They did win two of the three games I wrote about. Taking two of three on the road and pitching well against them when they had just hit 13 homers in 3 games is pretty solid. I know that the bright side can often be relative, but there is a lot to be very happy about from the weekend.
I am with you on the usage of Yarbrough, but you didn't mention the throw from left field by Eaton. He was in for defense and just an average throw would have gotten them out of the eighth. Who knows what would have happened in the ninth under different circumstances. All in all, a good weekend though.
I didn’t mention the throw because I don’t think he should be crucified for it. That throw was way more difficult than it seemed because of the angle and I think he assumed a fast runner was much closer to the plate than he was. By the time he had started the throw, if he had adjusted, he would have been WAY late on it. My opinion, and you may disagree, is that it was more difficult than it looked.
Oh, there's no might about it. And I wish he had made it. But I also don't think it should have been assumed that he would have made that play, even though he was in there specifically for defense. It's not like he pinch ran and got picked off immediately or something like that.
Whew, ok. A very good weekend for the royals makes everything better. Not so much that they won a couple games. More so because the pitching is looking much improved and the defense wasn’t atrocious this weekend. It looked like a way the Rays would win. I can work with that blue print. I can believe a little more in Bubic with every start I see now. The numbers you put up are showing pitching improvement which is all we can ask for. The product was rough to begin with but progress is being made.
I am VERY hesitant to even dive into this, but they’re ranked as the second-best defense by the Fangraphs metric. The sample is WAY too small, but that’s encouraging.
I’m not even sure how to respond to that statement. Lol. I will admit I don’t know enough about the defensive advanced metrics. But I trust my eyes…and they tell me prior to before this series they were awful. I can vividly remember, Witt missed throw at third on runner in front of him, Witt bounced a sure double play ball, Melendez not catching a pop up, Eaton jogging in on a ball in center…and that was just the first 6 games or so. So either, it’s just that the royals have only been “credited” with 1 error…..or other teams are terrible too….IDK. That’s a crazy stat you just provided.
I imagine there's something to the degree of difficulty on things and popups for catchers are likely graded as difficult. I honestly don't know. But they're also at +5 DRS and +4 OAA.
Oh, I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s also something major league catchers catch. Maybe it’s just seeing what I want to see with with Witt and Melendez on the defensive side so those stand out to me. I want Melendez the corner outfield spot and Witt at 3rd….so it may very well just be that. But the +5 DRS and +4 OAA are encouraging….no question about that.
I think Witt has made two mistakes defensively. The throw to third was indecision that led to a bad throw. The throw to first was rushing when it wasn't necessary. The encouraging thing is both those things are teachable moments. MJ on the popup, I actually think was more Vinnie's fault. He should have called him off for sure. Doesn't make it better that MJ dropped it, but I think that's important context. I'm going to keep an eye on this, though, because I also was surprised by the numbers.
Melendez missing that popup with mask still in hand I thought would have been an error. And Yeah, eaton jogging was just weird. I think they have snapped out of lalaland though and I truly believe Witt will be a good shortstop once he gets a lot of reps
Thanks for the article, the visuals and table were on point.
While I believe Yarbrough has done well and is a good acquisition to round out pitching, I was surprised they didn't pull him on that mound visit Sunday. I think that was one of those times where the situation trumps the metrics and call in Barlow for the sweep- but even great managers make mistakes, can't fault a first time bench coach for sticking with metrics. Yarbs just looked out of sorts and what a strange outing - came in twice for Hernandez, two pick attempts, broken bat that almost reached third, fan threw ball on field, pitch clock violation - bizarre. Not sure why he is getting so much hate on the other site tho, his other outings were good and its hard to win a game with just one run.
Last night was a bummer as probably our best matchup with rangers, but, despite my concerns for his arm, it was fun to watch Eaton pitch.
Two questions: who is coming up for Coleman? How long until other teams figure out our new pitches and we have a "regression to mean"?
I absolutely loved the way Bubic pitched on Sunday. I absolutely hate seeing another "Joe Blow pitched well in a loss" article.
But that's exactly what happened. What else ya gonna do?
They did win two of the three games I wrote about. Taking two of three on the road and pitching well against them when they had just hit 13 homers in 3 games is pretty solid. I know that the bright side can often be relative, but there is a lot to be very happy about from the weekend.
I am with you on the usage of Yarbrough, but you didn't mention the throw from left field by Eaton. He was in for defense and just an average throw would have gotten them out of the eighth. Who knows what would have happened in the ninth under different circumstances. All in all, a good weekend though.
I didn’t mention the throw because I don’t think he should be crucified for it. That throw was way more difficult than it seemed because of the angle and I think he assumed a fast runner was much closer to the plate than he was. By the time he had started the throw, if he had adjusted, he would have been WAY late on it. My opinion, and you may disagree, is that it was more difficult than it looked.
It definitely wasn't easy, but if made, might have totally changed the game.
Oh, there's no might about it. And I wish he had made it. But I also don't think it should have been assumed that he would have made that play, even though he was in there specifically for defense. It's not like he pinch ran and got picked off immediately or something like that.
Eaton did have two great throws to keep Johnson on first prior, but y that would have been clutch
Whew, ok. A very good weekend for the royals makes everything better. Not so much that they won a couple games. More so because the pitching is looking much improved and the defense wasn’t atrocious this weekend. It looked like a way the Rays would win. I can work with that blue print. I can believe a little more in Bubic with every start I see now. The numbers you put up are showing pitching improvement which is all we can ask for. The product was rough to begin with but progress is being made.
I am VERY hesitant to even dive into this, but they’re ranked as the second-best defense by the Fangraphs metric. The sample is WAY too small, but that’s encouraging.
I’m not even sure how to respond to that statement. Lol. I will admit I don’t know enough about the defensive advanced metrics. But I trust my eyes…and they tell me prior to before this series they were awful. I can vividly remember, Witt missed throw at third on runner in front of him, Witt bounced a sure double play ball, Melendez not catching a pop up, Eaton jogging in on a ball in center…and that was just the first 6 games or so. So either, it’s just that the royals have only been “credited” with 1 error…..or other teams are terrible too….IDK. That’s a crazy stat you just provided.
I imagine there's something to the degree of difficulty on things and popups for catchers are likely graded as difficult. I honestly don't know. But they're also at +5 DRS and +4 OAA.
Oh, I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s also something major league catchers catch. Maybe it’s just seeing what I want to see with with Witt and Melendez on the defensive side so those stand out to me. I want Melendez the corner outfield spot and Witt at 3rd….so it may very well just be that. But the +5 DRS and +4 OAA are encouraging….no question about that.
I think Witt has made two mistakes defensively. The throw to third was indecision that led to a bad throw. The throw to first was rushing when it wasn't necessary. The encouraging thing is both those things are teachable moments. MJ on the popup, I actually think was more Vinnie's fault. He should have called him off for sure. Doesn't make it better that MJ dropped it, but I think that's important context. I'm going to keep an eye on this, though, because I also was surprised by the numbers.
Melendez missing that popup with mask still in hand I thought would have been an error. And Yeah, eaton jogging was just weird. I think they have snapped out of lalaland though and I truly believe Witt will be a good shortstop once he gets a lot of reps
Just started reading but wanted to say I think you nailed it in your last article when you said they needed to get away from Kauffman
I felt pretty confident that would be the case. I was a little relieved to be proven right so quickly haha.
Thanks for the article, the visuals and table were on point.
While I believe Yarbrough has done well and is a good acquisition to round out pitching, I was surprised they didn't pull him on that mound visit Sunday. I think that was one of those times where the situation trumps the metrics and call in Barlow for the sweep- but even great managers make mistakes, can't fault a first time bench coach for sticking with metrics. Yarbs just looked out of sorts and what a strange outing - came in twice for Hernandez, two pick attempts, broken bat that almost reached third, fan threw ball on field, pitch clock violation - bizarre. Not sure why he is getting so much hate on the other site tho, his other outings were good and its hard to win a game with just one run.
Last night was a bummer as probably our best matchup with rangers, but, despite my concerns for his arm, it was fun to watch Eaton pitch.
Two questions: who is coming up for Coleman? How long until other teams figure out our new pitches and we have a "regression to mean"?