Teahen: I refrained from doing a curtain call since it was still early in the game and the game was only tied. We still had a lot of work to do. Hopefully I'll have a lot chances for curtain calls in the future.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Mark Teahen's Chat
Mark Teahen participated in an online chat at Royals.com yesterday. Here’s a link to the complete transcript. I think the most impressive thing he said was in answer to this question regarding his two home run performance against Baltimore on Tuesday: “You know the fans were cheering for a curtain call. Maybe next time you hit two home runs, huh?”
Teahen: I refrained from doing a curtain call since it was still early in the game and the game was only tied. We still had a lot of work to do. Hopefully I'll have a lot chances for curtain calls in the future.
Teahen: I refrained from doing a curtain call since it was still early in the game and the game was only tied. We still had a lot of work to do. Hopefully I'll have a lot chances for curtain calls in the future.
Orioles Win the Series
Game Date: July 27, 2006
Game Score: Orioles 6, Royals 4 / Box Score
WP: Lopez (7-11), LP: Duckworth (1-5), SV: Ray (26)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 35-66
The Royals had no problems getting on base last night. They had 14 hits and 3 walks. But they never could get the big hit when they needed it. Mix in a couple of errors and one Jeff Conine who seems to continually haunt us, and it equals another loss to the Orioles.
Jimmy Gobble couldn’t make it past the fifth inning, again. He threw 94 pitches and gave up two earned runs. And I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but he’s a better middle relief pitcher than he is a starter. Joe Nelson continued to throw the ball well, going two-thirds of an inning without giving up any runs. His ERA now stands at 1.50. And Andrew Sisco threw two shutout innings. His ERA is nowhere near respectable, but at least it’s finally under 7.00 (6.80 currently). It wasn't good enough though. After the game, the Royals sent him to Omaha to make room on the roster for Odalis Perez, who is scheduled to start on Saturday.
Mark Grudzielanek was 3-for-5 with 1 RBI. Mark Teahen, hitting in the three hole, was 1-for-3 with 2 BB. Matt Stairs was 3-for-5 in the clean up spot. Shane Costa was 2-for-4. Paul Phillips was 2-for-4. And Angel Berroa drove in two runs on two sacrifice flies. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Seven Oriole pitchers found a way to keep many of our baserunners from scoring.
Tonight, the Royals start a new series in Texas. Luke Hudson (2-3, 5.17) goes against Vicente Padilla (10-6, 4.00).
Game Score: Orioles 6, Royals 4 / Box Score
WP: Lopez (7-11), LP: Duckworth (1-5), SV: Ray (26)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 35-66
The Royals had no problems getting on base last night. They had 14 hits and 3 walks. But they never could get the big hit when they needed it. Mix in a couple of errors and one Jeff Conine who seems to continually haunt us, and it equals another loss to the Orioles.
Jimmy Gobble couldn’t make it past the fifth inning, again. He threw 94 pitches and gave up two earned runs. And I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but he’s a better middle relief pitcher than he is a starter. Joe Nelson continued to throw the ball well, going two-thirds of an inning without giving up any runs. His ERA now stands at 1.50. And Andrew Sisco threw two shutout innings. His ERA is nowhere near respectable, but at least it’s finally under 7.00 (6.80 currently). It wasn't good enough though. After the game, the Royals sent him to Omaha to make room on the roster for Odalis Perez, who is scheduled to start on Saturday.
Mark Grudzielanek was 3-for-5 with 1 RBI. Mark Teahen, hitting in the three hole, was 1-for-3 with 2 BB. Matt Stairs was 3-for-5 in the clean up spot. Shane Costa was 2-for-4. Paul Phillips was 2-for-4. And Angel Berroa drove in two runs on two sacrifice flies. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Seven Oriole pitchers found a way to keep many of our baserunners from scoring.
Tonight, the Royals start a new series in Texas. Luke Hudson (2-3, 5.17) goes against Vicente Padilla (10-6, 4.00).
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Comeback Comes up Short
Game Date: July 26, 2006
Game Score: Orioles 4, Royals 3 / Box Score
WP: Loewen (1-2), LP: Hernandez (2-5), SV: Ray (25)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 35-65
Buddy Bell gave Runelvys Hernandez the start last night in place of Jimmy Gobble because Bell wanted to separate Redman and Gobble in the rotation. Makes sense since they are both lefties who rely on changing speeds to get guys out. So, in 96 degree heat, Hernandez took the mound and threw 91 pitches in five innings. Unfortunately, the Orioles had no problem with his stuff. They pounded out 10 hits and 4 runs against him, and the Royals were down 4-1 after six innings.
In the eighth inning, with the Royals still down by three, Shane Costa ripped a two-out double into the alley in right center, scoring Mark Teahen and Angel Berroa. Then Bell elected to pinch hit for John Buck with Joey Gathright. That’s right. Joey Gathright. John Buck is hardly a potential batting crown champion, but Joey Gathright looks quite comfortable as he hovers around the Mendoza line. Yeah, he’s a lefty and Chris Ray is a righty, but it’s not like Buck doesn’t see right handed pitching on a regular basis.
Anyway, the odd move didn’t pay off. Affeldt kept the Orioles scoreless and gave the Royals one final shot in the bottom of the ninth. German walked with one out, but Grudzielanek popped up to short. Matt Stairs had a chance to tie or win the game with an extra base hit. He roped a ball to left field that nearly got over Luis Terrero’s head, but he made the grab and the game was over.
A few things to note:
--Jeremy Affeldt seems to have made some corrections and he’s throwing the ball well again. He’s only given up two runs in July and he’s seen his ERA dip from a bloated 6.56 at the end of June to 5.90.
--The Royals walked four more times last night. That puts them at 315 walks on the season, good for 20th place in MLB and 8th in the AL. Not bad for a team that was swinging at 58 foot curve balls on a regular basis a couple of months ago.
--We’re short handed at first base right now since trading Graf. Mientkiewicz re-injured his back a couple of nights ago and that means that Matt Stairs is the only first baseman on our roster who can play right now. Sounds like Bell may use German in a pinch, which may or may not work out, but I can’t figure out why Andres Blanco was called up, given that German is our utility infielder, when what we really need is an extra first baseman, at least until Mientkiewicz is ready to go again.
Tonight, Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88) goes against Rodrigo Lopez (6-11, 6.73).
Oh, and if you’re interested, Mark Teahen will be available in an online chat at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Looks like you’ll need to register with MLB.com, if you haven’t already, if you want to participate.
Game Score: Orioles 4, Royals 3 / Box Score
WP: Loewen (1-2), LP: Hernandez (2-5), SV: Ray (25)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 35-65
Buddy Bell gave Runelvys Hernandez the start last night in place of Jimmy Gobble because Bell wanted to separate Redman and Gobble in the rotation. Makes sense since they are both lefties who rely on changing speeds to get guys out. So, in 96 degree heat, Hernandez took the mound and threw 91 pitches in five innings. Unfortunately, the Orioles had no problem with his stuff. They pounded out 10 hits and 4 runs against him, and the Royals were down 4-1 after six innings.
In the eighth inning, with the Royals still down by three, Shane Costa ripped a two-out double into the alley in right center, scoring Mark Teahen and Angel Berroa. Then Bell elected to pinch hit for John Buck with Joey Gathright. That’s right. Joey Gathright. John Buck is hardly a potential batting crown champion, but Joey Gathright looks quite comfortable as he hovers around the Mendoza line. Yeah, he’s a lefty and Chris Ray is a righty, but it’s not like Buck doesn’t see right handed pitching on a regular basis.
Anyway, the odd move didn’t pay off. Affeldt kept the Orioles scoreless and gave the Royals one final shot in the bottom of the ninth. German walked with one out, but Grudzielanek popped up to short. Matt Stairs had a chance to tie or win the game with an extra base hit. He roped a ball to left field that nearly got over Luis Terrero’s head, but he made the grab and the game was over.
A few things to note:
--Jeremy Affeldt seems to have made some corrections and he’s throwing the ball well again. He’s only given up two runs in July and he’s seen his ERA dip from a bloated 6.56 at the end of June to 5.90.
--The Royals walked four more times last night. That puts them at 315 walks on the season, good for 20th place in MLB and 8th in the AL. Not bad for a team that was swinging at 58 foot curve balls on a regular basis a couple of months ago.
--We’re short handed at first base right now since trading Graf. Mientkiewicz re-injured his back a couple of nights ago and that means that Matt Stairs is the only first baseman on our roster who can play right now. Sounds like Bell may use German in a pinch, which may or may not work out, but I can’t figure out why Andres Blanco was called up, given that German is our utility infielder, when what we really need is an extra first baseman, at least until Mientkiewicz is ready to go again.
Tonight, Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88) goes against Rodrigo Lopez (6-11, 6.73).
Oh, and if you’re interested, Mark Teahen will be available in an online chat at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Looks like you’ll need to register with MLB.com, if you haven’t already, if you want to participate.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Teahen Carries Royals
Game Date: July 25, 2006
Game Score: Royals 7, Orioles 5 / Box Score
WP: Redman (7-5), LP: Birkins (5-2), SV: Burgos (15)
Royal Home Runs: Teahen (10, 11)
Royals Record: 35-64
I wonder if this will be the game that all of us look back on and say that it was Mark Teahen’s coming out party. We’ve seen Mark Teahen the slap hitter (for most of 2005). We’ve seen Mark Teahen the pull hitter (the tail end of 2005 and portions of this season). Now we’ve seen the Mark Teahen who can hit the other way with power. He hit two home runs last night—one to right field and one to left field. And later he produced a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh. Three impressive at bats and all three speak volumes about the ballplayer that he’s becoming. I’d like to see him improve defensively (he’s currently ranked 19th among MLB third basemen with a .952 fielding percentage), but for now, you’ve got to be happy with the way he’s playing.
This game looked like it was going to be a clinic in bad baseball. Shane Costa misplayed a ball and picked up an error in right field. David DeJesus just flat dropped a ball in left field. And Mark Redman picked up the third Royal error of the first inning when he couldn’t field a ball hit back to the mound. But the nice thing about veterans is, they are always thinking about stopping the bleeding when something like this happens because they know that comebacks are possible if the damage is minimized. That’s exactly what Mark Redman was thinking on the mound.
“You try to stop the bleeding in that situation,” Redman said. “You try to keep it as close as possible. Then it feeds off itself.”
That’s exactly what happened. Redman settled down, and reminiscent of the days when another Royals’ third basemen picked up the Royals and carried them to the finish line, Mark Teahen drove in five runs—giving the Royals a chance to win the game. Shane Costa’s one out RBI double in the seventh gave the Royals a 6-5 lead and Angel Berroa dropped down an RBI bunt single that scored Costa (who had taken third on an error) from third.
I need to say something about Angel Berroa. Last night, in addition to dropping down the bunt that scored Costa, Berroa also took a four-pitch walk. Neither instance resembles the Berroa we’ve seen since he came over to the Royals from the A’s. I have no idea what’s going on, but he’s more patient right now than I’ve ever seen him. And he almost seems willing to give up his long, hard, ridiculous looking swing for the sake of the team. Although the jury is still out on that one. For now, I’m just glad to seeing him playing the game the right way.
Tonight, Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88) goes against Adam Loewen (0-2, 7.09).
Game Score: Royals 7, Orioles 5 / Box Score
WP: Redman (7-5), LP: Birkins (5-2), SV: Burgos (15)
Royal Home Runs: Teahen (10, 11)
Royals Record: 35-64
I wonder if this will be the game that all of us look back on and say that it was Mark Teahen’s coming out party. We’ve seen Mark Teahen the slap hitter (for most of 2005). We’ve seen Mark Teahen the pull hitter (the tail end of 2005 and portions of this season). Now we’ve seen the Mark Teahen who can hit the other way with power. He hit two home runs last night—one to right field and one to left field. And later he produced a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh. Three impressive at bats and all three speak volumes about the ballplayer that he’s becoming. I’d like to see him improve defensively (he’s currently ranked 19th among MLB third basemen with a .952 fielding percentage), but for now, you’ve got to be happy with the way he’s playing.This game looked like it was going to be a clinic in bad baseball. Shane Costa misplayed a ball and picked up an error in right field. David DeJesus just flat dropped a ball in left field. And Mark Redman picked up the third Royal error of the first inning when he couldn’t field a ball hit back to the mound. But the nice thing about veterans is, they are always thinking about stopping the bleeding when something like this happens because they know that comebacks are possible if the damage is minimized. That’s exactly what Mark Redman was thinking on the mound.
“You try to stop the bleeding in that situation,” Redman said. “You try to keep it as close as possible. Then it feeds off itself.”
That’s exactly what happened. Redman settled down, and reminiscent of the days when another Royals’ third basemen picked up the Royals and carried them to the finish line, Mark Teahen drove in five runs—giving the Royals a chance to win the game. Shane Costa’s one out RBI double in the seventh gave the Royals a 6-5 lead and Angel Berroa dropped down an RBI bunt single that scored Costa (who had taken third on an error) from third.
I need to say something about Angel Berroa. Last night, in addition to dropping down the bunt that scored Costa, Berroa also took a four-pitch walk. Neither instance resembles the Berroa we’ve seen since he came over to the Royals from the A’s. I have no idea what’s going on, but he’s more patient right now than I’ve ever seen him. And he almost seems willing to give up his long, hard, ridiculous looking swing for the sake of the team. Although the jury is still out on that one. For now, I’m just glad to seeing him playing the game the right way.
Tonight, Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88) goes against Adam Loewen (0-2, 7.09).
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Graffanino Traded to Milwaukee
RSTN is reporting that Tony Graffanino has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for left-handed starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa. According to this website, de la Rosa “Pounds hitters with blazing heat and throws them off balance with a strong curveball. His left-handed heat makes him tough against left-handed hitters…He's prone to bouts of wildness and needs to develop much more stamina as a starter. He could also refine his change-up a bit.”
Looks like Dayton Moore is stocking up on young arms during this trading cycle. Starting pitching has certainly been our problem in recent seasons. Now let’s hope that Moore is a good judge of talent.
I don’t think Graffanino ever got a fair shot to play every day in KC, but I realize that I’m in the minority. I don’t expect him to get much more playing time in Milwaukee either since Rickie Weeks is pretty well established at second base. RR wishes Graf well in Milwaukee.
This trade will certainly give Esteban German more playing time, and in the long run, I think that's a good thing. He appears to have the tools to play every day at the big league level.
Looks like Dayton Moore is stocking up on young arms during this trading cycle. Starting pitching has certainly been our problem in recent seasons. Now let’s hope that Moore is a good judge of talent.
I don’t think Graffanino ever got a fair shot to play every day in KC, but I realize that I’m in the minority. I don’t expect him to get much more playing time in Milwaukee either since Rickie Weeks is pretty well established at second base. RR wishes Graf well in Milwaukee.This trade will certainly give Esteban German more playing time, and in the long run, I think that's a good thing. He appears to have the tools to play every day at the big league level.
Royals Trade for Odalis Perez
The wheeling and dealing continues: The Royals traded Elmer Dessens to the Dodgers for Odalis Perez, Blake Johnson, and Julio Pimental.
Perez has had a nightmare season in Los Angeles. He’s 4-4 with a 6.83 ERA in 20 games. He’s only started eight times. He lost his spot in the rotation and he hasn’t been happy about it—at one point he said that the Dodgers “treated like trash.” If you can overlook his problems this season, you’ll see that he’s been a solid starter for his entire career. He’s started 112 games for the Dodgers and he was 41-36. For his career, he’s 56-55 with a 4.24 ERA. And I love his career strike out to walk ratio (2.6 to 1). He’s walked 265 guys and struck out 689.
The size of his contract is the drawback in this deal. He’s in the second year of a three-year $24 million contract. I know that we have money to spare, and that we need to sure up our rotation, but taking on that much salary for a guy who doesn’t appear to be afraid to air his disputes with team management publicly, concerns me. If Odalis didn’t like his changing role with the Dodgers, imagine how he might feel if he gets yanked in and out of the rotation like we’ve done with guys over the past few seasons. But we’ve got new leadership now, so let’s assume that the days of second-guessing players’ roles is over—at least until we see otherwise.
Perez has had a nightmare season in Los Angeles. He’s 4-4 with a 6.83 ERA in 20 games. He’s only started eight times. He lost his spot in the rotation and he hasn’t been happy about it—at one point he said that the Dodgers “treated like trash.” If you can overlook his problems this season, you’ll see that he’s been a solid starter for his entire career. He’s started 112 games for the Dodgers and he was 41-36. For his career, he’s 56-55 with a 4.24 ERA. And I love his career strike out to walk ratio (2.6 to 1). He’s walked 265 guys and struck out 689.The size of his contract is the drawback in this deal. He’s in the second year of a three-year $24 million contract. I know that we have money to spare, and that we need to sure up our rotation, but taking on that much salary for a guy who doesn’t appear to be afraid to air his disputes with team management publicly, concerns me. If Odalis didn’t like his changing role with the Dodgers, imagine how he might feel if he gets yanked in and out of the rotation like we’ve done with guys over the past few seasons. But we’ve got new leadership now, so let’s assume that the days of second-guessing players’ roles is over—at least until we see otherwise.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Royals Trade MacDougal
The Royals traded closer Mike MacDougal to the White Sox today for Daniel Cortes and Tyler Lumsden—two young starting pitchers in the White Sox minor league system. Cortes, 19, was 3-9 with a 4.10 ERA in rookie ball. Lumsden, 23, was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA in Double-A.
Royals, Angels Split Series
Game Date: July 23, 2006
Game Score: Angels 3, Royals 1 / Box Score
WP: Weaver (7-0), LP: Duckworth (1-4), SV: Rodriguez (25)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 34-64
Brandon Duckworth did what he could to keep the Royals in the game yesterday, but in the end, he didn’t have good enough control to keep the Angels off the board entirely. He gave up three earned runs in five innings, but the real problem was the four walks that he issued. A couple of days ago I complimented Royals’ hitters for showing more patience at the plate and for drawing more walks. Now I’d really like to see our pitching staff stop issuing so many walks. We’ve issued 381 walks, which puts us 26th in the major leagues in that category.
Jered Weaver dominated us again—giving up just one earned run on three hits in 6.2 innings. He had his slider working and his delivery was deceptive enough to keep the Royals off balance.
A bizarre play happened in the bottom half of the second inning. The Royals were down 1-0 and Emil Brown was on second base with two outs. Angel Berroa hit a ball to Orlando Cabrera at shortstop. Brown took third as Cabrera fielded the ball, but then he started for home (Silverio waved him home) and Cabrera made the adjustment to nail Brown at home. I guess Cabrera thought he was going to have a difficult time getting Berroa at first, so he decided to go home with the ball.
I’m also guessing that Cabrera’s observation after that game is going to be discussed behind closed doors in Kauffman Stadium: “I saw the coach send him home too early. I thought I didn’t have a chance at first base. I remembered it was [Brown]. He always runs with his head down.”
You can’t blame a guy for getting thrown out at home if his third base coach sends him, but you can blame him for having a reputation for not having a clue about his surroundings while he’s running the bases.
The Royals are off today. Tomorrow night, they’ll start a new series at home against the Orioles.
Game Score: Angels 3, Royals 1 / Box Score
WP: Weaver (7-0), LP: Duckworth (1-4), SV: Rodriguez (25)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 34-64
Brandon Duckworth did what he could to keep the Royals in the game yesterday, but in the end, he didn’t have good enough control to keep the Angels off the board entirely. He gave up three earned runs in five innings, but the real problem was the four walks that he issued. A couple of days ago I complimented Royals’ hitters for showing more patience at the plate and for drawing more walks. Now I’d really like to see our pitching staff stop issuing so many walks. We’ve issued 381 walks, which puts us 26th in the major leagues in that category.
Jered Weaver dominated us again—giving up just one earned run on three hits in 6.2 innings. He had his slider working and his delivery was deceptive enough to keep the Royals off balance.
A bizarre play happened in the bottom half of the second inning. The Royals were down 1-0 and Emil Brown was on second base with two outs. Angel Berroa hit a ball to Orlando Cabrera at shortstop. Brown took third as Cabrera fielded the ball, but then he started for home (Silverio waved him home) and Cabrera made the adjustment to nail Brown at home. I guess Cabrera thought he was going to have a difficult time getting Berroa at first, so he decided to go home with the ball.
I’m also guessing that Cabrera’s observation after that game is going to be discussed behind closed doors in Kauffman Stadium: “I saw the coach send him home too early. I thought I didn’t have a chance at first base. I remembered it was [Brown]. He always runs with his head down.”
You can’t blame a guy for getting thrown out at home if his third base coach sends him, but you can blame him for having a reputation for not having a clue about his surroundings while he’s running the bases.
The Royals are off today. Tomorrow night, they’ll start a new series at home against the Orioles.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Angels Win in 10
Game Date: July 22, 2006
Game Score: Angels 4, Royals 3 / Box Score
WP: Shields (6-6), LP: Wellemeyer (0-1)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 34-63
Lead off walks. They’ll kill ya every time. And if they don’t, then they should. Especially when you walk Chone Figgins—the American League leader in stolen bases. Todd Wellemeyer walked Figgins on four pitches in the tenth inning, and that was pretty much the ball game. Figgins stole second and took third after Berroa couldn’t catch Paul Phillip’s throw that bounced in front of the second base bag. Figgins scored on an RBI single by Reggie Willits.
Unfortunately, Paul Phillips was involved in another play that cost the Royals. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the scored tied 3-3, Joey Gathright led off with a single and then he stole second. Bell called for a sacrifice bunt from Phillips, but he couldn’t get the job done and we ended up not scoring. Between Phillips and Buck, you’d think that at least one of our catchers would be able to drop down a sacrifice bunt since neither do much else at the plate, but that’s not the case.
Now for the pitching. Luke Hudson was solid again. He pitched into the seventh inning and left with a 3-2 lead. With two runners on, Burgos came in and threw another wild pitch—allowing the tying run to score. I’m not even sure what to say about this guy anymore. He was a poor closer because he can’t throw anything off speed for a strike and his fastball is straight as an arrow. Oh, and he’s as wild as Mitch Williams. But he isn’t any better in middle relief. Somebody needs to teach this guy a third pitch and they need to teach him how to throw a splitter that goes further than 58 feet.
Hopefully, we can put the poor performance behind us and go out and win today. Winning three out of four from the Angels would still be something to smile about. The Royals send Brandon Duckworth (1-3, 4.78) against Jered Weaver (6-0, 1.12). You may remember that back on June 13, Weaver threw seven innings of shut out ball against us. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.
Game Score: Angels 4, Royals 3 / Box Score
WP: Shields (6-6), LP: Wellemeyer (0-1)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 34-63
Lead off walks. They’ll kill ya every time. And if they don’t, then they should. Especially when you walk Chone Figgins—the American League leader in stolen bases. Todd Wellemeyer walked Figgins on four pitches in the tenth inning, and that was pretty much the ball game. Figgins stole second and took third after Berroa couldn’t catch Paul Phillip’s throw that bounced in front of the second base bag. Figgins scored on an RBI single by Reggie Willits.
Unfortunately, Paul Phillips was involved in another play that cost the Royals. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the scored tied 3-3, Joey Gathright led off with a single and then he stole second. Bell called for a sacrifice bunt from Phillips, but he couldn’t get the job done and we ended up not scoring. Between Phillips and Buck, you’d think that at least one of our catchers would be able to drop down a sacrifice bunt since neither do much else at the plate, but that’s not the case.
Now for the pitching. Luke Hudson was solid again. He pitched into the seventh inning and left with a 3-2 lead. With two runners on, Burgos came in and threw another wild pitch—allowing the tying run to score. I’m not even sure what to say about this guy anymore. He was a poor closer because he can’t throw anything off speed for a strike and his fastball is straight as an arrow. Oh, and he’s as wild as Mitch Williams. But he isn’t any better in middle relief. Somebody needs to teach this guy a third pitch and they need to teach him how to throw a splitter that goes further than 58 feet.
Hopefully, we can put the poor performance behind us and go out and win today. Winning three out of four from the Angels would still be something to smile about. The Royals send Brandon Duckworth (1-3, 4.78) against Jered Weaver (6-0, 1.12). You may remember that back on June 13, Weaver threw seven innings of shut out ball against us. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Royals Make in Two in a Row
Game Date: July 21, 2006
Game Score: Royals 8, Angels 3 / Box Score
WP: Hernandez (2-4), LP: Colon (1-5)
Royal Home Runs: DeJesus (5), Grudzielanek (4)
Royals Record: 34-62
Can anybody figure Runelvys Hernandez out? Is he the below .500 pitcher who pitched in Omaha this year, or is he the guy who throws 109 pitches over 7.1 innings against the Angels to give the Royals their second straight win against them? Is he the guy who came into camp out of shape and unable to throw 50 pitches or is he the guy who shut down the Twins in late April during his first start of the season? Or do his overall numbers tell us the truth? He’s below .500 at both the major league and Triple-A level this season.
I don’t think anybody knows. But when he has stuff like he did last night, he’s fun to watch. His change up had the appearance of a sinker. He threw it belt high and it dipped down and in against lefties, which made it difficult, if not impossible, to hit. He was also able to throw fastballs up in the zone and get them by some pretty good hitters. Let’s just hope that this isn’t the last good performance we see out of Hernandez for a while.
David DeJesus got things going for the Royals in the third inning after Graffanino walked and Gathright reached on a fielder’s choice (Adam Kennedy dropped the throw at second, so both runners were safe). DeJesus launched a ball over the right field wall and gave the Royals a 3-0 lead. The Royals blew the game open in the seventh inning. With the score 4-1, Gathright tripled (Vlad looks soooooooooo slow in right field, doesn’t he?), DeJesus walked, and Grudzielanek hit a three-run home run to left field to make it 7-1.
The Royals walked four times last night and are showing remarkable patience at the plate as of late. RSTN flashed a graphic during the game that said the Royals have drawn more walks than any other major league team during the last 28 games. For the season, they’ve drawn 299 walks, which puts them in a tie for 21 in MLB with the Twins. They are only 27 walks away from cracking the top 10. Bob Davis gave hitting coach Mike Barnett most of the credit and that might be justified, but I still wonder if Dayton Moore didn’t have a few choice words with the Royals when he took over about their utter lack of concern about working the count. Whatever the case, I’m glad it happened.
Tonight, Luke Hudson (2-3, 5.40) goes against Kelvim Escobar (6-9, 3.88). Hudson has never pitched against the Angels. Escobar owns the Royals. He’s 8-2 with a 2.74 ERA in his career against us.
Game Score: Royals 8, Angels 3 / Box Score
WP: Hernandez (2-4), LP: Colon (1-5)
Royal Home Runs: DeJesus (5), Grudzielanek (4)
Royals Record: 34-62
Can anybody figure Runelvys Hernandez out? Is he the below .500 pitcher who pitched in Omaha this year, or is he the guy who throws 109 pitches over 7.1 innings against the Angels to give the Royals their second straight win against them? Is he the guy who came into camp out of shape and unable to throw 50 pitches or is he the guy who shut down the Twins in late April during his first start of the season? Or do his overall numbers tell us the truth? He’s below .500 at both the major league and Triple-A level this season.
I don’t think anybody knows. But when he has stuff like he did last night, he’s fun to watch. His change up had the appearance of a sinker. He threw it belt high and it dipped down and in against lefties, which made it difficult, if not impossible, to hit. He was also able to throw fastballs up in the zone and get them by some pretty good hitters. Let’s just hope that this isn’t the last good performance we see out of Hernandez for a while.
David DeJesus got things going for the Royals in the third inning after Graffanino walked and Gathright reached on a fielder’s choice (Adam Kennedy dropped the throw at second, so both runners were safe). DeJesus launched a ball over the right field wall and gave the Royals a 3-0 lead. The Royals blew the game open in the seventh inning. With the score 4-1, Gathright tripled (Vlad looks soooooooooo slow in right field, doesn’t he?), DeJesus walked, and Grudzielanek hit a three-run home run to left field to make it 7-1.
The Royals walked four times last night and are showing remarkable patience at the plate as of late. RSTN flashed a graphic during the game that said the Royals have drawn more walks than any other major league team during the last 28 games. For the season, they’ve drawn 299 walks, which puts them in a tie for 21 in MLB with the Twins. They are only 27 walks away from cracking the top 10. Bob Davis gave hitting coach Mike Barnett most of the credit and that might be justified, but I still wonder if Dayton Moore didn’t have a few choice words with the Royals when he took over about their utter lack of concern about working the count. Whatever the case, I’m glad it happened.
Tonight, Luke Hudson (2-3, 5.40) goes against Kelvim Escobar (6-9, 3.88). Hudson has never pitched against the Angels. Escobar owns the Royals. He’s 8-2 with a 2.74 ERA in his career against us.
Gubicza
In case you missed my Mark Gubicza post (and pictures) in January, here’s a link. Congrats to Mark for his induction into the Royals’ Hall of Fame.
And here are a few links to stories about his induction:
He was a warrior (Royals website)
Gubicza's sweet emotion (KC Star)
Gubicza makes Royal entrance (KC Star)
Mark Gubicza inducted into Royals Hall of Fame (AP)
Where have you gone Mark Gubicza? (Metro Sports)
And, unfortunately we have this gem from the CNN/SI website: "SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Pitcher Mark Gubicza this weekend will be inducted into the Royals' Hall of Fame. He was 132-135 in 382 games for the K.C. from 1984-96."
How about this for a SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: "CNN/SI writer refers to the Royals as 'the K.C.' and starts a new trend, causing national broadcasters to actually pronounce the names of Royals' players correctly and causing them to stop referring to them as 'the hapless Royals.'"
And here are a few links to stories about his induction:
He was a warrior (Royals website)
Gubicza's sweet emotion (KC Star)
Gubicza makes Royal entrance (KC Star)
Mark Gubicza inducted into Royals Hall of Fame (AP)
Where have you gone Mark Gubicza? (Metro Sports)
And, unfortunately we have this gem from the CNN/SI website: "SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Pitcher Mark Gubicza this weekend will be inducted into the Royals' Hall of Fame. He was 132-135 in 382 games for the K.C. from 1984-96."
How about this for a SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: "CNN/SI writer refers to the Royals as 'the K.C.' and starts a new trend, causing national broadcasters to actually pronounce the names of Royals' players correctly and causing them to stop referring to them as 'the hapless Royals.'"
Friday, July 21, 2006
Trade Rumors
Regarding Reggie Sanders…this comes from Newsday: “Sanders, 38, is the most likely fit for the Yankees, with the Royals dropping their price after Dayton Moore took over as GM. But negotiations between the Yankees and Royals have been on hold since he strained his right groin in batting practice Monday.”
Regarding Elmer Dessens and Jeremy Affeldt…this comes from the DenverPost.com: “The Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox have interest [in first baseman Ryan Shealy] and the type of bullpen reinforcements the Rockies are after …The Royals have discussed relievers Elmer Dessens and Jeremy Affeldt with the Rockies” According to MLBTradeRumors.com: “The Royals would prefer to unload shortstop Angel Berroa and just one reliever to get first baseman Ryan Shealy.”
Regarding Mark Redman…this comes from MLBTradeRumors.com: “A source tells me that the Red Sox have placed a call with Kansas City to assess their demands for 32 year-old All-Star southpaw Mark Redman.”
This comes from the CBS Sportsline.com website: “It is believed the Royals are going to be big sellers before the trade deadline by moving veterans Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Grudzielanek and possibly Mark Redman, says the Boston Globe.”
Regarding Elmer Dessens and Jeremy Affeldt…this comes from the DenverPost.com: “The Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox have interest [in first baseman Ryan Shealy] and the type of bullpen reinforcements the Rockies are after …The Royals have discussed relievers Elmer Dessens and Jeremy Affeldt with the Rockies” According to MLBTradeRumors.com: “The Royals would prefer to unload shortstop Angel Berroa and just one reliever to get first baseman Ryan Shealy.”
Regarding Mark Redman…this comes from MLBTradeRumors.com: “A source tells me that the Red Sox have placed a call with Kansas City to assess their demands for 32 year-old All-Star southpaw Mark Redman.”
This comes from the CBS Sportsline.com website: “It is believed the Royals are going to be big sellers before the trade deadline by moving veterans Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Grudzielanek and possibly Mark Redman, says the Boston Globe.”
Throwing Us a Bone
After all the negative press the Royals have received this season, you might be interested in reading this article on the CBS Sportsline.com website: Nothing cooking in K.C.? Wake up and smell the BBQ, people.
Royals Win Error-Filled Game
Game Date: July 20, 2006
Game Score: Royals 9, Angels 4 / Box Score
WP: Dessens (5-7), LP: Gregg (2-3)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 33-62
How the Angles have managed to stay over .500 with their defense is beyond me. Four errors, three wild pitches, and a passed ball—and Vlad looks so slow in the outfield. You’ve got to hand it to the Royals, they took advantage of the miscues and turned it into a W.
Ervin Santana was wild (8 walks worth of wildness) and when umpires asked him on two occasions to tuck in that ridiculous tag on his shirt that he allows to flail in the wind, he looked irate. Maybe he couldn’t get it tucked in because of the large gold rope of a necklace he was wearing. Or maybe it was that weird black string hanging out of his jersey. Who knows. But I think it’s time that Ervin learned that baseball is about baseball—it’s not a bad fashion show.
Jimmy Gobble only lasted four innings again last night. We don’t have any other options at this point, but he’s 25 years old. If he doesn’t have the endurance to go deeper in games by now, he probably never will. His ERA has risen to nearly 5.00 since becoming a starter and he’s clearly better suited for middle relief. Unfortunately, the Royals used a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the 1999 draft to get him—which is way too high for a middle reliever.
Several Royals’ had big nights at the plate. DeJesus was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a walk. Grudzielanek was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI and a walk. Mientkiewicz was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and a walk. Teahen was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI and a walk (noticing a pattern here?). Joey Gathright was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI. And, stop the presses—Angel Berroa was 1-for-3 with 1 RBI and 2 WALKS—in one game, which means he’s finally reached double digits for the season. He also made an error, which means he still has more errors (11) than walks (10). I still think he has a shot to commit more errors this season than he’ll walk, but we’ll see. The race is on.
Dessens was solid in middle relief—going three innings, and giving up no runs on one hit. And Burgos pitched well over the final two innings.
The Royals are calling up Runelvys Hernandez to make the start tonight since both Elarton and Wood are on the shelf. Hernandez was 5-6 with a 4.59 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP in Omaha. Hardly stellar numbers for a guy who was once thought to be a mainstay in the rotation in KC. At the major league level this season he’s 1-4 with a 7.44 ERA. Bartolo Colon (1-4, 4.56) will get the start for the Angels. He’s 13-6 in his career against the Royals with a 4.75 ERA.
Game Score: Royals 9, Angels 4 / Box Score
WP: Dessens (5-7), LP: Gregg (2-3)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 33-62
How the Angles have managed to stay over .500 with their defense is beyond me. Four errors, three wild pitches, and a passed ball—and Vlad looks so slow in the outfield. You’ve got to hand it to the Royals, they took advantage of the miscues and turned it into a W.
Ervin Santana was wild (8 walks worth of wildness) and when umpires asked him on two occasions to tuck in that ridiculous tag on his shirt that he allows to flail in the wind, he looked irate. Maybe he couldn’t get it tucked in because of the large gold rope of a necklace he was wearing. Or maybe it was that weird black string hanging out of his jersey. Who knows. But I think it’s time that Ervin learned that baseball is about baseball—it’s not a bad fashion show.
Jimmy Gobble only lasted four innings again last night. We don’t have any other options at this point, but he’s 25 years old. If he doesn’t have the endurance to go deeper in games by now, he probably never will. His ERA has risen to nearly 5.00 since becoming a starter and he’s clearly better suited for middle relief. Unfortunately, the Royals used a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the 1999 draft to get him—which is way too high for a middle reliever.
Several Royals’ had big nights at the plate. DeJesus was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a walk. Grudzielanek was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI and a walk. Mientkiewicz was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and a walk. Teahen was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI and a walk (noticing a pattern here?). Joey Gathright was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI. And, stop the presses—Angel Berroa was 1-for-3 with 1 RBI and 2 WALKS—in one game, which means he’s finally reached double digits for the season. He also made an error, which means he still has more errors (11) than walks (10). I still think he has a shot to commit more errors this season than he’ll walk, but we’ll see. The race is on.
Dessens was solid in middle relief—going three innings, and giving up no runs on one hit. And Burgos pitched well over the final two innings.
The Royals are calling up Runelvys Hernandez to make the start tonight since both Elarton and Wood are on the shelf. Hernandez was 5-6 with a 4.59 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP in Omaha. Hardly stellar numbers for a guy who was once thought to be a mainstay in the rotation in KC. At the major league level this season he’s 1-4 with a 7.44 ERA. Bartolo Colon (1-4, 4.56) will get the start for the Angels. He’s 13-6 in his career against the Royals with a 4.75 ERA.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Gotay Traded to the Mets
The Royals and Mets pulled the trigger and exchanged minor league second baseman. The Mets got Ruben Gotay and the Royals got Jeff Keppinger. As I said yesterday, I’m thrilled to see Gotay dealt away. He wasn’t a good fit for this team. He’s a career .242 hitter who swings out of his shoes at every pitch. Keppinger on the other hand is a career .284 hitter in 116 at bats and he’s only struck out seven times.
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