Tampa didn't want to play a young guy who didn't belong. Hmm. Wonder why we don't do the same? Oh that's right we suck.

Can you kindly **** off, and leave the baseball threads? :thumb:

The Royals are 3-10 in their last thirteen games. These last three are the only ones that got me really mad. We had a lead in all three and couldn't even win one of them.

No biggie, boys are still learning.

Missed the game threads this weekend (spent it stripping and powerwashing and painting my porch... have a builder coming in to put on a screen porch, which is going to be pretty awesome).

Really rough series. I don't know why, but it sure seems like the A's have this team's number, no matter what is going on.

We're now 40 games into the season, and the Royals sit exactly at .500. Like I said at the beginning of the month, I"ll be happy with getting through this month AT .500. And if they're 2-3 games below, I won't freak out.

General Thoughts:

1) At this point, the sample size (1/4 of the season) is large enough to make some moves. Moustakas DOWN is acceptable at this point. He had an excellent two-week burst after making some adjustments but has not been able to adjust back as the league has changed its approach. I probably call up Giavotella and give him everyday reps for at least 2 weeks. He's never succeeded at the MLB level, but maybe a 2 week stint where he plays everyday gets him going. (OF course, he's been cold at Omaha again... another case of him not taking advantage of a situation).

Sending him down a month ago was still too soon (especially considering the tear he went on starting with the Cleveland series, when even the most optimistic of us said he needed to show something or be sent down).

2) Kelvin Herrera is struggling a bit in his last two outings. Whatever mechanic adjustments they made to stop him from tipping pitches seem to have messed with his confidence. Time to go to Crow in the 8th and let Herrera/Collins find some confidence/success in lower leverage roles.

3) I'm not a huge Ned Yost fan, but I think some of the blame he's catching right now is unwarranted. I think a lot of people overrate the impact a manager has on the game. He drives me nuts with his lack of understanding of statistical analysis sometimes, but he has not shown the extreme role loyalty this year that has been so frustrating in the past (Getz, Francoeur losing starting jobs, saying he'll look at moving Herrera out of the 8th inning role after yesterday).

It comes down to the bats, and you can move the lineup around a little, but ultimately, they need more than Gordon, Butler and Cain hitting to have a good season.

4) In his last three starts, Luis Mendoza has a 4.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 4:1 K:BB ratio, while K'ing 6 per 9. It's not spectacular, but since being put back on regular turns, he has been just fine as the No. 5 starter. Those numbers even play OK as a No. 4 starter.

5) At this point, I don't think you can even point to trading Wil Myers as a major blow to the offensive potential of this lineup. He seems to have lost his power AND become even worse at avoiding strikeouts in Durham.

6) With Hosmer, I still don't see an option that would let you send him down. He hasn't been what we were hoping and the lack of power is still a major, major concern. But he also isn't KILLING the team and is a major positive defensively.

7) It's time to look at a trade for a bat. Even a small move woudn't be a bad thing.

A small move would be something like shipping a bullpen arm and a lotto ticket for someone like David DeJesus. It probably wouldn't be a gamebreaker, but it would help the O.

The big moves ... you're still looking at someone like Utley, Rios, Chase Headley (though I think the Pads want to hang on to him and try to sign him long-term in the offseason. They have one more year of control and can afford to do this), etc. And they just don't have many close-to-MLB bullets to make that happen.

I'm not going to give up on this season, and home series vs. the Astros and Angels give them a chance to pick up some ground after a rough road trip. 5-1 in the next six would be a nice way to spend this week. And is definitely do-able.

What a weird, weird approach Myers is taking.

Also, further proof that the Royals hitting system has some serious flaws. Guys really struggle to make adjustments (which is the hardest part of hitting).

Also, not sure if anyone saw it or it was mentioned in the threads this weekend, but Starling had LASIK over the weekend.

This will be interesting to follow. It sounds like he had astigmatism, hitting at night would have been a real problem for him, especially picking up the spin of breaking pitches (at least that was my experience with it and trying to hit during night baseball).

Could use some good news on him. Hopefully this is a catalyst for him to take off.

Agree with most of what you said, but they're IN Houston for three. The Astros don't come here until early June.

Let me condense duncan's take on the Royals. Were they eliminated yesterday you bunch of pussies?

Glad to see you joined the bandwagon my friend. There's always room for more.

I would send Moustakas down until he learns how to hit the ball to the opposite field and start taking shorter swings. His problem is the opposite of Hosmer's.

As for Hosmer, Brett explained it pretty well this morning on .610. He's hitting EVERYTHING up the middle and opposite field. Teams started keying on this last year and positioned themselves defensively up the middle. That's why it seemed like Hosmer was really unlucky. He needs to learn how to trust his eyes and start turning on those inside pitches.

I'm not sending Hosmer down. He's still squaring it up for the most part, he just has a lot of trouble with inside pitches and will continue to until he starts recognizing what to do with them.

Apparently, he's been whacking off WAY too much over the past year....

I never want to see David DeJesus in a Royals uni ever again. Dude is the WORST baserunner in baseball. Just freaking terrible.

The "Frenchy Quarter" Royals promotion runs to September 5th.

Yes, I said SEPTEMBER 5TH.

I believe Frenchy will be threatening to have almost 100 hits by September 5th. Almost.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/kc/...hy_quarter.jsp

With any luck, Frenchy will be buying a ticket and sitting out there with them.

I think we should have a fan protest on Saturday, July 6th. That night is "Salute the A's" night. The Royals are giving away a T-Shirt with an ASS on the front. I believe everyone should wipe their ass with this T-Shirt, then throw it on the field.

SCREW THE A's. SALUTE THIS!!!!!

I mean it, man. I hate this shit and it must stop. End the losing culture, quit being a slave to the past, make some current history!!!