You're So Novel
That really happened?
An inside-the-park homer (or a single & error, but whatevs) to tie the game in the ninth? It looked like the completely bit of random felicity that can turn a losing streak around. Only it didn't.
The Royals still lost. Obviously.

And yes, I'm quoting Nada Surf in the title.
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the cheerleader in that video...
that just ain’t right
I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me
by LeoBloom on
May 28, 2008 3:08 AM EDT
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not surprisingly...
i have discovered that there remains considerable internet interest in discovering her identity
by royalsreview on
May 28, 2008 3:14 AM EDT
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and a hearty congratulations to Jimmy Gobble on a two-inning performance
he might be on pace for 40 IP now
I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me
by LeoBloom on
May 28, 2008 3:08 AM EDT
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i do have to give Hillman credit for having Soria
go 2 innings tonight
it’s only fair considering how much i rip him
by royalsreview on
May 28, 2008 3:14 AM EDT
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Yes, but unfortunately
you can see it coming tonight…two run lead going into the top of the ninth…Soria not available…
<>
I have many leather bound books...
by juano on
May 28, 2008 9:04 AM EDT
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Followed by a blown save
followed by massive threads along the lines of “This is why we should listen to George Brett and never ever consider moving Soria to the rotation until we have 5 aces and 2 pennants.”
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by devil_fingers on
May 28, 2008 10:04 AM EDT
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Yay
It’s really hard to overstate how thrilled I would be with such a thread.
A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.
by NHZ on
May 28, 2008 10:07 AM EDT
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I can't believe there wasn't one after last night
Nunez sux! Boo! It’s unacceptable to have consider a guy capable of closing if he can’t keep his ERA under 1.5!
Don’t worry, if it gets out of control, we can bring up a totally novel topic, like Mike Aviles.
I guess I shouldn’t be mocking, though, since a tiny little part of my heart still thinks that Huber got a bit of a shaft, but I don’t want to get bitch-slapped by NYRoyal.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by devil_fingers on
May 28, 2008 10:28 AM EDT
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Outstanding grammar and and typing rule
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by devil_fingers on
May 28, 2008 10:28 AM EDT
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Huber got shafted.
No question in my mind. It’s just that he isn’t good enough to be worth crying over, anyhow.
A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.
by NHZ on
May 28, 2008 10:36 AM EDT
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Yeah, cf. my reply to your comment on the "formerly Dayton but now Aviles Thread"
I don’t know how to link directly to comments, sorry. There, I try to diagnose my own Huber-itis
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by devil_fingers on
May 28, 2008 10:41 AM EDT
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btw...
did anyone see the Emil Brown highlight tonight?
dude ended up scoring on an attempted steal of second, after the ball ricocheted off him into the outfield
by royalsreview on
May 28, 2008 3:17 AM EDT
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dammit
I wish we would’ve signed him so that kind of crap happened to us
by I need more Esteban on
May 28, 2008 9:05 AM EDT
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Tuesday night's loss
Last night’s defeat was excruciating on so many levels. A number of random thoughts that occured to me during and after the game:
- The sheer futility of the Royals against Blackburn (who pitched well, don’t get me wrong) stunned me, even after watching 8 losses in a row. The 3-pitch inning he had…well, enough said. The Royals’ hitters (most of them, anyway) literally will almost swing at anything right now. Really, it all boils down to this. I got up to use the bathroom at some point last night after the Twins had been retired. When I returned (just a minute or two later) there were already two outs! Insanity.
- Although I’m not one to lead the “Fire the manager!” parade, I must admit that, like some of you, I’m starting to lose confidence in Hillman as a tactician. I saw a number of moves that left me scratching my head. How, even with a roster like ours, just how can you let Pena and Gathright bat repeatedly in big spots late in the game, with bench players (each of whom would be an upgrade, of course) available to pinch hit?
The last inning was the worst for me. Butler gets on, and then is pinch-run for by Gload (thereby eliminating him as a pinch-hitting option, our best remaining one). I fully understand that Butler is a slow runner, ideally not the guy you want on base when trying to get the tying run home. But using Gload here of course meant that Gathright had to hit for himself (and of course make the last out)! I’m not naive; I know that our personnel/depth basically stinks, and in the 12th inning the options were rapidly dwindling, but isn’t that all the more reason not to waste the few “bullets” (believe me, I use that term loosely) that you do have, trailing by a run in your last at-bat? I’d much rather take my chances that Butler will score the tying run on a Gload extra-base hit than hoping for a pie-in-the-sky scenario of Gathright driving in Gload with a big, game-winning extra-base hit.
- Was Grudz unavailable due to injury or illness last night? If not, how can Hillman explain letting him sit from the 9th inning on?
- What else can one say about Pena? He is absolutely killing us, time after time, at the plate. His at-bats end so quickly, it’s almost funny.
- To end on a positive note, Teahen played a very good game. He looked good defensively at 1B. and perhaps his inside-the-park HR will somehow get him going (we can only hope).
by cookierojas73 on
May 28, 2008 8:15 AM EDT
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you nailed it
I didn’t get to see it live, but for me, one of the craziest choices of the game was to pinch hit for German in the bottom of the 8th, but leave in Pena after Callaspo got a base hit.
But worse was in the bottom of the 10th, when the game was tied and Hillman allowed Pena to hit to lead off the inning, with both Gload and Butler on the bench.
The only reasonable explanation for those choices was that Grudz was hurt or ill last night. Still, you could always use Gordon or Teahen at 2B in an emergency.
This space intentionally left blank.
by marbotty on
May 28, 2008 9:09 AM EDT
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couple quick answers
-Grudz was unavailable with a sore back.
- I disagree w/ you about the Gload pinch run decision. On an XBH, Billy would not have scored from first, no way. I think that it was definitely possible with Gload, maybe not probably, but possible. I felt like Hillman was taking a chance that one person could get a big hit. I dont think he (or any of us) should have the confidence that after a game of futility, this team could string together two hits to get Butler home from second (would he make it?)
by I need more Esteban on
May 28, 2008 9:11 AM EDT
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You realize...
that Gathright is not capable of hitting an extra base hit right? Therefore it would have been mandatory to get two hits to score either Butler or Gload.
by djk royal on
May 28, 2008 9:41 AM EDT
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Fair enough
Grudz being unavailable does help explain what transpired, somewhat.
I agree, it’s unlikely that Butler scores on an XBH by Gload there, but even so I’d rather take my chances having runners on 2nd and 3rd and Gordon coming up than the alternative (Gload on first and Gathright up). I just don’t see how you can allow Gathright to hit under the circumstances with the game on the line, down by a run.
by cookierojas73 on
May 28, 2008 9:45 AM EDT
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I am a huge Trey supporter
But last night he had me baffled. Why do you hit Gathright with two runners on in the 8th inning and two outs down by three with Butler on the bench?
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on
May 28, 2008 1:23 PM EDT
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you never know
A car could have materialized on the base path on the way to first. Do you really want Billy Butler to try and jump it?
by Trey Hillman's Chin on
May 28, 2008 1:59 PM EDT
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Well....
“Sometimes the sun don’t shine, the grass don’t grow, and the wind don’t blow.”
Let's Go Blues!
by powderbluesfor08 on
May 28, 2008 6:51 PM EDT
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![Fresh on the heels of my award-winning 2008 Royals O-Swing Percentage Graph, here is a graph the O-Swing (percentage of pitches swung at outside of the strike zone) for all the teams of the AL Central from 2005-2008 by year, also compared to the MLB average. Remember -- this is for hitters, so lower is better.
(Maybe I [or someone else, of course] will do something like this for pitchers next week).
The results speak for themselvs, I guess, but they are saying all sorts of things. Discuss and enjoy!
For a larger version, click here (opens in new tab/window).
Consider this a humble appendix to the "Secrets of the AL Central" series.
All data via FanGraphs, of course.](http://cdn0.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/31963/file_small.jpg)






