TPJ is the Clutch God at pitching

The summary from Omaha. 2-2 game in the 11th. TPJ comes in to pitch. Allows a single. Bunt moves the runner. Then two outs. TPJ struck out 2 in the 12th. Two groundouts in the 13th, a single, then with a runner in scoring position, another strikeout. 3 IP, 3 K, 2 H. 34 pitches, 24 strikes.

Then he left the game and the next guy blew it in the 15th.

TPJ NOW

6 months ago BHWick 36 comments 5 recs |

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that is awesome

How funny would it be if TPJ actually becomes a very good reliever…and then he stiffs the Royals and signs with MInnesota…or Chicago…or Cleveland…or….

by RaulDuke on Sep 7, 2009 12:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the braves....

then surely we’ll give him 2 yrs/9 million when its obvious that his usefulness is gone

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Sep 7, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We stuck with him for so long

I think he kind of owes us. Like 400k or so.

by AxDxMx on Sep 7, 2009 1:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

X 2.5

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Sep 7, 2009 3:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hasn't he already given the Royals 400 K's?

www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

by James Quinn on Sep 7, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions 6 recs

Actually kind of impressive.

Just imagine if he’d been in the lineup.

I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.

by Warden11 on Sep 7, 2009 12:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

we won't have to worry about pinch hitting for TPJ to end his outing if we're in an NL park

Graduate with a B.S. from the Dayton Moore School of Stats Analysis

by BHWick on Sep 7, 2009 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We will

That’s why he is a pitcher remember. He can’t hit.

by kcbottom9th on Sep 7, 2009 7:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is really pretty f'ing impressive.

This guy was a shortstop until what, a month ago? And now he’s punching guys out at AAA.

by slayor on Sep 7, 2009 4:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A testimony to the outstanding scouting

of both the Royals and the Braves

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

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by Matt Klaassen on Sep 7, 2009 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

(wince)

"Do they have people that tall in Mexico?"

by NHZ on Sep 7, 2009 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan L. must be ecstatic. I can hear him now comparing TPJ on the mound to Gossage, Fingers, and Rivera.

by Steve Hovley on Sep 7, 2009 7:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We all like to poke a little fun

but this is a really good story. It’s not like TPJ was a bad guy, just not a good hitter. If he can make it a a pitcher instead, then good for him. The investment the team made in him will pay off some, and then they can also use those TPJ bobbleheads in a promotion again next year.

Obviously, the organization is trying to make a quick decision about whether he can handle the job. I wonder if they make room for him in our atrocious bullpen and give him a few innings with the big league this year. Does anyone know if the Royals have to make a decision on him soon?

by bas on Sep 7, 2009 8:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I predict the Ryan Shealy path

fail miserably the first extended try, get sent down for waaaay too long without real trials, then get called up to kick ass for a month, then never be heard from again

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

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by Matt Klaassen on Sep 7, 2009 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They'd have to put him back on the 40 man

I doubt it happens this year.

by AxDxMx on Sep 7, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He is the missing peice....

Then we move him to the Marlins for a Jacobs comp or to the Red Sox for an oft injured CF?

Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.

by 306008 on Sep 7, 2009 10:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

DM will never trade TPJ

by BrRoyal on Sep 7, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't laugh,

but I wouldn’t be against him getting a Sept callup. Sure, this is a VERY small sample size, but…

Combined minor league pitching stats for TPJ:

2.33 ERA
19.1 IP
12 H
5 ER
6 BB
18 K
3.0 GB/FB ratio
.176 Opp BA

There may be something legit going on here. God knows, this franchise deserves a break – and this feel-good story would serve nicely for now.

He certainly wouldn’t be intimidated by a callup, and the team wouldn’t be hurt by giving him a look either.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Sep 7, 2009 11:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can't hurt

Everyone else sucks. And he can walk this off season if he isn’t on the 40 man (I think, Minor League FA). Worth having a look at him to decide if he is worthy of a spot.

by kcbottom9th on Sep 7, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If TPJ gets called up and not Disco, I'll be very displeased. . .

as I usually am with the Royals.

by BrRoyal on Sep 7, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I also want to see this call up

But Disco’s numbers are not so hot right now. It might be better to have him work in the off season, then compete for a spot in Spring Training. Right now, he is probably lacking some confidence.

Disco got the blown save to put the game in extra innings last light (though it was someone else’s runner)

by bas on Sep 7, 2009 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

talk to devil_fingers about disco..

he’ll explain to you why disco is nothing but an internet/stathead sensation…and it’ll make sense 100%…

dude’s average at AAA at 26 years old…

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Sep 8, 2009 4:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe you meant to have the sarcasm font on, but just in case:

His age isn’t such a big deal because his pitching style isn’t reliant on physical attributes. If d_f (or anyone) has a good sampling of submarine pitchers which shows that Disco compares poorly and has little shot at doing any good, I’d be happy to listen. Rather, it seems that submarine pitchers are so rare that no one will have a study large enough to be compelling. So, while we don’t know how successful he would be in the majors, we do know that he has been successful in the minors and that the pitchers we have in the major league bullpen have not been successful. Ergo, it is worth giving him a shot. By the same token, I’d be willing (though not eager at this point) to give TPJ a shot in the bullpen, but not ahead of someone who’s had three good minor league seasons-worth of data to look at.

by BrRoyal on Sep 8, 2009 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know how good he'll be

and some of his MLEs look decent.

And, of course, I’m cheering for him — both because he’s seems like a pretty cool guy and I enjoy the idea of “different” pitchers.

But here’s the main thing" he’s 26, and his tRA+ in AAA is slightly above average for a reliever. This isn’t ERA, but it’s not FIP, either. It’s taking account of the run expectancy of all those ground balls he’s getting. tRA isn’t the be-all, but my point is that defense aside, it’s not like the amount of grounders he’s getting is making up for his how HR/FB rate (which is extremely lucky at this point at 4.1%).

We’ll see. He’s 26. His stuff probably isn’t going to get much better than it is right now. Wasn’t he compared to Brad Zielger? Well, while Hayes was putting up a 127 tRA+ in AA in 2008, Ziegler putup a 116 in the big leagues. Hayes put up a 110 in AA and a 107 in AAA this season, Ziegler put up a 123 in the bigs.

Here’s hoping “Disco” defies the odds. I do think he should have been called up, although Rosa deserves it more than Hayes does. I guess maybe if Rosa had a blog and talked about BABIP, he’d be the toast of Twitter, too.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

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by Matt Klaassen on Sep 8, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is certainly a reason for the callup

If we need to make a decision on him, then you have to get him an inning or two. From the results so far, he is worth it. Maybe they will also send him to fall ball with other advanced prospects as an alternative (even both?).

Honestly, if he can do what Jamey Wright does (middle relief ground ball pitcher) with more strikeouts, then I am all for this move.

And if it also makes a nice story line going into next year for fans that have only a few to hope for (Grienke, Butler), then that is even better.

by bas on Sep 7, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We should get 6 more years of team control when they change positions.......

by Steve Hovley on Sep 7, 2009 2:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

when do we move greinke back to a position player?

by KCBear on Sep 7, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

when his contract pays him $12.5 million...

and it’d probably hurt us less than jacobs

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Sep 8, 2009 4:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Send TJ to the Fall League as one of the PTBNL!!

Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.

by 306008 on Sep 7, 2009 10:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

OK this TPJ thing has bothered me for a while now

But him moving to AAA in less than 2 months REALLY speaks to a major problem with the way baseball organizations think in general.

(My entire train of thought is based on my assumption that TPJ never pitched professionally, or really, ever at any level higher than rec-league as a youth)

OK, what is it about Tony Pena Jr. that has lead to a meteoric rise in this organization as a pitcher? Is it his velocity? His Stuff? His Moxy? Or is it the fact that He has MLB experience?

I vote the latter, and it pisses me off to no end. Guys in the organization like Montgomery, Hayes, Duffy, hell Rowdy freaking Hardy have been pitching their entire lives, and their entire professional career. At stretches that are the length of TPJ’s pitching career, they have been more dominant, and undoubtedly more polished.

Yet, TPJ pitches for 2 months, and has ascended faster than anyone. IT MAKES NO FREAKING SENSE?!?!?!!?!? What’s worse, is I don’t think this is a specific indictment of KC, I think 90% of all organizations would be doing the same stupid thing.

I, above all else, seek one thing, and that is a consistent approach from the team I root for (and the fans that follow it for that matter). Can they not see the wildly inconstent message that this sends rippling through the organization? And don’t think for one second that the guys I mentioned above that have pitched their entire lives, and careers don’t notice when (someone that is surely viewed by them as a) hack ascends through the ranks faster than they would if they threw back-to-back-to-back no hitters in Burlington, NW Ark, or Arizona. It’s no wonder that D-Gut & Cortes are openly MOCKING this organization on Facebook.

BOOM! ROASTED!

by GoBabies!! on Sep 8, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i think you're disregarding typical, bizarre late-season promotions in the minors

it’s pretty common for some guy in idaho falls performing acceptably well to all of a sudden pitch for the Naturals or the O-Royals. It’s just a couple outings at the end of the season, maybe they think he’s something special in spite of the lack of track record, but I don’t think it necessarily means anything.

by 9il on Sep 8, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

just to add to that

i think some players don’t get promoted at the end of the season for one or two outings is just because of player convenience and pennant races. they don’t want to take someone working hard for a championship and tell them they’ve got what they wanted- to travel across half the country to pitch 3 meaningless innings in tacoma.

by 9il on Sep 8, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They need bodies

Real prospects are moving up, they need filler to make up the numbers. Remember Brett Bigler last year? Sucked in A-Ball all year, got 64 O-Royal PA’s at the end where he raked and was released in the offseason.

by kcbottom9th on Sep 8, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, the KC Royals just got 3 relievers from Omaha

Who else were they going to move up? NWA is in the playoffs, and some others are too. TPJ was an obvious pick for filler space as he wasn’t a big part of these teams and had no investment with them.

by AxDxMx on Sep 8, 2009 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I can see that point of view

And if I thought that was what was going on, I’d completely be OK w/ it. But his asencion (sp) started before the call ups began. Granted, his rise continued and, probably was helped out because of the call ups you guys spoke of, but it’s not like he went from Arizona to Omaha overnight. They progressed him, seemingly in a level-to-level manner.

BOOM! ROASTED!

by GoBabies!! on Sep 8, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He went from the Surprise Rookie level,

where they gauged his talent level, to Burlington A ball where he threw 14.1 IP with 14 Ks and a 3.14 ERA and .9 WHIP, to AAA where he is filling in for relievers that were called up. I just don’t see it like you do I guess. I really don’t see any red flags or the Royals being stupid. I thought the plan was to put him in Surprise to see what he had, and then ship him out to where his talent belonged.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=pena—001ton#standard_pitching

by AxDxMx on Sep 8, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs