Halos + Royals = 40 hits and 30 runs.. and why Horacio Ramirez should be in AAA..

The Angels and the Royals combined for 40 hits and 30 runs today.  Wow, clearly it was a bad day to be a pitcher, but is Horacio Ramirez seriously a "lock" for the rotation?  He has been the epitome of awful this spring.  In 14 innings and 4 starts (5 appearances) Horacio is 1-2 with a 10.29 ERA.

We know that Meche and Greinke will both make the rotation.  Davies and Hochevar both have been excellent (or at least "very good") this spring, so in a perfect world (my world) they both make the rotation as well.  That means that Horacio and Bannister (and Sir Sidney, I guess) are up for the final rotation spots.  As bad as Banny has been this spring, Horacio has been worse.

Banny and Horacio both have 4 starts.  Horacio has an extra relief appearance so he leads the innings pitched category 14 to 12.2.  However, Horacio has allowed 31 hits and 4 walks in those 14 innings, for a WHIP of 2.50, which is unheard of.  Bannister has given up "just" 17 hits and 4 walks for a WHIP of 1.66.  Still bad, but "bad" is always better than "unheard of".  Banny and Horacio both have equal K/BB rates, so we'll call that a wash.  Neither of them has been able to strike anyone out though, which is discouraging.

The one stat Horacio has on his side is ground outs to air outs.  Ramirez has a 3.88 GO/AO ratio, which is actually quite good.  Banny on the other hand has a 1.40 GO/AO ratio on the other hand.  One other interesting side note, Ramirez has allowed 5 steals on him this spring, while no batters have been caught stealing.  No one has attempted a steal on Bannister yet.  

I think I've mentioned before that I hate "errors".  Because I hate "errors" (both "errors" on the field, and "errors" the concept) I think that "ERA" isn't as useful as Run Average, which is simply how many runs, earned or otherwise, a pitcher allows over 9 innings.  Horacio Ramirez's Run Average is at an atrocious 14.14, meaning he allows 14 runs per nine innings.  Absolutely awful.  The whole point to this argument that while it may be a nice luxury to have a lefty in the rotation, when the lefty is getting yanked in the 2nd or 3nd inning every game, you're just putting too much stress on your bullpen.

That's why I think the rotation should fill out as such:

Gil Meche
Zack Greinke

Kyle Davies

Luke Hochevar

Brian Bannister

Who's with me?

Hitter of the Game

Miguel Olivo mashed two home runs today as he went 2-5 with one strikeout.  Miguel drove in 2 runs and scored 2 more himself.  Miguel is hitting .354 on the spring.

Pitcher of the Game

He was the only pitcher not to give up a run today, in fact he hasn't given up a run all spring.  Lenny DiNardo earns the pitcher of the game award today.  Lenny Pitched a scoreless 8th inning, allowing two singles and striking out one while walking none.

Tomorrow

The Royals will travel to Peoria to face the Padres tomorrow.  Kyle Davies will look to bounce back from his worst start of the spring as he faces off against Chris Young.  Also scheduled to pitch for the Royals is Doug Waechter, Joakim Soria, and Heath Phillips.

How Juan Cruz Changes Everything..

Dayton Moore made a statement today, one with more meaning than a lot of people realize.  But first, let's take a look at the game.  

The Game

Overall, I'd call this a solid game.  Sure, it ended in a tie, the enemy of all baseball fans.  But there were a lot of positives here as well.  Jose Guillen hit a home run and Mark Teahen hit a triple and took a walk.  Both  of them leave tomorrow for their perspective WBC camps.  Brian Bannister pitched two perfect innings, giving up 0 hits but striking out none.  The Royals pitchers gave up only 5 hits all game.  The pitchers also gave up 7 walks, but it was against 9 strikeouts.  The Royals hitters drew 4 walks against 7 strikeouts.  The Royals hitters also hit 2 home runs (Guillen, Gload) to extend their HR streak to 4 games.

Hitter of the Game

Today the hitter of the game award goes to Coco Crisp.  It may seem counter intuitive to give a player who went without a hit the hitter of the game award, but Coco drew three of the Royals four walks today.  Coco batted leadoff and while he didn't come around to score any runs, if he keeps his mindset of taking walks and can hit around .290 he should score many runs this season.  I'm really starting to believe in Coco, maybe all he needs is another opportunity and he'll return to his pre-Boston form.

Pitcher of the Game

Today the pitcher of the game award will go to my favorite NRI, Lenny DiNardo.  In Lenny's last appearance before he departs to pitch for team Italy in the WBC, he pitched two innings, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four.  If Lenny puts up decent numbers in the WBC and then returns and can pick up where he left off, DM will have a hard time keeping him off of this roster.

Tomorrow

The Royals and the Angels will face off tomorrow at 2:05 central time, with Gil Meche getting the nod for the boys in blue.  Following Meche will be Brandon Duckworth, Henry Barrera, Tim Hamulack, Carlos Rosa, Joel Peralta, and Roman Colon.  Dustin Moseley will start for the Halos.

How Juan Cruz changes everything:

When Dayton Moore took over the Royals in June of 2006, he inherited a baseball organization that while boasting a proud history, was in shambles.  From the point that he first took the reigns until today, nearly every move that Dayton made was to build for the future or to fill a much needed gap.  With the Juan Cruz signing, Dayton sacrificed a piece of the future for an ML player that is largely a luxury.  In my opinion, this shows that Dayton has taken a measured look and he belives the Royals are ready to compete in the Central this year.  If Dayton thinks we are ready to win the Central.  So do I.

Benefits

So how much does Juan Cruz improve our bullpen?  Tremendously.  We all saw last year what having a set up man with strikeout potential can do.  A quality set up man turns into another closer, and essentially turns the ball game into a 7 inning affair.  The Royals now have 2 quality set up men on their roster, essentially (on paper) turning ball games into 6 inning affairs.  And while it is an impossibility for both of these pitchers to pitch every night, there is a good chance they will see a lot of innings in games the Royals are winning, and most likely will be used exclusively in games the Royals are winning.

How good is Juan Cruz?  Well, in 2007 Cruz pitched in 61 innings, posting a 3.10 ERA, good for a 152 ERA+.  He had 81 strikeouts against 32 walks while allowing 45 hits, good for a 1.262 WHIP.  In 2008, Cruz's numbers improved.  He pitched 51.2 innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and a 176 ERA+.  Cruz struck out 71 batters against 31 walks, allowing just 24 hits, good for a 1.258 WHIP.  Both of these years came in the hitter friendly confines of Chase Field. 

By comparison, only Joakim Soria (189-2007, 266-2008) and David Riske (191-2007) have had as good of an ERA+ in a comparable amount of innings as Cruz had last year.  Juan Cruz will step into the 2009 season as the team's best reliever not named Joakim.  

Detriments

All the Royals had to give up was a 2nd round draft pick and $2.25 million this year, $3.25 million next year, and a $4 million option or a $500,000 buyout for 2011.  Cruz will make John Bale and Yasuhiko Yabuta money to perform on a much higher level.  Cruz looks like a steal next to Kyle Farnsworth.

The one unknown is the draft pick the Royals gave up.  The pick is the 12th pick in the 2nd round, which is the 58th pick overall.  Let's take a quick look at the 58th overall pick in the draft for the last ten years.

2008:  Tyson Ross, college pitcher selected by the Oakland Athletics.  He posted a 1.09 WHIP in 19.1 innings of A ball last season.

2007:  Jon Bachanov, high school pitcher selected by the LA Angels (of Anaheim).  Bachanov underwent Tommy John surgery before he threw an inning for the Angels and has yet to pitch for their organization.

2006: Ryan Adams, high school 3rd baseman selected by the Baltimore Orioles.  Ryan played in 119 games in A ball last season, posting an 829 OPS while hitting .308 and knocking out 11 home runs.

2005: Ryan Mount, high school SS selected by the LA Angels (of Anaheim).  Mount saw action in 82 games last year, all in high A ball.  Mount .290 with 16 home runs, posting a 849 OPS.

2004: Blake Johnson, (yes, that Blake Johnson) high school pitcher selected by the LA Dodgers.  Johnson started 25 games in AA last season, going 10-9 while posting a 4.85 ERA.

2003: Scott Baker, college pitcher selected by the Minnesota Twins.  Baker made 28 starts for the Twins last season, going 11-4 while posting a 3.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

2002: Zach Segovia, high school pitcher selected by the Philadelphia Phillies.  Segovia has 1 MLB start in his career, in 2007 when he went 5 innings, earning the loss.  Segovia gave up 5 runs on 8 hits while walking 1 and striking out 2.  2008 found Segovia bouncing around between 6 teams between rookie ball and AA.

2001: Matt Harrington, independent league pitcher selected by the San Diego Padres.  Harrington was selected with the 7th overall pick the year previous, but did not sign.  He did not sign with the Padres either.  He was selected 3 more times before finally signing with the Yankees in 2004.  Harrington has bounced around independent leagues but hasn't amounted to anything for an MLB organization.

2000: Dominic Rich, college infielder selected by the Toronto Blue Jays.  Rich last saw action in 2005 when he played in 3 games in high A ball for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Rich has been out of baseball since.

1999: Wes Obermuller, college pitcher selected by the Kansas City Royals.  Wes split time between AAA and the majors last year, starting 7 and pitching in 18 games for the Florida Marlins.  Wes earned a 2-3 record with a 6.56 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP.

Well, looking over the #58 pick for the last 10 drafts and I feel more comfortable than ever.  Granted, past the first pick or so the draft is a complete crap shoot and a lot of MLB talent went right before or right after the #58 pick in many of these drafts.  That being said, maybe there's something unlucky about 58, because the only player I'd rather have at this point than Juan Cruz is Scott Baker.  That being said, Ross, Bachanov, and Adams are all still developing and could each turn into superstars.

Summary

This sums up my excitement for the signing of Juan Cruz.  Our major league team improves, and we don't have to give up too much.  Oh, as a side note, we DFA'd Esteban German for Cruz's space on the 40 man.  Maybe DM will get something for German and make the Cruz signing look even better.

As always, thanks for reading.

Jose Lima's Brother and Mark "Gold Glove" Teahen..

Well, as the night draws to a close, it takes with it the excitement of opening day of the Cactus League.  

The Game

I was only able to hear about the first 4 or so innings of the game today before I had to go to work, and boy did it start off lousy. The Royals managed to give up 6 runs in the first inning, half of them coming due to Teahen's errant throw on a botched double play.  The good guys did manage to scrape a run in the 2nd inning off of a Billy Butler solo shot with 1 out against Anna Benson's husband.  However, they gave up 3 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd including back to back home runs followed by a triple, all off of Brandon Duckworth.  The Royals did manage to get back 4 runs in the 3rd inning, 3 of them coming off of a monster home run by Mike Jacobs to right field.  There was no more scoring until the 7th inning when the Rangers pushed 1 run over the plate.  They got 2 more in the 8th before the Royals added 2 more in the top of the 9th.  Add it all up and you get a 12-7 win by the Rangers.  Not exactly what you're looking for in the first game of Spring Training, but much better than 12-0.  The Royals muscled up today and hit 4 home runs (Butler, Jacobs, Olivo, Maier) as well as draw 6 walks, and for that, I am proud. 

Mark Teahen

On the first ball hit near him Mark Teahen tried to flip to the SS covering 2B for an attempt at a double play.  The only problem was that he threw the ball into LF instead.  It took all I could not to immediately give up on him as a middle infielder at that point in time.  Granted, I couldn't actually see the throw and it may have not been as bad as it sounded, so I decided to give Mark the benefit of the doubt and withhold judgement.  Then, a few plays later Mark dives for a ball and it goes under his glove.  At that point I was frustrated.  Then Mark makes a poor throw on a double play attempt and booted an easy ground ball for another error.  Other than that, he did just fine in the field.  I'm not ready to give up on him as a 2nd baseman just yet, because as he pointed out, the year Grudz won a gold glove he made 3 errors in his first Spring Training game.  Let's hope Mark gets it together though.

Jose Lima's brother?

Teahen wasn't alone in his quest for suckiness, however, as Horacio Ramirez was nipping at his heels the whole ride there.  Horacio faced 10 batters in 2/3 of an inning, recording one strikeout and giving up 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits including a home run to Hank Blalock.  Sure, Horacio wasn't helped out by his defense, but by all accounts he was leaving everything up in the strike zone, which in Arizona in Spring Training is a big no-no.  We'll see how he bounces back next start, however.

Olivo Injury

Miguel Olivo took a foul tip off the back of his right hand.  Olivo stayed in the game, also hitting a home run.  He caught four innings total.  X-rays after the game were negative, and he isn't expected to miss any time.

Batter of the Game

I originally wanted to give the batter of the game to Billy Butler, seeing as he was the only Royal with 2 hits, including a HR.  However, I decided Mike Jacobs would be the better choice, as he had a monster 3 run shot, and hopefully this love will get him to listen to me when I tell him it's okay to walk.  (to first base, that is)  So congratulations, Mike, you're the official RRC batter of the game.

Pitcher of the Game

This choice was easy for me, half because he was the only pitcher to go two innings without giving up a run, and secondly because I'm really rooting for him to make this team.  The first RRC pitcher of the game goes to Lenny DiNardo, he of the Italian heritage.  Lenny pitched two scoreless innings, including 1 hit and striking out the last two batters he faced.  Not bad for your first action in spring training, though at this point, most people argue the pitchers are ahead of the hitters. (Though that didn't seem the case today, for either squad)

Tomorrow's Game

Tomorrow the Royals play host to the Rangers (they were the visitors today.)  The game is scheduled to start at 2:05 CT, and will be broadcast on 610 AM KCSP again.  Kyle Davies gets the nod against Kevin Millwood.  Also scheduled to pitch for the Royals are Heath Phillips, Julio Pimental, Tim Hamulack, Matt Wright, and Carlos Rosa.  I'm much more excited for the pitching tomorrow than I was today.  Kyle Davies, Matt Wright, Julio Pimental, and Carlos Rosa are all young players who I hope do well.  Matt Wright deserved a shot in September last year, in my opinion, but was unable to get it.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading.  Look for another update tomorrow.