I know alot of people are frustrated with the offensive performance of this team, but in spite of a couple of guys having dissapointing seasons, this team has one 5 more games than they did last year up to this point. On May 8th 2007, they were 10-22. We are 15-18. The team has also been much more competitive in general on a night in and night out basis than last year. It is clear that this team is making progress and I think they predominant view coming into the year was that they would finish with between 75-80 wins, maybe even finish .500. If you had higher expectations, then you were being unreasonable. They are well on their way to 75-80 wins and with a similar level of improvement next year, you are looking at an 85 or 90 win team. Things like this don't change overnight, you have to be patient. Hopefully guillen and pena can break out and we can really get firing on all cylinders.
They have won 5 more games. That's what I get for posting when I am just waking up, and then not proofreading. I did a good job of making myself look like a retard with that one.
Naww, you're not retarded. Your brain just went faster than your fingers. I've done that a few times before. I agree with your post. We are all just a little impatient for the Royals to be the team we all want them to be. They have made significant progress in the past 2 years, but it is STILL frustrating to lose games that we should win. The Royals have an annoying habit of beating good teams, and laying eggs against teams they really should be beating.
The other annoying thing is apparent lack of discipline at the plate. Last night was a rare exception. All the batters in the lineup last night actually waited for the pitch they wanted to hit, and then jumped all over it. The weren't overswinging, or trying to do too much. I'm not expecting the Royals to have the offensive output that Detroit and Boston etc. have. What I would expect, though, is for the boys to use some discipline and try to get good wood on each swing. For a team that doesn't hit a lot of HR's, they really need to be selective with their pitch selection as to what to swing at and what not to swing at.
Last night, Soren was talking with Kevin Seitzer on 810 and he was saying you CAN teach players to improve their OBP by having a plan at the plate. Pick a location, and wait a split second or two longer to swing so you can identify the pitch better. He said what he is seeing from the Royals is that they may be guessing location, but they are putting fastball swings on curveballs and sliders out of the strike zone. If the Royals would be more selective, their On-Base Percentage should go up - which in turn should increase runs scored in the game. He also said that the young guys are being relied on too much, too early in their career. There's no solution to that, though......
I agree that they are making progress. One thing that I think people fail to see when they are beating up the team is that we basically have to look at it this way: When Dayton got here a few years ago, he has had to build this team as if it was an expansion team. There wasn't much of worth at the major league level. We had a few guys in the minors and guys like DDJ, Teahen and Buck in the majors, but for the most part it was started from scratch.
If you took an expansion team and two years into their existence they were going to be right around .500, that would be considered a good season.
Also, like most teams in most sports, when a team is getting better, they have flashes of greatness against great teams, but then have trouble with teams that are not as good. This is just part of the process. They're not going to go from 100 losses to dominating the people they are supposed to 2 years later, that just doesn't happen. It takes time to learn how to win. Veterans help, but the young guys just have to learn how to win on their own.
This year is going to have it's flashes, but next year is when we should be expecting to see some consistancy. Right now, it's just too early.
i agree in part they have shown improvement, but i think it's more the Pitching than Offense. Though Gordon and Butler have shown improvement over last year, Buck, Pena, and Teahen have not. i think they'll get better as the year goes on. What pleases me most is seeing Greinke pitch like has.
