At the Turn

At the midway point of the season…

• The Royals had lost 14 of their last 16 games…
• They were 29 games under .500…a franchise worst at the midway point…
• They were 29 games out of first place…a franchise worst at the midway point…
• They were 26-55…and you know the rest…
• And they were 0-49 when trailing after the 8th inning…

The record of our three managers at the midway point:

• Tony Pena: 8-25
• Bob Schaefer: 5-12
• Buddy Bell: 13-18

We've had many disappointments this season. Here are my Top 5:

1. Allard Baird. His decision to stick with Tony Pena is a major disappointment. Talk about digging a hole for the team. Thirty-three games into the season, the Royals were 17 games under .500 and Pena's oddities were so old and frustrating that it was difficult to listen to him try to explain himself anymore. Last season was all the evidence Baird should have needed to know that Pena was the wrong guy.

2. Angel Berroa. In 81 games, he's hitting .241, with 5 HR and 20 RBI in 323 at bats. Those numbers are bad enough. The rest of his numbers are worse. He's only drawn 11 BB while striking out 62 times. And Schaefer even believed he was leadoff material. I have no idea what he was thinking. Berroa has a .282 OBP. They only guy with a worse OBP is John Buck (.261) and he's in the 8 or 9 hole most nights. Throw in Berroa's aloofness on the basepaths and we've got a guy who looks like he should be in Omaha.

3. Jose Lima. After two great seasons in a row, who expected a 1-7 record with a 7.58 ERA at the turn from Lima? In 103.1 IP, he's given up 102 H and 50 BB. Unbelievably bad.

4. Zack Greinke. After seeming to have hitters confused and off balance a month into the season, Greinke decided to try various different arm angles and pitches because they "were cool." The youngster is still learning his lesson. He's 1-10 with a 6.09 ERA. In 91.2 IP, he's given up 118 H and 24 BB. Horrible numbers from a guy who probably should have been sent to Omaha to learn that "coolness" has nothing to do with pitch selection.

5. A toss up between John Buck and Mark Teahen. We didn't expect much at the plate from Buck and he certainly hasn't exceeded our expectations. He's hitting .221, with 6 HR and 19 RBI. Like Berroa he's walked just 11 times and also like Berroa, he looks totally overmatched at the plate. Teahen was supposed to be solid in the field and he's been anything but solid—making 9 errors in 156 chances. And the scorekeeper has been kind to him. He has a knack for making the spectacular play and for misplaying the routine ball. At the plate, he hasn't shown any power, hitting just 2 HR with 24 RBI.

We've had a few positives. Here are my Top 5:

1. Emil Brown. A wonderful story about a guy who slugs his way onto a team in Spring Training and then carries over his performance into the regular season after winning a starting position. He's hitting .288 with 8 HR and 37 RBI. He's already had a 16-game hitting streak and he looks like a veteran at the plate.

2. Andrew Sisco. For a Rule 5 guy who has never pitched above the A-ball level, his numbers are astounding. In 42 IP, he has a 2.79 ERA. He walks way too many guys though, 24 already, but he always seems to squirm off the hook. If he wants to continue to be successful at this level, he's got to cut down on the walks, but you've got to be impressed with what he's done so far.

3. D.J. Carrasco. The guy who is now our ace spent a good portion of the season in Omaha. In 10 starts, he's 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA. He's got a revamped delivery and it's working. Let's hope that he keeps it up.

4. Tony Graffanino. He lost his starting position during Spring Training (I'm still scratching my head over that one), but when he's been given a chance to play, he's performed well. He's played at 2B, 3B, 1B and even a game at SS. He has struggled in the field, but to some degree it is understandable since he's been out of position most nights. But at the plate, he's hitting .306 and for a while was one of the hottest hitters in baseball. That's when Bell decided to sit him down. Go figure.

5. Matt Stairs. The guy is the consummate professional. He plays hard. He takes responsibility both on the field and off. And he cares. For a guy who only has 193 AB, he has an impressive 8 HR and 27 RBI. He also leads the Royals by far in BB with 37. Nobody else is even close to him. He also has the highest OBP (.380) on the team.