***///--the Official Kansas City Royals Thread--\\\***

[KowboyKoop 0]

"Josh Beckett will be a great pitcher one day. As for when that day will come, your guess is as good as mine. It certainly isn't today. Despite a 13-6 record, it's fair to say Beckett has been somewhat of a disappointment this season. He entered last night's game with a 5.00 ERA and took advantage of the punchless Royals last night to lower it to 4.92 in the Red Sox's 5-4 loss. (Beckett did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs in six innings.)"No respect. Our offense has been pretty solid and even good at times for the past 2 1/2 to 3 months.......but it doesn't matter I suppose...we're still punchless. Our offense has gone from dead last at the end of May to 23rd and getting higher...but still no credit whatsoever. Can't get a single piece of praise for winning a series (and potentially sweeping) a series against the media darling Boston Red Sox or for being the very first team to score two runs against the media God Papelbon and hanging the loss on him. No credit for that though..we are still punchless because we had such a bad April and May.

[greatwhite 0]

"Josh Beckett will be a great pitcher one day. As for when that day will come, your guess is as good as mine. It certainly isn't today. Despite a 13-6 record, it's fair to say Beckett has been somewhat of a disappointment this season. He entered last night's game with a 5.00 ERA and took advantage of the punchless Royals last night to lower it to 4.92 in the Red Sox's 5-4 loss. (Beckett did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs in six innings.)"No respect. Our offense has been pretty solid and even good at times for the past 2 1/2 to 3 months.......but it doesn't matter I suppose...we're still punchless. Our offense has gone from dead last at the end of May to 23rd and getting higher...but still no credit whatsoever. Can't get a single piece of praise for winning a series (and potentially sweeping) a series against the media darling Boston Red Sox or for being the very first team to score two runs against the media God Papelbon and hanging the loss on him. No credit for that though..we are still punchless because we had such a bad April and May.

Good like when they lost back-to-back games to the Sox 1-0? KC is playing a little more respectable though. I'll give you that.

[wsox8 10]

Would you say Jon Garland's 12-3 record and around 5.00 ERA makes it so he is having a "bad year". I would say for him at least it's the story of streaks. Was really cold then heated up.

[greatwhite 0]

Would you say Jon Garland's 12-4 record and around 5.00 ERA makes it so he is having a "bad year". I would say for him at least it's the story of streaks. Was really cold then heated up.

FYP, wrong thread, and Garland isn't that good. He had a good year last year and 2001, but every other year his ERA has been >4.50.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Good like when they lost back-to-back games to the Sox 1-0? KC is playing a little more respectable though. I'll give you that.

So...you say that despite our offense scoring over 5 runs a game over the past 2 1/2 months or so (or something like that), that only two 1-0 losses count as to how good our offense is?? Lol..okay, by that logic....I guess the Yankee offense isn't that good because during this one series against Baltimore, they averaged less than four runs a game against that horrible pitching staff. Guess they aren't very good.Seriously, if you're gonna criticize my team..criticize the pitching. That is what sucks. The offense is pretty solid right now and our organization is loaded with offensive prospects.

Would you say Jon Garland's 12-3 record and around 5.00 ERA makes it so he is having a "bad year". I would say for him at least it's the story of streaks. Was really cold then heated up.

I'd say he's had an average year. Just can't go by ERA only when judging pitching. However, it is funny that when a pitcher like a Garland or a Beckett or a Randy Johnson has a poor ERA, they simply have been "streaky" and haven't been that bad..yet when Mark Redman puts up the same numbers..he sucks and is a joke, just like all the rest of our pitchers. Luke Hudson has better numbers than all three of these guys, but not one person would dare say he is having a decent year. Just sayin. ESPN sucks.

[greatwhite 0]

So...you say that despite our offense scoring over 5 runs a game over the past 2 1/2 months or so (or something like that), that only two 1-0 losses count as to how good our offense is?? Lol..okay, by that logic....I guess the Yankee offense isn't that good because during this one series against Baltimore, they averaged less than four runs a game against that horrible pitching staff. Guess they aren't very good.

They are still 11th in batting average, 12th in runs scored, and 12th in OPS. Their offense also had a total collapse when they pitched some of their best games of the year. Their offense has been better, but it's still nothing to jump up and down about.

[wsox8 10]

I'd say he's had an average year. Just can't go by ERA only when judging pitching. However, it is funny that when a pitcher like a Garland or a Beckett or a Randy Johnson has a poor ERA, they simply have been "streaky" and haven't been that bad..yet when Mark Redman puts up the same numbers..he sucks and is a joke, just like all the rest of our pitchers. Luke Hudson has better numbers than all three of these guys, but not one person would dare say he is having a decent year. Just sayin. ESPN sucks.

Yeah I think if you take out his first few crappy outings he has had a solild year. Redman has sure been good as of late and is becoming a nice ace. Hudson will definitely be good in the future. The prospects sure do look nice for the Royals. And to greatwhite: The Royals offense is not as bad as you think. Gruds, Teahen (spelling), SWEENEY, DeJesus and others can hit. The AL central is only getting better.

[KowboyKoop 0]

They are still 11th in batting average, 12th in runs scored, and 12th in OPS. Their offense also had a total collapse when they pitched some of their best games of the year. Their offense has been better, but it's still nothing to jump up and down about.

No one is saying we have one of the best offenses in baseball...just that it is getting a lot better and over the past two to three months, we have averaged right at about 5 runs a game. Averaging 5 runs a game is good for about middle of the pack...maybe a little better. Yeah, the total numbers aren't good because we started out so incredibly bad (due to some injuries, partly), but as I have said, over the past few months, we've been pretty decent. That's all. In two years (or less), however, with Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Justin Huber, Chris Lubanski, Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, and Ryan Shealy all hopefully being a good part of our lineup...and possibly a good leadoff man in Joey Gathright (maybe), our lineup is going to be very good. Very good.

Yeah I think if you take out his first few crappy outings he has had a solild year. Redman has sure been good as of late and is becoming a nice ace. Hudson will definitely be good in the future. The prospects sure do look nice for the Royals. And to greatwhite: The Royals offense is not as bad as you think. Gruds, Teahen (spelling), SWEENEY, DeJesus and others can hit. The AL central is only getting better.

Redman came back from injury too quickly..so his bad start can be contributed to that somewhat. He has been good for us for the most part this year. I wouldn't call him an "ace" by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn't mind if he stuck around next year. With him, and a promising looking Luke Hudson and Greinke back..the rotation could look better next year, but we'll see what happens.As for the AL Central...yeah...it's already the best division in baseball by far...and it is going to keep getting so much better....so much young talented pitching. Extremely deep.

[TMoneyBags 0]

Haha, nice job KC in beating the BoSox again tonight. Ha, I enjoy watching the likes of Boston, Chicago, and New York lose. It's the next best thing to a hometown win

[greatwhite 0]

Thank you KC!

[KowboyKoop 0]

KC sweeps Boston. Don't worry though, we won't get any of the credit for it. It's not because we are playing decent baseball, it is only because the Red Sox are playing so so horrible right now. That is the only reason..or so they tell me.

[greatwhite 0]

KC sweeps Boston. Don't worry though, we won't get any of the credit for it. It's not because we are playing decent baseball, it is only because the Red Sox are playing so so horrible right now. That is the only reason..or so they tell me.

I think it is a bit of a combo, however the Sox are playing so bad that it may be alittle bit more that they are playing bad than KC is playing good.

[KowboyKoop 0]

I think it is a bit of a combo, however the Sox are playing so bad that it may be alittle bit more that they are playing bad than KC is playing good.

I'd love for you to give me an example of how Boston played "bad" in the three games against KC. All three games were actually pretty well played games. Both teams played decent-to-good, but we played better. Yeah, maybe Boston didn't play there best, but they FAR FAR FAR from handed the game to us. Amazing that we can be the first team to score two runs on Papelbon and come back and win against him and still receive almost no credit. Yeah, we aren't a good team..but that doesn't mean we aren't capable of playing well at times, which we have been.

[MDXS 0]

It's times like this that I'm happy I haven't been Royals bashing all season. Of course, it seems like that's the only silver lining in the whole thing. The Red Sox are definitely scuffling. Basically, if the name on the jersey isn't Ramirez, Ortiz, or to a lesser extent, Pena, then they've not been playing well. Losing to Tampa Bay in hideous fashion, then getting swept by the Royals when in theory they should have taken 2 of 3 is not how to go about a stretch run to the playoffs. Of course, these things happen when nearly a quarter of the team is hurt/mental.I'm not just ascribing the sweep to Boston playing badly. The Royals were playing well. They minimized mistakes, kept hitting, and didn't give up even against Papelbon. They've played us tough all year and it's clear to me once a couple of those prospects start hitting the scene this team will sneak up on people without actually having to change too much (need some better starting pitching, but the offense will be quite good). Too bad for the Royals that the quality of teams in the AL Central has improved a bunch in the last couple years. The Tigers keep rocking, the White Sox are World champs, the Twins have the nastiest 1-2 pitching combo in baseball (with some good young hitters and a kick-*** closer), and though Cleveland has struggled, they've also been on of the unluckiest teams in baseball so far and are better than their record indicates.One final thing. I don't know if you followed the games on the radio or TV, Koop, but how often do you see someone put one over the bleachers in left like Wily Mo did in the first game? Or even in last night's game where he was off-balance with the curve and knocked it over the fountain in left-center. The Sox don't go to Kaufmann too often these days, but I can't remember seeing anything hit that far in that stadium.

[KowboyKoop 0]

I'm definitely not saying that Boston played their best. Just that the Royals weren't simply "given" the games...we indeed did play well. That's all. I agree with what you said, MDXS.Also....I believe they said that Willy Mo's HR in the first game was the 12th or 13th farthest in stadium history....but I could be wrong on that. Either way..I haven't seen one hit that far there in a long while. It was a nanly-blast.

[timwakefield 68]

DAMN YOU KANSAS CITY!!!!!!!!!

Also....I believe they said that Willy Mo's HR in the first game was the 12th or 13th farthest in stadium history....but I could be wrong on that. Either way..I haven't seen one hit that far there in a long while. It was a nanly-blast.

Yeah Wily Mo hit that ball about 2 miles.

[MDXS 0]

Also....I believe they said that Willy Mo's HR in the first game was the 12th or 13th farthest in stadium history....but I could be wrong on that. Either way..I haven't seen one hit that far there in a long while. It was a nanly-blast.

12th or 13th....that's pretty good. I thought the second one was actually further. I'm curious to see what hittracker has to say about them when they finally update. What a time for them to get lazy.

[KowboyKoop 0]

DAMN YOU KANSAS CITY!!!!!!!!!Yeah Wily Mo hit that ball about 2 miles.

Boy..it sure would be nice if KC could play like they did in the BoSox series all the time.....not that we'd be great...but we'd be decent. Things are looking up though...pitching help is on the way. Greinke is dominating in the minors and Lumsden is looking good..we'll see.

[greatwhite 0]

Boy..it sure would be nice if KC could play like they did in the BoSox series all the time.....not that we'd be great...but we'd be decent. Things are looking up though...pitching help is on the way. Greinke is dominating in the minors and Lumsden is looking good..we'll see.

Don't forget about Hudson. He looked good the other day. Sorry, but I had to get that out. KC has a lot of good prospects, but the problem is the division is so tuff. While Cleveland took a step back Minnesota and Detroit both have a lot of good arms. While I see improvement in their future it might be a while yet before we see KC get over .500. Yet again you never know. What Detroit has done in the past few years has been impressive.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Don't forget about Hudson. He looked good the other day. Sorry, but I had to get that out. KC has a lot of good prospects, but the problem is the division is so tuff. While Cleveland took a step back Minnesota and Detroit both have a lot of good arms. While I see improvement in their future it might be a while yet before we see KC get over .500. Yet again you never know. What Detroit has done in the past few years has been impressive.

Who is to say our prospects won't be as good as or better than everyone else's prospects. Greinke, when he pitched for KC at the age of 20, was as hyped as all the other prospects and had a pretty good year. Yeah, he had a couple bad months last year and everyone seems to think he's "washed up" or a "bust" at the age of 22...but he's still a pretty good prospect....and Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are, what, both in the top 5 of offensive prospects in the league...combined with many many other pretty good prospects...we're not just gonna get a little better...we're gonna get a LOT better if our pitching prospects pan out. The offense is a near lock to be pretty good real soon...the pitching has a decent chance to improve a lot with Greinke, Hochevar, Lumsden, and others...we'll see.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Luke Hochevar debuted tonight for Class A Burlington...on a 35 pitch limit..but he threw two perfect innings while striking out two.

[greatwhite 0]

Luke Hochevar debuted tonight for Class A Burlington...on a 35 pitch limit..but he threw two perfect innings while striking out two.

I have to give you credit Koop. You are on top of your team's farm system probablly more than anybody else in this forum. Do you think you would follow the farm system so closely if KC was much better? I'm just wondering.

[KowboyKoop 0]

I have to give you credit Koop. You are on top of your team's farm system probablly more than anybody else in this forum. Do you think you would follow the farm system so closely if KC was much better? I'm just wondering.

Yeah, I would. AAA and AA are the only two clubs I follow really closely though. The only time I worry about clubs below that are for things like Hochevar's debut and other stuff like that. Those in A ball are just too far away and too much can happen to really get excited about them...but I think minor league baseball is great.

[TMoneyBags 0]

I love KC, sweeping the BoSox, and taking a couple from the hated ChiSox. Pretty good for a "godforesaken" team. And I agree Koop. minor league baseball is sweet. It's pretty cool watching people rise through the minors or struggle in the case of most. I wish that there was a AA team in the area. Good prospects and 10 bucks will pretty much get you a seat in the dugout.

[KowboyKoop 0]

I love KC, sweeping the BoSox, and taking a couple from the hated ChiSox. Pretty good for a "godforesaken" team. And I agree Koop. minor league baseball is sweet. It's pretty cool watching people rise through the minors or struggle in the case of most. I wish that there was a AA team in the area. Good prospects and 10 bucks will pretty much get you a seat in the dugout.

Yeah..lol....too bad we suck to all holy hell and could only score 10 runs against Contreras and the gang yesterday.....yeah, we aren't a good team, but we've been playing decent for a while now, with a couple exceptions.