Game 50 Open Thread - Royals (21-28) at Jays (26-25)
by Freneau on May 25, 2008 1:00 PM EDT
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PrintKansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays, May 25, 2008 1:07 PM EDT
Amazingly, the Royals can still salvage a split against the Blue Jays, although that will require scoring at least two runs over the next two days, which might be a tall task for a squad that hasn't scored since the first inning of Friday's contest.
| BA | OBP | HR | Runs | |
| Royals | .255 | .315 | 25 | 178 |
| AL Average | .259 | .329 | 44 | 221 |
I felt charitable, so I included good ole batting average in the numbers above, which is the only offensive category the Royals are even vaguely average in, ranking ninth. but don't worry, Joey Gathright and Tony Pena Jr. are going to keep playing, and remain in the lineup today, promising to give The Epic (3-6, 5.58 ERA) all the support he needs against Dustin McGowan (2-4, 4.21 ERA).
It's all part of Hillman's master plan, which cannot properly be grasped through logic. Consider this snippet from a Dutton piece in the Star :
“People think we have a lot of speed,” manager Trey Hillman said. “We don’t. We have one plus runner. That’s Joey Gathright. People think David DeJesus is an above-average runner. Under way, he is.”
DeJesus has three steals in seven attempts after getting thrown out Saturday in the first inning of a 6-0 loss to Toronto at Rogers Centre. Tony Peña (three for four) and Esteban German (two for three) are the only Royals besides Gathright to have more steals than caught-stealings. “We’re still going to look for opportunities to hit-and-run and steal,” Hillman said, “but we’re not laden with team speed. We’re not going to do anything counter-productive and just run at will.
First of all, you have been counter-productive, counter-productive with a vengeance in fact. Secondly, if you're going out of your way to bitch about the lack of team speed -- and this is why we must now officially fear the Hillman/Moore team, because speed is what they think is the answer down the road -- then can't you also give into the idea that the continued hit and runs and dumb steal attempts need to go by the wayside?
The Impossible Dream: A Royal Slugging .500: Kudos to Miguel Olivo for mashing his way towards a .290/.320/.602 line. Thanks to his 11 doubles and six home runs, he's the only non-pitcher the Royals have with a slugging percentage over .500. Over the course of his career, Olivo owns a lifetime .415 mark, so it's no sure thing, but for the time being, his prodigious bat has inspired Royals fans to dream big.
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I get to watch the Canadians today
Which mean I just heard about how Gil had a good oating last time oat.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
From Fan Post
Today is special; Gload and German join TPJ and Gathright in the amazing hitless lineup.
D. DeJesus lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
E. German 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .097
A. Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
J. Guillen dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253
B. Butler 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J. Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
R. Gload rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
T. Pena Jr. ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .162
J. Gathright cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
We’ll probably score 20.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
Gload will go 4-4 with 2 HR and 6 RBI
And the anti-Teahen crowd will decide they want him playing every day.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
I had to resort to automotive listening
Thanks to the Saturday day game
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
The downside to taking pitches
Butler took five pitches, and still grounded out.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
The Upside Is
21 pitches for McGowan.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
If TPJ Breaks
His bat, he should not be given another.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions
What, No Fireworks?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions
And Hammering Our
Entire pitching staff.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
There's a former Royal in the booth
But I’m not sure whether it’s Tabler or Mulliniks
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Can We Get
Tabler back?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
If we had him
we wouldn’t be bitching about not scoring with the bases loaded, that’s for sure.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Meche Is Approaching
100 pitches. That’s OK, though; Trey says he’s good for 250 today.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
The Radio Crew
Just said we feel like we can run on this guy; we can. We can run on anybody.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
Lyle Overbay just set the Toronto record
for consecutive plate appearances reaching base.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Meche
He’s certainly struggled regularly, but I’m surprised whenever I see that his ERA is so high. He’s had six quality starts this year (more than Beckett, Sabathia, Halladay, Dice-K), so it seems weird that he has an ERA that brings to mind Runelvys Hernandez (2005, 5.52) and recent Indians pick-up Scott Elarton (2006, 5.34). When those guys took the mound, I always felt hopeless. With Meche, even this year, there’s always a decent shot at a quality outing, even though his numbers have actually wound up looking worse than those guys. Maybe he’s just the rare guy who actually posts the by-definition 4.50 ERA in his quality starts (A Bill James study revealed that between 1984-1991, the average ERA in quality starts was 1.91.)
He's Giving Up
HR’s with runners on most of the time. It’s not like the whole lineup beats him up bad; usually it’s BB’s, bleeders and a blast or 2.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
The Royals need to acquire Nomar and Brian Giles
So they can trout out the following lineup:
Gathright CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Gordon 3B
Guillen LF
Giles RF
Garciaparra SS
Greinke DH
German C
Gload 1B
Gobble P
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Has anyone...
seen a team stat of foul balls per game?
goddamnit
We needed to send him, ‘cause god knows we couldn’t count on scoring him from third, but ARRGGGH.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
And of course, Buck then hits what would have been the sac fly.
Just shoot me now.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Yep, that should pretty much do it for our chances to score this game
winning records follow good bullpens
Runner on first Pena at the plate nobody out
Pena should be bunting every time.
winning records follow good bullpens
Now Gathright should be bunting also.
winning records follow good bullpens
And of course, he fails. Why the fk is he on this team if he can't get a bunt down
winning records follow good bullpens
Just because it worked, doesn't mean t wasn't stupd...
winning records follow good bullpens
Doubt they could double up Joey
If he’s bunting with two strikes there though, that tells me he had zero confidence in his ability to swing and put bat on the ball, so I guess it’s not all bad.
winning records follow good bullpens
But we have 8 hits!!11 we're good!!
winning records follow good bullpens
So....we got a sacrifce fly double play
Can this team please think of new ways to make outs on the base paths? Unreal
winning records follow good bullpens
My brain is exploding
winning records follow good bullpens
Germie Used To
Be a patient hitter; now he’s just patient.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
So now we have a caught stealing (by speedster Ross Gload)
And out at the plate, and an out at third base. All in 5 innings. We’ve given away AN ENTIRE INNING. It’s just….so…bad. Wow.
winning records follow good bullpens
You're improperly applying credit.
Gload wasn’t caught stealing. He was caught expecting Pena to hit the ball.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
So He's Just
Stupid.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Anyone Who Expects
TPJ to make contact is stupid.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, my point there was that Gload made no error
unless it was “failing to stage a mutiny”.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
And now Meche is about to give the run right back
AWESOME
winning records follow good bullpens
You don't have to have a good line up when the other team's pitchers can't get out Brad effing Wilkerson
winning records follow good bullpens
AH, the Gil Meche School of Pitching
Batter is woefully late on first two fastballs away. So bust in inside with some more heat, yes? NO! Throw three fastballs in a row a foot off the plate. Wait a minute… now it’s 3-2. NOW WE’LL COME INSIDE! Strike 3. Oh yeah. That only took 7 pitches.
winning records follow good bullpens
His refusall to challenge the hitter is maddening
And then when he does, they foul off 4-5 pitches. I wish I could understand it
winning records follow good bullpens
Stewart's Not Much
Of a stolen base threat anymore. Really.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
It looks insurmountable with McGowan pitching
winning records follow good bullpens
92 pitches through 5 for Meche
Guessing Hillman runs him out for the 6th
winning records follow good bullpens
And The 7th
And the 8th.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
"Well, 130 pitches every other start is less than what we had them throwing in Japan...
Plus, Charlie Leibrandt threw 140+ twice in the 85’ Series!”
winning records follow good bullpens
Liebrandt Couldn't Throw
It through a pane of glass. It was 78 MPH circle changes on the outside corner at the knees all day long with Charlie.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
The Royals don't win game 6 without him
That was a fantastic performance that often gets overlooked, especially considering how he came back from the rough 9th inning earlier in the series.
winning records follow good bullpens
Terrible call on Alex
winning records follow good bullpens
Brilliant
While talking about how McGowan worked Gordon, they’re showing their K-zone thing and not one of those called strikes was over the plate. Not one.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
On the bright side, we m ight get McGowan out by the 9th inning
But only if we lay down 3 more successive bunt singles
winning records follow good bullpens
I've just had it with Hillman.
He’s just another one of those guys who gets hormonal about guys who can’t play like he couldn’t play.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Overbay tried
winning records follow good bullpens
cool...
well, we’ve got Gobble availible to face 1 batter, then it’s on to Yabuta and Peralta
we cant use the good relievers down 2-1, donchaknow
99% sure Soria is pitching the 8th tonight
winning records follow good bullpens
As much as I can't deal with TPJ's bat...
he’s made a couple great plays today.
Gil Meche, NINE 3 ball counts in 6 innings of work
It’s hard to pitch like that ladies and gentlemen.
winning records follow good bullpens
Oh, and this doesn't include the fact that he went 2-2 on almost every othe rhitter
winning records follow good bullpens
If we don't pinch ht for TPJ this inning...
winning records follow good bullpens
Quality start number 7 for Meche
As usual, it wasn’t at all pretty. With Meche, it seems as if his higher-than-expected ERA somehow goes beyond objective numbers to reflect the aesthetic ugliness of his outings.
He Shoulda Bunted
With TPJ and Gator coming up.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
1 pitch, double play, thank god for Ross GLoad
winning records follow good bullpens
Just remember
if not for Gload and Toronto’s inability to field bunts, we wouldn’t have a run!
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Between Gload and Pena
two of the 5 worst everyday players in the league. I’m guessing.
Tony Pena Junior, 1 for 2 with a bunt single and strike out
Batting .167 on the year. The Royals are down 1 in the seventh inning, two out nobody on. A normal, intelligent manager would pinch hit here. Perhaps put in somebody with a chance of getting on base. Luckily for us, Trey Hillman is quickly proving that he is neither normal or intelligent. Seriously. WTF.
winning records follow good bullpens
Whoever wants to get the Fire Hillman bandwagon rolling, I'll hop on
So far I’ve been impressed by almost nothing that he has done.
winning records follow good bullpens
I'm not going to whine about that move...
I’d rather have seen a PH for Gload.
At leastw ith Gload you have somebody that is capable of hitting the ball out of the infield
winning records follow good bullpens
Gload Is Our
Lefty PH.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions
How long can we start saying Fire Hillman?
Does this guy have a clue?
winning records follow good bullpens
We all deserve gold medals....
....for relentlessly sticking by this organization through their countless faults. Will our organization ever emerge from the toilet? Probably never.
Dayton Moore, you need to read up on offensive building, because in that regard, you have failed us tremendously. Mike Barnett needs to be fired NOW, and Trey Hillman needs to be placed on notice.
Some changes need to occur around here. We shouldn’t stand for this crap any longer.
I just feel bad for a lot of the folks here.
At least the old farts among us remember the good times. The young’ns have just had to deal with this crap as long as they can remember, and that makes me depressed.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
I have never witnessed successful Royals baseball.
I am truly a rare breed. Despite my young age, an age when I should be enthusiastic and optimistic instead of cynical….I’m pretty bitter, at times, and it shows. (I do consider myself an optimistic person, just not in Royals regards).
by Royals Nation on May 25, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow, We're A
Little more than 25% done with Hillman’s first season and we’re absolutely sure he’s horrible. He hasn’t remade the offense yet with the tools he has available? Shocking. He has a year and a half before I start to draw any conclusions.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
It's not that, Phil.
He continually makes moves which display his complete and utter cluelessness. You don’t hit and run with Pena at the plate. You don’t have Gobble pitch to Mike Lowell with the bases loaded in Fenway. You don’t continually allow Pena to hit in the late innings of close games we’re losing.
He’s a horrible percentage manager. Might be a good teacher; might be a good motivator, although he’s not been very motivational thus far. But he’s not up to this job, because if you can’t avoid making judgmental errors that every single one of us can see AS errors, you’re doing it wrong.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
I Am Hoping
He’ll improve his in-game decisions, but I was responding to the criticism of his offense building skills.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, that's not his fault.
He can’t be held responsible for the personnel he has to work with. There’s virtually nothing sensible he can do with the players on hand to avoid having at least one sucking hole in the lineup… which is why has HAS to avoid making the stupid-ass decisions he’s been making.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Good job Ramirez
Now the game is REALLY over.
winning records follow good bullpens
Giving away outs
Nobody does it better. There’s another example, with Gathright’s bunt. That’s why he should never be anything more than a 4th OF.
Germie On 1B
With the heart of the order coming up!
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
Can He Play
Third?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
We should
make a trade with the Rangers. They score and can’t pitch and we don’t score and can usually pitch.
Tabler's talking about how Toronto was going through the same thing
we are now back when they came to KC for that series: unable to catch any breaks, can’t drive runners in, constantly walking guys with two outs or committing errors with two outs that lead to big innings…
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
I feel old.
I was 33 when BJ Ryan arrived in Baltimore, which was like 400 years ago.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Who's B.J. Ryan?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions
You know, the guy who pitched the ninth inning
after we all glazed over and stopped paying attention to another loss.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
8 games under .500.
It took us longer than usual, but we’re done. Out of contention. At least we made it to May. I’m ready for you to make some moves Dayton…
winning records follow good bullpens
Moore Cannot Reshape
The entire organization in 3 years, but he can get Glass to gut up off his wallet and but some FA offense, or trade pitching for hitting. Neither way will be cheap, but I don’t see much offensive help coming from our system untill Moustakas is ready.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
that was brutal
I wish it had been a night game… can’t say why, but watching that to start my day was terribkle
Incredible
I just read this statement in the game story at the Royals official website and I had to look at it a second time to let it sink in:
The seventh straight loss tied a season-high for the Royals (21-29), who also lost seven in a row from April 17-24.
It’s absolutely incredible that we have already had two seven-game losing streaks before the end of May.
Don't Worry; Tomko
Is The Stopper.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on May 25, 2008 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions
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