Category: Uncategorized

Age is but a number…a high number.

Yesterday, Roger Clemens returned to professional baseball(and I am using that term loosely) as he pitched for the Independent Atlantic Leagues Sugar Land Skeeters. Clemens didn’t look bad for a guy who hasn’t pitched professionally in 5 years, as he threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts and one hit, reaching 88 MPH on the radar gun. He even struck out former Kansas City Royal Joey Gathright, who’s claim to fame wasn’t what he could do on the field but for jumping over a car. Really. But all in all Clemens looked impressive for a 50 year old.

So what is the Rocket’s end game here? I tend to think there are multiple reasons for his return. For one, I think he misses the spotlight. Some guys fiend for it. They need it. When it goes away, they don’t know what to do. I think Clemens is one of those guys. I also think he just loves baseball enough that when he is not around it, he doesn’t know what to do. If you think about it, his entire adult life has been spent as a baseball player, so in a lot of ways, this is all he knows. Getting the chance to go back out there, even if it is just in the independent league, is still getting to be around the game he loves. But I think this isn’t the main reason he is back.

“yes, I’m 50 and still have frosted tips…”

No, the real end game here is a return to the Major Leagues, period. Why would a guy, who has accomplished as much as Roger Clemens, want to return to the bigs at the age of 50? It’s really an easy answer, and I am not alone in this thinking. Clemens is eligible to be on the Hall of Fame ballot this upcoming winter, and with all the steroid talk connected to the Rocket for years now, there is a good chance that he will not be voted in, even though he is one of the top ten pitchers EVER. No, Clemens wants to come back to delay the vote, and possibly even leave a different image in the voters minds. Scenario time: What if Clemens comes back, at the age of 50, and pitches at a more than passable level? He could say that it wasn’t the steroids that helped him, that even at 50 he can get major league hitters out. Now, the honesty of the situation is that there are some voters he will never be able to sway. But if he is able to change people’s perception, in his mind it could help his case for the Hall. Clemens has always taken his legacy seriously. For years, he talked about his place in the game, so he understands what is on the line here. It also gives him a chance to separate himself from Barry Bonds, who is also eligible for the Hall of Fame this winter, who himself is the poster boy for the “Steroid Era” in baseball. Being on the ballot the same year as Bonds will make voters tie them together as what was wrong with the game during this period. Distancing himself from that only helps his situation.

So will we see Roger Clemens in a major league uniform this year? I think we will, and I think the Houston Astros will give him an opportunity to pitch sometime in September. Yesterday, the Astros and Kansas City Royals both had scouts at the Skeeters’ game, checking out Clemens’ start. There is a joke within the fact that those were the two teams scouting Clemens, but I’ll make that joke at a later time.  If(when?) Clemens makes a start in the big leagues this year, his eligibility for the Hall of Fame will be delayed for another five years.

Even if all he does is pitch a couple games this year, he will get to leave a different impression of himself and his career to the baseball community. It’s sad that we are even discussing this situation, as Clemens should be a no-brainer when it comes to his place in the game. Two twenty strikeout games, the third most strikeouts of all time and seven(7!!) Cy Young Awards are just a few of the Rocket’s many accomplishments in his 23 year career. The fact that he wants to come back and possibly sully that tells you all you need to know. Although to be honest, can his image be more tarnished than it already is? Probably not. Maybe this is the best way to sway public perception of him. Or maybe we’ve all moved on and just don’t care anymore about the players who didn’t want to play by the same set of rules of everyone else.

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Perfection (and Why it is Easier to Accomplish)

Yesterday, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners threw a perfect game, the first of his career, the first in Mariners history and the third overall this season. Not only that, it was the sixth no-hitter thrown this year in Major League Baseball. The last two years, pitchers have been all the rave in baseball, and the focus has been more on what happens on the mound than what happens at the dish. When did this happen and why is it good for baseball?

Last year was considered by many to be the year of the pitcher, a nod back to 1968 and a year where pitchers dominated, especially Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson who led the National League that year with an ERA of 1.12, a modern baseball record. It also forced baseball to lower the mound, to give hitters a “fair chance” against the pitchers who were dominating the game at that point. This year seems like a continuation of the Year of the Pitcher, with all of the perfect games and no-hitters being thrown around baseball and pitchers putting up flashier stats than their hitting counterparts. A big part of why this is happening is because of all the young pitchers scattered across baseball. Younger pitchers have sprouted up across the majors the last two years and not only are they young, but they throw harder and seem to have a good grasp on how to actually pitch, not throw. This has led to pitchers gaining an advantage over the hitters, a good sign for baseball after the years of power, which is often referred to as the “Steroid Era”.

The “Steroid Era” is another reason for the pitchers success over the last two years. Major League Baseball’s drug testing has proven to be topnotch, and other than the gaffe in the Ryan Braun positive test, no one has been able to successfully appeal a suspension handed down to them by MLB. With the success rate they have had with their testing, many players have chosen not to even chance it when it comes to trying to use banned substances. Sure, there will be guys like Melky Cabrera who either try to see what they can get away with or just aren’t smart about it, but most players know the testing is improving at a rapid rate and is not worth chancing it. Therefore, less players that are chiseled out of granite and more professional hitters litter the baseball  fields of 2012.

With all that drug testing being put into affect, it has made it to where teams focus less on homeruns and RBI’s. Instead, more value is shown to stats like OPS and WAR. Both stats show more of a players full value instead of just focusing on one simple area. While these stats will give you a more patient hitter, which is good, it can also give you a player who strikes out a bit more often, or a hitter who puts the ball in play more. Both are hitters that a pitcher like Felix Hernandez or Justin Verlander loves, as both are efficient starters who attack the strike zone and have nasty stuff to back it up. A power hitter can hurt you in more than one way, where as a singles hitter can hurt, but more likely to put the ball in play. Both can hurt you, but more pitchers would rather face a slap hitter than a slugger. Less loaded lineups lead to an advantage to the pitchers.

Maybe the biggest reason for the influx in pitching has been the focus by a lot of teams on pitching and defense. For years, the saying has gone ‘pitching and defense wins championships’. This philosophy was successful for many years, but after the 1994 baseball strike, it seemed many a team got away from this way of thinking. With power going out of vogue again, more teams stocked up on pitching and better defensive players. More teams will get by with a player who isn’t as good offensively if they bring great defense to the table. Ask Felix Hernandez how much it helps having Brendan Ryan playing Shortstop for the Mariners?  Ryan might barely hit .200, but he gives Seattle Gold Glove defense. Having that on your team can help, but can also make it easier for a pitcher to attack the bottom of your batting order. Utilizing these methods can both help and hurt your ballclub, leading to some really great pitching performances.

All in all, this wave of great pitching has really showcased the game of baseball. After years of sluggers with Popeye-like arms, we are now in an age focusing more on the little details of the game. No one knows how long it will last, but it probably means we will see more no-hitters and perfect games before it is all said and done. Hopefully it won’t dilute the game, only highlight all the great things that the game of baseball brings to the table.

Perfection be thy name!

 

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The Tipping Point

There has been a lot of talk within the past month of just how much pain us Kansas City Royals fans can take. The Royals just wrapped up an awful 7-19 July, pushing fans even closer to the edge. It’s easy to sit there and just say ‘What’s new? The Royals are always bad!’, but this season goes deeper than that. It’s not just about winning and losing. It now becomes an issue of at what point do we, as fans, say enough is enough. Just what would it take to reach our tipping point?

I still remember the summer of 1994 fondly. That summer, I got my first real job. I also got my first vehicle, even if someone ran me off the road and totaled it less than a month later. It was also the summer of the baseball strike, and before that happened, the Royals were making a push. Manager Hal McRae was leading Kansas City up the standings, eventually getting the Royals to third place in the American League Central, only 4 games out of first place. When the strike happened, the Royals sat at 64-51, and it seemed the sky was the limit for Kansas City, as they were red hot. But it was not meant to be, as the strike forced the commissioner to call the season done, including no World Series that year. To make matters worse, Hal McRae was fired that offseason, being replaced by Bob Boone. That should of been a sign of what was to come, as the slide downward of our Royals began at that point. In fact, since 1995, the Royals have had only one season above .500. One season, 2003. That is it. Outside of that, there has been no joy in Mudville. Seventeen seasons of losing, which is enough to make a normal man hand in his Royal blue hat and find another team to cheer on. But we are a sadistic bunch, as we continue to take the abuse. In 2006, it seemed a ray of light shined on us, as Dayton Moore was hired as the General Manager. Or so we thought.

Dayton Moore coming in gave us faith that he could turn around the Royals. Moore had been a scout in the Atlanta Braves organization for years, moving up the ladder in Atlanta, sitting under the learning tree of former Royals GM John Schuerholz. Moore had the reputation of having a great eye for young talent, which is what the Royals needed. Moore’s first task was to build Kansas City’s farm system back up, as it had been depleted for years. Six years later, it is safe to say that he has done that. But being a GM isn’t just about developing young talent. It’s also about acquiring veteran talent that you can piece together with the youngsters to mold your team. That is where Moore has lacked.

A finger can be pointed at Moore and Owner David Glass for how the past few years have gone for the Royals. Going into this season, the young players were to continue to grow and we would at least see improvement within the team. Unfortunately, the wheels started to come off the cart in February, as injuries started to pile up. More injuries occurred once the season began, and add in bad roster choices and a rotation with 5 bottom rung starters, and you have a team that is back in the basement of the American League Central. Through it all, we fans continue to watch. But what would it take for us to turn our backs on our team?

The easy answer to this is for the team to continue to lose. The Royals have lost a lot of fans over the past eighteen years, and the longer the losing continues, the more fans don’t care anymore. They always gain new, younger fans. My son is the perfect example. He used to not care what happened with the Royals. Now, he wants to know everything that goes in with the team. The team will always gain fans like this, but keeping them will be the hard part, and the best way to do that is to win. Winning gets you more fans than you even need. Ask the Yankees. Winning makes all the bad that we have endured go away. In the end, that is the real answer.

To be truthful, the tipping point would be if the team continued following the path they are now. Continuing to act like nothing is wrong, that all is fine, will make fans even more apathetic, as it gives across the feeling that management doesn’t care about this team, nor does it care about its fans. This is a good way to alienate the fanbase, and it’s doing the trick at the moment. Many a fan has stepped away from this season and is already looking forward to the upcoming Chiefs season. That is not a good sign. If they go into the offseason with that same attitude, and don’t upgrade this team, then next season will not be pretty. Fans will not flock to the K, and David Glass seems to think if the stands are empty, then there is no reason to spend money. It’s actually the opposite; if there are no fans, you need to give them a reason to attend the games. You can’t just hope that they will come on name alone. Not with all the losing we have seen over the years.

The first time the Royals broke my heart was in December of 1991. Longtime team ace Bret Saberhagen was traded to the New York Mets, and I was crushed. Sabs was one of my favorites, and one of the players connected with my initial love of the team. Now he was gone, and no matter what we got back, it wasn’t enough. Trades happen in baseball, and I realize that now. But to a kid, it’s not that simple. Twenty one years later, and I now can’t even count how many times this team has broke my heart, even by management just not trying. I’d like to say I would never walk away and be done with the team I’ve loved since I was a kid. But it’s tough to watch your team lose year after year, with no end in sight. We need a sign, maybe even a miracle. Either way, something has to happen, and has to happen soon.

“Happier Days.”
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The Blame Game

“I need eight more Betancourt’s to put in the lineup, Dayton…”

Last night, the Kansas City Royals continued their descent into the AL Central basement, falling to the Seattle Mariners…again. Let’s be honest here, it’s not like the Seattle Mariners are the reincarnation of the old Bronx Bomber teams that had juggernaut offensives. Nope, the Mariners are actually one of the worst offensive teams in baseball. The Royals have made them look like hitting savants, not like a team that just traded a future Hall of Famer to the Yankees. With the Royals now tied for the central basement with Minnesota, the question has to be asked-who is to blame?

There seem to be alot of fingers to point in a lot of different directions, but let’s start with the manager, Ned Yost. I’ve been saying since April that Yost needs to go, as his managing style is shoddy at best. To be honest, as of late the only major faults of Yost is the juggling of the lineup and his continuance to keep Jeff Francoeur in the lineup. Yost is still not the man for the job, but I don’t think he deserves the brunt of the blame right now. He is just a minor flaw in a bigger problem.

What about hitting coach Kevin Seitzer? This is where things get interesting, as Seitzer has been a huge help for a number of ex and current Royals. Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Melky Cabrera and Alcides Escobar can all thank Seitzer for improving their hitting while being with the ballclub. It’s easy to point the finger at him, as the offense not producing has been a big part of the team’s issues this season. The thing is, the team is hitting. They just aren’t getting any clutch hits, which is what is killing the team. Sure, that falls on Seitzer a bit, but I’m not ready to put all the blame on him, as he has helped this club more than hindered it. Now, if it continues and there is no turn around, then a conversation maybe needs to be had. But if you asked my opinion, this doesn’t fall at Seitzer’s feet.

Next is owner David Glass. To be fair, the whole reason this team is as bad as it has been for so long falls on Glass’ shoulders. Glass spent years treating the team like it was a Wal Mart and only when he hired Dayton Moore did he actually start shelling out money for drafts and scouting. While I agree with that process, at some point Glass will have to start spending more, or any success the team will have is null, as players will leave when they become free agents. Glass is a major part of the blame here, but not the main guy I point the finger at for this team being this bad.

At the end of the day, the finger needs to be pointed at GM Dayton Moore. Moore came in with a great pedigree, being brought up through the Atlanta Braves organization, which has won more than any other National Legue team since the 1990’s. It seemed at the time that Moore would help this team get to where it needed to go. Six years later, and he spouts off about how it is an eight year process, etc…the honest truth is that it isn’t. In fact, most GM’s who don’t win within six years get fired. Sure, Moore had to almost completely rebuild the farm system, and he has done a great job of that. I’ve always said Moore is a great scout, and he hasn’t done anything to dissuade me from that thinking. But being a GM isn’t just about being a great scout, and this is where Moore has dropped the ball.

Glass has given him a small payroll to work with. That is fine, but Dayton has shown a tendency to waste money on bad players instead of using what he’s got wisely. Signing Yuniesky Betancourt for 2 million dollars, when no other team was even negotiating with him? Stupid. Signing Jose Guillen to a huge contract, despite it being well known that he was a clubhouse cancer? Dumb. Then they are trades, like Leo Nunez for Mike Jacobs, which took over half a year before Jacobs quit getting regular at bats. Being a small market team, you have to be a creative GM and use your assets smartly. Dayton doesn’t do that. He is the man who structures the team and makes the decision on who gets called up or sent down. Why is Johnny Giavotella not in the big leagues, at least giving him a chance to prove himself? Why was Kila Ka’aihue allowed to sit in AAA for almost 3 years before he was given a chance? If a player plays good in the minors and you don’t have someone blocking them, you give them a chance in the majors, as you are never totally for sure what you have until you give them a chance. Moore has not allowed that to happen, and that falls on him.

I literally could go on and on with Dayton’s mistakes, like the hiring of both Trey Hillman and Ned Yost. Once again, that ends up at Dayton’s feet. At the end of the day, the Royals would do best to get a new owner, manager and GM. But since that probably isn’t realistic, my vote would be that Dayton needs to go at the end of the season. The man is a great scout and he’ll always be able to find a job in baseball. But when it comes to being a General Manager, he has failed. Six years is enough suffering; it’s time to make a change.

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The Lesser of Two Evils?

Within the past couple days, it has become heavily apparent that the Miami Marlins are gutting their team, only half a season into their first at the new Marlins Park. This past offseason, Owner Jeffrey Loria went out and did everything possible to buy his team a playoff spot, getting a new manager, new starting pitching, new closer, and new shortstop. What did all that get him? The Marlins are 7 games below .500 and 12 and a half games back in the National League East. It’s a pretty good bet that this team won’t be making the playoffs this season. But is gutting the team the right move?

One complaint that has constantly been made since baseball came to Florida is that the fans just don’t show up to the ballpark. The Marlins tried to rectify some of that this season by moving into their beautiful new stadium, Marlins Park. The team felt like they could afford all their offseason spending, as the money made by the new ballpark would pay those salaries. They also felt this team would be making a playoff rush, which would bring the fans out in droves. Unfortunately, this team has highly underperformed, so Loria felt it a smarter move to cut bait now, rather than wait.

A logical point could be made that Loria should have waited another year before doing this. It really feels like such a knee jerk reaction to go out and start trading off pieces left and right. But what did we expect? Loria has done this before. The Marlins have twice been World Champions, and gutted both times right after winning the big game. There is a history in Florida of teams being dismantled out of nowhere. Loria even has a history of such treachery, leaving the Montreal Expos high and dry to go buy the Marlins. Loria made a ton of promises to the fans of Montreal, and in the end, he jumped ship and let Major League Baseball take over the team. To put it bluntly, Loria can’t be trusted at his word.

This brings up another interesting question: Which is worse: Jeffrey Loria spending the money on his team, but gutting his team in a heartbeat, or David Glass, a man who doesn’t seem committed to spending money on his Kansas City Royals? I have been critical of Mr. Glass for years now, and for just reason. It just seems like the man doesn’t give a crap about his team and is more concerned about his bottom line. But to be honest, I would almost prefer that to what Loria is doing.

What Loria is doing is getting fans’ and their hopes up, then squashing them out of nowhere. It’s not real commitment. It’s commitment until things look murky, then it’s time to duck out. At least Glass is consistent: consistently cheap. If you are a Marlins fan, would you be shocked if Loria up and sold the team tomorrow? He seems weaselly enough to leave in the middle of the night and leaving for Indianapolis. Now, don’t get me wrong. Both owners are awful at owning at Major League Baseball teams, and the both sets of fans deserve better. But baseball has let them do these type of actions for years, so why should they stop now?

At the end of the day, I’m glad I’m not a Marlins fans. Sure, it sucks sometimes being a Royals fan, as I can’t say I honestly believe David Glass will ever spend money on his ballclub. But I can trust he won’t do what Jeffrey Loria has been doing for years. It is impossible for Marlins fans to ever have any dreams, other than for Loria to leave the team to someone who really cares about them. The same can be said about Glass and the Royals, but expectations aren’t driven up like they are in Florida. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I would take the devil I know over the devil who wants to leave when things start looking muddy. What a shame for Florida, and what a shame for Major League Baseball.

A face only a mother could love.
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The Tools of Ignorance

Earlier today, Jason Kendall called it a career. The former Royals Catcher and former All Star was trying to make a comeback in AA for Kansas City, although that wasn’t thought to be the case at first. The initial word was Kendall had been dispatched to NW Arkansas to be a tutor to the younger catchers while also working with the young pitchers, most notably struggling prospect Mike Montgomery. But the next day, Kendall mentioned he envisioned “10 days in NW Arkansas, 10 days in Omaha and then back in the bigs.” To say that scared many a Royals fan is an understatement.

Here are the facts. Kendall wasn’t the worst Catcher the Royals have ever had. He also wasn’t close to being the best. In fact, it’s safe to say his career was winding down when Kansas City signed him before the 2010 season. I was actually in favor of the initial signing, as Jason had a reputation of working well with pitchers and calling a good game. I figured, at the least, he wouldn’t spend half his time at the backstop like Miguel Olivo and hit for a higher average than John Buck. But by July

If this doesn’t scream GRIT, I don’t know what does…

of 2010, I was tired of Kendall. Or to phrase it better, tired of him playing every single game. Literally. It was bad enough that I wondered if Royals backup catcher Brayan Pena was encased in a giant cobweb, since he had been languishing on the bench for so long. Kendall was also not producing offensively and rarely throwing anyone out…all while batting second in the order. His shoulder injury late that year was like a godsend, as the Royals were forced to look for another Catcher. It was time for a change.

Since that time, Kendall has been used by the Royals in a coaching position in the organization, helping the younger catchers while in Kansas City. For the most part, I was okay with this. I mean, the guy is a second generation ballplayer, and just because someone wasn’t the best player doesn’t mean they can’t coach. It also gave us his infamous quote last year when a reporter asked Mike Moustakas a question that Kendall took as ‘stupid’. Who can ever remember Jason telling said reporter to “rewind yourself”? Either way, he seemed to be transitioning into his new career in baseball, and it seemed to be a natural fit.

Then last week happened. To say a lot of us freaked out when it was announced Kendall was signing a minor league contract might be an understatement. Look, the Royals organization has burned us so many times that we almost expect the worse every time a decision is made by management. Who remembers GM Dayton Moore saying that Infielder Yuniesky Betancourt was going to ONLY be a backup this year? How did that turn out? Exactly my point. I was already envisioning Kendall getting called up and taking game time away from Salvador Perez, who has developed into a future All Star catcher. Kendall could be a good mentor to Perez…but it would be ridiculous to have Kendall take playing time away from Perez. That was what we worried about. Thankfully, that is all in the past now.

So where does this leave Kendall? I still think he’ll get a coaching job in the organization, and I am fine with that. Like I said, I think he can be an asset. His one bad habit is he can be a bit of a curmudgeon, but hopefully that won’t rub off onto the younger players. I seriously question Kendall even trying to make a comeback with the surgery he had, but at the end of the day Jason Kendall was the only person who could have made that decision. Luckily, his body told him to shut it down before something more serious happened.

How will i remember Jason Kendall? He was a hard nosed player, and I always love those guys, the ones who can’t go a game without getting their uniform dirty. He was also very strong willed, as he came back from a couple of serious injuries, including the infamous leg injury he suffered earlier in his career. At the end of the day, Kendall probably overstayed his welcome, but anymore a lot of players do that. He actually can be proud of his career whenever he sits down and looks back on it. Luckily, for us Royals fans, those days are over now.

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A New Beginning

Another day at the office…

Last week, the Kansas City Royals made a trade I wasn’t for sure GM Dayton Moore was capable of. Moore was somehow(no really, HOW??) able to unload problem child Jonathan Sanchez to the Colorado Rockies for Jeremy Guthrie. First look, and you see two pitchers who have had awful years in new surroundings. Sanchez was horrible for the Royals, and as if that wasn’t enough, didn’t seem like he wanted to be in Kansas City. Guthrie had been traded in the offseason to Colorado from the Orioles, but it was very apparent Coors Field didn’t agree with him. In fact, just looking at the numbers, Guthrie only really seemed to have issues in Colorado, as an ERA of over 9 there attests to. Meanwhile, away from the thin air of the rockies, Guthrie had a very respectable 3.67 ERA. In that last sentence alone,   it gives me hope that at the least Guthrie can be a solid starter, giving the Royals 6+ innings a start, which the team needs badly. On the other hand, Sanchez’s issues range from lack of control to loss of velocity. I can’t imagine a move to an offensively driven ballpark will change that. First glance, and it looks like Dayton won this round, and if that is the case, kudos to him. I give him crap for a lot of his bad major league acquisitions(Yuni TWICE, Francoeur, etc…) but it looks like Moore pulled off a good one here. Time will tell, but it’s conceivable to see the Royals sign Guthrie to a new contract if he performs even moderately like we assume. It’s a boom to a team that needs pitching badly, and needed to rid themselves of Sanchez. Maybe Dayton Moore isn’t as inept as I started thinking he was.

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