Royals Get Rare Win, Inspire Millions
by Freneau on Jun 23, 2009 11:02 PM EDT
in Kansas City Royals News
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The Royals defeated the vaunted Astros thanks to another great start by Zack Greinke and a tremendous recovery in the 9th by some guy named.. let me see here... "Soria".
Weird, isn't he the mopup guy? I guess after five straight blowout losses, the bullpen was so overworked that Hillman had to get creative.
- The Astros were really good five years ago, so you know this is a special, special, win.
- Billy Butler homered tonight. Cool.
- Your Greinke ERA update is: 1.90.
- The Astros had eight hits, all singles. The Royals tried that
oncefor fifteen years, it's a tease. - Lots of anti-Mitch comments tonight. I assumed heading into this season that he was a good gloveman in the OF. Was I wrong? What's going on? It's laughable the Royals minor league systems is how completely unable to produce just one generic fourth OF type in a pinch. I blame Allard Baird. He was the GM until 2008 I think.
- Even after all the horrible play of the last month, the Royals still snagged win #30 three games faster this season than they did in 2008.
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Did anyone catch...
the distance on Billy’s HR?
Nothing from Nothing leads to... Your 2009 Kansas City Royals
408 foot
but it bounced off the wall on the fly
realistically speaking
looked further to my amateur eye
Nothing from Nothing leads to... Your 2009 Kansas City Royals
by averagegatsby on Jun 23, 2009 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions
250
It just seemed further because the left field in Minute Maid Park is 110 feet from home plate.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Great pitching by our two great pitchers.
And awful hitting as usual by everyone else. I am so over Mitch Maier it is unbelievable.
- W. Bloomquist homered to deep center
- P. Earth explodes
he's pathetic
His Slugging % is like .300 and his OBP is .315. He was never good in AAA either. He needs to be sent home. It’s pretty funny that I posted a thread (promote Thorman Now) about moving Dejesus to CF and this guy to LF and now EVERYONE is realizing how horrible this guy is.
DFA NOW!!!
by GobbleforCyoung on Jun 24, 2009 7:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Didn't get to catch a whole lot of the game
I’ll rewatch it as I go to sleep and analyze Grienke through osmosis.
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
Gold, RR :D
“and a tremendous recovery in the 9th by some guy named.. let me see here… “Soria”. Weird, isn’t he the mopup guy? I guess after five straight blowout losses, the bullpen was so overworked that Hillman had to get creative."
Usual dominating performance from Greinke
(yawn)
Soria seems to be back in the groove
Not only did Butler hit a homer and a double, but they were both off of RHPs
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
we all know he KILLS minor league pitching
such as Russ Ortiz.
he just needs to progress into doing that regularly against real pitchers
that really really screws up mlb.tv
by the way, because they use that scoreboard and place
it next to the viewing window for live games….
I also commend Hillman on resisting the temptation to sit Butler and start Jacobs at 1B vs a RHP
the temptation must have been strong
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
Im sure Jacobs will get played instead of Butler one game this series.
Nothing from Nothing leads to... Your 2009 Kansas City Royals
by averagegatsby on Jun 23, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Trey's saving Jacobs for the cleanup spot
when are the Astros starting a lefty?
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 23, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Depends on the personal matchups
If Jacobs is 2-6 against the pitcher, he’ll get the call.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
kind of strange
Jacobs is 3-4 with a HR and a double off of Ortiz….but Trey doesn’t look at those stats though
Holy Shit!!!...Peterson resigned...Am I dead?...Is This Heaven?
by RoyalsFanStuckInCardsLand on Jun 24, 2009 12:05 AM EDT up reply actions
according to UZR
MITCH was doing pretty well until the last week or two…
I’m guessing (based on looking at Rally’s minor league numbers and projections based on those) that he ends up around average over a full season, although the reports of those watching him aren’t inspiring confidence
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
COSTA NOW!
I know he’s injured. But it is thoroughly depressing that our replacement OF options are Shane Costa and Chris Lubanski, even if they were fit.
by kcbottom9th on Jun 23, 2009 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Costa, Lubanski and Shealy must be kicking themselves right now
And getting hurt from kicking themselves
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Average on defense combined with his offense is a poor combination,
correct?
If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that.
yeah,
over a full season, he and Bloomquist would end up hitting about the same - around .310.315 woBA (give Willie enough time, he’ll get there).
Of course, Mitch plays better OF defense and costs $1M less.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 23, 2009 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions
in othe rwords
I think MITCH is an adequate 4th OF at this point for the ROyals, but having him play every day is likely to be really, really ugly
Then again, maybe he’ll surprise us.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 23, 2009 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
and he's going to have to play every day at least until Gordon makes it back.
If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that.
What?
Bloomquist has an OBP of .355 the past two years. Maier walks a little more this year and that’s about it. No reason for a guy with a .640 OPS with no power. Atleast Bloomquist can play mulitple positions
by GobbleforCyoung on Jun 24, 2009 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions
and his English seems to be pretty good
how long until we can elect Joakim Soria to be the Mayor of Kansas City?
Juancho had a great post
About how Soria is likely a suburban “white” kid who had a upper middle class upbringing which probably included lots of English classes, a far different upbringing than your typical Latin American player.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Jun 24, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Let's separate Latin America from Mexico
Mexico has a much larger middle class than D.R. and P.R. – if I was a scouting director, I would approach Mexico much differently than the Caribbean. Too bad U.S.Americans tend to view the rest of the world with beer goggles.
every time Billy Butler hits a HR this year
a ton of food will be donated to the Bishop Sullivan Center.
No word on if the food is from Billy’s house
Can someone check my BABIP math?
In his last 6 games leading up to this one, Zack has had the following in his “bad stretch”:
41 IP, 45 H, 3 HR, 41 K
BABIP = H-HR/ AB-K-HR ?
Thus,
BABIP = 45-3/(41*3)-41-3 = 42/79 = .532?
Isn’t league average something like .300?
My math is off somewhere, correct?
He would have more AB's no?
He didn’t face only 3 batters per inning.
by kcbottom9th on Jun 24, 2009 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions
There we go!
Ok, that’s where my math is off. It just didn’t sound right to me.
BABIP = 45-3/(41*3)+45-41-3 = 42/124 = .339
That sounds a bit more like it. Unlucky due to defense but not double the league average unlucky
by sterlingice on Jun 24, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Zack Greinke thinks bunting is stupid:
" "But whenever guys bunt and give me an out — I don’t care what the situation is — it makes it a lot easier when you get a free out. Even if the guy moves up a base.""
-kansascity.com
realistically speaking
by slayor on Jun 24, 2009 1:25 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
and really really ridiculously good looking
mmm, love me some Greinke. I’ll overlook the fact that he’s engaged…
Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too. ~Greg, age 8
by loyal2theroyals on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Zack is going to get some serious endorsement offers
if he can keep up the good pitching. He’s got the poster boy looks, the comeback story, the eye popping stats. I wouldn’t mind seeing his face instead of Lincecum’s in ads during national TV baseball games. He would need some coaching for any speaking on camera though. :P
by swing and a miss on Jun 24, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions
ZACK GREINKE FOR MANAGER!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Jun 24, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Could you imagine what it'd be like if he was the Manager?
Lol. That’d be a great locker room to be in.
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
"Your new hitting coach is... me"
“See that home run. Do that”
by sterlingice on Jun 24, 2009 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
+++
1,000,000
That is freaking hilarious. Brilliant in it’s simplicity.
Kansas City Royals - rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic since 1994.
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Jun 24, 2009 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Maier was rated our best defensive CF prospect by Baseball America for a few years...
…all despite being a converted catcher.
And you know, I’m probably in a very small minority — I am a Mitch Maier fan. Looking at his BABIP over the last few years, though, I’m starting to think I’m fooling myself…
well last night
he couldn’t catch up with Russ Ortiz’ 90 MPH fastball…not a favorable sign….
ortiz kept putting the ball in the same exact place
upper middle and mitch couldn’t get on top of it. i mean i’m no expert but that seems like a basic pitch that one should be able to hit. a slider that dives off the plate, i get that a lot of hitters can’t lay off that or go out and get it, but a fastball right over the middle, letter-high? wow.
it’s too bad, b/c maier certainly looks the part but he just sucks ass.
Kansas City Royals - rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic since 1994.
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Jun 24, 2009 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe this is foreshadowing to Wil Myers?
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
Being rated
KC’s best prospect – doesn’t necessarily say much for the player typically.
"Well, if we destroy Kansas the world may not hear about it for years." Blofeld
The General Theory of Royaltivity
Your moment of zen
Despite being abandoned by much of his team’s talent level, manager, and the national media, Zach has not relapsed.
We have a pitcher and closer, now if we only had more first basemen.
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Jun 24, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions
I kept waiting for us to find a way to lose the game last night....
Error from Bloomy or Bert…more shit-ass lucky bloop singles …something…but we found a way, and it only took the best SP and best closer in baseball to do it!!!
Speaking of the lucky singles, although it made me mad at the time, I have to tip my hat to Tejada for poking that slow curve out to right, especially after laughing out loud at him for bailing out of the box on a strike from the same pitch earlier.
The question
If you’re Moore, now knowing that Crisp is definitely out for the year, do you bother acquiring an OF for the rest of this season? I think Maier is OK as a 4th outfielder, but overexposed as an everyday starter. The question really boils down to whether you want to trade something useful to turn, say, a 70 win season into a 75 win season.
Not saying it is the right answer, but Moore’s history has been to at least try to compete each year, regardless of the team’s situation. In other words, he wants to win now and build for the future, so I think he will sacrifice something in a trade to get a better CF option for the balance of this year.
That brings me to my idea. If he is intent on doing that, I would prefer that he trades for a long-term CF solution NOW, with the idea of NOT renewing Crisp at 8m next season. That way, you could justify a larger expenditure to Glass…
Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!
The cheap fix
would be to go with the status quo: DeJesus-MITCH-JoGui until Gordon returns.
When Gordon comes back, switch the outfield to JoGui-DeJesus-Teahen.
For some reason I can’t see them moving DDJ back to CF — instead, I’m guessing Moore will go out and pick up a Gathright clone.
Regardless of what happens
the one scenario I just don’t see is Moore deciding to put DDJ back in CF. For whatever reason, he’s been convinced since the day he got here that DDJ just was NOT going to be his CF. That was a big part of the reason he went out and got Crisp.
I think he will lean strongly toward trying to go out and find that long-term CF solution. He knows that he’s got NOTHING in the minors at CF, at least anyone that’s reasonably close to MLB-ready. The problem is that he’s going to have to trade something of significant value to get it. It’s going to take more than a random reliever-dealt-at-the-deadline to get a decent, young CF.
Are there ANY CF’s of note, and under 30, that will be free agents after this year?
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
here's a better one, broken out by OF position, with ages
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/09/2010-mlb-free-a.html
Center fielders
Rick Ankiel (30)
Rocco Baldelli (28)
Marlon Byrd (32)
Mike Cameron (37)
Endy Chavez (32)
Coco Crisp (30) – $8MM club option with a $500K buyout
Darin Erstad (36)
Ryan Freel (34)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
Reed Johnson (33)
Andruw Jones (33)
Gabe Kapler (34)
Mark Kotsay (34)
Corey Patterson (30)
Scott Podsednik (34)
I doubt that we're pursuing Rick Ankiel
Baldelli has some issues with his mitochondria, so that leaves Corey Patterson who has a career OPS+ of 79.
So not really, then
Marlon Byrd is somewhat intriguing. He’s 32, but he’s got 466 games in CF with a 1.2 UZR/150. Had good years offensively in 2007 and 2008 (especially for a CF), but not so much this year. Which means he might come fairly cheaply. And which also means the Royals might sign him to a 3-year deal right at the start of his decline.
So, yeah, I would imagine Dayton will try to target a top AAA CF in a trade either before the deadline this year, or in the offseason. Or, he could just take a risk on Crisp’s torn labrum, but I doubt (and REALLY hope) that they wouldn’t just take him for another year at $8M. Especially coming off an injury like that.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
and i bet that Texas outfield helps by being relatively small
i don’t know that much about it (or him), but if he doesn’t have to cover a lot of ground, that could be propping up his UZR compared to what it would be in a big CF like the K.
Ryan Langerhans in the minors for the Nationals
also… as suggested elsewhere, it might be worth declining Crisp’s optoin, then seeing if he can come back for something like $5M or less next season
that list is pretty sad…
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions
although a lot of those guys would be good free/cheap 4th OF or stopgap options
you know how much Dayton likes to be efficient with his money!
Patterson would be a good 4th IF/minor league deal type, believe it or not. He can’t hit to save his life, but he’s still a good defender, last time I checked. A smart sign at the minimum.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I was going to suggest Endy Chavez as a fine $1 million defense-first stopgap
but then saw that he will miss part of next year too.
Hmm, I wonder how much we would have to give up to get Juan Pierre or Gary Matthews Junior . . . .
GORKYS!!
I’m not sure about recovery from a torn labrum. Even at $5M, Crisp could still be a little risky next year.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions
d'oh
I guess I didn’t pay much attention to the prognosis and diagnosis
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions
CF prospects according to BtB in April 2009
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/4/1/816812/totalzone-on-center-field-prospects
I imagine some things could have changed since then, but there are only 3 players at AAA in this article.
Aaron Cunningham
I would not mind taking a page from the 2007 Devil Rays playbook and play young guys essentially out of position (remember BJ Upton, 2B?) just to let their bats develop at the MLB level. Cunningham would be a good target with that in mind. Like the Nats, the A’s have about 27 different major league ready (or near ready) outfielders. Cunningham has a nice set of offensive skills and while he will never be a star or stick in CF, he probably would have decent defensive value in a corner and could end up as a 2.0-2.5 WAR player. He could play mostly CF in 2010 and then move to a corner after that.
is Gabe Gross a free agent after this season?
I wonder if he’ll be over- or under-valued. He’s got platoon issues, but he’s a monster defenders int he corner, and it’s hard to imagine that he couldn’t be adequate in CF.
Again, he’s a bit older, but for the right price, he’d be a decent stopgap, and if he gets hot, could be traded.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
DDJ-Langerhans-Gross
assuming Teahen is let go (sob), that would be a cheap, and decent outfield. Definitely good defensively — problematic offensively, but I’d put money on it being league average.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
overall league average or close
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Are you assuming that Guillen is gone, too?
Or that Dayton injects him with a mood-altering wonderdrug for the entirety of the 2010 season?
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
yes
somehow
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I would prefer a trade with the Nats to a trade with Oakland
we all know what happens when a KC GM goes up against The Don of GMs.
Honestly
Guillen’s defense is so bad, he and Mitch are pretty much interchangeable at this point
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions
for overall value
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I imagine that GMDM is playing the waiting game a bit right now
but my hunch is that if the Royals can stay within 5 games or so of the Tigers by the trade deadline, he tries to go get a replacement CFer.
Alex Gordon for Andruw Jones
write it down
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on Jun 24, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I will
Then I will save the pen I use to stab myself in the brain if/when it actually happens.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
It's obvious
The “Jeff Francoeur Conversion Project” begins – NOW!
"Well, if we destroy Kansas the world may not hear about it for years." Blofeld
The General Theory of Royaltivity
And now, more news comes out about the Crisp injury
"We went back and looked at the injury reports to see (when he reported) the irritation," Hillman said. "He really had only about 10 fully healthy games with his shoulder this year. It’s a pretty big blow.
…
"When you lose someone like that," Hillman said, "it’s tough to replace. We tried to protect it, and we rested him a couple of times, but it’s just one of those things that needs to be repaired. "
Didn’t he play something like 43 out of 45 games at the start of the season?
Kansas City Royals: Training Staff Procedures Manual
In case of a potential injury reported by a player, instruct the player as follows:
1. Walk it off; if unsuccessful then proceed to step 2
2. Rub some dirt on it.
If steps 1 and 2 have no results, repeat until front office instructs player to go on DL to expand some major league roster room.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Jun 24, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think the trainer from my high school days could pull that off.
This is pushing the “rub some dirt on it” joke to new levels. Unbelievable.
If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that.
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