15 Comments
Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

These have been three frustrating losses for the Royals, but even so I don't think there really are must-wins as far as getting to the post-season. Even if the Royals went 3-7 over their final 10, Detroit would have to go 7-3 to pass them.

I keep moving my goalposts. I wanted them to win the division, then I was hoping they'd at least steal the top Wild Card spot, but now I'm willing to be satisfied with getting in as the final Wild Card.

And, of course, before the season, even that seemed like an unreasonably high goal.

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Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

I would prefer that everything stays where it’s at. I’ll take the O’s right now for sure

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Baltimore is stumbling. The Twins are fading. The Royals have run hot and cold. Of the teams in the mix at the beginning of the month, only the Guardians have solidified their position. Only the Red Sox have eliminated themselves. And that’s allowed the Tigers to enter the chat so to speak.

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I think this team needs to get back on the winning path. Don’t want to ever lose games, but dropping two at home to the team chasing down the pack is going to be demoralizing.

They’re still in a strong position. I like their chances. Should they get swept, it’s not the end. But as I wrote, that margin that felt so nice a week ago is shrinking.

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I do wonder if this is actually a good thing. No cold or hot streak can last forever. If the Royals are cold right now, it makes me think they could get hot in the actual playoffs. If they were hot right now, we'd all feel better, but that hot streak could wear off in the middle of the postseason and cost them an opportunity to advance.

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Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

I thought the exact same thing about that bloop hit that Witt would have caught it if he was playing at normal depth. Got a flashback to the end of the 2001 World Series. My concern is that the Royals seem to be playing on the edge with no margin for error, and that’s not a good way to head into the playoffs (although I think the Rangers did the same thing last year).

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Everything changes once the calendar flips to October. Fresh slate and all that. But you have to get there for that to happen. I’m not sounding an alarm by any means, but this race is getting a little closer than I would like.

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Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

I've felt sick for a month that the Royals are going to miss the postseason by a game, and I'd point to the kick in the groin that was McArthur being one strike away from closing out a 5-3 win before giving up that Adams HR, but really, we can point to a dozen kicks--including last night. I guess it's more likely that the Twins get left out than the Royals if the Tigers continue to be on fire, but it's not a good feeling.

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I’m not there yet, but do have concerns. I like where they are in the standings. I don’t like that it’s getting tight.

I can’t ever get too deep into the missed opportunities in the larger picture of the season. Did the Royals lose some games that we would consider winnable? Sure. But the flip side is true as well.

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Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

Yes, but how many more wins would they have with just a league-average bullpen? Four, five, six? If so, we're talking about contending for the #1 seed in the AL.

And I wonder about a psychological effect on the players of getting kicked in the teeth when you think you had the game won. Do you press even harder in late innings knowing you can't trust whoever is trotting in from the bullpen?

But this all pointless speculation. As the cliche goes, it is what it is. All we (fans) can do is cross our fingers.

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I hear you. We’ve seen many a good team crumble because of a weak bullpen. Cleveland’s bullpen is elite, so that probably answers your question. :)

I’m hopeful that once the tournament starts, Quatraro and Sweeney develop a game plan to take advantage of the built-in days off and who can actually be trusted.

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Craig, would you feel the same way about the ghost runner rule if the Royals had won in New York last week and taken last night's game? I'm a fan of the rule (so long as it's only in the regular season) and both sides have the slim margin for error with a runner on second. I think these two examples and Monday night's game highlights how poor the team is in moving runners, especially late in games. The only reason they scored in the 10th in New York was because of a wild pitch that plated Blanco. I'm usually one to put it on the players to perform better in those situations, because the other team has the same disadvantage but still are able to score their ghost runners because they don't waste their first at-bat.

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Absolutely would. As I wrote, it changes the rhythm of the game in an artificial manner. And why? Because the commissioner doesn’t have the patience to deal with extra innings. (I have the same opinion on replay.)

The Royals have scored over 17 percent of their baserunners this year, which leads the majors by a huge margin. The Diamondbacks are next at 16 percent and the league average is just over 14 percent. They are aggressive when it comes to taking the extra base. They have a 78 percent success rate on sacrifice bunts (ick), second best in the league. I’d say they do alright getting runners around the bases. Sometimes, it’s not your night.

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Sep 18·edited Sep 18Liked by Craig Brown

From my perspective as a fan, I would prefer not to watch a long drawn-out game into midnight (my bedtime keeps getting earlier as I get older). I understand it changes the rhythm, but at least I don't have to worry about going through our bullpen arms and at worst-case scenario have to see a position player come in to pitch. Thank you for those stats on situational hitting. Usually I stop myself before making a statement and I check to see if the data matches my perception. Recency bias is real.

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Haha…I definitely get the recency bias. And the failures are easier to remember. Missed opportunities!

I’m with you on not needing an 18 inning game or something of the sort. While I have a lengthy list of items that I don’t like about what Manfred has done to the game, the pitch clock has been amazing. The pace of play is so good that I don’t think I would occasionally mind a few more innings.

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