Kansas City Royals @ Minnesota Twins game thread (4/16)

[alnorth]

<table border=3 cellpadding = 4>
<tr>
<td>Final</td> <td> 1 </td> <td> 2 </td><td> 3 </td><td> 4 </td><td> 5 </td><td> 6 </td><td> 7 </td><td> 8 </td><td> 9 </td><td> R </td><td> H </td><td> E </td></tr>
<tr> <td> KC (4-6) </td> <td> 0 </td> <td> 0 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 1 </td><td> 1 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 1 </td><td> 3 </td><td> 9 </td><td> 1 </td></tr>
<tr> <td> MIN (8-3) </td> <td> 0 </td> <td> 0 </td><td> 2 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 2 </td><td> 1 </td><td> 0 </td><td> 5 </td><td> X </td><td> 10 </td><td> 11 </td><td> 0 </td></tr>
</table>

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/teams/20080123/80x60/kan.gif

Loss, (0-2) Zack Greinke 5IP 4R 2ER 5BB 5K
Kyle Farnsworth 0IP 1R 1ER 1BB 0K
Dusty Hughes 1.1IP 0R 0ER 0BB 0K
Robinson Tejeda 1IP 4R 4ER 2BB 1K
Juan Cruz 0.2IP 1R 1ER 1BB 1K

VS.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/teams/20080123/80x60/min.gif

Win, (2-1) Scott Baker 7IP 2R 2ER 0BB 6K 1HR
Hold, (3) Matt Guerrier 1IP 0R 0ER 0BB 0K
Brian Duensing 1IP 1R 1ER 0BB 1K

Home Runs

KC

Yuniesky Betancourt, (2) - Top 5th solo homer to center

MIN

none

AL Central

Final: CWS 2, CLE 6
Final: DET 3, SEA 11

Starting Lineups

KC

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

MIN

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Orlando Hudson, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. J.J. Hardy, SS
9. Brendan Harris, 3B

[Blankey]

F the Twins!

[teedubya]

ROYALS BASEBALL!!!

Let's Lose Big!

[Reaper16]

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100416&content_id=9340492&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Roman Colon designated for assignment.

[Sure-Oz]

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100416&content_id=9340492&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Roman Colon designated for assignment.

Good he sucks, so much for his new pitch...

Bringing up this guy though....

Rupe, 27, was a non-roster player with the Royals in Spring Training and pitched in eight games. He had a 6.30 ERA and one victory in 10 innings. At Omaha, he was in two games and gave up no runs in five innings with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

In four seasons with the Texas Rangers, Rupe appeared in 70 games, all but one in relief, and posted a 4-2 record and a 4.95 ERA. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was 5-7 with a 6.67 ERA in 24 games, including 14 starts.

[DeezNutz]

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100416&content_id=9340492&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Roman Colon designated for assignment.

Great start.

And Mendoza is still on the roster, why?

[Sure-Oz]

Great start.

And Mendoza is still on the roster, why?

it's a process

[DeezNutz]

it's a process

:mad:

[Reaper16]

@ESPN_MLBDRAFT (http://twitter.com/ESPN_MLBDRAFT) Hearing KC has strong interest in Florida Gulf Coast LHP Chris Sale for the #4 pick #mlb (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23mlb) #royals (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23royals) 1 minute ago (http://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/12300887178) via web

[BillSelfsTrophycase]

it's a process


:banghead:

[DeezNutz]

@ESPN_MLBDRAFT (http://twitter.com/ESPN_MLBDRAFT) Hearing KC has strong interest in Florida Gulf Coast LHP Chris Sale for the #4 pick #mlb (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23mlb) #royals (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23royals) 1 minute ago (http://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/12300887178) via web

They better damn well know that the top position player in the draft is NOT worth selecting.

The Cal-State Fullerton SS, Christian Colon, is projected high in almost all mocks:

http://www.mymlbdraft.com/MLB-Mock-Draft-2010

[steve_minor]

I am a big Chiefs fan here in MN ... but I love the Twins!!! Going to tommorow's game. Tonight is the Royals only shot to steal a game from the Twins. They are playing some really good baseball right now.

[CaliforniaChief]

They better damn well know that the top position player in the draft is NOT worth selecting.

The Cal-State Fullerton SS, Christian Colon, is projected high in almost all mocks:

http://www.mymlbdraft.com/MLB-Mock-Draft-2010

Can this fella play 3rd base or 1st base? We're a little thin there. :p

[Delano]

HAY GUISE!

http://www.fantasysportshero.com/fantasy/baseball/joe-mauer/joe-mauer.jpg

DO U LAKE MY GRLFRAND?

http://www.joemauer.info/images/joe-mauer-girlfriend-1.jpg

I WELL BEET U GUISE!

[Demonpenz]

wish we would have gotten disco hayes a shot

[alnorth]

wish we would have gotten disco hayes a shot

He hasn't pitched yet this season and he stalled out pretty badly the end of last year at Omaha. I'm a Disco fan too, but he needs to prove himself in AAA first. Right now, there's a whole lot of people ahead of him for Royals bullpen tryouts.

[kcfanXIII]

I am a big Chiefs fan here in MN ... but I love the Twins!!! Going to tommorow's game. Tonight is the Royals only shot to steal a game from the Twins. They are playing some really good baseball right now.

royals aren't playing too bad right now either. their bullpen sucks but the rest of their game isn't bad.

[Demonpenz]

He hasn't pitched yet this season and he stalled out pretty badly the end of last year at Omaha. I'm a Disco fan too, but he needs to prove himself in AAA first. Right now, there's a whole lot of people ahead of him for Royals bullpen tryouts.

Thank you for the update.

[DeezNutz]

Thank you for the update.

Are you too good to participate in game threads thus far this year? Too fucking good for your fucking "friends" on the intrawebz?

Or have you been hurt and needed to sit out?

[Demonpenz]

Are you too good to participate in game threads thus far this year? Too ****ing good for your ****ing "friends" on the intrawebz?

Or have you been hurt and needed to sit out?

I plan on video taping myself with reactions while sitting in my small apartment tonight.

[DeezNutz]

I plan on video taping myself with reactions while sitting in my small apartment tonight.

Get some spirits in you and the place will seem bigger.

[WilliamTheIrish]

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100416&content_id=9340492&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Roman Colon designated for assignment.

DFA'd. Somebody will pick him up. May be Juarez, Mexico needs a arsonist.

[BWillie]

What is Alex Gordon doing? When is he coming back.

[DeezNutz]

What is Alex Gordon doing? When is he coming back.

Striking out and dropping pop-ups, while acting like an All-Star.

Who cares?

[alnorth]

Maybe Juarez, Mexico needs a arsonist.

ROFL

[Demonpenz]

I think the plug has been pulled on gordon, just a matter of waiting for the sound of the rattle

[Reaper16]

What is Alex Gordon doing? When is he coming back.
He's starting a rehab assignment at AAA Omaha.

[BWillie]

I think the plug has been pulled on gordon, just a matter of waiting for the sound of the rattle

I hope not. If he gets hurt real bad this year or has worse of a year than two years ago then I would agree. We need a guy that hits .270 and hits 20 HRS. He's not Ryan Braun, but he still could be productive.

[DeezNutz]

Similar batters to Gordon (per Baseball Reference):

1. Felix Torres (954)
2. Kevin Orie (952)
3. Wilson Betemit (950)
4. Willy Aybar (949)
5. Keith Ginter (945)
6. Aaron Guiel (943)
7. Rick Schu (943)
8. Billy Conigliaro (943)
9. Tommy Glaviano (942)
10. Joe Lefebvre (942)

[tk13]

Aaron Guiel!!!11111 greateST plaYer EVAR~!!!!!

[DeezNutz]

Aaron Guiel!!!11111 greateST plaYer EVAR~!!!!!

Imagine how hard people would have laughed if you'd made this comparison in '05.

It would have been looked at as supreme idiocy. Damn.

[alnorth]

The moral of that story is to never get extremely excited about a prospect until they actually do something. The baseball draft is such a crap-shoot, there is no such thing as a can't miss. The best you can get is a kid who might have a 10-20% better chance of being a star than an average 1st-rounder.

That said, the Royals seem to have a highly developed talent for identifying draft busts.

[CaliforniaChief]

The moral of that story is to never get extremely excited about a prospect until they actually do something. The baseball draft is such a crap-shoot, there is no such thing as a can't miss. The best you can get is a kid who might have a 10-20% better chance of being a star than an average 1st-rounder.

That said, the Royals seem to have a highly developed talent for identifying and draftingdraft busts.

Pretty much...although I hear Colt Griffin makes a helluva smoothie this days.

[petegz28]

Good he sucks, so much for his new pitch...

Bringing up this guy though....

Rupe, 27, was a non-roster player with the Royals in Spring Training and pitched in eight games. He had a 6.30 ERA and one victory in 10 innings. At Omaha, he was in two games and gave up no runs in five innings with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

In four seasons with the Texas Rangers, Rupe appeared in 70 games, all but one in relief, and posted a 4-2 record and a 4.95 ERA. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was 5-7 with a 6.67 ERA in 24 games, including 14 starts.

I saw Rupe in ST....meh

[KChiefs1]

If it wasn't for the stinkin' bullpen the Royals would probably be 6-3 or even 7-2.

[CaliforniaChief]

At this point, short of using an automated pitching machine or a tee, I can't imagine it getting much worse from the bullpen. At least the pitching machine would throw strikes. Colon, Mendoza, Tejeda, Hughes...pretty much anyone except Parrish and Soria are just a disaster. But we all knew that.

[DeezNutz]

At this point, short of using an automated pitching machine or a tee, I can't imagine it getting much worse from the bullpen. At least the pitching machine would throw strikes. Colon, Mendoza, Tejeda, Hughes...pretty much anyone except Parrish and Soria are just a disaster. But we all knew that.

In saying that "we all knew that," I assume you're excluding Dayton Moore.

Because he, obviously, did not.

[DeezNutz]

The moral of that story is to never get extremely excited about a prospect until they actually do something. The baseball draft is such a crap-shoot, there is no such thing as a can't miss. The best you can get is a kid who might have a 10-20% better chance of being a star than an average 1st-rounder.

That said, the Royals seem to have a highly developed talent for identifying draft busts.

It's possible to explain away every single first round failure or apparent failure that the Royals have selected since '05. But, at a certain point, the collective body of work speaks too strongly.

One, just fucking one, of these extremely high picks has to hit. Right?

Royals baseball.

[BillSelfsTrophycase]

Similar batters to Gordon (per Baseball Reference):

1. Felix Torres (954)
2. Kevin Orie (952)
3. Wilson Betemit (950)
4. Willy Aybar (949)
5. Keith Ginter (945)
6. Aaron Guiel (943)
7. Rick Schu (943)
8. Billy Conigliaro (943)
9. Tommy Glaviano (942)
10. Joe Lefebvre (942)


Nice :LOL:

So much for saving the franchise

[Demonpenz]

and you just don't get it you signed scott podzednick and you just don't get it.

[alnorth]

Top 1st

DeJesus pops out to shortstop
Podsednik singles to left
Butler flies out to right
Guillen strikes out (swinging)

0 runs, 1 hit

Bottom 1st

Span walks
Hudson walks, Span to second
Mauer reaches on a 4-6 fielder's choice, Hudson out at second, Span to third
Morneau strikes out (swinging)
Cuddyer flies out to right

0 runs, 0 hits

[petegz28]

I don't care for the camera angle from CF.

[Jenson71]

Uh . . . Grienke?

[AndChiefs]

Grienke?

The bullpen has infected him..

[petegz28]

Wow, Zack off to a rotten start

[DeezNutz]

Nasty. Quick looking 93...

[Demonpenz]

get a double play and get out of this one

[DeezNutz]

Why isn't Betancourt playing tonight?

[Demonpenz]

that rail system would be nice to haul my ass from lenexa to the ball park. Kc really sucks sometimes

[Jenson71]

Thank God. That's doing it the really hard way. The one that uses up like 30 pitches.

[DeezNutz]

Greinke is probably off to a slowish start because he's thinking about how he likes Walmart better.

[alnorth]

Top 2nd

Ankiel pops out to second
Callaspo singles to left
Kendall strikes out (swinging), Callaspo steals second *
Betancourt singles to left, Callaspo thrown out at home 7-2

0 runs, 2 hits

Bottom 2nd

Kubel flies out to left
Young flies out to left
Hardy strikes out (swinging)

0 runs, 0 hits

* The throw was in plenty of time, but the second baseman failed to tag Callaspo

[DeezNutz]

LMAO.

Tagging the runner is, apparently, still a rule.

[Demonpenz]

lol the black people the twins add, the worse and dumb baseball they play

[DeezNutz]

Ok.

Did I look at something wrong or did the televised defensive lineup list Bloomquist at SS?

[Demonpenz]

delmon young orlando hudson. man that sound racist as hell

[DeezNutz]

Bullshit call.

[Demonpenz]

Ok.

Did I look at something wrong or did the televised defensive lineup list Bloomquist at SS?

it had blomquist at SS and 2nd base great job fox sports

[petegz28]

Once again, Owen sends a slow runner to the plate with 2 outs only to get shot and end the inning

[DeezNutz]

Not mad at Owen for sending the runner there. Decent risk early in the game.

[DeezNutz]

it had blomquist at SS and 2nd base great job fox sports

Thanks.

Deuces.

[DeezNutz]

Are we allowed to see a replay?

[KCUnited]

Are we allowed to see a replay?

It's like we're at the game

[DeezNutz]

Wow.

[petegz28]

great fucking catch, Scotty!!!

[Blankey]

Play of the year? Maybe for the Royals.

[DeezNutz]

It's like we're at the game

Anyone go back and look at the play? Was the call correct?

[petegz28]

Anyone go back and look at the play? Was the call correct?

The call at the plate looked correct but it was close. Would like to see a replay though

[Demonpenz]

that ball carries like shit in that ball park.

[alnorth]

Top 3rd

Bloomquist lines out to shortstop
DeJesus strikes out (swinging)
Podsednik flies out to center

0 runs, 0 hits

Bottom 3rd

Harris strikes out (looking)
Span singles to center
Hudson flies out to right
Mauer walks, Span to second
Morneau walks, Mauer to second, Span to third
Cuddyer doubles to right, Morneau to third, Mauer and Span scores
Kubel strikes out (swinging)

2 runs, 2 hits

[DeezNutz]

The call at the plate looked correct but it was close. Would like to see a replay though

Thought Callaspo caught the corner of the plate in real time. Could be wrong, though.

[teedubya]

does the sound, sound like shit to anyone else?

[teedubya]

That catch was amazing.

[alnorth]

Getz was apparently scratched late, just now noticed

[alnorth]

The official scorer has changed his mind about that 1st inning error and gave Podsednik a hit. Not completely surprised, it sounded like a pretty tough error.

[teedubya]

Come on Zack, shit.

[alnorth]

Top 4th

Butler flies out to right
Guillen grounds out to shortstop
Ankiel strikes out (swinging)

0 runs, 0 hits

Bottom 4th

Young flies out to left
Hardy hits an infield single to third
Harris singles to center, Hardy to second
Span grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, Harris out at second

0 runs, 2 hits

[alnorth]

Holy crap, Chicago and Cleveland played a lightning-fast game. 2 hours and 4 minutes. What's even more amazing is they did that while scoring 8 runs, 14 hits, and 2 errors.

[alnorth]

Top 5th

Callaspo grounds out to first 3-1
Kendall flies out to center
Betancourt homers to center
Bloomquist strikes out (swinging)

1 run, 1 hit

Bottom 5th

Hudson singles to right
Mauer flies out to left
Morneau singles to left, Mauer to second
Cuddyer reaches on a 5-4 fielder's choice, Morneau safe at second on an Error by 2B, Mauer to third
Kubel walks, Cuddyer to second, Morneau to third, Mauer scores
Young sacrifices (fly) to center, Cuddyer to third, Morneau scores
Hardy strikes out (swinging)

2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error

[petegz28]

Yunni with a jack.....nice

[BillSelfsTrophycase]

Ph33R the yunibomber!!!!!!!!1111111one!!!!!

[Mr. Laz]

i've been watching the game ... muh bad.

i'll cease and desist


take my jinx and leave

[Mr. Laz]

Ph33R the yunibomber!!!!!!!!1111111one!!!!!
well that didn't take long ... 30 seconds after i turn the game off and BOOM!!


:sulk:

[HotRoute]

grienke is not on his A-game tonight, new twins stadium is nice, dont miss the dome one bit

[alnorth]

Podsednik is just single-handedly keeping us in the game tonight

[HotRoute]

bloomquist is garbage, cant hit cant catch. cmon man

[Jenson71]

GODDAMMIT.

I'm just going to jerk off and go to bed.

[petegz28]

Wow, Zack. Oh well, I guess every pitcher has an off-night.


Thanks for the error, Bloomy.

[alnorth]

Greinke's gonna finish tonight with 3 earned runs. No other runs in this inning will be earned.

[HotRoute]

i want to say take him out trey, but i would hate to see our bullpen have to come in with the bases juiced. hell i hate to see our bullpen come in in just about any situation

[OmahaChief]

Not impressed with Zack this year so far

[alnorth]

Greinke's gonna finish tonight with 3 earned runs. No other runs in this inning will be earned.

correction, 2ER. The first run in the 5th wouldn't have been walked in

[alnorth]

Top 6th

DeJesus triples to center
Podsednik lines out to second
Butler singles to right, DeJesus scores
Guillen singles to left, Butler to second
Ankiel strikes out (swinging)
Callaspo grounds out to first

1 run, 3 hits

Bottom 6th

Kyle Farnsworth relieves Greinke

Harris singles to left
Span hit by pitch, Harris to second
Hudson walks, Span to second, Harris to third

Dusty Hughes relieves Farnsworth

Mauer sacrifices (fly) to center, Span to third, Harris scores
Morneau fouls out to first
Cuddyer flies out to right

1 run, 1 hit

[DeezNutz]

Just me or does Target Field look drab as hell?

[tk13]

Here's your stat of the night: Betancourt has as many HR's as the six highest paid baseball players last season (A-Rod, Jeter, Manny, Teixeira, Beltran, and Carlos Lee) combined: 2 Those six guys made over $135 million last season.

Eh, nevermind... I see Jeter has 2 HR's... so they have 3 to Betancourt's 2. All is lost.

[teedubya]

Can we trade Jose Guillen NOW before he cools off?

[HotRoute]

Here's your stat of the night: Betancourt has as many HR's as the six highest paid baseball players last season (A-Rod, Jeter, Manny, Teixeira, Beltran, and Carlos Lee) combined: 2 Those six guys made over $135 million last season.

Eh, nevermind... I see Jeter has 2 HR's... so they have 3 to Betancourt's 2. All is lost.

haha , thats funny as hell. and hes not even leading our team, lol

but we will have to see those stats at the end of the yr

[alnorth]

come on, hit it out. After all those 8-9IP losses, if anyone deserves a cheap win, its Greinke.

[alnorth]

well, we know that Farnsworth is awesome at defending a 4-run deficit. I guess we'll see if he can hold down 2.

[petegz28]

Farnsworth, you fucking idiot!!! 0-2 and you hit the fucking batter.

[DeezNutz]

Surprise. It's a somewhat higher-leverage situation and Farnsworth sucks.

Who would have thunk it?

[petegz28]

Farnsworth ensures the loss

[alnorth]

I think its pretty clear now that Farnsworth's role is to pitch during blowouts.

[DeezNutz]

Now?

[HotRoute]

and our bullpen never fails










to suck

[alnorth]

bases loaded no outs vs the AL batting champion. Hughes is probably cursing his fate

[DeezNutz]

Unconventional, but here's a situation where the game is on the line. Why not think about using Soria? Ideally, do it one batter ago.

[HotRoute]

d.hughes is about to show you how to really f*ck things up

[alnorth]

Unconventional, but here's a situation where the game is on the line. Why not think about using Soria? Ideally, do it one batter ago.

If we were up 4-2? sure, but not while this is a lost game anyway

[tk13]

Unconventional, but here's a situation where the game is on the line. Why not think about using Soria? Ideally, do it one batter ago.

For some reason, this idea has caught fire elsewhere... I think there's some logic. But the reality is, the rest of our bullpen is still terrible. It's people trying to outthink themselves. You think Farnsworth is bad in the 6th inning watch what he does in the 9th when there's real pressure.

[alnorth]

If Hughes manages to keep the damage at 1, he deserves some kind of small bonus, maybe a $50 gift card at Applebee's or something.

[DeezNutz]

For some reason, this idea has caught fire elsewhere... I think there's some logic. But the reality is, the rest of our bullpen is still terrible. It's people trying to outthink themselves. You think Farnsworth is bad in the 6th inning watch what he does in the 9th when there's real pressure.

The thought is to give yourself a chance and to extend the game, getting the most out of your best players.

If a team like the Royals commits to using Soria only as a "closer" I think it's a terrible waste of a valuable resource.

[HotRoute]

two hits that would have been jacks in about any other park does not merit a reward of any kind

[alnorth]

The thought is to give yourself a chance and to extend the game, getting the most out of your best players.

If a team like the Royals commits to using Soria only as a "closer" I think it's a terrible waste of a valuable resource.

Its a fine idea, but people shouldn't look for every excuse to use it. If you brought in your best pitcher to defend a 2-run deficit, thats pretty much a waste.

[alnorth]

Top 7th

Kendall grounds out to shortstop
Betancourt grounds out to third
Bloomquist grounds out to shortstop

0 runs, 0 hits

Bottom 7th

Kubel grounds out 1-6-3

Robinson Tejeda relieves Hughes

Young grounds out to first 3-1
Hardy strikes out (swinging)

0 runs, 0 hits

[ChiTown]

The thought is to give yourself a chance and to extend the game, getting the most out of your best players.

If a team like the Royals commits to using Soria only as a "closer" I think it's a terrible waste of a valuable resource.

Amen.

Especially given the limited offensive resources on this team

[DeezNutz]

Its a fine idea, but people shouldn't look for every excuse to use it. If you brought in your best pitcher to defend a 2-run deficit, thats pretty much a waste.

Yeah, certainly not going to argue this point too strongly. You're probably right, here.

2 runs is probably too much.

[DeezNutz]

At this point, I think a small parade would be in order if we'd eat the rest of Farnsworth's contract.

[tk13]

The thought is to give yourself a chance and to extend the game, getting the most out of your best players.

If a team like the Royals commits to using Soria only as a "closer" I think it's a terrible waste of a valuable resource.

I get the idea, the Cubans seem to take that strategy into the WBC. Usually works well for them too.

I think there are situations where it could make sense but I get the feeling some people think we should do it everyday. At the end of the day, you still have to play 9 innings of baseball. And it's not a total waste... the idea is that you shorten the game significantly. If you bring Soria in the 6th inning, the opponent knows they can just get through that inning and they'll have three more shots to win the game. And then the next time there's trouble, what do you do...

But I do understand that most people who make these "statistical based arguments" do not believe in pressure, or pressure situations or human emotion or any of that. I think that's probably the only big flaw in all the sabermetric stuff... these guys are still people. I read it on Royals Corner all the time, I don't even want to post there because it'd start a circular argument that would go on for 9 months... how closers don't matter and there's no such thing as pressure. Which is obviously total BS if you've ever watched Kyle Farnsworth pitch. Obviously that's an extreme but anybody who's ever done anything in life knows there is such a thing as pressure and there are people who crap their pants when they're nervous. There's just no statistical way to quantify it so it's dismissed. Drives me nuts.

[alnorth]

leadoff hitter coming up for the 8th, we probably have to have a big inning there or we are done

[alnorth]

Top 8th

Matt Guerrier relieves Baker

DeJesus flies out to left
Podsednik grounds out to first
Butler flies out to center

0 runs, 0 hits

Bottom 8th

Harris walks
Span singles to center, Harris to second
Hudson doubles to right, Span and Harris scores
Mauer flies out to center
Hudson to third on a Wild Pitch
Morneau walks

Juan Cruz relieves Tejeda

Cuddyer singles to left, Morneau to second, Hudson scores
Kubel walks, Cuddyer to second, Morneau to third
Young strikes out (swinging)
Hardy singles to center, Kubel to second, Cuddyer and Morneau scores
Hardy caught stealing 2-4, out at second

5 runs, 4 hits

[Priest31kc]

We lose.

[alnorth]

We lose.

Yep, all thats left is to help pad Jon Rauch's stats

[Sure-Oz]

Orlanda i bitch about racism Hudson

[alnorth]

Why are we bringing in Cruz for this garbage situation? Wouldn't this be perfect for that dude who just came from Omaha?

[DeezNutz]

I get the idea, the Cubans seem to take that strategy into the WBC. Usually works well for them too.

I think there are situations where it could make sense but I get the feeling some people think we should do it everyday. At the end of the day, you still have to play 9 innings of baseball. And it's not a total waste... the idea is that you shorten the game significantly. If you bring Soria in the 6th inning, the opponent knows they can just get through that inning and they'll have three more shots to win the game. And then the next time there's trouble, what do you do...

But I do understand that most people who make these "statistical based arguments" do not believe in pressure, or pressure situations or human emotion or any of that. I think that's probably the only big flaw in all the sabermetric stuff... these guys are still people. I read it on Royals Corner all the time, I don't even want to post there because it'd start a circular argument that would go on for 9 months... how closers don't matter and there's no such thing as pressure. Which is obviously total BS if you've ever watched Kyle Farnsworth pitch. Obviously that's an extreme but anybody who's ever done anything in life knows there is such a thing as pressure and there are people who crap their pants when they're nervous. There's just no statistical way to quantify it so it's dismissed. Drives me nuts.

Yeah, we're pretty much in agreement with everything here.

There just has to be somewhat of a balance to make sure that you don't leave one of your most valuable players, Soria, on the shelf for too long. He needs consistent work.

If that means he's pitching the 8th/9th. Perfect. If that means he needs, occasionally, to work in the 6th/7th, I'm ok with that, too. Unfortunately for us, that would test the competency level of our manager...

[Sure-Oz]

Why are we bringing in Cruz for this garbage situation? Wouldn't this be perfect for that dude who just came from Omaha?

May as well waste a pitcher that has a somewhat decent era so far..:cuss:

[Sure-Oz]

Betancourt showing that awesome range

[DeezNutz]

Posnanski had a great article last year. Title was something like, "With Betancourt, you can't trust your eyes."

All about his lack of range, etc. Beautiful argument.

I'm confident that DM didn't understand a word.

[alnorth]

Top 9th

Brian Duensing relieves Guerrier

Guillen strikes out (swinging)
Ankiel hit by pitch
Callaspo reaches on a 4-6 fielder's choice, Ankiel out at second
Kendall reaches on an infield single to pitcher, Callaspo to second
Betancourt singles to center, Kendall to second, Callaspo scores
Bloomquist grounds into a 6-4 fielder's choice, Betancourt out at second

1 run, 2 hits

Twins win, 10-3

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Zack Greinke sucks.

[KC_Connection]

For somebody that hasn't watched him pitch but drafted him in fantasy, can somebody explain to me what Greinke's problem is?

[Sure-Oz]

He realized he's on the Royals...

He just hasn't looked sharp, control issues. Hopefully he gets it together asap.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

For somebody that hasn't watched him pitch but drafted him in fantasy, can somebody explain to me what Greinke's problem is?

He's having a lot of control problems. Tons of walks, throwing way too many pitches (108 pitches in 5 innings). He threw a lot of pitches last time out against the Red Sox, and hit a couple batters. For some reason he's just wild.

[Sure-Oz]

He's having a lot of control problems. Tons of walks, throwing way too many pitches (108 pitches in 5 innings). He threw a lot of pitches last time out against the Red Sox, and hit a couple batters. For some reason he's just wild.

It happens, i dont expect teh guy from last year but a 15 game winner and an era in the mid 3's