I’m not saying put Hernandez in the rotation…but the splitter was nasty. The Hernandez we’ve seen this year is a legit big league pitcher. That I’m convinced on…now finding the right way to utilize him is the next step. He looked really good yesterday.
This was one of those games that was a win but didn’t necessarily feel like a win if that makes sense. They won…but they walked 9 guys. Is it a win yes, but I came away thinking…yeah, that’s not sustainable. Does it matter no. Did the guys you want to throw well do pretty well, yeah. It was just a weird game. I felt like SD was going to take control about 5 different innings and somehow they didn’t. I’m sure those numbers will balance out against some other poor team but they sure didn’t yesterday.
I think it's also important when a player is succeeding to know that it might be the usage that's helping him. Matt Duffy, for example, is hitting well, but would he be if he was getting 20 at bats a week? Hard to say. I think letting Hernandez air it out (and not have those four days off in between pitching) probably helps him quite a bit.
And as for the quality of win, it may not feel like a win for the Royals, but it sure felt like a huge loss for the Padres. They need to clean some stuff up for sure, but just like the good results can lead to a good process with a guy like Singer, I think that's true of a team too. Sometimes just getting some wins helps everything.
I recall being unreasonably optimistic about Hernandez (as a starter) before last season began but then reality intervened. There's no telling what his role might be going forward but I'm really really glad to see that he has recovered his velocity! As long as that remains the case it seems that he has a genuine chance to be effective in almost any role.
I thought Hernandez had figured it all out in 2021 and was going to be a legitimate mid-rotation arm. I'm glad he and the whole team have figured out how to get his fastball back and have it play better than it ever had before.
I was right there with you at the end of the 2021 season. We may never know exactly what caused his drop in velocity last year but I'm definitely glad that it appears to be temporary!
I like to read and contribute to the KC Royals Facebook page. There are several posters on there who are just so ridiculous. They're completely ignoring that there's little to no pitching talent in the high minors, and several of them think that Q is just inept and should be fired. Hell, one of them can't even bother to spell his name right ("Quarto").
These people completely ignore that Quatraro came from the organization that invented the "opener" concept and did so to fulfill a need. These people are still hung up on wins and losses this year and must believe that there's just talent everywhere and he's mismanaging it. Some even complain about constant lineup/batting order changes. While they can be a bit annoying, did none of those people ever pay attention to how Joe Maddon managed in Tampa Bay AND Chicago (and Anaheim, to a lesser extent)? I know that Q was part of Kevin Cash's staff and Maddon was long gone, but the point is that utility lineups are probably here to stay.
Sorry--had to vent. Now: Carlos Hernandez has a 1.32 ERA or something like that since he gave up the two-run homer in Anaheim on April 22. He's really found something. And YAY for Pasquatch busting that homer and finally getting that 21st XBH!
I think the vast majority of fans are pretty singularly focused and it's on the big league team. They don't care who's in Omaha. They don't care who isn't in Omaha. They don't care what the Brewers are doing or the Cardinals or the Rockies or anyone else. They care about their big league team and that's it. So they don't have the full picture in place. And through that lens, seeing a team at 14-31 is maybe even more upsetting than having the full context. It just so happens that a lot of them find themselves on Facebook exclusively, so the comments are a disaster.
But anyway, yes, Hernandez has looked outstanding and Vinnie broke out of his slump, so hopefully he can have a big weekend in Chicago.
Thank you for being a voice of reason in that regard. You're a lot more measured. I find myself tempted to comment "do you people actually follow the team?" lol (in full disclosure, I succumbed to that temptation responding to the post trashing Hernandez). :)
All April long I kept telling people that this schedule was absolutely brutal and just wait until May. And look 7-9. Not good. But not historically awful. And our next 9 are against the White Sox, Tigers, and Nationals. A 6-3 or 5-4 stretch and boom, .500 or 1 under. Now we just need to coax some good stretches out of MJ and Witt. They always pop these flashes.
I mentioned earlier this team needs its “Jeremy Guthrie” trade. Not necessarily trading for a mid-rotation arm but getting in someone who seems to give this team the confidence it needs to compete because he was simply competent . That’s what Guthrie did in 2012. I think we need it here. It obviously wasn’t Lyles.
MJ is hitting .309/.371/.509 in May. I think he's gotten hot. Witt needs to get going, though he's been on base multiple times in four of the last five games, I believe.
I agree they need that type, but I do think it probably has to be a mid-rotation arm with the way things are going!
I don't think anything special can happen until the starting pitching gets sorted out, but I do think there are building blocks in place elsewhere on the team at least.
I’m not saying put Hernandez in the rotation…but the splitter was nasty. The Hernandez we’ve seen this year is a legit big league pitcher. That I’m convinced on…now finding the right way to utilize him is the next step. He looked really good yesterday.
This was one of those games that was a win but didn’t necessarily feel like a win if that makes sense. They won…but they walked 9 guys. Is it a win yes, but I came away thinking…yeah, that’s not sustainable. Does it matter no. Did the guys you want to throw well do pretty well, yeah. It was just a weird game. I felt like SD was going to take control about 5 different innings and somehow they didn’t. I’m sure those numbers will balance out against some other poor team but they sure didn’t yesterday.
I think it's also important when a player is succeeding to know that it might be the usage that's helping him. Matt Duffy, for example, is hitting well, but would he be if he was getting 20 at bats a week? Hard to say. I think letting Hernandez air it out (and not have those four days off in between pitching) probably helps him quite a bit.
And as for the quality of win, it may not feel like a win for the Royals, but it sure felt like a huge loss for the Padres. They need to clean some stuff up for sure, but just like the good results can lead to a good process with a guy like Singer, I think that's true of a team too. Sometimes just getting some wins helps everything.
I recall being unreasonably optimistic about Hernandez (as a starter) before last season began but then reality intervened. There's no telling what his role might be going forward but I'm really really glad to see that he has recovered his velocity! As long as that remains the case it seems that he has a genuine chance to be effective in almost any role.
I thought Hernandez had figured it all out in 2021 and was going to be a legitimate mid-rotation arm. I'm glad he and the whole team have figured out how to get his fastball back and have it play better than it ever had before.
I was right there with you at the end of the 2021 season. We may never know exactly what caused his drop in velocity last year but I'm definitely glad that it appears to be temporary!
I like to read and contribute to the KC Royals Facebook page. There are several posters on there who are just so ridiculous. They're completely ignoring that there's little to no pitching talent in the high minors, and several of them think that Q is just inept and should be fired. Hell, one of them can't even bother to spell his name right ("Quarto").
These people completely ignore that Quatraro came from the organization that invented the "opener" concept and did so to fulfill a need. These people are still hung up on wins and losses this year and must believe that there's just talent everywhere and he's mismanaging it. Some even complain about constant lineup/batting order changes. While they can be a bit annoying, did none of those people ever pay attention to how Joe Maddon managed in Tampa Bay AND Chicago (and Anaheim, to a lesser extent)? I know that Q was part of Kevin Cash's staff and Maddon was long gone, but the point is that utility lineups are probably here to stay.
Sorry--had to vent. Now: Carlos Hernandez has a 1.32 ERA or something like that since he gave up the two-run homer in Anaheim on April 22. He's really found something. And YAY for Pasquatch busting that homer and finally getting that 21st XBH!
I think the vast majority of fans are pretty singularly focused and it's on the big league team. They don't care who's in Omaha. They don't care who isn't in Omaha. They don't care what the Brewers are doing or the Cardinals or the Rockies or anyone else. They care about their big league team and that's it. So they don't have the full picture in place. And through that lens, seeing a team at 14-31 is maybe even more upsetting than having the full context. It just so happens that a lot of them find themselves on Facebook exclusively, so the comments are a disaster.
But anyway, yes, Hernandez has looked outstanding and Vinnie broke out of his slump, so hopefully he can have a big weekend in Chicago.
Thank you for being a voice of reason in that regard. You're a lot more measured. I find myself tempted to comment "do you people actually follow the team?" lol (in full disclosure, I succumbed to that temptation responding to the post trashing Hernandez). :)
I scroll through periodically. It's...rough out there. Best to just move on haha.
I am sooo glad I am not on Facebook.
All April long I kept telling people that this schedule was absolutely brutal and just wait until May. And look 7-9. Not good. But not historically awful. And our next 9 are against the White Sox, Tigers, and Nationals. A 6-3 or 5-4 stretch and boom, .500 or 1 under. Now we just need to coax some good stretches out of MJ and Witt. They always pop these flashes.
I mentioned earlier this team needs its “Jeremy Guthrie” trade. Not necessarily trading for a mid-rotation arm but getting in someone who seems to give this team the confidence it needs to compete because he was simply competent . That’s what Guthrie did in 2012. I think we need it here. It obviously wasn’t Lyles.
MJ is hitting .309/.371/.509 in May. I think he's gotten hot. Witt needs to get going, though he's been on base multiple times in four of the last five games, I believe.
I agree they need that type, but I do think it probably has to be a mid-rotation arm with the way things are going!
Thank you for providing good content for this losing team , but think you agree there might? be something special starting here. Lets go Royals
I don't think anything special can happen until the starting pitching gets sorted out, but I do think there are building blocks in place elsewhere on the team at least.
And oh yeah - think we have gotten at least one bad luck game to turn in our favor :)