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Caleb Hawkins's avatar

It was a great week. Hunter Refroe also JUST missed home runs on both Friday and Saturday. He’s been swinging the bat a lot better and has been making me feel a little bit better when it’s his turn to bat. I’d still like to see him eventually replaced, but I think that he can be decent until we’re able to replace him, whether that’s via trade or calling someone up.

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Craig Brown's avatar

I don't know if Renfroe can be decent, but I'll take anything that is an improvement. I imagine it would be something like we saw last year, where he gets locked in for a bit. We'll see.

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Caleb Hawkins's avatar

Decent was the wrong word. I’ll take playable.😂

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Hokius's avatar

I feel like the offense is about to break out. Salvy is starting to hit, Bobby never stopped, Drew is out of his depth but might go for a while longer. India got on base three times yesterday against a really tough pitcher. Renfroe and Vinnie seem to both be JUST missing things. I think they're about to start hitting again. And with all this, the Royals aren't far out of first place at all with plenty of time to make it up.

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Hokius's avatar

I am starting to get really concerned about the baserunning, though. One of the reasons Maikel was still valuable last year was his excellent baserunning. I was really hoping he'd keep that even as his hitting improved.

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Craig Brown's avatar

It's so strange. Like Bobby last year. This should not be happening.

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Craig Brown's avatar

Yeah...It feels like they're close. But this has been a really extended stretch which makes me think this is who they're going to be going forward. I believed in Sal. I have less faith in Pasquantino. I have little to no faith in Renfroe.

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Clint Woods's avatar

The base running (including but not limited to the poor bases stolen numbers) is certainly among the top problems so far this year; to be all kinds of redundant, this is not an offensive powerhouse; losing baserunners at anything other than a minimal rate is simply not an option. Good little run nevertheless; hope they can get some cleat (and other) traction on the road now....

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Craig Brown's avatar

I don't think they're doing poorly when it comes to base running—aside from the caught stealing issues. According to Baseball Reference, they've made seven outs on the bases this year, which is decent and they've taken an extra base 42 percent of the time, which is in line with league averages.

But I do think we agree...for a team this challenged with getting runners on base, they can ill afford to make outs on the bases.

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Clint Woods's avatar

There have been a small handful of pick-offs as well; some rather bone-headed. Also, they can’t be just league average in this respect, cuz their overall offense just isn’t. A Royals baserunner is more important to them than a Yankees baserunner is to the Yankees.

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George Greb's avatar

Well the Royals took 2 out of 3 against the Astros. I feel a lot better about them than I did a week ago. The stadium was loud and rocking last Friday. I’m hoping for a winning road trip. Small steps.

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Craig Brown's avatar

Glad you saw a win! With Tampa and Baltimore on tap, it feels like a moment to keep rolling. Plus, after that, they have four with the White Sox at home. Something of a break after that early season schedule.

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Ken France's avatar

It was a great week. If not for our pitching, starters especially, we’d be somewhere between Minn and Chi in standings.

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