Royals Authority

Left Speechless By Sir Sidney

By Clark Fosler | May 2nd, 2008

This was supposed to be easy. The Royals had scored sixteen runs in the first two games of the series. They had Zack Greinke on the mound and the Rangers were sending out Sidney Ponson. Yes, THAT Sidney Ponson.

Well, only Greinke ended up holding up his end of the bargain by allowing just four hits, no walks and striking out nine over another seven innings of outstanding work. Two of his four hits, however, were solo home runs and that proved to be all it would take for a Rangers’ win.

The Royals offense mustered very little against Ponson, a pitcher described by Baseball Prospectus as ’simply awful’. The six singles and two walks Kansas City did manage to get were nullified by two double plays (both hit into by Alex Gordon), a pick off and two force plays. If you’re counting at home, that is five of the Royals’ eight runners getting erased on the bases.

You’d like to blame this poor showing on something, but to be honest, there is no one thing. The first time through the order, seven KC hitters took the first pitch. They made Ponson throw 21 pitches in the first inning. Even Alex Gordon, who grounded into the two double plays, did so on pitch number five of one at-bat and pitch number seven of the next.

When they went after the first pitch, the Royals had two singles, two line outs and a bunt out (by Gathright - it was worth a try). When Jose Guillen swung and missed on the first pitch of his at-bat with one out in the ninth, it was the first time all day that a Royals hitter had swung at the first pitch and not at least fouled it off.

No one thing stands out as the key as to why the Royals did not score runs on Thursday, other than maybe this team is not going to ever hit with enough consistency to get out of the offensive cellar of major league baseball. It might just have been ‘one of those days’, but it was certainly a disappointing ‘one of those days’.

Sidney freaking Ponson….I really don’t have anything else to say.

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23 Responses to “Left Speechless By Sir Sidney”

steve y says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:00 am

Starting to remind me of the “forget the defense” Vermeil Chiefs followed by the “forget the offense” Chiefs of Herman Edwards. I am very happy that Dayton has improved our pitching, that is very nice, and the defense seems genuinely better, and I know that he favors pitching and defense over offense, but hopefully not by this much, this is just becoming another painful way to lose, compared to the recent past where our pitching regularly got raked. The hitters need better coaching, a better philosophy, how about getting a good hitting coach to work intensely with the players? Dayton has tried somewhat to help the offense, trading two pitchers for Gathright and Callaspo, signing Guillen, but how can our lifelong great hitters like Butler and Gordon be regressing like this unless there is something wrong in Denmark? It is odorous, it is Dayton and Trey’s job to find out what it is and fix it. Is it really more complicated than hitting the good pitches good, laying off the bad pitches, and having enough talent and coaching to recognize the difference between the two?
Chaim Mattis Keller says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:10 am

Reminds me of the game last year against the (then Devil) Rays in which we were blanked by former Royal J. P. Howell. The guy had an overall ERA over 7 last year, but somehow, we got only two hits off him.

(I recall a lot of people saying after that game that Dayton was foolish to trade this guy for Gathright - they needed reminding that it ain’t anyone but our Royals that he could pitch like that against.)
Chief says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 am

The Royals are in the middle of the AL in BA, but next to last in OBP. They are last in home runs and last in runs scored. They are 9th in hits, but last in slugging.

What does all that mean? It means they are average at getting hits, but lack plate discipline. The lack of power only aggravates the problem. They are also not getting timely hits, which is another indicator of no patience at the plate.

They are mostly a young team, and the best way to learn major league plate discipline is to face major league batting.

I think they will improve over the summer, but this team will never be an offensive juggernaut. If we can be middle of the pack in runs scored, our superior pitching should win us more games than we lose.
Seth says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 am

Not to give too much credit to Sidney Ponson, but he does have a rather good ERA (even before this game this year) and Denny and Ryan went on and on about how different he looked as a pitcher than the guy we were used to seeing. He was working quickly (something I know he never used to do) and pounding the strike zone with a sinker. Basically they thought he was nothing like Sidney Ponson, and if they were surprised by it, maybe the Royals were too.
Chief says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:28 am

GMDM has a plan. “Pitching is the currency of baseball”. He is gathering all the currency he can, and when he feels he has a surplus on the pitching side of the equation, he spins it off for some offense.

I like the plan. It is hard to wait for it to be completely fulfilled, though.

When you compare our pitching staff to 3 years ago, it’s night and day. Our MLB staff is first-rate, and the lower levels are starting to fill out.

The future is bright for KC.
Chief says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:37 am

Everyone points to 2010 as the year the Royals are in serious contention. What will that team look like?

I see these guys as locks:
Bannister
Grienke
Soria
Gordon
Butler
DeJesus

Probables:
Carlos Rosa
Callaspo
Hochevar

Maybe’s:
Mike Moustakas
Mike Aviles

Probably-Nots:
Teahen-if he could play SS, he is a premium player. As an OF/1B, not so much.

Guillen - free-swinger whose power is in decline. Wasn’t your prior blog called “Warning Track Power”?

Meche - probably traded to a contender for prospects at some point.

Grudz - traded/retired. He deserves to play for a contender one more time.

I’m not listing any bullpen arms, because bullpens are always in flux.

So, who makes up the remaining team? I dunno.
Pena - no.
kcghost says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:42 am

Losses like this chap one’s cheeks. Good grief, our offense is horrible. And the problem is the guys we thought might be really productive: Teahen, Gordon, Butler, and Guillen. None of these guys has an OPS above .800. Only one of them has more than 11 rbi’s (Guillen with 15). How bad is that? Well, DeJesus has 12 in half the at bats. So what little they are hitting isn’t when anyone is on base.

And there is not a single guy hitting a lick down on the farm except for some guys in Omaha who have amply demonstrated they can’t hit ML pitching.
Gene says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:47 am

Chief: Why did he allocate $3M to Tomko if pitching is the currency of baseball. That seems like a lot to supply to Tomko for very little output from Tomko.

Also, he signed Guillen for $36M.

I’m losing a lot of faith in Moore with this offseason. What has worked besides Ramirez. But, more importantly, what is the debt/equity ratio for Guillen/Tomko, its LOW. Horrible investment.
Gene says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 5:48 am

Moore doesn’t get $$$$, and its showing, and, I’m scared.
JBOPP says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 am

The article mentions taking first pitches. Do you guys have any idea what our P/PA is as a team?

It’s shocking.
Chief says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 am

Hi Gene,

I think he spent the money on Tomko for two reasons:
1) McClure thought he could work his magic again.
2) He did not want to force a AAA arm up before it was time.

Free-agency (just like forecasting prospects) is more art than science. Barry Zito, anyone?

Moore went hard after Hunter and Kuroda. KC just doesn’t have the cache right now to win those players. And rightfully so. Hunter wants to go to a team that will immediately compete for the title. KC isn’t there yet.

I think the money is there - Glass is in the “legacy” business now. He wanst to leave a lasting mark, and what better way to do that than a WS title or two?

Wait two years and tell me if you are still scared.
JMGRoyalsFan says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 7:54 am

As a GM, you gotta take chances…and you hope it pays off. Tomko’s jury is still out…Guillen will come around..Yabuta needs some refinement…and we’ve seen what Meche can do. we showed good signs at the end of last year. Growing up has its ugly parts too. Dayton has the right ideas and they will show. We all knew this wasn’t going to be a stellar year. Hold off on your “trade everyone now” mentality. I get frustrated too, but have faith. Gotta give people a chance.
ratherrapid says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 am

I’d be “concerned” but “patient”. Just guessing, but Hillman seems smart enough to know he’s got a mess on his hands that needs serious adjustment. Chief put in a few guesses on the batting problems, yet it the problems (whatever they are) might go far deeper into overall approach, overestimating talent, perhaps, and more yet to be made public. Good players that perform inconsistently–what are the causes?
Mark LaFlamme says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 am

And yet there were promising signs. Leadoff or number two batters getting on base and into scoring position. It’s the ultimate tease when they can do that but not close the deal.
The good news: Yabuta will probably go away when Bale gets his doctor’s note.
Gene says:

May 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Chief: Thanks for the response. I get the baseball side of the equation, i.e. not rushing guys up, but I’m not sure $3M needed to be spent to make sure that didnt happen.

I see where your coming from as far as Glass, I’ve been hoping the same thing. I really think it could happen, as, outside of Royals fans, nobody knows how this guy got his money.

Man, I wanted Joe Saunders so bad for the last three years, and, now, the Angels will never let go of him. Damn.
Royals says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 am

Sorry I have not been able to make any comments for a couple days. (For some of you, that may be a good thing!)
When your pitcher gives up only 2 runs, and ya’re facing a pitcher like Ponson, that should be a no doubt it win. I’m gettin worried that since the Royals are jusy playing borderline, these tough AL Central teams are catchin up.
As for Dayton Moore, get rid of em, and bring en somebody real aggressive. Somebody who takes a lot of risks. But somebody who can do well with those risks. It seems like with Dayton we have a chance every 10 years. Crosstown St. Louis almost always have a chance to get in the playoffs every yeer.
Cef is right about these great players not wantin to come here unless we are REAL CONTENDERS. We only got Jose because nobody really wanted him that bad.
Cef is also proabaly right about the 2010 team. But I have somethiong to point out. If Barry Lamar Bonds was wanting to sign for 1 million, wouldn’t we want him. Same with some of these other unsigned FA’s.
Here we are in May; I like our chances, but I’m still pretty worried.
I know Bonds proabaly won’t sign for 1 mill, but if he could, JUST IMAGINE.
Thank me
JBOPP says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 7:58 am

Wait hold up just a god damned second.

You want to get rid of GMDM for a guy that “takes risks?”

Really? I’m assuming you were being ironic but I can never be too sure. Please clarify. Because to me, it sounds an awful lot like you enjoyed the risk-taking Allard Baird years.
Zack Daddy says:

May 3rd, 2008 at 10:52 am

Yeah! KC didn’t lose on Friday!
Royals says:

May 4th, 2008 at 5:36 am

Or Saturday!!!
Gene says:

May 4th, 2008 at 6:06 am

Hochevar is here to stay!! I liken him to Smoltz in that he just throws it up there and dares you to hit it, thats how dirty his three pitches are.

Congrats Luke. Go Royals.
Jonathan says:

May 4th, 2008 at 8:07 am

The pessimism in the comments section never ceases to amaze me. This team is still in re-building mode, with holes to fill and young guns that still need to mature and become consistent. We knew going into this season that this team wasn’t going to win the World Series, but that .500 is attainable, and the 09/10 seasons are when we should make our big push. One month into the season and we’re already losing faith in GMDM and this team?

This team plays hard with a purpose night in and night out. We’ve got a long way to go before September, so we’ll see whether losses like vs. Ponson or, um, awesome wins like last night’s vs. Sabathia become the norm. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the latter and that our boys in blue will be where we want them to be at the end of the season.
gbewing says:

May 4th, 2008 at 12:07 pm

nice series vs a good team no bats still but hey whaddya gonna do- very good to see Meche effective. Watching Hillman manage the staff will be interesting all year lets see where it goes
Soria is da bomb- with Aviles playing well the stockpile of useful non power but effective hitters in the MI is expanding- like to see a move here by GMDM clear someone out
Big Lee says:

May 4th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

What about sending Olivo to Yankees if we can get a good prospect in return? Olivo is hitting well, but I’m not sure the same will ever be said about his defense. Tupman is hitting well in Omaha, where they have 3 catchers, and he’s a lefty at the plate. We could spell Buck on days when there’s a tough righty on the hill.

Aviles backing up Callaspo at SS make sense until Pena learns some offensive skills. I know he’s great defensively, but a wake up call to Omaha may stimulate him to change his ways at the plate. OR the Royals need to decide if a low-budget team can afford to carry 2 light-hitting sticks at the bottom of the order.

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Clark Fosler

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