Royals Defeat White Sox in Tight-Pitched Game

by Freneau on Sep 25, 2011 7:17 PM EDT in Royals Game Recaps

Win number 70 for the Royals, who finish the season 11-7 against the White Sox.

No hits today for our beloved Melky Cabrera, which is of course all any of us should care about, right? The mercurial Melky remains at #199.
Did we learn anything about Luis Mendoza today? I'm not sure. Obviously, he had an effective day, allowing just five hits and two walks to the White Sox. The old wisdom was that a guy who doesn't miss bats just couldn't survive in the Majors, especially the AL, but if every team is going to field two to three Dysons and Escobars to prove some point about the New Era of baseball, then maybe they can.
I'm just going to assume Cain & Dyson together is a helluva defensive outfield. I'm moderately excited to watch the last three games, should they continue to play.
Some weird decisions on Ned Yost's lineup card. Is he selecting guys randomly? Sal Perez hitting #5? Dyson leading off, with Cain hitting #6? Getz randomly playing?
Actually, scratch that last question. Obviously Getz is playing so that Gordon Beckham can greet him with juvenile humor, because being gay is both an insult and really really funny.

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MENDOZA IS FOR REAL!!!

But seriously you have to forget about the previous Mendoza and actually take a look at the “New” mendoza. puzzling

Do these effectively hide my thunder?

by splitty on Sep 25, 2011 7:36 PM EDT reply actions

His low HR rate is certainly worth noting.

0.31 HR/9 is awfully good. And in the majors, it was 0.00!!!!!

Eh, I prefer him to SOS making a spot start.

by dejezeus on Sep 25, 2011 7:51 PM EDT up reply actions

we need to combine Mendoz/SOS & Mazzaro

into the perfect, slightly fat, pithcr

by Freneau on Sep 25, 2011 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Sean O'Mendozzaro?

by Black and Gold on Sep 25, 2011 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

And he loves to eat the pizzaconey

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!

by KeepItCopacetic on Sep 25, 2011 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Luis Mendoza is

Spanish for Doug Fister.

by bas on Sep 26, 2011 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions

dyson is a game changer

by BeauJackson on Sep 25, 2011 8:04 PM EDT reply actions

That's what speed do

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

by mitchfreakingmaier! on Sep 25, 2011 9:35 PM EDT via iPhone app up reply actions

Bruce Chen can’t miss bats. And he’s had a couple good years for us. Obviously missing bats is great and far preferable than relying on defense, but if you don’t ever give up homers and you put a lot of balls in play, perhaps it is possible to be a slightly above mediocre pitcher without striking everyone out?

I’d be interested to see what the LD/FB/GO percentages are for batters opposing Bruce and Mendoza… and perhaps a few other pitchers that are good without striking anyone out. Maybe the answer is to be found there.

by dubPeacock on Sep 25, 2011 8:13 PM EDT reply actions

maybe...

if you give up FBs it limits hits allowed, but you are suscpetible to HRs

if you lean towards GBs, the opposite

by Freneau on Sep 25, 2011 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

It also strikes me

that Mendoza pitches a ton inside. It is dangerous if the hitter can turn on the pitch, but if not, it might explain the low BABIP rate, as the ball would be harder to square up with the thinner part of the bat.

by bas on Sep 26, 2011 1:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Is Air Gordon out for the year?

My battle for 2nd place in roto is in the balance.

Stuck following the Royals since 1976.

by A. B. Aird on Sep 25, 2011 8:17 PM EDT reply actions

I believe so

by dubPeacock on Sep 25, 2011 8:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I believe Dutton said A-Gor and Frenchy are done for the year, and Milkman will be done once he gets those critical final two hits. Cain and Dyson from here on out, MITCH if Melky ever finishes his crucial assignment.

by KyleM on Sep 25, 2011 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I am looking forward to the final MITCH writes home from camp letter.

by A Study in Blue on Sep 25, 2011 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I predict that Melky won't get hit number 201 until just the last game

this way he gets to play all of the rest of the games.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Sep 25, 2011 9:37 PM EDT reply actions

but his numbers will slide a little if that happens

trade value diminished

by BeauJackson on Sep 25, 2011 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

this will be the excuse for not playing MITCH! the rest of the year.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Sep 25, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions

MITCH! Is Invaluable

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

by philofthenorth on Sep 26, 2011 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

if only Ned played Getz until he hit a home run

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo
Chairman, The Melky Cabrera Seasoning Sauce. It's great on your outfield!

by BHWick on Sep 25, 2011 9:51 PM EDT reply actions

Or Not Played

Him until he getz a HR.

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

by philofthenorth on Sep 26, 2011 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

SEVENTY WINS!

I’m surprised at the lack of unbridled celebration of this accomplishment. And I’m not even being my usual smartass self. Isn’t this only the second time since the magical 2003 season that the Royals have reached this level of success?

This organization managed 56 wins in 2005. Going into this season, with the young guys seemingly not ready and with expectations of guys like Melky and Frenchy and, yes, even Alex playing to their recent levels, I thought 60 wins might again be tough to reach. All in all, hitting the 70 win level and seeing guys like Hos, Moose, Sal, Holland, etc., start becoming serious major league players makes this season a rousing success, as far as I’m concerned. Let’s win 73.

by Black and Gold on Sep 26, 2011 12:17 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

you know what?

fuck yeah. Win 73. I’m even kind of excited for Spring Training already.

Nick Swisher is handsome.

by ChrisCEIT on Sep 26, 2011 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions

I can't get too excited

…as I thought they’d win something like 72 games back in March.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Sep 26, 2011 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

I predicted 75

Looks like I’m not way far off. Next year: 87 wins and the division title! Our rivals are all old and slow and have already committed a lot of money to ungreat players. If we can get 24-26 WAR out of the lineup (28 would be even better), 14 WAR out of the starters, and 5 WAR out of the bullpen, we got something going,

The problem is the starting pitching. Radical change needed!

"All the boys think she's a guy
She's got crazy Frenchy eyes."

by Juancho on Sep 26, 2011 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Moore's in trouble

Fan expectations are pretty high. I think many (perhaps most) expect the Royals to contend, or at least be close to contention and have a win total that starts with an “8”. If he doesn’t hit that, I think the fanbase is going to come down on him hard.

You may know me as NYRoyal.

by Scott McKinney on Sep 26, 2011 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I think expectations next year are a .500 record

And more than that in 2013. Frankly, with the talent Dayton’s got to work with, he should have done better already, but we have a lot of players who could be good just hitting the majors now and a lot in the pipeline.

"All the boys think she's a guy
She's got crazy Frenchy eyes."

by Juancho on Sep 26, 2011 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe. But I think Royals fans are used to having their good expectations dashed.

I don’t think they’re would be more than a moment’s hissy fit than folks would be lulled back into their “same ol’ Royals” drudgery.

by Gross(est) on Sep 26, 2011 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Stockholm Syndrome

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

by philofthenorth on Sep 27, 2011 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions

I dunno about Mendoza's peripheral numbers,

and he might get clobbered if you sent him out every five days, but he has turned in a remarkable season in the PCL, a notorious hitters’ league. I vote he gets a chance in spring training. I also think he’d be a perfect addition to a stacked-starter rotation. Might as well give Boom Boom another shot, too. SOS, I don’t think so.

"All the boys think she's a guy
She's got crazy Frenchy eyes."

by Juancho on Sep 26, 2011 4:58 AM EDT reply actions

I see absolutely no problem bring Mendoza, Mazzaro, or SOS back for ST

They are under team control at the minimum. They are still “young”. Mendoza was the AAA pitcher of the year, that has to mean something, right? They would be nice 5,6,7 pitchers in the rotation. I do not want to see all 3 of them in the rotation to start the year, but outside of that.

by royal_in_cincinnati on Sep 26, 2011 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

I'd prefer not to see any of them in the rotation

We’re going to need something like 16-18 WAR from the starters if we’re going to be borderline contenders, and those guys are not going to give you that unless Mendoza has sold his soul to Hal Chase. But you gotta play the hand you get dealt, and right now we don’t really have a rotation. We might be able to parlay what we have into some kind of four-man stacked rotation. But Dayton needs to get us some starters.

"All the boys think she's a guy
She's got crazy Frenchy eyes."

by Juancho on Sep 26, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

PCL pitchers of the year

Year Player Team
2001 Denny Stark Tacoma Rainiers
2002 Jeriome Robertson New Orleans Zephyrs
2003 Justin Duchscherer Sacramento River Cats
2004 Scott Downs Edmonton Trappers
2005 Felix Hernandez Tacoma Rainiers
2006 Jason Hirsh Round RocK Express
2007 R.A. Dickey Nashville Sounds
2008 Shane Loux Salt Lake Bees
2009 Bud Norris Round Rock Express
2010 Michael Kirkman Oklahoma City RedHawks
2011 Luis Mendoza Omaha Storm Chasers

by CompmanJX3 on Sep 26, 2011 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions