Agree with all this. It feels great so far.

The main thing with the starting pitching is, even when they are not perfect, they are not giving up the big inning and letting the game get out of hand.


I looked up Utleys stats....why have his power numbers gone down the last few years? Anyone know?

Utley is my favorite target. I am thinking about it WAY too much for April. But oh well...

I don't think it would take a ton to land Utley. As mentioned, Utley is a severe injury risk. He looks healthy this year and for the first time in years wasn't in the middle of a long-term rehab that he rushed to get back when the season started.

He also is a pending FA and the Phils are unlikely to be in it this year, especially with how well the Nats and Braves are playing.

You would have to give up SOMETHING of value, but I don't think you're talking about top 100 prospects. This would be the perfect type of guy to use Orlando Calixte as the primary trade bait for, with a few throw-ins attached (perhaps Chris Dwyer and Sugar Ray Marimon?).

Utley would add a lot to this team. Dropping him in the 3-hole in the lineup instantly makes this group better (and if you swap Cain into the 2-spot, suddenly the 1-4 are very dangerous). He's a veteran who plays extremely hard and has experienced playoff success at the highest level, so that would be a nice presence to add.

At the very least, you're telling your fan base (and MLB) that you're serious about a playoff run.

It's because he hasn't hit as many home runs.

Why? He is garbage. If we want to win, then we play someone who contributes today and not someone who is "building for tomorrow". Unless you think Moose turns it around in which case then of course he stays.


I'd ship him and Hos today to Omaha. And I'd tell them not to think MLB is a given right. You ahve to earn it. They've not just struggled this month - it's gone all the way back to last summer. It's been going on a full year almost now.

Injuries. Knee problems sapping his strength in the lower half.

He hasn't been healthy. Dealing with a tricky knee that was chronically inflamed and sore. That sapped a lot of his power. His ABs were also down significantly. He averaged 375 ABs over the past 3 years. Age is also likely a bit of a factor.

He's on pace this year for about 22 HR (if he gets 550 ABs), and his HR rate is likely to rise as the season goes on. All indications are that he's healthy.

Playing in the American League would probably be good for Utley. If they trade for him, the Royals could give him 1 day a week off and 1 day a week at DH (with Butler playing 1B and Hosmer off) to keep him rested and strong.

And then you'd end up playing whom every day?

Elliott Johnson? Miguel Tejada?

If they had an alternative, I could buy it. They don't. I also like most of the signs I'm seeing with Hosmer. He's still having good at-bats, and his approach is good. He needs to make some adjustments to better handle and square up pitches middle-in, but I think he might have tried something to do that. It looked like he opened up his stance a little over the weekend, and that should help with those pitches.

Cool....id be all for it. A veteran bat with some pop would certainly be good. Push Hosmer and Moose further down the lineup to help take some pressure off them.

I don't agree that Hosmer is having good at bats. He's 0-2 as soon as he steps in the box.

Hosmer's at bat in the 8th inning in the Saturday game with runners on first and third with one out was just painful. I'm rooting for him, and I hope he turns it around.
Grand scheme -- we came out of the Atl and Boston games with three wins, so I can't complain too much.
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He has had problems with his knees with chronic tendinitis and even started last year on the DL because of them. That scares me for a middle infielder that could have his range limited.

I am much more and the Anything for Stanton bandwagon.

If Moose or Hosmer do not turn it around, the season is over. (If our pitching holds up, maybe we don't need both, but we do need one of them)

We have absolutely no shot, whatsoever, if they both keep playing like this. If we weren't trying to win this year, maybe we can be concerned about whether struggling in KC is bad for his development, but we can't be worried about that right now.

Thats what I mean by saying we have no choice. If we had some stud prospect in AAA who is being blocked, that would be a different thing.

I'm just not ok with leaving guys up at the MLB level when they're playing so bad. (Hos has been terrible, let's not pretend otherwise). We stayed too long with Alex back in the day, but we did send Butler down and it helped a lot. Dayton sticks with guys too long and stunts their development. If he was concerned about them long term, sending them to Omaha right now won't hurt that. It might help. In fact I'm sure it would. But either way I'd tell them both that if they don't perform they don't stay. That's what loser small markets do: allow loser youngsters to keep playing no matter what.

1) The Marlins aren't guaranteed to trade Stanton. He's still young and cheap, and after the winter fire sale, they'd come under even more fire for trading him.

2) If the Marlins DO move him, there are other teams that match up better with more MLB-ready talent (i.e. the Rangers, with Profar and Olt)

3) You're talking about much lower costs with Utley. The Royals would give up much less to get him because of the injury concerns and the pending FA status.

4) Utley is a professional hitter who has great experience and would be able to, with James Shields, help this team prepare for a pennant/playoff race.

Utley does have a partial no-trade clause, so not sure how that would work. But yeah, he's a very good hitter and would be a HUGE upgrade at 2B. HUGE.

Prior to the Sunday games, I saw a few posts critical of the bullpen, which I think were mostly reactions to Herrera's homerlicious week.

This is a good piece that puts it in perspective:

http://www.royalsreview.com/2013/4/2...erfect-bullpen

What does any fan expect from their team's bullpen? Perfection.

After Greg Holland polished off his second save of the day last night, tell me a little part of you didn't say: 'If he only could have done that in Philadelphia, the Royals would be 11-6'. Right now, when you think if Kelvin Herrera, I would wager most of us remember four home runs surrendered as opposed to the 15 strikeouts in 9 innings of work.

That's life as a reliever: be perfect or move on.

The Royals' bullpen has been tagged with three losses so far this season and those hurt, but it hardly is a sign that this group is struggling. They have saved eight games and won three more. None of those wins were the bogus 'entered with a lead, gave it up and the offense saved us' type that relievers sometimes acquire. Only one of the wins and saves overlap. Thus, the relievers can squarely take credit for doing their jobs in all 10 of the Kansas City victories. If your bullpen comes through in 10 out of every 13 opportunities (not save opportunities, per se), I don't think you can complain.

While we rightfully scoff at pitcher wins and pitcher losses as a meaningful stat, there is no way for a bullpen to get tagged with the loss without, well, being less than perfect. The Cardinals' pen has four losses, the Reds' six and, in fact, ten teams' pens have accounted for more losses than the relievers for Kansas City. Only the Giants have more saves than the Royals. Losses and saves are crude stats, but in the pursuit of perfection, they have some relevance.

Now, let's dig deeper.

Dayton Moore is smirking at all of us right now and with good reason. Thanks to a revamped starting rotation that is, so far, pitching extremely well, Kansas City relievers have logged the fewest innings of any group in the majors. Some of that is due, obviously, to the fact that many teams have played a couple more games than Kansas City and the Royals have had more than their share of off-days. Still, the Royals pen has thrown three less innings than any other team in the majors. Five less than Tampa and 11 less than Boston, the next two low totals in the American League and two teams that have played just one more game than the Royals.

Strikeouts per nine innings? Second in baseball and tenth in strikeout to walk ratio. Kansas City relievers have struck out 30% of the batters they have faced (best in the game) and allowed opponents to bat just .199 against them (4th overall). They have made opposing batters swing and miss 14% of the time, which is easily the best in baseball.

In pitching the fewest innings, the Royals' bullpen has thrown just 691 pitches: 45 less than any other team. By contrast, the Detroit bullpen has thrown 1,078 pitches already this season.

Sure, the relievers four walks per nine innings is a rate that needs to come down. Especially since Herrera and Holland have accounted for 10 of the 18 free passes. They have allowed the fifth highest home run rate in the majors thus far with Herrera allowing two-thirds of all the dingers given up. Those numbers need to improve, because, well....perfection.

Yes, we would all like to have three games back that the bullpen lost. We can rationalize bad starts and clearly see that hitting a baseball is really, really hard for the guys on offense (and humans in general). Yet, when the bullpen blows a late lead, it is painful and memorable. We expect perfection.

The Royals' bullpen is not perfect, but that doesn't mean they are not getting the job done. In a perfect baseball world, the best pitching staffs have good bullpens that don't throw very much and when they do, it is the better pitchers throwing. So far, thanks to outstanding starting pitching, that exact recipe has propelled the Royals to a 10-7 start.

Not exactly perfection, but close enough.

I also wonder if part of Hosmer/Moose's issues have come from our irregular schedule. Lots of days off, interruptions in the schedule, and NL Games (particularly with Hosmer and Butler coming in.)

Probably not, but I'm grasping.

This isn't a "loser small market" thing, it is the reality of our situation.

The alternatives suck. It is too early to trade for someone else. (We have to wait until other teams realize its not their year and raise the white flag)

Its not like "if only Hosmer and Moose weren't in the lineup, we'd be raking", the guys who would start in their place would be very bad everyday players.

If we were NOT trying to win this year, then we could be all old-school hardass like you are suggesting, punish them with a trip to Omaha until they hit their way back up.

However, since we are trying to win this year, and since we CAN NOT WIN if neither of them turn it around, we gotta stick with them right now.

TL;DR

Wasn't the popular rumor last season that Hoz wouldn't accept coaching on his swing?

What was Hosmer's at bat like in the 10th yesterday? (I was following online)

Hosmer has actually been at his best this season when more in the top of the lineup. Batting 3rd and 4th he is 8 for 21 for a .380 average. Tells me that when batting lower, after he takes his initial fastball right down the middle of the plate (:banghead:), he doesn't get nearly as many hittable pitches.

I am pretty certain that it was the exact opposite. They changed things every day it seemed.

Pop a Ritalin or just read the bolded parts. :p

Royals fans, like a lot of fans, are often stupid. Some of the posts on Royals Corner/Curve were ridiculous regarding Holland and Herrera.

They don't have alternatives. That's the issue.

You know who gets the playing time if both Hosmer and Moustakas are demoted?

Jarrod Dyson, Jeff Francoeur, Miguel Tejada and Elliott Johnson.

I have no problem with Dyson getting more playing time. With Hosmer down, Butler becomes the full-time 1B. The DH likely is used to rotate guys through and keep them fresh. And Elliott Johnson and Miguel Tejada split time at 3B.

The Royals become significantly worse at 1B and worse at 3B defensively. And the offensive upside of guys like Tejada and Johnson just isn't there.

If the Royals had an alternative or were still in developmental state of mind, sure, you send one or both of those guys down (sending down a struggling stud prospect when you're going to lose 95-100 regardless is much different than when you're trying to win 90 games).

I disagree on Hosmer. He has not been terrible. He isn't hitting the ball with much authority, but there are some positive signs if you dig deep. The obvious one is that he is still getting on base at a good clip. If you watch his stance, he's got a lot more balance and his load is much cleaner (see the opposite field hit vs. Dempster in the big inning of game 1 yesterday for an example of this). He's walking at an above-average clip and he's swinging af fewer pitches outside the strike zone (check out this breakdown from Kings of Kaufman for details on that). He's also seeing a lot of pitches per at-bat and making pitchers work.

I wouldn't argue if they sent Moose down to find himself for a week or 2, though he was raking in Spring Training, so who knows what good that does. Sending both guys down just doesn't work.

While I'm no expert in player development (I'm much more like a casual baseball fan), we need to remind ourselves that Moose and Hos are very young major league players. I'm confident that at least one of the two will live up to their prospect hype within the next 1-3 seasons.

I just hope to gawd they "figure it out" quicker than Gordon did.

Don't care. The alternatives cannot possibly hit any worse than the two mutts have, so your loss is zero. The only argument you can make is that the mutts might pick it back up. This is certainly possible, but the problems are not confined to 2013. That's the whole point: they were abysmal the entire 2nd half of last year too. It's a clear trend. They're not ready for this level, or they aren't putting in the time & effort. Not sure which. You know Butler will hit because he's proven. But these two are not.


I see no reason why we can't put in reserves and expect them to produce the same, at least for 3 weeks or so. You really disagree?

Defense say "hi." If we are going to not get hitting we might as well have a really good defensive infield. And I completely agree with Duncan's assessment of Hosmer. Hopefully in the next few weeks he can pick it up by batting higher in the order. Moose has had his chance in the four hole and it hasn't worked. As I posted earlier, Hosmer has actually done really well higher in the lineup. Granted, it is a small sample size.

The alternatives have no upside. By sending them down, you are locked into "crap" at those positions. Hosmer and Moose at least have the possibility of putting things together.

I suppose they could bench Moose for a few games.....i believe they have done this already?

All that said, we obviously can't put up with ~500-600 OPS for all 6 months.

Teams begin to give up in June. If I'm DM, I give Moose and Hosmer two more months. If we're out of it, then it doesn't matter, but if we're still in the playoff picture in early to mid-June and one or both of those guys still suck, then its time to trade something off and find a bat.

They need to absolutely sit his worthless ass vs LH. He looks like a clown vs them. Complete clown. I just FF the dvr whenever he's up and there's a LH pitcher. Pointless to watch. You definitely want both of them getting as many AB as they can against live pitching. I just want it to be in Omaha and Okie City, not Kansas City and Dallas.

Yes, I disagree that ancient Miguel Tejada and utility guy Elliott Johnson could even do what Hosmer currently is if playing every day.

Plus, if one of those guys is replacing Hosmer in the lineup, you're likely playing Butler every day at 1B, which is a BIG defensive downgrade.

Moustakas looks completely lost right now. Like I said, I wouldn't argue as much with sending him down if he doesn't turn it around in the next 10 days. But I still don't know what that does for him other than serve as a wake-up call. If he's not putting in the time and not working (something I have a hard time believing, based on every report EVER about the guy), sure, maybe that helps. Maybe he can rebuild some confidence, and that helps, too. But it's not guaranteed to get him out of this funk any faster than normal, and it's not guaranteed to make him better able to succeed when he gets back.

He's a notorious slow starter. Last year was an anomaly for him in that regard.

Hosmer to the 2-hole. I'm telling you guys...

Yost will never do it, because he's a baseball philistine and wants a contact/sacrifice/speed guy there, but I really think taking the Tony La Russa approach would help in this case.

Will Smith was sent back down to Omaha today.

He was up for the double-header? I missed that.

I think Gordon was figuring it out in his second season before injuries stunted his growth. He had a so-so rookie year, and made significant improvement in year 2 -- his 2008 is not far off his 2012.

But even then, people were calling him a bust because he wasn't matching the hype coming out of the gate. But he was an above-average player in Year 2, an ascending player, at least with the bat. He was not as bad as Hosmer and Moose have been the last year and three weeks.

Then he had hip and thumb injuries. Being healthy and moving to LF helped him get back on track (I think Seitzer tinkered with his swing, too).

Yeah just because we could have 26 on the roster for yesterday.

:spock:

last I checked OKC was the Astros' AAA team....been a while since I checked though

Hosmer has had some terrible at bats this season too. However, he is finding ways to get on base. So I feel a little better about him figuring things out. Moose on the other hand just comes across lost when he steps up to the plate.

It's just maddening.

What is wrong with his approach? /Frenchy

[QUOTE=duncan_idaho;9613939]Yes, I disagree that ancient Miguel Tejada and utility guy Elliott Johnson could even do what Hosmer currently is if playing every day.

Plus, if one of those guys is replacing Hosmer in the lineup, you're likely playing Butler every day at 1B, which is a BIG defensive downgrade. QUOTE]


I'm not sure it's possible to go much lower tahn Hos 600 OPS. I have to think Clint Robinson (may he RIP) would've done that if not better. ZIPS projections probably suggest David Lough could do that if he played there for a month. It's not that high a hurdle to clear. You could even put Frenchy there and have Dyson play OF. That would lead to more RC than Hos chopping into double plays.


The key here is getting on these guy's butts. They're prancing around lke they're stars. They suck. And they need to be told ABs are precious at this level. Either you start taking it seriously or you're gone. It might be the best thing that ever happened to them. Sweeney, Dye, Gordon Butler, etc etc went to AAA. Greinke went to AA. What makes this duo so damn untouchable?

If we send anyone down right now it should be Mike. We get worse on defense at 3B but maybe Miggy can provide SOMETHING offensively. He can't do much worse than Mike at this point.

[QUOTE=Prison Bitch;9614122]:doh!:

This is just ridiculous.

If Hosmer goes down, Billy Butler is playing first base every day. That's it. Francoeur hasn't played 1B in the major leagues and they certainly would slide him there. Same with David Lough. If Hosmer is in Omaha, Butler is playing 1B and the Royals are rotating Francoeur/Tejada/David Lough through the DH spot.

Big downgrade defensively with little upgrade offensively.

I don't know where this "prancing around like they're stars" thing is coming from. They're both playing hard and have good reputations as hard workers who are plus guys in the clubhouse.

I think Hosmer is getting the Alex Gordon treatment right now. No, he hasn't turned into what we hoped he could be and what it looked like he could be after his rookie campaign. But he also isn't as bad as many here are making him out to be.

I'm glad some of you don't run professional sports teams.

Oh brother ... I always love when somebody says this. Yes, because fans can't discuss sports related things.

Hosmer and Moustakas are just the latest whipping boys. I'm sure the next time Greg Holland has a rough outing, he'll be right back there.

A discussion is fine but heat of the moment lets cut this player, demote this player crap is just crap especially in a sport like baseball where things generally play themselves out of the long course of a season.

Hosmer...who is rolling over the top of everything and hitting weak ground balls to second in the 2 spot? Sounds like a recipe for a lot of DP's to me.

I think the biggest issue with Moose so far is that he seems to fly open on nearly every pitch. It's a terrible habit and it's very tough to fix it quickly. He opens his shoulders and hips so much that his bat essentially is dragging through the zone and it's causing him to pop everything up. Hosmer has the same problem, but he has had the same swing since he's been called up. If he doesn't change then it won't be long until teams start to put the shift on him like teams do to Big Papi.

Moose will get it figured out but I'm afraid that it won't be until after the break. Hope I'm wrong, but his mechanics are horrible right now.

What does it hurt to discuss what is best for the team. We all have different opinions and that's what makes it fun. If we were in charge of a franchise we would all obviously see things in a complete different light.

Yes, because its doubtful anyone here could have ran it as successfully as the Royals have over the past 20 years.

Billy Butler played left field for a time.

I think this is the simplest way I can put it. You need to ask yourself this question: if (insert player name here) went 3/4 tomorrow with a double and a home run, would I change my mind about sending him down?

If the answer is yes, its probably too early. No one gets sent down in April, and its rare for someone to get sent down in May.

Right now, Moose is hitting .158/.226/.193. If he had that day described above, which is a good day, but not insane, his line jumps to .197/.258/.298. In one single day, his OPS jumps 137 points.

Exactly!

And what I'm saying with Hosmer is not that I'm happy with his current level of progress so much as that I'm ENCOURAGED by recent signs.

The fact he had 2 hits yesterday to the left side of the field (and also made a few more outs on balls hit to that side, one hit sharply) is a positive sign. Especially considering they were the result of a balanced swing focused on shooting the ball the other way.

As for turning over on the ball... yes, he has done that this season, but not at the same rate as a year ago, and he is showing signs of overcoming that.

He is being more selective at the plate, swinging hard at pitches he can drive, and trying to go the other way with two strikes/pitches on the outer half.

I hate off days!

Here's how much repect we get from ESPN...

We take 2 of 3 from the Red Sox, and 1 of 2 from the number 1 team. They move up 8 spots in the power rankings, and we drop 1. Uhhhh....

http://i.imgur.com/YLL9hsA.png

LMAO

Tigers moved up one as well. Makes sense.

I haven't been so pumped about a series in a long while. I hope we bury Detroit's dicks in the dirt.

at least we're there!

We could take 2 of 3 from detroit, and they would still be ranked higher.

Even crazier they moved up 9 spots on SI's poll from 14 to 5.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb...?sct=uk_bf3_a2

Yeah, because we're talking about 1 rough outing for the loser duo. Yep. That's it. Nothing to do with 6 straight months of suck from them. It's just one outing. Excellent comparison. You nailed it! High five brah!

Wednesday's pitching matchup (Verlander vs Mendoza) is hilariously lopsided. We'll probably be +130 underdogs.

So, naturally we'll probably win that game 9-2 or something crazy like that.

This is what I'm talking about.

Hosmer and Moustakas are underperforming. Moustakas especially so. But that doesn't mean the guys are losers. It doesn't mean they're incapable of finding their way out of this, and it doesn't mean they're busts.

You keep calling them losers who aren't trying and who have big heads. But if you talk to anybody in baseball, you will hear the exact opposite: Hard workers who give great effort, care a great deal and are big-time bonuses in the clubhouse.

Moustakas' leadership is particularly well-thought of. His baseball makeup is lauded by anyone who spends time with him. I guarantee you that kid is working his ass off to try and get through this.

You can have concerns about them and think they're struggling without immediately jumping to: "They're losers! They suck! Send them down! Cut them!"

Peter King whos a BOSOX fan i think? Gave them a nice compliment...



Those Kansas City Royals are a tough out these days. I'm quite sure I've never written that before. Alcides Escobar, the young shortstop, is a gem.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...#ixzz2RDtwYnJV

It's really sad that this can't-miss future star who played great as a 21 year old has turned into Ross Gload two years later. Just tragic.



(Gload career Slugg: .408. Hosmer: .406)

These guys will get through it and they are a couple years away from being busts. I just wonder if there isn't something going on from a coaching perspective that is holding them back. I know I have beaten this drum repeatedly, but I think there has to be something to the fact that a lineup with so much potential has struggled so mightily.

It's not the dreadful numbers that has me worried about Moose. He just seems lost when he steps up to the plate. I realize we don't have a good option to replace him. I just don't know if it's helping the team or Moose with going to the plate and taking three hacks with no signs of improvements.

I hope it's just an ice cold streak.

That's not really important. You can replace bad production easily anyway. The key is getting him down to AAA so he can get back on track and get confidence back. I don't see how facing Verlander and Sherzer etc will help him with that.

It's going to be a lot more than +130...a LOT more.

Best pitcher in baseball...possibly the best lineup in baseball...in Detroit...against the #5 starter...and a team that can't hit.

Good Lord, you're a ****ing reerun.

let's hope the All Star Game Verlander shows up

It IS important when you're trying to win 90 games in a season.

If you're an MLB GM and you send down a high-upside guy like Moose or Hosmer who is scuffling, you MUST have a viable replacement waiting in the wings.

The ESPN bit was hilarious.

Let me get this straight: The Tigers just got swept by the Angels and climbed a spot. The Royals just split a pair at ATL and won a tough weekend series at BOS and we dropped 1?

Power rankings? Nah. Popularity/speculative? Ok.

Fortunately it means nothing.