Cag is hitting the ball out of the park in Arkansas! He should be hitting balls into the fountains at the K and be the starting DH and taking outfield practice every day!!! It is time for the Royals to say goodbye to Renfroe!!!
David, I have coached athletics since 1971 from major college athletics with 5 All-American track athletes and one 1984 Olympian to my son’s soccer team when he was five years old! I never once did not put my best players on the field to start the game! Every time I see a game like last Saturday where the Royals “offense” is basically zero, I think the Royals are NOT putting their best on the field! I do not want them to miss the playoffs by one game this coming October!
I don’t even really care about the offense at this point. They will get some of that figured out. I can’t be more stoked about the pitching. Now, a lot of this is still health. But if Bubic can be 85% of what he has been I think the starting rotation is going to be better than last year. I actually like Lorenzen at the 5. Sounds like Marsh had a setback, so that hurts a little. But Harvey makes a huge difference in the bullpen to start. He’s exactly what I was hoping he would be last year. They are just more talented. Injuries will and can happen at any point of course, but man, they can pitch. The bottom of the bullpen will get figured out. I expect this from every bullpen, every year really. It might even take half the year to figure out the bottom of the bullpen, but if the top can stay healthy. They will win the division if they can just average 4 runs a game.
I'm generally with you on the offense. As I've said before, Witt goes, the offense goes. He has multi-hit games in two games. They're 2-0 in those games. They only scored four yesterday, but they were hitting the ball all over the field. Just some bad sequencing. It'll get better when Vinnie and Salvy start going too because you know they're going to. Even if you don't believe either is star level, they're better than they have been.
The pitching is what allows them to find themselves, you're right. The rotation definitely could be better than last year, though that will still be tough because of how good they were last year. But the bullpen is light years better. I'm with you that the bottom of the bullpen isn't all that concerning. They lost on Saturday and that part blew up a bit, but they weren't winning that game. There's value in eating innings that the top of the bullpen doesn't need to throw. I'd prefer to have eight guys you can trust at any moment, but I'm not sure any team has that. Okay, maybe the Dodgers.
To your point. I like Long and and Stratton….but I don’t care if that makes sense. Someone still has to get the innings in a 6 run game. Now, you’d like to get all 13 guys in the bullpen going at the same time but that never happens. Lol. We won’t even be talking about Long and Stratton in a month if it continues. But that doesn’t mean who they call up will be any better. But it also doesn’t matter if Harvey, Erceg, and Esteven do there jobs.
I will say that I'd like to see Q make a bit of an adjustment in how he handles small deficits. I think the lack of impact arms last season made a 2-0 deficit, for example, one that he would go to the "B" bullpen more often because the "A" bullpen was pretty small, at least early. Every lead was too important to protect, so any deficit wasn't white flag time necessarily, but it was a chance to get the big guns a day off. They have at least three "A" relievers and maybe four with Lynch now. If Zerpa can get back on track, that's five. If Schreiber can be what he was for the start and end of 2024, that's even six. You don't have to save those guys because there are enough that if one isn't available tomorrow, you have others.
Yes, that Cleveland series was kind of ugly, but also if they finish the comeback on Opening day instead of the multi-TOOTBLAN I think we see it VERY differently. Let's get those Twinkies!
I went on Locked On Twins last night and talked myself in circles wondering if I'd be taking vacation days in October already if they had won the two extra inning games and were 6-3. I don't think they're in a bad spot at all. It's as big a week as you can have in April coming up, though. Get through this at 5-2 and I might be submitting that vacation. Go 2-5 and it'll be a tough but not insurmountable hole. Should be a fun, stressful week!
They will have a 8 game winning streak somewhere. I can see a couple decent winning streaks with the pitching. I’m sure they will have a 5 game losing streak as well but I struggle to a backbreaking 10 gamer. You stay around .500, wait for the good streaks, just put in the days. Will it into existence.
He had an injection late last week I think and they were going to evaluate in 3-5 days. I don't believe they have evaluated yet, but I'd guess that'll come today or tomorrow, so maybe some news soon, but nothing new yet.
Postgame of Bubics previous start, Salvy laughingly said (paraphrase) he kept calling 4seamers becuase they kept getting whiffs. Just letting it ride and having a little fun before mixing in changeups more I guess. While obviously the majority of the credit goes to these pitchers, I have to wonder how much of an impact Salvys wisdom and experience has had on their success.
Love that they took the series against the birds. Had Orioles broadcasters on and they had lots of praise for Bobby when he wasn't making them groan. I think all of the runs yesterday came on two outs. Probably going to be a stressful year.
I think Salvy does play a role, but I've had my issues with his game calling in the past. I wonder if maybe it was more the bench and not him because I don't remember getting frustrated since Q and Sweeney have been there... Guess it makes sense that it might have been the old regime I had the gripe with.
I thought the Gordon acquisition was interesting. Do you have any thoughts on if this is viewed as more depth or if he gets a shot over the other OFers we have in the minors?
I honestly don't see much behind it other than that they like to have veterans in AAA. He can play everywhere and the guy they had before (Tolbert) who could do that is now in the big leagues. I think it might mean they're concerned about how long Blanco might be out. At this point, I think I'll be a little surprised if Gordon gets a shot, but they clearly don't think much of the group they have down there right now, so you never know.
That makes sense, I was listening to Royals Rundown this morning and it looks like Tolbert is doing pretty well. This could solidify that. Good insight as always, David!
David, why do the Royals keep trotting out Renfroe , Melendez, and Isbel none of those 3 can hit & Renfroe & Melendez are very questionable outfielders at best-they need to get rid of Renfroe & Melendez and let Isbel play when they need good defense
They spent the offseason getting rebuffed by free agents and by other teams in trade proposals. They clearly know it's an issue. They're going to mix and match until they're able to upgrade, whether it's from within or via the trade market, but that doesn't happen on April 7, so unfortunately by not being more aggressive and going outside their comfort zone, this is what it is for the timebeing, but let's not pretend like they think everything is fine.
David, there are some guys in the minors that they could call up!! Last night vs. the Yankees the last 7 in the lineup were hitting.200 or below-you mean to tell me that is acceptable-Pasquentoning &Perez have been terrible in producing runs !!! Why not let India play second, Garcia at third, Rave or somebody in left, Canha in right, Salvy catching(very questionable) and Massey DH(very questionable) Renfroe DFA & send Melendez down to Omaha???
Cag is hitting the ball out of the park in Arkansas! He should be hitting balls into the fountains at the K and be the starting DH and taking outfield practice every day!!! It is time for the Royals to say goodbye to Renfroe!!!
I really love the passion for Cags, but I think we all know your stance on it. He'll be up at some point, maybe sooner than later if he keeps this up.
David, I have coached athletics since 1971 from major college athletics with 5 All-American track athletes and one 1984 Olympian to my son’s soccer team when he was five years old! I never once did not put my best players on the field to start the game! Every time I see a game like last Saturday where the Royals “offense” is basically zero, I think the Royals are NOT putting their best on the field! I do not want them to miss the playoffs by one game this coming October!
I understand all of that. We've been through it so many times, I just don't know if we need to continue to go through it nearly every day.
I think this horse is dead and buried by now.
I don’t even really care about the offense at this point. They will get some of that figured out. I can’t be more stoked about the pitching. Now, a lot of this is still health. But if Bubic can be 85% of what he has been I think the starting rotation is going to be better than last year. I actually like Lorenzen at the 5. Sounds like Marsh had a setback, so that hurts a little. But Harvey makes a huge difference in the bullpen to start. He’s exactly what I was hoping he would be last year. They are just more talented. Injuries will and can happen at any point of course, but man, they can pitch. The bottom of the bullpen will get figured out. I expect this from every bullpen, every year really. It might even take half the year to figure out the bottom of the bullpen, but if the top can stay healthy. They will win the division if they can just average 4 runs a game.
I'm generally with you on the offense. As I've said before, Witt goes, the offense goes. He has multi-hit games in two games. They're 2-0 in those games. They only scored four yesterday, but they were hitting the ball all over the field. Just some bad sequencing. It'll get better when Vinnie and Salvy start going too because you know they're going to. Even if you don't believe either is star level, they're better than they have been.
The pitching is what allows them to find themselves, you're right. The rotation definitely could be better than last year, though that will still be tough because of how good they were last year. But the bullpen is light years better. I'm with you that the bottom of the bullpen isn't all that concerning. They lost on Saturday and that part blew up a bit, but they weren't winning that game. There's value in eating innings that the top of the bullpen doesn't need to throw. I'd prefer to have eight guys you can trust at any moment, but I'm not sure any team has that. Okay, maybe the Dodgers.
To your point. I like Long and and Stratton….but I don’t care if that makes sense. Someone still has to get the innings in a 6 run game. Now, you’d like to get all 13 guys in the bullpen going at the same time but that never happens. Lol. We won’t even be talking about Long and Stratton in a month if it continues. But that doesn’t mean who they call up will be any better. But it also doesn’t matter if Harvey, Erceg, and Esteven do there jobs.
I will say that I'd like to see Q make a bit of an adjustment in how he handles small deficits. I think the lack of impact arms last season made a 2-0 deficit, for example, one that he would go to the "B" bullpen more often because the "A" bullpen was pretty small, at least early. Every lead was too important to protect, so any deficit wasn't white flag time necessarily, but it was a chance to get the big guns a day off. They have at least three "A" relievers and maybe four with Lynch now. If Zerpa can get back on track, that's five. If Schreiber can be what he was for the start and end of 2024, that's even six. You don't have to save those guys because there are enough that if one isn't available tomorrow, you have others.
Yes, that Cleveland series was kind of ugly, but also if they finish the comeback on Opening day instead of the multi-TOOTBLAN I think we see it VERY differently. Let's get those Twinkies!
I went on Locked On Twins last night and talked myself in circles wondering if I'd be taking vacation days in October already if they had won the two extra inning games and were 6-3. I don't think they're in a bad spot at all. It's as big a week as you can have in April coming up, though. Get through this at 5-2 and I might be submitting that vacation. Go 2-5 and it'll be a tough but not insurmountable hole. Should be a fun, stressful week!
Just submit it David.
They will have a 8 game winning streak somewhere. I can see a couple decent winning streaks with the pitching. I’m sure they will have a 5 game losing streak as well but I struggle to a backbreaking 10 gamer. You stay around .500, wait for the good streaks, just put in the days. Will it into existence.
Oh they 100% will. They scored like six runs per game for six weeks last year. The offense will hit. They’ll pitch. This is a good team.
Hi David. Thanks for the article.
Any news on Blanco’s injury? Thanks!
He had an injection late last week I think and they were going to evaluate in 3-5 days. I don't believe they have evaluated yet, but I'd guess that'll come today or tomorrow, so maybe some news soon, but nothing new yet.
Thanks!
Postgame of Bubics previous start, Salvy laughingly said (paraphrase) he kept calling 4seamers becuase they kept getting whiffs. Just letting it ride and having a little fun before mixing in changeups more I guess. While obviously the majority of the credit goes to these pitchers, I have to wonder how much of an impact Salvys wisdom and experience has had on their success.
Love that they took the series against the birds. Had Orioles broadcasters on and they had lots of praise for Bobby when he wasn't making them groan. I think all of the runs yesterday came on two outs. Probably going to be a stressful year.
I think Salvy does play a role, but I've had my issues with his game calling in the past. I wonder if maybe it was more the bench and not him because I don't remember getting frustrated since Q and Sweeney have been there... Guess it makes sense that it might have been the old regime I had the gripe with.
I thought the Gordon acquisition was interesting. Do you have any thoughts on if this is viewed as more depth or if he gets a shot over the other OFers we have in the minors?
I honestly don't see much behind it other than that they like to have veterans in AAA. He can play everywhere and the guy they had before (Tolbert) who could do that is now in the big leagues. I think it might mean they're concerned about how long Blanco might be out. At this point, I think I'll be a little surprised if Gordon gets a shot, but they clearly don't think much of the group they have down there right now, so you never know.
That makes sense, I was listening to Royals Rundown this morning and it looks like Tolbert is doing pretty well. This could solidify that. Good insight as always, David!
He's doing the job of pinch runner incredibly well. I think there's a little in his bat, but Blanco is definitely a better hitter.
David, why do the Royals keep trotting out Renfroe , Melendez, and Isbel none of those 3 can hit & Renfroe & Melendez are very questionable outfielders at best-they need to get rid of Renfroe & Melendez and let Isbel play when they need good defense
They spent the offseason getting rebuffed by free agents and by other teams in trade proposals. They clearly know it's an issue. They're going to mix and match until they're able to upgrade, whether it's from within or via the trade market, but that doesn't happen on April 7, so unfortunately by not being more aggressive and going outside their comfort zone, this is what it is for the timebeing, but let's not pretend like they think everything is fine.
That is the problem not everything is fine and they are not doing anything to fix it that I can see
Why don’t they be aggressive & go outside their comfort zone-they need to do something and the quicker the better
That ship has sailed for the time being. Nobody is trading yet. I would anticipate they’ll be active at the deadline again.
David, there are some guys in the minors that they could call up!! Last night vs. the Yankees the last 7 in the lineup were hitting.200 or below-you mean to tell me that is acceptable-Pasquentoning &Perez have been terrible in producing runs !!! Why not let India play second, Garcia at third, Rave or somebody in left, Canha in right, Salvy catching(very questionable) and Massey DH(very questionable) Renfroe DFA & send Melendez down to Omaha???