A new Rob & Rany posting showed up overnight. This time R&R discuss how awful the Royals have been this season, and toss around ideas to fix it. The most glaring problem for the Royals is offense.
The most obvious thing to try is to get Emil Brown out of the line up. In Spring Training Brown earned his spot, but since the regular season started he’s been awful. He’s 30 years old and shows no sign of becoming a late bloomer. Matt Diaz has been hitting well in AAA Omaha and since he’s younger than Brown, he should be called up – and soon.
Cal Pickering made the team because of the power threat he brings but if he’s not going to get consistent at bats, he’s not effective. He’s been taking time away from the team to be with his wife as she gave birth to their baby but now that’s over, so let’s see Pickles in the lineup against righties every time.
Another obvious problem is Mike Sweeney. I love Sweeney, but the guy is just trying to hard this season. He’s hacking at everything with his most violent swing. He needs to “stay within himself,” as they say in baseball. As Charlie Lau, George Brett’s hitting instructor, would always say, “try easier.”
Another problem R&R point out, that I’ve discussed in the past, is the poor defense in the Royals system. They have several players who are great hitting prospects, but all project to be DH/1B. Can you play baseball with 8 guys standing around first?
Dave Stewart said it best on Metro Sports last night, when he called the Royal’s catcher John Buck-thirty-five. Buck is hitting a miserable .135 in 37 AB’s. Backup catcher Alberto Castillo is winning the hearts of Royals fans. The Royals are 3-0 in games he’s caught, and he blasted a walk-off homerun to win the game yesterday.
The only other issue is making sure Grienke has his lucky necklace when he pitches...
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