Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Lumsden, Lubanski haven't worked out



Somehow, some way, Tyler Lumsden and Chris Lubanski are still playing AAA baseball. Don't ask me what they've done to deserve the honor. It must be a blessing from the baseball gods.

It never fails, each time I look at Lumsden's stats I sit right there and vomit in my mouth. Not once has it tasted good and, quite frankly, I wish the Royals would do something about it so it doesn't happen again.

Oh, what the hell, let's do it again!

In 2008, Lumsden has gone 3-11 6.92 ERA. In 95 IP he has allowed 123 hits, given up 80 runs, 73 earned, and (here it comes again) walked 51 with just 36 strikeouts.

Oh, God, I need some acid reflux medicine.

The Royals aren't that confident in Rowdy Hardy making it work as he climbs the organizational ladder. Believe me, he couldn't be much worse than this guy. Since coming over from the White Sox in the Mike MacDougal trade, Lumsden has been banged up (both physically and statistically) and thus has sucked more than a Hoover.

Lubanski - you can quit laughing too, son.

Since the Royals took him in the first round he has done nothing but regress. Once a speedy outfield prospect who projected to hit a lot has lost SEVERAL steps and has hit very little.

I have no clue what happened to him, but it kind of makes you wonder what was going on during his wonderful high school days that didn't go on after signing that pro deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not convicting him of 'roiding or anything like that. I'm just questioning if he still wants it as bad as he did then.

Maybe the Royals just completely whiffed. Maybe it isn't Lubanski's fault at all. Maybe he just wasn't that good to begin with. First rounders fail all the time, but usually 19 year old kids don't start going backwards once they reach pro ball. Most of those who fail just never seem to get any better. In Lubanski's case he went south. Odd.

In 2008, he's hitting .226 with 13 home runs and just swiped his fifth base of the season Tuesday night against Oklahoma. That's not good enough. The Royals are looking to add outfield bats during the offseason. That could push him out of any opportunity to EVER stick in Kansas City.

A change in scenery would probably do both of these guys some good. Right now they are doing the organization none.

3 comments:

Mark LaFlamme said...

Whatever we do in the off-season, I hope it's well studied. We cannot afford another bad trade. Has anyone seen the comparison between Jose Guillen and the once-scorned Emil Brown? Eerily similar. Doesn't that just grind your gears?

Levi "Tug" Payton said...

Good point. Plus, I think it would be fair to point out Guillen's attitude is much worse than Brown's ever was. It's obvious the Royals need better leadership on the field.

Mark LaFlamme said...

I always liked Grudz around for his quiet leadership (and of course for his glove and freaky hot streaks where he seems to be hitting every ball thrown at him.) Gload seems like he might be a commanding presence in the locker room, but I'm not sure it's been confirmed he actually speaks at all.