Punchin' Tickets

Royals 2005 - We Don't Lose Ten Straight to Nobody! (Are there any job openings in the Royals' PR department?)

Bautista had a solid outing, Eli Marrero and the rest of the offense finally busted out against a pretty decent starting pitcher in Cliff Lee, and Cerda...well, there's always a black cloud, right?

D. Bautista, 2005

29.2IP, 25H, 1HR, 10BB, 23K, 1.18WHIP. .233 BAA

Considering how poor the Royals' are defensively, I amazed at the batting average against. He has more walks that you'd like, but I love that he doesn't give up home runs, which the Royals of recent history have given away by the bushel (in fact, the Three Young Starters have given up a total of 4 HRs all season). All in all, he's been the Royals' most effective starting pitcher thus far. Every quality start he makes puts to shame my (and others') argument that he should have started the season in AAA.

A. Sisco, 2005

17IP, 8H, 6BB, 20K, 0HR, 0.82 WHIP, .138 BAA

22 years old, absolutely dominating. You have to wonder if he'd have made these kinds of strides pitching in AA ball with Chicago this season. He's simply flourished in this role. The question is whether Sisco should be made a starter at some point or should he continue doing what he's doing. It would be great, of course, if he COULD pitch as effectively as a starter, but maybe he's just found his niche. There are worse things than having a dominating middle reliever.

You gotta hand it to Ken Harvey - the guy knows the importance of starting with a bang. If Cal Pick had at least started the season with a few long hits and RBI, I'm certain he'd still be here. Ken has mastered the art of impression management, and probably bought himself a Stay Out of Nebraska Free card for the next couple of months.

I think we'll be seeing this mug for a spell...



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• In other news, Apparently Jeremy Affeldt will be out a "few more weeks" with his groin strain. Its just not gonna happen for this guy, is it?

• Bud Selig's acting tough and stuff. He's proposed a 50-game suspension for a first-time steroid offender. Second-time offenders would receive a 100-game suspension, and third-timers would be BANNED FOR LIFE. He's also recommended an amphetamine ban, which by all accounts are much more commonly used than anabolic steroids. I would think that this severely punitive approach would at least make players think 5 times about using "steroids", or at least drive users to find new substances not on the list. Opportunistic Congressmen, who receive training to not feel any shame, are taking credit.


• The Royals have an excellent pretty good reasonable opportunity to win this series today, as the Royals face a pitcher even worse than Jose Lima in Scott Elarton. Lima has been fairly decent in his last 3 starts, actually, so maybe its time to ring the bell and give Lima his first victory of the season.