Quote:
Originally Posted by gblowfish
Here's a quick halftime rundown, not taking into account injuries, which is a totally different subject altogether.
Snapshot of first half, now complete:
Good:
Perez hitting .386
Butler w/16 HRs
Escobar hitting .311
Broxton 21 out of 24 save opportunities
Tim Collins 55 Ks in relief
Bad:
12 Game Losing Streak
Gordon 5 HRs
Gordon, Moose, Frenchy all over 60 Ks
Dyson has six errors in the outfield.
Royals have used 22 pitchers this year.
Sanchez 1-5 6.75 ERA in 11 starts.
None of our current available starters have a winning record.
2011: Royals play .438 ball, finish in next to last ahead of Twins.
2012 first half: Royals play .446 ball, in next to last ahead of Twins.
So, has this team been better than last year? Barely, just barely.
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Breaks it down pretty well. A few things I'd add.
Good:
Mike Moustakas as a complete player. He's playing great defense at 3B and in his first full season, it poised to be the second-best all-around 3B in the American League (behind Beltre). I'd be thrilled if he ends this season at .270 with 30 HR, 40 2B and 94 RBI, his current pace.
Alex Gordon's recovery. As pointed out, even though he isn't hitting a ton of home runs, he's still slugging the ball well. He's on pace for 10 HR and 54 2B. I'd bet he ends up with something like 18 HR and 45 2B by the end of the year.
Kelvin Herrera has been everything we expected. Very good reliever.
Bad:
Hochevar's continued Jekyll-and-Hyde act.
Luck. The Royals are playing better than they did a season ago despite getting almost no offensive production from CF, RF and C (for 2/3 the season), a disappointing first half from Eric Hosmer, and elbow injuries to Paulino and Duffy. If you'd told me before the season that all those things would happen, I would have told you the Royals would have the worst record in baseball.