O "O", Where Art Thou?

Well we certainly had an active week with the comments on the blog. I thought there was some healthy, active debate. Things got a little heated there for a while, but that is bound to happen with passionate sports fans. I really don’t see a problem with it, I say keep it up guys. I think we all understand there are topics that people will agree/disagree on. I think people also know that when they make certain bold comments, that they should be prepared for a wide array of responses. This is something that is bound to happen on an internet message board. I say no harm, no foul. Moving on…

Well, the Royals have finally dropped out of first place. It was a good run. We went 2-4 on the week. Three losses go to the inept offense and one loss goes to Ponson (though he pitched great in yesterday’s loss). The wins were purely the result of Zack Greinke* and Brian Bannister.

*Speaking of Greinke, he has been absolutely perfect. I am pretty upset Aviles ruined his scoreless streak with that awful throw on Friday night. We haven’t seen a Royals pitcher off to such a dominating start since FatElyves Hernandez in 2003. Let’s hope for a different final outcome.

I honestly think we’ll be back in first place at some point this year. I would say that it depends on one major component of the game: HITTING. Our offense is frustrating. If Detroit’s rotation is going to buzz saw through our lineup then this could be a long season. I think the loss of Alex Gordon for 2-3 months is a lot bigger than people think. I’ve seen people saying its not that big of a deal because Gordon wasn’t hitting well anyway. That is dumb. I don’t care if he didn’t have good numbers through his first 20 AB’s. He made huge strides last year and had an OPS+ of 110 - that is stellar for a 2nd year player. People just expected him to put up stupid numbers because that is what we were told he would do. Well, the guy can’t just put on his uniform and then automatically give you .310/35/110. Any way, I never really got to touch on his injury because I was too distracted by our ineptitude at manager. So there is my opinion: this Gordon injury could cost us the division. That sucks because all off-season we’ve been saying that we need Butler and Gordon to make the “leap” this year. We talked about all the hypothetical’s for the season, but the threat of injuries are always ignored and taken for granted by fans. We really need someone to step up and fill his shoes. Honestly, when I say someone, I really mean Mark Teahen. Or Billy Butler.

Here is my breakdown of the offensive (literally) lineup so far this year.

MVP:
Coco Crisp - This guys has been amazing so far this year. He is looking like he might have a career year in his debut season with the Royals. Forget batting average (very overrated stat in baseball), he is drawing more walks than K’s (14 vs. 10) and plugging gaps regularly for extra base hits. Simply, I’m in love with Covelli right now. If he keeps it up we will gladly take his 8.5M option for next year.

Solid Performers:
Mark Teahen - He is hitting the ball to LF again and not forcing himself to be a pull hitter like past hitting coaches demanded. He is getting on base at a good clip and showing decent pop as well. Both of his HR’s were to opposite field, so thank you Kevin Seitzer for letting Teahen hit the way he knows how to.
Alberto Callaspo - This guy can rake. I love watching him at the plate. He rarely misses. He doesn’t take a ton of walks, but his contact ability is off the charts. He needs to be hitting in the 2 hole every day while he maintains this hot streak.
Mike Jacobs - His OPS is solid right now, thanks to 4 HR and 4 2B. He has shown surprising plate discipline. Yes, he has struck out 18 times, but he does have 5 walks (on pace to surpass last year’s totals) and has been doing a GREAT job of working counts. At some point last week, he was top 5 in the AL in Pitches per Plate Appearance. That will not last, but it is a great sign. Everyone and JoPo’s mom has been calling Jacobs a “mistake” hitter, which means he makes his living by punishing pitchers when they miss there location. Since this is the case, its obvious why you want him to see as many pitches as possible. If Jacobs works a count full and fouls a couple off before striking out, that honestly is still a decent at bat. It wears down the pitcher and increases his chances of getting that “mistake” pitch. Keep it up, Mike.

Showing Signs of Life:
Billy Butler - he got off to a gawd awful start, but has recently been taking walks. He is 2nd on the team in walks (10) behind Coco and has been really working the counts lately. The problem with Billy right now, is that he is not driving the ball worth a gosh darn (PG words for Hillman fans). He has 3 doubles. That is it for extra base hits. That gives Billy Ray a miserable SLUG right now. Can’t have that. His svelte figure is not conducive for being a table setter. He needs to be driving Callaspo and Crisp around the base paths. I hope he finds his stroke and starts plugging gaps. I’ve seen encouraging developments, now I’m waiting for the results.
David Dejesus - This guy is going to hit, its what he does. He does nothing exceptional and nothing subpar, so I actually think he is kind of a boring player (sorry DeJesus fans), but I know he is a good ball player. He had a couple nice games this week before struggling on Sunday and I think he will begin to drive the ball again.

Too early to tell:
Jose Guillen - he just returned from the DL and has drawn a walk and got beaned in his first 2 games back. That is encouraging that he is getting on base (also ripped an RBI single on Sunday). I think Jose is due to greatly improve his numbers from last year. The addition of Mike Jacobs and a promising start from Teahen should relieve pressure that Guillen puts on himself to be “the guy”. I’m anxious to see his first full week back.
John Buck - Yes he has had great success numbers wise, but its just not enough for me. I still have seen some bad at bats in key spots. That being said he should definitely be getting more AB’s than Olivo right now. I’m a big fan of riding the hot bat, especially when your offense is struggling. Other than his great hair, I’m still not all that impressed with him.

Struggling mightily:
Miguel Olivo - I’m not a huge fan of this guy. I HATE his approach at the plate - he simply drives me nuts. He probably gives you one good at bat for every two games started. He has 0 walks vs. 17 K’s right now. That is pure amateur hour, Miggy.
Mike Aviles - Boy has he looked really BAD in the box this year. He is still my favorite Royal (I’m a sucker for that stance), but it has been a rough start for my boi. I still think he will be our SS for a couple years and that he will get up to a line of .270/.325/.420 this year. Which is serviceable for a SS, but I’ve said from day one that he will certainly regress this year. He is bailing out of the box quicker than Brady bailed on Moynihan. Watch his front foot when he swings. If he is stepping towards the pitcher and driving the ball middle-away then you’re seeing the GOOD Aviles. When he steps towards 3rd and tries to pull the ball you are seeing the BAD Aviles. He went deep on Sunday so I’m hoping that jump starts something for him. I’m eagerly awaiting his next week.

Backups:
Maier - Mitch played a little bit with Guillen and Gordon both out. I saw some decent things. He looked a ballplayer in the box and worked the counts. He drew some walks in his time, but didn’t drive the ball too well. He will return to limited AB‘s. I like him as a 4th OF.
Bloomy - His numbers have been decent but I don’t care. I’d like him in the lineup as little as possible with the way Callaspo is raking.
TPJ - Who?

We also designated Brayan Pena for assignment when Guillen returned. Interesting because we could’ve sent Maier down because he has options. Though I like Maier on the club right now. We can’t carry 3 catchers any longer. I liked Pena as a player and as a person. I really wish we would’ve tried to trade Buck during his hot streak or Olivo for a bag of baseballs and let Pena be the backup. But that is just me.

I’m worried this offense will keep us from making a legitimate run at the Central. Sunday’s game was a great example. You get 8 IP and 3 ER out of Sir Sidney (Congrats Ponson Pals) and our offense can only muster 2 runs at home against the Tigers. That is inexcusable. Baseball is a long season and you can’t win em all and insert baseball cliché here, but I still don’t think we have the margin of error to waste games like that from our starters. Especially with our numnuts manager (oops, why do I always go back to that).


Exit Question: We all know that our pitching can lead us to an AL Title, but can our offense give them enough support to do it?