Apr/102
Recapping Road Trip, Preview Homestand
Posted by: Casey on April 22, 2010.
Kansas City finished its 3 team road trip (Tigers 2-1, Twins 1-2, Canadians 1-2) a total of 4-5, which isn’t bad. We should have swept the Tigers (see: bullpen meltdown), salvaged game 3 against Twins and almost gave away game 3 against the Blue Jays but came out with a victory. There are some positives and some negatives, as with any situation, and I’m going to attempt to break down some of them.
Positives from road trip:
- Greinke. In Zack’s start against Toronto on Wednesday, he showed some more life than he had the rest of the season. His fastball velocity was still a little low, but he was locating his slider and his pitch-mix was more like last year’s. He still lived up in the zone with his fastball too often for my liking, but overall a good sign.
- Absurd hitting. We are still hitting at ridiculous numbers. As a team, a .296 BA 15 games into a season is a good sign. No one expects it to continue, but no one expected it in the first place. Yes, the 2010 Royals, defying expectations.
- Relievers. The bullpen hasn’t been as bad as it was to start the season. They will still struggle all season long, but hopefully not at the pace as it was heading. I should modify this by saying the bullpen was pretty bad in the Detroit series, but Rupe has been a solid contributor since his arrival. I do expect a move to be made tomorrow, hopefully Mendoza being sent down for another pitcher.
- Jose Guillen. ‘Clots (too early?) is actually contributing. I know, crazy. I’ve been as much of an advocate for him being traded as anyone, and right now just might be the perfect time to do it. If anyone’s going to take on his huge salary, they might be more inclined when he’s hitting .377/.406/.738. Let’s face it, we’re leading the league in hitting and sitting in 4th place. Guillen has been our best performer so far, but he’s not going to get us into the playoffs. With Getz returning fairly soon, Callaspo is the odd man out and Gordon needs at bats, and knowing Hillman he’ll want to get Callaspo out there as much as possible. I just think it’s best for the team to trade JG.
- Yuniesky Betancourt. Oddly enough, our talented short stop is actually performing up to this point. Sure he hurts on defense at times (seems improved to me), but when he’s hitting .309 who’s complaining? Not me. I was glad when we traded for Yuni mostly because of his potential to be a decent SS. I don’t question work ethic when Trey Hillman is involved.
- Billy Butler. BB off to a better start than he was last year. I think this is a big positive for the team. He’s not squaring up that pitch early in the count like he did last year when he was a doubles machine, but he’s still hitting better than he did last april (doesn’t take much). This might not be a big deal to most Royals fans, but I find the joy in the little things.
- Jason Kendall. He is way better than I thought he would be. Both offensively and defensively. I’ll say it. Plus he’s a great veteran to have in that clubhouse.
- We are not the Pirates.
Negatives from road trip:
- Rick Ankiel. Rick showed some great early season promise, but I really think he’s going to be a streaky player for us. The main problem I see with Ankiel (aside from confusion) is that no matter what the count is, he’s got the exact same swing. Because of that lack of a skill, Ankiel is a career .151 hitter with two strikes. The main way that he needs to overcome this issue is by being more patient at the plate. It’s almost like he’s afraid of getting two strikes that he tries to get a pitch to square up before then. Pitchers know that he’s an early ball hitter, so they’re very careful early in the count. It would also be nice if a coach could get him to shorten up with two strikes, but that would be good coaching.
- Gil Meche. Gil really doesn’t look good at this point in the season. I am at the point that I don’t think we’re going to see a sub-4.00 ERA from Meche again in his career. I hope my opinion changes come his next start, but as it stands now, that’s how I feel.
- Brayan Pena. He had an absolutely terrible game behind the plate against Toronto on Tuesday. As I mentioned on twitter, I hadn’t noticed him being that bad defensively last year, and I still don’t think he was as bad last year as he was Tuesday, but we’ve been kinda spoiled by Kendall to this point.
- Record. Like I’ve already stated, we are leading the league in hitting at a crazy pace, yet we are sitting 6-9. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when we cool off…
Pitching match-ups for Twins series:
- Game 1 – Pavano (2-1, 4.96) vs Meche (0-1, 11.57)
- Game 2 – Blackburn (1-1, 6.05) vs Hoch (2-0, 2.89)
- Game 3 – Slowey (2-1, 2.45) vs Bannie (0-1, 4.58)
Apr/102
Royals In Canada
Posted by: Casey on April 19, 2010.
Yes, the first trip to Toronto is my favorite road series of the season for one main reason: Canada. While many people may find Canada useful for things such as using their flag to travel internationally, I find Canadian’s extremely humorous in general. Anytime someone makes a Canada joke, I automatically laugh, even if it’s not funny or even if it’s not a joke. I hear Canada and something triggers in my head to laugh.
I’m glad someone else (Billy Butler) understands my undying appreciation of the cool country above us.
“Hanging out in Toronto! Who’s up for some baseball, eh?”
He might have well have just said “I laugh at Canadian’s because they’re funny”. But that would be me putting words in his mouth, and no one wants to see Billy when he’s angry.
If you do not share my appreciation of Canadian culture, this youtube video from one of my favorite television shows (South Park) pretty much sums up my understanding of all things Canada. Please note: this video is extremely appropriate, no typical South Park lingo involved.
If you are Ankiel’d on this, there’s this random Canadian argument in that episode (Canada On Strike) which is one of my favorite moments on that cynical immature show. In the episode, the entire country of Canada goes on strike because they want more money, yes they want some of that internet money. Luckily, there’s a simple solution that includes Butter’s being Butter’s. In all seriousness, if you are a South Park fan who finds Canada funny, this episode is for you. Or if you just find Canada funny I think you’ll enjoy that episode.
Now not everything in Canada is funny. There’s plenty of things we should thank them for. Like that whole healthcare thing. Apparently we got tired of hearing those pompous frenchmen to the north declaring rather humbly that their healthcare system was better than ours. Also, Canada did a commendable job of handling Juno beach on D-Day. If you know a Canadian, don’t ever mention Canada being inferior to the U.S. militarily, because they will give you an epic lecture about Juno beach and you will never second-guess Mountie power again.
But aside from those two great Canadian accomplishments, there’s also something great that came out of Toronto. If you are a Rock/Alternative music fan, there’s a chance you may already know of Evans Blue. They’re one of my favorite bands, and their one popular song that you may have already heard is called “Cold”.
Now that lead singer left the band awhile ago and started his new band called Parabelle (which I saw live with 5 other people at a local bar last fall). I’m not huge into the new Evans Blue lead singer, but he’s not bad, and the band still sounds great.
Enough off-topic stuff. The Royals fly into Toronto riding some hot bats. After taking game 3 of the series at Minnesota, the Royals are 5-7, while the Blue Jays are 7-6 (but have lost their last 3). We still lead the league in hitting at a .309 clip. Callaspo hit two 3-run home runs last night (maybe he really does feel more comfortable hitting lower in the lineup after all) and the team continues to see the ball well.
The pitching match-ups are as follows:
- Game 1 -- Bannie (0-0, 2.19) vs Morrow (0-1, 12.00)
- Game 2 -- Davies (1-0, 4.26) vs Eveland (2-0, 1.35)
- Game 3 -- Greinke (0-2, 3.57) vs Marcum (0-1, 4.05)
Some things to watch:
- Alex Gordon. He was rushed back to the club in my opinion, and it’ll be interesting to see how he does in this series.
- Callaspo. Not only is he hitting the ball well right now, he’s also made some pretty decent plays at second base with Gordon back and Getz on the dl.
- Jason Kendall. It’s safe to say I underestimated his impact in joining the Royals. He’s got a 12 game hitting streak to start the season.
- Bannie. I really like what we’ve seen from Bannister so far this year. He’s getting ahead of people and pitching to contact.
- Bullpen. After an improved series (still not good) against Minnesota, this could be a big turning point for the bullpen if they could have some good innings against Toronto.
Jul/093
Happy Greinke Day
Posted by: Casey on July 8, 2009.
Not only is it a Greinke day, but it’s on a day when the Royals have a chance to win the series, let alone against a division leader. Yes, it should be a wonderful game, although Zack’s ERA is now at an even 2.00 … Hopefully it doesn’t continue to rise and he can keep it under 3.00 for the entire season, if he wants a shot at the Cy Young.
First pitch is at 6:05 central time.
Also, you should be noticing some exciting new changes happening to the site, I’ll explain everything in full detail. This is kinda a test post with my new auto-tweet thing.
Jun/090
Former #1 Pick on the Mound for the Royals Tonight
Posted by: photogwingsfan on June 26, 2009.
When Luke Hochevar (2-3, 6.61) steps on the mound for the Kansas City Royals (30-39) tonight against Roy Oswalt (3-4, 4.48) and the Houston Astros (32-36) will again get the chance to see if drafting him with the number one pick in the 2006 amateur draft was worth it.
Yes he was drafted at the same time Dayton Moore was named the general manager but this regieme should still be held accountable. Hochevar is entering only his second full season but it is still a very important season. Someone that was picked with the first overall pick and wasn’t coming straight out of high school should be able to be an effective pitcher by this time and so far I really haven’t seen it except for his masterful performance on June 12 against the impatient Cincinnati Reds.
Someone with his draft status has to before more than a serviceable pitcher. I am willing to wait until after this year but for me each start is meaningful.
Jun/090
Dismal Royals Head To Houston
Posted by: Casey on June 23, 2009.
Showing or causing gloom or depression. I think that’s a fairly accurate word for the way this team makes me feel. There are times when we show good potential, then there are times where we completely fall apart. This weekend series against the Cardinals was a nightmare, which was proceeded by the collapse in the final two games against the D-Backs. And all of this after a 4 game winning streak.
Want to know something else that is depressing? Greinke is winless in his last 4 starts. He gets another chance starting on tuesday as he leads the Royals into Houston. Many of the Astros players have not seen Zack, aside from Ivan Rodriguez who’s got a .370 average and a homerun in 27 at bats.
When I look at this Astros team, I think they would have been really good about five years ago. Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Pudge, Darin Erstad, Keppinger. They’ve got some vets who have been very good, but they are 32-35, in next to last place in the NLC. They are behind the awful Reds, who we just saw last week (and swept). This will be an interesting series, especially with the short porch in left field. I think the key will, yet again, be the Royals defense. I think we’ll get good enough pitching to win in atleast 2 of the 3 games, so the key will be scoring enough runs and not having another defensive breakdown. Please take Callaspo out in the 7th if we have a slim lead..
Jun/090
Royals Sweep Reds
Posted by: Casey on June 14, 2009.
Teahen Attempts To Break Up DP (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
As I mentioned in my preview for the Cleveland series, I felt that the upcoming schedule would be helpful for the Royals to get back to business. Although they gave away the series at Cleveland, they had no problems handling the above-.500 Reds.
The Reds gave up 5 unearned runs in the series finale on Sunday, and made it difficult for the Royals to not sweep them. There’s no denying that the AL does provide tougher competition than the NL, but nevertheless, the Royals will take the sweep.
Perhaps an even better sign is that the Royals swept the Reds without Meche or Greinke pitching in any of the 3 games.
The Royals return to action on tuesday when the 27-36 Arizona Diamondbacks come to town. The D-Backs are last in the NL West division, and it could be another series win for the Royals as Meche and Greinke will both pitch. After the D-Backs series, the Cardinals come to town and the Royals will hopefully still be riding some momentum heading into that series.
It’s nice to see the bats coming alive, as several players are sporting solid hit streaks. Callaspo is hitting the ball very well, getting back to his early-season form.
Also, Coco hit the DL today, and hopefully he can return with a less-sore shoulder in 15 days. He had only played in 5 of the last 15 games, and I for one was hoping they would put him on the DL earlier than they did, but the important thing is that he gets back to being healthy. Tug Hulett was recalled from Omaha to take his spot.
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