If Hillman calls for a sac bunt in the fourth inning and it's successful, would the St. Louis fans -- who we know are not only the classiest in baseball, but also the smartest -- applaud? That would be the classy thing to do, right? And we all know that nothing tells a broadcaster than a group of fans is intelligent than a dutiful delight in one-run strategies. Or imagined one-run strategies, as it were.
Thanks to a nice weekend in Arizona, the Royals climbed to 28-42 through 70 games, which is exactly where they stood last season. In 2006, after 70 contests the Royals were 21-49 and in 2005 not much better at 25-45. For whatever it's worth, the boys in blue were also at good ole 28-42 back in 2004 , aka the Original Tony Pena Era.
Tonight's matchup pits Hiram Kyle Davies (1.53 ERA) against Jo-el Pineiro (4.41 ERA) who is now in fully Dave Duncan Approved Journeyman mode. Meanwhile, Hiram looks to continue the best stretch of his career. After his third good start last week against the Rangers, Davies lowered his career ERA from 6.06 to 5.97 ERA. If I was a Major League pitcher, this is the kind of thing I would be really excited about, and I would have definitely hit baseball-reference the next morning to see if I had made it under 6.00. Of course, if I was a Major League pitcher, I would have also left home at 18 and spent the next six years playing in the minors while surrounded by people without much interest in the internet, at least until 2004 or so, when I would have started my myspace page. Myspace would have allowed my Baseball Annies to stay in touch with me, but it would have stunted my development pretty much in every other way.