Royals 2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread - Page 613

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?

CaliforniaChief · 08-10-2013, 10:01 AM

I believe tonight's game is on MLB Network, for those of us out-of-towners who want to partake in the magic.

Just a few thoughts:
1. The move for Maxwell was just awesome. Where the hell was this guy? I mean, you look at his size and swing and he just looks like a slugger. Great pickup...I only hope we can keep playing him.

2. The bullpen continues to wow me. Bueno? Sure, why not.

3. Winning 3/4 is now very doable. I'm still gunning for the sweep, though. That would make a statement to everyone.

Let's do this!

siberian khatru · 08-10-2013, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

1. The move for Maxwell was just awesome. Where the hell was this guy? I mean, you look at his size and swing and he just looks like a slugger. Great pickup...I only hope we can keep playing him.

I didn't hate the trade; at the time I thought it was just "meh." I saw him as the righty in a platoon (usually not many ABs) and a PH and wondered just how much impact he'd have down the stretch.

Well, he's already blown that away.

Dude has legit power. None of his homers so far have been cheapies.

DaveNull · 08-10-2013, 10:37 AM

After watching the Wednesday game and last night...I might be a believer.

**lewdog** · 08-10-2013, 10:46 AM

I just realized that I got married the day before the start of the 2nd half of the season, July 18th. The Royals are 17-4 since I got married. The baseball Gods are either praising me or setting me up for a severe letdown.

Prison Bitch · 08-10-2013, 10:49 AM

I'm so sick of Texas mopping up on Houston and Anaheim. It's really crappy Houston moved to the AL this year. I said back in March that it could seriously affect the Wild Card because it would give Oak-Ana-Tex so many cheap wins that others couldn't get. (I was wrong on Anaheim since they suck balls this year). It's kinda unfair frankly.

I suppose the White Sox are nearly as bad.

58kcfan89 · 08-10-2013, 10:51 AM

So I hate to be Captain Bringdown (although the last time this team looked this good this late, I was 5 years old in '94), but should we be worried about the fact that this team has so many come from behind wins? I remember everyone saying last year that Baltimore (I think it was them, anyways) couldn't keep up their pace because of all their wins in 1-run games. Why wouldn't we be saying the same about come from behind wins? Hoping someone with more knowledge of baseball can give me a good explanation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveNull

After watching the Wednesday game and last night...I might be a believer.

That said, I think I'm in this boat. That one last night made me feel excited to wake up as a Royals fan for the first time since....well..... Let's go make the damn playoffs.

Sure-Oz · 08-10-2013, 10:57 AM

Didn't Maxwell have alot of injury issues?

TambaBerry · 08-10-2013, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 58kcfan89

So I hate to be Captain Bringdown (although the last time this team looked this good this late, I was 5 years old in '94), but should we be worried about the fact that this team has so many come from behind wins? I remember everyone saying last year that Baltimore (I think it was them, anyways) couldn't keep up their pace because of all their wins in 1-run games. Why wouldn't we be saying the same about come from behind wins? Hoping someone with more knowledge of baseball can give me a good explanation.

That said, I think I'm in this boat. That one last night made me feel excited to wake up as a Royals fan for the first time since....well..... Let's go make the damn playoffs.

The reason we have so many come from behind wins is because our pitching is damn good, our bullpen is damn good, our offense just takes a while to get going.

Nightfyre · 08-10-2013, 11:31 AM

adding on tambaberry's post - our lineup seems to get hot around the third or fourth time through on the SP and just demolishes relievers. That is based on my personal observation anyway.

Prison Bitch · 08-10-2013, 11:38 AM

Who would ever wear this?

http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.js...6&locale=en_US

TLO · 08-10-2013, 11:40 AM

Wish I could be at the K tonight.

That being said I have the same type of excitement/ jitters I usually have before a big Chiefs game to just watch the Royals on TV tonight.

This is great.

ChiefsCountry · 08-10-2013, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

adding on tambaberry's post - our lineup seems to get hot around the third or fourth time through on the SP and just demolishes relievers. That is based on my personal observation anyway.

You have been saying that all year.

Kidd Lex · 08-10-2013, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tambaberry

The reason we have so many come from behind wins is because our pitching is damn good, our bullpen is damn good, our offense just takes a while to get going.

And in May we lost like 8 one run games in a row. What's happening is everything trending back the mean.

**RockChalk** · 08-10-2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Wish I could be at the K tonight.

That being said I have the same type of excitement/ jitters I usually have before a big Chiefs game to just watch the Royals on TV tonight.

This is great.

According to Toby Cook (PR guy for the Royals), it's almost sold out for tonight. Only a few tickets remaining.

Kidd Lex · 08-10-2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Who would ever wear this?

http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.js...6&locale=en_US

Is that an athletic supporter?

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: 22,318

08-10-2013, 10:01 AM	#9181
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $10715899	I believe tonight's game is on MLB Network, for those of us out-of-towners who want to partake in the magic. Just a few thoughts: 1. The move for Maxwell was just awesome. Where the hell was this guy? I mean, you look at his size and swing and he just looks like a slugger. Great pickup...I only hope we can keep playing him. 2. The bullpen continues to wow me. Bueno? Sure, why not. 3. Winning 3/4 is now very doable. I'm still gunning for the sweep, though. That would make a statement to everyone. Let's do this!
Posts: 17,443

08-10-2013, 10:37 AM	#9183
DaveNull Veteran Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Villa Straylight Casino cash: $9975610	After watching the Wednesday game and last night...I might be a believer.
Posts: 2,367

08-10-2013, 10:46 AM	#9184
lewdog Mod Team Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Valley of the hot as **** Casino cash: $-1348100	I just realized that I got married the day before the start of the 2nd half of the season, July 18th. The Royals are 17-4 since I got married. The baseball Gods are either praising me or setting me up for a severe letdown.
Posts: 46,296

08-10-2013, 10:49 AM	#9185
Prison Bitch Rabbi Goldmann Join Date: Nov 2012 Casino cash: $5450159	I'm so sick of Texas mopping up on Houston and Anaheim. It's really crappy Houston moved to the AL this year. I said back in March that it could seriously affect the Wild Card because it would give Oak-Ana-Tex so many cheap wins that others couldn't get. (I was wrong on Anaheim since they suck balls this year). It's kinda unfair frankly. I suppose the White Sox are nearly as bad.
Posts: 87,025

08-10-2013, 11:31 AM	#9189
Nightfyre MVP Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Helena, MT Casino cash: $1368849	adding on tambaberry's post - our lineup seems to get hot around the third or fourth time through on the SP and just demolishes relievers. That is based on my personal observation anyway.
Posts: 18,647

08-10-2013, 11:38 AM	#9190
Prison Bitch Rabbi Goldmann Join Date: Nov 2012 Casino cash: $5450159	Who would ever wear this? http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.js...6&locale=en_US
Posts: 87,025

08-10-2013, 11:40 AM	#9191
TLO Life is changing.. Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Missouri Casino cash: $-2350000	Wish I could be at the K tonight. That being said I have the same type of excitement/ jitters I usually have before a big Chiefs game to just watch the Royals on TV tonight. This is great.
Posts: 43,031