*** Official Kansas City Royal at St. Louis Cardinals game thread 6-13 ***

[mr. tegu]

The game starts at 3:10 today!

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

...

You only truly know terrible if you've seen Pete Kozma stay on a roster for three straight years.

Right now Infante has a wRC of 34, which means that he's 66% worse than an ML-average hitter. His ISO is .080. If he received 500 PA, he's on track to put up about -1.5 WAR. He does give you some marginal value on defense. That's awful, but it's nowhere near this.

Kozma is hitting .102. His slugging is .102, which means he has an ISO of zero. You literally cannot get any worse than that from a power perspective. His wRC is -29. There are 393 players in MLB that have received 50 PA to this point in the season. Only something named Hernan Perez is worse.

If Kozma received 500 PA he would put up a -5.0 WAR, as in, 3.5 games worse than Infante.

Now, to top all of that off, Matheny decided not only to put said player in the game today, but to do it in place of the best offensive SS in baseball this year who is also a better defender than said replacement.

It's the equivalent of Yost pulling Holland from a one-run save situation to put in Aaron Crow.

Matheny is worse than Yost. One of the worst 2-3 managers in baseball, IMO. Particularly since he seems to be loyal to guys for off-field reasons.

Is Kozma part of the bible study group Craig was in?

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Matheny is worse than Yost. One of the worst 2-3 managers in baseball, IMO. Particularly since he seems to be loyal to guys for off-field reasons.

Is Kozma part of the bible study group Craig was in?

I'm not sure, to be honest, but I think so. At least in Craig's case he was a damned good hitter before his Lis Franc injury ruined him. There's no similar excuse for guys like Kozma.

[bdj23]

Kozmania is dead.

[Prison Bitch]

I didn't believe anyone could be as bad as Outfante. But then I looked up Kozmas numbers. Yowza


That said, Cards management isn't dumb enohjt to pay him $8m

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I didn't believe anyone could be as bad as Outfante. But then I looked up Kozmas numbers. Yowza


That said, Cards management isn't dumb enohjt to pay him $8m

It wasn't all that risky of a signing. It just hasn't worked out. It actually looked like good value even if he had a slight decline. Problem is, he's fallen off a cliff and he swings at absolutely everything.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

He had 2 very hittable pitches that he swung level at, tried to hit a line drive on both of them. It happens, it is no big deal at this point.

These posts display yet again how little you understand about baseball.

MLB isn't MLB2k15. Guys aren't deciding mid at-bat to press up on the stick or down on the stick to hit for power vs hit level. Guys do not change their swing planes pitch-by-pitch or at-bat by at-bat.

You might see them adjust and try to consciously hit the ball the other way or pull it, based on the count and situation. YOu might see them just try to get a piece and foul a pitch off. You might see them shorten up and try to hit it the other way with two strikes.

But every swing Moustakas took in that AB vs. Rosenthal was a full swing.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

It wasn't all that risky of a signing. It just hasn't worked out. It actually looked like good value even if he had a slight decline. Problem is, he's fallen off a cliff and he swings at absolutely everything.

As Duncan has pointed out, he was worth his weight last year because we likely miss the playoffs without him and of course, that run saved our franchise. (Actually the 2nd part is mine not Duncan's). So long term, whatevs, it was all worth it.


But yes as you say, the downhill side of the slope has been so damn irritating. We cannot afford to pay for decline years. YOU guys can, but we cannot. We can't withstand these kind of payroll cancers

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

As Duncan has pointed out, he was worth his weight last year because we likely miss the playoffs without him and of course, that run saved our franchise. (Actually the 2nd part is mine not Duncan's). So long term, whatevs, it was all worth it.


But yes as you say, the downhill side of the slope has been so damn irritating. We cannot afford to pay for decline years. YOU guys can, but we cannot. We can't withstand these kind of payroll cancers

That's not a payroll cancer. It hurts, but it's not a killer. He's tied for the sixth highest paid player. Meanwhile, Vargas, Guthrie, and Rios are making a combined $27 million and have given you a combined -0.4 WAR

Also, your payroll is 110. St. Louis' is only 120. You're talking less than a ten percent difference.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

...

You only truly know terrible if you've seen Pete Kozma stay on a roster for three straight years.

Right now Infante has a wRC of 34, which means that he's 66% worse than an ML-average hitter. His ISO is .080. If he received 500 PA, he's on track to put up about -1.5 WAR. He does give you some marginal value on defense. That's awful, but it's nowhere near this.

Kozma is hitting .102. His slugging is .102, which means he has an ISO of zero. You literally cannot get any worse than that from a power perspective. His wRC is -29. There are 393 players in MLB that have received 50 PA to this point in the season. Only something named Hernan Perez is worse.

If Kozma received 500 PA he would put up a -5.0 WAR, as in, 3.5 games worse than Infante.

Now, to top all of that off, Matheny decided not only to put said player in the game today, but to do it in place of the best offensive SS in baseball this year who is also a better defender than said replacement.

It's the equivalent of Yost pulling Holland from a one-run save situation to put in Aaron Crow.

Yeah, Kozma's bad...but the "good" thing is he isn't giving the team his AIDS every day. He has 49 AB in 27 games.
Omar has 187 AB in 52 games. Omar is bringing his suckage almost daily.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

As Duncan has pointed out, he was worth his weight last year because we likely miss the playoffs without him and of course, that run saved our franchise. (Actually the 2nd part is mine not Duncan's). So long term, whatevs, it was all worth it.


But yes as you say, the downhill side of the slope has been so damn irritating. We cannot afford to pay for decline years. YOU guys can, but we cannot. We can't withstand these kind of payroll cancers

I think that overstates what I've said about it...

But yeah, after three decades of missing the playoffs, making a run and hanging a league championship banner is worth a few years of bad contract to me.

What really shocks me is that he didn't commit to getting all the nagging injuries cleaned up in the offseason and getting shoulder surgery/etc.

I gave him a pass last year for his uncharacteristic plate performance because of all the injuries, but at this point you have to just call it part of an overall decline.

And watching him try to pull everything is maddening.

Hopefully a few guys get Sunday breaks tomorrow (Rios, Infante).

I do feel like the broken hand derailed what they were going to get from Rios. He looked really great at the plate until that happened. I'll give the guy credit for coming back and trying to help the team, but he's clearly not 100 percent yet.

I'd rather see him rested a little longer than rushed back. If Orlando hadn't been slumping so badly at the time of the change, I think we would have seen him left down a while longer.

OVerall, I think it's time to shake up the lineup a little bit. I'd roll this out tomorrow if I was filling out the lineup card:

Gordon
Cain
Moustakas
Hosmer
Morales
Perez
Colon
Dyson
Escobar

Gets the best guys back up top and hopefully gets more guys on base for Moustakas and Hosmer.

Yeah, you're vulnerable to a Kevin Siegrist type lefty late in the game with Moustakas and Hosmer stacked, but this offense has struggled for more than a month now. Time to try something different and see what happens.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

These posts display yet again how little you understand about baseball.

Honestly, I thought he was doing it on purpose. He's for real?

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Duncan,

Are you playing Hosmer or Morales in the OF? I assume you stick Hosmer in right and hope Cain and Gordon cover for him?

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

It's almost like the Royals were winning in spite of Yost in October when he was hitting his best hitters in the bottom third of the lineup.

Not sure if you're agreeing of being condescending. It's hard to tell with you.

But Yost's batting order is still too old school. You don't need speed at the top on the order and he needs to stop batting higher OBP players farther down the lineup. It's pretty ****ing simple but he doesn't get it many times.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Not sure if you're agreeing of being condescending. It's hard to tell with you.

But Yost's batting order is still too old school. You don't need speed at the top on the order and he needs to stop batting higher OBP players farther down the lineup. It's pretty ****ing simple but he doesn't get it many times.

I'm agreeing with you while poking fun at the people who thought Yost was some kind of homespun savant rather than just a dumb**** riding a hot chair at a blackjack table.

Kind of like how Matheny butchered his pen usage at the end of the game today. It worked out, but none of it had to do with Matheny. Siegrist gets righties out just fine and you guys were going to go lefty-lefty after Perez, anyway. No need to pull him against Perez, especially when Gordon is worse against LHP.

[Prison Bitch]

Yost was niether. Managers largely don't matter in baseball.