No wonder the Royals front office wanted to get their hands on Coco Crisp so badly this offseason. Crisp jumped all over White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in the top of the ninth and rammed a two-run homer well over the wall in left and the Royals defeated the Sox 2-1.
Crisp came up big defensively in the bottom of the 8th with a nice running catch on a ball hit by A.J. Pierzynski in the right center gap to save a run. He then deposited the first pitch he saw from Jenks in the 9th to break a 0-0 tie. Crisp's blow came right after Alberto Callaspo drilled a double to the wall in right center with one out in the inning.
Joakim Soria made things interesting when he came on in the ninth and surrendered a lead off double to Carlos Quentin. Quentin moved up to third on a Jim Thome ground out and scored on Jermaine Dye's ground out to short making it 2-1. Soria then walked Paul Konerko and Alexei Ramirez reached on an Alex Gordon error to put runners at first and second. But Soria rebounded to strike out pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit on a back-door curve to end the game. The save was Soria's 2nd of the season.
Royals starter Kyle Davies was nothing less than stellar in his performance as he tossed seven innings, allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked two. Together, Davies, Greinke and Meche gave Royals fans a glimpse of what the starting rotation - at least at the top three spots - could be like this season. Together they allow only one run and combined for a 0.43 ERA in the series. Ron Mahay (1-0) picked up the win after tossing a scoreless 8th for the Royals.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen that kind of consistency from a rotation over the course of a series like that," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "It was really amazing to see. I am really pleased with that."
The Royals (2-1) open at home tomorrow against the Yankees at 3:10 p.m. CT. The much anticipated home opener will be a grand re-opening of Kauffman Stadium after it has gone through an extensive renovation over the past two seasons. Andy Pettitte will start for the Yanks while Sidney Ponson gets the nod for the Royals.
The Royals will have to make a roster move before tomorrow's game to make room for Ponson. Reserve infielder Tony Pena Jr. could be the odd man. The Royals must trade, release or option a player to the minors to make room for Ponson on the 25-man roster.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sorry for the delay, here's my analysis from Wednesday's 2-0 win
I want to apologise to you guys for not getting something posted on here sooner about last night's Royals game in which they took down the White Sox 2-0. I do have an excuse though, I am battling a horrible stomach pain that has put blogging on the bottom of my to-do list.
Anyways, before the Royals start today's game against Chicago I just wanted to point out a few things about the game last night that I'm sure you have already heard about by now.
First of all, Zack Greinke is a friggin stud. He tossed six innings of Josh Beckett baseball and completely bamboozled Sox hitters all night. Jermaine Dye (sorry Jermaine) looked like I did at the plate when he whiffed horribly at a 12-6 curve that he missed by about three feet. Greinke also roasted Alexei Ramirez and Jim Thome on some filthy sliders as well.
Mark Teahen made a very nice play at second on a ball hit hard to his right. He's admittedly had trouble all spring with that ball up the middle, but has been making huge strides in that department. If you haven't seen the play (it may not look too hard when a gold-glover is fielding it, but it's a very tough play) Teahen backhanded the ball and made a strong throw to first in one motion to get the runner by two steps. That was good to see.
Juan Cruz was electric (as expected) in two inning of hitless relief. He retired all six batters he faced. Joakim Soria was his normal self as well. Striking out Dye to end the game on a filthy curve.
Anyways, I don't feel like writing much more. Again, I apologise. I'll try to have something on today's game when it ends. We're about to get underway. Go Royals!
Anyways, before the Royals start today's game against Chicago I just wanted to point out a few things about the game last night that I'm sure you have already heard about by now.
First of all, Zack Greinke is a friggin stud. He tossed six innings of Josh Beckett baseball and completely bamboozled Sox hitters all night. Jermaine Dye (sorry Jermaine) looked like I did at the plate when he whiffed horribly at a 12-6 curve that he missed by about three feet. Greinke also roasted Alexei Ramirez and Jim Thome on some filthy sliders as well.
Mark Teahen made a very nice play at second on a ball hit hard to his right. He's admittedly had trouble all spring with that ball up the middle, but has been making huge strides in that department. If you haven't seen the play (it may not look too hard when a gold-glover is fielding it, but it's a very tough play) Teahen backhanded the ball and made a strong throw to first in one motion to get the runner by two steps. That was good to see.
Juan Cruz was electric (as expected) in two inning of hitless relief. He retired all six batters he faced. Joakim Soria was his normal self as well. Striking out Dye to end the game on a filthy curve.
Anyways, I don't feel like writing much more. Again, I apologise. I'll try to have something on today's game when it ends. We're about to get underway. Go Royals!
Royals add another IF at Omaha
So it looks like this "plan" that Dayton Moore has concieved to bring the Royals back to greatness involves stockpiling your team at pitcher and ... wait for it ... first base!Umm ... huh?
Yeah, the Royals added yet another first baseman to the mix at Triple-A Omaha (where the club already has sluggers Kila Ka'aihue and Ryan Shealy) when they picked up Travis Metcalf off waivers from the Rangers today. Metcalf, a Kansas native, hit .249 with 11 homers and 35 homers in 80 games for the Rangers over the last two years.
Note: Metcalf is listed as a third baseman, but he does not project as a big league third baseman. He is pretty rough at that position, and it is almost certain that he will eventually be moved to first. He likely won't be moved there right away with the Royals, but eventually I see it happening. He has some pop, but strikes out a ton. Alas, Mike Jacobs. So I'm calling him a first baseman.
I kind of like this move, but I wonder how they are going to split the at-bats down on the farm?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
After sleeping on it, here's my ranting Opening Day analysis
I didn't want to say too much yesterday after watching Kyle Farnsworth do his normal song and dance which led to a Royals 4-2 loss. As dumb as this sounds I was crushed. I was down and out. Yes, I know there are 161 more games to be played. I know that it's only one game in a long season. I know all the cliche's by now. I used to play the game myself back in the day.
Still, it sickened me to watch what was unfolding right in front of my very eyes. I hate to bash Trey Hillman too much on this one (he's the manager and we're stuck with his decisions, after all) but I think Trey was the ONLY person in the entire world who had confidence that Kyle Farnsworth would get the job done. Just like last season, he was the ONLY person in the world who thought Brett Tomko was somehow going to figure it all out when he put on the blue uniform and be a dominant force. Just like he also thinks Sidney Ponson was worth keeping in the rotation over Luke Hochevar (you already know how I feel on that one).
Trey said after the game that he doesn't try to "guess what the fans think". So, basically, he's saying screw the fans and he's gonna do what he wants. Well, if it works, that's all fine and dandy. That's what he's making the big bucks for. But so far it hasn't worked. Yabuta didn't work, Tomko didn't work, Gobble (a great lefty specialist) was misused and tanked. Ramon Ramirez did work and so did Leo Nunez. The fact is Ramirez and Nunez had pretty good track records before becoming regulars in the bullpen last year and we all had hope they would do well. Nunez was pretty good coming through the system. Ramirez showed flashes of brilliance with the Rockies. So that wasn't a big shock. Everyone knew that Tomko was a joke.
So far, Trey hasn't shown me one ray of genius.
I like the guy and I think that he COULD be a good manager someday. The problem that I'm afraid is going to crush him and leave him unemployed is his conviction in guys who have been consistently pathetic throughout their careers. He made comments after the game that Mahay and Cruz were warming in the pen because he was afraid that Farnsworth might be wild. WHAT!? WHY THE HELL WOULD ANY MANAGER PUT A PITCHER IN A ONE RUN BALLGAME IN THE 8TH INNING IF HE'S AFRAID HE'S GONNA BE WILD!? That makes no sense at all. You can't tell me he honestly felt that Farnsworth was going to do a better job that Cruz or Mahay? That's just plain stupid.
Sorry for the all caps, but that just drives me nuts! It's as if you're trying to be so brawn that you're willing to risk the team's success to make a statement. Why doesn't he think about Gil Meche for a change? Meche fell victim to (I wish I had the exact numbers in front of me right now) countless decisions like the one made yesterday and ended up with countless no-decisions on games he exited with the lead. Gil's record should have been MUCH better last season if Hillman would have managed his bullpen correctly.
Trey also said that Ron Mahay isn't a lefty specialist. That he's a sixth or seventh inning guy. What does that mean? The last time I checked it doesn't matter what inning it is when it comes to making quality pitches to get outs. He last time I checked the Royals are paying Ron Mahay a pretty nice salary to get guys out - something he did with great effectiveness last season. Lefty specialist or not, his title isn't going to decide the outcome of whether he gets Jim Thome out in that situation. Quality pitches will. Any scout will tell you that Mahay is the better pitcher in that situation.
Sucking yourself into a trend where "this guy can only pitch in this inning, and this guy in that inning" is like pouring gasoline on your arm and waving it over a fire. Pretty soon, well, you know what I'm getting at.
If Hillman wants to be a big league manager for very long he's going to have to quit trying to be a genius and MANAGE the game. He had room for excuses last season - his first in the big leagues. He no longer has that extra link in the chain. He's going to realize that sooner than later, because media and the fans are going to eat his lunch for questionable decisions in 2009. It's a good thing he wasn't hired to manage the Yankees last season. Right now, he'd be unemployed.
Still, it sickened me to watch what was unfolding right in front of my very eyes. I hate to bash Trey Hillman too much on this one (he's the manager and we're stuck with his decisions, after all) but I think Trey was the ONLY person in the entire world who had confidence that Kyle Farnsworth would get the job done. Just like last season, he was the ONLY person in the world who thought Brett Tomko was somehow going to figure it all out when he put on the blue uniform and be a dominant force. Just like he also thinks Sidney Ponson was worth keeping in the rotation over Luke Hochevar (you already know how I feel on that one).
Trey said after the game that he doesn't try to "guess what the fans think". So, basically, he's saying screw the fans and he's gonna do what he wants. Well, if it works, that's all fine and dandy. That's what he's making the big bucks for. But so far it hasn't worked. Yabuta didn't work, Tomko didn't work, Gobble (a great lefty specialist) was misused and tanked. Ramon Ramirez did work and so did Leo Nunez. The fact is Ramirez and Nunez had pretty good track records before becoming regulars in the bullpen last year and we all had hope they would do well. Nunez was pretty good coming through the system. Ramirez showed flashes of brilliance with the Rockies. So that wasn't a big shock. Everyone knew that Tomko was a joke.
So far, Trey hasn't shown me one ray of genius.
I like the guy and I think that he COULD be a good manager someday. The problem that I'm afraid is going to crush him and leave him unemployed is his conviction in guys who have been consistently pathetic throughout their careers. He made comments after the game that Mahay and Cruz were warming in the pen because he was afraid that Farnsworth might be wild. WHAT!? WHY THE HELL WOULD ANY MANAGER PUT A PITCHER IN A ONE RUN BALLGAME IN THE 8TH INNING IF HE'S AFRAID HE'S GONNA BE WILD!? That makes no sense at all. You can't tell me he honestly felt that Farnsworth was going to do a better job that Cruz or Mahay? That's just plain stupid.
Sorry for the all caps, but that just drives me nuts! It's as if you're trying to be so brawn that you're willing to risk the team's success to make a statement. Why doesn't he think about Gil Meche for a change? Meche fell victim to (I wish I had the exact numbers in front of me right now) countless decisions like the one made yesterday and ended up with countless no-decisions on games he exited with the lead. Gil's record should have been MUCH better last season if Hillman would have managed his bullpen correctly.
Trey also said that Ron Mahay isn't a lefty specialist. That he's a sixth or seventh inning guy. What does that mean? The last time I checked it doesn't matter what inning it is when it comes to making quality pitches to get outs. He last time I checked the Royals are paying Ron Mahay a pretty nice salary to get guys out - something he did with great effectiveness last season. Lefty specialist or not, his title isn't going to decide the outcome of whether he gets Jim Thome out in that situation. Quality pitches will. Any scout will tell you that Mahay is the better pitcher in that situation.
Sucking yourself into a trend where "this guy can only pitch in this inning, and this guy in that inning" is like pouring gasoline on your arm and waving it over a fire. Pretty soon, well, you know what I'm getting at.
If Hillman wants to be a big league manager for very long he's going to have to quit trying to be a genius and MANAGE the game. He had room for excuses last season - his first in the big leagues. He no longer has that extra link in the chain. He's going to realize that sooner than later, because media and the fans are going to eat his lunch for questionable decisions in 2009. It's a good thing he wasn't hired to manage the Yankees last season. Right now, he'd be unemployed.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Farnsworth blows it in 8th, Royals lose 4-2
Well, that didn't take long. For those of you questioning the Royals signing of mad-man Kyle Farnsworth, you got just the ammunition you needed to back up those arguments as Farnsy gave up a three-run jack to Jim Thome with two outs in the 8th to give the White Sox their first lead of the game and a 4-2 victory.
Farnsworth, who loves his 98 MPH fastball a little too much, threw nothing but heaters to Thome until he deposited a 2-1 pitch well over the wall in left center.
That effed up a previously solid game by the Royals all the way around. The only real blemish for the team was the fact that they stranded 11 runners on base. Gil Meche started and was fantastic through 7 innings of work. He blew away Alexei Ramirez on his last pitch of the game to leave some wondering if he would return for the 8th. I wish he would have.
Alex Gordon rammed his first homer of the year to dead center in the second inning off of Mark Buehrle. Bobby Jenks got the save for the Sox in the 9th.
Farnsworth, who loves his 98 MPH fastball a little too much, threw nothing but heaters to Thome until he deposited a 2-1 pitch well over the wall in left center.
That effed up a previously solid game by the Royals all the way around. The only real blemish for the team was the fact that they stranded 11 runners on base. Gil Meche started and was fantastic through 7 innings of work. He blew away Alexei Ramirez on his last pitch of the game to leave some wondering if he would return for the 8th. I wish he would have.
Alex Gordon rammed his first homer of the year to dead center in the second inning off of Mark Buehrle. Bobby Jenks got the save for the Sox in the 9th.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Royals minor league rosters....Class A Burlington
The players are linked to their Bio's. Feel free to click on their names and check them out.
Coaches
Jim Gabella (Manager)
Pookie Wilson (Batting Coach)
Jerry Nyman (Pitching Coach)
Pitchers
Manauris Baez
Barry Bowden
Bryan Casey
Luis Cota
Brent Fisher
Justin Garcia
Blaine Hardy
Ivor Hodgson
Riquy Pena
Zach Peterson
Sam Runion
Derrick Saito
James Thompson
Catchers
Jose Bonilla
Sean McCauley
Salvador Perez
Infielders
John Alfaro SS
Eric Hosmer 1B
Antonio Jimenez 3B
Kyle Martin DH
Alwin Perez 2B
Juan Rivera SS
Jason Taylor 3B
David Wood 1B
Outfielders
Nicholas Francis RF
Patrick Norris CF
Wilson Tucker RF
Nick Van Stratten RF
Coaches
Jim Gabella (Manager)
Pookie Wilson (Batting Coach)
Jerry Nyman (Pitching Coach)
Pitchers
Manauris Baez
Barry Bowden
Bryan Casey
Luis Cota
Brent Fisher
Justin Garcia
Blaine Hardy
Ivor Hodgson
Riquy Pena
Zach Peterson
Sam Runion
Derrick Saito
James Thompson
Catchers
Jose Bonilla
Sean McCauley
Salvador Perez
Infielders
John Alfaro SS
Eric Hosmer 1B
Antonio Jimenez 3B
Kyle Martin DH
Alwin Perez 2B
Juan Rivera SS
Jason Taylor 3B
David Wood 1B
Outfielders
Nicholas Francis RF
Patrick Norris CF
Wilson Tucker RF
Nick Van Stratten RF
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