Affeldt Pitches Out of Trouble

What a performance by Affeldt. He had almost no control of his fastball, but his new-found cutter and his curve ball carried him through two difficult jams, and the Royals finally won on the road. The Royals haven't won a 1-0 game since August 31, 2005. They beat the Twinkies that day too. And their 1-0 victory against them last night was the Royals first shutout of the season.

The first time through the lineup Affeldt used his cutter very effectively—especially to lefties. It dove down and away and they had no chance to hit it. He threw it in on the hands of righties and they couldn't extend. The next time threw the lineup he transitioned to his curve ball and he was able to throw it for strikes. He walked way too many guys—but this was a huge game for him because he pitched out of trouble without having his best stuff. That's what good pitchers do.

Perhaps Affeldt's time has finally come. This is his fourth good outing in row and you can just see from his pace that his confidence is increasing. Couple that confidence with outstanding stuff, including a new pitch that is devastating and we finally have the makings of an excellent starting pitcher.

The bullpen did an excellent job again, with Peralta, Dessens, and Burgos shutting down the Twinkies over the final four innings.

The Royals only run came on a two out single by Paul Bako who was in an 0-for-16 funk. Emil Brown had three hits and Bako had two, but it's hard to find anything else to be positive about regarding the offense right now.

For those of you keeping score at home with all of the personnel changes, you know by now that the Royals "reassigned" hitting coach Andre David and they've promoted Mike Barnett. Barnett has worked with Vernon Wells, Carlos Delgado, and other young hitters while he was with Toronto, so hopefully he can add a little spark to our lethargic bats.

Reggie Sanders "tweaked" his left hamstring last night, and with Costa and DeJesus already out with hamstring problems, our outfield is going to be looking pretty scary over the next couple of weeks until everybody gets healthy.

And finally, David Glass is promising changes soon. He's not saying what those will be, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Now for a little comedic relief. Emil Brown said something after the game that I need to add to the RR archives: "We're all trying to get on the same page...Well, I guess we've been on the same page. We've all been sucking. We want to get on a different page."

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 26 games. Maybe we ought to treat this like 9-pin no tap in bowling…every time Angel Berroa actually works the count to three balls, he automatically gets credited with a walk. What do you think?

Tonight, Scott Elarton (0-4, 4.28) goes against Jon Garland (2-1, 7.11) in Chicago.