Royals 2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread - Page 452

duncan_idaho · 10:01 AM

Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner
Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play
A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise.

Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk.

At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor.

Burning questions updates below.

Burning Questions for 2013:

1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation?

Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory.

2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door?
Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster.

3) Does Hosmer bounce back?
Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far.
4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012?
Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go.
5) Who regresses?
Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years.
6) Who plays 2B?
Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it.
7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level?
Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha
8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014?
Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014.
9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse?
Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before.
10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers?
Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it?

nychief · 07-10-2013, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

According to BP this morning, Zimmer worked primarily with the fastball and curveball last night.

His attempts to develop a slider so far this year have not gone well. He still needs at least a "Show-me" changeup to reach his upside, but Shelby Miller's success in St. Louis this year shows a guy can pitch at a high level with a plus fastball and plus curve, and a rarely used/average change.

read this same post on royals curve...why do you say that his attempts to develop a slider have not gone well? Curious. Keith Law said he is has 3 plus pitches.

duncan_idaho · 07-10-2013, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nychief

read this same post on royals curve...why do you say that his attempts to develop a slider have not gone well? Curious. Keith Law said he is has 3 plus pitches.

If Law said that, the changeup must be the third-pitch he's referring to, or he caught him on a good night with the slider.

BP referenced it as "his worst pitch" according to many scouts, and cited overuse of that pitch as a potential reason for his struggles this year.

**gblowfish** · 07-10-2013, 12:47 PM

CBS Sports talking about Santana's future with the Royals:
http://tinyurl.com/l9h73ad

mr. tegu · 07-10-2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

CBS Sports talking about Santana's future with the Royals:
http://tinyurl.com/l9h73ad

Quote:

the Royals own baseball's best record over the last 36 days, at 20-12 -- is proof that this team can contend.

From the link. That is pretty sweet!

Demonpenz · 07-10-2013, 12:56 PM

Rest in Peace

Mr. Laz · 07-10-2013, 01:11 PM

It will be awesome if Lough continues to develop

now if we can just find a 2nd baseman

Tytanium · 07-10-2013, 03:32 PM

Let's assume, for a moment, the Royals make a September run at the playoffs. Do we call up Ventura or not?

CaliforniaChief · 07-10-2013, 03:43 PM

We're in the toughest part of our schedule right now. After our homestand with Detroit and the Jim Johnson's, the schedule eases considerably.

3 at White Sox, 3 at Twins, 3 at Mets, and 3 at home vs. Twins.

After 4 at home against Boston, it's the Marlins at home for 3. Later in August, we see the Twins and White Sox 3 more times each, at home.

Oh yeah, and with that rainout we have a 5 game series at home against the Tigers.

CaliforniaChief · 07-10-2013, 03:44 PM

So to follow that, we're all in. We didn't just trade away the #1 prospect in all of baseball to dick around and be mediocre. My expectation, based on that move and the Royals' willingness to hold guys accountable, is that we're going to swing big at the deadline.

duncan_idaho · 07-10-2013, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tytanium

Let's assume, for a moment, the Royals make a September run at the playoffs. Do we call up Ventura or not?

Depends on how the rest of the bullpen is pitching. If Crow, Collins, Coleman, etc. are all throwing well, you leave him down.

If you need to stabilize the pen a bit, you bring him up and let him go Matt Moore/Trevor Rosenthal out of the pen.

Great Expectations · 07-10-2013, 03:48 PM

I think Ventura needs to perform better in AAA before we bring him up. If he goes beast mode after the break he might get a look to start in the bigs next year, but I'd be looking for him to be at best a June call up next year.

Coach · 07-10-2013, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Depends on how the rest of the bullpen is pitching. If Crow, Collins, Coleman, etc. are all throwing well, you leave him down.

If you need to stabilize the pen a bit, you bring him up and let him go Matt Moore/Trevor Rosenthal out of the pen.

I'd move Davis to the pen and find a back-end starter before I'd move up Ventura. But that's just me.

Sure-Oz · 07-10-2013, 07:20 PM

Ventura won't be called up this year. If he does get called it will be late in the season for the pen

Hootie · 07-10-2013, 07:23 PM

I've been watching wondering...specifically game 1 of the Yankees series. When we're in an 8th inning jam, runners on the corners up 3-1 with 2 outs...why don't we put in Holland for the 4 out save? Doesn't that just make sense?

CoMoChief · 07-10-2013, 07:35 PM

If the Royals trade Santana it shows they've given up on the season.

12-11-2012, 09:59 AM
duncan_idaho M-I-Z-Z-O-U Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $-1889692	2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise. Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk. At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor. Burning questions updates below. Burning Questions for 2013: 1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation? Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory. 2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door? Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster. 3) Does Hosmer bounce back? Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far. 4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012? Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go. 5) Who regresses? Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years. 6) Who plays 2B? Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it. 7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level? Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha 8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014? Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014. 9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse? Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before. 10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers? Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it? Last edited by duncan_idaho; 07-15-2013 at 10:01 AM..
Posts: 22,314

07-10-2013, 12:47 PM	#6768
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16896178 VARSITY	CBS Sports talking about Santana's future with the Royals: http://tinyurl.com/l9h73ad
Posts: 41,011

07-10-2013, 12:56 PM	#6770
Demonpenz Woman should only make babies Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $-183864	Rest in Peace Attached Thumbnails __________________
Posts: 54,931

07-10-2013, 01:11 PM	#6771
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	It will be awesome if Lough continues to develop now if we can just find a 2nd baseman __________________
Posts: 95,626

07-10-2013, 03:32 PM	#6772
Tytanium Starter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lawrence Casino cash: $10007108	Let's assume, for a moment, the Royals make a September run at the playoffs. Do we call up Ventura or not?
Posts: 324

07-10-2013, 03:43 PM	#6773
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $10715899	We're in the toughest part of our schedule right now. After our homestand with Detroit and the Jim Johnson's, the schedule eases considerably. 3 at White Sox, 3 at Twins, 3 at Mets, and 3 at home vs. Twins. After 4 at home against Boston, it's the Marlins at home for 3. Later in August, we see the Twins and White Sox 3 more times each, at home. Oh yeah, and with that rainout we have a 5 game series at home against the Tigers.
Posts: 17,443

07-10-2013, 03:44 PM	#6774
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $10715899	So to follow that, we're all in. We didn't just trade away the #1 prospect in all of baseball to dick around and be mediocre. My expectation, based on that move and the Royals' willingness to hold guys accountable, is that we're going to swing big at the deadline.
Posts: 17,443

07-10-2013, 03:48 PM	#6776
Great Expectations MVP Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Joplin, MO Casino cash: $10902338	I think Ventura needs to perform better in AAA before we bring him up. If he goes beast mode after the break he might get a look to start in the bigs next year, but I'd be looking for him to be at best a June call up next year. __________________
Posts: 7,302

07-10-2013, 07:23 PM	#6779
Hootie Banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Casino cash: $10004900	I've been watching wondering...specifically game 1 of the Yankees series. When we're in an 8th inning jam, runners on the corners up 3-1 with 2 outs...why don't we put in Holland for the 4 out save? Doesn't that just make sense?
Posts: 56,356

07-10-2013, 07:35 PM	#6780
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $7712254	If the Royals trade Santana it shows they've given up on the season. __________________
Posts: 39,236