Game 16 - 4/17/2008

Royals 3, Angels 5

I'm happy that the Royals are off to a good start. Even if they don't contend, as long as they continue to hover around .500 for most of the year, I will be extremely happy as this would mark a huge improvement over the past few years.

That said, there are some things that are starting to irk me about the 2008 Royals. First, and most obviously, is the offense. Most of the lineup is doing fine, but Jose Guillen is really awful so far. I'm getting so tired of seeing him come up with runners in scoring position only to pop out or hit into a double play. I'm making no judgements here, but all I've seen from him is warning track power. What's missing now that he can't seem to get the ball out of the park anymore???

I know Hillman likes to run, and aggressiveness is his calling card, but let's not get stupid here. Last night, the Royals were down 3-2 with runners at first and third and Buck batting. All the sudden, Alex Gordon tries to steal second and is thrown out by a country mile for the third out of the inning. It totally killed their chance of tying the game and destroyed any momemtum they had at the time. Why, why, why??? In past games, I've seen guys get thrown out trying to steal third. Why??? I believe the out is MUCH more detrimental than the advantage of having that extra base. Chill it out a little bit Trey. Let the hitters do their job.

(In Trey's defense, the hitters aren't doing their job very well.)

Bale was put on the DL. After getting knocked around a couple of games, I guess he finally decided he's hurt. I love the top 3 of the rotation, but I hope the bottom two get replaced soon, and perhaps this trip to the DL is the first manuver in that direction.

The Royals travel to Oakland tonight. Should be fun to see Emil Brown get caught in a rundown.

The Hill Climb
Actual Record 9-7
Expected Record 9-7
Runs Scored 55
Runs Allowed 51
Projected Record 92-70
Pythagorean Record 87-75
Pythagorean Winning% 0.537

Let's go get 'em