Monday, April 30, 2007
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Seattle Slew |
Thursday, April 26, 2007
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Splitsville |
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
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That Really Sucked |
Monday, April 23, 2007
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Riske Blows Another Game |
-29th out of 30 teams: 1-6 4S 5BLSV 6.05ERA 9HR 50K 35BB .286 Opponent BA
Sunday, April 22, 2007
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First Series Win |
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
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Royals Avoid Sweep... |
Monday, April 16, 2007
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Rain helps Royals |
Series Analysis
Thursday's game was an overall disappointment. Again the Royals had another excellent quality start to begin the game from Gil Meche(6 IP 0ER 5K) before he left with a tight hamstring and turned the ball over to the bullpen with a 1-0 lead. Jimmy Gobble (2/3 IP 3H 1ER) came in and immediately let the Orioles back into the game ultimately leading to the loss in 10 innings. Granted the Royals offense didn't score enough runs, but is disheartening to waste a good start.
Game two of the series was never even close. Brandon Duckwork( 5IP 4R 2ER 4K 4BB) got the start and struggled with his command most of the game. A 1st inning error by Esteban German led to two runs and the O's never looked back. The low light of the game was in the 8th inning when guess who...Todd Wellemeyer( 1 IP 3H 4ER 1BB) came in and surrendered a Grand Slam to Nick Markakis. Wellemeyer has really struggled so far this year and continues to do so. I only feel comfortable seeing him in mop-up roles until he gets his head on straight.
It seems as though every series has a heart breaker and Saturday's game was it. The Royals bats had finally awoken from their slumber, getting 4 runs in the first 5 innings before the usual bullpen implosion. Granted it wasn't all the bullpens fault. Some fault lies with Buddy Bell for not pulling starter Odalis Perez(5 IP 4ER) before the 6th, another 1/3rd of the fault lies between Reggie Sanders , David DeJesus and Tony Pena Jr., who let a routine fly ball drop between them. The final 1/3rd of fault lies with Joel Peralta who surrendered the go-ahead Grand Slam, second of the series, to put Baltimore up for good.
I really thought that the Royals would come away with at least a series split from Baltimore, but the anemic offense and the shoddy bullpen really did them in this series.
- They also struck out 27 times during the 3 game set
- DeJesus, Sanders, Gload and German are all batting over .300 so far this season
- Todd Wellemeyer's season ERA 15.43
- Teahen showed signs of breaking his slump on Sat going 2/4, but still had 2 K
- Gordon, Teahen and Shealy each have 14K already this season
-b
Royals 2007 record: 3-9
Friday, April 13, 2007
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Offensive Offense |
The Royals offense is leaving Royals fans and Buddy Bell scratching our heads. When the Royals broke camp this spring they had a team batting average of .301 and all seemed right with the baseball gods, but Buddy Bell knew the truth.
The Royals currently hold the 6th worst batting average, .237, in the majors. The next lowest is Baltimore who is currently spanking us 2-0 for the weekend set. In the Friday night game the Royals left 10 men on the bases and they were also 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Batting Averages of the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 hitters for the Royals this season are:
Mark Teahen- .161
Mike Sweeney- .179
Alex Gordon- .091
Emil Brown- .133
Ryan Shealy- .103
If that's the batting average of the meat of your order, your team has a serious problem.
Although the Royals are not on the bottom of all statistical categories. They actually lead the majors with the most team strikeouts(not including the 10K they had in the Friday night game).
Someone besides Reggie Sanders, hitting .500, needs to figure out how to hit the ball and get te Royals off this trend.
The poor offense wouldn't standout as much as it does right now for several reasons...First of all it has only been 11 games, so the sample size it quite small. Also the starting pitching so far has been decent unlike in previous years making the offensive weakness a glaring problem. Granted they only have 3 wins to show for it, but Royals starters do have 6 quality starts already this season.
In past years Royals fans have been let down so much by the pitching that we haven't paid that much attention to the offense.
They say "hitting is contagious," but the Royals bats must have Gonorrhea because they sure don't want to catch it.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
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Toronto Series Recap |
Series Analysis
Kansas City @ Toronto
Monday April 9 KC 1- 9 TOR
Tuesday, April 10 KC 6- 3 TOR
Wednesday April 11 KC 4- 7 TOR
Toronto was the third series of the year for the Royals and the third series loss. The Royals need to get off this trend of winning one game and losing two. If they keep up that pace whey would only get 52 wins this year. It’s still too early to panic and by no means is this a trend, but the Royals need to do something to get over the games where they have less then stellar starting pitching. The Royals are still leaving to many men on base, but are getting better as the season progresses.
AJ Burnett over matched the Royals on Monday. He was good, Odalis Perez was not good (1 IP 1/3IP 4ER). When Perez can’t find his spots he becomes very hittable as the Jays showed during game 1. Enough said.
Game number 2 was quite the showing by up and coming young Royals. Zack Greinke was outstanding for the second game in a row (6 IP 1ER 5K), Alex Gordon hit his first major league home run and Joakim Soria notched his first major league save (2 IP 3K). Except for a hiccup in the 7th, a 2-run home run given up by Peralta, the Royals played good solid baseball.
In the final game of the series and another less then stellar pitching outing for the Royals. Jorge De La Rosa (5 1/3 IP 4ER 3K 1BB) is showing better command so far this season, but it still leaving too many pitches up in the strike zone, which were pounded for doubles, the Jays hit 4 doubles off De La Rosa. The other flaw in the Royals game was the defense. The Royals misplayed too many balls allowing the Jays to extend their lead resulting in the 6th loss of the season.
Other Notes
- DeJesus hit well again this series 5/14 1HR 2RBI and is batting .378 for the season
- Gordon’s strikeout numbers are declining…3 K for this series, so he’s making contact!
- Todd Wellemeyer did poorly again in relief Wed…1 IP 2ER 2K 2BB…
- Mike Sweeney is starting to press and is only batting .200 for the season
- Teahen’s switch to RF might be affecting his bat .192 12K 1HR, although he has 8BB
- John Buck hit his 2nd homerun of the year on Monday off Burnett
- Tony Pena Jr. hit his 4th triple of the year
- I heard a disturbing stat on Crunch Time this morning. When Buck catches a game the pitchers are averaging 2.8BB a game and when LaRue is catching pitchers are averaging 3.6BB a game. The host Dave Stewart believes it has to do with LaRue not offering a target with his mit. Keep an eye on that.
Next the Royals are headed to Baltimore for a 4 game set.
Royals Fact: Willie Wilson holds the Royals record for most triples in a season, 21, in 1985.
-b
Royals 2007 Record: 3-6
Monday, April 9, 2007
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Detroit Re-cap |
One thing that we at heycameraman.net have learned from the first 7 days of the baseball season. 90% of area t-ball players have a better batting average than Alex Gordon.
Here is Brett's recap of the Detroit city recap.
Series Analysis
Detroit @ Kansas City
Friday April 6 KC 3-1 DET
Saturday April 7 KC 5- 6 DET
Sunday April 8 KC 2- 3 DET
Overall the series was a disappointment, falling 1-2 to Detroit. The Royals should’ve/could’ve won all three of those games, but that’s not how it turned out. The losses were especially troubling, not because of the offense, but the lack of pitching caused the Royals to blow the series
The statistical trend that’s starting to develop that will haunt the Royals this season if it continues is men left on base. During this three game series the Royals batters left 47 men on the bases. Come on guys knock get the RBI! The opposite end of that stat is a good one. The Royals are obviously getting on base and that in theory equal more runs.
The most frustrating loss of the series was the finale on Sunday. The Royals or I should say Mark Teahen( 2/3 HR, 2 RBI) and Brandon Duckworth(6 1/3 IP 0ER), played very well against the Tigers. Jeremey Bonderman is an outstanding pitcher and for the Royals to have him beat is excellent and the bullpen comes in. The Royals were leading 2-0 going into the 9th and then stand-in closer David Riske comes in. Next thing I know he lays a room service fastball to Pudge Rodriguez and he promptly knocks it out of the park. After the game when asked about the pitch Riske replied “I thought he was going to bunt, so I threw one right down the middle. I was thinking about fielding a bunt and getting the next guy out instead of making a high-quality pitch.” That is unacceptable for a veteran pitcher. Get well soon Dotel.
Game two was frustrating as well. That Saturday afternoon we got to see the other side of Gil Meche( 7IP 6ER 3HR.) Aside from Meche’s poor afternoon the Royals offence really battled hard for him getting 5 runs, but fell just shy. Reggie Sanders had a great game(3/4 HR, 2B, 2 RBI,) but it wasn’t enough to overcome the poor outing from Meche. A few positives from Meche’s outing, he went 7 innings and struck out 4.
The lone win from the series was the cause of an outstanding pitching effort from Jorge De La Rosa(7 IP, 1ER, 5K, 3BB.) The walk total is a bit high, but we will have to expect that from De La Rosa because his command is a bit shady, but I will take a start like that every time from him.
Other Notes
- Alex Gordon continues to struggle, batting .053 with 3 K
- Mark Teahen hit his first homerun of the season
- David DeJesus had an outstanding series 7/11 3BB, 3 Doubles
- Joakim Soria and Joel Peralta each pitched well in relief
- David Riske blew a save
- Esteban German is still a hitter 2/4 2 RBI
Coming up next…3 games in Toronto
Royals Fact: Hal McRae holds the record for most doubles in a season, 54.
Royals 2007 Record: 2-4
“Royals Baseball is on the Air.”
Friday, April 6, 2007
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Everyone Stay Calm!!! |
Series Analysis
Boston @ Kansas City
It was an anticlimactic end to the Red Sox series for the Royals. KC came out of the gate firing on all cylinders on Opening Day beating the Red Sox 7-1, then they fell on their faces losing consecutive games 1-7 and 1-4.
There were several bright spots, such as
the starting pitching, but alas as with every year the bright spots are just an eclipse of the sun and eventually the truth comes out.
Don’t put to much emphasis into the first series numbers because of two reasons. First of all it’s the first series of the year and two it was against perennial contender, Boston.
A few offensive trends that showed in the final numbers that bother me are the strikeouts. The Royals totaled 28 K’s in 98 at-bats, that’s a strikeout every 3 ½ at bats, which is awful. Granted, the strikeout stat is number that needs to be taken with a grain of salt for now. The hitters are still getting their timing and the Royals faced Schilling, Beckett and Dice-K and they probably won’t face a three like that the rest of the year.
The other troubling trend was the lack of key two out hits. The Royals did an excellent job of this on Monday and they won, but the other two days they didn’t and they lost. They are currently batting .241 with runners on base.
The worst and final problem for the Royals this weekend is the number of walks issued by the bullpen. The bullpen is supposed to be rebuilt yet issued 6 walks in 7 innings. That Must Stop!
One problem the Royals didn’t have was poor starting pitching. The Royals had decent, nay, good staring pitching for the series
Gil Meche 7 1/3 innings 1ER 6K 1BB
Odalis Perez 5 1/3 innings 4ER 3K 3BB
Zack Greinke 7 innings 1ER 7K 1BB
When you look at those numbers you’d think the Royals would win two of three and if these pitching numbers keep up they will win some games.
Other Notes
- Alex Gordon got his first major league hit…he also struck out 5 times.
- Sadly, Gordon’s 5 K’s weren’t the most on the team, Teahen’s 6 were
- Even with those strikouts Teahen is still batting .300
- DeJesus and Buck both had solo homeruns
- Grudzielanek had 3 RBI for the series
- Tony Pena Jr. is batting .200, but had two triples on Opening Day
- Joel Peralta had 5 K in 2 2/3 innings
-Todd Wellemeyer was awful in his season debut, 1 inning 3ER 3BB and gave up a dong
Upcoming next, three at home against the reigning AL champion Detroit Tigers.
Royals Fact: In 1989 Bo Jackson struck out 172 times, the most in Royals history and is 15th all-time.
-b
Royals 2007 Record: 1-2
“Royals Baseball is on the Air.”
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
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Opening Day Recap |
There is one thing better then Opening Day and that is an Opening Day win. The Royals defeated the powerhouse Red Sox 7-1 on Monday. The fact that the Royals limited the Sox to just one run is really quite a feat. The entire team played well and below are a few game notes
Gil Meche pitched like the ace we paid him to be. 7 1/3 innings, 1 ER and 6 strikeouts. Great outing, hands down
Mark Grudzielanek picked up the Royals and put them on his back. 3 hits and 3 RBI.
Tony Pena Jr. hit 2 triples, 1 walk today and even good defensive play. Bye, bye Berroa
Mark Teahen and Mike Sweeney each pitched in a couple of hits a piece. Sweeney didn’t get hurt and Teahen looked decent in right
Alex Gordon had a rough day 0-3 with 3 strikeouts and a couple of poor throws, but it’s the first game. Look for a good rebound Wednesday
Non-Royals note…Manny Ramirez is a bum. Sure he can hit. But he is a lazy outfielder and a bad teammate. On a hit to left, he just strolled over to the ball on his own time reached down and picked it up letting John Buck stroll into 2nd on a single
John Buck also had a great game. A double and a home run
Joel Peralta pitched very well in relief 1 2/3 innings and 4 strikeouts
Not a season does one game make, but its still fun to take the opener from the Red Sox. This win also puts the Royals one game over .500 on Opening Day.
During the season I plan on doing series breakdowns so the Red Sox Series will be next
Royals Fact: Meche worked 7 1/3 innings — the longest by a Royals starter on opening day since Bret Saberhagen went eight innings on April 4, 1988, in a 5-3 loss to Toronto
-b
Royals 2007 Record 1-0
“Royals Baseball is on the Air.”
Monday, April 2, 2007
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Next Year is here!!!! |
Kansas City Royals
Final Analysis
25 Man Roster and Spring Stats
The unofficial, official holiday is upon us. Opening Day hath arrived! I have taken a vacation day from the news business and will be in attendance when the parking lot opens and the game starts…noon and 3:10 respectively.
The feeling coming out of the south is pretty good for the start of the season. Some questions have been answered, some left unanswered and new questions have arrived. Below is the 25 man roster in KC for the time being, along with their spring stats
Opening Day Lineup (batting average/homeruns/RBI/On-base-percentage.)
1.David Dejesus-CF- .321/01/03/.345- missed almost 2 weeks with a stomach virus
2.Mark Grudeizlanek-2nd- .286/00/01/.333- missed about 3 weeks with knee surgery
3.Mark Teahen-RF- .329/04/17.385- looks to have adapted to RF, hit well in spring
4.Mike Sweeney-DH- .277/02/11/.333- missed a 1st week of spring as precaution
5.Alex Gordon-3rd- .317/02/12/.419- earned spot with bat, Rookie of the year?
6.Emil Brown-LF- .302/02/08/.387- will platoon with Gload, has ‘d’ improved?
7.Ryan Shealy-1st- .299/02/10/.373- 1st full season in the majors…had good spring
8.John Buck-C- .297/01/02/.409- will rotate with Jason LaRue
9.Tony Pena Jr.-SS- .130/00/00/.200- terrible spring numbers…is this Berroa??
Pitching Rotation (Wins- Losses/Earned Run Average/ Strikeouts/Walks.)
Gil Meche- 0-3/7.31/11/06- lets hope he does better in the regular season
Odalis Perez- 0-0/4.70/06/07- had some blister problems this spring
Zach Greinke- 1-0/3.00/27/02- excellent spring…let’s hope it carries over!
Jorge De La Rosa- 0-0/4.70/11/05- severe control problems, keep fingers crossed
Brandon Duckworth- 1-0/4.02/17/02- filling in for injured Luke Hudson
Bullpen
Ryan Braun- 0-2/3.48/05/04- long shot to make the team, may earn setup role
Octavio Dotel- 0-1/6.23/15/02- had a great spring…hitting 97mph, closer for now
Jimmy Gobble- 2-1/3.46/10/03- only lefty in the pen so far
Joel Peralta- 0-0/3.86/10/00- no walks this spring
David Riske- 0-0/4.15/11/03- in the setup role, 7th and 8th innings
Joakim Soria- 0-0/3.12/18/03- pitched his way on to roster…will be fun to watch
Todd Wellemeyer- 2-1/6.75/08/04- pitched his way off the staring rotation
It should be a fun couple of days out at the “K” against the Red Sox. I am predicting a series win, taking two from the BoSox. This will be an interesting year for the Royals. A revamped pitching staff and plenty rookies, this season could go either way.
2007 Prediction...Overall Record 73-89…Teahen will hit 25 HR…Gordon Rookie of the Year…Reggie Sanders and Mike Sweeney Traded…Grienke will win 12 games
Royals Fact: The Royals are 19-19 overall on Opening Day and are 0-2 against the Red Sox.
-b
“Royals Baseball in on the Air.”