Breaking 100: Catching Up

I’ve had a lot of catching up to do. I’ve been away for my son’s baseball tournaments and for a little family vacation over the fourth.

The Royals are playing much better baseball over the last month or so. Whether you attribute it to the hiring of Dayton Moore, the return of David DeJesus, or the fact that they’ve played weak NL teams, the fact remains that the Royals are playing .484 baseball since June 1.

Especially satisfying was the two extra inning wins in St. Louis. Even the typically scary Ambiorix Burgos made it through St. Louis without blowing a game.

After getting knocked around, Mike Wood has landed on the DL, allowing Jimmy Gobble to take over his spot in the rotation. Gobble was a starter when he came up in 2003 as a very young pitcher. In his first stint in the rotation, he struggled getting hitters to swing and miss, and had one of the worst strike-out rates in baseball. This, of course, didn’t bode well for Gobble.

Since returning this year, Gobble is striking out 7.19 batters per 9 innings. By comparison, his K-Rate was just 2.98 in 2004.

Also worth mentioning is the selection of Mark Redman to the All Star Game. There’s been a lot talk about this selection. Some folks are saying this is the perfect example of why the “at least one player from each team” rule is antiquated and unnecessary. I disagree. The All Star Game is for the fans, and fans of each and every team should have the opportunity to watch at least one of their players.

The problem is more likely the selection process. In this case, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made the Redman selection. What does Guillen know about the Royals? Obviously, nothing. David DeJesus, Mark Grudzeilanek, maybe even Emil Brown would have been a better choice. At least DeJesus is a true Royal, likely to play here for years to come. Fan voting doesn’t apply to pitchers, and only applies to the starters. Perhaps fan voting should somehow be utilized to decide on reserves. Maybe the top vote getter for each team could be that teams’ representative. Either way, baseball should keep its rule requiring one player from each team.

We’ll be at the park tonight celebrating my wife’s birthday. Hopefully, we’ll also be celebrating a series win against the Twins.