Tag: All Star Game

New York State of Mind: Royals Swept by Yankees

kc1

My, how a week will change things. About ten days ago the Royals took a series from the New York Yankees in Kansas City, a series where the Royals looked to be playing at a different level than the ‘Bronx Bombers’. Jump forward to this week and there was very little in this series that the Royals did good. The defense was there. The bullpen was pretty solid. The offense…well, it was pretty much M.I.A. The starting pitching? Eek. So with that said, lets take a look at a series that will hopefully be forgotten by the end of the weekend.

kc2

Series MVP: Mike Moustakas

Honestly, a part of me just wanted to leave this spot blank. No one really stood out in this series as the offense basically took a powder in this series. Alcides Escobar and Kendrys Morales both got 4 hits in this series but didn’t provide much in the form of runs. Moustakas went 3 for 11, including his 5th home run of the year on Wednesday afternoon:

Moustakas has been one of the ‘feel good’ stories of the year so far and nothing says ‘improvement’ like a spray chart:

It almost feels like every week Moose will fly by some other accomplishment that surpasses his dreadful 2014 season:

Look, we all scoffed when manager Ned Yost said he was going to bat Moustakas second in the order to start the year. What started out as Yost trolling us(hey, it felt that way) turned into motivation for Mike and it has paid off in spades. Unfortunately, this series saw very little offense from the Royals despite the efforts of Moustakas, Escobar and Morales.

kc3

(Worst) Pitching Performance of the Series: Jeremy Guthrie

Look, I’m not happy about picking on Guthrie here, but Monday’s start was so bad for Jeremy that it felt like it should get it’s own section. Since no one else really went out there and stood out(besides one reliever who I will discuss in just a bit) I figured we would point out how monumentally bad Guthrie performed. The numbers in just a moment; first, take a look at the destruction:

Alright, that was just as painful as the first time. It was obvious early on that Guthrie was going to be left out there to take the beating, although apparently 11 runs was all the bleeding Yost could muster watching(I was done after the first 8 runs). 1+ inning, 9 hits and 11 runs while walking 3, hitting a batter and striking out 1. Oh, and 4 home runs given up. Hey, at the least there were some eye popping stats that came out of his outing:

Just an ugly performance all the way around. Guthrie has long been an anomaly; a pitcher who allows a lot of baserunners yet allows very few to score. That has not been the case this year and honestly he hasn’t put up numbers this bad since his short stay in Colorado. Before this start it had seemed like maybe he had gotten behind some of his struggles but Monday it appeared as if he was leaving the ball out over the middle of the plate and the Yankees made him pay for it. The numbers right now are staggering: An FIP of 6.01, ERA+ of 61(lowest total since 2006 for Cleveland, where he appeared in 9 games), he is allowing 11.9 hits per 9 innings, and 3 walks per 9. Most of the numbers so far are very comparable to his stay with the Rockies, where he was rescued by Kansas City for infamous space-waster Jonathan Sanchez. I still feel like Jeremy has value and still feel like he can bounce back from this. But the longer it goes on, the more you ask two questions: ‘how long can the Royals continue to throw him out there?’ and ‘when is Kris Medlen expected back?’. Hopefully Guthrie chooses to rise like the Phoenix.

kc4

All-Star Dominance

There was some good news that came out this week in the form of the the All-Star balloting being announced and it looks like the Royals have something else they are leading in; votes! There are 5 Royals leading their respective positions and so far Salvador Perez is the overall vote-getter. I’m sure there will be some talk about Royals fans stuffing the online ballots, but like many others, I could care less:

If anything else, this is happening for one reason; the Royals are winning. Winning does this, especially for a fanbase that has been dormant for a number of years:

Look, I would be happy with one Royal starting in the All-Star game. Five Royals? That would just be awesome. I have reasons to cheer for each of the five guys who are leading but a start for Alex Gordon would mean a lot, especially considering how his tenure as a Royal has been over the years. Escobar also seems to be cherishing the idea of being in his first ‘Midsummer Classic’:

So Royals fans, if you have not yet voted, what are you waiting for? Go vote here and let your voice heard. I also have yet to vote; just wait until I get my 35 votes in for all 8 of my e-mail accounts! I can’t wait to vote for Gordon 280 times!

kc5

Now onto the news and notes section of this series:

  • I mentioned earlier how there was one stellar pitching performance in this series and that was the outing Brandon Finnegan had on Monday following Guthrie’s awful tribute to Memorial Day. Finnegan came into the game in the 2nd inning and threw 3 shutout innings, allowing zero hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeouts. It was exactly what the Royals needed and lowered Finnegan’s ERA below 2.00 on the year. For a guy who has been bounced around this year, between the rotation and the pen, between the minors and the majors, he has managed to excel in the situations the Royals put him in. Now if the team could decide on a role for him and stick with it…
  • Finnegan had been recalled earlier in the day as Danny Duffy headed to the disabled list. I had actually mentioned this after the last series against the Cardinals and how it wasn’t a bad thing for this to happen:

There are a lot of theories out there about what is wrong with Duffy and it could be the shoulder stiffness that landed him on the DL, or it could be overthrowing or it could be him overthinking. Actually, I tend to lean toward all 3 to be honest with you. I’ve heard he could get up to 5 starts down in Omaha before coming back, so I wouldn’t expect to see him anytime soon, unless he is needed before then.

  • Finnegan was sent back down to the minors after Monday’s game to make room for Jason Vargas’ return from the disabled list. Vargas was on a strict 75 pitch limit(which was apparently not relayed to Steve Physioc in the Royals radio booth) and struggled out of the gate in his return. Vargas threw 4 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs while walking 1 and striking out 6:

Vargas had a rough 1st inning but settled down and it would have been interesting to see how he did if he hadn’t reached the pitch limit imposed on him. The Royals need Vargas to pitch closer to his performance in 2014 than what we have seen so far this year and hopefully this was the first step toward that.

  • I mentioned a moment ago about Physioc not knowing about Vargas’ pitch limit on Tuesday night and it was just one of many miscues he made on air that night. Maybe it was because I was following the broadcast closer than normal, but Physioc was atrocious that night and he seemed to not do any homework at all. I’ve never been a fan of his work, but this series really highlighted how bad Physioc is as a broadcaster. I’m sure he is a nice guy, but nice guys don’t always make good on air talent.
  • Speaking of the broadcasters, if I had to hear them say ‘well that wouldn’t have been a home run at Kauffman Stadium’ one more time in this series I was ready to pull my hair out. Yes, Yankee Stadium has smaller dimensions than ‘The K’; but these games weren’t played in Kansas City so it didn’t matter. The Royals had the same advantage the Yankees had in this series, so comparing the two stadiums is ignoring the fact that the Yankees took more of an advantage of the shorter porch in right field. It came across as sour grapes.
  • Paulo Orlando hit his first career major league home run on Tuesday. Orlando has seen a lot of playing time this year thanks to Alex Rios’ injury, and while his average has slipped the last few weeks, he is still one of the best feel good stories of the year. Even if he never hits another one over the fence, he will always have his one at Yankee Stadium.

kc5

Tweets of Royalty

 

kc6

As far as I am concerned the best thing to do about this series is forget about it and move on. The Royals will venture to Chicago this weekend for 3 games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. I am pretty excited for this series, since I grew up watching tons of Cubs games on WGN(as did a lot of people my age) and have a deep fondness for Wrigley and the ballclub. I am also looking forward to seeing some of Chicago’s young talent, guys like Jorge Soler, Addison Russel and Kris Bryant; I’m looking forward to seeing them, even if I don’t want them to do very good in this series. The Royals will be throwing Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez and Jeremy Guthrie in this set and hopefully the pitching and offense can put forth some solid effort. It is only May folks, so I am not worried at all. We knew a slump would happen; the question is just how long it will last, especially with Minnesota playing so good. It’s going to be a fun 3 games and my plan is to just enjoy the Royals being at Wrigley, since this only happens about once every six years. I can’t imagine this series will be worse than what we just saw…

 

0

Short But Sweep: Royals Vanquish Reds

May 19, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco (39) steps back from a close pitch in the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

This week began interleague play for the Kansas City Royals, as they would welcome the Cincinnati Reds into town for a short 2 game series at ‘The K’. I’m not the biggest fan of interleague games(I like having the two leagues only meet up at the All-Star Game and the World Series) but at the same time it is always interesting to see teams come into town that we probably only see maybe once every three years. So would the Royals welcome their competitors from the National League nicely…or would Kansas City show them why they are in first place in the American League Central? I think it would be safe to say the Reds received the latter.

kc2

Series MVP: Mike Moustakas

To say Mike Moustakas enjoyed feasting on Cincinnati pitching would probably be an understatement. Moose was only 6 for 8 this series, including back to back 3 hit games. Toss in 2 doubles, 2 RBI’s and a slugging percentage of 1.000 and you have a nice way to kick off interleague play. Just consider where we were at last year at this time: Moustakas was getting sent down to AAA as he was struggling mightily and there was nothing about his swing and his approach that was good. One year later we are talking about consecutive 3 hit games and the numbers are jumping off the page at just how good he has been:

It’s hard at this point not to get excited about what Moustakas is doing at the plate and in the field(where he is in 7th place in defensive WAR with .86). Through 37 games he is over half way to his hits and runs total, has a slash line of .342/.396/.503 and an OPS+ of 147. In fact the only numbers that seem down from last year is that he has been caught stealing twice this year after not getting caught at all in 2014…and since he is not a base stealer those numbers mean absolutely nothing. The 2015 version of Mike Moustakas(Moose 2.0?) is an all around complete hitter that has solidified the number 2 spot in the order and continually has been getting on base. It’s amazing how something as simple as learning to hit the ball to the opposite field would open up his game and make him an offensive force. Now we are only nearing the end of May, so there is still a number of months left in the season, but he has already surpassed my expectations of Moustakas being a ‘.250 hitter at best’. Another few weeks of this play and he will most definitely have punched his ticket to head to Cincinnati in July for the All Star Game.

kc3

Pitching Performance of the Series: Yordano Ventura

Yordano Ventura came into this year with a ton of hype and the mantle of being the Royals ace of the rotation. Unfortunately he has gone through some growing pains this year(trademark: Thicke, Alan) and outside of a few starts where he left early due to cramps he has mainly underperformed. Luckily, the Ventura we saw quite a bit of last year showed up on Tuesday night and threw a gem of a game. Ventura went 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and no runs while walking none and striking out 6. He threw 61% of strikes and for the most part let his infield do most of the dirty work, as he induced 14 ground balls. The best part was seeing no walks and Ventura didn’t nibble around the strike zone as much as he has his last few starts. This seemed like the guy we saw in Game 6 of the World Series and someone who could lead this pitching staff. I’m sure we will see a few more bad starts from Yordano before the year is up, but if he can limit the damage and pitch more like he has this week, it will help solidify the rotation and leave one less worry for the team on the mound.

kc4

The Catch

I am a self professed disciple of Alex Gordon. I believe him to be one of the greatest defensive players that anyone my age has ever seen. There is a reason he has won 4 Gold Glove Awards, 3 Fielding Bible Awards, one Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award in MLB and last year won the American League Platinum Glove Award. As someone who heavily values defense, I almost feel like the offense Gordon adds each year is almost extra to what he contributes with his glove, arm and mind(trust me, his mind is a big part of why he is so good). We already got one phenomenal catch this year from him in Chicago. On Wednesday night, he added another one to the highlight reel:

And now in motion:

Not only was that an amazing catch, but it also goes to show the lengths Gordon will go to just to get an out. The funny part is that ‘the catch’ was appreciated last night on many levels:

The only bad thing to the greatness of ‘A1’ is that if he doesn’t pick up the option on his contract after the season then he could venture off to some other team this offseason. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a world where Alex Gordon isn’t a Kansas City Royal. Just the thought along makes me queasy. I am not ready to have him take his skills elsewhere.

kc5

It wasn’t just the brooms that were brought out in force. Time to look at some other news of note for this series:

  • Tack up 3 solid starts in a row for Jeremy Guthrie, all much needed. On Wednesday, Guthrie threw 6 innings giving up 5 hits, and no runs while walking 2 and striking out 3. Guthrie ran into some trouble early on in the 1st inning but after that seemed to calm down and held Cincy scoreless. These last 3 starts has lowered his ERA by almost 2 runs as he has allowed 4 earned runs in 18.1 innings. After his awful start to the season he has righted the ship and seems to be pitching more to his career performanace. With others in the rotation struggling, the Royals need Guthrie to at least be a solid turn once every 5 days.
  • There has been some discussion about Alcides Escobar maybe not being the right fit at the top of the lineup. Actually, Craig Brown of http://www.royalsauthority.com had a column last week talking about how Escobar doesn’t take enough pitches and hardly walks, which neither is a good approach at the dish if you are the leadoff hitter. I agree with Brown for the majority of this argument and his reasoning is solid. The issue is that the Royals really don’t have a typical leadoff hitter, other than possibly Alex Gordon, and you can see the argument for keeping him in the middle of the lineup. With that said, the Royals are winning with this lineup despite Escobar’s .331 OBP, which is almost purely from hits as he has only 5 walks on the season. I get where Craig is coming from on this, but I can’t imagine a change will happen anytime soon.
  • After Tuesday’s shutout of the Reds, the Royals had accomplished something that hadn’t been done by a Royals team in a very long time:

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it 3 shutouts in a row, as Ryan Madson gave up a run on Wednesday night. Still an impressive feat, nonetheless.

  • Closer Greg Holland was not available on Tuesday night:

It is always nice to have a healthy Holland. The thing is, without him available, they still have guys like Madson, Luke Hochevar and Jason Frasor who can do some of the heavy lifting, and Wade Davis is as good as any closer in the big leagues today(and goes to show you how out of date it is the way managers use their best pitchers in the bullpen nowadays). To have these other options has to be frightening to other teams and will be even more important later in the season.

kc6

Tweets of Royalty 

kc7

So with the Reds out of the way, this leads to a major matchup for the Memorial Day Weekend. It’s the best record in the American League against the best record in the National League, as the Cardinals come to Kauffman Stadium to take on the Royals. For years Cardinals fans come in swarms to Kansas City and the crowd ends up looking like a sea of read. Well, I have a feeling that won’t happen this time, as it should be a sea of blue this weekend. It also means this dormant rivalry, that really hasn’t meant anything for years now actually has some more punch behind it. I would love a series win for the Royals, sending the Cardinals back to St. Louis with their tail in between their legs. If anything it would quiet the ‘best fans in baseball'(and most of us are really tired of hearing Cardinals’  fans flapping their gums) without even having to bring up 1985. The more I think about it, a sweep at ‘the K’ would be beautiful. Hey, it’s lofty expectations but just imagine that warm and fuzzy feeling we would get from that, Royals fans? Yep, it would feel good. Very good.

0

A Bronx Beating: Royals Take 2 of 3 from Yankees

kc1

As most of you know, the Royals and Yankees used to be a very heated rivalry. Back in the day, the Royals hated the Yankees and the Yankees hated the Royals. There is a variety of reasons to not like the Yankees(I’ll remember at some point to compile a list) but I am one of the old school Royals fans who remembers this feud and despite this rivalry being very one-sided the last couple decades, I still hold on to my dislike for the Bronx Bombers. So to start this weekend with these two teams clashing, my feelings are already heightened. Add in that both teams came into the series in first place in their division, well…lets just say it had some added fuel. Would that fuel start a fire? Or would it just stink up the joint? Let’s dive in.

kc2

Series MVP: Lorenzo Cain

Before the season started I made the comment that I was most intrigued this year to see if Lorenzo Cain’s development would continue and 6 weeks into the season I have to believe that is a big ‘YES’! Cain’s impressive offensive output continued this weekend, as he would go 4 for 11, with a big 5 RBI game on Friday night and 3 runs scored this weekend:

Tack on a few more shoestring catches and a running grab near the wall and you have yourself a guy who continues to excel. It did appear throughout the weekend that anytime there was runners on base, Cain was in the middle of the action:

I made the comment earlier this spring that I didn’t know if Cain could hold up his .380 BAbip from last year, but so far he is sitting at .377, which is pretty darn close. I love the idea of having a number 3 hitter in the order who has speed, which is one more weapon to worry about if you are fielder and Cain hits the ball to you. We are still about 2 months away from the All-Star game in Cincy, but it would appear that Cain has quite the argument for being on manager Ned Yost’s squad.

 

kc3

Pitching Performance of the Series: Edinson Volquez 

The fact that I had three options for this spot is good news and the performances of Chris Young and Joe Blanton will be mentioned in just a bit. The starling start of Edinson Volquez though was a masterpiece and one of his best outings so far this year. Chalk up another quality start for Volquez as he would go 7 innings on Sunday, giving up 3 hits, no runs and 1 hit batter while striking out 5. This lowered his ERA to 2.74 and was much better than his last two starts. Volquez had great stuff today, mixing up a solid 2-seam fastball with some great off-speed stuff. This kept the Yankees offense off-balance and kept them off the basepaths. It seems that when Volquez keeps the ball down like he did Sunday he is fine. When he gets the ball up in the zone is when he normally finds trouble. These would also seem to be some words of wisdom for Danny Duffy as well, as he has struggled with that same issue so far in 2015.

kc4

The Moose is Loose

On Friday night, Mike Moustakas almost put himself into the Kansas City record books as he ended up just a home run shy of the Royals first batter to hit for the cycle since 1990. Who accomplished that feat? None other than old #5:

 

So history was on the line when Moustakas came up to the dish in the 7th inning, and we were all hoping for a ‘Moose Bomb’. Well, hoping, since most of the time the percentages say the chances of completing the cycle is not very good, let alone finishing one off with a home run. Moose would not get his dinger to finish the cycle, but he came about as close as a batter could without actually accomplishing the feat. Moustakas lofted a fly ball to left field, and the ball bounced off the left field wall, missing a cycle by a mere 4 feet. I initially thought there was no way he would finish the milestone, but as that ball traveled down the left field line I couldn’t help feeling like Moustakas just might do it. Alas, he came up just short, getting his second double of the night and finishing the evening going 4 for 5 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. It’s not quite a cycle, but it’s still a pretty good night.

kc5

Now onto the news and notes from another series win for the Royals of Kansas City:

  • Danny Duffy went out Saturday night and performed better than he had the last 2 starts(he did go 5 innings in this outing) but still wasn’t the Duffy we saw throughout most of 2014. The improvement was he had a much better control over his off-speed pitches and didn’t seem to be missing the strike zone by much(he still walked 4 Yankees in the game, though). The bad news is he still allowed 4 hits, 4 free passes and left a fastball over the middle of the plate for Chase Headley to hit into the Royals bullpen in left field. It does appear as if Duffy’s leash might be shortening a bit:

Duffy still has options, so if Jason Vargas is able to come off the disabled list this week then Danny could be the casualty. I’ve mentioned it before, and I will again: maybe Duffy should give old pal James Shields a call. At this point it couldn’t hurt.

  • On the other side of the spectrum is the performance on Friday night of Chris Young. At this point it is just another ho-hum start for him, as he went 5.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 run while walking 2 and striking out another 2. It’s his third straight stellar start and with the way Duffy is throwing it’s hard NOT to keep Young in the rotation when Vargas comes back. In my eyes, he has earned a spot in the rotation.
  • I’ve mentioned it a few times, but it really needs to be stressed just how good of a season Kendrys Morales is having this year. Morales is leading the league in doubles and RBI’s, and his BAbip has risen over 100 points. He has been a pleasant surprise for Kansas City and has calmed any worries I had when the signing occurred. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, but so far this signing has been a major positive for GM Dayton Moore.
  • Watching the Yankees this weekend really made me appreciate this Royals defense. Not only is this New York team older, it also seemed to have some issues throwing the ball. Teams like the Yankees and Indians really make a person really understand just how stellar this Royals defense really is:

  • Eric Hosmer’s 12 game hitting streak was broken up on Saturday against New York’s CC Sabathia. Someone asked me the other day about how Hosmer has been hitting and I pointed out how quiet his body is at the plate this year. It feels like night and day watching him this year compared to last.
  • What a Royals debut for Joe Blanton? Blanton came into Saturday’s game, taking over for Duffy and it was hard to tell that he hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2013. Joe threw 4 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run while walking none and striking out 2. He wasn’t dominant but he helped give the rest of the bullpen a break and showed that he has more value than just “a guy who is security in AAA in case the team needs another starter for a start or two”. Blanton looks to be taking over the long reliever spot that Chris Young held earlier this year.
  • Sunday was one of my favorite games of the year, the Salute to the Negro Leagues. I was unable to attend the game(I had a graduation to attend) but while watching the game later in the day I noticed the Yankees wore their usual threads. I am a big fan of the history of the game and the Negro Leagues have always been one of my favorite things to read and study about. I’m not one to tell the Yankees what they should or should not do, but it just felt wrong that they didn’t participate in this great event and have actually never worn any kind of throwback jersey’s ever. By the way, if you have not already you definitely need to go and check out the Negro League Museum in Kansas City(I love it!) and their website.
  • Speaking of, the Yankees look to be doing right by the Negro League Museum and will be donating other items to help the museum bring some money. Thank you, New York.

kc6

Tweets of Royalty

 

kc7

So now the first place Royals(!!!) will take Monday off while waiting to open their interleague schedule in 2015 and take on the Cincinnati Reds in a two game series on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. One does wonder if the Kansas City scouts will be taking an extra look at Johnny Cueto on Tuesday, as he could be a possible mid-season acquisition if the Royals are in the market for a starting pitcher. This series will also set up a nice rivalry weekend, as the Cardinals will come in for three. Let’s hope for a change than the last few times the Cardinals have been in Kansas City; I would rather see a sea of blue in the stands than a sea of red. A sweep of Cincy would go a long ways toward building momentum against St. Louis and keeping a little bit of distance between the Tigers and Royals. No matter what, it should make for a fun week at ‘The K’ this week, so make sure you head out if you can!

 

0

Alcides Escobar: All-Star?

kc1

It’s amazing what a year can do. Last year at this time we were wondering what had happened to Alcides Escobar’s offense. Was the Royals shortstop just pressing? Was the loss of Kevin Seitzer hurting him? Or was 2012 a fluke? It was apparent ‘Shortstop Jesus‘ had to change something about his hitting approach before reporting to Arizona for spring training. Sure, Escobar is dynamic on defense and that alone would almost assure his spot in the lineup. But if Esky continued to lack offensively, it would only be a matter of time until the Royals started looking for different options. Luckily, he promised a more patient approach at the plate this spring and so far he has delivered. 2012 was a career year for him offensively, but so far he is challenging that this year. But is he hitting good enough to earn him an All-Star spot? Let’s take a look.

kc2

Let’s start with what at this point is a pretty well known fact; Derek Jeter will be at the All-Star game and will probably start. Yes, his numbers won’t justify it, but sometimes it isn’t about the numbers(I know, it’s weird to hear me say that). So Jeter will take up one slot for shortstops, which will probably leave two open slots. I have found four candidates for those two slots who are having good enough seasons to warrant consideration: Escobar, Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox, Erick Aybar of the Angels and Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox. All four players are having outstanding offensive and defensive seasons and seem to be the elite of the American League this year. In all honesty, none are bad candidates for the midsummer classic, but like always, not all will go.

kc3

So I went to the ‘RoyalTron 2000′(or I just looked up stats from Fangraphs, Baseball Reference and ESPN) and took a look at the American League shortstops and where they rank statistically. I figured to go with more basic stats for the most part(Runs, Hits, Batting Average, On-base percentage, OPS, WAR, and Runs Created), otherwise I figured I would be swimming in stats and not find my way out of that rabbit hole. The first thing that was almost immediately pointed out was that Alexei Ramirez should be a lock for a spot. Ramirez is currently sitting at either first or second in all of those categories except for runs(in which he is in third) and most have him sitting in first. So Ramirez should be a lock for an All-Star spot.

kc4

This will leave one spot open for Escobar, Aybar and Bogaerts to fight over. Bogaerts placements are the most interesting, as half of the stats have him in fifth or seventh place, including seventh place in WAR. But he also ranks first in both OBP and OPS and second in RC. Those seem to point out his offensive potential that Boston sees in him and are great numbers for a guy in his rookie season. Also, those stats are probably the most important out of all of the ones I picked(other than WAR) and hold a bit more weight than the others. So despite his lower rankings in hits, runs and batting average, it is showing that Bogaerts is getting on base at a good clip and hitting for some power as well.

kc5

So what are Aybar and Escobar bringing to the table? Aybar is ranking in second or third place 5 of the 7 categories, placing second in WAR and third in OPS and RC. His defense has definitely helped bump up his WAR number, despite being fifth in OBP. Escobar meanwhile is ranking second or third in 4 out of the 7 categories, including third in WAR and OBP. I would say at this point Escobar and Aybar are pretty even, although the defensive metrics seem to favor Aybar a bit more than Alcides, which would explain a higher WAR on his part.

kc6

So between the three, who should get the final spot? It’s a tough choice, one in which you can make arguments for all three players. Fangraphs broke it down even farther, picking their team based on WAR(outside of Jeter, who they acknowledge as well will be there) and pick Aybar and Bogaerts. I’m a bit surprised that Ramirez was slighted by them, since he has the best WAR of all the shortstops in the American League. The argument for Bogaerts is based on his offensive production, which is notable and Aybar gets some help from his glove. It would appear that in spite of his improved numbers across the board(and you can glimpse those pearly numbers for yourself right here)that Escobar will be the one on the outside looking in, as either Aybar or Bogaerts will claim that final spot at shortstop.

kc7

The positive to take from all of this is that there is a serious discussion and argument for Alcides to make the American League All-Star roster. His batting this season has improved enough that his defense isn’t the only thing mentioned when his name is brought up, even by rival executives. As a fan, I couldn’t be happier. Escobar has been a personal favorite of mine since his acquisition and I was personally rooting for him this past off-season. With Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez and Greg Holland the probable picks for the Royals All-Star’s again this year, it appears Esky will be on the outside looking in. Don’t worry though; we will always have these fantastic plays to remind us how good of a shortstop Escobar really is.

kc8

kc9

kc10

 

 

0

Driving It Home

kc1

The debate has already begun as Major League Baseball has instituted a new rule to help cut down on home plate collisions and help prevent major injuries. This has already been about as hotly debated as any of the other changes baseball has added to the game over the past few years(replay, extra wild card, etc.). One of the main things discussed has been how MLB didn’t go far enough with the rule, or enough to protect the baserunner in these situations. Let’s dissect the rule.

kc2

Now, what really brought us to this point was the Buster Posey incident a few years back. If you haven’t seen the play, here it is:

I’m not going to get into how Posey didn’t get himself set up well, which I feel like made this play even worse than it should have been. Scott Cousins of the Marlins caught a lot of flak for plowing into Posey here, and you can look at this one of two ways. One, Posey was blocking the plate, making it hard for Cousins to go around him. Or two, that Cousins could have slid around him, taking the possibility of an injury out of the equation. Watching the footage a number of times again, I can see both arguments. Look, if the catcher is blocking the plate, it takes away one of the options for the runner. I don’t think Cousins ran into Posey to hurt him; that was just instinct to get to home plate and score. Now, Cousins could have possibly went around him and attempted to slide. Posey had set up in front of the dish to where Cousins had some room to get around him. But part of this issue is instinct.

kc3

For years baserunners have been told that if the catcher is blocking the plate, lower your shoulder and barrel in. You can’t blame a runner for this; he is going in there with no extra equipment on while the guy he is set to run into has a full set of body armor on. I am all for cutting back on injuries and especially for curbing someone from getting a concussion. But with the way the rule is set up now, you are asking for more injuries. Bruce Jenkins takes a good look at this, discussing how players seem to be more open to injuries than before. Many of these guys don’t think about it before they head to home plate; they don’t think, they react. What do you think will happen now? There is a good chance many players will start thinking about it, and force them to either injure themselves or the catcher(or both). Do we want this to happen? Of course not, but putting the rule into play right before Spring Training leaves very little room to really practice for this situation. But let’s stay that teams work on the play religiously this spring and everyone feels like they are set and ready in case they are thrown into that situation. If you are the runner, this doesn’t seem like this new rule will benefit you.

kc4

It’s mentioned in the Jenkins article I posted in the last paragraph, but this new rule seems to leave the runner in a vulnerable position. Here is a quick rundown of the rule:

• A runner may not run out of a direct line to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher, or any player, covering the plate. If he does, the umpire can call him out even if the player taking the throw loses possession of the ball.

• The catcher may not block the pathway of a runner attempting to score unless he has possession of the ball. If the catcher blocks the runner before he has the ball, the umpire may call the runner safe.

• All calls will be based on the umpire’s judgment. The umpire will consider such factors as whether the runner made an effort to touch the plate and whether he lowered his shoulder or used his hands, elbows or arms when approaching the catcher.

• Runners are not required to slide, and catchers in possession of the ball are allowed to block the plate. However, runners who do slide and catchers who provide the runner with a lane will never be found in violation of the rule.

• The expanded instant replay rules, which also go into effect this season, will be available to review potential violations of Rule 7.13.

The part that has many worried is how the catcher can still block the plate while the runner isn’t allowed to lower his shoulder. Former big leaguer Eric Byrnes has been very adamant about how this makes things worse for the runner and feels like no change to the rule would have been better than what they did:

Byrnes’ argument holds even more weight with this statement:

“You’re coming in at full speed, all of a sudden the catcher has the ball, and I can’t lower my shoulder or push off?” said the retired Eric Byrnes. “What do you want me to do, torpedo in with my head and get paralyzed? You’re leaving the runners in no-man’s land. We’re worse off than we were before.”

So leaving the rule open to allowing the catcher to still block the plate while not wanting the runner to defend himself seems like a recipe for disaster. It is very apparent that if they were smart, most teams would go to the swipe tag at home plate. The Giants have already taken that route, putting that into play once Posey returned to action. This is probably where it is headed anyway, so why not go ahead and enforce it, rather than use the new rule as an “experiment”? This doesn’t seem like a play you want to “dip your toes into the water” to test the temperature.

kc6

Above you see maybe the most famous home plate collision in baseball history. In the 1970 All-Star game, Ray Fosse blocked home plate while Pete Rose barreled into him. Fosse was injured by this collision, an injury which wouldn’t be noticed until the following year and was forced to heal incorrectly. Fosse would continue to play throughout the 70’s but was never the player he was before ‘Charlie Hustle’ ran him over.  Fosse is proof of what home plate collisions can do to your career. The point of the new rule is to protect players from injuries, but it brings up more questions than answers. There is a feeling that the rule was kind of thrown together and a rule focused on catchers not blocking the plate would seem to be the direction they will eventually go. They already do that in the college game, so for most players drafted from this point forward it wouldn’t be a drastic change. The main thing that needs to happen is for a rule to be instituted that protects both catcher and baserunner. Concussions are a serious matter and baseball is moving in the right direction to remedy the problem. The sooner they eliminate the catcher blocking the plate, the better. It’s the best thing for the game.

0

Two Days of Baseball Heaven

(Writer’s Note: I originally wrote this a couple of years ago for a weekly feature I do during the baseball season for 14 KVOE Emporia.  I stumbled across it today(ie. I cleaned my desk) and wanted to share it with everyone)

kc1

Last week I had the privilege to be a part of the massive media that took over Kauffman Stadium for the 83rd annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby. To say it was a once in a lifetime event is an understatement. When I decided to write about my experience, I wasn’t for sure at first what I should talk about. Then it hit me; why talk about all the stuff that you are used to hearing about the festivities when I could talk about the odd stuff that occurred during my time there? So let’s go with that, the quirky moments that I will never forget from my time at baseball’s mid-summer classic.

kc2

First, there is Cano-Gate. I have been at “The K” countless times over the years, to the point that I am insanely comfortable when I am there. But I have never heard the stadium that loud. It was deafening and I loved every minute of it! It really showed just how passionate Royals fans really are. There is a pretty good chance I will never experience something like that again.

kc3

I also got to ride up in an elevator with Dayton Moore. Well, the two of us and about six of our closest friends, crammed in there like sardines. The amusing part to me was that Mr. Moore is about my height, which is saying he is very short. Neither one of us will get mistaken for giants, nor even being of average height.

kc4

Speaking of odd places to run into people, I had a nice conversation with Rick Sutcliffe in the tunnel, as I was preparing to walk out onto the field. Sutcliffe was a player I watched a lot when I was a kid, as I watched endless hours of Chicago Cubs games on WGN. Real nice guy and I’m sure Scott Hayes was just a bit jealous of me!

kc5

I also almost ran over Scott Boras. Yes, super agent Scott Boras! I could have seen if he would negotiate my next contract here at the radio station but I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to afford him.

kc6

There was Chris Berman complaining down in the tunnel Monday afternoon about something in the Boston/New York game from the night before.

kc7

Maybe the weirdest thing that happened to me in Kansas City was the gang of baseball mascots about running me down. I was headed up to the press box via the stairs, and at about level 3 or 4, the mascots came scurrying out of their dressing space. I might have thrown them off, as Mr. Met about ran straight into the wall…or it could be the giant baseball he has as a head!

kc8

But one of the oddest realities that sunk in for me was during the barrage of media on Monday, as the press conferences and player availability took place. I would look to my left and there was FOX Sport’s Ken Rosenthal, a man who’s columns I regularly read and someone who I have a ton of respect for. To my right, Rob Neyer, a writer and former Royals’ fan who is a major supporter of the Sabermetric community in baseball. Here were guys who I read on a regular basis and I am in the same place as them. Talk about feeling like I was in way over my head!

kc9

All in all, it was two days of baseball heaven for someone like me. I’ve always said that baseball is my first love. Monday and Tuesday in Kansas City was me being around the thing I love the most. I wouldn’t trade my memories for anything in the world. It was even better than I ever imagined.

0

My Letter to Ken Davidoff

kc1

It amazes me how the whole #BooCano thing is still not understood from the mainstream media. They think it is as cut and dry as us Royals fans booing Cano for not picking Billy Butler for the Home Run Derby last year. Nope, he was booed for saying he would pick Butler, then going back on his word. Let’s be honest, it’s not an admirable trait to sit there and say you are going to do one thing, then not. We teach our kids not to do that. Ken Davidoff wrote an article for the New York Post today about the Derby last night, referring to the booing from last year and calling us Royals fans ‘small market hayseeds’. Davidoff, like the rest of the east coast, still doesn’t get why we booed. Yet we are bad sports. I would link the Davidoff article, but to be honest, he doesn’t deserve your clicks. Avoid his crap writing, because to be honest, that whole article was a steaming pile. In response to his droppings, I sent Mr. Davidoff a letter. Below is the letter in full.

Dear Mr. Davidoff,

     As one of those ‘small market hayseeds’ from Kansas City, I’d like to thank you for continuing to prove that none of the mainstream media understand why Mr. Cano was actually booed. Sure, it WAS in part because Butler was not picked for the Derby. But the real answer that none of you ‘big market simpletons’ have figured out is that it wasn’t JUST because Butler wasn’t picked. About a month before the Derby, Cano said he would pick Butler for the Derby. Then, when the time came to select, he didn’t. He was booed because he went back on his word, not simply for not selecting Billy. If Cano had never said that, he might have gotten a few boos, but not at the volume he received at the K. He earned those boos for making a stupid comment, then going back on it. The next time one of your ilk decide to write an article that makes us look like we are unintelligent hicks, you might want to actually do some research instead of sounding like an uninformed ‘hayseed’. As someone who was part of the media at the All-Star game festivities last year, I would hope you would try to use some journalistic integrity the next time you write something. Maybe then I would want to actually read your material, rather than now, when I want nothing to do with your drivel. I will instead actually choose to read writers who do their research and don’t paint a picture that isn’t the truth. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Sean Thornton 

If I wanted to be a real jerk, I would have stuck a ‘suck it’ on the end. It would have been appropriate.

3

Cementing a Legacy

budssss

With the Major League Baseball All-Star Game taking place tomorrow, it would appear to be the time to shine a light on all the positives so far in the 2013 campaign. Instead baseball is staring down the barrel of a giant mess that could be a black eye the game is not prepared for. Word leaked this past week that the commissioner’s office was planning on suspending possibly as many as 20 players after this week’s All-Star break for their involvement in the Biogenesis clinic in Miami. Baseball is using the word of Tony Bosch, the owner of Biogenesis, which seems shady within itself. Bosch has already lied when the Biogenesis issues were first brought to light, and then tried blackmailing Alex Rodriguez, hoping that A-Rod would fork over the dough for Bosch’s silence. Doesn’t exactly seem like the most honest fellow, does he? But even if Bosch backs up his word with hard, real evidence, it doesn’t mean this issue is cut and dry for baseball.

kc1

There has been word that Rodriguez and Ryan Braun would catch the heftiest of penalties, 100 games which is normally reserved for players on their second offense. Except neither guy has an official first offense on their record. The thinking by the commissioner’s office is that the two-time offense would be A) receiving performance-enhancing drugs and B) lying about receiving said drugs. This not only seems like a big reach, but also seems like a scary, slippery slope to start gliding down. Once you say they can be suspended for two offenses at once, where does it stop? It almost seems like baseball, and more specifically Commissioner Bud Selig, is making up the rules as they go. To be honest, this whole issue reeks of Selig wanting to fix his initial error. You know the one I’m talking about, that whole “Steroid Era”?

kc2

Selig has been adamant that he knew nothing about steroids being so widely used in the game during this era, but are we really to believe that? There is no way the head chief of the entire game has no clue about something that pretty much everyone else was aware of. The truth of the matter was that baseball flourished from the power surge steroids brought and elevated the game coming off of the 1994 baseball strike. Selig and his owner buddies all made crazy money, hand over fists, during this period and only put a stop to it once congress decided to step in. So to make up for this, Selig wants to nail anyone to the wall who is or has used PED’s. But this might not turn out the way he thinks. Sure, a large portion of the suspended will take their suspension and serve it. But Braun and Rodriguez probably won’t, and don’t be the least bit surprised if this ends up going to court. Now answer this; is this whole thing worth it if it means all anyone is talking about within baseball is PED’s and court proceedings? Nope, it sure isn’t.

kc3

This thing could drag on for quite awhile, and it won’t take long for some people to just be sick of it. All this so Selig could fix his major screw up and fix his legacy, a legacy that already has a strike, steroids, a missed World Series and a tied All-Star game. This will just be the cherry on top, more bad press for an otherwise elegant game that if kept between the lines is holding up as one of the brighter eras the game has ever seen. Instead more steroid talk, more finger pointing and name calling. Way to cement your legacy, Allan. I can’t see where this is the best thing for baseball, Instead I see a desperate man willing to use sketchy characters just to prove a point. The old saying goes “if you sleep with dogs, you’re bound to get fleas”. When this is all said and done, I have a bad feeling Selig will be itching quite a bit.

1

The Dividing Line

The 2012 season for the Kansas City Royals has been one of many ups and downs, so many that it would feel like a novel to go over them all right now with you. But maybe the biggest story to come from this roller coaster is the giant divide that is growing daily between Royals fans and Royals management. Speaking as a fan for close to thirty years, I have never seen such a strong division between the two. How did we get here?

This season started innocent enough. In fact, I would say there was more optimism in the air than there has been in Kansas City for a very long time. For once, this team looked like one who could at the least hold their own in a very weak division. But a massive trip and fall in the form of a12-game losing streak in April killed the buzz. Oh, and that ‘Our Time’ slogan. Man, that died a quick death. It did leave some nice wordplay of that slogan, including “Our Time to Lose” and “Our Time to Perform Below Expectations”. All that was really obvious was the expectation of just a .500 season was too much for these Royals. We went from just looking at the positive of things to the dog shit that you find on the bottom of your shoe. It was “Our Time” to reevaluate.

I think to many, this really was the breaking point. But to be honest, our story really starts in the offseason. When the Royals jettisoned fan favorite Frank White from his broadcasting duties, the backlash was severe. Was Frank great at his job? Not really. He was improving, but not great. But Frank is honest and that didn’t sit well with Royals management. Look, we get you don’t want your announcers talking trash on the team. But let’s put this in perspective a bit. The Royals have had losing seasons 17 out of the last 18. The last thing I want from my announcers is a sugar coating. So of course, that is what we got. Management has shown a tendency to be very thin skinned, which further alienates a fanbase that wants to win. Put a winning team on the field, and you don’t have to worry about criticism. At the end of the day, this was the beginning of the rift.

Obviously, the awful start of the season was strike two between fans and management. Hey, we didn’t expect them to go out and win every night, but we did expect them to be competitive. It took close to a month for that to happen, but by then things were already sour. Manager Ned Yost would comment that things were fine, which wasn’t the truth, and GM Dayton Moore would give out his vote of confidence. The truth is that is what leaders do; the problem is as fans, we have seen this story unfold so many times that it was too much to take. ANOTHER losing season. ANOTHER season of being the butt of jokes. More than anything, it felt like we fans were the only ones who cared. When you get the feeling that management doesn’t really want to fix things, it makes it difficult to want to be a fan.

Some of the good feeling came back at the All Star break, as the town of Kansas City rolled out the red carpet for major league baseball and really showed them that it is a baseball city. Even more evidence was at the home run derby, as a crowd mostly made up of Royals fans booed Robinson Cano for him going back on his word, while cheering for their guy, Billy Butler. As someone who was in the crowd, I can tell you the place was deafening and I have no doubts that is what it would be like if playoff baseball ever returned to Kansas City. You can’t create that sort of passion, and showed just how much the fans care.

Coming off that high, the Royals get back from the break and proceed to stink up the place. It felt like all the goodwill that was felt from the All Star break was now gone in one fell swoop. Management did acknowledge that starting pitching was a major problem for the club, but it took way longer than it should have to do something about it. Most fans were ecstatic when Jonathan Sanchez was sent packing to thinner air, and Jeremy Guthrie was acquired. It has ended up being one of Moore’s better moves, and Guthrie has helped solidify the rotation.

But I think that right there is where some of this discontent comes from. Jonathan Sanchez started probably a good 3-5 more games than he should of, when everyone was clamoring for them to either ship him out or at least quit having him go out to the mound every fifth day. Look at Luke Hochevar, a guy who is a former first round draft pick. The Royals have said publicly that they are bringing him back for another season in 2013, which blows the mind of most. The consensus is that if he hasn’t figured it out now, he isn’t going to. We see him as a pitcher with good stuff who isn’t consistent. Management sees him as a guy who is on the cusp of turning the corner…even though he has sat on that very corner the past few years. Look at the Yuniesky Betancourt signing. All are signs of what the fans perceived as trouble yet management continues to wait out until it becomes one big frakkin mess.

So we are just about a week away from the end of the season, and the Royals are saying all the right things. David Glass told Bob Dutton yesterday that he was willing to spend money this offseason to upgrade the starting rotation. He even said he was committed to building this franchise into a contender. All great words, and I truly hope he means it. But when that comes out the same day as word that season ticket prices are going up, that makes my skeptical radar go batshit crazy. Add in the letter sent to Royals fans for “their commitment”, and it seems as if the organization is going all out to butter us up. To be honest, if they mean it, I think that is great. I don’t think there is any doubt we are committed. I mean, we continue to venture to the ballpark and spend our hard earned money on a team that hasn’t won since 2003, and is the only team in the last twenty years without a playoff appearance. We are about as devoted as it gets. But even that is part of the problem.

At the end of the day, the disconnect builds from one simple truth. Actions speak louder than words. So the organization has given out a lot of lip service this season, but the play on the field isn’t backing it up. We want a winner. We want something to cheer for. Bottom line, anything less than that is unacceptable. For too long, we have accepted this team because we love them and want to be able to say we hung around in hard times and we were rewarded. In the end, we need the actions to speak to that commitment. Otherwise, it is just words blowing in the wind. I can honestly say that if I don’t feel like they put forth a good foot this offseason, then I am very likely to not be as involved next year. We have enabled this team long enough, Kansas City. Time for them to step up and hold them to their words. Otherwise, this endless cycle of losing will continue. Give us a winner, and we are yours.

0

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑