Tie game, meh.

However, DM/Yost have been thinking logically lately, with Hoch and Chen going to the BP and Mendoza getting #5.

yep, baby steps. As I've said the other day, we have a dumb dog who just now stopped crapping on the floor. It'll take a while to teach him fetch or stay.

I was thinking the same thing. Dude's approach looks completely helpless, but my sample size is incredibly small.

And that incredible presence! :banghead:

His swing never changed last year and it was Seitzer's fault. New hitting coaches fault this year, I suppose

I particularly loved when he threw not only his hitting coach but also the team's best hitter (Billy Butler) when trying to explain why he sucked so much last year.

What a leader!

My regards to the Mrs.

He must be pretty strong to lift and throw Billy Butler! Badabing!

Doubt it. While he was aborting his 2/3 of an inning, Hudler was going on and on about how great he looks in relief and how he's been able to just cut it loose...while throwing 92mph.

That being said, I'd love to know what Rex is on because I want some of it.

He's on "team homer lollipops."

It's pretty clear to everyone that Hochevar is never going to get over his inability to pitch with men on base, and that's a pretty key aspect of the game.

Reminds me of a guy I played ball with in high school. Lefthanded pitcher who could hit 86-87 out of the windup, good control, decent curve and change. He was very tough to hit ... until you got a man on base. Then, all of a sudden, his velocity dropped, his location disappeared, and teams were able to hit him.

I think Hochevar starts worrying about so much other crap when there are men on - slide step, varying delivery time, trying to induce double plays, etc. - that he doesn't focus enough on throwing good pitches.

They've done everything they possibly can to try to get this guy to keep it simple and trust his talent, and he just can't.

I know the Royals are freaked out that if they cut him, some other team will pick him up and fix him, but he isn't fixable. Just like Kyle Davies, I predict that once KC moves Luke Hochevar, he never is really heard from again.

If they can convince some team desperate for a starting pitcher to trade them anything of value for Hochevar, they should do it and not look back.

How much do we save if we cut him now?

His 7.24 spring ERA would almost guarantee we would be off the hook for most of his contract. Save the money so we can cut Francouer when we trade for his replacement in a few months...

I was willing to give Hoch-the-reliever a chance since it was too late to cut him, but he was so God-awful last night, I'm completely done with him. Now I just hope he doesn't lose us a lot of games before he's out.

That looked like the same ole crap last night. Hope it was a blip on the radar!

Royals currently in 16th in the preseason power rankings:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/2...or-the-orioles