tk13
06-13-2005, 01:09 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/11881803.htm
Royals may have glut of pitching
PHOENIX — The band of injured pitchers crowding the Royals’ disabled list should start thinning this week when Kyle Snyder heads to Class AAA Omaha, Neb., to begin his rehabilitation assignment.
Denny Bautista, Brian Anderson and Scott Sullivan could each be making similar trips before the end of the month.
All four pitchers threw Sunday before the Royals completed their six-game road trip with a 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 12 innings at Bank One Ballpark.
Come mid-July, the Royals could have all sorts of options — and face all sorts of decisions — in configuring their staff for the second half of the season.
“I haven’t looked that far ahead,” manager Buddy Bell said. “I hardly ever do that because it always seems to work out. But that would be a nice problem to have on your pitching staff.”
Bautista seems certain to rejoin the rotation when healthy. Snyder is converting back to starting duties after a brief trial earlier this year as a reliever. Anderson fits best as a starter but could shift to the bullpen. Sullivan is a reliever.
“The best way for this pitching staff to get better is competition,” pitching coach Guy Hansen said. “That competition is coming from guys who want to get back on the staff.”
Snyder will throw a light workout Tuesday before, barring any complications, joining Omaha for a Thursday start at Oklahoma. He hasn’t pitched since May 9 because of a strained right shoulder.
“I wasn’t too happy with the last 10 pitches,” he said. “But healthwise, I felt great.”
Plans call for Snyder to make five or six starts to stretch out his endurance before deciding whether to bring him back to the big leagues. He is scheduled to throw no more than 45 pitches Thursday in his first start.
Bautista hasn’t pitched in a game since May 11 because of shoulder tendinitis. He threw a standard bullpen workout Sunday and is scheduled this week for two live BP sessions before heading out on his rehab assignment.
“Now that he’s gone through this,” Hansen said, “it’s the best thing that could ever happen to him. Because now he has a (high-)quality delivery that he can hold forever. Before, he was just an accident waiting to happen.”
The Royals shifted Anderson to the 60-day disabled list Saturday, but it was a paperwork move to create space on the 40-man roster for the additions of J.P. Howell and Ryan Jensen. Anderson’s recovery from an inflamed left elbow remains on schedule.
“I want to be in that first rotation after the (All-Star) break,” said Anderson, who last pitched May 8. “I’ve got to go down (to the minors) and get in a couple of starts before then because I need to face hitters.”
Sullivan hasn’t pitched all season because of a strained lower back but moved closer to a rehab assignment after throwing live BP with Snyder before the game.
Buck on the rise
Catcher John Buck is no longer flirting with the Mendoza Line after getting 10 hits in his last 22 at-bats and pushing his average to .232.
The secret to doing better, he rediscovered, is doing less.
“What happened this year is the same as what happened last year,” he said. “I tried to do too much at the beginning of the year. I kept telling myself that I had to pick it up. So I kept trying harder. That’s just the opposite of what you need to do.”
Buck put himself in a hole by getting just five hits in his first 37 at-bats. He average was below .200 — the Mendoza Line — as late as June 2.
“I told myself,” he said, “that if all they’re going to give me is a single or if all they’re going to give me is a walk, then take it. It’s a simpler approach. It’s the same thing I was doing at the end of last year.”
Buck batted just .149 last season in his first 24 games after arriving from Houston as part of the Carlos Beltran trade. Buck adjusted and batted .277 over his final 47 games.
Sweeney still out
First baseman Mike Sweeney missed his fifth consecutive game because of tightness in his right oblique. Sweeney insisted he was “fine” and “pain free,” but Bell wasn’t swayed.
Bell cited today’s open date, which effectively provides Sweeney with two more days to heal, as the deciding factor.
Sweeney did move into the on-deck circle three times as a potential pinch hitter but never batted.
Etc.
■ D.J. Carrasco has allowed two runs in his last 26 innings.
■ The Royals went 4-2 at San Francisco and Arizona for their first winning road trip since going 7-3 through Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago from Sept. 12-21, 2003.
■ Shortstop Angel Berroa was hitless in 18 straight at-bats before his single in the 10th inning.
■ The 12-inning game was the longest this season for the Royals.
■ The Royals were 0-5 in extra innings before Sunday.
Royals may have glut of pitching
PHOENIX — The band of injured pitchers crowding the Royals’ disabled list should start thinning this week when Kyle Snyder heads to Class AAA Omaha, Neb., to begin his rehabilitation assignment.
Denny Bautista, Brian Anderson and Scott Sullivan could each be making similar trips before the end of the month.
All four pitchers threw Sunday before the Royals completed their six-game road trip with a 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 12 innings at Bank One Ballpark.
Come mid-July, the Royals could have all sorts of options — and face all sorts of decisions — in configuring their staff for the second half of the season.
“I haven’t looked that far ahead,” manager Buddy Bell said. “I hardly ever do that because it always seems to work out. But that would be a nice problem to have on your pitching staff.”
Bautista seems certain to rejoin the rotation when healthy. Snyder is converting back to starting duties after a brief trial earlier this year as a reliever. Anderson fits best as a starter but could shift to the bullpen. Sullivan is a reliever.
“The best way for this pitching staff to get better is competition,” pitching coach Guy Hansen said. “That competition is coming from guys who want to get back on the staff.”
Snyder will throw a light workout Tuesday before, barring any complications, joining Omaha for a Thursday start at Oklahoma. He hasn’t pitched since May 9 because of a strained right shoulder.
“I wasn’t too happy with the last 10 pitches,” he said. “But healthwise, I felt great.”
Plans call for Snyder to make five or six starts to stretch out his endurance before deciding whether to bring him back to the big leagues. He is scheduled to throw no more than 45 pitches Thursday in his first start.
Bautista hasn’t pitched in a game since May 11 because of shoulder tendinitis. He threw a standard bullpen workout Sunday and is scheduled this week for two live BP sessions before heading out on his rehab assignment.
“Now that he’s gone through this,” Hansen said, “it’s the best thing that could ever happen to him. Because now he has a (high-)quality delivery that he can hold forever. Before, he was just an accident waiting to happen.”
The Royals shifted Anderson to the 60-day disabled list Saturday, but it was a paperwork move to create space on the 40-man roster for the additions of J.P. Howell and Ryan Jensen. Anderson’s recovery from an inflamed left elbow remains on schedule.
“I want to be in that first rotation after the (All-Star) break,” said Anderson, who last pitched May 8. “I’ve got to go down (to the minors) and get in a couple of starts before then because I need to face hitters.”
Sullivan hasn’t pitched all season because of a strained lower back but moved closer to a rehab assignment after throwing live BP with Snyder before the game.
Buck on the rise
Catcher John Buck is no longer flirting with the Mendoza Line after getting 10 hits in his last 22 at-bats and pushing his average to .232.
The secret to doing better, he rediscovered, is doing less.
“What happened this year is the same as what happened last year,” he said. “I tried to do too much at the beginning of the year. I kept telling myself that I had to pick it up. So I kept trying harder. That’s just the opposite of what you need to do.”
Buck put himself in a hole by getting just five hits in his first 37 at-bats. He average was below .200 — the Mendoza Line — as late as June 2.
“I told myself,” he said, “that if all they’re going to give me is a single or if all they’re going to give me is a walk, then take it. It’s a simpler approach. It’s the same thing I was doing at the end of last year.”
Buck batted just .149 last season in his first 24 games after arriving from Houston as part of the Carlos Beltran trade. Buck adjusted and batted .277 over his final 47 games.
Sweeney still out
First baseman Mike Sweeney missed his fifth consecutive game because of tightness in his right oblique. Sweeney insisted he was “fine” and “pain free,” but Bell wasn’t swayed.
Bell cited today’s open date, which effectively provides Sweeney with two more days to heal, as the deciding factor.
Sweeney did move into the on-deck circle three times as a potential pinch hitter but never batted.
Etc.
■ D.J. Carrasco has allowed two runs in his last 26 innings.
■ The Royals went 4-2 at San Francisco and Arizona for their first winning road trip since going 7-3 through Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago from Sept. 12-21, 2003.
■ Shortstop Angel Berroa was hitless in 18 straight at-bats before his single in the 10th inning.
■ The 12-inning game was the longest this season for the Royals.
■ The Royals were 0-5 in extra innings before Sunday.