Like you I'm surprised and disappointed by Massey's poor start. But it's way too early to draw final conclusions. Put him in the lineup every day and let him work through it! Let the hitting coaches give him all the help they can but this is essentially a situation that he has to rectify for himself.
I really like Massey but with only 33 games played at the AAA level and 2 guys in Duffy and Lopez who can certainly play 2nd why would you not send him down to get his hitting worked out instead of typing to work it out at the major league level. I'd rather see him go down and get straightened out and his confidence at the plate back than flounder around.
I believe Massey will come around and I’m fine with a platoon of Lopez and Duffy at third. I’ve always wanted dozier to succeed but it doesn’t seem to be happening. I’m very pro Nicky Lopez. There’s just something about him. Eaton probably should be sent down and see if he can’t get back on track. I’m not convinced that the starting pitching will falter badly and the bullpen will be more consistent seems doable. What I’m definitely not on board with is trading Chapman or Barlow. The young starters are looking good and it has to be better turning over a lead to a bullpen that can close it out. Psychologically it has to help, and with the hitters benefiting also. I’ve heard so many times that saves don’t really mean anything on a young/rebuilding team. But they do. Thanks to MLB I can watch all the Royals games and I don’t miss much. Living in NY I was always limited to when they played the Yankees. Not anymore. My son is a huge Braves fan and this is going to be quite the weekend series!
I've seen some spectacular defensive plays and I've also seen some, let's call them mis-cues, on defense. I'm curious about how the defensive metrics handle something like an outfielder throwing to the wrong base or not expecting a runner to tag on a shallow fly out. These are plays that are part of defense, but happen after the catch.
I haven't seen what the metrics say about Isbel, until the catch he made in Arlington. I think the Royals were in their shift-not-shift alignment and he came and got a ball in the left center gap from right center, picking it right off the grass blades. Can't ever remember seeing a finer play, even by LoCain.
Hud keeps insisting that 3rd base is easier to steal than 2nd base but it can't be that simple. There are too many variables involved: does the pitcher do a good job of upsetting the baserunner's timing? Is he slow or quick to the plate? Does he use a slide step? Are the middle infielders good at keeping the baserunner close to second base? Is the third baseman unusually adept at quick swipe tags? Is the batter a legit threat to bunt, thus drawing the third baseman in? Is the batter a lefty or a righty? Is the baserunner unusually good at getting a walking or a "hopping" lead?
We know for certain that throws to 3rd base are much shorter than throws to 2nd base for the catcher. OTOH we also know that catchers generally have much more practice throwing to 2nd base.
As usual Hud's opinions, stated as blanket assertions of fact, continue to be terribly annoying and woefully foundationless. Your thoughts, David?
The Royals are 2nd worst in runs scored in the AL after scoring 13 in the last two games. It is as simple as our offense is pathetic. Find anyone who can hit for an average above .200 consistently. We have yet to see nine guys on the field do so. Another disappointing April when we don’t win 10 games again....
Like you I'm surprised and disappointed by Massey's poor start. But it's way too early to draw final conclusions. Put him in the lineup every day and let him work through it! Let the hitting coaches give him all the help they can but this is essentially a situation that he has to rectify for himself.
I really like Massey but with only 33 games played at the AAA level and 2 guys in Duffy and Lopez who can certainly play 2nd why would you not send him down to get his hitting worked out instead of typing to work it out at the major league level. I'd rather see him go down and get straightened out and his confidence at the plate back than flounder around.
I believe Massey will come around and I’m fine with a platoon of Lopez and Duffy at third. I’ve always wanted dozier to succeed but it doesn’t seem to be happening. I’m very pro Nicky Lopez. There’s just something about him. Eaton probably should be sent down and see if he can’t get back on track. I’m not convinced that the starting pitching will falter badly and the bullpen will be more consistent seems doable. What I’m definitely not on board with is trading Chapman or Barlow. The young starters are looking good and it has to be better turning over a lead to a bullpen that can close it out. Psychologically it has to help, and with the hitters benefiting also. I’ve heard so many times that saves don’t really mean anything on a young/rebuilding team. But they do. Thanks to MLB I can watch all the Royals games and I don’t miss much. Living in NY I was always limited to when they played the Yankees. Not anymore. My son is a huge Braves fan and this is going to be quite the weekend series!
I've seen some spectacular defensive plays and I've also seen some, let's call them mis-cues, on defense. I'm curious about how the defensive metrics handle something like an outfielder throwing to the wrong base or not expecting a runner to tag on a shallow fly out. These are plays that are part of defense, but happen after the catch.
I haven't seen what the metrics say about Isbel, until the catch he made in Arlington. I think the Royals were in their shift-not-shift alignment and he came and got a ball in the left center gap from right center, picking it right off the grass blades. Can't ever remember seeing a finer play, even by LoCain.
Hud keeps insisting that 3rd base is easier to steal than 2nd base but it can't be that simple. There are too many variables involved: does the pitcher do a good job of upsetting the baserunner's timing? Is he slow or quick to the plate? Does he use a slide step? Are the middle infielders good at keeping the baserunner close to second base? Is the third baseman unusually adept at quick swipe tags? Is the batter a legit threat to bunt, thus drawing the third baseman in? Is the batter a lefty or a righty? Is the baserunner unusually good at getting a walking or a "hopping" lead?
We know for certain that throws to 3rd base are much shorter than throws to 2nd base for the catcher. OTOH we also know that catchers generally have much more practice throwing to 2nd base.
As usual Hud's opinions, stated as blanket assertions of fact, continue to be terribly annoying and woefully foundationless. Your thoughts, David?
The Royals are 2nd worst in runs scored in the AL after scoring 13 in the last two games. It is as simple as our offense is pathetic. Find anyone who can hit for an average above .200 consistently. We have yet to see nine guys on the field do so. Another disappointing April when we don’t win 10 games again....