I haven't written anything for awhile now, but can you really blame me? The Royals have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and today they wasted another solid pitching performance by Zack Greinke to drop a 2-1 decision to Sidney Ponson and the Texas Rangers. Yes, I repeat, Kansas City was held to one run by Sidney Ponson, and the loss allowed the team with the worst record in baseball to take two of three games in the series.
I'm embarrassed to call myself a Royals fan right now. If you take a look at the banner of this blog -- yes, the thing at the top of the main page -- this is one of those days where I need to commiserate.
This team's offense is horrid. Just plain awful. Kansas City ranks last in the American League for runs scored with 101. That's an average of 3.61 runs per game. Guys like Greinke just have to be frustrated. He should be 5-0 right now. And, when the Royals do break out and score a bunch of runs, like the nine they scored in Wednesday night's loss to the Rangers, the pitching falters.
Kansas City opened the season with the pitching staff looking like it was going to be pretty darn solid. But it was a small sample size, and we all should have known it wouldn't last. I feel foolish for having been excited about the team's two-point-something earned run average at one point. Now, pretty much all the team's ERA's except for those of Greinke (1.47), Ron Mahay (2.03), and the Three Amigos -- Joakim Soria (0.00), Ramon Ramirez (0.71), and Leo Nunez (2.38) -- have swelled to greater than 4.00.
The thing is, though, even at 12-16 the Royals aren't buried in the standings. Thanks to the 6-2 start to the season, Kansas City finished April at 12-15, and they're currently three games out of first place. But if they continue to stink things up by losing series to teams the realistically should beat, there will be much more grumbling coming from this Royals fan.
Showing posts with label Texas Rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas Rangers. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Don't Mess With Texas?
I know it's just Spring Training, and these games don't matter. But geez, do you think the Royals could actually catch a break one of these days and win a game against the Rangers? Texas is pretty much a consensus pick to finish as an "also ran" in the American League West, so three straight losses against it is kind of embarrassing, don't you agree?
You know, there are signs all over the state of Texas that say, Don't Mess With Texas, and apparently the Royals need to heed that warning.
With Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Rangers, Kansas City fell to 1-3 in Cactus League play, with all three setbacks coming at the hands of the team with which it shares their Surprise, Ariz., training facility. Texas has outscored the Royals, 29-15, in the three games, and KC also allowed nine runs in its lone win (against San Diego), so Royals pitchers are allowing 9.5 runs per game. Ouch.
Sunday's defeat was made even more disappointing by the fact that the Royals held a 7-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. But Joel Peralta surrendered three hits in a third of an inning, including a two-run homer to tie the score, and the Rangers rallied for the win.
But it's Spring Training, and you have to hope that the Royals are learning from their early mistakes. Despite the fact that it seems way too soon to start looking at stats, with only four Spring Training games played, here's a look at some of the notables from the first week of camp:
The Good
--Right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar has to be at the top of the list of pleasant surprises. On Sunday, he made his second appearance of the spring, and once again pitched brilliantly. He's pitched a total of four innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out a pair of batters and walking none. It's too early in camp to get too excited, but if Hochevar continues to pitch this well, he could earn a spot in the rotation, or at least make the Royals' roster as a member of the bullpen to start the season.
--Kyle Davies also fared well, making his spring debut on Sunday. The right-hander, who was acquired in the Octavio Dotel trade last year, went three innings and gave up three hits and one earned run.
--I haven't written about this yet -- my son's fourth birthday was Saturday, so that kept me busy this weekend -- but Gil Meche had a decent debut, as well. Meche said after the game that he wasn't pleased with his curveball, but he allowed two hits and fanned a batter in his two innings of work.
--CF David DeJesus must have gotten sick and tired of reading all the comments from people who say they want to trade him, because he's off to a great start, with four hits (including a double) in five at bats, three runs batted in, and four walks in three games.
--Justin Huber is 3-for-4, with all of his hits going for doubles, and a pair of RBI in his quest to find a roster spot. His play in left field has been as one might expect when asked to move from first base to left field early in camp. If the Royals aren't smart enough to give him a shot, then hopefully he continues to put up impressive offensive numbers, so that he could at least attract decent trade value.
--LF Mark Teahen is batting .300 (3-for-10) with a double, three runs scored, and has drawn four walks for an OBP of .500.
--Ross Gload has played in three games, batting .444/.444/.778 with four hits (one home run), and three runs batted in. No wonder Trey Hillman said he likes his swing.
--Damon Hollins has about zero chance of making the Royals' roster, but he's been playing right field until Jose Guillen sees some action. Hollins, who hit 15 home runs for Tampa Bay two seasons ago, is 3-for-7 (.429) with two doubles, two runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases.
--Third baseman Alex Gordon is batting .375 with three RBI. He's away from camp until Tuesday, attending his grandfather's funeral in Nebraska.
The Bad
--Honestly, Brian Bannister was rusty, not bad, but he allowed seven hits and four runs (three earned) in his three-inning debut on Sunday. I really don't expect him to be on this list next week.
--Kansas City has eight pitchers with double-digit ERAs.
The Ugly
--Esteban German committed a costly error in the first inning of the first Spring Training game, and has not made up for it at the plate. In four games, German is batting .091/.091/.182, with one hit in 11 at bats.
--OF Mitch Maier is 0-for-7 in three games.
--Julio Pimentel has a 36.00 ERA after allowing four hits and five runs (four earned) in his one inning of work so far.
You know, there are signs all over the state of Texas that say, Don't Mess With Texas, and apparently the Royals need to heed that warning.
With Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Rangers, Kansas City fell to 1-3 in Cactus League play, with all three setbacks coming at the hands of the team with which it shares their Surprise, Ariz., training facility. Texas has outscored the Royals, 29-15, in the three games, and KC also allowed nine runs in its lone win (against San Diego), so Royals pitchers are allowing 9.5 runs per game. Ouch.
Sunday's defeat was made even more disappointing by the fact that the Royals held a 7-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. But Joel Peralta surrendered three hits in a third of an inning, including a two-run homer to tie the score, and the Rangers rallied for the win.
But it's Spring Training, and you have to hope that the Royals are learning from their early mistakes. Despite the fact that it seems way too soon to start looking at stats, with only four Spring Training games played, here's a look at some of the notables from the first week of camp:
The Good
--Right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar has to be at the top of the list of pleasant surprises. On Sunday, he made his second appearance of the spring, and once again pitched brilliantly. He's pitched a total of four innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out a pair of batters and walking none. It's too early in camp to get too excited, but if Hochevar continues to pitch this well, he could earn a spot in the rotation, or at least make the Royals' roster as a member of the bullpen to start the season.
--Kyle Davies also fared well, making his spring debut on Sunday. The right-hander, who was acquired in the Octavio Dotel trade last year, went three innings and gave up three hits and one earned run.
--I haven't written about this yet -- my son's fourth birthday was Saturday, so that kept me busy this weekend -- but Gil Meche had a decent debut, as well. Meche said after the game that he wasn't pleased with his curveball, but he allowed two hits and fanned a batter in his two innings of work.
--CF David DeJesus must have gotten sick and tired of reading all the comments from people who say they want to trade him, because he's off to a great start, with four hits (including a double) in five at bats, three runs batted in, and four walks in three games.
--Justin Huber is 3-for-4, with all of his hits going for doubles, and a pair of RBI in his quest to find a roster spot. His play in left field has been as one might expect when asked to move from first base to left field early in camp. If the Royals aren't smart enough to give him a shot, then hopefully he continues to put up impressive offensive numbers, so that he could at least attract decent trade value.
--LF Mark Teahen is batting .300 (3-for-10) with a double, three runs scored, and has drawn four walks for an OBP of .500.
--Ross Gload has played in three games, batting .444/.444/.778 with four hits (one home run), and three runs batted in. No wonder Trey Hillman said he likes his swing.
--Damon Hollins has about zero chance of making the Royals' roster, but he's been playing right field until Jose Guillen sees some action. Hollins, who hit 15 home runs for Tampa Bay two seasons ago, is 3-for-7 (.429) with two doubles, two runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases.
--Third baseman Alex Gordon is batting .375 with three RBI. He's away from camp until Tuesday, attending his grandfather's funeral in Nebraska.
The Bad
--Honestly, Brian Bannister was rusty, not bad, but he allowed seven hits and four runs (three earned) in his three-inning debut on Sunday. I really don't expect him to be on this list next week.
--Kansas City has eight pitchers with double-digit ERAs.
The Ugly
--Esteban German committed a costly error in the first inning of the first Spring Training game, and has not made up for it at the plate. In four games, German is batting .091/.091/.182, with one hit in 11 at bats.
--OF Mitch Maier is 0-for-7 in three games.
--Julio Pimentel has a 36.00 ERA after allowing four hits and five runs (four earned) in his one inning of work so far.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hochevar Impresses in 6-1 Loss to Rangers
Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in the Cactus League opener for both teams wasn't exactly the kind of result most Royals fans were hoping for. In fact, Kansas City's offense looked an awful lot like last year's version -- little punch, and a lack of runs, which included stranding guys in scoring position.
But it might be exactly what Trey Hillman needed to help get across his message that the Royals need to work diligently on fundamentals in order to manufacture runs. And, before people start complaining about this or that, let's remind ourselves that this was the first game of Spring Training, for crying out loud. These games truly mean nothing, so here is a look at some of the bright spots.
Without a doubt, the most positive thing to come out of this game was the sparkling performance of right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar. The top overall pick in the 2006 draft, Hochevar is coming off a 2007 season in which his Minor League numbers weren't overly impressive. He was a combined 4-9 with a 4.86 ERA for Wichita and Omaha last year, but those results might be skewed because of the fact that he was working on strengthening his weaknesses.
Hochevar enters this spring with an outside chance at earning a spot in Kansas City's rotation, but is probably more likely to start the year as a starting pitcher in Omaha. He's also been talked about, though, as a possibility in the Royals' bullpen, where he could be eased into a rotation slot -- sort of like Kansas City did with Zack Greinke last year.
Against the Rangers, the 6-foot-5, 24-year old former University of Tennessee standout threw two perfect innings, facing six batters and not allowing a ball out of the infield, yielding four ground balls, one line-drive, and a pop-up.
It's far too early to be raving about anything, especially after the first Cactus League game of the year, but Royals fans have been hoping that Hochevar will start to display some of the dominance that led him to be drafted not once, but twice, by the Dodgers. He turned down both chances to sign with Los Angeles, before the Royals took him with their first selection in 2006.
Offensively, six Kansas City players had one hit apiece, including a promising ground-rule double for left fielder Justin Huber, and an RBI single for shortstop Tony Pena. Third baseman Alex Gordon and first baseman Billy Butler also collected singles.
Butler, who's attempting to earn the starting first base job, played flawless defense before being replaced in the lineup. Ryan Shealy, Butler's primary competition at first base, was 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.
So, it's one game down, and way too many to go. But seeing Hochevar throw the way he did makes this loss almost feel like a win.
But it might be exactly what Trey Hillman needed to help get across his message that the Royals need to work diligently on fundamentals in order to manufacture runs. And, before people start complaining about this or that, let's remind ourselves that this was the first game of Spring Training, for crying out loud. These games truly mean nothing, so here is a look at some of the bright spots.
Without a doubt, the most positive thing to come out of this game was the sparkling performance of right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar. The top overall pick in the 2006 draft, Hochevar is coming off a 2007 season in which his Minor League numbers weren't overly impressive. He was a combined 4-9 with a 4.86 ERA for Wichita and Omaha last year, but those results might be skewed because of the fact that he was working on strengthening his weaknesses.Hochevar enters this spring with an outside chance at earning a spot in Kansas City's rotation, but is probably more likely to start the year as a starting pitcher in Omaha. He's also been talked about, though, as a possibility in the Royals' bullpen, where he could be eased into a rotation slot -- sort of like Kansas City did with Zack Greinke last year.
Against the Rangers, the 6-foot-5, 24-year old former University of Tennessee standout threw two perfect innings, facing six batters and not allowing a ball out of the infield, yielding four ground balls, one line-drive, and a pop-up.
It's far too early to be raving about anything, especially after the first Cactus League game of the year, but Royals fans have been hoping that Hochevar will start to display some of the dominance that led him to be drafted not once, but twice, by the Dodgers. He turned down both chances to sign with Los Angeles, before the Royals took him with their first selection in 2006.
Offensively, six Kansas City players had one hit apiece, including a promising ground-rule double for left fielder Justin Huber, and an RBI single for shortstop Tony Pena. Third baseman Alex Gordon and first baseman Billy Butler also collected singles.
Butler, who's attempting to earn the starting first base job, played flawless defense before being replaced in the lineup. Ryan Shealy, Butler's primary competition at first base, was 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.
So, it's one game down, and way too many to go. But seeing Hochevar throw the way he did makes this loss almost feel like a win.
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