Thursday, May 1, 2008

Royals Today: 5/1/2008.













Now look at the score when Soria came in:

Leading by four: 3
Leading by three: 2
Leading by two: 1
Leading by one: 3
Tied: 0
Losing by one: 0
Losing by two: 1
Losing by five: 1










Not really.
















Bret LaGree said...

Excellent post, Rany. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Great job. My only complaint with his handling of the staff has been leaving in starters too long on a handful of occasions. Gil was the obvious one recently, but that has happened a couple other times also.

Anonymous said...

And then there was last night.... After a huge rally, he left Yabuta in until he was gassed, and finally gave up a dinger. I know the pen had been used hard the day before, but he was clearly out of steam. You'd think he could've asked someone to come in for a short stint.

In spite of that, we mounted a ninth inning rally, and were clearly getting to Wilson (a lefty), only to watch Pena, and Gathright (a lefty) end the game. Of course it might have been a little easier to watch if he had sent Callaspo (switch) to bat for Pena, and possibly Olivo (righty) to bat for Gathright. If either of them reach you are in the heart of the order with fighting chance. Pitiful.

The way that game was going with the wind, the Ranger's defense, and the strikezone, there was still a strong chance for a comeback.

Despite my griping, I love the Royals, enjoy your blog, and pray that our manager learns a little strategy.

Anonymous said...

Leaving Yabuta in last night was a guaranteed rally killer. I had to make up new swear words to direct at Mr. Hillman. ANYBODY but Yabuta in that situation. We might have seen a very dramatic comeback executed. I could weep.

Unknown said...

I was griping about Soria coming in with a four run lead the other night the minute I saw him run in from the bullpen. While I do not question your stats or your conclusion that it hasn't hurt us, I still don't think that it warrants us sticking him in that game when we don't have an off day for a while. We didn't know what was to happen the next few days and I'd rather have him ready if he has to show up in four straight games rather than stick him in a game with a four run lead.

Last night would have been one of those times where we could've used him when the game was more on the line considering the wind and the Rangers bullpen. As it turns out it made a huge difference.

Hillman's not pinch hitting for Pena right after Buck hits a 2 run HR with only one out in the ninth is beyond inexcusable. That is the blueprint situation for when you pinch hit for Pena. I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Especially after Pena had already gotten his allotted total of hits for the week earlier in the night.

I'm by no means ready to give up on Hillman but some of his decisions or lack thereof have been bad to put it mildly.

Anonymous said...

Good premise, wrong approach, Rany.

Yes, it's OK to question the use of Soria, but the question should be WHY ISN'T HE IN THE ROTATION?

Given the glaring weakness that is the Royals offense, conventional wisdom about needing only 2-3 good pitchers goes OUT THE WINDOW.

Until GMDM fixes the offense, this team needs it's best 5 arms in the rotation, bullpen be damned.

That should be Bannister, Greinke, Meche, Soria, and perhaps Nunez instead of Hochevar. (The latter remains open for debate).

MoreHRsAndLesNorman said...

rany--do you take requests?

how about a post that tells us just how miserable it is to have tony pena and joey gathright batting consecutively in the lineup? i'm throwing plenty of stuff at the tv over this issue (especially TPJ), but i'd like to see the numbers.

Anonymous said...

"That’s the only blown save or loss the Royals’ bullpen has accepted all season."

--Didn't Nunez blow a save against Toronto but end up with the win after we rallied in the bottom of the 8th. That was when Gordon was the 1st and 2nd out of the inning, I think.

royalsfanatic said...

Is there a way to show TPJ's "leverage" getting a single AB after the 6th inning in a game KC is losing!??!

Rany said...

Anonymous @ 4:05: fixed. Yeah, Nunez blew a save opportunity, and Tomko blew one on Opening Day, which I always overlook because he's not really a reliever. (He's not really a starter either...)

Phil Evans said...

Hillman's worst bullpen management so far? April 15th against the Mariners- not only letting Nomo pitch in a tie game, but letting him come back to start a second inning, throwing away a game that the Royals had tied up with a three spot in the fourth inning. I remember watching that game and wondering at what point Hillman would notice that Nomo couldn't get anyone out.

Here's a question:

Has there been a study done on the effect of too much rest on closers? We're always told that closers have to pitch in the occasional non-save situation to keep their edge. Is there any evidence that this is true?

Anonymous said...

Rany -- your opinion on Soria's long term role: Closer or Starter?

He's got an array of pitches and commands them all, something most relievers and closers don't have.

Anonymous said...

Remember when closers were called firemen? I wish managers--especially the Royals manager--would go back to using them this way.

Why couldn't Soria start coming in to get the last out in the 7th or early in the 8th innings? If he throws too many pitches, the manager could go back to the conventional way and use one of his setup men as one inning closers.

I don't recall Dan Quisenberry, Bruce Sutter, Rollie Fingers, or "Goose" Gossage suffering too much from throwing 100+ innings out of the pen.

This usage pattern would truly make the closer as valuable as a #3 starter.

Brian S.

Anonymous said...

Rany, I'm surprised you didn't dedicate any space in your column talking about Greinke's first high strikeout game of the season.

This guy is going to have a monster season. I have to say though, when he's on the mound he has a total lack of emotion and almost a non-chalant or cavalier attitude. And I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Obviously, it's good so far but it worries me a little.