Royals Down Tribe Again

With the 10-7 win against Cleveland last night, the Royals have won four of their last six games. For whatever reason, bad pitching on Cleveland's part is my best guess, the Royals own the Indians this season. They are 4-1 against them so far.

Affeldt struggled again early with his command, but this time Bell yanked him in the second inning, even though Affeldt wiggled off the hook in the first inning. It's hard to argue with Bell, but I wouldn't have minded seeing him leave Affeldt in to see if he could have gotten himself out of the jam—especially since our bullpen is so thin right now.

Gobble came in for Affeldt and for the first time in a month, he gave up a run—two actually. Peralta gave up two as well. Sisco and Dessens finished the game. And while the pitching performances were what we were hoping for, the bats came to life (finally) and covered for pitching staff.

The Royals had 17 hits. Grudzielanek was 4-for-5. Graffanino was 3-for-5. Guiel was 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI. Robinson was 3-for-4. And Buck was 3-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBI. His home run was a big part of the 6-run sixth inning. This is hardly our best lineup, but I love to see Guiel get a shot at playing time, and German good enough to be starting somewhere every day. Even though he was 0-for-4, he's still hitting .405.

The Royals look for their first sweep of the season this afternoon at Kauffman. Scott Elarton (0-4, 3.86) goes against Jake Westbrook (3-2, 5.23).

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 31 games.

Sweeney: On Retirement

I never took the chance to respond to Mike Sweeney's comments in the Star last week about the possibility of him retiring if his injury situation doesn't improve.

Here's what he said: "If this thing lingers on through the summer, it's [retirement] something I'd probably consider. But right now, I owe it to my teammates and ownership to make every effort to get healthy and get back in the lineup."

Mike is only 32 years old, but his body seems to be much older. And for the first time in his 10-year career with the Royals, fans in Kansas City are starting to boo him. He's frustrated by his long string on injuries, and so are the fans. He says that he changed his lifestyle over the off-season and that he came into camp in the best shape he's been in for "at least seven years." But his body has failed him again.

The 2000 season seems so long ago, doesn't it? Sweeney hit 29 HR, drove in 144 RBI, and he hit .333. Everybody, including me, thought this was just beginning of many highly productive seasons from Mike. He was the next George Brett. After putting up solid numbers in 2001—29 HR, 99 RBI, with a .304 average he inexplicably broke down in 2002, only playing in 126 games that year. And then it got worse: 108 games in 2003, 106 games in 2004. He managed to play in 122 games last season, but by then people were starting to whisper—wondering if Sweeney would ever be healthy again.

During the off-season, we signed Mientkiewicz to play first base full time so Sweeney could just concentrate on DH'ing. And now, one month into the season, even DH'ing has proven to be a problem. But I'd like to propose something. What would happen if all of us stopped pining for the next George Brett and just accepted what we have? Why not be thankful that we have a guy who has not only excelled on the field, but in the community as well? Why not be glad to have a guy who tries to stay positive no matter what the circumstance is rather than slouching and acting like he doesn't care—like so many guys we've ran through this organization in the last ten years?

Why don't we just let Mike Sweeney be who he is—broken or not—and be thankful that he stuck with the organization when everybody else of substance signed somewhere else? Let's cut him some slack and accept the fact that he's done everything he can do to make his body cooperate. And above all, let's just enjoy the games he does play. Yes, that puts a burden on the roster. We've always got to make sure somebody else can fill his shoes. But for now, Stairs is a nice fit at DH.

I hate the idea of Sweeney retiring so young. But I'd respect his decision to do so because he cares about this organization and about the fans. I'm just not ready to see it happen yet. Are you?

Royals Beat Tribe 4-3

How about Mike Wood? He came into the game tonight after Bautista hit his 60-65 pitch limit in the fourth inning and Wood threw 4.1 innings in relief, giving up no runs and no walks—and he kept the Royals in the game until they took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. Wood's ERA is now 2.78 and he seems to be a perfect fit for long relief.

At the plate, Grudzielanek had two hits, Mientkiewicz had two hits, and so did Buck—including a solo home run in the two-run fifth inning. For a make-shift line up that includes a back up centerfielder, a back up third baseman, and a back up right fielder, our guys hung in tough defensively. Aaron Guiel overran a ball in the eighth inning off the bat of Travis Hafner, but Sisco and Burgos picked him up and didn't allow Hafner to score. Sizemore hit a solo shot in the ninth off Burgos, but the Royals still won 4-3.

We've got to feel pretty good about our pitching staff right now. They had a 4.01 ERA over the last 17 games going into the game tonight—and the bullpen had a 3.13 ERA. Unfortunately, we haven't had the hitting to match it with all of the injuries. Our lack of depth in the line up has been exposed.

Reggie Sanders is growing closer to returning to the line up. He was available for emergency pinch-hitting duties tonight, but he wasn't needed. It'll be nice to see him back in right field and in the middle of our line up again—especially with Sweeney being out indefinitely.

Tomorrow, the Royals send Jeremy Affeldt (2-2, 4.94) to the mound against Jason Johnson (2-2. 5.08). Affeldt is 2-1 lifetime against the Tribe with a 4.00 ERA in 45 innings of work. He's also 2-1 in his last three starts with a 0.55 ERA. Batters are hitting just .183 off him during that stretch.

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 30 games. Pathetic.

This date in Royals history: George Brett, hitting in the 9-hole, hit his first major league home run against Fergie Jenkins on May 8, 1974.

Review: The Last Nine Innings

I just finished reading Charles Euchner's book called The Last Nine Innings. The inside flap claims that the book "reveals the seismic changes that are dramatically transforming baseball" by using the "pitch-by-pitch account of the 2001 World Series finale—when the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning to take the championship from the dynastic New York Yankees."

Euchner uses statistics and quotes from experts to speak in-depth about such things as the perfect pitching motion, the importance of players fine-tuning their bodies like never before, and the importance of technology to track new categories of statistics such as range factor, zone rating, fielding runs above replacement, OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage), and win shares. In so doing, Euchner's research definitely helps even the most ardent fan see the game in a deeper fashion than before, and his writing style is clear enough that even an average or nominal fan can follow what he is saying.

The Royals receive one mention in the book when Euchner discusses the "Pythagorean method" (which estimates "how many games a team should expect to win, given how many runs they score and how many runs they allow"). Euchner points out that the 1998 Royals (who won ten more games than projected that year) are one of the six biggest over-achievers out of the "1,970 total teams" that have played "over more than a century."

I did find it a little odd that Euchner used the 2001 World Series as the basis for his book since the vast majority of players on those teams now play for other teams or are out of baseball. And unfortunately, the book is poorly edited. Typos, oddly worded sentences, and grammatical errors can be found throughout the book. And sometimes, he repeats himself several times within the same chapter. This looks more like a first or second draft than it does a completed manuscript.

I still think the book is worth reading though. If you get a chance pick it up, or order it by clicking here.

Robinson's Error Costly

Kerry Robinson has played centerfield in 61 major league games over the course of his career. He played 52 games in center for the 2001, 2002, and 2003 St. Louis Cardinals, and he played 9 games in center for the 2004 San Diego Padres. You'd think that the guy would be an adequate back up—or at least look like he belongs in centerfield, since he's only committed one error in his career while playing the position. But you would be wrong.

Have you ever seen a play like the one yesterday when Joe Crede hit a ball to deep centerfield? The wind was blowing in and Robinson seemed unsure of himself as he approached the wall. He climbed the wall and seemed to wait an eternity for the ball to drop. It dropped alright—on the warning track. Then it bounced into the stands. I was going to say that it was one of the most embarrassing plays I have ever seen, but Robinson kind of said it for me.

"It's embarrassing. I'm very embarrassed by my play out there." Robinson is quoted as saying in an article on the Royals website.

Fortunately, it didn't cost Redman the game after he pitched so well—giving up 2 ER in 7 IP. But in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and a guy on base, and the score tied 2-2, Jim Thome hit a pop up to centerfield. Robinson couldn't seem to decide whether he should pursue it or not. He started, stopped, and then started again, but he couldn't make the play. White Sox win 3-2.

"We were shifted all the way to the right and I assumed Emil [Brown] would be able to get to that ball a little easier," Robinson said after the game.

As the centerfielder, you've got to take charge. You can't assume that another outfielder is going to make the play. How is it that we continue to end up with guys who don't seem to have a clue how to play the game? They have talent, but they don't know or understand the basics?

Robinson may end up playing center for quite a while. David DeJesus injured his right knee while rehabbing his left hamstring. We don't know the extent of the injury, but an MRI is scheduled and we'll know more soon.

On a positive note, Denny Bautista is set to come off the DL today. He'll take Joe Mays' spot in the rotation.

And stay tuned. Today we may get an official announcement about the shake up that Glass has been promising.

Royals Win Nail-biter

Scott Elarton had another excellent outing tonight, going 6 innings, and giving up just one earned run. But he still doesn't have a win to show for his efforts, even though he lowered his ERA to 3.86. He left the game with it tied at 1-1. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the eighth when the White Sox took a 2-1 lead.

Aaron Guiel contributed right away tonight by walking to lead off the ninth. Berroa somehow managed to get down a sacrifice bunt. Graffanino walked. And German drove Guiel in with a single. Then Robinson followed with an RBI single to give the Royals the lead. After a base-running error by Robinson (how many of those have we had already?), Mientkiewicz walked, and Matt Stairs came up with a big single to drive in two runs and to give us a 5-2 lead. We needed both runs because the White Sox mounted a come back in the bottom of the ninth, but they fell one run short and the Royals won 5-4.

We actually have back to back wins on the road.

Tomorrow we get to find out if we can win three in a row. Runelvys Hernandez (1-1, 2.63) goes against Javier Vazquez (3-1, 3.00).

Teahen, Mays Demoted

First, for the personnel changes. Mark Teahen was sent to Omaha today. I didn't see that coming. He's a light-hitting third baseman (.195, 2 HR, 9 RBI) who still doesn't have the greatest footwork in the field, but judging by the way he started turning on the ball during the final six weeks of last season, I thought he had a longer leash. But with Esteban German playing so well, it makes sense. German is hitting .458, he can run like the wind, and he was originally thought to be good enough to be our everyday second baseman. Then we signed Grudzielanek. But with Teahen heading to Omaha, German will get a shot at playing third every day. According to Baird, the Royals have no plans to bring Alex Gordon to the bigs for now.

Next up was the inevitable demotion of Joe Mays. Well, actually he's been asked to accept an option to Omaha and he has three days to decide if he'll accept it. Joe better accept it because I'm guessing that his 10.27 ERA isn't going to attract any other major league team. The truth is, Joe Mays has had one good season in his major league career, and he doesn't appear to be anywhere close to turning things around here in Kansas City. We cannot continue to give him the ball every five days when he's giving up more than 10 runs for every nine innings he pitches. I'd love to see him figure things out, but it's not going to happen at the major league level.

So Aaron Guiel finally got the call to join the roster and he started in right field tonight. With Sanders, DeJesus, and Costa out, Guiel will get a lot of playing time in the coming days. He was all class when asked before the game if he was bitter about being passed over for other players. He said that the Royals gave him his shot in baseball and he feels loyal to them. How rare is that in sports today?

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.

Mays, Berroa Awful Again

Surely this will be the last time that Buddy Bell will give Joe Mays the ball to start a game. Mays was awful again, giving up 6 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits in 3.1 IP. I'm thinking that it's time to just eat his salary and release him. Yeah, it's a lot of money, but the guy can't get anybody out. He's making Jose Lima's 2005 season look like a Cy Young award performance.

And what can be said about Angel Berroa that hasn't already been said? He nanchalanted another three hopper hit to him in the third inning and it skipped off the heel of his glove and on into center field. The guy is one of the worst fielding shortstops in baseball when it comes to routine plays and I just can't understand why Bell is so accepting of the way he plays.

Not a lot to be happy about tonight in the 6-1 loss. Stairs hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. And Jimmy Gobble was outstanding in 2.2 innings of relief. Wood and Gobble followed him with two perfect innings. Too bad we were out of the game by the end of the third inning.

The Royals are still winless on the road this season, and they are now 5-20 on the season. Looks a lot like Tony Pena is still running the club.

Jeremy Affeldt (1-2, 6.27) goes against Carlos Silva (1-4, 10.31) tomorrow night. Affeldt is 3-1 lifetime against the Twinkies with a 1.28 ERA in 42.1 IP. If we're ever going to win a game on the road, it'll be tomorrow.

I think it's time to resurrect the Berroa Walk Watch. I'm not even convinced that he's going to hit double digits in walks for the entire season, but let's find out.

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 25 games.

Fan Sells His "Loyalty" on Ebay

I know things are bad for Royals fans right now, but this is ridiculous. A guy just sold his "loyalty" to the Royals on ebay…and incredibly his auction drew 16 bids. The winning bid paid $278.47.

Here's what the winner got: "With your purchase you will accept all of the responsibilities of a true Royals fan. You will tell people (in public) that you actually like the Royals. You will tell them that we 'won't be as bad this year as we were last year.' You will also tell them to 'watch out for those young players.' 'Once they develop and we sign them to long-term deals, we should be in the playoffs in 2-3 years!' I will also include a Royals jersey with a 1985 World Series patch."

Okay, here's the deal. Being a fan means sticking with your team. And if loyalty can be sold, it's not loyalty, it's a commodity. I'm all for asking for better players. I'm in favor of demanding that the team be prepared to do the basics. And I think fans have the right to voice displeasure with the team. But selling your loyalty makes a mockery out of the word "fan."

Update @ 7:46 PM: The Star ran an article about this story today. Here's a link.

Royals Offense Anemic

Redman pitched relatively well over his 5.1 innings of work, but he made a huge mistake in falling behind 3-1 to Brandon Inge after Marcus Thames doubled in front of him in the bottom of the third inning. Inge was the number nine hitter. Redman shouldn't have been behind him to begin with, but Inge made him pay by hitting a two-run home run. And with our anemic offense, that's all the Tigers needed.

The Royals only managed to get four hits off Maroth, and the Tigers impressive bullpen shut us down after that. Zumaya, Rodney, and Jones did what they are supposed to do and the Royals only managed one hit in the final three innings.

With rumors flying that Sweeney is headed for the 60-day DL, and with David DeJesus and Shane Costa also hurt, we're going to struggle to score runs.

The Royals still haven't won a game on the road. The Twinkies aren't exactly playing great baseball right now, so who knows, maybe we can win one there, but I doubt it'll happen tomorrow since we're sending Joe Mays (0-3, 11.07) against Brad Radke (2-3, 8.89).

Huber Gets the Call

Justin Huber got the call up to replace Sweeney on the roster. He's been hitting the cover off the ball in Omaha: 7 HR, 9 RBI, 15 BB, .301 AVG, .427 OBP and a 1.030 OPS in 73 AB.

Huber was originally signed by the New York Mets as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2000. The Royals traded Jose Bautista to the Mets in exchange for Huber on July 30, 2004.

Sweeney Headed to DL

During the Buddy Bell show before the game tonight, Bell said that Sweeney's back injury will land him on the DL again—and he will be there from anywhere between two weeks, up to two months. Not good news for an offense that is struggling. Judging from the way Sweeney described the injury (like a lighting bolt going through his shoulder and down his left arm)—I'm not optimistic.

Tigers Edge Royals 3-2

Runelvys Hernandez had another good start tonight, this time going 6.2 innings and giving up 3 earned runs and only one walk. Unfortunately, the bats were silent. Again. We put up a bit of a fight in the ninth inning against Todd Jones, scoring two runs, but we came up one short and we lost 3-2.

Jeremy Bonderman was tough on us again tonight. He didn't give up any earned runs in 8.0 innings. He seems to get better every time we see him. His slider was diving and he ended up striking out nine guys.

Sweeney pulled up lame running down the first base line on a grounder and you've got to be concerned about that—especially given his already sore back after crumpling to the ground in a heap the other night on a pitch that was up and in.

Tomorrow, the Royals send Mark Redman (0-1, 7.82) against Mike Maroth (3-1, 1.85).

A's Down Royals 13-6

Buddy Bell said something over the weekend that is sure to embarrass a couple of Royals players. But that's a good thing at this point. At least we don't still have a manager who is dances in the shower in the clubhouse and proclaims that we're going to win the division.

"I've seen things here recently I haven't seen since rookie league," Bell said. "Guys not having (sun)glasses, guys not covering first."

He's partially referring to Esteban German, who played center yesterday in the 13-6 loss to Oakland. Nick Swisher hit a line drive at him and German lost the ball in the sun. The ball hit him in the face and he had to leave the game. Afterward he said: "I didn't wear the glasses because the sun was back and forth a lot."

If the sun was back and forth a lot, don't you take your glasses with you just in case?

Bell needs to take some of the responsibility for guys not covering first base. That's what spring training is for. If Bell didn't drill it into their heads to cover first base, then perhaps he wasn't tough enough, or serious enough, or something enough.

Just after his observation that he's seeing things he hasn't seen in rookie ball, he made this rather confusing remark: "That's not an issue of playing hard or whatever, it's just that when the game starts moving too fast, we don't have the ability to slow it down."

Not covering first base isn't an issue of playing hard? Huh? It's a mental lapse, which of course means that a player's mind is wandering, and consequently, he's not playing hard. Mental lapses can simply not be allowed to happen. Physical mistakes are acceptable, but a guy not covering first base because he's thinking about what he's going to do after the game is not.

And for the life of me, I can't figure out what Bell means by the game moving too fast? Does that mean that the Royals made such quick outs in the bottom of the fifth inning that German didn't even have time to grab his glasses? That couldn't be the case because we scored three runs. And German admitted to not bringing them because he didn't think he'd need them. What does that have to do with the speed of the game?

We've always got the ability to slow the game down. The pitching coach can visit the mound. So can the catcher or an infielder. The pitcher can take a little longer between pitches. Or he can step off the rubber.

Anyway, Elarton had his worst outing of the year, giving up 5 ER and 3 BB in 2.1 IP. And Luke Hudson gave up four more runs without recording an out in what I'm hoping is his last outing at the major league level for a while. Sisco got hit hard again, giving up two more runs, and his ERA now stands at 9.00.

We had a few positive notes at the plate. Kerry Robinson, just up from Omaha after Shane Costa went on the DL, went 3-for-5 in the leadoff spot. Emil Brown picked up a couple of hits and so did German. And Mark Teahen hit a three-run home run.

But in the end, the Royals lost for the twelfth straight time at home against the A's. Unfortunately, life doesn't get any easier for the guys in blue. We're on to Detroit, Minnesota, and Chicago this week.

The Royals are sending Runelvys Hernandez (1-0, 1.29) to the mound tonight in Detroit against Jeremy Bonderman (2-2, 5.04).