Dayton Moore Needs to Get His Unicorn Rainbow Talk Under Control
Warning - I am getting up on the soap box and letting it all hang out.
A few days ago, Dayton Moore made the following unrealistic comment:
"When I look at our roster, I believe that all of our players that are signed long term or are under control, are all going to get better, and that's a comforting feeling."
Horseshit. I believe I should get a back rub and blow job every night, but that shit is just not going to happen. And neither is every single hitter improving. Gordon and Butler are on the wrong side of the aging and curve and regression is a bitch. It is almost like this guy thinks a team wins the World Series if they play .500 baseball.
Now onto the second and worst part of the quote:
"Is it just going to happen? No, they're going to have to continue to work out, continue to apply instructions, make adjustments, continue to commit to be great players.."
Oh, OK. So if the players don't work out, listen and be committed to the process cause, they will fail. What kind of Christian laden guilt is Moore putting on the team? So if a player happens to get a BABIP fairy smack down like Hosmer did in 2012, it is the player's fault. The player must of not been committed, listening and adjusting. I know you have to be positive, but these beliefs are just ridiculous. How about getting out of fantasy land and getting back to the real world were you need to add a SP, RF and 2B to the team.
/Steps off soap box.
Hunter Dozier Speaks
Yesterday at FanGraphs David Laurila published an interview with Hunter Dozier. First, before I go on about the interview, if there are one set of articles to read at FanGraphs it is David's interviews. He just does a great job in asking specific questions with a purpose. No softballs.
Second, the entire article is worth a read, but this one comment stood out. When being asked about positional value, Dozier said:
"At third base, they really rely on you getting a lot of extra-base hits, hitting for power and driving in runs. At shortstop, it's more about getting on base and how good you are defensively. But it honestly doesn't matter where they put me."
Why in the world should the position he plays matter in the way he hits? He should hit in a way which will score the most runs. I really hope this philosophy isn't coming from Royals and he picked it up in college, but I doubt it.
So if he is playing 3B, he needs to hit for power and only to drive in runs, even if he strikes out too much or makes weak contact. Sounds like the hitting philosophy of a couple 3B already in the organization. The most obvious one is Mike Moustakas with his high fly ball rate and ever shrinking OBP. Chestor Cuthbert also seems to be going after the long ball or nothing.
I might be reading too much into it, but I hope the Royals aren't teaching different hitting approaches depending on the player's position. And if not, at least tell hitters not to worry about preconceived, position based, hitting notions.
New Batted Ball Displays
Warning: You make lose hours of from you life if you precede on.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been helping Bill Petti work on a new batted ball viewing tool and yesterday he took it public. It allows player batted ball comparisons from year-to-year, in different stadiums and even compares different players. For example, here is a comparison of Hosmer's and Moose's 2013 batted balls.
It can be seen how Moose is a dead pull hitter and Hosmer is more likely to spread the ball around the field.
Suk-min Yoon to the Royals.
In the same article which projected the Royals signing Josh Johnson, MLBTraderumors.com also predicted the Royals would sign Korea's Yoon. He is the #36 ranked free agent by MLBTR. Keith Law has him at about the same level (#37) and stated the following:
Yoon wasn't the same after the 2013 World Baseball Classic, returning to KBO late in the spring and eventually landing in the bullpen when he couldn't regain his stuff as a starter. Prior to 2013, Yoon would work in the 90-92 mph range in the rotation with a full assortment of off-speed pitches, including an above-average or better changeup.
In 2013, he dropped to 87-90 mph and had to rely even more on his secondary stuff, only getting his velocity back in relief work. His fastball is true and up in the zone, so it's more likely he ends up in relief here than in a rotation, but I'd at least give him a chance to show he can miss enough bats with the changeup and slider to end up a fourth or fifth fourth starter.
Is it just me or does Yoon's description sound just like a Wade Davis bio. This is not going to end up well.
Billy Butler Chats Baseball On Gold Glove Announcement Night
Get your questions ready for @BillyButlerKC. We'll be live chatting with him tonight and he's ready to answer them. 8 PM CT #MizunoBillyB
— Mizuno Baseball (@MizunoBaseball) October 29, 2013
And you could win a free new glove.
5 minutes until my live chat! Giving away a Mizuno glove @MizunoBaseball @Royals #MizunoBillyB
— Billy Butler (@BillyButlerKC) October 30, 2013
It is probably Billy's 1B glove from this past season, it was effectively new. Full twitter chat for those with completely no life.
Viewing Pleasure
Boys of Summer (part 2 is expected out in 2014)