Pessimism or is this reality?

by kcisbetterthanstlateverything on May 23, 2008 11:34 PM EDT

I've been known to be a pessimist for a lot of my life, and Royals baseball, while not totally to blame (along with Chiefs post-season appearances), has certainly contributed to this pessimism. That said, I was fairly optimistic about this Royals season. We had a new manager singing the praises of on-base pct and sounding like the perfect guy for our boys in blue. We started hot thanks to some dynamite pitching, some of which was seen as the next step in the development of our pitchers (Greinke, Bannister, Hochevar, Soria, Nunez, Ramirez, etc). We even scored some runs (well, not many) and started hot by Royals standards. But April, that cruel bitch, could not let the Royals have a winning month for the second time ever (2nd time since 1993). The Royals offense revealed itself as singles-based, impatient, and BAD (Baserunning Arduously Difficult). Meche started slow, and has turned into the above average pitcher making 11 million off of this past free agent market, not his own. Greinke has slowed his quest for the Cy Young Award, and Brian Bannister turned into Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde (although this is not necessarily a new phenomenon). The bullpen began allowing runs sparingly, which is slightly worse than not allowing runs at all. But, my oh my, what a difference that pitching made. Our team has gone from mediocre to not that bad. From not that bad to winning 6 of 7. From playing with our minds to reminding us that these are the Royals. We have lost 6 of 7 (of course overlapping that last streak). So the question is: Am I that pessimistic? Or is this Royals team closer to a 100 loss team than the 75-80 win team we hoped for?

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every team

goes thru streaks now and then, especially when u play a 4 game series at boston. try to look at the bigger picture, not that last 6 games

by ZeppelinDZ on May 24, 2008 12:38 AM EDT 0 recs

I second this...

I think that its not that the Royals are that bad, I think Boston is just that good…they are definitely the best all around team I’ve seen in a long time…now they can steal and have high OBP…even when they spot start pitcher they get a superb performance…just think if they had a healthy Schilling!...they lack fielding in one area and completely excel past the rest at the other positions…its amazing to see what they lead the Majors and American League in…its almost every category

Don't be lonesome for your heroes. Be your own hero.

by PhattStairs on May 24, 2008 12:56 PM EDT up 0 recs

no chance we lose 100 games

Yasuhiko Yabuta is to Major League Baseball as Drew Carey is to The Price is Right

by focs on May 24, 2008 2:47 AM EDT 0 recs

the offense will get better...

i think the pitching staff has found it’s level

by royalsreview on May 24, 2008 3:49 AM EDT 0 recs

Offensive

I agree that the offense will get better, but not significantly so, I’m afraid.

DeJesus is doing about what we’d expect and should be relatively solid all year if healthy. Grudz is about where he usually is. Guillen is mashing right now, as we hoped he would. Gordon is having a nice season and should get better. The Olivo/Buck catching tandem has been very good, all in all.

To me, Butler is the wild card. How soon he adjusts and becomes the productive MLB hitter we all hope/think he will be to me is the biggest factor in how many games we’ll win this year. Right now, he’s struggling and I’m starting to lean toward a little Omaha stint to get his confidence back. Or at least sitting him on the end of the bench away from Mike Barnett.

Where it all falls apart for me is the fact that in Gathright, Teahen, and Pena, right now you have three terribly unproductive hitters in the everyday lineup. Of course, Teahen’s ability to consistently draw walks is very helpful, but that is all he is contributing right now and we just cannot keep sending these three players out there together in the everyday lineup like we’re doing. One? Ok. But three? And even if Teahen starts to heat up and hit for more average and drive in a few runs (which of course we all hope/expect he will), the lineup is still extremely weak compared to almost every other team’s. Not nearly enough power (and not just HR power).

So…it’s hard for me to see any significant improvement out of this offense this season, with Butler being the one variable. That is going to lead to a lot more games (low-scoring losses) like the ones we have had recently…with comments after the game about the other team’s starting pitcher such as, “You’ve just got to tip your cap to Pitcher X…he really mixed his pitches well tonight and kept us off balance…we’ll get ‘em tomorrow night.”

I’m quite interested to see how patient Dayton Moore will be with the offensive personnel we have right now. Does anyone see him making a deal for another run-producing bat, such as the one he nearly made for Milton Bradley last year? Will he mix things up and bring up someone like an Aviles, just for the hell of it? His options are clearly limited (we know he’s not going to trade good prospects) but I am very curious as to how long he will let this current roster stay in place.

by cookierojas73 on May 24, 2008 7:48 AM EDT 0 recs

In the American League

it is too tough to win with a bat like Pena’s. You are basically giving away an out. I believe Gathright is improving actually. His defense has improved in Center and he has drawn more walks in the last few games. He wouldn’t be a bad #9 hitter if we weren’t already giving an out away in the 8 spot. Pena has to GOOOOOO!

sign Greinke a Evan Longoria type deal now.

by kcscoliny on May 24, 2008 10:14 AM EDT up 0 recs

The difference between

Gathright, Pena, and Teahen is that Teahen can actually work the count enough to get to first base. He’s nowhere near the hole in the line-up that Gathright, Pena, or Gload are.

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on May 24, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

how dare you attack Gload!!!!

Don't be lonesome for your heroes. Be your own hero.

by PhattStairs on May 24, 2008 12:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

But...

Yes, Teahen is certainly far more accomplished at getting on base than the others, a skill that is valuable and lacking on this team. But when it comes to swinging the bat, his performance is tough to swallow, especially when he plays a position such as 1B or a corner OF where the ability to produce extra-base hits, HRs and drive in runs is needed/ expected.

I guess my point was that I can live with Teahen in the lineup for what he brings to the team in OBP, but not at the same time as Pena and Gathright. That’s a lineup that matches up well against no one else’s.

by cookierojas73 on May 24, 2008 1:07 PM EDT up 0 recs