A tsunami of bad baseball sees the Royals drop three to Atlanta. Meanwhile, Bubic hits the IL, Olivares tries to play defense and the Royals can't buy a hit with runners in scoring position.
This was unwatchable baseball, as the 24-10 run differential illustrates.
It has become extraordinarily difficult to keep watching this team, year after year after year, in "player evaluation and development mode." I need something more to care about than whether any of the 2018 pitchers are legit or how fast BWJ can run.
Was at Friday and Saturday games (although admittedly only lasted through the 6th on Saturday--according to phone it was 38 degrees w/ wind chill). Bubic didn't look fantastic close up, but after Singer's outing on Friday he def looked like he was handling the lineup better than Singer did. I didn't notice the velocity drop you describe though -- I was just glad that 2 out of the first 3 hitters didn't go yard on him. A ton of Braves fans both days ... and not all out of towners, which assumption I make based on the very high number of couples I saw with a guy in a Braves jersey and his SO in a Royals jersey (strangely it was always the guy in the Braves gear). There was also a play Friday night with a Royal on 3d and a fly out to not all that deep right -- 3d base coach held the runner, he would have scored if he went bc throw a little off line. Regardless of the throw, not sure why the base running wasn't presumptively super aggressive given their trouble scoring and terrible RISP numbers. Ball wasn't deep, but it was definitely deep enough to be on the margin, and seems like all margin calls should be dialed to the most aggressive setting.
No one blames you for not wanting to write about that series. It was gross.
I haven't checked the numbers to be sure, but haven't the Royals been absolutely abysmal with RISP the last several years? That's what it's felt like anyway. Yeah, bad luck plays a role, but when you're that bad for so long, it has to be more than that. I don't know what the fix is. They changed hitting coaches last season and that hasn't seemed to help.
Craig - I'll admit to being guilty of posting this elsewhere but I definitely wanted to get your insights as well...
I appreciate Hunter Dozier confirming with the first two Texas batters on Monday night what I said a few days ago about him not being a MLB-caliber infielder. The fact that his miscues set the stage for a 3-run HR merely underscores the point. Combine that with his woeful performance at the plate and I see virtually zero trade value there. The ability to play multiple positions means little when you can't play any of them well.
He should be, at most, a "break glass in case of emergency" guy, stashed away on a minor league roster unless some truly dire situation with the big league club makes his presence necessary. I haven't looked it up but I assume that he has too many years of MLB service time to make that a legitimate possibility. (Maybe he has options left but I don't know.) The Royals need to make him somebody else's problem ASAP, even if that means releasing him outright.
Note: for real, while I was posting that I just watched him strike out for the second straight time on Monday night. His OPS is now below .425 and plummeting rapidly.
This was unwatchable baseball, as the 24-10 run differential illustrates.
It has become extraordinarily difficult to keep watching this team, year after year after year, in "player evaluation and development mode." I need something more to care about than whether any of the 2018 pitchers are legit or how fast BWJ can run.
Was at Friday and Saturday games (although admittedly only lasted through the 6th on Saturday--according to phone it was 38 degrees w/ wind chill). Bubic didn't look fantastic close up, but after Singer's outing on Friday he def looked like he was handling the lineup better than Singer did. I didn't notice the velocity drop you describe though -- I was just glad that 2 out of the first 3 hitters didn't go yard on him. A ton of Braves fans both days ... and not all out of towners, which assumption I make based on the very high number of couples I saw with a guy in a Braves jersey and his SO in a Royals jersey (strangely it was always the guy in the Braves gear). There was also a play Friday night with a Royal on 3d and a fly out to not all that deep right -- 3d base coach held the runner, he would have scored if he went bc throw a little off line. Regardless of the throw, not sure why the base running wasn't presumptively super aggressive given their trouble scoring and terrible RISP numbers. Ball wasn't deep, but it was definitely deep enough to be on the margin, and seems like all margin calls should be dialed to the most aggressive setting.
No one blames you for not wanting to write about that series. It was gross.
I haven't checked the numbers to be sure, but haven't the Royals been absolutely abysmal with RISP the last several years? That's what it's felt like anyway. Yeah, bad luck plays a role, but when you're that bad for so long, it has to be more than that. I don't know what the fix is. They changed hitting coaches last season and that hasn't seemed to help.
I once saw Lonnie Smith make a similar play to that Olivares one. That's...not a complimentary comparison.
Craig - I'll admit to being guilty of posting this elsewhere but I definitely wanted to get your insights as well...
I appreciate Hunter Dozier confirming with the first two Texas batters on Monday night what I said a few days ago about him not being a MLB-caliber infielder. The fact that his miscues set the stage for a 3-run HR merely underscores the point. Combine that with his woeful performance at the plate and I see virtually zero trade value there. The ability to play multiple positions means little when you can't play any of them well.
He should be, at most, a "break glass in case of emergency" guy, stashed away on a minor league roster unless some truly dire situation with the big league club makes his presence necessary. I haven't looked it up but I assume that he has too many years of MLB service time to make that a legitimate possibility. (Maybe he has options left but I don't know.) The Royals need to make him somebody else's problem ASAP, even if that means releasing him outright.
Note: for real, while I was posting that I just watched him strike out for the second straight time on Monday night. His OPS is now below .425 and plummeting rapidly.