Love that Treyball

by royalsreview on May 1, 2008 4:29 PM EDT Comment 28 comments

Well, at least the Royals forced Sir Sidney out of the game by the ninth inning. In a way, I'm glad we gave the old Aruban one last nice start before he fades back into horribleness. We can file it next to our DVD of Livan Hernandez's similarly dominating performance of a supposedly up-and-coming lineup. It was a special day, to be sure. We'll all remember these special moments, moments that only a true artiste like W.C. Heinz or Buzz Bissinger can truly capture.

I don't know what's more damning, that Hillman has randomly moved DeJesus into the third spot, behind Gathright and Grudz, or that the KC lineup is so impotent that putting a player who has never hit double-digit homers at #3 is still an improvement on many other options. The consistent yanking around of Gordon is just stupid. Oh, he's the seven-hitter now. Why? Because he had two bad games? It's not the reason the Royals won or lost, but it is nevertheless reflective of a dumb thought-process. Roughly akin to, say, rearranging your living room furniture because you disliked an episode of Lost. Well, we've got to shake things up, don't we? Or get him comfortable, or whatever it is this week.

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p.s.

OK, I feel like something of a jerk, considering that the lineup did manage 9 runs the two previous games.

Still… what the hell was that?

by royalsreview on May 1, 2008 4:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm still firmly in Trey's camp

But I am a bit disappointed in him right now. I don’t think he’s any worse than most managers, but I thought he would avoid some of the dumb pitfalls other managers employ.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 1, 2008 4:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

When your team is sucking tremendously

And you are trying to save your season before it’s too late, you try things out. Even if they are dumb pitfalls.

winning records follow good bullpens

by slayor on May 1, 2008 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

im out of his camp until callaspo starts playing regularly

TPJ...you're dead to me

by billybeingbilly on May 1, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This offense

is awful. Gathright and Pena are virtually given outs. And I am becoming less and less of a fan of Buck. Play Callaspo every day, keep Butler at first and go find a damn DH somewhere!!!

by gordonrules on May 1, 2008 4:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Important to remember

Even if Trey did sit back and not employ stupid baserunning tactics, even if he did bench Gload and Pena, we’d still probably struggle mightily to score runs. Dayton needs to give Trey better tools to work with here.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 1, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, we need a BAT

And I’m not talking Jose guillen. I’m talking a Justin morneau, LOCK to smack 30 homers and drive in 100 runs stick. I don’t know how you get a guy like that midseason, without trading the farm, house and tractor but we need it.

winning records follow good bullpens

by slayor on May 1, 2008 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

there was a very minimal difference in production b/w guillen and morneau last year...121 to 116 OPS+

TPJ...you're dead to me

by billybeingbilly on May 1, 2008 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What about...

the year before?

by djk royal on May 1, 2008 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I do...

Barry Bonds.

by djk royal on May 1, 2008 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then go get someone

at this point I don’t really care who, as long as he can bat 3 or 4th. There are quit a few veterans out there with out jobs right now. I don’t think any of them are the answer.. We need to go find someone young.

by gordonrules on May 1, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

true

by royalsreview on May 1, 2008 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What do you mean by

“disliked an episode of Lost”? I’m not quite seeing how those words come together in a single sentence.

Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!

by cmkeller on May 1, 2008 4:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fair enough, but I just re-read it and it makes sense to me

by royalsreview on May 1, 2008 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This game...

mirrors the entire Royals season thus far.

We take only two walks and let a below average pitcher maintain a low enough pitch count to go 8 innings.

The measly two walks we took were by our only two high OBP guys DeJesus and Teahen.

Another out on the base paths and another failed sacrifice by Pena.

As a team we have six hits which were all singles.

Good starting pitching by Greinke great bullpen work by Nunez wasted.

Pena, Guillen, Buck and Gathright combine for 1 hit.

by djk royal on May 1, 2008 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I wish Zack could bat for himself.

He should be at 5-0 instead of 3-1, considering the non-existent run support in his last two starts. I bet he could do better than half our lineup.

Let's Go Blues!

by powderbluesfor08 on May 1, 2008 5:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Is this really Trey's fault?

He can’t bat himself.

The only real issue I have with his managing so far is his preference for Pena over Callaspo. Guillen, besides being a souless ghoul, is a void in the lineup but I think the Royals have to keep playing him. The Royals need to stick with him for at least another month, even if he continues to OPS around .600.

Pena is a different story. A bit of offense can be added by giving the job to Callaspo now.

Buck is no help, but he is also about a league average hitter for a catcher. And I doubt Olivo would provide better production than Buck over the course of the season.

I think Trey is just working with the players he has, and right now they are not good offensive players. No amount of shuffling the roster is going to change this fact this season.

www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

by James Quinn on May 1, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For the most part

I agree with your post.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 1, 2008 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, it isn't his fault

and basically, there isn’t anything he can do to make TPJ better, etc.

Still, don’t look at results, look at his process. His playing time distributions are out of whack, he employs way too many one-run strategies, sends slow guys in hit and runs and seems looked into a psychological interpretation of batting order.

Gordon hitting seventh, SEVENTH is just absurd, and indicative of a strange mind.

by royalsreview on May 1, 2008 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For me, it is more about playing time,

I don’t think batting order is such a big deal provided the order is not obviously ridiculous. I do think Hillman’s additional focus on the running game probably does a bit more harm than good. You know I am a “big inning” advocate.

But line-ups and small ball tactics are minor factors compared to playing time, and overall I do not disagree with Hillman’s starting lineups, Pena aside. I think most nights he puts out there pretty well the best line-up he can cobble together, Pena aside.

If Guillen start to OPS around .800 I think the offense will reach a respectable level this year. DeJesus, Butler, Gordon, Teahen, Gload, Grudz plus a less comatose Guillen should provide at least four runs a night.

www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

by James Quinn on May 1, 2008 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

SOMEONE has to make these guys work the starting pitchers.

I bet Jim Abbot could go nine innings, with under 90 pitches, throwing with his oposite hand, (or lack thereof) against us.

Let's Go Blues!

by powderbluesfor08 on May 1, 2008 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow

"So whattya say, should we clean this place up?" - Tom Cruise

by DyeFan187 on May 1, 2008 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dumb idea?

Let’s suppose that it is a dumb idea to mess with the lineup for a minute. That would mean that anyone who thinks it’s a dumb idea to mess with it is equally advocating Jose Guillen as the permanent cleanup hitter, even if/when he’s batting below the Mendoza line.

I’m with Hillman on changing the lineup whenever someone in the top half of the order appears to be going into or coming out of a slump.

Here’s my idea of a smart lineup: highest to lowest OBP from the top to the bottom. In a perfect world, the 3-6 spots would have at least two guys capable of 20-25+ HR per year, but that power is and should be secondary to OBP. (Most runs are not scored by HR. It’s a fact.)

As others have mentioned, Callaspo should be selected to play SS since TPJ is SO bad offensively and defensively lately.

by Stat Ninja on May 1, 2008 6:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The problem isn't changing the lineup in general

it’s the particular changes—i.e., having DeJesus, a good hitter but with little power, into the third spot, and having a low-OBP guy, Gathright, leading off. At least that’s what I thought RR was pointing out. That’s what I would say, anyway.

I would also say that moving people around based on the perception (seemingly based on a few games at a time) of who is “slumping” or “has the hot hand” is generally not a good strategy based on reason, but on “hunches,” sort of like “he doesn’t strike people out, but he knows how to win” and so on, but that’s a whole different post…

by devil_fingers on May 1, 2008 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My solution

Would be to employ the following lineup:

DeJesus CF
Grud 2b
Gordon 3B
Guillen RF
Butler DH
Teahen 1B
Callaspo SS
Buck C
Gathright LF

And liberal use of TPJ (and maybe Gload) as a late-inning defensive replacement.

The bottom line is, however, we’ve got at least one hole (1B) in the lineup that was supposed to be fixed by Shealy. If you fix that next year, you move Teahen to the two hole where he best fits, have German/Aviles/TBD at 2B next year, and have the following:

DeJesus
Teahen
Gordon
TBD masher
Guillen
Butler
Callaspo
German/TBD
Buck

I think that could be a pretty salty lineup. Any thoughts on who might be out there (Teixeira would be an obvious possibility, but any others)?

One man with courage makes a majority - Andrew Jackson

by Home Run Tony Cogan on May 1, 2008 11:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Again with the lineups

It’s odd that when the offense isn’t performing well, we always get back to lineups, as if they are actually important. It isn’t, period. Batting Gordon 3rd or 7th is essentially meaningless with regard to how many runs this offense will score in a game. The problem with the offense is that they aren’t hitting, not that they are hitting in the wrong order.

There are legitimate criticisms of Hillman with regard to this team’s offense:

1. He’s not enforcing an approach with emphasizes plate discipline
2. He has diversified this offense out of baserunners with his small ball BS and aggressive baserunning.

So, “Trey Ball” hasn’t been effective. But it has nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with the lineups.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on May 2, 2008 12:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

re: Guillen

Everyone needs to understand something very important: historically, Guillen is just not a good April hitter. He’s had a couple of good Aprils in his career, and despite that April is his second-worst month (September/October is his worst).

For the next four months, he’s very likely to be off your collective shit lists.

Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.

by jonfmorse on May 2, 2008 6:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lineup adjustments

I don’t mind Hillman shaking up the lineup some like the move of DDJ to 3 hole. Agree with the comments about plate discipline – KC still has too many innings of less than 10 pitches. For major leaguers, that is awful. A guy like Livan or Ponson can get through 6-7 innings with 70 pitches when KC is just hacking away.

Obviously TPJ has got to be looked at soon – Callaspo is a legitimate prospect with can fill this place in the lineup. More Olivo and less Buck would be a helpful move.

On the whole, the players just aren’t getting it done. KC has a total lack of clutch hitting in the lineup 1-9. Gload isn’t an average hitting MLB 1B. Buck and TPJ are the first moves that could be made. Beyond those two, there isn’t much that can be done unless the Royals players get better.

We love to discuss trades and FA signings but let’s face reality. The Royals are stuck with this group for the next few months so they need to find the answers within the locker room. If Teahen, Gordon, Guillen don’t improve, it will be a long, long summer of 2-1 losses to the Rangers, Orioles and Twins.

by daveyork on May 2, 2008 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs