 with 26 runs scored in 78 ABs through May 18.

John Sickles says: "Speed demon guy."

Dickerson was just interviewed on MLB.com's audio draft coverage. He said the Royals called and said they wanted to draft him and would he be interested? "I said, yes and that I'd sign for sure. I'm excited and my whole family is excited."

Dickerson describes himself as a, "gap to gap hitter, good speed, good defense and arm."

5th Round

Shawn Hayes, SS, Franklin Pierce College

That guy from MASH has a school named after him?

Draft Day

2005-06-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

The draft starts at noon (CDT) today.

The draft, which never used to be that big of a deal, is now equivalent to Christmas morning to Royals fans. Something is wrapped up and under the tree just waiting to be opened. The anticipation is huge. What is in that package? Is it something we really want? Will it be that Red Ryder BB gun, or will it be some clothes that we'll never wear?

Here’s hoping the Royals splurge and get us that BB gun. (Alex Gordon or Justin Upton would qualify here.)

Of course, we won't know for a couple of years if this year's draft is any good or not, but I find it damn fun to guess along with everyone else.

There’s a ton of excellent info on the draft all over the internet, written by people who actually carve out a living following this stuff. In other words, they have more insight than I could possibly hope to have. So, instead of giving you a draft day preview, I’ll direct people to some links that might be of interest. That way, when a name pops up you've never heard of, you can click back here and follow your link of choice. Easy.

Draft day links:

Baseball America is reporting they have two sources that say the Diamondbacks will take Justin Upton with the number one overall pick. Not surprising.

The list of top 200 prospects is up at Baseball America.

Nice write-up on Nebraska 3B, and consensus second-best player in the draft, Alex Gordon.

John Sickels at the excellent Minor League Ball website ran a mock draft over the weekend. Totally in-depth and very easy to navigate. You’ll find the AL Central results here.

Sickels is the best in the biz and will be posting updates all day long.

And finally, MLB.com will have live coverage of the draft starting at 11:30.

It should be a fun day.

Be sure to check back sometime after lunch to see if that Red Ryder is under our tree.

Weekend Roundup

2005-06-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

That four game winning streak was really, really nice. Especially considering the fact that the Royals hadn’t won that many in a row since 2003.

Problem is, as long as Lima in starting every fifth day, a four game winning streak is the best the Royals can do.

Some other thoughts from the weekend:

• It was kind of nice to see some fire out in the Royals dugout on Sunday. When Shane Costa was hit by a pitch in the ninth, Buddy Bell was angered that Ranger pitcher Francisco Cordero wasn’t warned. Eventually, Bell came out of the dugout to make his point to home plate umpire Gary Cedarstrom. After the game, Buddy was still angry, claiming that it was “blatant” that Cordero was throwing at Costa.

Kudos to Bell for stepping up for his players. After spending the last two afternoons getting ripped by the Rangers, I’m sure he was boiling, and Costa getting hit was his breaking point. But I’m inclined to believe Cordero wasn’t throwing at anyone. He was all over the place with his pitches, walking Emil Brown to start the inning and missing the zone badly in the previous three offerings to Costa. But it doesn’t matter whether the plunking was real or imagined, Bell chose that moment to take a stand. That’s something we didn’t see often enough under the previous management and I’m sure the players appreciated Bell’s actions Sunday afternoon.

• The rest of Sunday’s fireworks came at the end of the game, when Cordero celebrated by taking a couple of steps toward the Royals’ dugout and grabbing his crotch. Nice. Always a good idea to cap off the Build-A-Bear teddy bear giveaway day at the stadium with a crotch grab.

• What in the name of Jose Lima is wrong with Zack Greinke? He hasn’t been himself his last four starts, failing to pitch longer than five innings in any of them. Sunday was his worst outing of the last four, but check out these numbers from his last four starts:

19.1 IP, 28 H, 20 ER, 7 BB, 12 K

That’s a 9.31 ERA. I’m not sure what’s going on with Greinke, but this should be cause for concern within the organization. Time for Guy Hansen to earn his money.

• It’s was discouraging, but not altogether unexpected, to see Lima blow a four run lead on Saturday. As noted before, the Royals have been staking Lima to leads all season long, only to see him give them right back. After the game Bell said Lima would remain in the rotation. I actually don’t have a problem with that. Bell is the new guy and he’s going to give everyone a chance to show him what they can do. Lima will pitch himself out of the rotation before the All-Star break. Now, we just need to come up with a decent drinking game for the next time Lima blows a lead.

• Head-scratcher of a move on Saturday when the Royals optioned starting pitcher Ryan Jensen to the minors to make room for Jeremy Affeldt coming off the DL. Strange because this leaves the Royals short a starter. Stranger because Jensen must clear waivers for the Royals to keep him. And even stranger still when you figure Affeldt could have easily taken Steve Stemle’s spot in the pen. It’s not like Jensen is the second coming of Cy Young, but he’s pitched alright in two of his three starts and has some major league experience. The Royals will now have to make another move to find a starter for next Saturday’s game at Arizona. Weird.

Interleague play returns this week when the Royals travel to San Francisco and Arizona, but the big news will be the draft on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sweep!

2005-06-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

It was probably only me, but from about the sixth inning, I was hanging on every pitch like it was a game 7.

Here are some numbers that you might already know, but bear repeating:

• The Royals had gone 78 series without a sweep, which was the longest streak in the majors since the Phillies 79-series streak in 1997-1998.

• The Royals swept the Yankees at home for the first time since July of 1990.

• The last time the Royals won three straight games was almost a year ago. And I’m not sure that even counts since they sandwiched that streak around the All-Star break, July 11-16, 2004.

That all of this happened against the Yankees makes it all the better. The Royals are a lead pipe cinch to lose 100 games and might even threaten the ’62 Mets as the worst team ever, but for three nights at the start of the summer, they got over on the mightiest team in all of the land. If you are a fan of this team, it’s these kind small things that can keep you going.

And for all the glitz and glamour the Yankees bring when they come to town, the Royals outperformed them in every area of the game.

• What can you say about the pitching in this series? The starters kept the team in the ballgame and the bullpen completely shut the Yankees down. Every Royal reliever saw action and compiled a noteworthy line:

11 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 9 SO

Over the three games, the bullpen held the Yankees to a .205 batting average while posting a miniscule ERA of 0.82. That’s called closing out ballgames.

• The Royals were clearly the better team at the plate over the three games. A comparison:

Royals: .295/.324/.474
Yankees: .196/.297/.320

That’s domination.

The only area the Yankees outshone the Royals was in the walk department, edging KC by an 11-4 margin. This highlights a disturbing trend that the team is again falling victim to…the inability to work the count. Over the last six games, the Royals have drawn only 10 walks, and only one of them by noted walking machine Matt Stairs.

• Forget payroll. Any team is going to have trouble scoring runs when the top of the lineup can’t get on base. The Yankees leadoff hitter (Derek Jeter) and their number two batter (Tony Womack & Hideki Matsui) were a combined 4-24 with two walks and one run scored against the Royals.

• And the most important stat of all: Over the three games the Royals outscored the Yankees 13-6.

In the end this series wasn’t any watershed moment, or some magical turning point in the progress of the youth movement. It was just three games at the start of June.

But it was fun!

And by the way, don't these two back pages look similar?

Winning Makes It Better

2005-06-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

For one night let’s forget the mistake that was made on Tuesday. Tonight, we celebrate taking two in a row from the mightiest team in all the land.

• Over his career, Randy Johnson has pitched very well against the Royals posting a 12-6 record with a 3.16 ERA while striking out a little over 11 batters per nine innings. But on Wednesday, he just looked like a 41 year old pitcher who’s best days are in the rearview mirror. He pitched well, but let’s be honest. The Royals are a team Johnson should have dominated. But he didn’t, allowing nine hits while striking out seven and retiring the side in order only one time. The Royals were basically pests, refusing to be intimidated or to go quietly.

• Since Tony Pena quit on the team in mid-May, Angel Berroa has quietly been improving at the plate. Elevated to the leadoff spot by Bob Schaefer and kept in that spot by Buddy Bell, Berroa was instrumental in Wednesday’s victory by doubling twice and scoring both times. Since his move to the top of the lineup Berroa is batting a very respectable .284/.321/.405. He still swings at way too many pitches out of the zone, and his baserunning is an embarrassment, but until the Royals find a true leadoff hitter (and that could be at least two or three years away) Berroa might be their best option.

• What’s gotten into Emil Brown? In April, he was the poster child for why you take spring training stats with a grain of salt. In May, he was justifying his spot on the roster hitting .313/.389/.506 while seeing everyday duty. His hot hitting continued Wednesday going 2-4 with the big first inning home run to ensure Berroa’s leadoff double wasn’t wasted.

• Picking the Royals closer is about as tricky as handicapping a managerial race where Allard Baird is doing the hiring. In his first two games as Royals manager it looks like Mike MacDougal is Bell's choice to close games . MacDougal has looked great in these two outings, picking up saves in back to back appearances for the first time since early July 2003. When he’s on, like he has been the last two nights, he throws absolute filth.

• The best part of these last two games? MacDougal striking out Derek Jeter in the ninth inning both nights.

Winning is much more fun than losing, isn’t it?

Payday For The Longshot

2005-06-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest.

Everyday I posted odds over on the right side of this page, tracking who I thought the Royals would hire as their next manager.

I thought Buddy Bell was a longshot.

I just didn’t see how he could even be considered.

Sure Bell has the major league experience that Allard Baird so desperately craved, but what else does he bring to the table? Does he possess the ability to mold a young team into a contender? Or does he have a proven philosophy that will lead this team from the depths of the AL Central?

After watching Tuesday’s press conference, I don’t think Baird or Dan Glass or even Bell himself can answer those questions.

I think the only absolute is we’ve found rock bottom.

EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

The only qualification set forth by Baird was that the next manager have major league managing experience. Fair enough.

But what about developing young players? And what about winning? Bell has never done either.

Bell took over a franchise in a similar situation when he was named manager of the Detroit Tigers for the 1996 season. The Tigers hadn’t contended in eight seasons and hadn’t won in nine. They had an aging group of players along with a veteran manager, and it just didn’t seem like winning was a priority anymore. Bell was charged with taking over a young team (average age 26) and teaching them how to win. The first season was a disaster (sound familiar yet?) but the team was showing improvement the second year winning 14 more times than the previous season. The team regressed in his third season and it cost Bell his job.

The Detroit front office has to shoulder some of the blame for that lack of success, but from his time as the manager of the Tigers, not a single player emerged that would make someone sit up and take notice. Bobby Higginson is average at best. Devi Cruz is below average. Tony Clark is a bust. How much of that do you hang on the manager? I’m not sure, but it would have been nice for Allard Baird to have been able to cite at least one success story from his years in Detroit at Tuesday’s press conference. Trouble is, there aren’t any.

And what about the true measure of managerial success, the wins? We know that Bell has managed only one team to a record above .500. (Colorado, 82-80, 2001) To be fair, you can’t look closely at the wins and losses when the manager is charged with rebuilding. But Bell’s teams have never really improved. That’s why he’s had two brief stops in his managerial career and that’s why he’s not a winning manager.

BUT HE'S A "GOOD BASEBALL GUY!"

Over the next several days, I’m sure we’ll hear how Buddy Bell is a “good fit” for the Royals. We’ll hear he’s a “good baseball guy” and how he can “work with youngsters,” and "players love him." And if Peter Gammons can stop writing about the Red Sox for just a few minutes, he might tell us that Buddy is “a student of the game” who “brings experience” to the Royals.

Please.

Allard Baird was handed a golden opportunity, the chance to correct the mistake this organization made in hiring Tony Pena back in 2002. I know there has been some debate about how important managers really are to a baseball team. Five wins a season, maybe seven, possibly ten. But I’ve seen too many horrible ones at Kauffman Stadium over the last ten years not to think that the manager is a vital component of any successful team. This hire could help lead the Royals out of the cellar, or quite possibly bury them even deeper.

The candidates the Royals had to chose from were underwhelming to say the least. Was anyone out there getting excited about the possibility of Art Howe or Jerry Manuel wearing Royal blue? I didn’t think so.

But they had to have been able to do better than Buddy Bell.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!!!

2005-05-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

I'm beside myself right now.

Buddy Bell is the Royals next manager.

That sucks.

Of the five candidates he was the last guy I wanted in the position.

I'll have some more thoughts and maybe some analysis after the press conference later this afternoon or early this evening.

Now, where did I put those anti-depressants?

EDIT: I'd like to hear what some other Royal fans think... Bad hire or good hire? If not Bell, who would you have hired? Someone from the "short list" or someone who didn't get an interview? Thoughts are good...Together we can get through this.

Will They Ever Win Again?

2005-05-31T07:35:00.000-05:00

So much for that "bounce" that the Royals got from changing managers.

The Royals embark on a six game road trip and proceed to drop every single game. The amazing thing about the three game series in Los Angeles was it really, truly was a microcosm for the season so far. A primer on how to lose ballgames:

• Friday: Blow a huge ninth inning lead and lose in the tenth.
• Saturday: Get blown out.
• Sunday: Fall behind early, battle back and lose by one run.

And now the dreaded Yankees come to town. Sure they lost two of three to the Red Sox over the weekend, but that probably only served to make them angry. The Royals best shot to make any kind of noise is tonight when Zack Greinke faces Kevin Brown. I’m not optimistic about these next three games.

PENTLAND FIRED

After completing the winless road trip, the Royals fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland. A hitting coach has got to be the single, worst job in all of professional sports. You get almost no credit when the team is swinging well, but if the team batting average drops too low, you’ll be looking for another job.

So the Royals made Pentland a fall guy for some truly tepid offensive production.

I have no idea if Pentland was a good or bad batting instructor. I do know he comes highly recommended by none other than Barry Bonds. And I also know the Royals young hitters haven’t shown enough development over the last year to justify keeping Pentland around.

The timing of the Pentland firing is interesting to me because that leads us to…

THE SEARCH

All reports indicate that Allard Baird and the Royals are nearing the conclusion of their search.

That makes the timing of the firing of Pentland interesting. Why not let the new manager bring in his own guy or at least have some input? Wouldn’t a new manager welcome the opportunity help make a coaching hire? We know pitching coach Guy Hansen isn’t going anywhere. And first and third base coaches are usually pretty safe until after the season. I think what the Royals are doing is showing any prospective manager that these types of moves will be made by the organization. The manager is going to be a piece of the puzzle, not the ultimate solution.

And as we hit the home stretch in the search for a new manager, it’s time once again to shake up the odds.

As a reader pointed out in the comments, and other have written emails, it’s time to downgrade Bob Schaefer. He falls back on the board after:

• Losing six in a row and having an overall record of 5-12 since taking over
• Not having a formal interview.
• Not having the managerial experience the Royals crave.

That puts Terry Collins in the lead. For reasons previously stated, he seems like a good fit for this young team. It will come down to the wire between him and Art Howe. Howe has a ton of experience and plenty of success and will be difficult for Baird to pass by. But I think he ultimately goes for a guy who demands you play the game the right way, and who isn’t afraid to challenge players who don’t. I predict Baird selects Terry Collins as the next manager of the Royals.

Jaime, Could You Take Jose With You?

2005-05-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Lima sucks. I'm waiting for him to get wacked, Albie Lopez-style.

Glad we could be of service, Mr. Hidalgo. Please don't forget to tip your servers...errr...I mean pitchers.

I-29 Happenings
Before Thursday's game, the Royals optioned Jaime Cerda to Omaha and purchased the contract of Steve Stemle.

Cerda has been playing Russian Roulette all season, with bullets in, say, four of the six chambers. He'd have a couple of back-to-back solid outings and follow that up by allowing three runs in his next appearance. He wasn't getting it done and now his demotion leaves WTP Favorite Andy Sisco as the only lefty in the pen.

Stemle is a former fifth round draft choice by the Cardinals who basically throws strikes, averaging about 2 BB/9 IP. He was a starter until last season and has been very successful in Omaha this year posting the following line:

20 IP, 13 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO

That's impressive.

And the Royals, being the Royals, throw the new guy right into the middle of the action. Not a bad big league debut:

3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO

THE SEARCH

So lets turn our attention to the happenings off the field because, let’s face it, it’s more interesting.

Do you get the feeling that Allard Baird travels the country with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, with a lock only he knows the combination to, while the front office staff refers to him by a super-secret code name? Me too.

I think we can safely say we have the shortlist of candidates:

Buddy Bell
Terry Collins
Art Howe
Jerry Manuel
Bob Schaefer

Since we’ve already looked at Schaefer and Howe here, and Collins here, it’s time to look a little more in depth at the final two candidates on the list:

Buddy Bell

The fact that we are even considering this stiff gets me seriously depressed. How vanilla can you get? Do we want a guy who can teach our young players how to win, or do we want a guy who can recount the glory days of the 1970’s Cleveland juggernaut? Bell has never been a winner. Not as a player and not as a manager.

As a manager for all or part of six seasons, he’s guided his teams to a winning record only once (82-80 in 2000) while landing in last place twice. (He was fired in the midst of a third last place season.) His players all seemed to have liked him and he hasn’t had the best talent to work with, but this just seems like a bad fit. He’s twice been handed the reigns of a young team and twice failed to improve. Now that Phil Garner is in Houston, Bell is the ultimate managerial retread.

Jerry Manuel

Another surprise on the list, Manuel managed the Chicago White Sox for six full seasons before getting the ax after the 2003 season. Manuel is the antithesis of Buddy Bell: He had some talent, and the expectations, but didn’t win enough. He was at .500 or better in his last five seasons and finished below second place in the Central only once.

Manuel can’t shoulder all the blame for the troubles in Chicago. Saddled with Kenny Williams as a general manager, the Sox built a roster ultimately ill-suited for a pennant race. Awesome power can’t overcome a lack of a leadoff man, a weak bullpen and a below-average defense. Williams was also the architect of the horrible trades for Carl Everett and Roberto Alomar at the expense of an already thin farm system. As a GM, Williams has been a bust and Manuel was the fall guy.

Manuel strikes me as one of those steady baseball lifers...A steady presence in the clubhouse. I actually want to say he reminds me of Bob Schaefer, but Schaefer has a fun kind of personality that I’m not sure Manuel has. But Manuel has a calm and relaxed style that is popular with players. He will get after them if he needs to, but seems to favor a more hands off approach. I don’t think he's the best fit for this ballclub.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

2005-05-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

Same old story Wednesday night in Texas.

Zack Greinke pitches, the Royals don't score, the Royals lose.

Well, maybe that's a bit too simplistic.

• Pedro Astacio? Damn, that’s really depressing.

• For the second game in a row, Greinke has not looked sharp. In a bizarre role reversal, Greinke threw more like you would expect Pedro Astacio to pitch. Meanwhile, Astacio looked Greinke-esque. Here are Greinke’s numbers from his last two starts:

5/20 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
5/25 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

He’s had rough patches like this already in his brief career. I’m sure this is just a minor speed bump on his road to excellence, but it still has to be noted.

• So much for that “selectively aggressive” theory I floated out there on Monday. It was like the Pena era where Royal batters would go up to the plate with the intent of working the count, only to fall behind and expand the strikezone. Wednesday, the Royals looked at a first pitch strike in 13 out of 35 at bats, struck out seven times and walked only once.

Clark, over at the Royals OP-ED Page ran some numbers from Tuesday’s game on this very topic. Wednesday’s game looks almost to be a mirror image.

THE SEARCH

Allard Baird is more secretive than the Colonel guarding his secret recipe. Here's what we know:

• He interviewed his first candidate Wednesday.

• It wasn’t Gene Lamont, who somehow figured out he wasn’t on the Royals’ list. Maybe it’s because Allard never called him.

• Buddy Bell is rumored to be on the double-secret short list. I just don’t see that happening.

• I’m bumping the odds lower on Terry Collins. Collins has had some time away from the managerial hot seat to reflect and figure out how to be a better manager. In a business where you’re hired to be fired, the ability to learn from your mistakes and to adapt, seems really crucial.

Collins moves past Art Howe into second place on the odds board.

Missed It By That Much

2005-05-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

When entering the ninth trailing by two, do the Royals try to score only one run?

Notes from another one run loss, the thirteenth of the season:

• The last person I want up at the plate in a “clutch” situation is Angel Berroa. Until this guy figures out what exactly the strike zone is, and where it's located, he’s a liability.

• Not to pick on Berroa too much, (it’s so damn easy) but did you see his steal of second base in the third inning? The only, and I do mean only, reason he was safe was due to a terrible throw from Rangers catcher Rod Barajas. Berroa gets a horrible jump and has no power in his first few strides. Really if the throw was anywhere close, he was out by five steps. For the love of Willie Wilson, someone sit this kid down and tell him to please never, ever steal a base.

• Here’s a stat that is rather meaningless but interesting: After Terrence Long’s pinch-hit single in the ninth, Royal pinch hitters are now 2-27. (.074) Not surprisingly, that's the worst in the league.

• Once again, it’s the missed opportunities that come back to bite this team. The Royals had runners on base all night but failed to ever break through for any kind of big inning. The worst was failing to capitalize on Matt Diaz’ one-out triple in the fourth.

Team batting average with runners in scoring position (Bottom 5):
TEX .248
KCR .248
CHI .243
CLE .235
OAK .230

See, it only seems like the Royals are the worst team in the league with runners in scoring position.

Minnesota is the best in the AL with a .315 average. I’m really surprised to see the White Sox so low on this list. Enjoy your stay in first Sox fans. I don’t think we’ll be seeing you there in September.

• Starter Runelvys Hernandez had a typical night. Struggle early, settle down in the middle, and finish with a whimper. Sometimes, he just seems to labor out there. I get tired just watching him. And it seems 90 pitches is about his limit before the serious trouble starts. He was lucky to finish his start with only three earned runs.

• The home run WTP Favorite Andy Sisco gave up to Richard Hidalgo in the eighth, and was the difference in the game, was a no-doubter. I don’t know much about physics, but I do know that when maximum velocity squarely meets maximum force, it’s better to have no one on base.

Zack Greinke goes for his first win of the season tomorrow. Again.

Building A Better Offense

2005-05-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

The Royals have played eleven games since Tony Pena quit. And if you ask those who follow the team closely, they will agree that this team has been playing better baseball since their skipper walked out on them in Toronto.

But why is that?

Since the Royals have an off day, I thought I’d run some numbers comparing the recently departed Pena with interm manager Bob Schaefer to see if I could find some tangible reasons for the improvement.

What I have done is take Schaefer’s entire tenure this season (11 games) and held them up to the final 11 games of the Pena regime.

Let’s get to the results:

Patience at the Plate

We’ve heard from both Schaefer and his players that they are being more aggressive at the plate. The numbers bear this out. Under Pena, the Royals were averaging about 3.67 pitches per at bat. With Schaefer, Royal batters are seeing about 3.54 pitches per at bat. That would lead us to believe that the Royals are indeed going up to the plate and swinging the bat.

But the interesting thing is the Royals are now taking more walks. In the last 11 games, they have drawn 33 free passes (an average of three walks per game.) In the final 11 games of Pena’s tenure the Royals had only 21 walks (an average of 1.9 walks per game.) That is a huge difference.

What all this means is the Royals hitters are being what I would call “selectively aggressive.” It’s about finding the right balance. They are going up to the plate swinging, but for the most part they are swinging at strikes. That results in more real opportunities to get on base either via the walk or the base hit. And that results in more opportunities to score runs.

Outs on the Bases

One of my major complaints against Pena as a manager was in his quest to manufacture runs, he would just give away too many outs. To look at the differences, I looked at stolen bases, caught stealing and sacrifices. So this isn’t going to account for missed attempts like when Angel Berroa fouled off two sacrifice bunt attempts and then swung at a ball out of the zone for strike three (5/8 vs. Baltimore), which I would classify as giving away an out.

Schaefer seems to be slow to call for the sacrifice bunt. The Royals have executed only three sac bunts in the last 11 games. And Pena’s apparent love of the bunt didn’t come through in his final 11 games…His team only got down two sacrifices during that time. But over the last season, Pena called for a sacrifice roughly once every three games. Schaefer is looking to sacrifice less…About once every four games.

And the Royals are still awful on the bases. In the last 11 games the Royals have been successful on four of 8 stolen base attempts. In Pena’s final 11 games, the Royals had only one stolen base in five attempts. But for the entire season with Pena, the Royals were successful under 50% of the time. (13/27 – 48%)

Although conventional wisdom will claim that the team isn’t making as many outs on the bases, from this limited sample size it’s really too close to call. The difference between Pena and Schaefer isn’t enough to claim with absolute certainty that the Royals are better on the bases under the current manager. The trend does appear favorable, but the evidence just isn’t there.

What does it all mean?

The bottom line is wins and in that area the Royals have obviously improved. Schaefer has led this team to five wins in his 11 games in charge. Pena didn’t have a stretch of 11 games where he won at least five of them all year. We’re currently in the middle of the most successful time of this short season.

The big difference is in runs scored. Under Schaefer, the Royals are scoring a little over six runs a game. That’s a good stretch for any team. Also, you have to remember that for six games in this stretch the Royals were without Mike Sweeney, who is by far their best hitter. Even without their captain, they’re scoring almost double the average number of runs they scored with Pena at the controls.

Through their “selectively aggressive” approach at the plate, the Royals are getting on base more and that leads to more runs which leads to more wins.

It’s funny how simple this game can be sometimes.

Best...Sunday...Ever!

2005-05-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Six runs in the first inning?!?

Lima wasn’t in the game to give the runs back by the third?!?

The Royals stayed in control the entire game and won?!?

Best…Sunday…Ever!!!

Well, maybe that is a bit of hyperbole, but it did feel nice:

• The six runs the Royals scored in the first, matched their best inning of the season. (5/8 @ Baltimore) But really, what was so great about it was all six runs were scored with two outs. Credit goes to Emil Brown with a double that drove in the first two, keeping the inning alive before John Buck capped it off with a two run homer. Buck is now batting a robust .204/.256/.343 on the season. He’s five for his last 10 with two doubles, the aforementioned home run and four RBIs. Maybe, just maybe, he’s coming alive at the plate.

• With seemingly every Royals player on the DL (Swingin’ Ken Harvey is the latest casualty) the Royals summoned Ryan Jensen from Omaha to fill a hole in the rotation. Jensen did well, pitching five solid innings. In his lone full season in the majors (2002) he was a flyball pitcher (.83 ground out to air out ratio) but Sunday was ridiculous. Of his 15 outs recorded, three were strikeouts, three were ground outs and nine were in the air. Leaving the ball up in the zone against the Cardinals is no way for a pitcher to make a living. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.

• Short reliever Leo Nunez continued his strike-throwin’ ways in throwing three innings of one hit ball. My first reaction when hearing a reliever like Nunez pitched three innings is usually, “What?!? What the hell is the manager thinking?” But I’m really liking the way Bob Schaefer is using the bullpen. Nunez needed only 26 pitches to work his three innings and threw 21 of them for strikes. In other words, he was dealing and not working very hard at all.

That Schaefer left him in the game shows he thinks outside the box. We always hear about pitch counts for starters, but the measuring stick for relievers remains to be number of innings pitched. When discussing a reliever you always hear, “He can give us one inning,” or “He’s someone we can count on for two good innings.”Well if your “one inning” guy can work his inning by throwing only eight pitches (like Nunez did in both the seventh and eighth innings) why can’t he go longer?

Other notes from the weekend:

• I just feel the Royals are getting closer. They were in all three games over the weekend, losing a pair of one run games before winning Sunday. Sooner or later, they will come out on the right side of some of these close games.

• It’s always discouraging when St. Louis comes to town and the split is about 60-40 in favor of Cardinal fans. Its been this way since the start of interleague play and it’s pretty damn depressing. I’m usually able to go to one of the so-called I-70 series games a year and I always have to endure a sea of red.

• Speaking of interleague, this week was “rivalry week.” Is it just me, or does it seem like there isn’t as much hype as years past? It sure seemed that way in Kansas City where attendance for the three games was off almost 18,000 from last year. (118,242 in 2004 vs. 110,563 in 2005)

THE SEARCH

Hooray! We get to change things up on our managerial odds board.

The Kansas City Star is reporting that former Astros and Angels manager Terry Collins has been contacted by the Royals and has interest in the job. Collins is known for a no-nonsense approach that has rubbed just a few players the wrong way over the course of his career. Collins is one of those guys that makes his team competitive, but for whatever reason, they just have a hard time clearing that final hurdle. In each of his five full seasons as manager, he’s finished second all five times. Collins has the experience, the fire and he’s currently working under Paul DiPodesta as the minor league director for the Dodger organization. Let’s rate his chances as above average. He’ll go on the board just behind Art Howe at 8-1.

We'll add a couple of other new names as longshots: Gene Lamont and Bobby Valentine. Valentine is on the board really just for fun. Lamont is a more serious candidate, but has yet to be contacted by the Royals.

The Bullpen Saves The Day

2005-05-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Starter Runelvys Hernandez is like that kid flicking matches at the gasoline can. He was really trying to blow that sucker up. In the four innings he started, he put the leadoff hitter on via a walk three times. And in the one inning he didn’t walk the leadoff hitter, he gave up a two-out double and two walks to load the bases. Really, it was only a matter of time before the wheels fell off. But when they did, it wasn’t entirely Hernandez’s fault. A misplayed fly ball and another lost in the sun contributed to a looming disaster.

Thankfully, the bullpen saved the day:
• 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

• Leo Nunez will get credit for the win, but really he should get a save. Entering the game with runners at second and third and asked to face the heart of the lineup, the kid calmly strikes out Melvin Mora and gets Miguel Tejada to fly out to end the threat. There couldn’t have been a bigger situation than that in Thursday’s game.

Nunez pitched 2.2 innings and was economic with his pitches, needing only 27 to get his eight outs.

• Jaime Cerda followed and, like Nunez, was a model of efficiency throwing 17 pitches for his six outs.

• Mike MacDougal was surprisingly brilliant striking out the side in the ninth to nail down the win, starting each batter with a called strike. His fastball was jumping today, hitting 97 mph on the stadium radar gun.

The Royals picked up an insurance run in the eighth by not getting a base hit. After Matt Stairs walked and Matt Diaz was hit by a pitch, Oriole reliever Steve Reed really fell apart. He walked Ruben Gotay to load the bases and followed that by walking Alberto Castillo on four pitches. The Royals are poised for another big inning and the chance to really put the game away.

Enter Joe McEwing.

To face a pitcher who is clearly struggling (eight of his last nine pitches were out of the strikezone) and gift wrap an at bat like that is criminal. Maybe I’m nitpicking. After all, we are enjoying a victory today. But you know what, there’s a right way to play the game and there’s a wrong way to play the game. It just hacks me off to see a so-called professional have an at bat that would make any little leaguer embarrassed.

Maybe McEwing should take a lesson from Stairs, who has been a walking machine drawing 13 bases on balls in the last six games. He’s also scored nine runs in those games. Hmmmmm…

One other quick note from this series. After going 0-4 (and stranding six runners) Thurday, the Orioles Tejada is a paltry 4-25 at the plate which equates to a John Buck-like .160/.222/.200. If he didn't have to play the Royals, his numbers would be .350/.391/.650. Call the Royals if you are at all interested in getting Miguel Tejada out. Credit to the excellent Baseball Musing's Day By Day Database for the breakdown of Tejada.

THE SEARCH

No movement today on the line for the next manager. This search is going to be slow, methodical, and so far, boring.

But Bob Schaefer has seized the opportunity, hasn’t he? Usually, most interm managers kind of stay the course of the previous regime. After all, their job is only temporary so why rock the boat? Schaefer’s approach is different. Things on this team have changed from batting order, to pitching rotation, to the bullpen. Schaefer really seems wants this job and is trying to show management that he can be part of the solution. He’s still listed as the favorite over on the right. I think Allard is going to give him a long look.

THE NEXT SERIES

Thanks to the brilliant marketing machine that is the MLB, Friday marks the beginning of inter-league play. I'll be at the game on Friday for Zack Greinke vs. Mark Mulder. To say I'm looking forward to this matchup would be an understatement.

Ugh, Part Two

2005-05-19T08:07:00.000-05:00

No lead is safe from the Orioles…

• What’s more frustrating that scoring three runs in the bottom of the second and then turning around and allowing the opposition three runs in the top of the third? I think I know…

• The Orioles scored every one of their seven runs on Wednesday with two outs. TWO OUTS! I know they are the best hitting team in all of baseball, but damn. Perhaps most frustrating of all is the fact that when they scored in the fifth and sixth innings, the Orioles didn’t even get their first baserunners until there were two down.

• WTP Favorite Andy Sisco struggled. Brought in by Bob Schaefer in as a LOOGY (who doesn't like that term?) in the sixth, he gave up his first major league home run to David Newhan. He followed that by allowing another homer to Javy Lopez.

There were a couple of times in the Pena regime where I thought Tony had been tempted to use Sisco as a one-out lefty specialist, but for the most part he avoided that. Not the case last night. We know that when Sisco is “on,” he has electric stuff. We also know that his future is as a starter. The Royals need to make sure he is properly taken care of which means giving him an inning or two (or three) a couple of times a week. I don’t think his or the team’s best interest will be served if he’s asked to be Jesse Orosco.

• John Buck, who I was a disappointment on Tuesday, came up big on Wednesday delivering a two-out, two-run double. Really, there’s nobody I feel happier for than Buck when things go his way. It’s no fun to watch a guy struggle the way he has over the first month and a half of the season.

• Matt Diaz was another Royal who had a good evening at the plate, going 3-4 with a run and an RBI. He said he was heating up toward the end of his visit to Omaha and it showed Wednesday. He needs to stay in the lineup for the next month just to see what he can do with regular MLB playing time. We know he’s not an All-Star, but let’s see exactly how much he can contribute.

• The Royals announced before the game that Jose Lima (he will no longer be referred to as Lima-Time for reasons that should be obvious) will have his start moved up one day and will take the mound on Saturday. That analogy about deck chairs and the Titanic can be applied here.

THE SEARCH

There has been almost no movement on the managerial search. Allard Baird says there is no “shortlist” of candidates and doesn’t expect to have one until the end of the week. Interviews, for the purpose of secrecy, will most likely not be held in Kansas City.

Buck Martinez says he was contacted by the Royals. I hope this isn’t true.

Joe Posnanski of the Star called Bobby Valentine in Japan to see if he is interested in the job. Looking at the length of the column, I hope Joe is on one of those cell phone plans where you get free international calling.

I'm kind of ambivalent about Valentine, mainly because I don’t think he would be interested. As they say, “He’s big in Japan.” But for fun let’s add him to our “Field” entry of the managerial odds.

Ugh

2005-05-18T07:59:00.000-05:00

That was fun for about an hour.

• Raise your hand if you thought Lima-Time could hold that lead. I didn’t think so.

• Looking back at Lima-Time’s starts in the month of May, here is the damage:

5/1: Blew a five run lead at Cleveland
5/7: Lost at Baltimore
5/12: Blew a five run lead vs. Tampa Bay
5/17: Blew a six run lead vs. Baltimore

Despite Lima’s best attempts the Royals are 2-2 in his last four starts, but the Royals have to be wondering what in the world is going on. Here he is, getting run support that would make Zack Greinke jealous, and every time out he’s blowing it. I think the time has come for the Royals to show Lima the door.

• Is there a pitcher who has underachieved more than the Orioles Sidney Ponson? I realize he has had more than his share of off-field trouble lately, but he was just awful Tuesday. He was leaving the ball up in the zone to almost every batter he faced and the Royals were taking advantage. Truly, the last thing I wanted to see was for Matt Stairs to tag Ponson with a batted ball up the middle but that’s the way the season has been going. O’s manager Lee Mazzilli was quick with the hook and aside from a couple of walks to force in Ponson’s runners, the Royals didn’t score for the rest of the night.

• As bad as Ponson was, the pitchers behind him were great.

Orioles bullpen: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 SO

Compare that to the Royals bullpen.

Royals bullpen: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 SO

• The super-happy-funtime that is Angel Berroa on the bases continued Tuesday. In the second inning, he tagged up at second on a fly ball to left. Hmmm. OK, the ball was deep, but still...Then he scored when Stairs nailed Ponson with the comebacker. Watching replays of Berroa on third, he hesitated for just a brief moment before coming down the line so I don’t think he was going on contact, which makes his break for the plate even more unbelievable. But Ponson couldn’t make a good throw from about 45 feet and Berroa was safe. Since Berroa was successful on both of his crazy baserunning plays, let’s call it “creative.” If he’s out, we can call it “stupid.”

• John Buck struck out with one out and the bases loaded in the second inning. I don’t mean to pick on Buck, but he needs to figure out what he’s doing at the plate and soon. He was 0-3 last night with three strikeouts and is now at .173/.226/.276 on the season. He now has more strikeouts than total bases. It’s like last July all over again for him.

• Mike Sweeney is supposed to return to the lineup Wednesday. Of course, he was supposed to return Tuesday so at this point let’s just say we’ll believe it when we see it.

• Do you think if Greinke and Lima swapped jersey numbers, Zack would get some run support?

The Morning Line - Managerial Odds

2005-05-16T13:01:00.000-05:00

Despite the fact there is no clear favorite, let’s start handicapping the field.

Jockey: Bob Schaefer..........Morning Line: 3-1
Schaefer is the favorite right now for a couple of reasons:
1) He’s got the team relaxed. This is an organization that hasn’t looked at ease playing ball since game 2 of the 2004 season.
2) He’s not afraid to shake things up. While I completely disagree with Angel Berroa in the leadoff spot, sometimes a little change is a good thing. I’d also like to see how David DeJesus bats in the number two spot with Mike Sweeney behind him.
3) He has the respect of his players who, in a five game stretch, are playing better for him than they ever played for Pena over the last year.

Jockey: Art Howe..........Morning Line: 7-1
Howe is probably the most experienced of the group that will get a look from the Royals. The reason to seriously consider him is based on his success in Oakland, where he went to the postseason three straight years while working on an economic footing similar to that in Kansas City. Although I’m sure the most of the credit for the development of their “Big Three” (Hudson, Mulder, Zito) goes to pitching coach Rich Peterson, Howe can take credit for taking a team that replaced Jason Giambi with Scott Hatteberg, Johnny Damon with David Justice and Jason Isringhausen with Billy Koch, and actually GOT BETTER.

Jockey: Larry Dierker..........Morning Line: 10-1
Dierker is Mr. Astro. Would he ever think about taking over the reigns in another organization? Plus, Baird has said he wants someone who gives everything to the team. Could Dierker forget about Houston and focus on KC? You can’t argue against his success as manager where he in five seasons he won four division titles. Word in Houston is he lost the veterans in the clubhouse, specifically Craig Biggio. That’s not going to be a problem in Kansas City.

Jockey: Frank White..........Morning Line: 15-1
Local favorite White is clearly the fan favorite to become the next skipper. After George Brett, no one represents the franchise like #20. His stated goal is to manage in the majors and he went to Wichita specifically to gain experience to accomplish that goal, and with the current “Youth Movement,” White has managed many of the players on the current roster. But for some reason, I just keep thinking that the job opened up about two years too early for White.

The Field ..........Morning Line: 25-1
Let’s file a bunch of guys here: Jim Fregosi, Jimy Williams, Grady Little, Carlos Tosca

Jockey: Larry Bowa..........Morning Line: 50-1
Please God, no.

Jockey: Jamie Quirk..........Morning Line: 100-1
George Brett’s running partner from back in the day, doesn’t have the experience Allard is looking for to be the next manager. Besides, he had a nasty parting of ways when he was a member of Tony Muser’s staff. No chance.

Jockey: Whitey Herzog..........Morning Line: 250-1
Last I heard about the White Rat, he was inviting Don Denkinger to the 1985 Cardinal Reunion.

And after all of that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Allard found someone who wasn’t even on this list.

So, what do you think? Did I leave anyone out? Post some comments with your thoughts and suggestions. I’ll try to keep the odds updated as we go along.

.750!

2005-05-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

A hugely successful weekend for the Royals! And by hugely successful, I mean taking three out of four from any team is a good thing.

• Zack Greinke has to be wondering what he did to his teammates to make their bats go so cold every time he takes the mound. The Royals lack of production in his starts is insane. Zack, it’s time to start a plan to motivate the offense. How about something like gift certificates for base hits, RBIs and in an effort to keep Angel Berroa on base, runs.

• Mike Wood…Closer?

• If it’s May, it must be time for the injuries as Denny Bautista joined an already crowded DL over the weekend. The good news is Mike Sweeney is reportedly making progress with his strained oblique and will return on Tuesday.

• Speaking of Sweeney, how great is it that this team has won three out of five with their best player out of the lineup?

• Off day today with the Orioles coming to town beginning tomorrow.

A brief post to start the week, but if you're interested I should have something with a little more meat on it later in the day.

Hot Bats And The Search Continues

2005-05-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Quick notes from a rainy night at the K:

• Uh-oh. Mike Sweeney was a late scratch with a strained oblique.

• John Buck collected his first base hit with runners in scoring position. He is now 1-18 with runners in scoring position this season.

• Matt Stairs scored from first on base hits not once, but twice! Both times on Emil Brown extra base hits. Hey Matt, the oxygen is on me!

• In fact, with Sweeney out of the lineup, all of the damage was done from the lower half.

• Mark Teahen continues to flash the leather at third.

• Scott Kazmir will probably be a good pitcher in the majors someday, but Thursday he struggled. He had trouble finding the zone against leftys and against the right handed hitters he was leaving the ball right in the hitters wheelhouse.

• Lima-Time gave his usual performance. Cruising through the first couple of innings before hitting the speed bump in the middle innings. Tonight it was the fourth when a couple of singles, a couple of walks (one with the bases loaded) and Lima entered full meltdown mode.

• The tarp went on the field with the score 7-5 with two outs in the top of the seventh. Looking at the radar, I doubt they will resume tonight. And with the Royals not having to take the field in the eighth inning, they should be virtually assured of a victory.

THE SEARCH

I really like Allard Baird. He's got an incredibly difficult job and he strikes me as someone who is honest (sometimes brutally so), forthright and pulls no punches. Ask him a question, and you’re going to get an answer. He doesn’t play games with the media, like the GM of the other professional sports franchise in this city.

I also think that Baird has done an outstanding job over the last year and a half acquiring talent while giving up next to nothing.

Some highlights from his press conference Thurday about the process of finding a new manager:

• As far as the next manager goes, Baird wouldn’t get specific with names, but said he anticipated a “master list” to be in place by Friday. The timeline is secondary to getting the right person. Baird even said that if the Royals don’t find “the right guy” they were willing to wait until after the season to make a permanent hire.

• He defined two types of managers: Independent contractors vs. the organizational guy. Baird is looking for total commitment that he says is crucial for our market. He’s looking for someone who will, pardon the cliché, bleed Royals blue. The new manager needs to be someone who believes in the youth movement as being what is best for this organization. Total commitment is necessary. A manager who will look to veterans when the going gets tough need not apply.

“The youth movement is very easy to talk about, but it becomes very hard to carry through when you are struggling.”

• Previous managerial experience in the big leagues is a plus, but will not be deemed a necessity.

• Baird described his ideal manager as someone who is a communicator, a winner, a tactician at the major league level, committed to the organization and someone who believes in the direction the team is going.

I believe the search will last at least two weeks. Baird is going to be very methodical. He mentioned that he is “a planner.” Pena’s resignation truly took him by surprise and he will take the time to put together the framework to make the right decision.

Pena wasn’t working as manager of this team. He was Baird’s first managerial hire and his resignation has given Baird a second chance, so to speak. Baird realizes the pressure is squarely on him. Truth be told, he’s lucky to have gotten this second chance to make things right.

He’s going to take his time and I have faith based on his track record over the last several months that he will make the right decision for this team.

Good luck Allard. You're going to need it.

Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

2005-05-12T00:15:00.000-05:00

Game one of the post-Tony Pena era ended like so many others…

Interim manager Bob Schaefer tried to mix things up with some interesting results.

• Mental midget Angel Berroa led off for the first time this season and responded by going 3-4 at the plate. Three hits from the leadoff spot for Berroa? I thought this guy might be an imposter, but after he was caught stealing in the eight, I can confirm that, yes, that was Angel.

Berroa should be fitted with a pair of concrete shoes, if only to keep him from trying to steal a base.

• After starter Denny Bautista had to leave the game with stiffness in his shoulder in the third inning the Schaefer went to Mike MacDougal. I would have thought the first choice would have been the only long reliever in the pen: Kyle Snyder. But I guess after Snyder got slapped around in a brief stint on Monday (.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER) they were a little shy to give him the ball.

The Royals find themselves in this position after the odd decision to promote Leo Nunez after placing Brian Anderson on the DL earlier in the week. As a result, the only reliever not to make an appearance Wednesday was the aforementioned Snyder.

Bullpen pitch counts:
MacDougal……42
Cerda………….45
Sisco…………..41
Burgos………...21
Nunez………….3

Thursday’s starter is Jose Lima. Wanna bet were going to need at least two of those pitchers?

• As great as Ambiorix Burgos was on Sunday, he was awful on Wednesday. He could only get one out in the eighth inning, allowing five hits and five runs. He’s used the pressure baseball in the Dominican, he’s done well in America, it must be Canada.

• Why is it the Royals offense can only score one run for Zack Greinke, but the next day they come up with nine runs on 16 hits and still manage to lose both games?

THE SEARCH
Not much to report in the Royals search for their next manager. Allard Baird, as expected, is very tight-lipped about the process. It makes sense. It’s early in the process and no one wants to look like a fool throwing a name out as a possibility only to have that person have no interest in the job.

Not to shock anyone, but George Brett says he’s not interested.

The Kansas City Star is running a poll online where you can cast your vote. As of midnight Thursday, here are the top five:

Frank White……..33%
Larry Bowa……...18%
Whitey Herzog….14%
Art Howe………...9%
Jim Leyland……...7%

Not surprising at all.

Still no sign of Buttermaker.

And Gone!

2005-05-11T10:45:00.000-05:00

It could be said that Tony Pena finally made the right move. He resigned.

There are a couple of things going on here that I’m sure factored into this decision:

• Tony lets the losses bother him way too much. Not to go too “psycho-analytical” or anything, but he seems to have a problem. It’s well documented what losing does to a manager. They don’t sleep, they don’t eat. Hell, Sparky Anderson was totally grey when he was 40! But Pena seemed particularly ill equipped to handle the pressure as the losses mounted. Who the hell jumps into the shower with their clothes on to make a point?

• Tony is dealing with some personal issues right now. He’s been subpoenaed in a civil case in Cass County, Missouri. At this time all I know is he’s has been called to testify by one of the parties in a divorce proceeding. I don’t know why he’s been called and I won’t speculate, but it doesn’t look good.

EDIT: This story just appeared online detailing the reason for the subpoena.

Tony had a great start in his first full season as manager when the team managed to finish above .500 for the first time in years. Those were fun times, as the Royals were in contention and Pena was the self-proclaimed “D.J.” But he couldn’t maintain the momentum in 2004 and, well we all know what’s happening in 2005.

So now we turn our thoughts to the next manager. Last time there was an opening, Buck Showalter openly campaigned for the job, proclaiming the Royals were an organization on the rise. I’m not too sure we’re going to have anyone calling Allard Baird this morning asking for an interview.

Here are some candidates off the top of my head:

• Larry Dierker
• Art Howe
• Bob Brenly
• Bobby Valentine
• Larry Bowa
• Don Baylor
• Jamie Quirk
• Frank White

I can’t say I’m thrilled with any of these names. The first six all have previous managerial experience. The last two, obviously, are ex-Royals with managerial aspirations. White is in Wichita for the expressed reason of ultimately managing a big league club. Quirk left the Royals organization after a falling out with Tony Muser and is currently the bench coach in Colorado. Hiring one of these two would fit a pattern this team has of hiring ex-players with no managerial experience. In fact, the last manager hired by the Royals that had previous big league managing experience was the late Dick Howser.

The short list will take shape over the next several days. Some of these names might be on it, some won’t. We’ll look at each candidate in-depth when the time is right.

My choice for manager is someone who has a proven track record of taking a bunch of misfits and making them winners. He's a motivator (when he's sober,) knows how to handle a young pitching staff and doesn't back down. Unfortunately he's dead:

Pena Gone

2005-05-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess my plan to evaluate the manager at the All-Star break is out the window.

I'm going to have a cup of coffee, make some phone calls and will have a detailed post later this morning.

There Will Be No Winning Streak

2005-05-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

I don’t really feel like doing any kind of in-depth recap of loss number 24. They are kind of starting to all look the same to me.

• Monday’s 6-1 loss marked the eighth time this season the Royals have scored exactly one run. Last year, they scored exactly one run in 16 games.

• One day after Benito Santiago was released by the Pirates, the player the Royals acquired for Benny, Leo Nunez, was called up to the majors. In calling up yet another player who began the season in A-ball, Allard Baird is rotating as many young guys as he possibly can. John Sickels at Minor League Ball rates Nunez as the Royals 16th best prospect and gives him a grade of C+. Hell, I was excited that Allard was able to actually get a live body in exchange for Benny. Now we actually get to see him pitch in a big league game.

• I don’t like the way that new type of artificial turf (called FieldTurf, how original!) shows up on television. It always looks like my vertical hold is this close to going haywire.

• Did you know that Skydome is now called Rogers Centre? When did this happen?

• Just curious, does anyone who reads this blog pay for baseball information on the web? It seems like every time I visit the ESPN baseball website, they’ve moved another writer behind the “insider” veil.

• I’ll probably be late with the next update. I’m taking a break from baseball to go see the Killers tonight at the Uptown.

Zack Greinke goes for his first win of the season tomorrow. 3, 1, 1, 2, 0, 1. That's the game-by-game breakdown of run support for Greinke this season. No wonder he's still searching for his first win.

Hey, It's A Win

2005-05-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Plenty of interesting things to talk about. I so much enjoy discussing a win. First some fun notes about scoring runs:

• The Royals erupted for six runs in the fourth inning. That’s the most runs the Royals have scored in one inning this season. Their previous high was five runs which they have done exactly once this season (on April 30 at Cleveland.)

• Sunday’s win broke a five game losing streak. In those five games, the Royals scored eleven runs. Sunday they scored 10.

• Mike Sweeney continues to be the man for this team. Sunday, he went 2-4 with a walk, a nice opposite field home run and scored all three times he was on base. The three runs scored by Sweeney tied the mark for most runs scored by a Royal in a game this season.

For a rare victory, things could have been better:

• Could Tony Pena please get it into his freaking head that this team needs to conserve every single out? Tony, outs are like valuable commodities. You get 27 of them per game. Giving them away by trying to steal bases with two outs, or by asking for a sacrifice bunt might make sense for a team that knows what they are doing. But asking a guy like Angel Berroa to sacrifice is just dumb. He’s more likely to get hit by a pitch than to lay down a successful bunt. Of course, after fouling off two bunt attempts, he swings at a ball up, out of the strike zone. Why even come to the plate if your at bat is going to be like that? Just save yourself the trouble and stay in the damn dugout.

• I wish John Buck could get it figured out at the plate where he shows no signs of snapping out of his season-long slump. His numbers are absolutely dismal. (.163/.212/.263) Remember, he went through the same thing when he was traded last year, getting off to just a horrible start. But after awhile, he was able to find his stroke and began to look more and more comfortable at the plate. I hope he can do it again this year. I haven’t given up on him, and I really like his defense, but jeez. Maybe he should worry now that Benito Santiago is available.

• The bullpen almost blew a seven run lead. The warning signs began popping up in the fifth inning when Mike Wood gave up a two out walk and a double, but got out of the inning. The wheels came off completely in the sixth when Wood gave up single, home run and a double. Enter Jaime Cerda, who looked like…Well, Jaime Cerda. After he gave up his walks and home run, it was Mike MacDougal’s turn. When it was all over an 8-1 game had turned into a 8-8 tie. It looked like the Royals were going to find yet another way to lose a ballgame.

• Ken Harvey has had 40 at bats and is .225/.279/.350. Usually, it takes only 30 at bats to get sent down with those kind of numbers, but Super Ken does have a grand slam to his credit.

• The Star’s Jeffery Flanagan in his Top Of The Mornin' column (who, if you read this post, you know I’m not a fan) dropped another name to help the Royals. Aaron Guiel. Jeffrey, I don’t know if you are serious or not, but please stop. Really. It’s not funny.

But for all the negativity, there were some positives:

• Ambiorix Burgos was nails. Coming into the game with the bases loaded and one out, he needed strikeouts and he got them. His stuff was just filthy nasty…Running fastballs at 95 mph and an out of this world splitter. In the end, he retires all eight batters he faced, striking out four and gets his first major league victory.

• The Royals didn’t seem to get too down about blowing a big lead. Everyone watching this game, me included, had to be thinking, “Here we go again.” I mean come on, we have a league-high 23 losses on the season and we just coughed up a seven run lead. The players probably were feeling a bit down, but I have to think Burgos working out of that bases loaded jam was a huge morale booster for a team desperately in need of some good things.

• The Royals took the lead when Steve Kline balked home the go-ahead run. Is it just me, or do you get some sort of perverse happiness when another team does something colossally stupid or inept that costs their team a chance for a win? Like LaTroy Hawkins bouncing a throw to first off the helmet of the runner, into the stands. I saw that on Friday and thought to myself, “That could have happened to the Royals.” Losing a game on a balk?!? I’m just angry the Royals didn’t think of it first.

Now it’s onto Toronto for three against the Jays and the chance to win two in a row for the second time this season.

"Offensive" Offense

2005-05-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

It is early in the season, but I don’t think it’s too early to take a moment to see where the Royals stand in relation to the rest of the league. In fact, we’ll hold onto these numbers and revisit them over the next couple of months. It will help illustrate if the Royals are improving over the course of the season.

• The Royals are last in the AL in runs per game averaging 3.57. The bottom three:

CLE……3.70
OAK…...3.64
KC……..3.57

Those are the only teams in the AL that are averaging less than four runs per game. League average is 4.63 runs per game.

• Is this Royals team worse that last year’s team? I know…That’s a stupid question, but let’s have some fun and look at some key offensive numbers from 2004 and compare them to this 2005:

Not surprisingly, there is a substantial drop. Maybe the 2004 numbers are skewed a bit because we did have the services of Carlos Beltran for about half the season. Let’s see how the team did post-Carlos:

The team actually maintained it’s performance when Carlos left showing a slight improvement is key statistical areas. But that’s not the point. The point is this 2005 is basically the same core group of guys that finished 2004 and they have regressed. I expected possibly some regression replacing Joe Randa for Mark Teahen, but this team should not have fallen this far, this fast.

• The Royals aren’t making good contact and we have proof. One of my favorite new stats is Line Drive Percentage. Tracked by Baseball Info Solution, this number is the percent of batted balls that are line drives. It’s a telling number because line drives fall for hits roughly 75% of the time. The Royals are last in the majors with a Line Drive Percentage of .143. League average is .175.

• The numbers from above are taken from the excellent Hardball Times Stats Page.

The numbers don’t lie. This is one bad baseball team. I shudder to think at how the numbers would look if we didn't have Mike Sweeney in the lineup everyday.

But remember, this season the wins and losses aren’t really important. What is important is the overall improvement of this team. For any kind of “youth movement” to take hold, we need to see strides and they need to be tangible.

Frankly, I just don’t see how we can sink any lower.

Play Ball!

2005-05-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

Day game today and work is slow so I thought I would have a little fun...

I'll update every inning.

Wrap
I just can't believe it. This team seemingly finds a new way to lose every...single...day. Some numbers from today:

• The Royals are now 3-9 in one run games this season.

• The Royals have now scored a grand total of eight runs in his six starts. That’s an average of 1.3 runs per game. Hernandez is the second-worst supported starter, averaging 3.2 runs per game.

• I would have liked to have seen Greinke remain in the game. He had thrown only 85 pitches and didn’t seem to be struggling. With runners on first and second the double play was in order. He had pitched so well up to that point and wasn’t overworked so I don’t see why you don’t let your best pitcher try to get out of the jam.

• A couple of nice defensive plays by Teahen at third. Add that to the previously mentioned gem by Berroa in the first and the throw by Castillo to nail Posednik trying to steal and the Royals probably played their best defensive game of the season.

• Someday the Royals will win games like this.

Ninth Inning
The Royals can't buy a break. Shingo Takatsu does his best Andy Sisco impersonation, putting two runners on without a hit, but Super Ken looks at called strike three. In fairness to Ken, the pitch was way low. Another Laz Diaz special. His strike zone has been all over the place this afternoon.

Long flies out to end the game.

Royals 1
Sox 2

Eighth Inning
An inning after the Royals had their collective foot on the neck of Contreras, they backed way off. Seven pitches, three easy outs.

Meanwhile, Greinke has never pitched past the seventh inning in his major league career. Today he makes it seven and a third before giving way to WTP Favorite Andy Sisco. A walk, a sacrifice and a hit batter chase Zack. I'm disappointed he didn't get the chance for the complete game and the shutout, but what an effort. He threw 85 pitches, 53 for strikes.

Sisco retires Jamie Burke pinch hitting for Pierzynski on a ball dribbled to third where the only out is at first moving the runners to second and third. With first open, Sisco pitches around Crede loading the bases...

And Sisco walks in the tying run on four pitches.

In comes Ambiorix Burgos and he can't find the plate either.

The Sox take the lead on four walks and a hit batter. It doesn't get anymore disgusting than that. And the best part of it all is Greinke is now on the hook for the loss. Crap.

Royals 1
Sox 2

Seventh Inning
Royals break through first!!!

Graffanino hits his first home run of the year on a 3-1 fastball.

Contreras recovers getting Sweeney to foul out and Stairs to strikeout on a questionable non-call on a foul tip (why do the Royals always seem to have trouble with Laz Diaz?) But he runs into trouble allowing a single to Super Ken and a walk(!) to Terrence Long. Contreras is in trouble, but Berroa bails him out by chasing a pitch in the dirt.

Greinke has made six starts this year and in the bottom of this inning was the first time he has pitched with a lead all year. Read that last sentence again. Unreal. The Royals have now scored a grand total of eight runs in his six starts.

Sox go down quietly. Greinke has now retired 12 in a row counting the Posednik caught stealing after he singled to lead off the fourth.

Royals 1
Sox 0

Sixth Inning
That was the Sonic Slam Inning. Like that was going to happen.

Sox go one, two, three as well. Neither team has gotten past first base.

Royals 0
Sox 0

Fifth Inning
Royals manage their second hit of the game, but Berroa is caught stealing to end the inning.

The Sox go quietly as Greinke rings up two more. The last was on a questionable call to former Royal Jermaine Dye low and away. Greinke has thrown 53 pitches thru five innings.

Royals 0
Sox 0

Fourth Inning
Nothing happening for the Royals. Contreras has retired 10 in a row.

Greinke seems to be working the inner half of the plate today. Trouble happens when he goes away from the hitter and Posednik leads off with a single. But Castillo guns him out stealing on the first pitch. That's only the second time in 13 attempts that Posednik is caught stealing. Zack celebrates by striking out Iguchi on a slow curve and Everett on an inside fastball.

Here's the pitch sequence to Everett to show the effectiveness of Grienke working inside:

Royals 0
Sox 0

Third Inning
Stat of the day courtsey of RSTN...David DeJesus sees more pitches per at bat (4.7) than any other leadoff hitter in the league. He looks at two balls before popping out.

Greinke goes to 3-2 on the leadoff hitter, A.J. Pierzynski before he gets the first hit of the afternoon for the Sox. But Zack doesn't let the leadoff walk get to him as he gets Crede to pop out and Uribe lines into a double play. He smoked the ball, but right to Teahen at 3B.

Royals 0
Sox 0

Second Inning
Royals go in order. Terrence Long looks particularly bad striking out.

Greinke has his lucky necklace and the White Sox are hacking. Aaron Rowand is the only batter who decided to take a couple of pitches and Zack got him in the whole 1-2. Cue the slow curve and Rowand is out in front and lifts a lazy fly to left. Three up, three down. Seven pitches that inning.

Royals 0
Sox 0

First Inning
It goes as usual for the Royals in their half of the first as the Royals get one hit by Sweeney who couldn't be any hotter right now. Too bad everyone else in the lineup is currently inept with the lumber.

Great play by Berroa ranging in the hole at short to end the White Sox half of the inning. Assist goes to Super Ken Harvey for digging the throw out of the dirt. Greinke sails thru the inning throwing only six pitches.

Royals 0
Sox 0

Lineup
DeJesus CF
Graff 2B
Sweeney DH
Stairs RF
Harvey 1B
Long LF
Berroa SS
Teahen 3B
Castillo C

Greinke SP

There's Not Enough Antacid In This World...

2005-05-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

It’s funny. Coming into this season I felt this team was built for 100 losses. Believe me, when you are thinking that in February and March there’s really no way expectations could be lower. And as I’ve written here numerous times in the brief history of this blog, I’m not concerned with the Royals’ record this season. They have finally committed to a “youth movement” that I feel will progress over the next couple of years.

But, damn these losses are tough to stomach.

It’s tough because I believe we are coming close. That doesn’t mean I think this team is close to contending. It means in a number of games already this season, if the Royals were able to make a play here, or get a hit there we’re discussing the win instead of dissecting the loss.

• It’s boiling down to the “big inning.” Wednesday, it was Runelvys Hernandez not being able to close out the fourth inning. With two outs he gave up a single, double and home run. Suddenly a 1-1 game turns into a 4-1 and as we all know on most nights, four runs is enough to beat the Royals.

• Captain Fantastic, Mike Sweeney, continues to be the only Royal worth watching at the plate. Two doubles and both RBIs Wednesday.

• Mark Teahen is 3-6 since returning from the DL. Much has been made about his lack of power, but I’m really impressed with his bat control and his ability to make contact. It’s cliché but he seems to be staying within himself and just put the bat on the ball. Really there’s no reason to believe that the power won’t eventually come.

• Ken Harvey was 1-4 with three strikeouts. One of those strikeouts came with the bases loaded and two down in the seventh inning. I wonder if my favorite columnist from the KC Star will write about how “clutch” Harvey is tomorrow.

Day game Thursday with Zack Greinke on the hill. Check back during the game for some updates.

Royals Dig The Long Ball

2005-05-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

There will be no three game winning streak. Not right now anyway. Maybe someday.

• The Royals are continuing to rely on the long ball as their primary way to score runs. Tonight, all four runs were the product of home runs. That means in the last three games, 16 of 19 runs scored came from round trippers. For a team that has so little power to begin with, this is a disturbing trend if only because they can’t possibly keep hitting this many balls over the fence. Remember all those games the second week of the season when the Royals struggled to score more than once a game? I have a feeling we’re going to be reliving those days real soon.

• But the captain has been coming up huge, hasn’t he? In fact, over at Baseball Prospectus and their nifty VORP statistic, Mike Sweeney is currently rated as the top AL first baseman. And that’s before tonight’s two home run, three RBI performance. I’ve always liked Sweeney and would like nothing more than to see him remain a Royal for his whole career. But if he keeps hitting like this, the pressure will mount on Allard Baird to flip him for some value. Corner outfielder (Kevin Mench, Austin Kearns) anyone?

• I thought Tony Pena left Brian Anderson in for one batter too long. I know his pitch count was low (he finished with 84 pitches) but Aaron Rowand has always had success against Anderson (10 for 22, 2 HR coming into Tuesday’s game.) Anderson pitched six strong innings and with a bullpen rotation set, why not bring Mike Wood in to start the seventh? Especially if you are going to be so quick with the hook after the home run. Once again, Tony’s bullpen mismanagement helps to cost this team a win.

• Rough inning for WTP favorite Andy Sisco. When Scott Podsednik singled, you have to believe the knowledge of his speed, and the fact he was the tying run, was enough to rattle the rookie. But on the bright side, he was able to battle back after giving up the lead by striking out Rowand and Jermaine Dye to end the inning and prevent any further damage.

• It’s always nice to see another team run the bases like the Royals. First inning, one out, runners on first and second when Sweeney sneaks in behind Carl Everett and Anderson picks him off. While this is happening, in a moment of temporary baserunning insanity, Tadahito Iguchi breaks for third. Sweeney makes a nice throw and Iguchi is out by a mile. End of threat, end of inning. Someone help me out here: Is that part of “small ball?”

Ken Harvey To Save The Day!

2005-05-02T16:17:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey Flanagan, otherwise known as the president of the Kansas City chapter of the Ken Harvey Fan Club, has to be smiling. His man finally(!) got called up to the big club on Thursday of last week. And within days SuperKen inspired his team to their first winning streak of the season. Somebody get the movie studios on the phone. This is better than Hoosiers!

OK, so that above paragraph was a bit on the sarcastic side.

But those of you who read the Kansas City Star are well aware of Flanagan’s infatuation with certain players who can “help” the Royals. As the April losses began piling up for the Royals, Flanagan began his pining for SuperKen:

“OK, so this whole Calvin Pickering-Ken Harvey experiment is looking more strange as the weeks pass by…And here's the kicker to the whole situation: No one can really explain why Harvey got beat out of the job in the first place. What did Harvey do so wrong the last two years, except win a bunch of dramatic games as a rookie and make the All-Star game last season?”
-4/20/05

“So Cal Pickering is sent back down and still no Ken Harvey, even though he continues to hit around .350 at Omaha and had a two-homer game over the weekend. This is getting crazy, Royals fans. A guy who came up with clutch hits time after time his first two years in the major league, and he can't even get called back up on this team?”
-4/26/05

“Harvey keeps pounding out hits at Class AAA Omaha, and the organization does not seem to be making any movement to bring him back to the big-league club. Harvey, through Monday, was hitting .382 with three homers and 14 RBIs. That's right, .382.”
-4/27/05

The argument here seems to be that Harvey is: 1) Clutch, 2) An All-Star and 3) Raking in the minor leagues. Only one of these has any validity. Let’s address each of these points.

1) SuperKen is clutch.

Yes, Harvey has had several “dramatic” plate appearances for this team over the last couple of years. I don’t think anyone who saw the 11th inning, game-ending Harvey bomb against the Tigers in April 2003 will ever forget it. It was a great moment for a team where great moments have been in short supply over the last 20 years.

I do believe in the myth of the clutch hitter. In fact, it’s damn near impossible to have grown up in Kansas City in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, watching George Brett and not believe in the clutch hitter. But is Ken Harvey clutch? Please. Big hits in April are nice and even necessary if your team is going to contend, but hits become “clutch” in September and October.

SuperKen might actually be clutch, but his second half slides preclude us from finding that out.

2) SuperKen is an All-Star.

This is the argument that will forever make the least amount of sense. Harvey had a solid start to the season last year and was the Royals lone representative in the All-Star game. A nice honor to be sure, but it has absolutely zero value in determining his worth to the team. And as long as every team has to be represented in the game, it doesn’t carry the meaning it actually could. You know, Junior Spivey was an All-Star once.

3) SuperKen is raking in the minors.

This is the only valid argument for his promotion to the big club. To Harvey’s credit he didn’t sulk when the Royals sent him down. It looks like he used it as motivation and took out his frustration on PCL pitchers. I like that. It shows a certain level of maturity other Royals (Dee Brown anyone?) were lacking the last few years. And as the Royals are on a quest to avoid record-breaking losses, it makes sense for the I-29 shuttle to be in full swing. Come on up and hopefully get a few more at-bats than Calvin Pickering. If you do everything average, you can stay…If not, let’s try someone else. I’m fine with that. It’s Harvey’s turn.

So Flanagan is happy. As of Sunday, he’s firmly now firmly on the Royals’ side:

“Royals fans have heard the mantra of a Royals youth movement for almost 10 years. In truth, the Royals never actually committed to a youth movement before. They stuck their big toe in it a few times, but never actually dived in headfirst. They have now, and that's the message the Royals need to get out. They are committed this time around. “
-5/1/05

Glad you finally figured it out, Jeff.

But beware fellow Royals fans. Here’s who Flanagan has tapped as the next guy that can help our team to 100 losses:

“Jeff Conine was drafted by the Royals, developed by the Royals and spent two stints with the Royals. Now he's sitting on the bench with the Florida Marlins. And he's not too happy about it. Here's a crazy thought: Why not bring him back to Kansas City?”
-4/28/05

SIGH!

Two In A Row!

2005-05-02T00:36:00.000-05:00

It only took them until May, but the 2005 Royals have finally put together their first winning streak of the season. After a month of things breaking the wrong way for this team, on Sunday things went pretty much according to plan:

• Lima-Time had his typical start, but in reverse. Usually, the first inning spells trouble, but Sunday he was able to work out of a jam with runners at the corners. After that, he was on cruise control until the wheels came off in the sixth. He actually didn’t allow a single base hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. Then he seemed to tire and couldn’t get anyone out, let alone keep them in the park and the Royals saw their 5-0 lead turn into a 5-5 tie.

But here’s where things get really good. In this situation for the whole month of April, this is where the Royals bullpen comes in and promptly gives up the lead while the offence strands runners in scoring position for the rest of the afternoon.

• Tony Pena decided to play for the win by sending out his “A” bullpen team. Mike Wood finished up the sixth when Lima-Time couldn’t, then sailed through the seventh. He then gave way to fellow “A” teamers Andy Sisco and Ambiorix Burgos. The three were able to completely shut down the Indian bats. Final bullpen line: 3 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.

• The Captain, Mike Sweeney came up huge with two solo home runs. The second of which leading off the eighth provided the winning margin.

The home run was the theme for the weekend.

• In fact, both wins this weekend were what I would term anti-Royal wins simply because most of their runs were scored via the long ball. Of the 15 runs scored in their two wins, 12 came on home runs. Hardly the Royal way.

• Before Saturday, the Royals had clubbed a total of 17 home runs this season. This in their two wins this weekend, they hit seven.

• All-Star Ken Harvey hit the Royals first grand slam of 2005 on Saturday.

Other notes from a fun weekend:
• WTP Favorite Andy Sisco was the only pitcher to throw in both wins. His line: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. His ERA is now at a cool, round 1.00.

• One of the things that has been so maddening from the first month of the season is how the Royals have been facing some truly awful pitchers and making them look like the second coming of Cy Young. Saturday, the Royals finally beat up on a pitcher everyone else in the league beats up on. Cliff Lee has been absolutely terrible since the 2004 All-Star break. But that didn’t stop him from shutting the Royals out on two hits through seven innings in his previous start against them on April 18. Saturday, he was exposed as the number five starter he truly is.

Two wins in a row. Sweet.

Later on Monday, I'll have some thoughts on the return of Ken Harvey and how the Royals can keep the streak alive.

Answer: Three

2005-04-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

Question:
How many pitches does it take to turn a 4-4 game into a 8-4 rout?

I've discussed this in my last several posts. You have your "A" bullpen and you have your "B" bullpen. If the game is close, you go to the "A" side.

Once again, the Royals starter does enough to keep the team in the game. Once again, the bullpen helps the team to a loss.

Shawn Camp entered the game with runners at the corners and no outs. Realistically, I didn't expect him to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

What I didn't expect was this...

Pitch 1: Up and in to Shannon Stewart. It hits him on the shoulder. Bases are now loaded

Pitch 2: Low and away. Catcher John Buck was set up on the inside and the pitch had some tailing action. Buck made a stab at the ball but missed. Run scores and runners now on second and third.

Pitch 3: Bartlet triples to right field, aided by a "dive" by Terrence Long. I put the dive in quotes because I'm not really sure what Long was doing or even thinking. He looked like he was charging and then his legs exploded, dropping him to the ground. Weak.

There you have it. Comical, really.

Your 2005 Royals. Finding new and unique ways to lose every night.

Damn, Missed Again!

2005-04-27T09:19:00.000-05:00

Another one run loss. But there are many more positives to take from Tuesday’s game. And for those of you who want to fire the manager, there’s even some room for second guessing.

• It looked like another typical first inning for the Royals didn’t it. One run in, sacks full, Lima-Time on the mound talking to himself. Only this time, it wasn’t when Lima struck out Matt LeCroy to end the inning.

• Although Lima got out of the inning only allowing one run, it continued a trend of Royals starters putting the team in the hole early.

• After the first, Lima was outstanding. At one point he retired 21 of 23 batters. From the first inning, until there were two outs in the eighth, the only Twins to reach base were Jacque Jones with a double in the fourth and a two out walk to Torii Hunter in the sixth. We saw Game 3 of the NLDS Lima. Not Opening Day Lima. Just a great performance.

• The Royals were able to scrape their run across in the fifth. An infield single by Terrence Long, a ground out followed by a single by recent call-up Matt Diaz and the Royals had the game tied.

I’m going to halt the bullet points for a second, because I’d really like your attention. I need to talk about WTP favorite Andy Sisco:

• It’s clear he’s the top reliever out of the pen. Tuesday, Sisco enters the game with two outs and the bases chock full of Twins facing Hunter. Hunter never had a chance and went down swinging on 97mph heat. How long has it been since the Royals have had someone who could throw in the upper 90s and actually get it over the plate?

• It has to be a combination of the speed of the pitches and his height/arm length, but the ball seems to explode out of Sisco’s hand. By explode I mean there is no time for the hitter to see the pitch, track the pitch and swing. The time the ball takes to get from his left hand to the catchers mitt is unbelievably quick. I haven’t seen any players interviewed about Sisco, but I have to believe he is one of the most difficult pitchers to hit against in the big leagues.

• Thank you Chicago Cubs.

Now for opportunity to second guess. After Sisco retired Jones leading off the ninth, Tony went to the pen for Ambiorx Burgos. Burgos gave up a single, walk, fielders choice (with an error), single and the Twins took the lead. The second guessers will wonder why Tony removed Sisco. After all, he is our best pitcher out of the pen. The game is tied and he had already gotten two difficult outs. Here’s why I can’t fault Tony for this move:

• He is going to rely on Sisco more and more throughout the season. He struggled a bit a few days ago when he was asked to pitch on back to back days for the first time this season. By needing only eight pitches to get two critical outs, he’s going to be fresh Wednesday if the Royals need him. And they probably will.

• LeCroy was the batter when Burgos entered. LeCroy is about 50 points worse against rightys. Plus, he always has had a hard time against hard throwing right handers. Burgos, like Sisco, was bringing it 95-98 mph.

• Yes, the Royals took the loss and the box score will show that Burgos struggled, allowing two hits and two walks. The walks are something he will need to work on, that’s for sure. But the hits by LeCroy and Lew Ford were dinks. Pitches in on the fists that they were able to fight off for hits just over the infield.

The Royals have now lost six in a row and five of the six have been winnable. Call me crazy, but this one felt different. Two pitchers throwing darts, a lack of mental mistakes and a timely base hit or two. There’s no shame in a young team going against the reigning Cy Young award winner, keeping it close and coming up just short.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Off Day Ramblings

2005-04-25T16:57:00.000-05:00

It’s starting. If you listen close enough, you can hear it. It is the sound of the masses calling for the head of the manager.

The evidence is mounting and almost all of it negative. The botched suicide squeeze, the attempted steal of third with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game, the number three hitter bunting with no outs in the first inning, the lack of “fundamentals.” The list goes on and on. It’s so discouraging. After eight years of the train wreck that was Bob Boone/Tony Muser I was so hopeful the Royals had the right manager. Someone who could help the rookies we would need to rely upon while developing pitchers and effectively using a bullpen.

But I’m not going to join the chorus calling for the head of Tony Pena. Yet.

I’ll give him until the All-Star break to at the very least steady this ship. This team has an amazing lack of MLB experience. 15 players currently on this roster weren’t on an opening day roster last year. I’ve said all along, I can take the losses and fully expect this team to challenge the 100-loss mark for the third time in four years. It’s the terrible decisions and the ineptness of the players in the field and at the bat that make this month so disheartening.

But some things need to happen before things change:

• Tony has to put away his bag of tricks. It seems as though you're forcing the issue, trying to make things happen. But these asinine moves described above do nothing to develop even below-average ballplayers. In fact, it's just flat-out the wrong way to play the game. The occasional sacrifice, hit and run or steal has its place but there is a time and a place. Figure this out. Please.

• Mike Sweeney needs to DH. I’m usually one of Sweeney’s staunchest defenders. We all know the guy can hit and I admire his attempts to field a position. But Mike, it ain’t working. The botched pickoff of Torii Hunter last week in Minnesota was the final straw. If you can’t apply a simple tag, it’s time to lose the leather. Let’s have a ceremony where we burn your mitt perhaps exorcising the defensive demons that have overtaken this team.

• There needs to be a set rotation for the bullpen. Everyone knows who the weak links are. Don’t let them in the game until it’s way out of hand. With this team, they’ll get their chances. Let them get some guys out in low-pressure situations, build their confidence and maybe they can actually help the team.

• The veterans need to stop pressing. Matt Stairs has alluded to it…Some guys are trying too hard to be the hero. Who cares? Stay within yourselves and do whatever it is you do best. Work the count, field the ball, throw a strike. Just focus on the basics. Success will come. It just takes time.

July 11th. Good luck Tony.

Now for some random thoughts on a rainy off day before the Twins steamroll into town:

• Yes, 5-14 is terrible. But it’s not 3-17. That’s the Royals record from the first month of 1992. Just keep telling yourself, over and over, “We’re better than 1992, we’re better than 1992.”

• Johan Santana vs. Lima-Time on Tuesday in a rematch from a game last week. If I had to guess, I’d say that Santana doesn’t have another brain freeze against the Royals like he did in the second inning of his last start.

• Ken Harvey is taking out his frustration on the pitchers in the PCL. Saturday he clubbed two home runs and is hitting .344 for the O-Royals.

• We’re better than 1992.

Ugly Weekend

2005-04-25T00:06:00.000-05:00

OK, OK, I’ll take the heat. Only one day after officially anointing Andy Sisco the favorite Royal of Warning Track Power, he can’t close out the eighth allowing the tying and the eventual winning run to score. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I started Thursday’s entry about Sisco’s first major league win just before Mike MacDougal blew it for him. With friends like me, who needs enemies?

So it was another day, another loss for the boys in blue.

Joe McEwing had a solid day at the plate going 2-5, leading off in place of the injured David DeJesus (who bruised his foot Saturday, but is expected to be back in the lineup on Tuesday.) Matt Stairs drew three walks and homered, but the rest of the linup could only muster two hits.

John Buck was especially disappointing Sunday, striking out with a runner on second and one out in the second, striking out with a runner on third and one out in the fourth, and flying out with the bases loaded and two down in the fifth.

White Sox starter El Duque was hardly sharp. His five innings of work seemed to take a lifetime. Not once was he able to retire the Royals in order, allowing four hits and, get this…SIX WALKS! He battled his command all day, but the punchless Royals were not able to make anything happen.

The Royals have now lost five in a row. But here’s where I don’t know to be encouraged or discouraged. Only in Friday night’s 8-2 loss were the Royals completely out of the game. Four of those games were winnable. Each was lost by one run. In two of the games, the opposition’s winning run scored in the eighth. In the other two, the winning run scored in the tenth.

The starters, including Brian Anderson even though he gave up eight runs in three innings, are keeping the Royals in the games. The rough spot seems to be the first inning. Royal starters have allowed seven runs in the first inning during this losing streak. In the four close games, those runs have ultimately been the difference.

But the real difference maker in all these games has been the bullpen. The culprits? Mike MacDougal, Shawn Camp and Jaime Cerda. During the five game losing streak they have combined for seven appearances. Here is their line:

W-L IP H ER BB K ERA
0-4 4.2 11 6 5 7 11.56

Basically, these three are having a difficult time getting anyone out. And the linescore above doesn’t show the errors, balks and wild pitches that haven’t helped. These three have struggled all season, but the last week it’s been costing this team wins.

So here is where I get back to my question. Should I be encouraged or discouraged? Right now, I’ll fall on the encouraged side. No the Royals haven’t always looked sharp, and a loss is a loss, but they have been in a position to win. I think that’s key to the development of a young team. We can’t expect them to win all the close games. Hell, we can’t even expect them to win half the close games. But what we can expect is for them to improve over time. This season is going to be a learning experience for the core group of young guys. We knew that coming in and we need to give them time. If the Royals suffer through a streak like this in August or September…Then I’ll be discouraged.

Plus, Allard Baird has been surprisingly impatient with players who haven’t met expectations. Unproductive Calvin Pickering and Nate Field have made way for Matt Diaz and Ambroix Burgos. I’d still like to see a pitcher go to Omaha (one of the three mentioned above) when Mark Teahen comes off the DL next week. Then whenever Jeremy Affeldt comes off the DL, send down another of the three. That way we will be down to one serious bullpen liability and will be better positioned to win those close games.

It’s rough, but I still feel it’s going to get better.

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?

2005-04-24T01:11:00.000-05:00

When your team is going to lose between 90 and 100 games, at least they have the courtesy to make the losses interesting:

• If you have tickets to a game where Zach Greinke is going to start, make sure you get there on time. In his previous start against Detroit, the first two batters of the game reached via errors. Saturday, Greinke gave up a single to the leadoff batter, Scott Posednik. A catcher interference call, a balk and a ground out later, the Royals were down 1-0.

• Greinke wasn’t particularly sharp, but he kept the Royals in the game. He retired the side in order only twice, but apart from the first inning hiccup was never really in any trouble. After seven strong innings and 110 pitches, he turned the game over to the bullpen. I think the pitch count was about right. I figure most nights he will be able to throw anywhere from 90-110 pitches. But Zach still needs to learn to be more efficient with his pitches so he can stay in games longer.

• Andy Sisco. Nails. Let’s do it. He is now officially dubbed the favorite of Warning Track Power. We’ll get the documents drawn up. But really, what can you say other than he’s been one of the few bright spots this month. It looks like Tony Pena has complete faith in him. The original plan was to baby him along, bring him in games that were already decided. I guess if you’re now bringing him into a 2-1 game in the eighth, it’s safe to say the plan has changed. Sisco’s line: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K.

• Ambroix Burgos made his major league debut and looked every bit as good as advertised working a strong ninth.

• The offense which looked like it was showing signs of waking up in Minnesota, has fallen back into it’s coma-like state. After the David DeJesus home run and walk to Ruben Gotay to start the game for the Royals, Jose Contreras retired 10 Royals in a row. The streak ended when Matt Stairs was hit by a pitch in the home half of the fourth. Stairs was the first batter after Contreras tweaked his hamstring covering first on a groundout, otherwise who knows how many in a row he would have set down. After that, Contreras couldn’t continue and had to leave the game.

• I’m nearing the end of my patience with the manager. First inning…A leadoff home run, followed by a walk. You’re number three hitter and currently the best hitter on the team (Mike Sweeney) is stepping to the plate. And he SACRIFICE BUNTS!!! My blood is boiling just typing that sentence.

• The Royals had their chance in the ninth when they loaded the bases with one out. But Matt Diaz tried to score on a wild pitch and was out at the plate, end of threat. Diaz shouldn’t have gone, but I’ll take a mistake like that where he was trying to make something happen. Pena was probably thinking bunt anyway.

• Mike MacDougal, fresh off of blowing a save in Minnesota, takes the loss. He’s never gotten his confidence back after a strong first half of 2003. I’d like to see Tony continue to give the ball to Burgos and Sisco in tight spots and protect MacDougal. At the rate he’s going, he’ll be on the interstate to Omaha soon.

Hopefully they can avoid the sweep Sunday. Sigh.

Calvin, We Hardly Knew Ye

2005-04-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

The Royals today optioned Big Calvin Pickering to Omaha and called up Matt Diaz from Omaha.

This move shouldn’t really come as a surprise to those of us who follow the team closely. The rumblings have been in the media for about a week and seemed to have reached a fever pitch with his three strikeout performance yesterday in the Metrodome. Bob Dutton pointed out Big Cal’s struggles in this morning’s edition of the K.C. Star (registration required.)

I hate to see the Royals give up on Pickering so soon. As I’ve mentioned here, he seems to be a victim of bad timing (no pun intended.) Between the Royals facing leftys seemingly every other day and the birth of his child, he couldn’t buy a chance. That said, .148/.226/.259 won’t give you many chances to begin with. Couple that with the inability to put the ball in play (14 strikeouts in 27 at bats) and Calvin is buying gas for the trip up I-29.

Diaz has been a stud for the O-Royals going .364/.426/.709 with four doubles and four home runs. On a team like the Royals with no pop and no production from the corner outfield positions, having Diaz on the roster certainly can’t hurt. He was a nice pickup by Allard Baird this off-season when the Devil Rays, because they’re the Devil Rays, decided to release him. John Sickels of the excellent website Minor League Ball gave Diaz a grade of C in his D-Rays report. Diaz is 27, so he doesn’t really qualify as a prospect anymore but that doesn’t mean he can’t help this club.

And somewhere Ken Harvey's head exploded.

Now, what I’d really like the Royals to do is stop carrying 12 pitchers. I know the reasoning in keeping 12 was to protect Andy Sisco. Problem is, it’s the rest of the bullpen that needs protection. Sisco is the only guy who has consistently shut down the opposition. Maybe they will do that when Mark Teahen is eligible to come off the DL next week. I hope so.

TONIGHT’S GAME:
Runelvys Hernandez will face off against Freddy Garcia. The Royals always hit Garcia well (5.71 ERA in 80 1/3 IP) so hopefully the bats will continue their warming trend. Mike Sweeney in particular (15 for 32 .469, with two home runs) has had some success against Garcia. Plus, it’s golf umbrella night at the K. What more could you ask for?

Bad Decisions and Blown Saves

2005-04-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

I’ve always thought of Tony Pena as kind of a benign manager. It’s probably because his teams have rarely played in games that matter. That and everyone seems to think he’s such a positive thinker and a character to boot. Ten games under .500? “We will win this division!” Five game losing streak? Why, shower with your uniform on. Fun stuff like that.

But I’m starting to tire of this, especially since he’s making some very questionable baseball decisions. Today:

• The Royals bunted three (three!) straight times in the sixth inning. Ruben Gotay reached on a drag bunt, went to second on a balk, went to third on a David DeJesus sacrifice bunt and was out caught stealing when Tony Graffanino missed a squeeze bunt attempt. The Royals were facing their third pitcher of the afternoon in a tie game and giving up outs playing Mickey Mouse baseball. The guys are at the top of the order for a reason…They can make contact and get on base. Why take the bat out of their hands in that situation? I wasn’t happy with the DeJesus sacrifice, but I was livid with the squeeze play.

• Angel Berroa got thrown out at third on a steal attempt to end the ninth inning. As any T-ball coach can tell you, you don’t end the inning with an out at third. I’m going to pin this one on Tony because of the circumstances. The Royals just took the lead with a Berroa single that scored Mike Sweeney after a nasty collision at home plate. The Twins Mike Redmond had to leave the game after taking the business end of the hit, so they turned to Corky Miller. I’m betting Pena gave Berroa the steal sign because the third string catcher was in cold off the bench. A bad gamble that backfired. Especially when you consider hot hitting John Buck (4-4, HR at that point) was at the plate.

Tough loss today. If you score nine runs, you naturally expect to win. A couple of things that prevented the Royals from picking up the W today:

• Berroa committed an error in the fourth on a double play ball that led Brian Anderson being chased from the game.

• Sweeney looks shell-shocked in the field. I know he’s struggled defensively, but now he seems to have no clue with what he’s doing out there. He just looks lost.

• Anderson looked like the ’04 version rather than the as-advertised, new and improved ’05 version. Ten hits, eight runs and no strikeouts in three innings will get you chased in a hurry.

A couple of positive notes:

• Buck went 4-5 at the plate today with a home run. You know that things were tough when a 4-5 day raises you average to .214.

• Calvin Pickering was in the lineup against a lefty and went 0-3…But he had TWO WALKS. I’ll have to check, but this could be the first time any Royals player drew that many walks in a game this season.

• Andy Sisco was nails once again and in line to pick up his first big league win before Mike MacDougal blew the save in the ninth. Sisco is quickly becoming my favorite Royal.

Perhaps most positive of all, after scoring only 19 runs in their opening eight game homestand, the Royals positively exploded in the two games at the Metrodome, scoring 13 times. And that included four runs yesterday against Johan Santana. Maybe, just maybe, the bats will come alive. As we saw today, that might not translate to wins, but they'll sure as hell be more interesting to watch.

So Close

2005-04-20T23:42:00.000-05:00

It must be some kind of moral victory, stringing together four straight two out hits against ace Johan Santana. Unfortunately, that was all the Royals could muster tonight.

• I was really looking forward to the game, but for purely perverse reasons. I figured Santana would dominate the Royals. For the most part he did just that. Throw out his brain freeze in the third and he was awesome. He retired eight in a row to start the game, and after Mike Sweeney’s home run he dusted off nine in a row. For the game he recorded 10 strikeouts against no walks. And yet, the Royals almost won this game. Weird.

• Santana deserves another bullet point. For the season he has 37 strikeouts and 2 walks and is averaging above 13 strikeouts per 9 innings. I feel lucky we struck out only 10 times tonight. And I would have been shocked if we had drawn a walk.

• Lima-Time pitched OK, but he’s turning into this year’s version of Brian Anderson. The opposition is hitting .326 against him. He is not mixing speed and location at all and his breaking stuff has absolutely zero bite. His slider tonight was just rolling in there, begging to be smashed. In fact, Jacque Jones did just that when he clobbered a flat, 84 MPH slider to put the Twins up 3-0 in the third. Guy Hansen, it’s time to earn your money.

• We’re getting close to having to put out an APB on Calvin Pickering. Poor guy. I really didn’t expect him to be in the lineup tonight with Santana on the hill. And we probably won’t see him tomorrow either when the Twins send another lefty, rookie Dave Gassner, to pitch. At least the White Sox plan on throwing some right-handers over the weekend.

• After writing kind words about the bullpen, they fail to hold the lead tonight. They have been abysmal this season preventing inherited runners to score. After tonight’s loss, they have allowed 17 of 34 to reach home. The only reliever to have stranded all of his inherited runners? Andy Sisco. I hope our Rule V guy turns out like the Twins Rule V guy.

• Apparently the air conditioning was on:

The Debate Continues

2005-04-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

The Kansas City Star’s sports section runs a daily column on page two called Top ‘O The Morning. (registration required) Written by former Royals beat writer Jeffery Flanagan, the column is a mix of gossip, “insider” info and opinion. Flanagan has been around for awhile and is someone I would consider “old school.” Put another way, in the debate between scouting and stats, he falls firmly in the former category.

That’s what makes today’s column not very surprising at all. As a matter of fact, I am kind of surprised it took this long. Flanagan is shaking his head at the Royals keeping Calvin Pickering over “All-Star” Ken Harvey.

As Flanagan points out, Pickering has only played in six of the Royals’ first 14 games. So what’s the use demoting our “All-Star” if his replacement isn’t going to play? What Flanagan doesn’t bring up is that Pickering has left the team twice this season to be with his pregnant wife. He missed one game in the opening series against the Tigers when they thought she was going to deliver, and two games the first weekend the Royals were at home when she actually had the baby.

Plus, when Pickering made the team out of spring training, it was as the left-handed hitting side of a platoon. So in the games when the Royals have faced a southpaw, Pickering has been on the bench. That accounts for three more missed games (a fourth game against a lefty starter, he pinch hit late.)

So by my count. Pickering has been kept out of the lineup a grand total of two games when he probably should have played. Cut the guy a break. In the span of two weeks, he’s made his first ever Opening Day roster, he’s become a new father, and he’s sat against some leftys.

The last thing this organization needs to do is panic and deviate from their plan. Allard Baird said so in spring training: This team is putting an emphasis on getting on base. (Although we haven’t really seen that so far this season.) Throughout his career, yes Pickering has been a guy who strikes out a lot. But working in his advantage is he does have power, he will take a walk and he does get on base. Ken Harvey does none of those things.

I was watching this spring training battle with interest and was firm in my belief that who the Royals kept would tell us a great deal about the future of this team. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Kevin over at his very excellent Royals Blog is the "Official Site to Free Calvin Pickering." (A claim I probably would have staked if it wasn’t already taken.) On a team that is going to lose 90-100 games this season, I needed to have hope that even though we are going to struggle, the organization is at least making the right decisions with the talent they have at their disposal.

The question was: Would they remain in love with the “All-Star,” the "veteran" who has proven he can do it at this level? Or would they back up the talk about the importance of working the count and getting on base?

I think they made the right decision. Yes, Pickering has missed some games. Yes, in the games he’s played he’s struggled. But let’s give him some time. A half season at the very least to prove what he can do at this level. On this team, Ken Harvey isn’t going to make a lick of difference.

To make a change after only a handful of games would be foolish.

Finally, Some Relief!

2005-04-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

Maybe someday, maybe just once this season, the Royals will play a good, solid game for nine whole innings. The first week of the season it was the starting pitching (outside of Lima-Time) that was keeping the team in games. Couple that with some hot and cold bats and you had a surprising .500 record when they returned to K.C. for the home opener.

That first week at home, pretty much everything went to crap…Starting pitching, relief pitching, hitting, defense, baserunning…Zack Greinke even forgot to wear his lucky necklace. Yep, that’s pretty much everything.

So the burning question was which part of the Royals would awaken from this slumber first. Would the starters regain the form they briefly flashed so early? Would the hitters start to work the count and try to get on base by any means? Would this team remain in a persistent vegetative state and challenge the ’62 Mets for futility?

The answer to the last question remains for the most part, unknown. What we do know is that the Royals bullpen is the appendage of this sleeping team that has chosen to awaken first. The last three games, while Royal starters have been getting boxed around like a cast-member of Jackass, the bullpen has quietly stepped forward.

Since Sunday afternoon, the relief corps have pitched beyond well, posting a 0.79 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Without these guys, the bleeding would have been much, much worse. Quite a turnaround from the first week of the season.

Among those who have impressed include Rule V draftee (and favorite of Warning Track Power) Andy Sisco. For some reason the Cubs soured on him and thank god for that. Having seen him pitch in person on Sunday, I will predict big things. Yes, he is going to hit a rough patch or two during the season, but so far when he has looked good, he has looked goooooooooood.

I know there are a ton of frustrated fans out there. Count me among them. I just want this team to put together a consistent stretch of ball. That’s all I ask. Let’s try to get all the cylinders firing at the same time and run off a modest winning streak. Maybe sweep a series. That would be exciting.

Lemmings

2005-04-19T23:21:00.000-05:00

The media in this town are awful.

Decent game this afternoon with a great ending when backup catcher Alberto Castillo bombs a 3-2, two out pitch into the left field stands for a game winning home run.

So after the game, someone from the Royals PR department digs up a fun little number that says the Royals are 3-0 in games Castillo starts. Cute little factioid that is really inconsequential and designed to go in the newspaper under the “Notes” section and look something like this:

…The Royals are 3-0 in games Castillo starts…

Of course, with the rocket scientists and assorted nuclear physicists we get covering this team, that little aside is now the news peg. Like it means something. The two sports radio stations brought it up, and MLB.com featured it in their main wrap. It’s cute and everything, but there are other things to focus on here. Like the Royals finally scored some runs. Or the fact that the bullpen has been doing more than their share over the last several games. Or that after a brilliant first start, Denny Bautista has been slapped around pretty good.

I’ve been around K.C. media enough to know that if Allard Baird put out a release tomorrow stating that the Royals are 2-4 in games the day after he clips his toenails it would get significant play. I’m sorry but there are other more relevant, interesting things to discuss about this team.

It’s due to the overall laziness of the local media. They either lack time or imagination to do a little research to come up with a unique angle that might interest their audience. Instead, they prefer to be spoonfed useless information that wouldn’t even make Jayson Stark’s latest column.

Ok, that was my rant. I feel OK now. Thanks.

By the way, do you know if the Royals started Castillo in every game, that projects out to a 162-0 record?

Sunny Afternoon

2005-04-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

I made my first trek out to the K on Sunday. Beautiful day for a game, but that was about the only thing the Royals had going for them.

In the spirit of finding new and entertaining ways to lose a ballgame, the Tigers four-run third inning began with back to back BUNTS. Nook Logan led off the inning with a perfect drag bunt down the first base line. There was some discussion today in the Star about Mike Sweeney’s inability to make up his mind with how to make the play.

First of all, let me get one thing out of the way. It seems there are a ton of people who like to rip Sweeney for everything. From defense, to lack of clutch hitting, to the weather, he takes his share of the heat for the problems with this team. Yes, his defense at first isn’t good. But defense at first is overrated and his bat is just too valuable to keep out of the lineup. I’ve never understood where the ill will toward Sweeney comes from. That will be a topic for another post.

My seats are right down the first base line, so I had the bird’s-eye view as the play unfolded. The way I saw it, Logan pushed a perfect bunt down the line. If Sweeney charged to field the bunt, the speedy Logan would have blazed by him on the way to the ball. If Sweeney stays back to field the bunt, Logan would outrun either Hernandez or Gotay to the bag. It looked like Sweeney considered both the options, illustrated by the little dance he did, and ultimately stayed back to field the bunt. There really wasn’t anything he could do. It was a textbook drag bunt.

So, Brandon Inge follows with another bunt, advancing on an error. Runners on second and third for Pudge Rodriguez and voila, the dreaded big inning to sink the Royals yet again.

Hernandez didn’t pitch terrible, but he gave up a ton of base hits and was behind in the count for most of the day. The batters, as usual, were swinging early in the count and making outs. Mike Maroth sailed through seven-plus innings at just above 100 pitches.

For the weekend the Royals were able to draw a grand total of FIVE walks. Three of them came in the win on Friday. The Royals absolutely refuse to make the opposing pitcher work for his outs. That’s going to make for some long afternoons out at the K.

A Tale Of Two Pitchers

2005-04-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

In the first two home games of the season, Tony Pena has angered just about everyone with his handling of his pitching staff. And the way he has gone about it in those two games couldn’t be more different.

EXHIBIT A:
Runelves Hernandez had thrown 98 pitches heading into the eight inning of a 1-0 game. After getting the leadoff batter, he surrendered a double and a home run to put the Royals in a 3-0 hole. After walking the next batter, he was removed from the game.

“Tony Pena has no feel for a pitching staff and should never have let Hernandez take the mound in the eighth.”
--Caller to the Royals post-game radio show (4/11)

EXHIBIT B:
Zack Greinke pitched six innings of four-hit ball before turning over the game to the bullpen. Greinke was on a pitch count of 85-90 pitches after being lifted from his first start of the season after being hit on the forearm by a batted ball. He threw 86 pitches.

“What’s Tony Pena doing taking the kid out of the game? He should have pitched at least two or three more innings.”
--Caller to the Royals post-game radio show (4/13)

It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Of course, if the Royals had won at least one of these games, people wouldn’t seem so upset.

I’m in the camp of Exhibit B. Pitch counts are a necessary evil (unless you’re a Cub, then they’re just plain evil.) Greinke is a special pitcher who has a chance to be great. Witness his strikeout of Richie Sexson on a 64 MPH curve. I understand wanting him to continue, but we need to understand the situation. He last pitched deep into a game almost two weeks ago in Arizona. His first start of the season lasted only 38 pitches before he was pulled as a precaution after being hit on the forearm. He’s only 21 years old and making his 26th career start. There are plenty of reasons for the Royals to be cautious, and I don’t fault them one bit.

The pitch count seemed reasonable and Zack himself didn’t have a problem with it. One of the things he needs to learn is how to be efficient with his pitches. Giving up four hits, no walks and striking out only two while throwing 86 pitches seems awfully high to me. Mariner batters came into Wednesday’s game averaging 3.67 pitches per plate appearance. Against Greinke, they saw on average four pitches per plate appearance. Most of his trouble came in the first three innings where he needed 53 pitches. Give credit to the Mariner hitters for being selective and fouling off a ton of pitches.

That’s actually what the game came down to today. Both Greinke and Aaron Sele were outstanding. The difference was the Mariners were working the count and were able to knock their nemesis out of the game early. The Royals on the other hand were up there swinging away and could never pressure Sele.

The Royals will hopefully exercise Greinke-like caution when it comes to Hernandez. After missing the last year and a half with Tommy John surgery, he’s been a welcome return to the roatation. I would have liked to have seen Pena pull him from the game before the eighth inning on Monday afternoon. 98 pitches is more than enough from someone who was making his second big league start since August of 2003.

Monday’s game brought to mind a disturbing point. Pena can’t fall into the Tony Muser trap of not trusting the bullpen. But it’s going to be hard. Especially when the bullpen has an ERA almost four runs higher than the starters. (6.66 to 2.94)

Back when Muser was abusing pitchers because he didn’t want to go to his bullpen, young Jose Rosado was a casualty. Pena doesn’t necessarily have to trust his bullpen. He has to make sure he removes his starters when the time is right.

Today, Tony Pena made the right move.

Split Personality

2005-04-12T23:06:00.000-05:00

The cliché goes something along the lines of “you win some, you lose some.” And that is exactly what the Royals are doing so far this season. Seven games into the season and they stand 3-4. Their longest winning streak is one game, their longest losing streak is one game. In other words, they are alternating their wins and losses. And it’s not like any of these games could have gone the other way.

WINS
RUNS AVG ERA
21 .368 2.33

LOSSES
RUNS AVG ERA
10 .192 7.36

That is a portrait of a team with a split personality. One that looks great one day and terrible the next. Going into the home opener yesterday against the Mariners, I was feeling pretty optimistic after the club took two of three from the Angels. Then Ryan Franklin did his best Greg Maddux impersonation, getting through eight innings throwing around 75 pitches.

I just can’t get a handle on this team. But if they want to keep alternating wins and losses and ultimately finish .500, that’s fine by me.

Home Opener

2005-04-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s not quite Opening Day. But it is the Home Opener. Just as good, if you ask me.

In my almost 30 years of following the Royals, I’ve been to several openers. Some good and some not so good. I watched in awe as George Bell teed off on Bret Saberhagen. I watched in dismay as John Wathan kept Mark Davis in the bullpen. Those are a couple that I remember. But for me, there are two Openers that stand out above the rest.

One was 1986. That day is almost as vivid in my memory as Games 6 and 7. The Royals were champions! It was a huge celebration with the players getting their rings, the World Champion pennant being raised and Mr. K addressing the crowd and promising a return trip. That day just felt…right. It was the culmination of everything the Royals had battled for over the previous ten years. Sure, there were the celebrations after Game 7, the parties, the parade, the rallies. But the pre-game ceremony was a fitting way to honor the champions, and as it turned out, to mark the end of the Royals era of success.

The other memorable Opener was last year. High expectations, an enormous crowd and a comeback the like of which are rarely seen made that day unforgettable for those who were there, and unforgettable for those who gave up and left early as well.

The Royals return home today at .500, with a 3-3 record. I’ll gladly take that. In fact, there are a ton of positives to take from the first week of the season: Most of the starters are swinging the bat well. The starting pitching (with the exception of Lima) has been better than expected. Our leadoff hitter is getting on base. Andy Sisco looks ready. Mike Sweeney has stayed off the DL. And as far as we know, Tony Pena hasn’t guaranteed a damn thing.

Today will be a great day. Play Ball!

This and That

2005-04-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

Some random thoughts from the first week:

• There was a Barry Melrose sighting on ESPN last night. Judging from his outfit, I’d say he’s been spending his time away from hockey hiding out in Harold Reynolds’ closet.
• Very glad to hear Steve Stone on the ESPN broadcast of Wednesday’s Red Sox – Yankee game. I thought he and Chip Caray were excellent doing Cub games the last couple of years. The reason I liked them so much was probably the same reason they were let go.
• At $14.95 for the season, the MLB Gameday Audio package is an absolute steal. Being able to sit at your computer and listen to Jon Miller, Vin Scully, Dave Niehaus and other legends call a baseball game is about as good as it gets.
• Results from this week prove how, in most instances, it’s plain silly to devote a large portion of a team payroll to a “closer.”
• Ken Griffey, Jr. made it through the first week of the season without landing on the DL. Willy Mo Pena is pissed.
• Something tells me I’m not the only one…The first time I saw the commercial for Tiny House, I thought “That’s a show I’d watch. It’s probably on FOX.” Geiko has some of the most creative, crazy ads out there.
• Krispy Kreme donuts are overrated.

If you’re one of the few who stopped by this week, thank you. Hopefully, you’ve found something of interest and will keep coming back.

OUCH!

2005-04-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

It’s only three games into the season, but there are already some disturbing trends:

• Ineptitude on the bases. Last year, the Royals were successful only on about 55% of their stolen base attempts, worst in the majors by far. So far this year they are 0-3 trying to take the freebie. Let’s just accept this fact: David DeJesus will get on base, but once he’s on, he really has no idea how to run. Last year he stole eight bases in 19 attempts (42% success rate.) That’s just abysmal for someone who was running that much. With this team, baserunners will be a rare commodity. To run into outs like this will cause this team to flirt with the 100 loss plateau.

• Patience at the plate. The Royals have gone up there hackin’. They’ve taken a grand total of six walks and have been swinging from the moment they have stepped into the box. Again, offensively this team doesn’t bring a ton of firepower. Drawing the base on ball needs to be part of the strategy of this team.

• The bullpen has been…Not good. Field came in and pitched well in relief of Grienke, getting out of a jam in the third. Mike Wood was decent until he went through the lineup for the second time. Historically, that’s where he’s run into trouble. As the game progresses, he’s easier to figure out. Jaime Cerda couldn’t get his lefty out and Shawn Camp needed seven hitters to get the final two outs of the disasterous seventh.

Some other notes from today loss:

• Zach Grienke was pitching like, well Zach Grienke. That was before his forearm was tattooed by a Carlos Guillen liner. The Royals pulled him which was the right decision. It’s early in the season and he’s the franchise. No reason to take a risk in this situation. According to reports X-rays are negative and he will be evaluated tomorrow. I’m pretty sure that left a mark.

• Since the Royals decided to break camp with 12 pitchers they are already short on the bench. Today, they only had three bats on the bench because Calvin Pickering left the team to be with his wife who was delivering their baby. Congratulations to the Pickering family.

So the Royals lose their first series of the season 2-1. Disappointing today, because I felt Grienke was going to match Johnson pitch for pitch. Hopefully he’ll be able to shake that off that liner and be ready to make his next start Wednesday against Seattle.

Aces!

2005-04-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

Runelvys Hernandez, making his first start since August of 2003, pitched a gem this afternoon. Seven innings, five hits and one run add up to his first win of the season. He looked great, hitting his spots and keeping the Tigers off balance all day. It was the same Runelvys that led the Royals to their strong April of 2003.

As poorly as the Royals played in the opener, the inverse is true today. One of those days where everything went right:

• Tony Graffanino is probably a tad bit annoyed a rookie was eyeing the job he thought was rightfully his in spring training. So the first opportunity he gets, he makes his point getting on base five times, going 4-4 and running the bases like a man possessed. He played like the sparkplug we were supposed to be getting from the White Sox last year. A pleasure to watch today.

• With the table set, Mike Sweeney came through with a pair of hits and RBIs. He was also at the center of an argument in the first inning when a passed ball allowed the first Royals run to score and Graffanino to move from first to third. Pudge Rodriguez argued the ball deflected off Sweeney’s foot. Replays were, as they say “inconclusive.” But the way the ball bounced (it was tailing inside to the right-handed batting Sweeney then kicked away to the first base side in foul territory) it sure looked like it deflected off Sweeney’s instep. Nice job today from the much-maligned captain.

• The Royals broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring three times with TWO outs to push the score to 5-1. It featured Mark Teahen’s first career hit (a triple) and four consecutive hits to drive Detroit’s starter Mike Maroth from the game. Good teams break games open like that. Keep in mind, I’m far from convinced this is even a good team, but innings like today’s fourth make me think this team is headed in the right direction.

It’s a complete turnaround from Monday’s disaster. Zach Greinke will take the mound tomorrow. Could two wins in the first three games be in the cards?

Welcome Back

2005-04-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

Runelvys Hernandez will take the mound for this afternoon’s game against the Tigers. After missing all of 2004 recovering from Tommy John surgery, a healthy Herrnandez figures prominently in the Royals plans for the future. Turn back the clock two years and Hernandez was one of the keys to the Royals jumping out to the fast start and contending for most of the season. Here’s the line from his first six starts in 2003:

4-0, 39.2 IP, 24 H, 6 ER, 16 BB, 21 K, 1.36 ERA

A line like that will win you one or two pitcher of the month awards.

Detroit will send lefty Mike Maroth to the hill today. That means the right side of the Royals platoon will get to play today. Spring training sensation Emil Brown should start see his first big league action since 2001 this afternoon.

Wouldn’t a win be nice?

Is The Ball Supposed To Carry Like That At Comerica?

2005-04-05T14:35:00.000-05:00

So I’ve had about 24 hours to digest the opening day slaughter of the Royals at the hands of the Tigers. It was ugly, but not entirely unexpected. The company line will be: “There will be days like this.” It’s true. There are going to be some games that will be difficult to watch this year. Hopefully we will see some development as the summer progresses.

So with that out of the way, here are some thoughts from the opener. Since I'm an optimist by nature, let's start with the disappointments from yesterday and finish up with some good news:

THE UGLY:
• If it was in the ballpark, the Royals were swinging. Jeremey Bonderman threw 102 pitches, 72 for strikes, most of them swinging. Of the first nine outs, six were strikeouts. For any team to be successful, they must learn to work the count and make the opposing pitcher work for his outs. Swinging and missing at pitches out of the zone is not part of the recipe for success.

• Lima-Time was serving up gopher balls again. He’s always had a problem keeping the ball in the yard, but 3 homers in 3 innings at Detroit? Lima was grooving his pitches with no bit on his off speed offerings and zero action on his fastball. With Lima-Time you never know what you’re going to get from one start to the next. Monday, we saw the 2000 version of Lima-Time.

THE BAD:
• The bullpen wasn’t much better. Heading into this season, I felt that the relievers would outpitch the starters this year. I still feel that way, but it’s just a little bit disconcerting that out of four pitchers in relief of Lima, not a single one could set the side down in order.

THE GOOD:
• Yes, there was good. Calvin Pickering began the regular season the way he ended his spring training by hitting a solo shot in the eighth. He also struckout twice, but that’s what you expect from big Cal. Hopefully, he’ll save some of those bombs for close games with men on base.

Angel Berroa drew a walk in the second inning. In his two full seasons in the big leagues, he’s averaged 26 walks which is way too low for someone with his skill set. I know it’s doesn’t seem like much, but if Angel can exhibit some form of plate discipline, he will be a very good player in this league.

And you can't have a discussion about this game without a tip of the cap to Dimitri Young. Young did his best Tuffy Rhodes impersonation becoming only the 3rd player in big league history to go yard three times on Opening Day. George Bell was the first, homering three times on April 4, 1988 against Bret Saberhagen at Royals Stadium. Rhodes (a former Royal farmhand) did it on April 4, 1994 for the Cubs. And now Young, who also did it on April 4.

This could be a strange season.

Welcome

2005-04-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog on all things pertaining to the Kansas City Royals. I know, I know. But the world really does need another blog about the Royals. It’s true. Have you tried to find anything online about the Yankees or Red Sox? These blogs are a dime a dozen. Many are quality, some are crap. There’s much less online about the Royals. As a team, we are woefully underrepresented. Blogs devoted to the Royals do exist, but you really have to search. Of course, I’ll link to many of those Royal blogs in due time.
Obviously, quantity does not equal quality. Just because the Yankees have over one hundred blogs and the Royals only have ten, doesn’t mean there has to be 90-odd bland, boring blogs for the boys in blue. Besides, we don’t have a player with “intangibles” like Derek Jeter to slobber over cutting our possible entries by about 70%. The great thing about webblogs is how they can have similar subjects, but different perspectives.
Hopefully, that is where this blog will come into play. Over the course of the season, we’ll look at everything this organization does from a critical standpoint. We’ll heap praise (yea, Calvin Pickering!) and disgust (why 12 pitchers?) in equal, and deserving, amounts.
Why the Royals? It’s not like I picked this team out of thin air. They are MY TEAM! I’ve been with them from the early days in the mid-70s, thru the glory years of the 80s and I’ll continue to stick by them in the current dark days. Yeah, it’s painful. It’s painful as hell. But when they win, it will be sweet. That’s what I’m waiting for.
I’m just starting and it might take a while to find my voice, but I’m pretty sure I know where this blog will go.
I hope everyone has as much fun reading as I know I will have writing.