The Prodigal Son Has Returned

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There really has been only one topic on the minds of anyone who follows the Kansas City Royals: will Alex Gordon re-sign with Kansas City and continue to be the pillar of this championship Royals team? After months of speculation(and worry that he would leave) we found out on Wednesday that Gordon was staying with the only major league team he has ever known, signing a 4 year, $72 million dollar contract with an option for a 5th year. So how does that deal break down?

Gordon deal is $12M, $16M, $20M, $20M with $23M mutual option and $4M buyout. #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) January 6, 2016

It’s interesting to see that Gordon will actually be making less this upcoming season than he made in 2015, but it is not surprising to see the contract back-loaded with a mutual option(seriously, Dayton loves those mutual options) in year five. So what does this mean for the Royals moving forward?

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Financially, Gordon’s contract gives the team flexibility not only for this year(after expected arbitration raises and probably the signing of another starting pitcher, the team’s payroll will probably be above $120 million, which really isn’t a giant increase from 2015), but also 2017. Why those two years? The main core of this Kansas City team will be intact for at least the next two years, so the Royals chances of continuing to reach the postseason is greater now for those two years. A smaller deal for Gordon helps out the rest of that payroll and could very well impact the team if they try to make another big deal in July if so be it. Now his contract goes up in years 3 and 4 of the deal, but I would say there is a good chance that by then this contract won’t look as imposing when you look at the influx of money within the game of baseball right now. Add in that the Royals should be able to restructure their TV deal around 2018 and the Royals could be playing with even more money than they have right now. Obviously the big part of this deal is that it gives GM Dayton Moore more wiggle room to help get the pieces needed to keep this team a contender through 2017, which will then see Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Wade Davis and Alcides Escobar become free agents.

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The signing also means the chances of Kansas City taking advantage of their window have improved with the return of Gordon. Realistically, the Royals have the next two seasons to take advantage of their current core players and have a better chance of reaching the playoffs again with Gordon in tow. I am of the belief that without Gordon’s return, the chances of Kansas City returning to October baseball would have been much harder to accomplish, where as now they return the “backbone” of the team. About a month ago I went into deep detail on why the Royals should bring back Alex and it seems obvious when I say this team is better with Alex roaming left field for the next four years. To me, I wouldn’t even worry too much about 2018 and instead focus on the here and now. If the Royals reach the postseason the next two years(or even one of the two), that means more people coming to the ballpark, meaning more money coming into the team. To me, that extra money could be used on whatever the game plan is for after the 2017 season, which could be to re-sign a Cain or a Hosmer(I know, he is a Boras client so the likelihood is not very high) or go out and revamp the team. Either way, giving the Royals the best chance possible to win now helps the organization in the future as well. Keeping Gordon in the fold helps in that regard.

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Speaking of the core Royals group, I also felt like Gordon was the best choice for a long-term deal out of that group mentioned earlier. Hosmer and Moustakas are almost completely off the table since they are Scott Boras clients and he will always tell his clients to take the deal that will make them the most money. I love Wade Davis but he is a reliever and you should never give a reliever a long-term deal(unless his last name is Rivera). That leaves Cain and Escobar, who will both be in their low 30’s at this point. I love both guys but Cain has a long injury history and a big part of Escobar’s game(speed) will have started to regress at this point which makes a long-term deal seem iffy. To me, Gordon will regress the best out of this bunch and will probably come close to his expected production over the next couple years that will make his deal worth the money that was spent. In fact Craig Brown of Royals Authority took a look at just that the other day, taking a look at his Steamer & ZiPS projections over the course of the deal and putting that up against his earnings during those years. I feel you can also throw in what he means to that clubhouse, as many a teammate has referred to Gordon as the “backbone” of the team. He isn’t the rah-rah team leader, but that is why they have Salvador Perez. Gordon is the quiet one who leads by example and it is normally a “balls to the wall” type example that he plays by for them to follow.

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Concerns? There are always concerns when signing a player to a deal of this size, and most of them are health related. Gordon missed some time this year due to a couple injuries, a wrist injury that limited him when the season began and a groin injury that left him out of action for August and a good chunk of July. But since Gordon made the move to left field full-time in 2011, he had played at least 150 games in all of those years before this past year. I tend to feel like the injury is an outlier for Alex, but it’s easy to see how an injury could happen to him with his “reckless abandon” style of play out on the field. We all saw what happened to Mike Sweeney late in his career, but knowing how Gordon is a health nut and his insane work-out routine, I think there is a better chance of Alex staying healthy than spending the majority of his time on the disabled list. Will he regress? Of course he will. ‘Father Time’ always wins that battle. But once again, Gordon takes good care of his body, so the belief is that his regression won’t be as steep as it normally is for others.

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To me it always made the most sense to bring back Gordon to the only major league team he has ever known. Gordon is beloved in Kansas City and it was the team he grew up rooting for. It only made sense for the present and the future to make sure Alex remained in Royal blue. As a fan, I was very biased on this all along. As a kid my favorite player was George Brett and would stop whatever I was doing once Brett came up to the plate. I loved the way Brett played and it became a model for me to judge other players by. As an adult, Alex Gordon is in that same pantheon for me. He is my favorite player on this Royals team and the thought of him wearing another team’s jersey was tough to stomach. Knowing now that he is locked up makes me feel better about the future of the Royals as he is the constant everyone can rely on. Alex now has four years to further cement his legacy and a deeper place into the history of the Kansas City Royals. It seems like a lock now that Gordon will one day get a statue near the fountains at Kauffman Stadium. Honestly, I can’t think of a current player more deserving than ‘#4’.

January 9, 2016 1

An October To Remember

Oct 23, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (17) and catcher Salvador Perez (left) celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the ALCS at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-245746 ORIG FILE ID: 20151023_jla_sa7_285.jpg — (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY)

Last year, the Kansas City Royals made the playoffs for the first time since 1985, a 29 year gap that felt much wider and deeper than that. I started following baseball when I was 7 back in 1984, and instantly became a Royals fan. So I do remember 1985, albeit not the way I would have if I had been a bit older. I remember my mother making me hot cocoa before the games and I remember being ‘out to the moon’ excited when they won that year. I even remember coming home from school sometime the next spring and walking in on my parents watching the Kansas City Royals home video ‘The Thrill of it All’, a look back at the Royals championship run in ’85. Yes, the video was for me and still to this day I watch that video at least once a year. I have stuck with this team for over 30 years now and don’t regret a minute of it. Sure, I hated the losing, but I knew if the Royals ever made it back to postseason play that I would be incredibly appreciative of what I was witnessing. Last year I got to be in attendance for Game 3 of the ALDS(a full recap is here) and it is at the top of all the great baseball events I have witnessed in my life. When the postseason was over last year and the Royals had fallen just short of gaining a World Championship, I told myself that if they returned in the near future I was going to make sure I went. Honestly, who knew when the Royals would make it back to October baseball? Sure, it could be soon but we all thought the same thing back in 1985. So when opportunity knocked this year, I answered the door.

So when the Royals clinched a playoff berth(and eventually the division) I was already running through plans in my head. We found out early on that you could register for the chance to buy ALDS tickets so I signed up, figuring it was a longshot but you’re not in the race unless you sign up. About a week before the playoffs started I got an e-mail saying I was picked and would have 24 hours the next day to order tickets, but I could only buy two. I ordered my two tickets the next day and I knew at that point I was going to at least one playoff game. Funny how these things work though; The Monday before the playoffs started, we got an e-mail at work saying I had media clearance for the ALCS and World Series. Hey, look at that! I work at a radio station that is a Royals affiliate and we had sent in for media passes a few weeks earlier. So my gameplan had switched a bit, since I knew that if Kansas City advanced to the next round(or even to the World Series), I would be able to go. The next day I found out I media clearance for the ALDS, which was going to give my son a chance to go to his first playoff Game. So the plan was set for us to go to Game 2 of ALDS against Houston.

Game 2 of the ALDS was on a Friday afternoon and my girlfriend, my son and I made the trek to Kauffman Stadium to be a part of what would hopefully be a Royals win. There was one little catch to this whole thing; since I was media, I would be sitting by myself in the media section down the left field line. After batting practice, my girlfriend and son took the tickets we bought and hung out in the upper deck for the game and I ventured out to the media section. What was witnessed was another comeback win for the Royals, something that became a theme for Kansas City during the playoffs. I had a nice vantage point of the game but here is a another minor catch to being media: as media, you are supposed to be unbiased, so there is no cheering, since you are there to do a job. As a fan of the Royals, this can be hard sometimes, as you are by nature used to cheering on your team. The good news is that my girlfriend and son had a great experience during this game and that made me feel really good. I had my memorable playoff experience last year, it only seemed appropriate for them to have theirs at their first playoff game. It was nice to discuss certain parts of the game with them on the drive home and I left hoping I would be back at Kauffman again before the year was done.

Luckily, I would be back about a week later for Game 2 of the ALCS, another afternoon game at ‘The K’. I made my way to the stadium a bit early and went and found my seat for the game, getting set up as I would be live-tweeting the game for the radio station. As I’m sitting there getting prepared, Rany Jazayerli(who is the Royals blogger of main importance and co-founder of Baseball Prospectus) would walk up. This blog wouldn’t exist without Rany, as when I started looking at Royals blogs I found Rany’s and instantly felt a kinship. We were both longtime Royals fans that felt disenfranchised with the direction the team seemed to be going in. I would go ahead and introduce myself to him and we ended up talking baseball for about 5 minutes. I’m sure he probably doesn’t even remember it by now, but it showed what a nice guy he was. He took time out of his day just to chat with someone about baseball. The game would get underway a little bit later and outside of a chilly breeze that progressively got worse as the game went on, everything was going smoothly. That is, except the Royals had gotten a hit since the 1st inning, as David Price was shoving, retiring 18 Royals in a row. That is until the 7th inning, when the Blue Jays would let a Ben Zobrist ball drop into right field, opening the floodgates and allowing the Royals to go ahead and eventually win the game. I really felt this was the loudest I had ever heard the crowd at Kauffman and the win put the Royals up 2-0 in the series. It was another classic Royals win, and I was on a baseball high on the drive home. This game might have been the point where I started to think this was a team of destiny, as it really felt as if no lead was safe for any team against Kansas City. This was the point where I started to think I would be back for the World Series.

I would be correct in my estimation, as the Royals would make a return trip to the World Series. There was a slight issue with work, as there for a few days it looked like I might not be able to get off of work due to personnel problems. Luckily, I found out on Monday that I would be able to go, so I made plans to be there for Game 1 of the 2015 World Series. After dealing with traffic, I made it to the stadium and would once again return to my spot out in left field, although this time I was greeted with a wet seat. I planned ahead though, knowing there was a good chance of rain that day so I had tucked a towel away in my bag, using it to wipe off my seat and my work area. I was once again live-tweeting the game, but little did I know that I would be there for a good 5+ hours. The light rain would stop almost at first pitch and we were underway. I made sure before the game started to take everything in, as it hit me I was actually at a World Series game. I think if you told 8 year old Sean that he would be at a Royals World Series game 30 years later, he probably would have laughed and thought you were full of it. But there I was, getting ready to witness a first for me.

Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, Game 1 of 2015 Major League Baseball World Series, Kansas City Royals VS New York Mets

When Alcides Escobar slid to the plate to start the bottom of the inning, I started laughing, because I knew he was going to swing at the first pitch. Not only did he swing at the first pitch, but he would hit a fly ball that would bounce off Yoenis Cespedes’ glove, as the ball bounced away and Escobar would get an inside the park home run! I was well aware at this point that I had yet to see the Royals lose a playoff game when I was in the building, and I was hoping they wouldn’t start now. I feel blessed that my first World Series game was a classic, a game that was back and forth and would change leads several times. In the 8th inning, the Mets would take the lead but I realized that even if the Royals lost, I was watching a pure classic and couldn’t have been happier about it. Then it happened; Alex Gordon would take Jeurys Familia of the Mets deep, a solo home run to tie the game at 4. If there was a time I was going to be unprofessional and cheer in the media section, it would be after this. I won’t lie; I almost cheered. But I kept my cool, pumping my fist at my side without anyone the wiser. I knew at this point I wasn’t getting home until late that night, plus I had work early in the morning. I didn’t care; this game was pure bliss! In the 14th inning(and at this point the game was 5+ hours long and had stretched past midnight) I noticed on Twitter that no World Series game had gone more than 14 innings. In the back of my head I started to think that I could be viewing history(yet again) if this game still was tied up after 14 innings. Luckily, Eric Hosmer would redeem himself in the bottom of the inning from an earlier error, hitting a sacrifice fly to right to score Escobar and give the Royals the victory in Game 1.

The weirdest thing happened after this; the crowd started to mill out of the stadium, and I didn’t want to leave. Even though I knew it was late and knew I wasn’t getting much sleep that night, I didn’t want it to end. It meant the world to me that I got to attend a World Series game, not even mentioning the fact that it will go down as a classic. In some way, a part of me wondered if that would be my last visit to Kauffman Stadium this year. I knew I wouldn’t be at Game 2 the next night and there was a part of me that felt this series wouldn’t return to Kansas City. So instead, I wanted to take everything in. The crowd, the atmosphere, the field, the players; I literally took everything in and kept it encapsulated in my mind for future reference. I was kind of worried I might fall asleep on my two hour drive home, but I had nothing to worry about. I was still pumped, replaying the game over in my brain. I arrived home close to 3am and would proceed to accidentally wake up my girlfriend. She asked me if I had just got home, and when I said ‘yes’, she asked why. You see, she had fallen asleep during the 7th inning, before the game got really crazy. I told her it went 14 inning and she asked ‘Seriously??’. She would fall back asleep, and I would as well about 30 minutes later, although my mind was still abuzz. What an October!

That Sunday night the Royals would wrap up the series in just five games. As I predicted, the series wouldn’t return to Kansas City. I’ve had a little over a week now to really let everything soak in and so much about this past month amazes me. I was very fortunate that I got to be witness to not only three Royals playoff games this Fall, but three games that will be discussed for years to come. I’ve always held the 1985 team on a pedestal, not only because for the longest time they were the only Royals championship team, but because that was so early on in my love for the Kansas City Royals. But for years I have recognized that as much as I loved that ’85 squad, talent wise they weren’t the best team that year. This 2015 squad is going to be remembered for a lot of things, but more than anything I think I will look at them as the most talented Royals team I have ever seen. Just a few years ago I was disappointed with the organization and started to wonder if we as fans were ever going to see a winning season, let alone a championship season. Now we have seen back to back World Series appearances and will be adding yet another flag to the poles in the outfield at Kauffman Stadium. This October meant the world to me and my love of this team; not only was I able to cross items off my bucket list, but I finally get to say my team are the World Champions. The games might be over, but the memories will always remain.

More coverage from this October:

ALDS Coverage: here and Game 4 of the ALDS coverage is here.

ALDS/ALCS Notes: click here

World Series Coverage: World Series here

Wrap up of the 2015 Kansas City Royals Season: Enjoy the link here

November 12, 2015 4

The Fall Classic Formula

We are now three games deep into the 2015 World Series and I think it is safe to say that what we have gotten so far is one instant classic, with two games that are close early on before one team breaks away in the middle innings. What we have also learned is that there is no shortage of talking points, some worthwhile while others are downright pointless. So what is worth discussing? Without further ado, here are some topics I have found worth my time so far in this last series of the year.

Let’s start with what has been one of the Kansas City Royals weaknesses in 2015, starting pitching. For a team with as many questions within their rotation as a 6 year old walking in on their parents “sharing a moment”, it sure appears as if this has been one of their strong points so far in the World Series. Yordano Ventura’s start aside(and we will get to him in just a moment), the Royals rotation has strung together game scores of 50 & 80. Edinson Volquez ran into a little bit of trouble on Tuesday, but was able to throw 6 solid innings, allowing three runs. It was a solid effort from the Royals most consistent starter this year, all while being unaware of his father passing away earlier in the day. This was followed the next night by quite possibly the best start ever by a Kansas City pitcher in the playoffs:

Highest #Royals postseason Game Scores:

Cueto ’15 WS G2 – 80
Saberhagen ’85 WS G7 – 79
Cueto ALDS ’15 G5 – 78
Saberhagen ’85 WS G3 – 78

— Craig Brown (@CraigBrown_KC) October 29, 2015

When Johnny Cueto is on his game, he is a force to be reckoned with. Cueto pitched a complete game 2-hitter, only allowing one run on the way to putting the Royals up two games to none in the series. Cueto has been very inconsistent during his tenure in Kansas City, but this start(and also the ALDS start against Houston) is why the Royals picked him up at the deadline. Cueto won’t be coming back next year but that wasn’t the point of his acquisition. The point was to get a big game pitcher for big games in the playoffs. Hey, he might go out there in his next outing and stink up the joint, but at least he has had two stellar starts for the Royals this postseason, putting them in a better position to reach their goal: a championship. The Mets have a number of young fireballers in their rotation, but so far they have been outpitched by Kansas City’s rotation. That is, except for Ventura…

Yordano Ventura did not have a good start in Game 3. He was pulled in the 4th inning, and the big concern was his dip in velocity. What is normally mid to upper 90’s was 92-94 mph most of the night. Obviously when his fastball loses the extra gas he becomes more hittable, but an old friend seemed to show up as well: pitching from the stretch.

John Smoltz caught this first. Yordano Ventura has faced 3 hitters so far out of the stretch. Homer. Homer. Double.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 31, 2015

It doesn’t sound like anyone has an idea why ‘Ace’ had such a loss in velo, but it seemed to take his confidence with it. The Mets were nailing his fastball, making his other pitches less effective in the process:

The Mets were 5-for-8 with 2 HR, 2B against Ventura's fastball Friday. Opp. hitters now 18-50 (.360) vs Ventura's fastball in the postseason

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 31, 2015

So where does this leave the Royals going forward in this series? It leaves them with another question mark in the series, a rather huge one considering he would be on schedule to pitch a Game 7 if they get that far. That begs the question: Are you comfortable with Ventura starting an elimination game for Kansas City with it all on the line?

A lot of press has been given to leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar this postseason, but Ben Zobrist has been just as efficient batting in the second spot in the order. Zobrist has been 4 for 15 so far in the World Series, including three doubles and two runs scored so far. In fact, Zobrist has been accumulating doubles like crazy this postseason:

#Royals Ben Zobrist now has 7 2B this #postseason — tying an American League record.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) October 31, 2015

It has been a productive October so far, as Zobrist has a line of .310/.359/.534 with 9 extra base hits, 6 RBI’s and 6 walks. The argument can be made that Escobar has been the ‘Most Valuable Royal’ so far this month, but Zobrist’s name could also be picked out of the hat. While Cueto’s acquisition has only paid off in spurts, Zobrist’s has been a constant and steady win for Kansas City.

Speaking of excellent moves by GM Dayton Moore, Chris Young not only turned in a really good regular season, but he has been as reliable as any other arm for the Royals in October. In 3 games this postseason, Young has thrown 11.2 innings, giving up 3 runs while striking out 15. All of a sudden Young has become a strikeout pitcher, and in Game 1 he would do something he hasn’t done since 2009:

Pitches Chris Young has thrown 90 MPH+ by year since 2008:
2015- 8 (last night)
2014- 0
2013- 0
2012- 0
2011- 0
2010- 0
2009- 2
2008- 36

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 28, 2015

Yep, Chris Young reached 90+ mph 8 times on that night. He has dealt with some shoulder issues in-between that span, but it’s obvious his adrenaline was pumping as he pitched 3 solid, shutout innings in that outing. In fact, Young’s performance in extra innings possibly has been the key Royals pitching performance in this series, outside of maybe Cueto. All of this from a guy who wasn’t offered a major league contract all winter until the Royals offered him one as Spring Training had already begun.

A couple of big achievements for Kansas City this postseason has put Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar in the Royals postseason record book:

Alcides Escobar has set a #Royals franchise record with his 21st hit this #postseason.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) October 31, 2015

Eric Hosmer has 27 RBI in 28 career postseason games. Only player with more RBI in his 1st 28 career postseason games is Lou Gehrig (33).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 29, 2015

Now, you do need to put these numbers in proper context. There is now an extra round of playoffs(two if you count the Wild Card game)which obviously means more games. But they are still big achievements, especially since a number of Royals appeared in consecutive years in the late 70’s. In fact, players like George Brett, Hal McRae and Willie Wilson played in not only those playoff teams in the 70’s, but also in 1980 and 1985. It really goes to show how solid the Royals bats have been these last two years in postseason play.

Speaking of those Royals bats, the question was asked before the beginning of the World Series ‘how would a strikeout rotation like the Mets have do against a team that doesn’t hardly strike out?’. Well, the first two games appeared to show the Royals ‘make contact’ offense was superior to the Mets power arms. In fact, Jacob deGrom seemed to really struggle against this Royals offense:

Numbers worth repeating: deGrom threw 94 pitches, and of those, the Royals fouled off 23, and had only three missed swings. 3.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 29, 2015

How good and relentless is this #Royals lineup? 2nite deGrom threw 32 fastballs … Not one (NONE) swing and miss. Wow. Swing w/purpose!

— Dan Plesac (@Plesac19) October 29, 2015

Ex-Met watching the game on TV texted me that he couldn't figure out what, but Royals clearly had something on deGrom tipping in stretch.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) October 29, 2015

The other question was how would the Royals, the team with the best average against 95+ fastballs this year, do against a a high velocity Mets team? Well, early on the narrative got shifted on Kansas City:

For all the hype the #Royals got for hitting 95 MPH+. They are 1 for 20 vs 95 MPH+ in WS. 19 for 62 (.306) vs all pitches less than 95 MPH

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 30, 2015

Ah, but the narrative sometime is the narrative for a reason. In the end, the numbers don’t lie. Here is what happened in Game 3:

The #Royals came into tonight 1 for 20 vs 95 MPH+ pitches… Tonight they are 6 for 8.

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 31, 2015

Early on, it appears both teams have adjusted. The Royals have adjusted and hit better against the fastball while the Mets have adjusted, looking more for pitches they can handle and trying to drive them. This normally makes for a solid series.

And finally, there were a lot of questions being asked when Raul A. Mondesi was put on the Royals World Series roster, especially considering he has never appeared in a major league game. Well, you can cross that off the list, as he pinch hit on Friday, striking out as he did something no one has ever done since the beginning of the ‘Live Ball Era’:

#Royals Raul Mondesi is the first player to debut in the #WorldSeries since Bug Holliday on Oct 17, 1885, when games were just exhibition.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) October 31, 2015

It’s a lot of pressure for a young kid, and he does appear to have a bright future in front of him. But if he makes another appearance in this series(besides pinch running) then that means something has gone awfully wrong. I look forward to seeing him soon, but more like 2016 soon.

Obviously, I want the Royals to come away with their first World Championship in 30 years, but I also like the idea of a nice back and forth World Series that goes at least six games. So far this has looked like a good matchup, one that could see even more surprises. We have already seen one classic game, so don’t be shocked if another one is in our future. All I know for sure is that October has become a month of excitement, stress, and an extreme lack of sleep. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way. All that is left to do is to ‘Take the Crown’!

November 1, 2015 0

The Comeback Kids

I know, I know; the Kansas City Royals have been knee deep in the postseason and I’ve been M.I.A. from my little corner of the web. Sorry, my bad. Last year I decided that if Kansas City got to the playoffs I was going to enjoy it and not analyze how the games were transpiring. I decided to do the same this year, as us Royals fans enjoy this tidal wave of success that most are not used to. Since we last talked, the Royals have played three games, winning them all, including the ‘do or die’ Game 5 of the ALDS against Houston. Now the Royals are up 2 games to 1 against Toronto in the ALCS as the teams get ready to play north of the border. Since I have the time, let’s look at what has been going on the last week in the land of the ‘Comeback Kids’.

Let’s start with a few notes from Game 5 of the ALDS:

What a game Johnny Cueto threw last Wednesday?! I know there were a pocket of fans that felt like the Royals had messed up by acquiring Cueto, which I didn’t agree with even if this outing hadn’t happened. The Cueto trade signified that the Royals front office was going for a championship; they had done their part, acquiring Cueto and Zobrist, now it was up to the players to take it home. But if that wasn’t enough for you, his start in Game 5 showed why the Royals picked him up in the first place. All he did was go 8 innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 runs while walking none and striking out 8. This put him in some nice company:

Johnny Cueto: joins Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett & Roger Clemens as AL SP w/ 8 IP, 0 BB and 8+ K in postseason game in Wild Card era.

— Justin Havens (@jayhaykid) October 15, 2015

In fact, Cueto had everything going on Wednesday:

Cueto has location, velocity & change of eye level all game long. It is an impressive sight. #Royals #TakeTheCrown

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) October 15, 2015

The biggest part of his success can be traced to location, location, location:

Johnny Cueto lived on the corners & out of the zone last night. Only throwing 6 of his 91 pitches down the middle. pic.twitter.com/hDLOV6RiW7

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 15, 2015

I don’t know if we are going to see another start like that from Cueto this postseason, but if we do it will probably mean a ‘W’ for the Royals. Cueto was acquired to be the ace; looks like he found the right time to throw like one.

Game 5 also saw a couple of clutch hits for the two Alex’s, Gordon and Rios. Gordon has struggled since his return from injury last month while Rios has struggled most of this season. Both have had moments where they contributed this postseason and Gordon has had a number of crucial extra base hits over the last few games, including his big double in Saturday’s win over the Jays. In fact, he even celebrated after the hit, a rarity for him:

Of the @Royals 36 runs this #postseason, 20 have come in the 7th inning or later. pic.twitter.com/wsDZVosqGV

— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) October 19, 2015

Having Gordon and Rios batting 8-9 in the order makes it even harder on opposing pitchers if they start getting hot. It also means if one guy fails, another can pick them up. That seems to be an ongoing strategy by the Royals throughout this 2015 season.

Speaking of hitting strategies, I’ve noticed over the last couple games that Kansas City is adjusting their approach at the plate late in the game. Early on they seem to be swinging early and often. But once the late innings hit, they seem to take more pitches. Even while down 0-2 or 1-2, their confidence level seems to be sky high and will be more patient than normal, taking pitches that seem to be too close to take. Trust me, I love the approach and the results, and it has helped lead to some big rallies for the team. It seems odd, but as long as it’s working I say keep doing what they are doing.
Edinson Volquez was great on Friday in Game 1 of the ALCS but he did seem to follow a pattern from his previous start against Houston. Volquez looked nasty for the first 5 innings, keeping the ball down, using a combination of his sinker and fastball, while mixing in a change-up from time to time. He had late movement on his pitches and was locating the ball on both corners, although not as much inside as most suspected. Come the 6th, Volquez changed it up (I’m assuming since it was the Jays third time through the order) and started relying heavily on his fastball. Volquez would allow a couple of baserunners but finished off Troy Tulowitzki with a strikeout to end the inning. Volquez would throw over 30 pitches in that inning and I was shocked manager Ned Yost didn’t go to the pen, especially after the walk by Jose Bautista. I’m all for having confidence in your pitcher, but this didn’t seem like the time to let Volquez work through it. Luckily it turned out gold, as no runners scored and Volquez came out unscathed. I don’t recommend doing that again, but Ned Yost has almost been flawless with his decision making since the playoffs last year. It’s hard to argue with it when it works.
Can anyone explain how clutch this team is? Sure, part of it is the combo of putting the ball in play a lot while hardly ever striking out(which kind of goes hand in hand). But if I was to point to one main difference between the 2014 Royals team and this team, it would be the offense and their ability to produce when it is needed most. We can all agree that last year’s playoffs(and possibly more specifically the Wild Card game) gave the younger players on this Royals team the confidence they were lacking. But it has been a welcome surprise to see how much they have elevated their plate appearances this October. Exhibit A is obviously Game 4 of the ALDS in Houston, but you can probably add Game 2 of the ALCS this year to the list. David Price had shut this team down for 6 innings(only allowing one hit, a leadoff single by Alcides Escobar), retiring 18 batters in a row before Ben Zobrist lead-off the bottom of the 7th with a single that dropped between Ryan Goins and Jose Bautista. This led to a 5 run inning for Kansas City and eventually a win. This team does not sweat it if they are down late in the game. I’ve started making the joke that the game doesn’t even begin until the 7th inning, which is only mildly tongue in cheek. The reality is that the Royals are not a team to sleep on late in the game; if anything opposing teams need to tighten the belt when it comes down to the bullpens. Otherwise, you could be looking up at another Royals comeback.
Finally, let’s hop back to that Zobrist single that dropped between Bautista and Goins. After the game, reporters asked Bautista about the play and who exactly was to blame. Let’s just say that it sure appeared as if someone covered their behind:

Jose Bautista not accepting any responsibility in the 7th inning miscommunication bloop hit with Goins. pic.twitter.com/pGc5p5r8jR

— Tim C. (@tpc784) October 18, 2015

To say I was shocked when I saw that would be an understatement. I’ve never thought of Bautista as a bad apple in the clubhouse but this sure has changed my mind. As a veteran, Bautista should not only be there for the younger players but also cover for them even if he feels they are at fault. Bautista didn’t even need to take blame for what happened; all he had to do was talk about how loud the crowd was(and as someone that was in the stadium, it was LOUD) and how he could see how someone could think they heard someone call him off. No matter what, you protect the younger player and don’t allow him to take all the blame. Instead, Bautista threw Goins under the bus. Bautista felt like he didn’t throw Goins under, so I reached out to a former big leaguer to see where he fell on this whole situation:

Nope. It shows that YOU understand the game in a selfless, mature way, unlike the aforementioned "veteran". https://t.co/Rhwo8P1vu5

— Les Norman (@Lnorman22) October 19, 2015

To me, even if Bautista didn’t mean to let the blame fall on Goins, he did just that by flat denying he had any part in the dropped ball. He can feel like it was Goins fault, and it’s very possible it is. But Goins needs to know Bautista has his back; instead, you have to think there is a lack of trust between the two. But hey, Bautista bought him some new swag, so you know, everything is cool.

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Had to bribe him into liking me again 😂😂😂😂 @rgoins2 #Sarcasm #iGotAreallyBigTeam and nobody will disrupt that!!! #OnTheRecord Thanks to Dani and @canadagoose for your kind birthday presents! Not gonna be cold anymore!

A post shared by Jose Bautista (@joeybats19) on Oct 19, 2015 at 10:38am PDT

The Royals dropped Game 3 in Toronto, so Kansas City still leads 2 games to 1 as we get set for Game 4 this afternoon. Chris Young will be throwing for the Royals against knuckleballer R. A. Dickey for Toronto. Logic would say that Young, an extreme flyball pitcher in an extreme hitter’s park would be a recipe for disaster. But the postseason is made for logic to fall to the wayside, so why should we start using logic now? Enjoy the ride, folks. The Royals are in the playoffs and that is really all that matters. All they need is another 6 wins…

October 20, 2015 0

A Royal Comeback

A great man once said “It ain’t over till it’s over”. Nope, I’m not talking about Lenny Kravitz, although he turned that saying into a nice little soft rock hit in the 90’s. Mr. Yogi Berra made that saying famous but the Kansas City Royals are trying to make it a mantra. The Royals have a history in the playoffs of coming back from the jaws of defeat to live another day. Go back to one of my favorite games of all-time, Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, the whole reason I even know who Dane Iorg is. Then there is the most famous Royal comeback, the Wild Card game from 2014, a game that no Royal fan will ever forget. After today, you can go ahead and add Game 4 of the 2015 ALDS to that list.

Headed to the bottom of the 7th inning, the Royals were down by a lone run, 3-2 with Kelvin Herrera was on the mound. Herrera would walk George Springer to lead off the inning, leading to Ryan Madson being brought in to face Carlos Correa. What followed felt like a horror movie or one of those nightmares you have that you can’t wake up from. Correa would hit a 2-run bomb, which would be followed by a solo home run from new Royals nemesis Colby Rasmus and the Astros lead now sat at 6-2. At this point the Royals had gotten 6 hits and 2 walks but was only able to muster 2 runs off of a Salvador Perez home run. So to say it did not look good going to the Top of the 8th would be an understatement. I thought it was over. I really did.

What followed would be the perfect example of why you should never give up on this team. I should probably point out here that the highest Win Probability percentage Houston had was 98.4%, which was when Carlos Gomez singled in the bottom of the 7th with the Astros up 6-2. If you would like to see the full graph of the Astros Win Probability click here. Trust me, it is a fun little look into how quickly things fell apart for Houston. Now, back to the game. Over the last few years there is a fun little saying some of us have on Twitter called “#deathbysingles’, or basically what happens from time to time when the Royals start an offensive attack, which doesn’t always include extra base hits. The Royals have also started calling it ‘going on down the line’, or a way to keep the rally going. It focuses way more on every single plate appearance rather than looking 2-3 batters ahead. Focus on your at bat and try to keep the base runners moving.

What followed can only be explained as #RoyalsDevilMagic, a term coined last year when the Royals would find a way, anyway, to win a ballgame. I felt we saw some of that same magic on Friday in Game 2. Rios(Tips?), Escobar & Zobrist would lead off the attack with singles. Cain would follow with another single to knock in a run, 6-3. The Astros win probability was now down to 70.7%. Eric Hosmer would follow with a key hit to right field to make it 6-4. Before this at bat, Hosmer had been 1 for 15 in the series and it just felt like he needed something(anything?) to get his bat going and to help what had been an issue for this team with runners in scoring position. Houston’s win probability now down to 55.6%. Kendrys Morales would then hit a chopper up the middle(aided by glancing off Tony Sipp’s glove) that looked like a fairly easy play for Carlos Correa. Instead, the ball takes a weird hop(with a little help from Correa taking his eye off the ball. It appeared as if he was already looking at second base) and two runs would score, tying the game at 6. This would be a costly error for the Astros, knocking their win probability down to 24.4%. Funny thing is that the next two at bats felt like the most important at bats in the game. Mike Moustakas would strike out, but not before making it tough on Sipp, an at bat that saw him foul off pitch after pitch. Following that, Houston closer Luke Gregerson would come in to try and stop the bleeding. Houston’s win probability had jumped up to 35.3%.

Gregerson is very familiar to the Royals. He pitched for the A’s last year in the infamous Wild Card game and would let the Royals back into that game, allowing a couple of inherited runners to score. In this game he would come in and face backup catcher Drew Butera. Butera had entered the game an inning earlier after Perez was hit by a pitch. Butera is known for his glove…and for how poor of a hitter he is. But he would have the at bat of the game, pushing Gregerson to a 10 pitch walk, one in which Butera was down 0-2 to begin the plate appearance. Houston’s win probability was back down to 31.7%. This loaded the bases again for Alex Gordon, a man who has been struggling since his return from injury last month. Gordon would hit a grounder that almost got past second baseman Jose Altuve, as Altuve dove for the ball then flipped to first for the second out of the inning. Hosmer would score though and the Royals would have the lead, 7-6. The Astros now had a 23.6% chance of winning. Rios would then walk(second time he had been on base in this inning) followed by an Escobar strike out to end the inning:

Just realized this: Entering the eighth inning, Alex Rios had reached base once in this series. He reached base twice in the eighth.

— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) October 12, 2015

Houston now had a 29.2% chance of victory, down 67.7% from when the inning started. The Houston crowd had been silenced by the Royals offense. Astros fans now understood ‘Death By Singles’.

Now all that stood in Houston’s way of tying the game up was one Wade Davis. Yes, the nearly unhittable and unflappable Wade Davis. Davis was in for a six out save, the first of his career. Just another 1-2-3 inning for Davis, one in which the Astros chance of winning had dropped to 15.5%. The knockout punch was dealt in the top of the inning, as Hosmer would strike again, dealing a death blow with a 2-run homer. The Astros now sat at a 3.3% win expectancy, or next to nil. Davis would close it out in the bottom of the 9th, tying up the series and sealing a Game 5 in Kansas City…

…and there you go. One of the greatest comebacks in Royals history leads to another do or die game on Wednesday. I have no clue what will unfold for Game 5, but it probably can’t top Game 4. I didn’t even mention Mike Moustakas’ words at the end of the 7th inning, probably an “Animal House” style speech:

Mike Moustakas played the Raul Ibanez role this time. He gave a motivational speech, in the form of mostly expletives, before the 8th.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 12, 2015

Mike Moustakas came into @Royals dugout after 7th inning and yelled, "I'm not ready to go home yet!" Now he doesn't have to. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 12, 2015

Or how Salvador Perez feels after the double dose of a foul ball tip and hit by pitch combo within the span of an inning:

Salvador Perez passed two concussion tests today — one on the field and another after he left the game. @FOXSports @Royals @FS1

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 12, 2015

Sal Perez: “I’m good, I’m good. I’ll be behind home plate on Wednesday."

— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) October 12, 2015

Okay, here is all the fallout from this game:

You can't take pictures in the clubhouse, but, man, you should have seen the smile on Alex Gordon's face.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 12, 2015

KC officials were very, very encouraged by Eric Hosmer's last two at-bats. They hope that his swing clicked into place there.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 12, 2015

Dayton Moore: "The percentages of baseball certainly weren’t in our favor. These guys went out and took the game."

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 12, 2015

What a great game. This Royals team is worth all those years I sat through bad baseball, hoping that next year would be “the year”. In fact, I don’t think I have comedown from this game yet:

I'm still wired. What a win. What a team. Waiting all these years for a winner has paid off the last two years! #Royals #TakeTheCrown

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) October 12, 2015

This team is for real. Watch out Houston; this Royals team might have just found their swagger.

October 13, 2015 1

Royals Devil Magic Has Returned

KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 09: Salvador Perez #13 and Tim Collins of the Kansas City Royals celebrate after defeating the Houston Astros in game two of the American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals defeated the Astros with a score of 5 to 4. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) — (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

I’m going to let everyone in on a little secret that most of us longtime Kansas City Royals fans don’t tell anyone: we still sometimes expect things to go wrong. Yep, it’s not healthy and the last 15 months have helped tone down some of that thinking, but it still pops up now and then. To be honest, you can’t blame us. Before last year, the Royals hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1985 and had only one winning season between 1995-2012. Trust me, we have watched so much bad baseball in that span that it’s hard to just push it out of one’s head. So when the Royals were down 4-2 to start the 4th inning, there was a linger of doubt in my mind that they could bounce back. The rational part of my brain said “hey, it’s only two runs” but the irrational side said “please don’t let them go to Houston down two games to none and then have to face Dallas Keuchel”. Luckily, that did not happen, as the Royals pulled out a 5-4 win in Game 2 of the ALDS in dramatic fashion. But it wasn’t just that they averted defeat, oh no. No, the Royals of 2014 showed up and returned some ‘Royals Devil Magic’.

Let’s start with what I felt was a bit of a turning point. In the 5th inning it appeared the Royals changed their philosophy at the plate. Earlier in the game they appeared to be swinging at Scott Kazmir’s pitches early in the count, a strategy that had mixed results. But in the 5th it felt like a light bulb went off in their heads and they realized that home plate Umpire Angel Hernandez wasn’t calling a consistent strike zone and to play that to their advantage. So the Royals started taking more pitches, driving Kazmir’s pitch count up and forcing him to throw strikes. This would pay off in spades come the 6th inning.

Lorenzo Cain would start things off the festivities in the 6th with a 1 out double. Houston would pull Kazmir at this point and bring in lefty specialist Oliver Perez to face Eric Hosmer. The first two pitches Hosmer would flail at and it put him down 0-2 in the count. To say Hosmer did not look good on those two swings would be an understatement. Perez’s slider seemed to have Hosmer’s number, until pitch three, a pitch that Hosmer had no business actually making contact with. In fact, even Hosmer was unsure of what he hit:

Asked what pitch he hit off Oliver Perez for that RBI single, Eric Hosmer said he had no earthly clue.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 10, 2015

What happened though was a little bloop to left center that would drive in Cain and put the Royals down by only one run, 4-3.

This hit was huge. I had even sent a text out when it happened and said that exact thing, as I felt it was a game-changer and looked to remind the Royals they were still in this ballgame. It also set up an array of events that was very reminiscent of 2014, as Kendrys Morales would hit against the Houston shift and poke the ball to right field, followed by a walk to Mike Moustakas to load the bases. Josh Fields was in the game at this point for the Astros and would walk Salvador Perez on four pitches, bringing in the tying run. Seriously, Perez not only hit a solo home run earlier in the game, but also took not only this walk, but pushed another at bat earlier to a 3-2 count before striking out. If you follow the Royals in any manner, you know that Salvy very seldom walks and most of the time is swinging early and often. I don’t know if this is a new way of thinking for him or just a rare occurrence. What I do know is the game was tied now and the Royals confidence was soaring. I want to add a personal note here: from my vantage point in the stadium, the 6th inning made everyone stop and pay attention to what was developing. By the end of the inning no one was milling around to get food or drinks. No, from what I could see everyone had stopped what they were doing and was watching the Royals comeback. There are very few times I have seen this at a ballgame but it was a great sight to see everyone glued into the action.

Moving to the 7th inning(after a great top half of the inning thrown by Kelvin Herrera) and Alcides Escobar would leadoff the inning with a triple, a ball hit over the outfielder’s heads. The Astros notoriously play shallow in the outfield and it helped Esky in this case. Another interesting tidbit from this play: both Astros outfielders on that play(Jake Marisnick and George Springer) said after the game that neither could hear the other talking to each other as they scrambled for the ball at the fence. Yes, the Kansas City crowd was that loud!

Every player I talked to in the #Astros clubhouse tipped their cap to the crowd here at The K. Pat yourself on the back, #Royals fans.

— Ryan Witkowski (@RyanWitkowski) October 9, 2015

This would bring Ben Zobrist to the plate and he would plate a single to left and bring in Escobar and give the Royals the lead:

A couple of tidbits here. First, that was the first lead the Royals would take in the series. Second, this was another aggressive at bat for Kansas City and I tend to think that is what the Royals need to do the rest of the playoffs. By nature this is an aggressive team that likes to use their speed and ability to put the ball in play to mess with other team’s defenses. In fact, very little of that aggressive attack was used in September, a month where the Royals struggled. Hopefully the Royals build off of this game and start employing a more aggressive attitude.

One final pivotal play. In the Top of the 9th and Wade Davis would issue a walk to pinch hitter Preston Tucker. Carlos Gomez would pinch run, and before even throwing another pitch would attempt a pick-off at first. The ump would call Gomez safe on a close throw, but the Royals would ask for a review of the play. The call would be reversed and Kansas City would go from one out and tying run on base to two outs and no one on.

A really big play for the Royals and Davis would get Jose Altuve out next to wrap up the win and the series was now tied at one game apiece headed to Houston.

So will the offense that showed up Friday afternoon stick around for the next couple games in Houston? There really is no way to tell but that game really felt like a momentum shift for this ballclub as they get set to face Keuchel in Game 3 on Sunday. The last time Kansas City faced Keuchel was in Kansas City back in July the Royals employed an all right-handed lineup against him and the Royals would win by a score of 5-1. Yes, Keuchel is going to be a tough challenge but he is not unbeatable. If the Royals can be aggressive at the plate and on the bases(and if Edinson Volquez can hold the Astros in check) then the Royals could be looking at another ‘W’ in the series. There has never been a greater time to step on the throttle and show the world what you are made of. If Kansas City plays like they did on Friday then it could be an early offseason for Houston. I might never completely rid myself of worrying about Kansas City collapsing late in the game, but I have never believed so much in a team like I have this one. The bad times might not ever completely go away, but the good times are the games I will hold onto forever.

October 10, 2015 0

It’s Not Easy Being On the Royals Playoff Roster

It’s that time of year, where the leaves turn colors, the hoodies are dragged out of the closet and, if you are lucky, your favorite baseball team can start thinking about the playoffs. This also means that as a fan you can start piecing together how you think your team’s playoff roster will look. As a Kansas City Royals fan, we never knew this was a ‘thing’, since up until last year we never had to worry about the Royals playing October baseball. But with Kansas City’s magic number currently sitting at ‘3’, it is pretty safe to say they will be playing past October 4th and hopefully deeper into the postseason. With that said, I was asked over the weekend what I thought the Royals playoff roster would look like. So here is my guess, although to be honest it looked a bit different than on Friday.

Catchers(2): Salvador Perez, Drew Butera

Infielders(5): Eric Hosmer, Ben Zobrist, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Christian Colon

Obviously, this was fairly easy, since you have the four starting infielders and a backup. Originally I felt like Omar Infante would get picked over Colon, despite the fact that Colon is more versatile whereas Infante is solely a second baseman. Then Omar came up with an oblique injury on Friday, which could sideline him for close to a month if not longer. As most also know, Zobrist can also play the outfield so he could almost be counted as an infielder and an outfielder if necessary.

Outfielders(5): Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Rios, Jarrod Dyson, Jonny Gomes

There was some debate just a week ago that Rios could be on the outside looking in for a roster spot due to his poor performance most of this year. Then he went out last week, continuing his hot hitting since his return from the chickenpox(which is not a minor league team in the Frontier League) and pretty much sewed up a spot for the playoffs. In my mind this pushed Paulo Orlando off the team, as I think the Royals will want Jonny Gomes’ bat for pinch hitting late in the game or against a tough lefthander. I had an argument with someone over Gomes being on the team, as I am of the belief that he was acquired for the sole purpose of being used in the playoffs while this other person who will not be named believes he won’t because the Royals aren’t using him much. I guess we will see, but in the playoffs I can’t see the reasoning behind six outfielders, or having Orlando on the team for solely defensive purposes. But, there might be a spot for him otherwise, which I will get to later.

DH(1): Kendrys Morales

Starting Pitchers(4): Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Kris Medlen

This seems pretty self-explanatory, especially once Danny Duffy was sent to the bullpen. I still laugh when thinking about some of the Royals fans believing that Cueto might not be on this roster if he continued to under-perform. The wild card in this group is Yordano Ventura; if he pitches like he has over the last 4-6 weeks then he will be a solid number two. If he reverts back to his form from earlier this year there could be an issue. I also think Medlen could be a major player, which seems a bit inconceivable considering where he was at when the season started(starting the climb back from Tommy John Surgery). This isn’t the most solid group but if they can go 5-6 innings every game in the playoffs, hopefully the bullpen can do the rest.

Relievers(8): Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Franklin Morales, Danny Duffy, Luke Hochevar, Chris Young, Greg Holland

Speaking of, the bullpen is still a strong suit for this Kansas City team but not quite the monster it was last year. Greg Holland has fallen from grace and it was announced earlier today that Wade Davis is the closer going forward while Holland’s role on the team is to be determined. It also came to light that Holland has been dealing with an elbow issue since the All-Star break and isn’t reliable enough to close games for Kansas City. I’m not shocked to learn Holland was hurt, as I have suspected it most of this year, but this puts a giant question mark into the playoff roster. Can Holland be relied on to perform in any close game, even if that means coming in as early as the 6th inning? Or is he past the point of being trusted in such a situation and be completely left off the roster? I really don’t have an answer to this, but I also know manager Ned Yost is a loyal person and might keep Holland around for that reason only. The other options would be to leave him off while adding Paulo Orlando to the team, trusting that a 7-man bullpen is good enough in the ALDS, or you add young pitcher Miguel Almonte to the pen. Almonte has been a mixed bag so far in September and probably isn’t ready for the big stage, but he does have electric stuff and if used in the proper situation could be a viable option. IF Holland is left off the roster, Orlando very well could be the one given the nod.

The other roster question for the bullpen is whether to go with Chris Young or Jeremy Guthrie as the long reliever. I know there some Royals fan snickering right now for even mentioning Guthrie, but hear me out. Over the weekend I felt like it could be Guthrie, since he was given the starting nod once Duffy was shuffled to the pen and because Chris Young hasn’t been used much over the last couple months. In fact, in August Young didn’t throw more than an inning in any outing, and only appeared in five games during the entire month. Young does have a 2 and a 3 inning outing so far in September, but I would imagine his arm isn’t stretched out like it normally would be. Plus, I couldn’t imagine Young, an extreme fly ball pitcher, to see any action in Toronto, New York, or even Arlington or Houston’s ballparks. Those ballparks are pretty much all hitter’s parks, or in other words a nightmare for a guy who gives up lots of fly balls. So the only action Young would see would probably be at Kauffman Stadium and that cuts down how often you could use him. But then Guthrie looked atrocious on Tuesday night against Seattle and pretty much assured that he would be left off of any and all playoff rosters. Great guy, but Guthrie has had an awful season that isn’t getting better. So Young gets the nod over Guthrie, but hopefully there won’t be much of a need for him come October.

So there you go, my guess as to what the Royals first round playoff roster will look like. Like I said, there could be a few slight changes to this and with a week and a half left in the season there is the possibility someone else could get hurt or there could be a need for a bit more depth in an area I hadn’t thought of. At the end of the day it is great to even be able to have this conversation, no matter how much bickering goes on about which player stays or goes. With September being a rough month, I think I speak for lots of Royals fans by saying “let’s just start the playoffs already”. Trust me, it will be here soon enough, as we get to engulf ourselves in another ‘Blue October’.

September 23, 2015 0

Free As a Bird: Orioles Continue Royals Slide

It feels like weeks since I have done a review of a Kansas City Royals series and in some ways it has. Life sure has a way of getting in the way of fun, although there is little joy in Mudville right now. That’s right, the Kansas City Royals are on a downward projectory with only a few weeks left in this regular season and the villagers are freaking out. Well, some of them are. I am not. In fact, I say lets get this losing cycle out of the way. The Royals struggled a bit this past weekend in Baltimore, a series that saw the Orioles take two of three from Kansas City. There was some good, some bad and even the downright ugly. Let’s meander over and see what all this series meant for the Royals of Kansas City.

Kansas City Royals' Mike Moustakas, right, celebrates his grand slam with teammates Ben Zobrist (18), Kendrys Morales and Lorenzo Cain (6) in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) — (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Series MVP: Mike Moustakas

On the surface, it wasn’t a blow away series for ‘The Man We Call Moose’. But it’s hard not to give this achievement for one lone game when it is one of the best in franchise history. On Saturday, Moustakas went 3 for 5, hitting 2 home runs and driving in 9, which is a new Royals record:

.@Mooose_8 with 9 RBI. That's a @Royals single-game record…by two!

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) September 12, 2015

The 9 RBI by Moustakas is tied for the most in an MLB game since Garret Anderson had 10 for the Angels in 2007

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) September 12, 2015

So what is even better about this? How about the fact that this monster achievement could have entirely been the source of a ‘mechanical adjustment’:

Mike Moustakas made a slight mechanical adjustment just before he batted in the sixth. In his next three AB, he drove in nine runs.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 13, 2015

Still not impressed?

Mike Moustakas; first player since 1920 (when RBIs were first officially tracked) to drive in 8 runs after the 5th inning in a game #elias

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) September 13, 2015

Here is the 2nd home run, the one that pushed him to 9 RBI’s in the game:

Overall, Moustakas went 4 for 14 in this series, with a total of 11 RBI’s. Over the last month we have gone from Moustakas going back to his pull-happy days of 2014 before reverting back to the Moose we saw earlier this season, that opposite field hitter we call ‘Oppo-Moose’. It has been a crazy season for Moustakas, one that was more of a struggle than any of us knew. Word got out this weekend about his mother passing away last month, as she had been battling cancer over the last couple of years. It has been something Moustakas has been dealing with for awhile now and I’m sure it weighed heavy over the last month. Hopefully Moose can finish the year strong and possibly even reach a plateau, like that 20 home run mark, since he is only two away.

(Most Talked About)Pitching Performance of the Series: Johnny Cueto

The most talked about topic with the Royals nowadays is the performance of Johnny Cueto and why he is struggling so much. It’s pretty obvious that Cueto has hit a bump in the road, which wasn’t helped by his start on Sunday night. Cueto went 6.1 innings, giving up 11 hits and 8 runs(7 earned) while walking 1 and striking out 3. It gets worse when you go back to August 21st, which is five starts ago and when this stretch of confusion sat in for Cueto. In those five starts, Cueto has thrown 26.1 innings, giving up 48 hits and 30 runs(28 earned) while walking 5 and striking out 20. That leaves Cueto with an ERA of 9.57 and opposing hitters have a BAbip of .417. It’s even worse when looking at hitters slash line against him: .390/.411/.675. So what is going on? Oh, there are theories and so far no one theory is the sole answer. The Royals felt like he was tipping his pitches for awhile, or that he wasn’t getting as much movement on his pitches as he normally does:

Dave Eiland believes Johnny Cueto has been tipping his off-speed stuff. Hope is Cueto corrects that tonight.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 13, 2015

That was debunked Sunday, as his pitches had good life and there were no noticeable tipping going on. Injured? He says no and has been saying no for weeks. Lost command of his fastball and hung some off-speed pitches? Early on, yes, but not really recently. He has been leaving more pitches up in the strike zone than normal, as normally he would keep the ball down more. There is also this; Rob Neyer recently wrote a piece on Cueto and I found this very telling:

One odd thing about Cueto’s pitching in recent weeks: the range of speeds on his fastball seems to have gotten significantly smaller. Prior to his last seven starts, his fastballs in a game typically ranged from 87 to 96 miles an hour. In his last seven starts, though? Cueto hasn’t thrown a single fastball slower than 91. His two-seam fastball and his change-up are his second and third pitches, and those also have shown less variance lately. Which might suggest that he’s a little too amped up, and is simply overthrowing.

So there is that as well. Funny thing, his strikeout to walk ratio with the Royals is better than when he was with Cincinnati, in fact better than at any other time in his career over a full season. More than anything it appears he has hit a slump where he is leaving the ball up and losing confidence. That has made some of us ask some very poignant questions:

Honest question: At what point does Yordano Ventura start Game 1 of the ALDS, not Cueto? #Royals #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) September 14, 2015

My thought? I don't think we are there yet. Not 100%. But if he continues to struggle, he isn't starting Game 1 of the ALDS. #Royals

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) September 14, 2015

Some Royals fans have suggested he be left off the playoff roster. That isn’t happening. He still has about 4 starts left this season and after that will determine his fate. At worse he comes out of the pen, or becomes the fourth starter. It would be insane to keep Cueto off the playoff roster considering his status in the league over the last five years. I know I have my concerns, but I’m also not majorly worried…yet. It does appear that a wise sage doesn’t agree with my estimate:

Denny Matthews says he wouldnt give the ball to Johnny Cueto in the playoffs as of now. "You go with whoever is giving you the best outings"

— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) September 14, 2015

It will be interesting to follow. What we do know is that even if this keeps up, the Cueto trade isn’t the worse in Royals history:

For anyone who says the trade for Cueto is worst in #Royals history, I say this: Ed Hearn for David Cone. Nuff said. #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) September 14, 2015

It sure seemed as if Moustakas and Cueto were the only talking points in this series, but they weren’t. A visit to ‘Charm City’ brought some news and notes for these Royals:

I mentioned that Moustakas had his one monster game, but Lorenzo Cain put together a good series for the Royals. Cain was 4 for 13, with 2 home runs and 3 RBI’s, with both homers coming on Friday night. Cain is continuing his push in the American League MVP race, one in which he will probably come up short but should end up in the top five. In fact, Cain is hitting .310/.362/.643 so far in September and looks to continue that into October as the Royals push for their first championship since 1985.
Royals manager Ned Yost has started using a more logical batting order as of late, moving high OBP hitters like Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist batting 1-2 while Alcides Escobar has slid back down to 9th in the order:

The new top of the Royals' lineup will be really difficult for opposing teams to deal with–Gordon, Zobrist both good OBP, + work the count.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 14, 2015

I’ve been highly critical of Yost over the years, but since last October it’s almost like he has become a wizard and figured out that logical managing is easier than he thought. I love this move and have zero complaints about it. Good job by Neddy. There. I said it.

If there is a major concern I have with this club, it is the bullpen. One issue is the lingering physical issues Wade Davis continues to battle:

Wade Davis says he should be good to go tomorrow. Just tightness in his biceps area. "Big muscle stuff. I should be fine." #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) September 12, 2015

As if that wasn’t enough, Greg Holland’s velocity has fallen and it can’t get up:

Greg Holland's velocity trend since May 1 is kind of terrifying.. pic.twitter.com/AlEED8PodU

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 13, 2015

…and Holland's spin rate has gone with it, too. pic.twitter.com/XprvuI0Lrn

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 13, 2015

But there’s more! Looking at the bullpen’s numbers over the last month and they are posting a -0.1 WAR and a 4.71 FIP, both ugly numbers. Strikeout and walk rates aren’t too bad but the ERA is around 3.79 in that span, very human for this stellar pen. It gets worse. Over the last two weeks, they are the worst bullpen in the American League, posting a -0.5 WAR, a 5.91 FIP and an ERA of 6.00. Their strikeout rate in this period is the middle of the pack, but the walk rate is the second highest in the league and their HR/9 is only ahead of the Red Sox. This is alarming since this group has been one of the hallmarks of this team the last few years and what was once a guarantee now seems like a question mark. Hopefully the bullpen ship can be righted before October, otherwise more rocky waters could be on the way.

Finally, don’t look now but someone has woken up Alex Rios! Rios was 5 for 10 in this series, with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI’s against Baltimore. In fact, since returning from his bout with the chickenpox, Rios has a line of .353/.368/.647 and looks to be positioning himself for a spot on the playoff roster. There have been many discussions about whether or not Rios will be on it, considering you have Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando as better defensive options and Jonny Gomes as a major bench contributor, but if I was asked right now I would say he is on it. He might never have the power he had even three years ago, but if he can hit like he has over the last week than he has a valuable spot on the roster.

Tweets of Royalty

I still find it weird that the #Royals are the top team in the league in September and @BretSabes hasn't tossed a single pitch for them.

— Eric Kabakoff (@erickabakoff) September 11, 2015

#Royals No. 5 prospect Bubba Starling homers and steals two bases as @nwanaturals sweep Texas League semifinals. http://t.co/DQGlFw1McU

— MiLB.com (@MiLB) September 12, 2015

fWAR leaderboard
B. Harper (8.6)
J. Donaldson (8.0)
Y. Cespedes (7.0)
M. Trout (7.0)
J. Votto (6.8)
P. Goldschmidt (6.1)
L. Cain (5.8)

— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) September 12, 2015

Johnny Cueto has as many Ls in 8 starts for KC as he had over 24 starts in 2011 http://t.co/T5WIgkujRS pic.twitter.com/jujQIErFta

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) September 12, 2015

16 teams in baseball have hit more batters than the Royals.

— Clark Fosler (@cfosroyalsauth) September 12, 2015

45: the number of batters hit by KC pitchers this year. 46: number hit by Baltimore pitchers

— Clark Fosler (@cfosroyalsauth) September 12, 2015

This is what happens when you set a franchise record. #ForeverRoyal pic.twitter.com/FdGghPr86Q

— #VoteRoyals (@Royals) September 13, 2015

Mooooooooose. http://t.co/MO2MJbdaGq #ThrillOfTheGame https://t.co/akQNGItEg9

— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2015

Most solo HR:
HOU 119
BAL 113
TOR 109
NYY 104
SEA 100
TBD 96
NYM 96
ANA 95
…..
SFG 64
KCR 64
PHI 60
ATL 54 https://t.co/lfQmseeu38

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) September 13, 2015

Most @baseball_ref WAR position players

Harper8.9
Donaldson8.2
Goldschmidt7.7
Trout7.6
Cain7.2
Votto7.0
Kiermaier6.5
Machado6.4
Cespedes6.2

— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) September 13, 2015

Royals Happy With O’Hearn’s Power Display http://t.co/WOooKZ8D7G

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) September 13, 2015

Unless something changes right quick, Johnny Cueto is losing himself tens of millions of dollars. He still looks like a mess right now.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 14, 2015

That's Johnny Cueto? Why does he keep pitching like Runelvys Hernandez? https://t.co/z6PlxUFWvP

— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) September 14, 2015

Johnny Cueto has given up four homers in a game for the second time in his career. #Royals

— Kansas City Stats (@KansasCityStats) September 14, 2015

Johnny Cueto insists he is fine physically. And he says he will "answer the bell" in October. #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) September 14, 2015

Ned on if Cueto's struggles will alter his October rotation: “Not right now. But it may if this continues.” #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) September 14, 2015

Only twenty games remain in this 2015 regular season for the Royals as their ‘Magic Number’ sits at 11. I think we can all agree this isn’t how we pictured things wrapping up in September, but Kansas City now has some work to do as time does start to run out. The Royals travel to Cleveland for four games this week, a great chance for this team to get back on track and knock off a few wins so some of the panicky Royals fans can calm down and enjoy the next month. Look at it this way; they can either slump now or slump once the playoffs begin. I will take now. It seemed elementary just a month ago but now it might take a little bit of work. If the Royals are going to clinch soon, they are going to have to do it within the division. Honestly, that’s how this should go down. Step 1, get back to basics. Simple as that.

September 15, 2015 2

Ray of Sunshine: Royals Beat Tampa Bay

In the old days, you would play all the teams in your designated league the same amount of times. It didn’t matter whether you were a Central division team or an East team, you play each other the same amount of times as the teams within your own division. That was changed a few years ago and teams now play the teams within your division the majority of the time. That means a team like the Kansas City Royals only play the teams in the “other” division twice per year(one at home, one on the road). So this series with the Tampa Bay Rays wrapped up the two teams time together this year, as the Royals won the previous series at Kauffman Stadium. That series saw the Royals sweep Tampa Bay; this one saw the Royals take two of three. This put the Royals at 80 wins with 32 games remaining and leads to a number of varying topics coming out of this series at ‘The Trop’.

Series MVP: Lorenzo Cain

This section felt like it could be a toss-up, with both Kendrys Morales and Mike Moustakas getting heavy consideration. But the more consistent hitter in this series was Lorenzo Cain, who went 3 for 9 with 2 runs, 2 RBI’s, 4 walks and 2 stolen bases. Cain did what he has done for most of this year, which is basically a little bit of everything. I decided to take a deeper look into just how good Cain has been and I have had a hard time finding something that Cain has done worse this year than last. Walk percentage? Up. Strikeout percentage? Down. Slugging and On Base percentage are both up as is his wRC+ and WAR. He is hitting the ball harder and hitting the ball more consistently to all fields than ever before in his career. Literally the only thing that is down from last year is Cain’s BAbip, which is at .357 from last year’s .380. But the argument there can even be made that this is due almost entirely to his increased home run numbers. There has been a lot of discussion about what the Royals will do once Alex Gordon is activated and just how the lineup will shake out. I’m pretty sure that no matter the changes in the batting order, Cain will remain in the third spot, his home for this entire 2015 campaign. It’s even conceivable at this point that Cain will end up in the top five of the voting for the American League MVP race, as he should:

AL MVP race, by WAR

Trout 7.3
Donaldson 7.2
Keuchel 6.4
Gray 6.2
Machado 6.2
Cain 6.2
Kiermaier 5.7
Kinsler 5.5
Cruz 5.5
Price 5.3

— High Heat Stats MLB (@HighHeatStats) August 29, 2015

Top 5 AL WAR: Donaldson (+7.1) edges Trout (+6.9) in WAR.http://t.co/ekzRdH9LKw pic.twitter.com/EeNPkFqjZG

— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) August 29, 2015

It has been a marquee season for a player who at one time we just worried he wouldn’t be able to stay healthy, let along put up numbers that would put him into consideration for the highest honor in the league.

Pitching Performance of the Series: Edinson Volquez

When the season wraps up, I am going to go back and check just how many times Volquez got this honor, since it seems to happen quite frequently. Volquez spun another good game on Friday night, going 6.2 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs(1 earned) while walking 2 and striking out 5. It was another quality start for ‘Easy Eddie’ and gave him a game score of 59. At this point Volquez is probably in line to be the #2 or #3 starter in the rotation in the playoffs and has earned that right this year. I’ve asked the question before ‘which Dayton Moore signing has been more important this offseason, Kendrys Morales or Volquez?’ and as great of an impact as Morales has had on the Royals lineup(and it has been a big impact), I tend to lean toward Volquez. Earlier in the season(before the Johnny Cueto trade), Volquez was the only consistent starter in the rotation as Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy and Jeremy Guthrie all struggled. Volquez has been the stopper for this rotation, a guy who holds the other team in check and allows his team to win, thwarting off any threats or long losing streaks. Without Volquez being a steady force in the rotation, I’m not sure the Royals sit here right before September with the biggest division lead in the league. Without Volquez, this very well could be a much tighter race that what lingers in front of them.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Rene Rivera, second from right, tags out batter Kansas City Royals' Kendrys Morales (25) after tagging out Royals' Ben Zobrist, right, to complete a double play during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rays won 3-2. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson) — (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

TOOTBLAN or Foul Ball?

Sure, the Royals won this series. But most of what has been discussed has been a pivotal play in Sunday’s game that Kansas City lost. The Royals are down in the Top of the 8th inning, 3-2, with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out. Morales hits a little chopper down the first base line and then…

On first instinct I felt that was a TOOTBLAN(Thrown Out On The Basepaths Like A Nincompoop) on Morales’ part and one of the worst plays I have seen this year. But the more I watch the play I tend to think even though it is bad, there were a number of issues that should be pointed out. First off, the ball appeared to be foul once James Loney grabbed it. In fact I am assuming that is why Morales didn’t run. There was also no definite call from the home plate umpire, who had the best view of that ball. The first base ump called the ball fair, which I believe is what the home plate ump went off of. I should probably point out here that the play is non-reviewable, which is a bigger conundrum for Kansas City. Saying all that, some blame falls on Morales. He had to have seen the first base umpire call the ball fair, which meant he should have run. Even if he didn’t see it, you should assume it is fair unless otherwise called. I get he thought it was foul and in the postgame manager Ned Yost said “we don’t run out foul balls”. That is fine, except in a scenario like that you run and ask questions later. That major flaw is on Morales as he should have ran no matter what. It looks really bad when a rally is snuffed out while you are just standing at home plate, an easy out for the catcher to make. This might not be a TOOTBLAN at the end of the day, but it is still bad fundamental baseball, which is a shock since the Royals don’t make many fundamental errors. This probably cost the Royals at least a chance of tying up the game and maybe even costing them a victory. Hopefully it is remembered and next time the batter runs to first, foul or not.

Kansas City Royals' Mike Moustakas hits a RBI-double off Tampa Bay Rays starter Jake Odorizzi during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius) — (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

It was an exciting three games at Tropicana Field and much more went on than just what is above this line. For more on the Royals and Rays series, read on:

The Rays played a tribute video to former Ray and current Royal Ben Zobrist before Friday night’s game. It was a great gesture to a guy who played many years in Tampa and had become just as synonomous to the team as Evan Longoria. The Rays even acknowledged his greatness with some sabermetric love:

As part of their video tribute to Ben Zobrist, the Rays noted that he led MLB in WAR from 2009 to 2012.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 28, 2015

It also appears as if Zobrist will be taking over for Omar Infante once Alex Gordon is activated from the disabled list:

Ben Zobrist will "mostly" play second base when Alex Gordon returns from the disabled list, Ned Yost says.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 28, 2015

One can only hope that Kansas City has made a great impression on Zobrist and makes his decision this offseason a little bit easier. It would help though if Zobrist doesn’t make any enemies:

Ben Zobrist hasn't bought Rusty Kuntz that leafblower. Rusty picked out the one he wanted, but he's worried it's unmanageable for his wife.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 29, 2015

Don’t cross the Kuntz!

A lot of pub has gone Kendrys Morales way as of late due to his ability to drive in runs with 2 outs in an inning:

Kendrys Morales: 46 2-out RBI this season, most in MLB

He's hitting .331 with 7 HR and 46 RBIs with 2 outs

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 29, 2015

There is also his ability to hit a home run in the catwalk at ‘The Trop’:

You always hear how each stadium has their own set of quirky rules. Wrigley Field has the ivy, Houston has Tal’s Hill(for now), and Tropicana has those catwalks. Luckily the call went Kansas City’s way and Morales came away with a homer. Folks, that stadium is ugly. Let’s hope they get a new one before MLB decides to ship them up to Montreal.

The Royals bullpen as of late feels like the walking wounded. Wade Davis had back issues, Greg Holland has been dealing with a cranky elbow(I have to feel that has been going on most of this season) and now Ryan Madson has a dead arm:

Ryan Madson is dealing with a wicked case of dead arm. He hasn't pitched since Aug. 22, and his right arm is still sore to the touch.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 29, 2015

This was to be expected. Madson hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2011 and has thrown 51 innings so far this year. Hopefully a little rest will help keep him healthy and available for the playoffs. Now if only the Royals could find a cure for Jeremy Guthrie’s “Longball-itis”.

Speaking of Guthrie, he held a little bit of a friendly competition with the Tampa Bay ballboy this weekend:

Advantage: @TheRealJGuts. http://t.co/l1batGLuOF pic.twitter.com/JqclnoEvvj

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 30, 2015

I often feel like Major League Baseball isn’t always the best at promoting their players and why they are so great. Guthrie might be relegated to long reliever status and might not appear in very many games going forward, but he still managed to have fun and put a smile on that kid’s face. THIS is the stuff you promote about your game. THIS is just one of many examples about what is so great about this game and it’s players.

Yet another good series for Mike Moustakas this weekend, as he compiled another accomplishment to his long list of new career hights this season:

.@Mooose_8 has 10 extra-base hits in his last 9 games. He also has hit 5th 2-double game of 2015 after 6 in career entering season.

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) August 29, 2015

Moose has also shown that he can be a tough out when he needs to be:

Toughest hitters behind in the count: Goldschmidt (.325), Miggy (.318), Moustakas (.298), Kinsler (.293), Hosmer (.288).

— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) August 29, 2015

A lot of praise this season will go to Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer, but Mike Moustakas has put together a season he should be proud of. Lets hope he finishes strong and shows that early season surge was not a fluke.

Danny Duffy had some good and some bad in his outing this past Sunday. On the positive, Duffy figured out early that the umpire was calling the low strike and took advantage of it, striking out six in his 5 innings of work. Craig Brown of Royals Authority went into greater detail about Duffy’s outing, and like him I still cringe at Duffy’s pitch count. Duffy threw 99 pitches in those 5 innings when the Royals probably would have preferred he go 6 or 7 innings. The difference in this start was not balls thrown by Duffy but the foul balls. Duffy had 22 pitches fouled off in this game and overall this season batters have fouled off 19% of pitches he throws. I think we all would like to see a more efficient Danny Duffy, but for that to happen he has to limit his pitch count to go deeper into the game. Because of this there is a good chance he could be pitching out of the bullpen come October rather than as a starter. At this point, it would appear Kris Medlen could be taking Duffy’s spot in the rotation come playoff time.
Finally, it appears the Platinum Glove Award winner will be returning this week:

It is "reasonable" to expect Alex Gordon will be recalled next week, Ned Yost says. I bet you see him in KC on Tuesday.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 29, 2015

Gordon looks like he didn’t miss a beat while playing in AAA Omaha:

Alex Gordon hits a ground ball double down the left field line. Now batting .417 (10-for-24) in his 7 games with Omaha.

— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) August 30, 2015

The big question now is where will Gordon bat in the lineup upon his return? The 6th spot where he was hitting earlier in the year is now inhabited by Mike Moustakas, who has been hitting lights out as of late. Honestly, the best idea is to bat him leadoff, sending Alcides Escobar down in the lineup, especially considering his hitting throughout August:

Worst hitters in August (wRC+)
J. Bruce (-6)
K. Wong (26)
J. Segura (29)
T. Saladino (31)
A. Rodriguez (34)
A. Escobar (39)
J. Lowrie (42)

— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) August 29, 2015

Batting Gordon and Zobrist at the top of the lineup makes the most sense, since those are your two best OBP hitters. If the Royals really want to maximize their offense, placing Gordon near the top of the lineup would be the wisest move. I guess we will find out Tuesday what Ned Yost has in mind when it comes to lineup construction going forward.

Tweets of Royalty

The top four Royals hitters may be better offensively than the top four Blue Jays hitters. http://t.co/OLsSt6qxzZ pic.twitter.com/DeaqOcLIWs

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 28, 2015

Lowest OBP (min: 400 PA) in Royals history:

1) Omar Infante, 2015: .231
2) Darryl Motley, 1985: .257

Infante is the worst by *26* points.

— Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) August 28, 2015

Evidence of @Royals sustained success: They have AL's best record from 2013 to present, at 253-198 (.561). @FOXSports @FSKansasCity

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 28, 2015

Greg Holland's 5.31 BB/9 ranks 375th among the 380 pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings this season.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 28, 2015

Current odds to win 2015 World Series, from @fangraphs

LAD 19.3%
TOR 12.7
HOU 11.6
KCR 10.6
STL 9.9
PIT 8.1
NYM 6.9
NYY 6.8
CHC 5.7
WSN 2.2

— High Heat Stats MLB (@HighHeatStats) August 28, 2015

#Royals need to go 21-13 to reach 100 wins

— Dan Hirsch (@DanHirsch) August 29, 2015

Kyle Zimmer's line: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB & a season-high 6 Ks for @nwanaturals. @Royals' #3: http://t.co/woasBJXPZ5 pic.twitter.com/cQrGU7Cg5t

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 29, 2015

Kendrys Morales, 2015:

No one on: .201/.250/.308.
Man on 1st: .333/.396/.552.
RISP: .350/.416/.614.

Reproducible? No. Valuable? Hell yes.

— Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) August 29, 2015

Royals: reach 80 wins before recording 50 losses for 2nd time in franchise history (1st time since 1980)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 30, 2015

.@Royals end August with 19 wins, tied for most in any month since August of 1989 (21 wins). 7th straight winning month.

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) August 30, 2015

Now on http://t.co/h5NSY7VuJN: #Royals No. 5 prospect Bubba Starling lays out, makes a diving catch for @nwanaturals. http://t.co/CJpYqjnEVH

— MiLB.com (@MiLB) August 31, 2015

. @DustyColeman8's tarp-scaling catch for @OMAStormChasers is definitely worth a second look. pic.twitter.com/6L0H243r3b

— MiLB.com (@MiLB) August 30, 2015

Highest ERA+ since start of 2014 season (min 300 IP):
Kershaw 179
Greinke 164
Arrieta 162
Keuchel 151
Cueto 148
Gray 144
Sale 143
Kluber 136

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) August 28, 2015

We now venture into the final month of the regular season and the Royals still have a few items to check off their ‘Want List’:

30 – Games above .500
32 – Games remaining
20 – Magic # for division
27 – Magic # for top seed
13 – Lead on MIN
6 – Lead on TOR#Royals

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) August 30, 2015

The beginning of that journey begins on Tuesday, as the Tigers stroll into town for three games at ‘The K’, followed by three against the White Sox. Tuesday night’s game could be fun, as Johnny Cueto faces off against Justin Verlander, who will be making his first start since he almost no-hit the Angels. Tuesday should also be fun, as it looks to be the return of Alex Gordon. The Royals are in the driver’s seat as the playoffs loom and it is the pole position we have all yearned to be in this spot for the last 30 years. Buckle up, kiddos; we are getting ready to go on a fantastic ride.

September 1, 2015 0

Thorn in the Paw: Royals Pounce on Tigers

After a series sweep of the White Sox, the Royals welcomed the Detroit Tigers to Kauffman Stadium. Last week, Detroit took two of three games from the Royals and overall made Kansas City not look like the team with the biggest divisional lead in the major leagues. The Royals so far this year have been remarkable better at home than on the road(39-20 to 29-26) so the hope was this series would not be a repeat of the one in Detroit. In fact, it was not, as the Royals would take two of three from the Tigers and were it not for a lead blown by the bullpen on Wednesday night, this might have been a sweep for the Royals. It was a banner series, so let’s slide into this set and look at the preceedings.

Series MVP: Lorenzo Cain

For the second straight series, Lorenzo Cain showed why he is an honest to goodness MVP candidate this year. Cain was 8 for 12 in these three games, getting 3 doubles, a home run that might still be in flight, and 3 RBI’s. His slugging percentage this series was a ridiculous 1. 167 and almost raised his OPS this series 30 points. I talked about the numbers Cain has put up this season earlier this week and the numbers keep popping up for Cain:

Lorenzo Cain's 27th double increases his 2-out AVG to .400 – best in the American League.

— KCSportsNation (@KCSportsNation) August 12, 2015

Lorenzo Cain has nine total bases tonight. Only Royals to do that this year: Ben Zobrist (August 1), Kendrys Morales (May 22).

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 12, 2015

Since 2014, only Trout and Donaldson have been worth more WAR than Lorenzo Cain http://t.co/cOumPrFDIC pic.twitter.com/O0yV8YBpMp

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) August 12, 2015

Lorenzo Cain records his 46th extra-base hit & is now on pace for 66 this season, which would be the third-most by a @Royals CF all-time.

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) August 13, 2015

We’ve heard the last few years from manager Ned Yost that Cain showed much more power in batting practice then he would during the game. This year, Cain’s pitch recognition has vastly improved, to where he understands which pitches he can drive and which ones he can’t. It has made a drastic difference in his offensive production and has kept him in the 3rd spot in the batting order this year. You add in his top shelf defense(which is in the top 15 of baseball in defensive runs saved) and you have the biggest driving force in the Royals lineup. Having a bat like Cain’s(and his consistency most of this year) has to make Royals management comfortable, knowing he can lead the team offensively come October.

Lean back and marvel at the Lorenzo Cain lean-back homer. #Royals #MLB pic.twitter.com/d54OShPlVY

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) August 12, 2015

Pitching Performance of the Series: Johnny Cueto

Amazingly, there are still some fans who don’t understand why the Royals needed Johnny Cueto. On Monday night, he showed why Kansas City was so adament about acquiring him for their postseason run. All Cueto did in his third start as a Royal is pitch a complete game shutout, giving up 4 hits, walking none and striking out 8 on 116 pitches. If this didn’t make him endear himself toward you, nothing will. His game score of 87 was his highest since July 7th against Washington and overall his second best this season:

Royals win! Johnny Cueto is the first #Royals pitcher to throw a shutout this season.

— Kansas City Stats (@KansasCityStats) August 11, 2015

Johnny Cueto is the 1st pitcher to throw a shutout in both leagues in the same season since Cliff Lee in 2009 (Indians, Phillies).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 11, 2015

Cueto had 8 Ks, which puts him in company of Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza and Dennis Leonard with walkless shutouts on four or fewer hits.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 11, 2015

How about a shutout for the first start in your new house?http://t.co/jkamObKG3D #ShowStopper #ThrillOfTheGame pic.twitter.com/kZauFBX2aA

— MLB (@MLB) August 11, 2015

Last 3 #Royals starting pitchers to go 9 innings in their home debut…

Johnny Cueto 2015
James Shields 2013
Mike Boddicker 1991

— Conrad McGorkin (@ConradMcGorkin) August 11, 2015

Of Cueto's 6 CG shutouts, last night's had the most strikes and the 2nd highest WPA http://t.co/2gZEz4Hmgo pic.twitter.com/gxdo3x1oRe

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) August 11, 2015

Still not sold on Cueto? Well, consider this when compared to the rest of the Royals rotation so far in 2015:

Royals starters
E. Volquez (1.7 fWAR)
Y. Ventura (0.9)
J. Cueto (0.8) *22 IP*
D. Duffy (0.5)
C. Young (0.4)

— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) August 11, 2015

Cueto was also introduced to a Royals favorite: the postgame ritual!

#Royals Johnny Cueto gets 4-0 shutout over #Tigers and Gatorade bath from @SalvadorPerez15. @JohnnyCueto @KCStar pic.twitter.com/mEUkOzfIjp

— John Sleezer (@jsleezer) August 11, 2015

While Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura have been up and down, having Cueto makes two solid starters(with Edinson Volquez) that the Royals can count on in October. Cueto won’t do this every start, but the fact he is capable of doing it in a high stakes game late in the season, well that alone makes his acquisition more than worth it.

Death By Defense

On Tuesday night, the Royals put on a defensive clinic to remind the Tigers why they are on the top of the American League Central…and why the Tigers aren’t. First there was a great relay throw from Alcides Escobar to nail James McCann at the plate:

#Royals relay team, Dyson to Escobar to Perez for the out on #Tigers McCann at the plate to end top of 4th. @KCStar pic.twitter.com/vLSLtdv8gI

— John Sleezer (@jsleezer) August 12, 2015

Not only a great assist from “Shortstop Jesus” but also not his first:

Escobar's 31st assist as a "second assister" on an outfield assist since 2011, the most among all MLB infielders. https://t.co/lIoRDOfooY

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) August 12, 2015

Trust me, it was beautiful(and I wish I could show it, but MLB has limitations. Come on, MLB!). It was so great that even Neddy approved:

Ned Yost! #royals https://t.co/vCj2eIUuhJ

— Jeff (@RustCohle21) August 12, 2015

Oh yeah, I approved as well:

Nice relay. We will be talking about this #Royals D for years to come. #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 12, 2015

Later in the game, Salvador Perez picked Anthony Gose off base:

16th career pickoff, 4th most among active catchers. Salvy's 25 years old. The others are 33, 32 and 32. https://t.co/6lcCgPPJa8

— Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) August 12, 2015

There would also be a dazzling play by Alcides Escobar later in the game as well. The Tigers would also do something amazing on defense, although not in the good way. A fly ball would get hit to left fielder Tyler Collins later in the game and it would bounce off the palm of his glove and veer to the corner. It was the perfect description of the differences between these two teams. The Royals lead the American League in defensive rankings, while Detroit is in 4th place. But it’s not as close as 1st to 4th place, as the Royals have a 51, the Tigers 10.9. That is a rather huge gap. Within the division, Chicago is last in the league while Cleveland sits in 11th place and Minnesota 9th, all in the negative rankings. Sure, the Royals have had a good offensive season and the bullpen is about as good as they get. But the defense sets them apart from everyone else in the division and is why the Royals are at the top with everyone else looking up.

Oh, but there is more! With that said here are the news and notes portion of this series:

One of the most asked questions this season has been “how long will the Royals go with Omar Infante at 2B?”. It’s easy to see why this question continues to get asked:

Bottom of the wOBA leaderboard
O. Infante (.100)
J. Werth (.186)
K. Pillar (.187)
J. Hardy (.189)
J. Segura (.190)

— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) August 14, 2015

Yet, we have seen a llllloooooooooooootttt of Omar this season:

Most innings at second base, MLB:
Ian Kinsler 956.1
Brian Dozier 952.2
Kolten Wong, 933.3
Johnny Giavotella 921.2
Omar Infante 910.1

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 10, 2015

But Ned has confidence:

Ned Yost on Omar Infante's hitting: "It will click when it clicks. But he's mixing in enough big hits."

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 10, 2015

Oh, speaking of big hits:

Omar Infante is hitting .254/.258/.333 in high leverage situations this season. https://t.co/vZGooG0CE5

— Brian (@BrianMcGannon) August 10, 2015

I think it’s safe to say his defense is what is keeping him in the lineup. In fact, defensively he has having his best season since 2012(5 DRS and a UZR of 4.3). Sure, he doesn’t take walks and any punch he used to have seems to have gone by the wayside. But don’t fret; when(if?) Alex Gordon comes back in September, I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Ben Zobrist at second base. Oh, and Infante did get a day off this week; on Tuesday, Zobrist started in his place and made an error. I don’t think that proves Infante is the better option; that is more of a sign that the universe likes to mess with our heads.

Wade Davis did not see any action during these three games:

Ned says Wade Davis still has tightness in his back. Could be another day or two. #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) August 10, 2015

I’m sure some will point to not having Davis available on Wednesday cost the Royals the game(Yost went with Volquez into the 8th inning and the Royals would end up losing the lead and the game), but it is a good thing that Kansas City can be cautious with Wade. I made the comment last series and will say it again; I would rather have a healthy Davis in October than use him injured and lose him for longer than just a week.

What a weird start for Yordano Ventura on Tuesday. Ventura would go 6 innings, only giving up 2 hits and no runs. Looks good, right? But Ventura also walked 6 and struck out 8. Rare, huh?

Yordano Ventura is the first #Royals pitcher ever to strike out 8, walk 6, and allow no runs in a game.

— Kansas City Stats (@KansasCityStats) August 12, 2015

Ventura was able to get out of a couple of dicey situations, which is improvement. He has had issues pitching with runners on base this season, but on Tuesday he kept a calm head and dealt his way out of it. Sure, the 6 walks is a scary number; but I will take the improvement and hope that continues over the next couple of starts.

Over the years the Royals have had issues dealing with Anibal Sanchez. Not anymore:

The @Royals scored a total of 6 runs against Anibal Sanchez in his first 7 starts. They have gashed him 18 runs in his last 4, all in 2015.

— FOX Sports KC (@FSKansasCity) August 12, 2015

Anibal Sanchez now has 11 career starts vs the Royals.
First 7: 50.1IP 6ER 1.07 ERA 0 HR
Last 4: 24.2IP 17ER 6.20 ERA 5 HR

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 12, 2015

Safe to say Sanchez doesn't own the #Royals anymore…#ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 12, 2015

I don’t have answers for why the Royals seem to handle the best pitchers in the league better than the lesser known pitchers, but I will take it. It is a vast improvement over where the Royals were just a few years ago.

Salvador Perez had to leave Tuesday’s game in the 6th inning due to a wrist injury:

Ned says Sal Perez had an MRI on wrist today and it came back clean. Sal immediately asked if he could play today. Ned said no, take a day

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) August 12, 2015

Perez hasn’t played since the injury and is still being evaluated. You lose a little bit offensively with Drew Butera behind the plate, but not a bunch on defense. There were some fans angry with Butera on Wednesday night but he is a solid defensive catcher, in fact he is a well above average fielder over his career. This injury might just be a good sign; all that rest that Perez has needed the last few years might be caught up on.

Eric Hosmer continues to dazzle. Hosmer had a slash line of .333/.333/.750 in this series and is hitting .366/.414/.545 since the beginning of July. I can’t tell you if Hosmer has finally figured it out or not(he has been a streaky hitter throughout his career), but I will say the power he has shown in this span has made me think that he actually could contend for an MVP award at some point in his career, and I haven’t thought that in a long time.

Oppo taco from Hos? Yes please! #Royals #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 12, 2015

Finally, the Royals streak of 111 games won when leading after 7 innings is over:

#Royals suffer first loss when leading after 7 since 5/5/2014. Ends streak of 111 straight victories when ahead after 7.

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 13, 2015

The Royals were only 4 wins away from the record, held by the 1998-99 New York Yankees. Damn Yankees!

Tweets of Royalty

ELIAS: The Royals have a lead of 11 1/2 games, their largest division lead since the end of the 1980 season, when they closed at 14 games.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 10, 2015

Last game each player did not start:
Moustakas: 8/9
Cain: 8/9
Salvy: 8/6
Rios: 7/30
Hosmer: 7/25
Escobar: 6/29
Infante: 6/6

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 10, 2015

The 4 best records in baseball come from the Central divisions.

1. Cardinals 71-40
2. Royals 66-44
3. Pirates 65-44
4. Cubs 62-48

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 10, 2015

In last 25 seasons, only #Royals player to finish in AL top-5 in RBIs: Mike Sweeney (2000). Kendrys Morales is currently #2.

8 pm ET, @ESPN

— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) August 10, 2015

Alex Gordon getting his swings in the cage today. #ForeverRoyal pic.twitter.com/FB5cyiXnok

— #VoteRoyals (@Royals) August 10, 2015

Graphical Standings from /r/baseball. #Royals are kind of just on their own planet in the AL. pic.twitter.com/mOpO1WQwhX

— Zach Brady (@MrZachBrady) August 10, 2015

If your life depended on it which would you choose, watching the Royals on ESPN or listening to Steve Physioc?

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 11, 2015

Things Alex Rios Does Well on a Baseball Field:

1. Smile
2. Have long legs
3. Wear a hat

— Kevin Hogue (@Kevin_Hogue) August 11, 2015

#Royals are 6-1 this season in games that Salvador Perez walks.

— Kansas City Stats (@KansasCityStats) August 11, 2015

ELIAS: The Mets have the best win percentage (.860) in the National League when scoring four or more runs. Only Kansas City (.864) is better

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 11, 2015

Royals average attendance is 33,460, 10th in MLB. Previous high was 30,589 in '89. I broke in covering Tiant…Cueto…about last night…

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) August 11, 2015

Wonder how many youth baseball coaches in Kansas City are going to be seeing new deliveries from their pitchers at practice.

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 11, 2015

From Hardball Times: Breaking down batted ball stats.http://t.co/Yc5dI9iXqK pic.twitter.com/cHIVLNT2Jt

— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) August 11, 2015

Some still claim HR not important. Say Royals good this year w/o hitting them. #Royals have hit 24 more HR already this year..86-62. Oops

— Doug Stewart (@dougstewart1) August 11, 2015

The Royals' 12 game lead in their division is their largest division lead since they won their division in 1980 by 14 http://t.co/ExADo4IHrW

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) August 11, 2015

2015 @BaseballAmerica "Best Tools" of A.L. has Escobar as 2nd-best hit-&-run artist, Dyson as the fastest & Ventura w/ the 3rd-best fastball

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) August 11, 2015

Johnny Cueto was voted as having the 3rd-best pickoff move in the N.L, while Wade Davis, obviously, is rated as the best reliever. #Royals

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) August 11, 2015

Also, Escobar, Perez, Hosmer and Cain top their respective positions as far as the best defensive player in the A.L. #Royals

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) August 11, 2015

Dayton Moore is now the fifth-longest tenured GM in baseball behind only Brian Sabean, Billy Beane, Brian Cashman, and Jon Daniels.

— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 11, 2015

Defensive Runs Saved leaders: Alcides 6th, Cain 13th, & Perez 15th: http://t.co/SsxPnyUXAG #Royals #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 11, 2015

Eric Hosmer ranks 4th in AL in batting avg & has highest BA in majors since All-Star break (.409).#Royals vs #Tigers
8 pm ET, @MLBNetwork

— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) August 11, 2015

Lowest OBP vs LHP (as of now)
(BA title qualifiers)

Ryan Howard.194
Sal Perez .198
Chris Owings.202
Adam LaRoche .209
Curtis Granderson.213

— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) August 12, 2015

The 2015 Detroit Tigers: Nope, we haven't hit bottom just yet. #Royals #ForeverRoyal

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 12, 2015

At their current pace …

Cards: 104-58
Royals: 98-64
Pirates: 96-66
Cubs: 92-70
Rox: 69-93
Brewers: 68-94
Marlins: 65-97
Phillies: 64-98

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 12, 2015

Luke Hochevar talking to Monty about his comeback said, "It was tougher than I thought it would be."
31 games
1st 11: 7.20ERA
Last 20: 1.66

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 12, 2015

#Royals Wade Davis has a 0.85 ERA over his last 125 games. Opponents are batting .147/.222/.196 against him, striking out 34.5% of the time.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) August 13, 2015

Congrats to Alex Gordon on receiving @MLBPAA’s 2015 #HeartandHustle Award! Alex is a four-time recipient. pic.twitter.com/WvbwJ2nZPr

— #VoteRoyals (@Royals) August 13, 2015

Zimmer has allowed two base runners tonight, one on a walk and one on an error. He's made 55 pitches thru four innings.

No score, bottom 4.

— NW Arkansas Naturals (@nwanaturals) August 13, 2015

Physioc just said he talked to someone before the game. I don't believe that. #Royals #ForeverRoyal #NoGameNotesEither

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 13, 2015

Ned Yost says his decision to stick with Volquez in the 8th cost his team the game & Volquez a chance at a 12th win. #Royals

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) August 13, 2015

.@cheslorcuthbert provides the power 💪 for the win. #wayyyouttttahere #StirUpTheStorm pic.twitter.com/FgFmt2jt4H

— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) August 13, 2015

A year ago a lost like last nights would have drove me nuts. Now, I shrug & think about today's game. Winning does that to a person. #Royals

— Sean Thornton (@SeanThornton5) August 13, 2015

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, left, is hugged by catcher Salvador Perez, right, following a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. The Royals defeated the Tigers 4-0. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) ORG XMIT: OTKOW — (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

So the Royals still have a double digit lead in the American League Central as they welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town for a four games series this weekend. Interesting note, out of the teams currently holding leads in either a division or the wild card, the Angels are the last one of those teams the Royals will face this season(outside of a make-up game late in September against the Cubs). A question was posed to me the other day, asking if there should be any worry that the Royals would get too complacent with this big a lead. I said there is always the chance, but these players seem to be pretty driven. The other good thing is that Kansas City can rest a guy like Wade Davis and let him heal better than if they were fighting for a playoff spot. There are pluses and minuses to having this big a lead, but as of right now I don’t see anyone slacking off on the field. That is a good thing, since we are only about six weeks away from the regular season wrapping and what appears to be another ‘Blue October’ for the Royals!

August 15, 2015 0

Tag: alcides escobar

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