Comments on Rany on the Royals: Dark Cloud, Meet Silver Lining.

Curtis, Take any team, choose the worst stretch o...

2009-05-15T17:59:19.803-05:00

Curtis,

Take any team, choose the worst stretch of their year, and suppose they went .500 in that stretch. It would always "change the whole complexion of the season." Any team would be radically improved by eliminating their losing streaks! That's nothing unique to the Royals. Losing streaks aren't proof of bad team chemistry, they're an inevitable result of 162-game sequences

Dude, where were you last year? On May 18, Greinke...

2009-05-15T15:35:05.799-05:00

Dude, where were you last year? On May 18, Greinke beat Florida to put us at 21-22. We were a game and a half out of first place after what looked to be a tough part of the schedule, and things were looking fairly positive.

And then we lost 12 in a row, and we were 9 games out, and we never sniffed even third place again.

This isn't a pattern just of the Baird years. A huge

"It's rational." Why would a team with a new GM, ...

2009-05-15T14:50:46.051-05:00

"It's rational."

Why would a team with a new GM, a new manager, and an almost totally revamped roster from the years you're talking about, be expected to break down the same way they did? Do you think the uniforms are cursed?

Also, I'd be interested to see any evidence that the Royals have been streakier than would be statistically expected over the last few years. Everyone

Damn it, Rany! Talk us in off the ledge!! Metapho...

2009-05-15T10:21:06.484-05:00

Damn it, Rany! Talk us in off the ledge!!

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

It's rational.

2009-05-14T22:58:57.412-05:00

It's rational.

Right, because good teams never put their closers ...

2009-05-14T16:52:57.070-05:00

Right, because good teams never put their closers on the DL, or watch their prospects struggle against major league competition, or lose five straight games. What we've seen in the last two weeks is the normal ebb and flow a competitive, but not dominant, team should expect over the course of a long season. This reflexive bashing of our team as soon as they hit a rough patch is a little neurotic.

All alone in first place! Woo-hoo!! Here's hoping...

2009-05-14T15:08:06.089-05:00

All alone in first place! Woo-hoo!!

Here's hoping we don't turn it into a three way tie in a couple of hours.

Come on, ladies, give them a home field advantage tonight!!!

Well, excuse us for being jaded. We certainly hav...

2009-05-14T13:02:35.938-05:00

Well, excuse us for being jaded. We certainly have NO REASON TO BE! It's not like we've ever seen this before. We're die hard Royals fans, we've suffered through years and years of dog-crap baseball. So when we see game after game of bad fielding and game after game of little league level base running, mixed with no hitting, an All-Star closer going on the DL and a first overall draft pick

BREAKING NEWS - we've lost 5 straight and are STIL...

2009-05-14T07:49:20.477-05:00

BREAKING NEWS - we've lost 5 straight and are STILL tied for first...enough with the 'Same old Royals' and 'the sky is falling' crap. Enjoy that you have a team this year that you can get excited about (or even nervous).

I just heard a "thunk", looked in the rear-view mi...

2009-05-13T23:38:29.061-05:00

I just heard a "thunk", looked in the rear-view mirror and saw a run-away wheel bouncing down the road.

Anonymous, your spot on about Andrew Miller. Lince...

2009-05-13T21:26:20.819-05:00

Anonymous, your spot on about Andrew Miller. Lincecum was the best arm and Longoria was the best hitter in the draft but we already had a 3b and you just can't move those guys to other positions (yikes). The Royals chose Hochevar on the basis of about 30 innings of indy ball work with a fresh arm and no pressure. It's like judging a golfer by watching him play a casual round with his friends

Hochevar looked like a quadruple-A pitcher on Tues...

2009-05-13T19:07:08.652-05:00

Hochevar looked like a quadruple-A pitcher on Tuesday night... even the A's rustier hitters can hit hangers and fastballs that catch too much of the plate. Hope Luke can fix his location problems or he will not be long for the major leagues... again.

Silver Lining, meet Jack Cust.

2009-05-13T14:33:24.450-05:00

Silver Lining, meet Jack Cust.

Banny stops the slide today. Write it down.

2009-05-13T12:39:52.210-05:00

Banny stops the slide today. Write it down.

We will finish 3rd.

2009-05-13T10:28:43.505-05:00

We will finish 3rd.

Let's hope this game was at least a bit of an abbe...

2009-05-13T10:25:50.348-05:00

Let's hope this game was at least a bit of an abberation. Maybe we really are the Royals of old, but don't tell me the A's are the worst offense in baseball because they aren't they started slow but there offense is going to be pretty good all year. Come on Banny, time to play stopper.

We have a .490 team and we will not win the divisi...

2009-05-13T10:19:19.932-05:00

We have a .490 team and we will not win the division.

Nathan--you mean Andrew Miller, and he was far fro...

2009-05-13T10:15:41.790-05:00

Nathan--you mean Andrew Miller, and he was far from a consensus, as he only had two pitches in college.

It came down to "scout guys" being divided between Miller and Hochevar with "Moneyball numbers geeks" being sold on Lincecum. As is generally the case, you can see who was right.

The bandwagon is thinning out. I've believed in t...

2009-05-13T10:12:10.654-05:00

The bandwagon is thinning out. I've believed in this team for far too long, and now they actually look like they could be the real thing, and then they go and show you who they really are. The real Royals are back. They'll be in last place by the end of May. Well, maybe not. Cleveland is pretty horrible too.

4-game losing streaks happen. Reading too much i...

2009-05-13T10:11:53.164-05:00

4-game losing streaks happen.

Reading too much into the last four games is as bad as reading too much into the previous five. We all knew to begin the year that this team is fundamentally not too far from .500. The question is, do we have an 85 win team that could catch some breaks and win 90, or a 75 win team that could catch some breaks and win 80? As Rany explained then, that

You mean Hochevar over Adam Miller, right? That wa...

2009-05-13T09:58:20.423-05:00

You mean Hochevar over Adam Miller, right? That was the consensus pick. You're not going to get the best player very often, even with the number 1 pick, especially in one of those years when there's no Alex Rodriguez or Justin Upton clearly separating himself from the pack.

Thank God we took Hocehvar over Lincecum, since Li...

2009-05-13T08:19:11.046-05:00

Thank God we took Hocehvar over Lincecum, since Lincecum is "small" and "an injury risk".

Call it the Royals version of Bowie over Jordan. I remember being so unhappy the day we took Hochevar, and the last three years have done nothing to change my mind.

The Soria thing looks ugly. Let's hope for the bes...

2009-05-13T08:07:33.018-05:00

The Soria thing looks ugly. Let's hope for the best, but as you said the Royals medical staff does not enjoy a great reputation for their work.

Hochevar looked like the classic over matched 4A pitcher last night. Breaking balls up in the zone can get AAA guys out but even lame major league hitters just feast on them.

So how about the TV crew tonight. Game was so bad ...

2009-05-13T00:01:37.056-05:00

So how about the TV crew tonight. Game was so bad they focused on random drunk girls in the stands for.... 5 minutes? Someone with the capability should put that on youtube

Nice work, Rany. But there is a typo in your post...

2009-05-12T23:13:19.739-05:00

Nice work, Rany. But there is a typo in your post. You state that Hochevar can reasonably be expected to have an ERA in the mid-4's. I think you meant mid-40's.