Royals End Skid
The team that had played roughly average baseball for June and July has vanished. The Royals' team we've grown accustomed to has reappeared as we all knew it would. The starting pitching has been awful, particularly over the past few games. Luke Hudson's 11-run, 1/3 inning start may have been one of the worst all-time. Hudson didn't have good command, but the Indians weren't hitting him hard (except for one homerun). He just couldn't find the strikezone. Most of the balls hit against him were grounders that found holes or and the worst's deepest trench, Angel Berroa. So, perhaps there is still some hope for him. Redman's start last night wasn't much better, surrendering 8 runs in 3 2/3 innings.
The Royals finally broke their skid of horrible baseball. The Royals won 4-2 on Tuesday thanks to an unexpected quality start from Runvelys Hernandez, who has been completely useless this season. Mark Teahen continues to be the Royals' best bet, hitting his 14th HR to centerfield. Teahen's development of good power has been the nicest surpise of the season. Emil Brown has also continued to hit well. Brown has hit 4 HRs and is sporting a .326/.385/.674 line so far in August. Brown has a .800 OPS overall on the season, a slight decrease from last season. Nonetheless, Brown remains one of the Royals' most productive bats. I'd much rather have Brown back for next season than Reggie Sanders, but the $5 million on Sander's contract will make him tough to move.
The 2007 Rotation:
The Royals have no continuity whatsoever in the rotation. That's a problem that must be addressed in the offseason. The Royals need to acquire at least two reliable veteran starters, especially if Odalis Perez doesn't revert to his 2005 form. Hernandez has been terrible this season, so he will likely be non-tendered. Elarton might be back by midseason, but he isn't worth saving a spot for. Jimmy Gobble appears to be best suited for a setup role, so he probably won't be a starter. Hudson and De La Rosa have great stuff, but they are very inconsistent. The Royals will have Greinke back next year and Lumsden will probably join the rotation at some point. But, most of the spots are wide open.
2007 Rotation:
FA
FA
Perez
Greinke
Hudson/De La Rosa/Lumsden
posted by SoonerRoyal @ 7:20 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
They are saying that Hochevar may be ready to be called up next May or June. What do you think about that? I trust Moore that he won't rush him. But I don't see how Hochevar could play both double-A and triple-A in that time period and fulfill the rule of having 4 to 5 dominating starts in a row.
I think we may see Hochevar at some point next year, but that's a best-case scanerio. I think they will probably wait until 2008 to bring him up for good, similar to how they've handled Gordon. He might move faster than Gordon since he's had a few starts against some AA-level independent league teams.
Since Hochevar signed a major league contract, that means he only has three years of options. Does this year count as an option year or can we option him to the minors in 2007, 2008, & 2009?
Does "The Lanced Daily" EVER get updated anymore?
I don't think this year counts as an option year, so we can option him to the minors in 2007, 2008, and 2009. I think he'll be up for good by 2008, so it shouldn't matter much.
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