Kansas City Royals @ Tampa Bay Rays game thread (5/2)

[alnorth]

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
KC (10-15)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
TB (18-7)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	1	4	1

Zack Greinke throws the 4th Complete Game Loss of his MLB career.



CG, (1); Loss, (0-3) Zack Greinke 8IP 1R 1ER 0BB 6K 1HR

VS.



Win, (3-1) Wade Davis 7IP 0R 0ER 3BB 5K
Hold, (3) Randy Choate 0.2IP 0R 0ER 0BB 0K
Hold, (3) Dan Wheeler 0.1IP 0R 0ER 0BB 1K
Save, (6) Rafael Soriano 1IP 0R 0ER 1BB 1K

Home Runs

KC

none

TB

Evan Longoria, (6) - Bottom 4th solo shot to left

AL Central

Final: LAA 1, DET 5
Final: CWS 3, NYY 12
Final: MIN 8, CLE 3

Starting Lineups

KC

1. David DeJesus, RF
2. Scott Podsednik, LF
3. Billy Butler, 1B
4. Jose Guillen, DH
4. Willie Bloomquist, pr/DH
5. Alberto Callaspo, 3B
6. Jason Kendall, C
6. Rick Ankiel, ph
7. Mitch Maier, CF
8. Yuniesky Betancourt, SS
9. Chris Getz, 2B

TB

1. Jason Bartlett, SS
2. Ben Zobrist, RF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Willy Aybar, DH
6. B.J. Upton, CF
7. John Jaso, C
8. Reid Brignac, 2B
8. Carl Crawford, LF
9. Sean Rodriguez, LF/2B

[teedubya]

****.

[kstater]

So, uh, this was written a few days ago. Time for a new entry.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010...being-greinke/
The Agony of Being Greinke

Posted: April 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 81 Comments »
On August 16, 2008, the Kansas City Royals were out of things, of course … it being August. But that day they went to Yankee Stadium. And that day a 24-year-old pitcher named Zack Greinke pitched 6 2/3 innings against a lineup that had three certain Hall of Famers (Jeter, A-Rod, Pudge v 2.0) and three more who, at the very least, will get some votes (Damon, Abreu, Giambi) and one who might win a batting title this year (Robinson Cano). Greinke did not give up an earned run.

He did give up two unearned runs, thanks to a satisfying double-error by Royals third baseman Alex Gordon — error on the scoop, then error on the throw to allow the advance — and then Greinke was knocked out of the game after another error, this one by the shortstop and defensive replacement Tony Pena Jr.
Anyway … something clicked for Greinke that day in New York. Well, I don’t know if things in life really “click” or if people slowly blossom and mature and the clicking is just for the observers. Whatever, since that day — August 16, 2008 — Zack has been a great pitcher. Truly great. He finished off the season allowing just nine earned runs in his final 44 innings — a 1.84 ERA, if you’re curious — and he had a 41-9 strikeout-to-walk, and the league hit just .214 against him, and if you watched him pitch in those final weeks, really watched him, you could not help but notice that Zack had become something really special. It wasn’t any great bit of genius that inspired me to pick Greinke to win the Cy Young Award before the season started last year.* If you were watching, you could not miss it.
*It took no great genius to pick Ubaldo Jiminez to win the Cy Young Award this year either — if you watched him pitch last year, you could not miss it. But it’s still gratifying to see my Cy pick at 5-0 with an 0.79 ERA, a no-hitter, and 0.0 home runs allowed so far.
Greinke lived up to everything in 2009, as you know. His 2.16 ERA not only led all of baseball, it was the best mark by an American League pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 2000. We don’t need to go over again Greinke’s many achievements in 2009 — lowest WHIP, fewest home runs allowed per nine, 4.75-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio — you already know how good a year had.
Move into 2010, and it hasn’t been quite as smooth for Zack. Nobody really thought it would be. He got smacked around a little bit against Boston. He was uncharacteristically wild against Minnesota. Still, he has allowed 1, 4, 2, 2, 0 earned runs in his five starts, so it’s not like he fell apart either. He has a 2.56 ERA through his first five starts, a more-than-respectable 27-7 strikeout to walk, and just about the same WHIP that he had last year.
So what’s the point? Well, here’s the point: Since August 16, 2008, Zack Greinke has made 46 starts and he has a 2.11 ERA.
The Royals record in those 46 starts? You betcha: 22-24.
A losing record with the dominant Zack Greinke pitching? The Royals have pulled off a lot of crazy stunts in the last 10 or 15 years. But this just might top them all. How do you have a losing record when the starting pitcher is allowing 2 earned runs every 9 innings?
Well, it hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. Here is a quick recap of those 24 losses.
August 16, 2008: Greinke left the game with the score 2-2 in 7th. Yankees won in 13th inning.
August 21, 2008: Greinke pitched five innings against Cleveland and only gave up one earned run. Unfortunately Tony Pena dropped a pop-up, Billy Butler threw the ball away, the Indians scored four unearned runs and were leading 5-3 when Greinke came out. The bullpen turned that into a 10-3 loss.
August 26, 2008: Greinke gave up no earned runs to Texas in six innings. But an error by Mike Aviles led to one unearned run. The score was tied 1-1 when Greinke left — the Rangers scored the game-winner in the eighth.
Sept. 7, 2008: Greinke was not at his best — a classic 6-inning, 3-run quality start — and against Cliff Lee that was not nearly good enough. Indians won 3-1.
May 9, 2009: Greinke, with a 6-0 record, allowed one run in a complete game against the Angels. Unfortunately, that was an eight-inning complete game because Joe Saunders threw the only complete game of his career (at least so far).
May 21, 2009: Greinke allowed two runs in six innings and the Royals were actually leading Cleveland 3-2. Then, as a joke, the Royals thought they might use Horacio Ramirez as a reliever. No, wait, they weren’t joking. Cleveland won 8-3.
May 31, 2009: Sloppy start for Greinke — 3 earned runs in 7 innings against Chicago. Yes, others might win when they pitch like that … but that’s for others others. It was 4-4 going into ninth when the deadly combination of John Bale and Juan Cruz finished off the Royals chances. White Sox won 7-4.
June 5, 2009: One of Greinke’s worst starts of the year — 5 earned runs in five innings. Royals defense chipped in with three errors. Blue Jays blew out Royals 9-3.
June 11, 2009: Again, a bland, good start for Greinke — 7 1/3 innings, 3 runs. The Royals were ahead 3-1 when he left, though he did leave two men on. Then the Royals botched a double play grounder, Joakim Soria could not get Jhonny Peralta out (for shame) and the Cleveland won it 4-3 in the 10th inning*.
*Pretty typical Royals finish — Kyle Farnsworth enters, Mark DeRosa singles, Victor Martinez singles, Shin-Soo Choo singles, ball hits seagull, Royals lose, cue Three music.
June 17, 2009: Greinke wasn’t sharp against Arizona and he allowed four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Toss in three more Royals errors, an outstanding 0-inning, three-hit, three-run performance by reliever Roman Colon, and, voila, Royals lost 12-5.
July 3, 2009: The beginning of six consecutive Royals losses when Greinke pitched. Admittedly, he was not especially great in these six games, as exhibited by his worse-than-normal 3.65 ERA, but you know, you can make seven digit salaries in this game with a 3.65 ERA. Six innings, two earned runs in this game. There were two more unearned runs thanks to an Alberto Callaspo error, but it didn’t matter. Royals got shut out by White Sox and lost 5-0.
July 8, 2009: Six innings, three runs against Detroit — not nearly good enough as someone named Luke French and and three relievers held the Royals to one run.
July 18, 2009: How about 7 innings one run against Tampa Bay? Is that good enough, Sam I Am? No. Rays score three in the eighth off the Lethargic Duo of Bale and Cruz. Royals lost 4-2.
July 24, 2009: What about holding Texas to one run in 7 innings? Shouldn’t that be enough? No. Scott Feldman and C.J. Wilson combine on the shutout. Royals lost 2-0.
July 29, 2009: OK, so now he gives up two runs in six innings against Baltimore. BALTIMORE. There’s no way … oh wait, there’s a way. Twenty-one year old Chris Tillman made the start, Matt Albers and Jim Johnson finished the job, Bale and Cruz did what they do best, and Royals lost 7-3.
August 3, 2009: Well, this one’s on Greinke — five innings, six runs against Tampa and, heck, the Royals only made one error. Royals get stomped 10-4.
August 14, 2009: After Greinke finally breaks the losing streak, he goes out and throws seven shutout innings against Detroit. Unfortunately for the Royals, they happened to pick the wrong night to face Jarrod Washburn, who threw eight shutout innings. The right night to face Washburn would have been pretty much any day as the league hit .323 against him the rest of the year.
August 19, 2009: Four runs in seven innings? That’s a no-chancer. White Sox beat Royals 4-2.
Sept. 5, 2009: Eight innings, zero earned runs against the Angels. How did the Royals mess up this one? A Willie Bloomquist error led to the unearned run that sent the game into extra innings. Once there, Yasuhiko Yabuta, the Royals big-time recruit from Japan, ably gave up the game-winner in the 11th.
Oct. 3, 2009: Greinke got beat fair and square on the last Saturday of the season. Scoreless game in the sixth, Greinke and the Royals decided to pitch to Joe Mauer with a runner on third and two outs in the sixth inning. The Tigers, watching from afar, did not like the decision, but I did, it was gutsy, and it gave the fans a thrill. Mauer singled in the run. A slightly rattled Greinke gave up three more runs. Twins eventually won 5-4.
April 5, 2010: Greinke picked up right where he left off … six innings, one earned run on Opening Day. A Willie Bloomquist error allowed an unearned run, but the Royals still led 4-2 when Greinke left. The bullpen collapsed. Royals lost 8-4.
April 10, 2010: Greinke was not sharp but kind of held it together and gave up four runs in 6 2/3 innings against Boston. The bullpen collapsed. Royals lost 8-3.
April 16, 2010: Again, Greinke not sharp — walks five guys. Only gives up two earned runs in five innings. Two more unearned come thanks to an error by, yes, Willie Bloomquist. The bullpen collapsed. Twins won 10-3.
April 27, 2010: Greinke threw seven shutout innings, and Royals led 2-0 when he left the game. No way the Royals could mess up this one. And … the bullpen collapsed. A double play grounder was deflected into right field by reliever Robinson Tejeda. Royals lost to Seattle 3-2. Zack Greinke remains winless for 2010 season.
And that is how a team manages a losing record with a 2.11 ERA.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by AndChiefs

What about CG's giving up 1 run?

Just one like that against Boston a few years ago.

But I remember this game well: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...00608260.shtml

[BigMeatballDave]

Being a Royals fan is like Masturbating with a cheese grater...

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Being a Royals fan today means having selective vision. I'm not in the least bit upset about today's loss. In fact, I feel pretty good b/c I had the opportunity to see a masterful pitching performance.

Sadly, if you expect more than isolated occurrences of competence, you're setting yourself up for guaranteed disappointment.

I'll invest more fully when Dayton Moore is fired. Until then, there's little point.

I am pissed for Zack, the guy battles and is just a master at his craft. He needs to go to a real team and win, this gm and owner are going to waste his years.

[Sure-Oz]

Royals ship disappointing Gordon to Triple-A


Gordon
Royals optioned 3B Alex Gordon to Triple-A Omaha.
The writing was on the wall since Chris Getz was activated from the disabled list and Kansas City shifted Alberto Callaspo to third base, a move that relegated Gordon to the bench. At least give credit to the Royals for having the guts to send down Gordon to find his swing in Triple-A instead of stubbornly keeping him on the bench to atrophy. The second overall in the 2005 amateur draft has been a huge disappointment, batting .194 with one home run and one RBI in 38 plate appearances. He's a .249/.331/.413 career hitter over four seasons. May. 2 - 5:45 pm et

[Sure-Oz]

Snippet from Aaron Gleemans column on rotoworld.com

Aaron Gleeman
Baseball Daily Dose
May 3, 2010
Royals Make Greinke A Loser
There is already an open DataReader associated with this Connection which must be closed first.

Royals baseball was in full effect Sunday, with the lineup providing zero runs of support for Zack Greinke in a 1-0 loss to Wade Davis and the front office sending Alex Gordon back to Triple-A. Greinke held the Rays' league-leading offense to one run in an 87-pitch complete game, lowering his ERA to 2.27, yet dropped to 0-3 because ... well, the Royals stink. In his last 85 starts, Greinke has a 2.87 ERA in 540 innings. And he's just 32-27.

With a supporting cast that consistently dreadful you'd think the Royals could afford to give a 26-year-old former top prospect like Gordon plenty of playing time or at the very least keep him on the roster as a part-time player, but apparently not. Oddly rushed back from a broken thumb just two weeks ago, Gordon struggled in nine starts and is now back in Omaha despite 1,398 career plate appearances as a big leaguer.

While the Royals turn one of the game's elite starters into barely more than a .500 pitcher and jerk Gordon around, here are some other notes from around baseball ...

[Sure-Oz]

Personally I don't care for Gordon being sent down and Aviles sent up...

Both need at bats period. Gordon has nothing to prove in the minors IMO, he has that pitching figured out, but not here.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Personally I don't care for Gordon being sent down and Aviles sent up...

Both need at bats period. Gordon has nothing to prove in the minors IMO, he has that pitching figured out, but not here.

I agree. If anything, this is going to lower Gordon's confidence. One thing about Gordon, he's the only guy on this team who knows how to walk other than Podsednik. Problem is he strikes out way to much. Yeah, he's batting .194 in 31 ABs. It's 31 ABs. If he's doing it after 200 of them, go get some facts, and come and see me. Even w/ such a bad batting average, he's 6th on the team in OBP and

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Royals ship disappointing Gordon to Triple-A


Gordon
Royals optioned 3B Alex Gordon to Triple-A Omaha.
The writing was on the wall since Chris Getz was activated from the disabled list and Kansas City shifted Alberto Callaspo to third base, a move that relegated Gordon to the bench. At least give credit to the Royals for having the guts to send down Gordon to find his swing in Triple-A instead of stubbornly keeping him on the bench to atrophy. The second overall in the 2005 amateur draft has been a huge disappointment, batting .194 with one home run and one RBI in 38 plate appearances. He's a .249/.331/.413 career hitter over four seasons. May. 2 - 5:45 pm et

From Rany's latest update on 4/29:

- Greg Schaum is reporting that the Royals are putting John Parrish on the DL and calling up Victor Marte. Let me be the first to say: Marte is not the answer. If he goes back down in a couple of days when Chris Getz returns, this is no big deal. But if the Royals send down Alex Gordon instead…well, they are the Royals. They have a reputation to live up to.

[Sure-Oz]

I also think grooming Gordon for 1b is stupid as well. We have Hosmer coming up sometime and well Kila deserves to be on the team. The man's OBP is over .400, i really don't understand why the royals keep ignoring him. It's crap...

Gordon's defense has been crap so far but he needs to just play, i really wonder if they are just sick of waiting for him and will try to trade him.