Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Check this out!

From the spring training game vs. the Dodgers on March 24 - Joey Gathright jumps OVER the pitcher:

Monday, March 24, 2008

Hochevar optioned to AAA; Tomko the number five?

Remember that commercial a few years back with Mike Vick (you know, before he tortured dogs)? The one where the fan goes on the ride called the “Michael Vick Experience”? Well, the Brett Tomko Experience commercial would be similar to that, but instead of the average fan getting the thrill of a lifetime – it’s the opposing hitters who will likely have all the fun on this ride.

Tomko has always had pretty good stuff, and I used to expect him to break out every year; taking him in the late rounds of various fantasy leagues as a sleeper candidate. Well, it never really happened. His first couple of years with the Reds were pretty solid, and then he had another good year six years later with the Giants. But all his success (and lack thereof) has come in the National League, where pitchers generally put up better numbers anyway. In the American League, I don’t expect him impress. He has done a short stint in the AL (two years with Seattle), but only pitched 120 or so innings in those two seasons, putting up an ERA of 4.68 in 92 innings and following that up with a 5.19 ERA in about 35 innings the following year.

And this guy is competing for a spot in Kansas City’s starting rotation?

Well, Luke Hochevar just got optioned to Omaha to work on some delivery issues, so I’m guessing Tomko is the guy who will take that final spot in the rotation. It looks as if John Bale will be the number four guy (don’t know how excited I am about that, either) and Tomko will be the number five. I can’t imagine it will last. I can’t imagine they’ll let Hochevar strike out AAA hitters all season while Tomko is up here in KC allowing seven runs in five innings.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for having some veteran guys in the clubhouse, even the guys who are there just to act as good “clubhouse guys”. But can’t we stick those kind of guys in the bullpen? Or have them play a utility role? Do they have to play everyday or be in the starting rotation?

I’m betting that Hochevar will be up in KC no later than mid-May or early June. I mean, he did have a good spring; going eight innings and allowing only seven hits and two runs (as well as going 2 2/3 scoreless innings in a “B” game and throwing four scoreless innings in a minor league game).

Hopefully there are just a couple of things for Hochevar to work on, and the ride will be over soon…but, for the time being, welcome to the Brett Tomko Experience…

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Spring Training Stats and Notes (position players)....

Just a quick update on how some of the guys are performing in Surprise:

David DeJesus: The new approach to leadoff hitting seems to be working....so far David is hitting .412 through 17 at bats, and also has 8 walks (for an OBP of .600).

Alex Gordon: He's off to a decent start...nothing flashy, but very solid. He's 7-for-23 for a .304 average, has five RBI and a stolen base. No homers yet.

Billy Butler: Billy's hot with the bat, but then, nobody ever questioned his ability to hit. He's 12-for-30 so far (a .400 average). He's also smacked two homers and has seven RBI.

Other notes:

Justin Huber is hot so far, and is trying to play himself onto this roster. This is a guy who, in my opinion, has probably been mishandled by the Royals...getting called up to sit the bench, being moved around to different positions, etc. He's been a hot prospect for too long now, and we need to see if Huber can play or not. He's 6-for-12 this spring with five RBI, a steal and two walks.

New addition (and second baseman of the future?) Alberto Callaspo is also hitting well, going 9-for-24 so far. He's got a home run, three RBI, two walks, and has scored four runs as well. I'd look for Callaspo to be a super utility guy for most of this year, and for him to take over the full-time duties at second when the Royals move Grudz to a contender this year.

Overall, it looks like like our core group of young hitters are performing pretty well. If we get big years from Gordon, Butler and DeJesus (along with guys like Guillen, Teahen, Gload, etc.) we should be in much better shape this year as far as scoring some runs.

My ideal lineup at this point:

CF - DeJesus
LF - Teahen
RF - Guillen
DH - Butler
3B - Gordon
1B - Gload/Shealy
2B - Grudz
C - Buck/Olivo
SS - Pena

Whether they all hit or not, they should at least be a pretty solid defensive team.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Greinke Update

As promised...here is a little update on Greinke's outing yesterday.

He didn't quite make the five innings the Royals had talked about, going three instead. He had a rough second inning; giving up three runs, which he also did in his first outing. However, according to what I heard from Zack on the radio postgame show, he was a little happier with his performance this time around, saying that Arizona hit some good pitches, but pointing out that he broke some of their bats.

Greinke admitted that his fastball was looking good, but that he was a little behind schedule on his off-speed stuff, which allowed the D-Backs to sit on the fastball.

He also had some of his usual great quotes. When asked about spring training, he wasn't afraid to come right out and say, "I don't really like it." Also, according to the radio guys, they overheard Zack doing another interview, where he said that spring training "is a bunch of bull."

Whether he has a good outing or not (and honestly, it's the Cactus League, so who cares?), he's always good for a laugh after the game.

My guess: Greinke is working on some specific things and isn't just taking the mound with the intetion of pitching his best game. Don't pay too much attention to his stats...we all know he's got the stuff to be an ace in this league. I'll pay a little more attention to the last couple of spring appearances, and not really worry about him until the real games start.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

New approach to leadoff hitting?

According to an article in the KC Star, the Royals (and more specifically - David DeJesus) are placing an emphasis on getting on base. Wow. Really? That's important to a leadoff batter? I had no idea.......

Below is a sample of the article - for the full write-up, click HERE.

Royals’ DeJesus trying new approach to leadoff duty
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star


S URPRISE, Ariz. One of the many lessons under way here at Camp DoItRight is a remedial course in batting leadoff. Instructor Quilvio Veras has one pupil.

David DeJesus.

For years, DeJesus saw little significance to batting first in the lineup. Sure, it meant a few more at-bats over a season. But, really, he took the same approach as he would on those less-frequent occasions when he batted elsewhere in the lineup.

“I was just trying to have good at-bats,” he said. “That’s all I was thinking about: Have a good at-bat.”

This is the American League, after all. Land of the designated hitter. Pitchers just pitch. The leadoff hitter simply has the first seat on the lineup merry-go-round, right?

No.

Listen to Veras, and it’s a more emphatic NO!

“Everything has got to be different for a leadoff hitter,” argues Veras, a roving coach for the Royals who spent most of his seven big-league seasons in the role. “For me, the leadoff hitter is the key to the game. If he’s not getting on, then we’re not scoring runs.

“If he gets on base, the big guys drive him in. You score runs, you win games.”


And we're just now teaching this?? After reading that article, I'd just like to give special thanks to Allard Baird and Buddy Bell for apparently doing all they could to stunt the development of the players in our organization. Thankfully, the new regime seems to know what they're doing.

In all seriousness, I don't think it's going to take much of an adjustment for DDJ to improve on this aspect of his game. His career OBP is .358, and if he can get back up towards his mark of .364 (in the 2006 season), he's moving in the right direction. Ideally, I'd like to see him at .370 or better over 500 plus at bats. I don't think it's too much of a stretch for a guy who already shows a lot of patience at the plate.


On a side note - we have KC (Greinke) vs. ARI (Haren) on the schedule today - will post with some Zack Greinke news tomorrow. Just heard on the radio that they may let him go five innings if he's doing well with his pitch count.

Blog Change - No longer "Diary of a Madfan"

Decided to change the name and address of my blog....we're now called "The Hot Corner".

Been a while since I've blogged anything, and thought I'd go with a fresh start with my renewed dedication to the blog.

Hopefully you guys will continue reading and will enjoy my observations on the Royals.