KC Royals - JUNE

[lostshocker]

Is it wrong of me to hope Davies fails and just goes away?

i'm thinking he might be better suited for long relief and 6th starter. cant remember but i thought he was good the first time through the order but as hitters saw him more he became very hittable.

[SubGod22]

Is it wrong of me to hope Davies fails and just goes away?

i'm thinking he might be better suited for long relief and 6th starter. cant remember but i thought he was good the first time through the order but as hitters saw him more he became very hittable.

You may be right, but I'm not sure we really have the room, or need, for him in the pen either. He needs to just go away.

[RoyalShock]

What juicy info does Davies have on Moore? There has to be something. Why else would a manager go the unconventional route to accommodate what may the worst major league pitcher in the modern era?

[lostshocker]

he has talent. he displays just enough to keep him on a roster. he'll give you 2 solid starts then disappear again. he's a stop gap until the youngsters are ready. dont want to rush a promising arm then destroy his confidence.

[RoyalShock]

he has talent. he displays just enough to keep him on a roster. he'll give you 2 solid starts then disappear again. he's a stop gap until the youngsters are ready. dont want to rush a promising arm then destroy his confidence.

He's had how many seasons now to learn to pitch to his talent consistently?

I read somewhere a few years ago that a league-average starter's ERA was around 4.50. Davies has a career ERA of 5.60 and only one season that was better than average (2008, 4.06 ERA in 21 starts). His peripherals don't look very good and opponents hit .287 against him.

I would think that now, with offense down across the league, that league-average is probably lower than 4.50, making his 7.46 ERA this season look even worse.

The only thing that looks potentially promising is that in his 20 minor league rehab innings he has struck out 21 and walked 0. Even so, he still managed a 5.63 ERA in two AA starts.

I guess what I'm saying is that there is no need to bring any of the young guys up to take his place. In fact, they don't want to send Duffy down and have to go to a 6-man rotation to accommodate Davies. I just don't see the justification.

[SubGod22]

They have to drop him. Nobody will trade for him.

[ShockerGorilla]

If he ever pitches for another team, I guarantee he will have career games against us.

[SubGod22]

If he ever pitches for another team, I guarantee he will have career games against us.

No doubt.

[SubGod22]

Butler's series hit streak ends at 131He hit a few balls really well, just right at the defense.

[SubGod22]

Six Man Rotations and Outfield Arms

If Felipe Paulino can keep gobbling those innings, then he will certainly have value in this six man rotation.

Speaking of the six man rotation, I’m all for it. In fact, I enthusiastically endorse the idea.

The Royals currently have the worst rotation in the AL. They are not only in last place in the Central, but they have the worst record in the league. Say it with me: Transition year. (Unfortunately, the way the pitching is going in the minors, next year may be a transition year as well. That’s for another time.) When your starting rotation consists of Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis, Paulino, Kyle Davies and Danny Duffy a six man rotation makes all the sense in the world. That’s three inconsistent starters who more frequently are ineffective, one starter who is currently average, the worst starting pitcher ever and one guy with upside.

Basically, when you run six guys out there, you’re protecting the guy with upside. (As I hoped you guessed, that pitcher is Duffy.)

What’s happening is the Royals are limiting Duffy’s innings by adding that extra starter to the rotation – but not by much. If you go a full season with a six man rotation as opposed to a five man, you’re starters will make (on average) five fewer starts. Since we’re officially at the halfway point, this would work out to two and a half fewer starts over the rest of the season. It’s not a huge difference, but every little bit helps when you’re trying to bring along a young arm.

So it’s not like the Royals are taking a start away from Koufax or Drysdale. This is Hochevar and Francis. A six man rotation is fine. I hope they stick with it for the rest of the season.

Back to Paulino. For the second consecutive game, he’s pitched through trouble and gone deep into the game. He threw 117 pitches to go eight innings last week and on Tuesday he tossed 118 pitches in seven. This isn’t a new pattern of usage for him. At one point last season, he topped 100 pitches in 10 consecutive starts. Too bad he never got the chance for 11 as he landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation and then was converted to relief.

We’ll see how he bounces back from a pair of deep starts, but since he’s a stopgap member of this team, I’m fine with getting all the mileage out of him we can. If he can give us seven or eight innings a start and keep the team in games, that’s perfect. Ned Yost needs to figure ways to save those arms in the pen. Maybe Paulino is part of the answer for the rest of the season.