Nice work David good info. I know you mentioned it a few times in your column….but its hard for really know what it means because I do think they were going to improve some even with Bradshaw. It’s interesting information for sure….just not sure how to take it really. Any change like tends to improve results immediately as people are on notice and reminded jobs are on the line. I think it was a good change, a needed change…but early to give too many kuddos to the new staff yet if you know what I mean. I actually think next year will be the real telling season with it.
I know Santana has been better lately but how does inserting another professional hitter (Olivares/Pasquantino) into his spot potentially lengthen the lineup and help all of those around him? I think the answer is a little like the how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop commercial.....I guess we will never know.
I’m encouraged by the changes we have seen. I figured that Benintendi and Dozier were going to regress a bit; they are still doing reasonably well, so if they do not deteriorate further, that’s fine. The improvements we have seen from Isbel and especially Melendez are hugely encouraging.
But there will be no significant movement in the team record unless the pitching coach is changed. Everybody gets hot. But seeing how Jake Junis has responded to better coaching this year should be telling our team something. Unfortunately, the right people are not listening. Cal Eldred is simply not getting it done. How many young pitchers are we going to waste until he is relieved of his duties? I’d sure like to see if anyone else can do something with Keller, who started very well and is now pitching batting practice level in games. There are other pitchers whose clocks are ticking, and unless we can get them decent coaching, we will see more Jake Junis stories in the future.
I’m curious. Do you think that we would do any worse than we are now by limiting most starters to 5 or 6 innings per appearance unless they are cruising with a big lead? The third time through the order is often when pitchers really struggle. Why not simply trend back to multi-inning setup guys (max two innings each) and use your closer when needed? Or carry an extra swing guy to help fill in?
This is good analysis, although I think the cold weather at the start of the year also contributed to our poor offensive start. As the weather heats up so do the bats.
David - you inspired me! Posted this at The Athletic today and wanted to share it with you, hoping you might get some enjoyment out of it...
As David Lesky recently observed, small-market teams like the Rays and Brewers remain competitive year after year by keeping their rosters "churning" - like, he might well have added, the waters of the North Atlantic in December.
What he didn't say but I will is that meanwhile around here not a ripple stirs the waters of Lake DaytonMoore, which are not only placid but in fact stagnant. This explains why he's only been able to open one brief 3-year "window" surrounded by 13 years (and counting) of submediocrity and utter irrelevance - while he actually congratulates himself on the fact that "we love our guys more than anyone else loves their guys" and so therefore "we don't shop our guys. Ever." (That's a direct quote.) As if that's something to be proud of, rather than abject failure to exercise one's due diligence.
Unable and/or unwilling to recognize that the name on the front of the jersey is immeasurably more important than the name on the back of the jersey, he continually refuses to trade any player of any value whatsoever, no matter what he might get in return. There have been only two exceptions to this in 16+ years, and one of those was absolutely forced upon Moore by Zach Greinke, resulting in his trade to the Brewers.
What's more astonishing is that despite the evidence of the last 16 years, there are still some fans who actually applaud this policy and want to see it extended into the future indefinitely. ("Oh no, we can't trade Salvy. I like him too much. He has such a wonderful smile. And besides, he's the 'heart' of the worst team in baseball.") But we Royals fans deserve far better, no matter how intensely emotional those other fans may be in their disagreement.
I was saddened but not surprised to see that Lorenzo Cain was DFA'd today. As a recent article by Alec Lewis made clear, it seems that Lorenzo has made peace with the fact that it's time to move on.
Without Cain and Escobar on this team, the Royals chances of making the WS in 2014-15 would have been greatly diminished. (Both were ALCS MVPs for the Royals.) And it's worth noting once again that Dayton Moore only made that trade because Zach Greinke absolutely forced him to do so.
It's also worth noting that that trade with the Brewers brought Jake Odorizzi here, and he turned out to be a key component of the only other major trade Moore has made: the one in which we acquired Wade Davis and James Shields.
Two major trades, both of which contributed immeasurably to 2014-15. And which apparently have caused Moore to proclaim that "we'll have no more of that sort of thing around here!"
I know that Brad Keller has been his reliably inconsistent self this year. But perhaps we shouldn't tell him that the Royals offense has improved. Going into Saturday, they'd scored 12 runs for him in his 12 starts. Clearly he's not the only one responsible for that 1-8 record he had going into Saturday's game!
Nice work David good info. I know you mentioned it a few times in your column….but its hard for really know what it means because I do think they were going to improve some even with Bradshaw. It’s interesting information for sure….just not sure how to take it really. Any change like tends to improve results immediately as people are on notice and reminded jobs are on the line. I think it was a good change, a needed change…but early to give too many kuddos to the new staff yet if you know what I mean. I actually think next year will be the real telling season with it.
I know Santana has been better lately but how does inserting another professional hitter (Olivares/Pasquantino) into his spot potentially lengthen the lineup and help all of those around him? I think the answer is a little like the how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop commercial.....I guess we will never know.
I’m encouraged by the changes we have seen. I figured that Benintendi and Dozier were going to regress a bit; they are still doing reasonably well, so if they do not deteriorate further, that’s fine. The improvements we have seen from Isbel and especially Melendez are hugely encouraging.
But there will be no significant movement in the team record unless the pitching coach is changed. Everybody gets hot. But seeing how Jake Junis has responded to better coaching this year should be telling our team something. Unfortunately, the right people are not listening. Cal Eldred is simply not getting it done. How many young pitchers are we going to waste until he is relieved of his duties? I’d sure like to see if anyone else can do something with Keller, who started very well and is now pitching batting practice level in games. There are other pitchers whose clocks are ticking, and unless we can get them decent coaching, we will see more Jake Junis stories in the future.
I’m curious. Do you think that we would do any worse than we are now by limiting most starters to 5 or 6 innings per appearance unless they are cruising with a big lead? The third time through the order is often when pitchers really struggle. Why not simply trend back to multi-inning setup guys (max two innings each) and use your closer when needed? Or carry an extra swing guy to help fill in?
This is good analysis, although I think the cold weather at the start of the year also contributed to our poor offensive start. As the weather heats up so do the bats.
David - you inspired me! Posted this at The Athletic today and wanted to share it with you, hoping you might get some enjoyment out of it...
As David Lesky recently observed, small-market teams like the Rays and Brewers remain competitive year after year by keeping their rosters "churning" - like, he might well have added, the waters of the North Atlantic in December.
What he didn't say but I will is that meanwhile around here not a ripple stirs the waters of Lake DaytonMoore, which are not only placid but in fact stagnant. This explains why he's only been able to open one brief 3-year "window" surrounded by 13 years (and counting) of submediocrity and utter irrelevance - while he actually congratulates himself on the fact that "we love our guys more than anyone else loves their guys" and so therefore "we don't shop our guys. Ever." (That's a direct quote.) As if that's something to be proud of, rather than abject failure to exercise one's due diligence.
Unable and/or unwilling to recognize that the name on the front of the jersey is immeasurably more important than the name on the back of the jersey, he continually refuses to trade any player of any value whatsoever, no matter what he might get in return. There have been only two exceptions to this in 16+ years, and one of those was absolutely forced upon Moore by Zach Greinke, resulting in his trade to the Brewers.
What's more astonishing is that despite the evidence of the last 16 years, there are still some fans who actually applaud this policy and want to see it extended into the future indefinitely. ("Oh no, we can't trade Salvy. I like him too much. He has such a wonderful smile. And besides, he's the 'heart' of the worst team in baseball.") But we Royals fans deserve far better, no matter how intensely emotional those other fans may be in their disagreement.
I was saddened but not surprised to see that Lorenzo Cain was DFA'd today. As a recent article by Alec Lewis made clear, it seems that Lorenzo has made peace with the fact that it's time to move on.
Without Cain and Escobar on this team, the Royals chances of making the WS in 2014-15 would have been greatly diminished. (Both were ALCS MVPs for the Royals.) And it's worth noting once again that Dayton Moore only made that trade because Zach Greinke absolutely forced him to do so.
It's also worth noting that that trade with the Brewers brought Jake Odorizzi here, and he turned out to be a key component of the only other major trade Moore has made: the one in which we acquired Wade Davis and James Shields.
Two major trades, both of which contributed immeasurably to 2014-15. And which apparently have caused Moore to proclaim that "we'll have no more of that sort of thing around here!"
I know that Brad Keller has been his reliably inconsistent self this year. But perhaps we shouldn't tell him that the Royals offense has improved. Going into Saturday, they'd scored 12 runs for him in his 12 starts. Clearly he's not the only one responsible for that 1-8 record he had going into Saturday's game!