16 Comments
Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

Idiot typist me takes back, for now, (most of) what he's banged out about Carlos Hernandez and James McArthur and especially MJ. Almost wet my pants when he went oppo in the eighth.

Not thrilled about Marsh (perhaps) taking Lorenzen's spot if needs be. It was so typical Marsh when he dicked around Monday with a .230 hitter, then came in with a meatball that got hammered.

Thanks tons Mr. B. for referencing Denny M's "this year" quote. Will never forget the first time I heard him say that. It was in 2015 when Gordo beat the Twins with a late HR in late August.

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The rotation depth is going to be tested over this last month. But the Royals aren’t the only team in this position. Marsh isn’t ideal to pitch what could be very important games, but if Quatraro and company play the matchups, they’ll be in at least a good opening position. It’s wild that I have this much faith in the dugout staff. A new day.

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Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

Haha; I thought you'd be happy to eat that crow from yesterday and so am I. What amazes me with any BP is how much one reliever getting their stuff together can start a wave of momentum that carries through the entire BP (and the opposite as well too btw).

For me, and I may have the sequencing wrong, but it started with Bubic and the latest to get doused with the wave is Carlos. CH, looks to me like a pitcher who has finally figured out 'how' to pitch as opposed to being dependent on his 'stuff'.

Thanks for the good work CB - let's get stingy Royals!

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Hernández is that guy who has the tools, but the results are just mixed and frustratingly so. But if he can string together a month (or two!) of quality outings, who wouldn’t take that at this point of the season.

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Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

Not trying to be too negative, but I'm not convinced that the bullpen is fixed. Why? Because of Cleveland's lousy offense, which is even worse now than it was a month ago. Still, happy to take it!

Am I missing something or will a win today essentially give the Royals a TWO game edge over Cleveland because of the tiebreaker? Also, if they keep it up, they're in line for the #2 seed & a first-round bye, yes?

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Then don't pay attention to the what, pay attention to the how.

Sam Long has been good all year, still looked good.

Carlos Hernández had them swinging and missing at all of his pitches.

Schreiber was apparently hurting well before he went on the IL and now looks more like the guy we saw earlier in the year.

As Craig noted, McArthur's killer curve looks like it's back.

And Erceg and Bubic didn't even have to pitch in this one!

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Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

Yes, fingers crossed that Q now has 3-4 guys to trust to close out games. I heard on the broadcast a day or two ago that the bullpen has fewer innings than most teams because the starters give so many quality starts. Maybe there's an advantage there, esp. since (by comparison) Cleveland's bullpen looks exhausted.

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Royals relievers have thrown a combined 417 innings this year. Only Seattle has thrown fewer.

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Yes on all counts. The win on Tuesday gives the Royals the tiebreaker with Cleveland. If they win the Central, they’re looking good for a #2 seed. As long as Houston doesn’t go wild over the next month.

A couple of months ago, we would’ve been thrilled with a Wild Card. Now? Let’s get greedy.

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Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

Just want to throw out there that not only are the Royals odds over 90%, but they currently hold the best odds to win the division, according to FanGraphs.

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There are so many permutations of odds, I just try to stick with the standard “playoffs.” But I may need to recalibrate.

Current FanGraphs odds to win the Central:

Royals - 38.9%

Guardians - 37.6%

Twins - 23.4%

Tigers (lol) - 0.1%

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What about the White...oh. Oh well. That's a shame.

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Aug 28Liked by Craig Brown

How crazy is it that the same day the Royals catch Cleveland for first place they secure the head to head tiebreaker

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At this point, I think “crazy” is the best adjective to describe everything.

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You got that right. Lol

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Aug 28·edited Aug 28

DeJong is a nice surprise, I keep waiting for the shoe to drop, but the boots are laced up tight. Not sure if Piccolo is a genius or just lucky.

A starter on the IL is going to happen,thankfully Marsh has proven cromulent. Hopefully Lorenzen just misses a start or two, but hes a gamer so it may be a little more severe. I think Salvy may have planted the seed he wasnt right, and Lorenzen stubbornly acknowledged a pitch later

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