2008 Royals Season Thread

[KCGHOST]

The Royals are off to a nice start do to fairly good starting pitching and lights out relief pitching in games Nomo doesn't appear in. There are some storms clouds out there, though. The offense had been pitiful due to the usual suspects: lack of plate discipline, a paucity of power hitting, and very little clutch hitting. The defense is suspect and the base running has been atrocious.

All-in-all we have to be thrilled with a 9-7 start and the performances of Bannister, Greinke, Nunez, and Soria. Teahen, Butler, and Gordon all have an OPS above .840. Amongst the remaining players with 25+ PA's no one has a an OPS anywhere near the league average. The team's SLG of .375 is 25 points below the league average.

The Boys in Blue are going to have to start hitting because it is impossible for this pitching staff to maintain this level of productivity.

[Stray Cat]

Last nights game was good on defense, sucked on offense.

[royalsfaninmaine]

You hit it smack on the head KCGhost. I think we have seen exactly what you describe with the A's series. With yesterday's game and slipping just below .500, I just hope this isn't the beginning of a typical slide. I guess we will see what kind of manager Hillman really is. Can he get the team to maintain a focus and pull it together enough to keep from falling as far as they usually do during a season...?

[royalsfaninmaine]

Well, last night's game had some offense at least. Granted it was against Texas' 0-4 (at the time) starter Jennings, but maybe it will get something started. Tomko wasn't all that impressive going just over 3 innings and giving up 5 runs. But tonight we have Bannister, so that is something. Then there's Guillen. One hopes this is finally the beginning of something with his bat...Let's hope the Royals can keep the offense going tonight against Millwood. He's got a better record than Jennings and a better era, so we'll have to see.

[Stray Cat]

Picked a bad time to play the Rangers. Rookie Boggs was up for the task.
Wind and hot bats were the downfall for the Royals.
But they did get 9 runs and that's awesome. :atthepc

[Old Sweater]

KC: L. Hochevar (1-1, 5.91)
CLE: C.C. Sabathia (1-4, 7.88)

I'll be pulling for the Royals tonight with the Colorado kid pitching.

[KCGHOST]

On paper the Royals don't have much of a chance tonight. They just got shut down by a guy who is basically a batting practice pitcher and now they have to face a guy who just dominated them a week ago.

[royalsfaninmaine]

How about Hochevar! Nice win last night. Granted he had a few walks, but overall he hung in there and got the w. He kept some composure through it.

[Old Sweater]

How about Hochevar! Nice win last night. Granted he had a few walks, but overall he hung in there and got the w. He kept some composure through it.

Yeah, the kid had a good game and the Royals came thru with 4 runs in the 6th so Hochevar got the win.

On paper the Royals don't have much of a chance tonight. They just got shut down by a guy who is basically a batting practice pitcher and now they have to face a guy who just dominated them a week ago.

No MLB pitcher is a BP pitcher. Or any pro pitcher as far as that go's.

Even a bad team has a 40% chance of winning.

[royalsfaninmaine]

Last night (mon-5/5) was a real heartbreaker. A great game throughout, strong defense...then came the 9th. The best performance by Tomko we've seen. Monday morning qb is easy, but what might have been if they'd let him keep pitching? ...the way Santana looked it still would have been hard to score on him...and the way the Royal bullpen was last night, extra innings wouldn't have helped anyway.

Let's hope Bannister has his stuff tonight and the Royal bats can get something going early.

[Stray Cat]

The Royals are getting the hits and runs but the Angels have more veterans
on their team. I hope Bannister can come back and get some wins. :atthepc

[KCGHOST]

The Royals continue to slide into offensive oblivion. Somehow we have turned Billy Butler (a hulking 240 pounder) into an up-the-middle singles hitter and Alex Gordon (2006 minor league player of the year) into a strike-out artist. They have developed a terrible habit that with men on base and a favorable count they will swing at anything.

[KCGHOST]

No MLB pitcher is a BP pitcher. Or any pro pitcher as far as that go's.

Hyperbole (definition): An exaggeration used to make a point.

[royalsfaninmaine]

The Royals continue to slide into offensive oblivion. Somehow we have turned Billy Butler (a hulking 240 pounder) into an up-the-middle singles hitter and Alex Gordon (2006 minor league player of the year) into a strike-out artist. They have developed a terrible habit that with men on base and a favorable count they will swing at anything.

That is how it seems. Had a little spark of sorts last night, but couldn't pull it out. Everytime Butler is up, I look at him and think this could be the at bat he starts cranking...but still not happening. You look at the guy and you just know he could be belting shots out left and right. And Gordon should be hitting a lot more consistently it seems to me.

What is the solution with swinging away? I realize most of it has to boil down to player discipline...and they are young players, but isn't it the hitting coaches job to get them focused? Not trying to throw blame around, but isn't there something that could be done from a coaching situation? Other than he came from Toronto, I don't know much about Barnett. Is it time for a change?

Now its up to Greinke and the rest to salvage one win in the series. Need some kind of momentum with a four game set against the Orioles coming. Granted they have a losing record, but it is still technically better than KC's.

[Stray Cat]

Big home run last night for the Royals. Avoiding the sweep.