I take no joy in saying it, or seeing it - but it's true. Father Time is undefeated and all that....but he's clearly not a top-of-the-order hitter right now, and he probably needs a couple days off as well.
People really didn't like hearing that last season, but I don't think there's any way you can refute it now. Well I guess some people can, but I'd encourage them to vacation in reality for a week just to get a taste of it.
But can we really say he is "washed" though? Yeah he is declining, but he still finished last season with a .270 BA, 40 doubles, 40 stolen bases. Didn't he struggle to start the season last year as well? Don't get me wrong I would much rather see Olivares taking the majority of AB's in RF, but we have to assume Whit is going to get some sort of offense going this season right? If not and he finishes the season similar to how he is starting it then yes, I would say he is "washed" as you say. But for now we have to assume he is going to get it going, right?
Maybe washed is too strong, but this is a trend over multiple seasons as I've written before. He started on fire for four games and then fell off, but really fell off later in the year with a .289 OBP in September. I think we have to assume he's better than this because basically nobody is this bad, but he's showing why he should at the very least get some days off and hit much farther down in the order.
I would be interested in seeing one blue black charts on Mondesi. He hit a couple of hard foul home runs, but other wise he looks totally inept at the plate. Great article David.
I got into an argument about Matheny being a good bullpen manager (I think he is), but what _was_ he trying to accomplish by letting Brentz walk 4 batters in a row? Was he just protecting the bullpen because he knew Sunday's game would go 12 innings? Seriously though, what was he doing?
I’m not 100% convinced they’re well on their way because I’m concerned about the pitching development. I feel better about them than I think most do, but I want to see SOMEONE be able to get whiffs consistently in the rotation. Lynch looks like he’s figured some stuff out, but I’ll need to see it more than twice though I’m hopeful. Still, even if I’m only 75% convinced, I still agree with that.
And if they do start to hit, whether it’s with this group or with some promotions, things could change fast.
Whit is washed.
I take no joy in saying it, or seeing it - but it's true. Father Time is undefeated and all that....but he's clearly not a top-of-the-order hitter right now, and he probably needs a couple days off as well.
People really didn't like hearing that last season, but I don't think there's any way you can refute it now. Well I guess some people can, but I'd encourage them to vacation in reality for a week just to get a taste of it.
But can we really say he is "washed" though? Yeah he is declining, but he still finished last season with a .270 BA, 40 doubles, 40 stolen bases. Didn't he struggle to start the season last year as well? Don't get me wrong I would much rather see Olivares taking the majority of AB's in RF, but we have to assume Whit is going to get some sort of offense going this season right? If not and he finishes the season similar to how he is starting it then yes, I would say he is "washed" as you say. But for now we have to assume he is going to get it going, right?
Maybe washed is too strong, but this is a trend over multiple seasons as I've written before. He started on fire for four games and then fell off, but really fell off later in the year with a .289 OBP in September. I think we have to assume he's better than this because basically nobody is this bad, but he's showing why he should at the very least get some days off and hit much farther down in the order.
I would be interested in seeing one blue black charts on Mondesi. He hit a couple of hard foul home runs, but other wise he looks totally inept at the plate. Great article David.
Shame on you, Paul. You know this is a family newsletter. I'm not putting NSFW content like that up.
I got into an argument about Matheny being a good bullpen manager (I think he is), but what _was_ he trying to accomplish by letting Brentz walk 4 batters in a row? Was he just protecting the bullpen because he knew Sunday's game would go 12 innings? Seriously though, what was he doing?
I think Matheny handles the bullpen well generally too. I don't know what the plan there was. At all.
I liked what you said about defining your expectations. Any reasonable person knows two things:
- The Royals are well on their way to being good.
- But they're at least a year away.
I'm doing my best to enjoy what we have without fretting over the small stuff.
I’m not 100% convinced they’re well on their way because I’m concerned about the pitching development. I feel better about them than I think most do, but I want to see SOMEONE be able to get whiffs consistently in the rotation. Lynch looks like he’s figured some stuff out, but I’ll need to see it more than twice though I’m hopeful. Still, even if I’m only 75% convinced, I still agree with that.
And if they do start to hit, whether it’s with this group or with some promotions, things could change fast.
You wrote exactly what I wanted to hear...Rivera getting the call. I hope they call him up AND they play him.