You guys might hammer me for this one about Kila... but here's what I think.
Let's give Kila until Sunday at the AAA level and then demote him to the AA level. Yes, I said DEMOTE him. Let's get him some meaningful AB's in a playoff race. If the NWArk team makes the playoffs, let's leave Kila there until they finish their season. This gives us the opportunity to evaluate him in some higher pressure situations. Let him play some games in the playoffs. Those games leading up to the playoffs mean something. Not to mention I think he'll absolutely destroy some of the AA pitching. Meanwhile, let's pull up Shealy and give him a shot at the DH while we play Butler at 1B. DFA Ross the Explosion Gload and rely on what we've got to finish the season.
What do you guys think?
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Consider yourself hammered
not a good idea.
Every fight is a food fight when you’re a cannibal.
-- Demetri Martin
AAA >>> AA playoffs
That was so awesome last year when … damn, who won the Texas League playoffs last year again? MiLB playoffs mean nothing to anyone but the local fans. The players have plenty of pressure on them all the time, they’re trying to make it to the big leagues.
I once tried to string together the combination, "Hot Shot Hit Foul". It didn't quite come out that way. -- Denny Matthews
But does winning and trying to win
translate regardless of the level? If you play to win, you’ll play to win in the bigs when you get there. Being a former player in situations like that, you play harder when something is on the line. A competitive person will work harder and reveal more about himself when win and your in is the case.
Plus, we are trying to change the losing mentality. If we show that through out the different levels, it’ll trickle up. The Royals act like he’s probably not going to get called up so what does it hurt? He’ll go to the 40 man after the season and play half the year in Omaha and then get called up.
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
It would be a demotion of levels
no one likes that no matter what is on the line somewhere else.
Every fight is a food fight when you’re a cannibal.
-- Demetri Martin
The whole notion of a "losing mentality" is extremely overrated
The Royals haven’t been a losing team most of the time for the last two decades because they have a losing mentality. They’ve been losing because they have been short on talent. We don’t need to teaching a “winning mentality.” We need to develop more good baseball players who will help the Royals be winners. Wins will come with the talent, and the mentality will come with the wins.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 20, 2008 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions
+ eleventy billion.
I hate this whole concept of a “loser mentality”. No, I really don’t think him “experiencing victory” at AA would benefit him in any way, shape or form. Instead, it is worlds better for his development for him to continue to bat him against much better pitchers in AAA as opposed to a dozen-or-so at bats in a playoff race.
+eleventy billion and one
would people rather the organization have a “winning mentality” like the Mariners did in the offseason, when they ignored their run differential, and, with their “winning mentality,” traded away a bunch of good young prospects only to come back to earth and suck?
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 20, 2008 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
YEa but is....
Playing in AA Playoffs > Ending AAA season?
Playing in AA playoffs > Ending season getting 3 AB’s a week in MLB?
I don’t know personally.
MiLB = Advance And
Survive; no one wants to go backwards.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Aug 20, 2008 12:40 AM EDT reply actions
Seeing him against better pitchers is worth a lot more than seeing him "high pressure" situations
Are you trying to find out if he’s “clutch” or a “gamer”? Those nebulous, questionable intangibles are much less important than seeing how he hits against better pitching.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 20, 2008 12:47 AM EDT reply actions
I'd rather
give him 25 games in the big leagues once Omaha completes it’s schedule.
That gets me to another pet peeve of mine:
I HATE when managers and GMs discount the meaning of major league September stats. (Buddy Bell was notorious for this).
I understand the thing about other teams bringing up unproven youngsters to play, etc. – but they represent only a small percentage of what the call-up will face.
Besides, in this day and age of statistical availability, it is extremely simple to factor out results against what you may consider to be sub-major league talent just up for a look in September.
Perhaps what Bell was really railing about was small sample size, only he was too dumb to articulate that properly. Regardless, I think it would be an OK idea to take a look at Kila in September, if for no other reason than to get his feet wet and get rid of any nerves he may have at first. That way, even if he doesn’t make the team out of ST next season, if and when he does make it up again, he will perhaps be a bit more comfortable. If you think about it, this is sorta the way they handled Maier. (I’m not saying Maier is all that good or anything – just pointing out that the fact that he had already been here briefly perhaps helped him this season when he was called up).
Hillman's tendancies
We all know Trey usually sits guys a for a week or so when they first get called up. Whether it’s right or wrong, it allows them to get used to the bigs… if Kila gets called up, he’ll get 15 ABs tops. Probably only 3 or 3 starts.
After he gets done in the AA playoffs, send him to KC. He’s part of the success the NWA team has had and he should help finish it.
As a coach and former player, mentality is a bigger deal than anyone thinks. The Royals have lost their recent tradition. Talent equals wins, but so does the right approach. The Mariners never had a winning mentality. It’s not about coaches and managers, it’s about the leadership on the team. Kila is a leader on that AA team. He is learning how to be and doing it. And to say that Bavasi had a winning mentality is like … you get the idea.
It might not be the best idea, but I think it gives us a great look at what he’s made of. Not to mention he’ll continue to play everyday rather than sit on the bench. If we’re going to pull him up just to let him sit for over a week, let’s just do it at the end of September.
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
Maier got 13 AB's in 2006
Do you really think that is making him more comfortable in 2006? For all we know his horrible 13 AB’s (.154/.267/.154) slowed his development. As long as we are guessing at player psychology, don’t you think it is also quite possible that if Kila came up to the majors in September before he was ready and had say 80 AB’s (in the 25 games you suggest) and hit .175/.225/.250 it would hurt his confidence, affect his approach and slow/stunt his development? Less than a month ago, he was in AA. Isn’t there a risk that this much big league PT would be rushing him? While I think there is a potential upside to calling him up in September, I think there is an equally likely downside (rushing him, service time clock, etc.).
If anything, I’d call him up just to get him onto the major league team, so that he can work with the Royals coaches and so they can look at him in BP, etc. everyday. They would get a better chance to see how good (or not) he is, as a pre-evaluation period before they take a longer look at him in spring training. And I would just give him a handful of MLB at bats so he gets just a taste of major league play, but not enough to likely have a negative effect on him.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 20, 2008 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions
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