The fall and future of Jason IronMan Kendall
by BHWick on Sep 2, 2010 12:40 AM EDT
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PrintThe case of Jason Kendall shows off many things so wrong about this organization. For the benefit of those who haven't heard, here's a timeline.
- Jason Kendall, through July 16th: 270 BA/332 OBP/319 SLG
- July 17th, 2010: Jason Kendall hurts his rotator cuff stealing second.
- Jason Kendall, July 17th to August 1st: 255 BA/344 OBP/275 SLG, 13 singles, 1 double, 62 PA
- August 2nd or August 3rd, 2010: Jason Kendall TEARS HIS ROTATOR CUFF on a check swing. Would need to look at ABs to figure out which one of games that occurred. I'd hope it was on August 3rd.
- August 11th, 2010: Ned Yost says Brayan Pena will get more playing time
- Jason Kendall, August 2nd to August 30th: 197 BA/241 OBP/224 SLG, 2 doubles, 13 singles, 84 PA
- September 1st, 2010: Jason Kendall announced out for 8 to 10 months with a rotator cuff injury.
What does the future hold? What does this tell us about the Royals organization?
Question: What does this tell us about the organization?
Honestly, I would be more outraged here if not for Crisp, Aviles, and Meche. The circumstances of the four injuries were not the same, but at the same time, the record of players refusing to sit down has been set in this organization. The early stories of this injury involve Jason Kendall refusing to sit down, preferring to keep playing, and eventually Kendall got an MRI.
How bad was Kendall's arm? He couldn't lift his right arm. I am not lying to you.
Here's how Kendall has faired with throwing out basestealers since tearing his rotator cuff: 6 for 25 (steals by Crisp [IRONY], Barton, Figgins (twice), Aybar, Bourjos, Ramon Pena, Gardner, A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, Donald, Pierzynski, Pierre, Austin Jackson, Brantley, Crowe [three times]).
Bourjos was thrown out by Kendall on August 10th, which should be a mark of shame. Michael Brantley was thrown out on August 19th. Old Man Omar Vizquel was thrown out on August 21st. Mark Kotsay was thrown out on August 22nd. Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera was thrown out on August 28th.
6 for 25 is 24%, slightly below his season average. Kendall gave up 101 steals in 142 attempts. So he was 35 for 117 before tearing his rotator cuff. And six base runners are so bad at stealing bases that a dude with a torn rotator cuff could throw them out. Jason Kendall needs to take that to the inspirational speaking circuit. ("If I could be a horrible baseball player with a torn rotator cuff, you can overcome cancer!")
Playing through a minor injury is nice. Just shutting it down every time you get a bruise is not preferred. But at the same time, playing through an injury that will require surgery is stupid. I don't care how much baseball you saw back in the 1970s when men were men. If you have an injury were you can't lift your arm, YOU NEED TO GO ON THE DISABLED LIST. They do not castrate you if you do the right thing. There are rest injuries, and surgery injuries. Trying to play through a surgery injury is just plainly dumb. Tough? sure. Dumb? definitely.
Jason Kendall hurt the Kansas City Royals by not doing the responsible thing earlier. I find it hard to argue otherwise. I find it hard to argue that an old catcher with a torn rotator cuff was the best catcher this team could field every day. When a player is able to play to the level needed to be a major league player, I want that player to be ready to play every day. But when a player is not healthy, it does nothing for his team for him to not do the responsible thing. In fact, you could argue that Kendall put his own stats first by playing every day. He put the stat of games caught before stats like wins and losses.
What does this tell us about the organization? This organization can't make a player take an MRI. But at the same time, they can provide incentives to do such a thing, like not playing an injured player every day. Or limiting his time until he does the right thing. If this organization is gonna let players Kendall their way towards continued playing time, then they are beyond the grasp of hope. It is better to be safe, than sorry. And it's better to lose a few weeks with preventive measures, than to lose months and years with bad bad injuries. Sometimes the smartest thing to do is hit the brakes, walk backwards, and advance on the best possible terms for you and your employer.
More should be known about the Kendall injury when people poke hard enough. While you can kind of admire the toughness of someone who could make through a month with a torn rotator cuff, it is irresponsible, irrational, and insane.
Question: What does the future hold for Jason Kendall and the Kansas City Royals catching situation in 2011?
Ned Yost says that Jason Kendall could be back by opening day. Anything short of Kendall visiting Benny Hinn is not gonna be enough for Kendall to be back in 7 months. The 8 to 10 month date is from now to May or July 2010. Not counting rehab stints to get Kendall in rhythm. But Jason Kendall is gonna be 37 next year, and coming off of a serious injury. There is a shot that he will not be worthy of starting consistently next year at any point. Can Jason Kendall get off the saddle and let someone else handle the starting duties? There is a shot that Jason Kendall will never play major league baseball again. But then again, Jason Kendall came back from one career-ending injury and I think he wants to do it again. At the same time, it's gonna be very tough and he cannot take on the same load in 2011 that he took on in 2010. Because Kendall was an easy target for steals in 2010 (142 attempts in 118 games), and he will be easy bait in 2011 if he can't establish that his arm is functional. It's baseball, not a gentleman's game. So people might want to take an easy stolen base.
The Kansas City Royals have several options for 2011.
a) Lucas May and Brayan Pena. Kind of amazing that Brayan Pena might make it to 2011 in this organization. The dude has 9 lives. Pena might be kept around for the fact that he knows the pitchers and he is not a rookie. May might get more time, depending on his performance. But the catch is that neither catcher can be outrighted without making it through waivers.
b) Lucas May and Manny Pina. Manny Pina is expendable. He can be moved down to Omaha when Kendall returns and brought back if Kendall returns to the DL. If he can be trusted to start every few days, he wouldn't be an awful backup. But at the same time, I doubt this organization wants two rookies to be the only catchers they have.
c) Lucas May and expendable veteran. The backup catcher is a nomadic breed. They are known by names like LaRue, Henry Blanco, Tom Prince, and they are candidates to manage in the minor leagues. But at the same time, it might be an awkward fit due to the possibility that Kendall will return in 2011, get a majority of starts, and the Royals would then have to bring up Pina if Kendall can't handle the load.
For the pluses of not having Jason Kendall playing, the injury of Jason Kendall has some negatives. The injury puts this organization in a bind in regards to it's catching ranks. It should be interesting to see what happens. The best case scenario is that Jason Kendall gets a job for life as an inspirational speaker ("I came back from having my ankle crushed and my rotator cuff torn, you can lose 30lbs"). The worst case scenario is that the organization has to shuffle cards to account for an ineffective and unhealthy Kendall.
So, what do you all think?
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I'm just always flabbergasted
that something as simple as this can happen at the top level of the sport. There’s absolutely no excuse. It’s sickeningly stupid and I just don’t understand how anyone could think otherwise. No one wins here.
Everyone who bashes Kendall..... he is a damn good catcher. Very smart behind the plate. He has great BAT CONTROL, which makes him a good top of the order hitter.
I'm a proud "studs fag" since 6/20/2010... are you?
I think I, like everyone else, are just at a loss for words with all of this.
The Royals need to get control over the injury situation. However, the Meche and Kendall situations are just baffling. I don’t know how you blame the team when the players are being both:
1.) Dishonest about their injuries.
2.) Refusing treatment.
Add to this the mysteries that are Hochevar and Arguelles and in one year the Royals injury management has gone from incompetence to complete mysteries.
No, no:
If you have an injury were you can’t lift your arm, YOU NEED TO GO ON THE DISABLED LIST.
If you have an injury where you can’t lift your arm, YOU NEED TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT, PREFERABLY INVOLVING AN MRI.
You know, for you and I the idea of the expense of an MRI can be daunting; even with an insurance co-pay, it usually costs us $50 or so. For a major-league baseball team, regardless of how tight their budget may be, the expense of an MRI should be somewhere between “negligible” and “irrelevant”.
If the team failed to have Kendall checked out (and yes, they CAN effectively force him to by telling him “you’re not playing until you get an MRI”), that’s just incompetence or penury. If Kendall failed to let the team know he was hurt (and yes, the team could have failed to notice if he was trying to hide it), then quite frankly he needs to be thrown under the bus by management just like they did with Mike Aviles.
I am now channeling Will McDonald's optimism.
by jonfmorse on Sep 2, 2010 6:00 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Players
have to much say these days and it comes down to the contract they have and their “status” with the club.
The Mets recently went through similar situations with John Maine, and Oliver Perez, both of whom denied demotion for rehab starts.
Maine’s career could be over because he refused to address his shoulder problem early and lied to the Mets.
Perez also had several injuries and lied.
Perez's injury was that he sucked though, right?
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball...Rock Chalk Talk
don't take this the wrong way, but
all this analysis and hand wringing is cracking me up. Jason Kendall is hurt (sorry dude, that sucks) and is probably going to miss the start of next season ( Hooray!).
I don't think you get it
The problem here isn’t that one shitty player is injured. The problem highlighted by this post is that it appears that the Royals medical/training staff and/or management is woefully incompetent with regard to keeping players healthy and/or handling their injuries. If true, that is a big problem for the organization and potentially every player in it. I think that is worthy of some hand wringing
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Sep 2, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Hooray again!
The most significant point here is that we finally got rid of the most embarrassing piece of our lineup. Since Kendy apparently enjoys pain, I don’t even feel bad for him. When I heard the news, I imagined a collective cheer rising from somewhere east of Brookside. It’s the best day I’ve had as a Royals fan since we traded Guillen. The money sucks, but Glass can go bite himself. Maybe Kendall will quit baseball or injure himself again while trying to take the scalpel from the surgeon, and we can forget about this forever. One guy is more than 10% of the guys on the field for any game – and 10% is significant, very significant, in baseball. I would rather have AJ Hinch back out there than this JerK. We changed head trainers, so we have to discount the Meche and Crisp disasters, at least, and not worry so much about a systemic problem. Kendall can be dismissed as a “one-off” mistake who could not be wrangled. Maybe he threatened Dayton’s family, maybe cut himself in front of Ned to prove he could take it…whatever. Let’s just be happy!
it's really more
of a roster construction problem. I think the JK and the Royals knew he was hurt, but they “needed” him to play until they could expand the rosters. It’s dumb, but I’m not ready to jump on the training staff after this. They’ve handled some other injuries this year relatively well (I think).
Why would they need him to play until they expand the roster?
If he has shoulder surgery and goes on the 60 day-DL, he’s not occupying a space on the 40-man roster. Thus, they can bring up/in anyone they want because they have the space.
seriously though,
He has to at least consider retirement, right? I mean, he’s 37, got tons of money, and sounds like he has a shitload of rehab to do to get back, and there’s no guarantee he’d be a starter, anyway.
Dear Alex Gordon:
I still think you will be awesome, but for the love of God, please stop getting hurt.
Sincerely,
RF
and he's getting paid next year either way.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball...Rock Chalk Talk
Players like Kendall don't retire
they just stop getting NRIs to Spring Training
Unless I'm wrong...
Why couldn't this have happened in March 2011 instead of now?
Apparently he’s out for 8-10 months. That means he could be back as early as May 1. And given that Kendall is such a gritty gamer, you know he’ll be back that soon. And of course the Royals won’t hesitate to play him, even if he’s not 100% (and he’ll probably never ever be 100% again, and quite frankly his 100% isn’t any good).
So, we Royals fans get a couple months of a break from Kendall’s embarrasing incompetence as a baseball player, and that’s it. As he’ll be back for the vast majority of next season, the Royals will not be looking for another catcher. We’re still stuck with this pile of shit who is making $3.75M next year.
The immoderate moderator
I can hope
and Dayton can pray that Bray-bray hits 0.500 for the rest of the year with 5 HR, 2 3B, 10 2B and no errors. Then they’ll have to give him the job. Or maybe May is our new guy.
We've got this all wrong.
This is no instance of organizational negligence and player foolishness; it’s all miscommunication. Anyone who’s seen Kendall in a postgame interview knows he is, as Joel says, "a man of few words." Asked what he’s thinking when he’s batting with the game on the line, he’s liable to respond, "Hit . . . where they ain’t . . . win." But that’s only when he’s feeling especially loquacious. Mostly you get that gritty MFer stare down, that gaze that reminds you of Chuck Norris, Ford trucks, cement mixers, and the smell of pipe dope. (Really, that chemical sealant is what Kendall uses for deodorant because a man-sized stink can’t be contained by Old Spice.)
What really happened here is that following the latest dinger off a pitch down the middle of the plate, which was probably the third or fourth straight fastball in the sequence, Kendall sat down in the dugout and overheard McClure musing aloud, "Maybe we should we shoulda varied the pitch selection and stay away from the center of home plate." When Kendall replied, "Shoulda," Bob interpreted the Neanderthal-speak as "Shoulder."
It’s all a mistake. Kendall will be back tomorrow.
by RoyalCreole on Sep 2, 2010 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
Isn't there a Molina we can get on Craigslist?
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Sep 2, 2010 10:04 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
what is Craigslist?
"Shot by my own men."
Here is the real story.
I'm trying a blog. It's about the Royals of course but more of a mechanical analysis type thing about players I see. Try it and let me know what you think! Scouting the Royals
I don't think this is that difficult to figure out.
1. Dayton Moore disliked John Buck’s hair and Olivo’s passed balls.
2. Dayton Moore loved Jason Kendall’s past results.
3. Dayton Moore doesn’t believe or accept the proven aging curve.
4. Dayton Moore hates unproven talent “handling” the pitching staff.
5. Jason Kendall plays every possible game.
6. Jason Kendall hurts shoulder and recognizes his career is probably over.
7. Dayton Moore asks Jason Kendall if he wants to play through it.
8. Jason Kendall attempts to play through it.
Nothing more, nothing less. There’s no conspiracy, there’s no ridiculously firable offense. There’s just a top-level refusal to recognize talent and skill over “intangibles,” and an organization (with little to lose) giving an old player one last shot at the dream. That’s it.
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i wonder though
Why does our org keep letting players play through serious injury? Are we incapable of distinguishing between minor and major injuries?
I'm trying a blog. It's about the Royals of course but more of a mechanical analysis type thing about players I see. Try it and let me know what you think! Scouting the Royals
I fully expect Kendall to be our catcher on Opening Day.
In fact, I think it’d be a major upset if it didn’t happen.
Killing time until time kills me
So many thougts
I disagree that the Royals couldn’t have forced him to have an MRI – they could have told he isn’t cleared to play until he gets one. This is done ALL THE TIME.
Agree wholeheartedly with NYRoyal about the training staff. We JUST CLEANED HOUSE there, right, and ALREADY there are questions about their competency.
To me, this was an extraordinarily SELFISH scenario played out by Kendall. Even if he is so delusional as to think he is contributing, it had to be obvious to ALL OBSERVERS that this team was out of the race in July, when he first hurt the shoulder. I think he cared more about the kick he gets out of playing, and/or moving up on the all-time games played list, and/or proving he was macho or some such bullshit, than he ever cared about what was good for the Royals. He HAD to suspect he had a major injury, and as such, given his age, he HAD to suspect it might impact his playing time next season, and as such, he SHOULD HAVE REALIZED that the best thing for the Royals going forward was to cede playing time to Pena as soon as possible, so Moore would be in a better position this coming offseason knowledge wise.
I REFUSE to rule out the possibility that the Royals knew how bad this was, and simply let him play with it anyway. They obviously have no faith in Pena, and the final proof, to me, was the TIMING of the announcement – on September 1st, the VERY DAY when a 2nd catcher could be called up without roster implications. I have lived for 50 years, and one thing I have learned for sure – when it comes to conincidences, more often than not they AREN’T COINCIDENCES AT ALL – merely seen that way by people without enough knowledge.
"We're gonna win with pitching and defense" General Manager Dayton Moore, circa winter 2009
"Where did all these Indians come from?" General George Armstrong Custer, circa summer 1876
Kendall
Has a history of doing this. His decision to play through a thumb injury back in 1999 permanently destroyed his power and turned him from a star into an averageish player.
Playing through injuries to the detriment of the team is just part of who Kendall is. The real mistake was signing him in the first place.
by maguro on Sep 2, 2010 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
I keep coming back to the comment that in the end, he couldn't raise his
arm with propping it up with his left arm. That kind of thing can’t be hidden. The brain trust had to have seen that and known what it meant. I dislocated my shoulder this summer and can’t fully raise my left arm without help from my right arm. I don’t know how I could hide this from anyone, especially if my freaking job called on me to do this many times each day. Is Ned afraid of Kendall?
"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell
Kendall clips
clips of Kendall throwing out Cabrera, Choo, Kotsay, Bourjos are up there, and I think we can see the same routine where Kendall supports his right arm with his left.
I guess this puts more perspective to Kendall having problems “with his grip”
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
also
remember the squeeze rundown where Kendall chases down Gutierrez and almost catches him, instead of throwing the ball?
yeah.. that occurred in August too, check out that clip
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
He can still teleport his mentoring skills while hurt right?
He didn’t injure his mentoring ability, so his contract is still TOTALLY WORTH IT
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
so
now all of our hitters will have batting gloves on? Im cancelling my MLB package tonight, thanks Jason.
The picture is a Chiefs pumpkin, yeah that is right a Chiefs pumpkin.
Can't...resist...
Anything short of Kendall visiting Benny Hinn is not gonna be enough for Kendall to be back in 7 months.
Ah, Benny Hinn…couldn’t resist the video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ASTgLqCcQM
The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. -- Albert Einstein
by The Ol' Perfesser on Sep 2, 2010 2:26 PM EDT reply actions
how does that only have 1790 views?
no justice, no peace
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
from RoyalsKingdom on the Twitter
Little birdie told me that Kendall wanted to play in his 2,000th game and kept everyone in the dark.
Kendall played his 2000th game at catcher on July 26th, after the injury, before the tear
July 27th to August 30th: 202 BA/260 OBP/234 SLG (106 PA)
Kendall now has 1990 career starts at catcher.
So, it might be a case of playing for stats first and team second.
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
This is almost certainly the truth.
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He Just Can't
Give up his pursuit of Don Baylor.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 2, 2010 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Don't worry
DMGM has a back up plan. Brayan won’t go unblocked damnit!!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/milleco01.shtml
The WAR folks like yunel apparently. i know this, bobby cox hated going to war with this guy. ~Jon Heyman
by TheBravestWay To Block A Decent Prospect on Sep 2, 2010 2:53 PM EDT reply actions
This Guy Might
Be lured back to KC if we give him an extra year and overpay by 50%. He’s a FA this winter.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/larueja01.shtml
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 2, 2010 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
oh yeah
Miguel Olivo’s August hitting was far worse than Kendall’s (.140/.155/.158). Kinda amazing that a player can have 4 great months, then an extremely shitty month (how bad? Jason Kendall with a torn RC out hit Olivo in August)
The only way Olivo can redeem his August would involve him going blind and refusing to admit it to the team
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
I guess the pigeons finally sent that scouting report to the National League about "sliders"
Kansas City Royals: your 2006 and 2007 NL Central champions!
Miniburgers Kill Olivoyl
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 3, 2010 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I am in complete amazement over Kendall's situation
Hitting and playing catcher with one arm is actually quite remarkable. I am amazed at the utter stupidity of KC’s staff not knowing that he was injured and if they did know, completely baffled that they would allow Kendall to play and hurt himself. And hurt the team by keeping him in the lineup.
This incident is just remarkable – training staff, coaching staff, Kendall himself. WOW!
Don't forget...
And hurt the team by keeping him in the lineup.
In the #2 spot no less. Getting him as many chances to “hit” as possible. (I have to scare-quote “hit” because with Kendall that was always a bit more of a theoretical proposition anyway.)
The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. -- Albert Einstein
by The Ol' Perfesser on Sep 2, 2010 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions
My only concern
is what ramifications this injury may have on the 2014 USA bobsled team. Will Willie have to find another brakeman?
"Never get less than 12 hours sleep. Never play cards with a guy who's got the same first name as as city. And never go near a lady who's got a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick with that, and everything else is cream cheese." -Coach Bobby Finstock
by Sweep_the_Leg on Sep 2, 2010 6:21 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
You don't win Gold Medals by replacing injured Heroes
You win them with by fighting through injury at all cost (and with sequins, if you’re an ice skater). Willie understands — actually he’s going to hurt himself just so he can fight through a disabilitating injury too.
The only people who really know where [the edge] is are the ones who have gone over it.
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Sep 2, 2010 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions
C'MON, PHOTOSHOP!
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 3, 2010 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
C'MON, PHOTOSHOP!
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 3, 2010 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
2018 bobsled team
Kendall should be healed by at least 2016
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)
This exposes the Royals as the fraud organization they are
Royals would rather win the PR battle than a game. This is the last statement from the winter argument of why smart teams don’t sign 37 year old banjo catchers above market rate for multiple years then play him every day. Now he’s dead money and the next excuse why we can’t sign someone else. Veteran presence my ass. Do they own it ? no! They lie about he’ll back for ST when it’s a 10-12 month heal time.
are the royals on the hook
if he retires?
BOOM YOSTED!
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Sep 2, 2010 11:46 PM EDT reply actions
I posted this in the game thread today, so pardon the repetion
BUT I AM INTERESTED IN SOME RESPONSES. I JUST FOUND THE “SITUATIONAL HITTING AVERAGE” MINDBOGGLINGLY STUPID FOR A MANAGER THESE DAYS.
IS NED YOST SMART ENOUGH TO BE MANAGER?
I don’t think managers normally make much difference in terms of additional wins, although a particularly bad manager can cost some wins. BUT, in today’s baseball world with the advanced understanding of statistics, fans and the team should be able to expect that a manager is smart enough to understand how to use statistics to manage a team and pitching staff.
Consider the following quotes from Yost:
1. Today, in the Star, he was explaining how "situational hitting average" was important and how Jason Kendall was above "ideal" for the number 2 spot because he had a 750 situational hitting average (which was described as measuring a hitter’s ability to bunt, hit and run, move runners over and drive runners home from 3rd with the infield in and back). This is the same Kendall who hit 236 with a 298 on base percentage when hitting second. Aside from the obvious small sample size problem of any such "average," it reflects the antiquated view that OBP is not important for the number 2 hitter. Now, Yost is putting in Maier as the number 2 hitter, which might not be a bad idea to give him a chance to show if he can hit, but Yost’s reason is because Maier has an 830 situational hitting average. Arghhhh!!
2. When he batted Bloomquist third a week or so ago, he said that he did not think it made much difference where batters hit in the order.
3. When he was asked about how he would use Soria, he said that his use of him would be governed by the silly save rule, i.e., when there was a save opportunity, he would use him.
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2010 4:43 PM EDT reply actions
Understanding Kendall's role on the team and a slight rant
No question you all hate Jason Kendall. The team, the media and probably Jason Kendall himself knows you’ve never been fans. What is your response to those in the media who say that you – his critics – simply don’t understand his role on the team?
I want to add too that I find it amusing that a group of men are chastising Kendall for playing hurt. That’s what men do! I work in IT and you’d be hard pressed to find a single guy in here that has missed work for being sick. And miss a softball game for an injury? Yeah right! It’s just not the manly thing to do. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there!
Look, this team is what it is. If not Kendall than who? Pena and Lucas aren’t ready they both need more time in the minors. Comparing Kendall to Olivo and Buck makes me laugh – they weren’t exactly all stars either.
This team is bleeding everywhere not just home plate. Quit kicking the old man.
There is one player on this team worth keeping and he’s on the DL and that’s DDJ.
Ok, Soria too but the rest of them can be just as easily kicked to the curb before or with Jason Kendall. Yeah, even his majesty Zack Grienke.
Well, That Was
Fairly insane.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 7, 2010 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Miss the Point of the Criticism
The criticism is not so much directed against Kendall personally; he is a weird but very hard working guy.
The criticism is the insanity of the Royals in tying up the catcher position with a player who has no chance of being the catcher when the Royals are good. It is like Posnanski wrote a while back. Bad teams don’t make use of one of the few things they have going for them – the time to develop good players. No one expected the Royals to win this year. So they should have used the year to see if Buck, Olivo, Pena or some other younger player had the ability to be their catcher when they get good. They blew the chance, just like they blew it with Guillen, Betancourt, Posednick, Ankiel and others.
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 7, 2010 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions
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