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Positive Thoughts
For those of you who don’t like negativity on your Kansas City Royals blog, brace yourself. Because here comes a doozy:
The Rangers pitching staff is a freaking joke.
Oh, you meant negativity about the good guys. That would be difficult to do after a game like they played on Tuesday.
The Positives
– Royals hitters drew six walks. Six! How great is that?
– Mark Teahen decided to pull the ball and raked a triple.
– The Royals bullpen remains tough as nails. It seems like I write something along these lines every night, and I probably do. But it’s true. I give a ton of credit to Dayton Moore who basically rebuilt the foundation of the pen. Ramon Ramirez has been a gem and Ron Mahay showed he’s capable of throwing multiple innings while putting down any kind of uprising that might have been lurking in the Ranger bats. Just outstanding.
– Joakim Soria gets his own bullet point, because that’s what he throws - bullets. (Sorry. That was kind of lame.) Anyway, watching him pitch in the ninth is worth the price of admission. He wasn’t sharp on Tuesday - he allowed his first walk of the year - but his strikeout of Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a change-up to close out the game was a thing of beauty.
– Jose Guillen decided to come alive and tied a career high with five RBI. And that home run to left was an absolute bomb. On that specific at bat, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Royal with that quick of a swing. Very impressive. Hopefully, he’s locking in and we’ll see him rip a few more. Again, he’s playing his next couple of games in a park that favors hitters against a team with Triple-A talent on the mound. If he’s going to get right, now is the time.
– The defense (until the ninth inning, at least) was outstanding. The play where Mark Grudzielanek sprinted down the right field line to make the catch on the pop up was outstanding. If you get a chance to see the replay, notice how he runs out, takes his eyes off the ball to find Teahen, regroups and makes the grab. It was so nice, we can forgive his error in the ninth. And don’t you think Teahen hates that wall along the line in right?
– Speaking of Grudz, how about those three doubles?
– The nine runs was a season high. But you already knew that.
The Negatives
– Against my advice, Trey Hillman hit Miguel Olivo and Tony Pena back to back in the lineup for the first time this season. The result was 10 plate appearances and 10 outs.
– I wasn’t thrilled with Olivo behind the plate, especially in the third. He failed to block a Tomko pitch in the dirt that allowed two runners to move into scoring position and later in the inning, he looked handcuffed on another wild pitch that advanced yet another runner into scoring position. The Rangers ended up scoring two runs in the inning and while I’m not going to blame Olivo for those runs (they probably would have scored regardless) it certainly didn’t help.
– Brett Tomko pitched like Brett Tomko. The Royals give the guy a five run lead and he can’t get out of the fourth inning. Sheesh. Kyle Davies is pitching well in Omaha, so his days in the rotation may be numbered. But on the bright side, on days when Tomko pitches, if you take the over in Vegas, you’re going to make some money.
– The graphics on FSN had “Ron Mayhay” for the entire post-game show.
– Ranger fans were spotted doing the wave. How many more days until the Cowboys minicamp, Texas?
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20 Responses to “Positive Thoughts”
April 29th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Read a story about Texas earlier in which the cliche addled reporter referred to them as “the lowly Rangers.” I’ve always hated that tired term, but wouldn’t it be great to see it applied to someone other than the Royals for once?
Grudzielaniek’s catch in shallow right was Grudtacular, but so was Teahan’s in the deep part of the field. Not to mention two of Pena’s snags. Defense AND offense? If they don’t watch it, they might win a string of games.
Did anyone catch Olivo’s limp wristed throw back to the mound? Looked like his wrist just collapsed. Good comedy. It’s good to have a comfortable lead so we can laugh at that crap once in a while. Doesn’t happen often.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:10 am
The Texas fans did the wave? I didn’t think there were enough of them in the park to accomplish that!
Trey’s substitution of Gathright for Guillen was spot-on.
You know, Jarrod Saltalamacchia would look really good in a Royals uni.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Oh, I thought of a new nickname for Soria. With that beard, he looks like the “Hispanic Abe Lincoln”.
He throws hard enough to split logs (bats), so it kind of works.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:12 am
You really came away from this game realizing how bad the Rangers pitching must be if the Royals could take batting practice against them. Tomko must be an old Indian word for “He-Who-Needs-Lots-of-Bullpen-Help”. The guy is awful.
I really appreciate Teahen “manning up” and playing new positions without a bunch of whining, but he is really a bad outfielder. I know those were tough plays against the wall, but a good outfielder catches one of them and maybe both.
Pena continues to amaze with the glove, but his tenure in the major leagues will only last until GMDM finds a competent glove man who can hit at the adequate level. You would sure like to see Callaspo get some starts at SS to see what he can do.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Gordon striking out three times is my only complaint of last nite. Tomko is Tomko, he’ll have a decent game 4 out of 10 starts.
Guillen’s shot was quite the blast, lets hope he gets above the Mendoza Line soon.
Greinke has a 1.40 ERA since August 7.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Fun game to watch. Nice to see a good offensive output.
It’s becoming painfully obvious Olivo just sucks at blocking balls and isn’t the best at calling pitches. Did you catch where he called timeout himself because he couldn’t think of what sign to put down? Maybe he should only start at catcher on nights when Bannister pitches.
Start Callaspo for Pena!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Chief…I agree. Salty would look great in powder blue.
Also, any catcher looks crappy catching Brett Tomko.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Before we give up on Pena, let Grud be his batting buddy, teach him how to choke up and shorten up and take a quick, tight swing, go with the pitch. Grud is a very good player for us with that approach and his very good glove, Pena could be even better for us at short with his excellent glove. Since our hitting coach does not know what to do, someone let Tony and Grud know our idea.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Pitch counts, pitch counts, pitch counts.
We obliterated the ranger schmuck with 25-29 in the first and earned 3 runs…and then Tomko does the same thing without the runs.
Later in the game people are shocked when he comes out so quickly.
The next thing that pisses me off, and I say it on a weekly basis, is our young guys swinging and popping out…or just missing…on the first pitch. Nothing is worse than knowing your opponent (pitcher) is getting nice high pitch counts and we don’t take advantage of it by continuing to let him blow his arm out.
i want a full article on pitch counts (pitches taken by our batters) by you guys. thanks.
i’d also like to comment on split and ryan talking about taking walks like it’s an “unleadershippy” thing to do. good god people. take walks!
April 30th, 2008 at 9:36 am
I have no problem with players swinging at the first pitch, especially when it is likely to be a fastball. Walks are a tricky thing. They are not something earned, like most people think. It’s a mistake a pitcher has to make. It’s hard to take a walk when a pitcher throws strikes. I certainly understand the strategy of taking more pitches to eventually get to a team’s bullpen. However, if our guys sit on every first pitch, a pitcher knows he can groove one down the middle to get ahead every time. I can see taking the first strike once a pitcher is down in the count, 1-0, 2-0, or 3-0. This is what I see KC doing. Taking the first pitch to go down in the count (unless it’s close and not a hitter’s pitch) is dangerous. Cuz then you’re down 0-1 and really have little idea what pitch is coming next…which will be a pitcher’s pitch. Just my two cents.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:38 am
A bit off topic…
News Flash of the positive variety…our promising 23-year old starting pitcher from the Dominican Republic, Carlos Rosa, is well on his way to his second dominant outing in a row for our AA team. Through 5 IP, his numbers are as follow: 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K. This comes on the heels of an 8 IP, 1 H, 9K performance. His numbers for the year are quite impressive.
Too bad we don’t have any hitting help on the way. Oops, that was kind of negative wasn’t it.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Found this info at BeaBetterHitter.com in an article called THE PITCH COUNT. Interesting stuff…
If you notice, the one pitch count I haven’t addressed is the 0-0 count. The first pitch. There are two schools of thought about this pitch. Some of the great hitters adopt the position that they want to look at the first pitch. See what the pitchers got. Get a gauge for his speed, etc. Their thought process is that if hitting is timing they will be in a better position to time their swing.
I believe in the opposite, for two reasons: One, you should have been paying attention during your time in the on-deck circle. Or, if you are the first batter of the game, during the pitcher’s warm up. My point is this, study the pitcher, know him, he is your adversary.
The second, and most important reason, is this: Pitcher’s are instructed from Little League to the Major Leagues (and every stop in between) to get ahead in the count! “First pitch, first strike, first out” is drilled into them from an early age. It stands to reason that most first pitches are going to be “good pitches to hit.”
I believe in treating the 0-0 pitch like a 2-0 pitch. Look for a fastball in your “zone.” If you get it. . .smash it. Swing hard at this pitch. If you miss it, it’s 0-1 and you have two strikes left. If the pitch is not to your liking, let it go by. The worst it can be is 0-1. Plus, you had a chance to “look” at one to see what the pitcher has.
Rickey Henderson is the most prolific first pitch hitter that ever lived. He has more first pitch, first at-bat home runs than any player in the history of the game. Rickey is not considered a power hitter.
How then is he able to hold this distinction? I’ll tell you. . .he is a smart hitter. He looks for that grooved fastball on the first pitch. When he gets it, he pounces on it!
Very often the first pitch in an at-bat is the best pitch you will see. If you live by the philosophy to always “take” that pitch, guess how many times you will start out 0-1? A lot. Pitchers are not dummies. If you show a tendency, believe me they will try to exploit it.
On the other hand, if you are known for crushing the first pitch fastball two things could happen. One, they won’t give you a very good pitch to hit very often. Which means you will probably be ahead in the count 1-0 (depending on the umpire, or the quality of the pitch). Or two, you will see plenty of breaking and off-speed pitches on the first pitch. Which, again, the smart hitter can adjust to.
The entire article is available at http://www.beabetterhitter.com/text/mental/pitchcount/pitchcount.htm
April 30th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I was in Springfield (Missouri) today. I went to the Springfield Cardinals Stadium (Hammons Field) and I SAW Carlos Rosa pitch. He really jacked the ball up in the zone, and was hittin 93-96 pretty often. When I left in the 8th inning, Brian McFall had 2 home runs.The Northwest Ark. Nats gotta pretty good team. Thank me for helping jinx the Strangers yesterday.
And thank me for my valuble info about KC’s records when they are in specific situations.
Thank me for all that
April 30th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I know the Naturals hit well today, but they are a very poor hitting team, at least to this point of the season.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
But they have good pitching.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Zach daddy then according to your thinking shouldn’t the Royals be the best hitting team in baseball year in year out? Nobody swing more 0-0 than we do? The Yankees should be a bad hitting team because they work the count. Of course you don’t take 100% of the time that’s as absurd as never taking a pitch. It’s a balance. There are several studies showing how batting averages rise in comparison to a players plate patience- almost all great hitters walk a lot- to be a free swinger and be good (there are some) you have to have exceptional bat control-Vlad-Puckett- on the Royals Callaspro has that kind of reaction-Grudz is a good 2 strike hitter- other guys are simply deadmeat- the Royals are a bad offensive team largely to their approach at the plate- they lessen the talent they have. Pitchers are taught to know the hitter. Jessie Litsch never threw a 1rst pitch strike to Gordon because he did not have to and was always ahead of the count- against Arod- now that’s likely another story isn’t it-
April 30th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I will say this that Texas team is a disaster- wow tonight that is as ugly a baseball as I’ve seen for a team beating our brains out- except it’s getting closer as they compound every mistake with another
April 30th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
gbewing…I don’t think swinging at the first pitch or taking the first pitch is why we are not scoring runs. We are not scoring runs because we are not a very good hitting team…on ANY pitch. Our cleanup hitter is below the Mendoza line which has nothing to do with his pitch count. John Buck is hovering around the Mendoza line whether he takes the first pitch or swings on the first pitch. When does he lose his position? John Buck is terrible. Pena cannot hit on any pitch count. Furthermore, when we do get hits, they are often singles. We get few extra base hits.
Now, I think things will change in the coming years. Gordon and Butler will progress. DDJ is solid. Gathright is starting to come around and is now hitting .260ish although his “extra” base hits will have to come from stolen bases.
We do not currently have any consistent extra base hitters. Guillen will likely come around. Gload is not an extra-base hitter. Grudy isn’t (although I like him and he isn’t hurting us). Buck isn’t. Pena isn’t. Teahen hasn’t been. Our slugging % is weak. We are getting NOTHING of power from our 3-4-5 stretch which has very LITTLE to do with pitch counts. We are a station-to-station team, currently. We have to get more power from somewhere…first base, left field, where?
I simply don’t think the pitch count situation is much of an issue. Do we need more walks? Sure. But why would opposing pitchers pitch around the strike zone (Balls) is we can’t get an extra-base hit. Opponents are challenging are hitters, not pitching around them.
April 30th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
It’s easier for the Yankees to work the count b/c pitchers have to be more cautious around that lineup and have to thread the strike zone and have solid location. Pitchers can’t make the same mistakes against the Yanks that they can against the Royals. Pitchers can’t challenge Yankee hitters or walk them. They have to be more subtle. Walk Jeter, here comes A-Rod and Abreu. Walk Gordon, here come Ross Gload and John Buck. Hardly the same concern. What do you have to lose pitching to Gload, Buck or Pena? You’re likely only to give up a single if you make a mistake.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
ZD we agree to disagree- I think it’s a major issue and numbers support it
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