Secrets of the AL Central
by Freneau on Aug 3, 2008 11:59 PM EDT
in Kansas City Royals News
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PrintSince we woke up on the morning of May 31st:
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Minnesota |
34-23 |
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Detroit |
32-25 |
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Chicago |
31-25 |
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KANSAS CITY |
31-26 |
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Cleveland |
23-37 |
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That's a pretty damn good division
Since May 31, every team has woken up except for the moribund Indians.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
ONE WORD
AVILANCHE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every fight is a food fight when you’re a cannibal.
-- Demetri Martin
Make your predictions for the Boston series
W-L-W. KC shocks the world and Bay goes 1-15 with 0 HR. Boston fans beg for Manny back.
Every fight is a food fight when you’re a cannibal.
-- Demetri Martin
Most Boston fans I know
would rather lose and be able to blame Manny than beg to have him back.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Liriano
I was VERY disappointed to see Liriano tear it up tonight… just makes the Twins SO much better. We’ll have that guy to beat now. I beat we see him a few times before the end of the year.
I wish we’d play the Rays now. Especially since Bartlett went down tonight. He killed us defensively. And had a few hits in there…
Even so, it was great to see that Royals have a little fight in them tonight. Here’s to playing good the rest of the season in a tough division…
Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.
I get to see the Rays on Thurs. Night
Out at Safeco Field. I’m really looking forward to watching them dismantle the Mariners.
I really don't know what to say... Did the post above this signature make sense? Probably not.
by RoyalsFanInMarinerTown on Aug 4, 2008 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions
One mildly interesting tidbit
Bannister said the batter he least likes to face is Manny Ramirez.. He said he never knows what to throw the guy because he hammers everything. At least Banny won’t have to face Manny now.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions
banny doesnt understand stats
TPJ...you're dead to me
by billybeingbilly on Aug 4, 2008 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions
The Ross Gload surge is working.
Surely this helps McCain.
Banny being Banny.
by JobDDT on Aug 4, 2008 1:20 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Don't count on it
Upstarts and grassroots players like Aviles an Maier keep the Democratic dream alive!
I really don't know what to say... Did the post above this signature make sense? Probably not.
by RoyalsFanInMarinerTown on Aug 4, 2008 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
A strong finish with good showings by the young players
should help the Royals mightily in landing a big name FA.
We always did feel the same, We just saw it from a different point of view, Tangled up in blue.
-Bob Dylan
and by "should help"
you mean “helps 1/1,000th as much as tens of millions of dollars”
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 4, 2008 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Remember how Juan Gone pushed us into the playoffs in 2004 after the
“stepping stone” 2003 season??
We always did feel the same, We just saw it from a different point of view, Tangled up in blue.
-Bob Dylan
by Royal Kingdom on Aug 4, 2008 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions
I can't wait
Until we acquire Benito Santiago this winter!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
As sad as it is...
Meche and Guillen are our two “highest profile” fa signings ever. However, it’s at least a step in the right direction isn’t it? Ya know… from the likes of Santiaog and Mientkiewicz to Meche and Guillen to…. I don’t know.. SOMEONE worth a shit? By the way… Gload had the game winning hit in a game of MLB 2K8 I played on xbox360 last night! How much more proof do you need???? He’s awesome!
I think that is probably as good or better than
the thought process DMGM used when extended Gload this past offseason.
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 4, 2008 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions
"Ever"?
Oh, how soon people forget.
We signed a reigning Cy Young winner once, you know.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
We signed the other Davis too. Who was a 20 game winner i believe.
David Cone was a FA signing also.
We should compile a list of our highest profile FA signings ever
Mark Davis
Storm Davis
David Cone
Gil Meche
Jose Guillen
Juan Gonzalez
Greg Gagne
Kirk Gibson
Harmon Killebrew
Orlando Cepeda
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Chuck Knoblauch. Vince Coleman
Gary Gaietti. Dave Henderson (or am I imagining that one). Tim Belcher. Probably should leave out Elarton, Mays and Tomko.
Does anyone remember when we...
had Tom Goodwin and Vince Colemean batting 1 & 2 in the line-up? That would be Trey Hillman’s dream.
Don't forget these
(maybe I’m remembering some acquired in trades…)
Jeff King
Ricky Botallico
Mark Davis was also a record deal
For a few weeks, Mark Davis was the highest paid player in baseball. I think Kirby Puckett or Rickey Henderson or both eclipsed him later that winter.
Kinda curious we only signed Cone to a 3 year deal. I guess that was considered a really long deal at the time.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Wow...
ok… maybe not ever! I have to admit I forgot about a few of those guys. Kirk Gibson! Hahaha.. I saw KC play the Royals in Cleveland in 1991. I was about 15 so I still thought it was cool to wait for the players after the game and try for autographs. Kirk Gibson was the biggest douchebag EVER! Told everyone he didn’t have time to sign and got on the bus which sat there for about 40 minutes before pulling away. DICK! Not that it would’ve been awesome to get his autograph anyway… what did he hit?? .220 that year?? Brian McRae on the other hand was the greatest guy ever.
Brian McRae
I used to sit in Right Field GA as a kid, with my cousin, who was a college student, and would pick me up on the way to the games.
I saw McRae’s big league debut, and he tripled off the fence right in front of my cousin and I, as it rattled away from Sammy Sosa in RF.
That was an interesting game, as well, as Bobby Thigpen recorded his 36th save en route to 57 total for that season.
I really don't know what to say... Did the post above this signature make sense? Probably not.
by RoyalsFanInMarinerTown on Aug 4, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks, now my Davis nightmares are going to start up again.
Personaly, I’d be happy with this off-season if we lock up our own guys (Zack and Billy) instead of signing a big FA who could flop – imagine how different this season would be if we had signed Adrew Jones.
"I've seen the future and it's much like the present only longer." - Dan Quisenberry
Seriously!!!
What a fat loser he is!! Steroids guy or did he just lose it?? Gload is WAY better than Andruw (or however you spell it) Jones.
I don't know about steroids
but the fall off seems WAY too major for that to be the main factor
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 4, 2008 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
what the hell?
why would you start Gload in MLB 2K8, that’s the one place you can remove him from the lineup, does Pena still start at SS for you too?
Even better
you can remove him and add anyone you want!
(Personally, I replaced his ass with Texiera. And Pena with a competely unrealistic version of Me who hit .382 with 43 homers. I’m no dummy.)
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
I know you aren't a prospect
but I think we should call you up.
Every fight is a food fight when you’re a cannibal.
-- Demetri Martin
well.....
I downloaded the new rosters off of xbox live and because the game is quees, Aviles is Miguel Astacio. Players whose names they cannot use always have the same initials. I have to go into the player editor and change his name. By the way… Gordon hit 64 homeruns in the season I just finished. sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
If we're talking video games
The shadow Royals on my Diamond Mind game were finally surpassed on Sunday by the real Royals for the first time all year.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Juan Gone
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had he not had a herniated disk in his back. $4M was such a bargain price for him had he been able to play at least 4 months of the season, really. Much cheaper than Guillen (who had an OBP below .300 - worse than Berroa’s career mark - last time I checked), too, but with a cheap buyout in year two.
I also liked Joe Po’s blog entry about Emil vs. Guillen recently.
Kevin McReynolds??
hahahahaha… maybe I should’ve said FA signings who still actually had careers ahead of them. I know I know… Cone and a couple others… but not many!
Hey! Your leadership and intangibles are appreciated!
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 4, 2008 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
but your grit is getting all over my screen
The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future. - Collected sayings of Muad'Dib
Gregg
had a decent career before he was injured, but his one year with the Royals was one of his worst before that.
Chris Hayes alert
Has a 14 shutout inning streak and his ERA in AA is down to 1.48 in 54 2/3 innings.
With the success of Brad Ziegler, maybe the club will begin to see Hayes as a legit bullpen option for the future.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
My arm fractured when I saw this picture
I can hear his tendons straining from here.
I really don't know what to say... Did the post above this signature make sense? Probably not.
by RoyalsFanInMarinerTown on Aug 4, 2008 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd sure like to see more strikeouts before I fall in love with this prospect
His 5.26 K/9 isn’t at all impressive, particularly from a reliever.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Closers and K/9
It’s not necessary to strike out batters all the time to be a great closer.
For example:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/Q/dan-quisenberry.shtml
Submariners aren’t power pitchers. You do not have to be a power pitcher to succeed in the bigs.
You also don't have to be a power pitcher to get a decent number of strikeouts
For instance, Joakim Soria isn’t a power pitcher at all (his average FB velocity is 91 mph), but he gets a ton of K’s. My point is that the lack of strikeouts is a cause for concern for me with regard to Hayes. If he’s getting a ton of groundballs, then that helps a lot and would explain how he keeps his ERA down even though he’s not getting K’s and, more importantly, it would mean that we could expect him to keep his ERA down. But it is hard to get excited about any relief pitching prospect. If he continues to do well in AAA, I’ll start taking him seriously.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions
His GB ratio
Is good (1.74), but not that great. Ziegler has a GB/FB ratio over 5!!!!
I’m not saying this guy should be a top ten prospect, just saying let’s keep our eye out. Useful relievers often seem to be guys little regarded in the minors.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Yeah, he wasn't on my radar at all going into the season
But he’s definitely one to keep an eye on now. I wish I had batted ball data on him or at least a detailed scouting report.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Fair enough
I was just responding to the whole idea that you have to get loads of strikeouts to be a good pitcher. From what I read, Hayes has about 16 GIDP this year. His GO/AO is almost double what you might expect from a pitcher (1.74 this season), so he’s definitely inducing grounders.
Also, disclaimer, Chris is a friend of mine, I’ve known him since he was 14. I am probably biased, though I covered minor league baseball in the South Atlantic League for a couple years for a decent-sized newspaper and I tend to be decently objective.
I understand you being skeptical about prospects, though. I think Greinke was forced to the majors too quickly – I don’t think he was mentally ready at all a few years ago. Hochevar was a little rushed, too, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders and he adjusted. Chris has a really good head on his shoulders as well. So we’ll see how things go.
His GO/AO is almost double what you might expect from a pitcher (1.74 this season),
Isn’t the average GOAO higher than 1.0?
Also, disclaimer, Chris is a friend of mine, I’ve known him since he was 14. I am probably biased, though I covered minor league baseball in the South Atlantic League for a couple years for a decent-sized newspaper and I tend to be decently objective.
Cool! What pitches does he throw? Does he rely on sinking movement? Do you know anything about his fastball velocity?
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
=)
He throws a ton of different pitches and he’s got good sinking movement, but he throws a rise ball, too.
This clip on youtube will tell you a lot:
Yeah, there's a lot of good sinking movement
I’m surprised he doesn’t get more groundballs. Hopefully he’s developing in that direction. And I’m surprised he mixes in an overhand fastball (basically a 3/4ths delivery). I don’t think I’ve ever seen a submariner who did that. I wonder how much control he has with that pitch. It doesn’t seem like he throws anything with any velocity at all with his submarine delivery (which he uses the vast majority of the time). That could be a problem, considering that his submarine velocity is likely no more than low-to-mid 80’s (Rowdy Hardy territory).
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
very cool
looks like he could be a very interesting reliever. Pat Neshek comes to mind from the Twins (he’s been very good at times so we could only hope for that) I’m not sure how hard Neshek throws, I feel like it’s in the 90’s, though. How old is Hayes?
He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on.
by I need more Esteban on Aug 4, 2008 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
hayes is 25
just turned in february
by chrishayesfanclub on Aug 4, 2008 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Splits
Record: 52-59-0 (.468)
As Favorite: 14-22-0 (.389)
As Underdog:38-37-0 (.507)
At Home: 26-29-0 (.473)
On Road: 26-30-0 (.464)
Has anyone noticed these splits in ESPN? I’ve been watching our ‘As Underdog’ percentage creep up higher and higher and has always been better than our ‘As Favorite’
If we can just win half of the games we’re supposed to then we’re in pretty good shape…
Aren't the Royals 52-60?
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions
That's a weird glitch by ESPN, because the Royals have never been 52-59 this season
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey, they're sports journalist majors
Not math majors! Get off their back!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Butler's superior-to-Gload range saved the Royals a loss already!
OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG
by Matt Klaassen on Aug 4, 2008 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I think this must be ESPN's midwest bias showing itself yet again
They are even doctoring the Royals record to improve it!
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 4, 2008 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
no submariners throw with velocity
the lower you go, the slower you throw.. I’m sure you already know that, though. (i’m a poet, and didn’t even know it. sorry. bad humor). Hayes throws most of his pitches around the 83-85 mph mark, his overhand fast ball is usually right around 89. Considering he only throws one every 15 or 20 pitches, and also considering he only threw 3 pitches and then 8 pitches in his last two games, he doesn’t throw overhand very often. That being said, if he did throw overhand more often, I’m sure he’d be up in the low 90s going overhand delivery.
His rise ball has gotten a lot of attention recently. It totally throws a batter off when they’re not sure whether it’s going to sink, slide, or now rise. Totally f’s with their head, too. Myth Busters did a show on it and it’s scientifically impossible to throw a rise ball with overhand delivery unless you throw 400+mph. Therefore only submariners can throw it.
Hayes is the only guy in all of baseball who not only throws a rise ball, but also is a submariner who can throw overhand. Research it, you’ll find that statement is true.
Is there a stat for how many ground ball double plays to get out of sticky situations there is? I just read on some forum that he has something like 15 or 20. I’m guessing that’s a pretty huge number you’d want to look at for a reliever, right? Say he comes in, 1 out, 2 on base… the other night, 3 pitches.. ground ball double play, boom, end of inning. There’s something to be said for that.
phew, longest post i’ve ever written!
by chrishayesfanclub on Aug 4, 2008 10:55 PM EDT reply actions
The key for a submariner is can he get a ton of groundballs?
Guys like Bradford and Ziegler have a GB% in the 65-70% range, which is massive (traditional overhand sinkerballers are doing well to manage 55-60%). That huge percentage of groundballs is necessary because their slow underhand pitches don’t give rise to many strikeouts at all. So far, it appears that Hayes has a decent groundball rate, but nothing like the successful MLB submariners. Hopefully h keeps working on it and gets more groundballs over the next couple of years and becomes a legit prospect.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Aug 5, 2008 3:49 AM EDT up reply actions
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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)
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