Tim Collins Is Pitching Often for the Kansas City Royals

by Freneau on Apr 16, 2011 11:20 PM EDT in Kansas City Royals News

Tim Collins is on pace to appear in 93 games this season.

OK, 92.5, but 93 sounded better.

"On pace for..." analysis is really stupid after 14 games, granted. Nevertheless, Collins is being used at a rate not seen in decades for a Royals pitcher. Here's the franchise Top 5 for Appearances:

Dan Quisenberry - 84 games, 1985
Jason Grimsley - 76 games, 2003
Dan Quisenberry - 75 games, 1980
Jimmy Gobble - 74 games, 2007
Jason Grimsley (2001), Jeff Montgomery (1990), Scott Service (1998) - 73 games

Grimsley was close to an inning at a time pitcher during his time with the Royals, which is comparable to how Collins will be used, presumably. Gobble was more of a specialist, as he pitched just 53.2 IP in that 2007 season. Quisenberry, of course, was a different animal in a different era. In 1980, Quiz threw 128 innings. In 1985, he threw 129 innings. And when Quiz came in, he was in, as he finished 68 and 76 games. Soria's career high in games finished is 57 games, in comparison.

Collins won't appear in 90 plus games this season. He probably won't appear in 80 plus. He might not make it to 70. But for now, he's pitched a lot.

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i do worry

that they are overusing the young guys…case in point, no idea why texeira or adcock didn’t finish off today’s game…i do think a little bit of it is the fact that we’ve been in every game thus far so yost is using his most trusted relievers…at some point it should even out.

still, we are fortunate that we got a complete game from c’mon chen! on thursday which saved even further usage…hope that francis can eat up some innings tomorrow and get it to soria w/o having to use the young ’uns.

BOOM YOSTED!

by Home Run Tony Cogan on Apr 16, 2011 11:33 PM EDT reply actions

Bullpen Usage

will only increase as the starters begin facing more legit offenses. 10-4 is great, but lets see how things are after the first swing through the AL East.

On the bright side, Omaha is stacked with relievers. I really dont want to see Collins burnt out. Adcock should have went today, not Collins.

by DaytonSucks on Apr 16, 2011 11:42 PM EDT reply actions

Great point.

Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life.

by KeepItCopacetic on Apr 16, 2011 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Collins

should make about 80 games, every other day for an inning or four outs. He’s thrown quite a few pitches is his appearances so far, being the strike out stud, so Yost will go more on pitches rather than innings. Crow will end up being used more often because he is more efficient than either Jeffress or Collins at this point, and is the likely temporary closer for awhile.

As for using all three today in a blow-out, I think Yost is putting together his 8th and 9th inning trinity with Tejada off and Soria having effectiveness issues. Tex, Adcock, and Wood are the 5th, 6th, 7th guys for now. Visualize Soria and Tejada traded at the break and this is the bullpen for the Brave New World of Royals’ baseball, with Coleman and Holland tossed in and Wood maybe gone.

by Jim Fetterolf on Apr 16, 2011 11:49 PM EDT reply actions

I think the idea of having specific 5th/6th/7th inning guys is stupid

but Ned would be the one to get a 7 man bullpen and favor 4 guys exclusively

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by BHWick on Apr 16, 2011 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Perhaps,

but Adcock was a starter and Tex has been Tejada’s caddy and Wood is the new guy, so those three are more likely to get two innings every three days than one inning every day or every other day while the Trinity are looking shut-down and the strike outs are good for high leverage situations. I probably would have used Adcock today in the sixth, but Yost seems to like Jeffress for two inning stints. Maybe he figures with Francis tomorrow Jeffress needed the work.

by Jim Fetterolf on Apr 17, 2011 12:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Im terrified

that the success of Crow, Collins, and Jeffries is due to hitters lack of familiarity w/them. But, damned if they dont all look dominating, especially Crow.

If we could just swap Coleman for Wood, it would be my favorite KC bullpen since the Quiz days, maybe even better.

by DaytonSucks on Apr 16, 2011 11:52 PM EDT reply actions

Collins has good stuff and has always struck people out...

Crow is a different matter… may be related to not being seen and the fact that EVERYONE is better as a reliever

by Freneau on Apr 16, 2011 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

The good news on Crow is that

hitters have seen a FB/Slider pitcher before. It’s not like there’s something they can all of a sudden figure out. Of course the book on him will be compiled as the innings stack up, but I don’t think the negative effect will be too extreme.

The whole problem with the world is that fools & fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. ~ Bertrand Russell

by SagehenMacGyver47 on Apr 18, 2011 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Crow certainly

looks the part so far.

by DaytonSucks on Apr 16, 2011 11:59 PM EDT reply actions

I forgot

we even had Wood. When he came out, I was afraid I’d stumbled over some quantum cord and landed back in 2010. God forbid.

by LaFLamme on Apr 17, 2011 12:05 AM EDT reply actions

also

SCOTT SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111

by Freneau on Apr 17, 2011 12:10 AM EDT reply actions

They are 10-4

what Yost is doing right now is working. There could be any number of factors playing into this. Maybe he’s riding the hot hand, maybe Collins needs to be in every couple of days to stay sharp. Maybe he’s not sold on Adcock. I’ll start bitchin’ if what he’s doing isn’t working. Relax and enjoy the ride as temporary as it may be. By now they are usually 6-7 games out. Kila is a freaking train wreck right now but keep playing him as long as they keep winning. This is the year to figure some stuff out. Back in 84 the Royals ran a bunch of young guys out there and it worked out down the line.

I'm trying hard but some of this sabermetrics stuff sounds madeup.

by stram#1 on Apr 17, 2011 1:31 AM EDT reply actions

World Series next year!

Yosted, forever.

by MkeRoyal on Apr 17, 2011 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Extreme example I know

but so far its been positive results. May not last but it will be great while it lasts. Competitive this year, competitive next year. Beats the hell out of 62-100.

I'm trying hard but some of this sabermetrics stuff sounds madeup.

by stram#1 on Apr 17, 2011 2:11 AM EDT up reply actions

PARADEBULATE!

by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Apr 17, 2011 1:34 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

What we need to do is

get Wood, then Adcock, and then c’mon Chen, and that evening Crow about it to our buddies at the bar with some Hooch. Maybe a vodka Collins.

Yo confío en Jack.

by Juancho on Apr 17, 2011 5:04 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Part of the team's strategery will be to cycle through relievers. If their arms fall off, so be it.

Dayton (or Yost) stated it this preseason.

Also it is big belief with Arbuckle.

I totally expect the starters to be babied and the relievers to get abused with the current Royal’s management.

- .-. ..- … – / – …. . / .—. .-. - .. . … …

by Jeff Zimmerman on Apr 17, 2011 7:59 AM EDT reply actions

So do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?

…seems intuitively bad to ‘abuse’ anyone, so what am I missing? I’m not trying to be snarky or anything, or denying there isn’t a good reason for that strategy; I’m just not seeing or understanding it. Thanks.

If women only slept with nice guys...guys would only be nice. And they don't. And we're not.

by setupunchtag on Apr 17, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Consider the high volatility in reliever year-by-year performance

This isn’t a totally terrible idea, so long as it doesn’t include potential starters like Aaron Crow

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Apr 18, 2011 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

FWIW

The old high school coaches I know all think that the league is going to figure Collins out and he’ll get lit up. They seem to think Yost is using Collins so much to maximize his effectiveness before this eventuality. I don’t know if there’s anything to that, but I thought I’d put it out there.

by Dadunca on Apr 17, 2011 10:18 AM EDT reply actions

That Is Possible

But this guy has been defying the odds at every level from American Legion to MLB. Keep running him out there until it doesn’t work any more. We have very little invested in him. If he can throw the curve and change for strikes, he should be good until the inevitable arm problems.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Apr 17, 2011 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Very little investment?

Didn’t we trade two franchise cornerstones for the guy?

Chiefs Might

by chicks_love_chiefs on Apr 17, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Nice non-use of the sarcasm font.

I'm waiting for my wave of talent to arrive.

by mitchfreakingmaier! on Apr 18, 2011 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Collins seems like the exact opposite

of a guy old high school coaches would like.

I’m sure part of it has to do with the delivery, but if Collins were 6’4", I wonder if people would still have the sense that he’s going to get lit up eventually.

Overgay is Destiny

by DCRoyals on Apr 17, 2011 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

I love his delivery.

Can you imagine a 6’4" guy throwing like that? He might fall over from being too top heavy.

by AxDxMx on Apr 17, 2011 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Lee Judge

chatted up Paul Splittorf on the subject at yesterday’s game and Splitt agreed that Collins was getting figured out, as shown by his recent walks, but reminded that pitchers can also make adjustments, as the three strikeouts yesterday demonstrated. Three quality pitches plus competitive fire gives Collins an advantage and I think he’ll be fine.

by Jim Fetterolf on Apr 17, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Collins will only pitch when the Royals are ahead

or when the game is very close. On top of playing a lot of extra innings, the Royals have played .700 ball, so they’ve needed Collins frequently. I suppose if the team stays awesome all year, he might pitch in 80 games, but it doesn’t seem too likely to me. When they lose 10 in a row, we’ll hear about Collins pitching in a game where we’re down 7 to ‘get some work in’.

by kcdc1 on Apr 17, 2011 10:28 AM EDT reply actions

At some point we will have to add another LHP to the bullpen

until then Collins is going to be overused just by default. Bring on the LOOGY

Is it 2012 yet?

by Gantz9 on Apr 17, 2011 10:39 AM EDT reply actions

Has anybody...

ever done a pitching effectiveness study normalizing for everything other than height? Or would it be so influenced by selection bias that it wouldn’t be informative?

"I DARE you to make less sense."

by dejackso on Apr 17, 2011 11:02 AM EDT reply actions