Pre-Game: Half of our RSTN crew, Paul Splittorff, is interviewing Scott Elarton, which is a pretty boring combination, if I do say. I don't believe my brain retained a single thing either of them said. But after that, some good news. The perpetually injured David DeJesus will be in the lineup tonight, as will Mike Sweeney. The odds of this happening again this season: 50-to-1. And finally, Mike Wood will be our starting pitcher tonight. Do I expect him to do well? Not really, but I think he's several steps ahead of Jeremy Affeldt or Joe Mays at this point, so what the hell. Why not give him a try?
Before the first pitch, we had a really mediocre version of the national anthem sung by some melodramatic pre-pubescent girl. Yippee. Not quite as stirring as Opening Day, when an Academy Award winner threw out the first pitch, followed by a bonafide country singer belted out the anthem, which ended with a B-2 bomber flyover and Challenger the bald eagle swooping in from right field.
Top 1st: Seth McClung on the bump tonight for Tampa Bay, and there is no reason whatsoever why the Royals shouldn't hit him early and often....
Well, it wasn't a 1-2-3 inning thanks to a Sweeney single, but it was the next best thing. DeJesus saw three pitches, Mark Grudzielanek saw two, Sweeney saw two and Reggie Sanders saw four, for the whopping grand total of eleven pitches for McClung in the first inning. Um, guys, a little plate discipline would be nice. I mean, the guy's career ERA is 6.26 and he walks over five men per nine innings, so you can afford to be a little selective. Trust me.
Bottom 1st: Wood isn't throwing a ton of strikes. Everything appears to be low, and with the second batter still in the box, Wood has already thrown as many pitches as McClung. Still, he's getting swings and misses, and K'd the first two guys on full counts, which is a refreshing change for a Royals starter already. He was nearly decapitated by Travis Lee, but got out of the way in time, allowing a well-positioned Angel Berroa to make the play for the third out. Sixteen total pitches, not good, but not awful either, making him the third-best starter in the rotation already.
Top 2nd: Before the action begins, anyone want to take bets on the first time Splittorff refers to someone's ERA as "4 point" instead of just plain "four"? I'm thinking it already happened and I just missed it while typing. Really, really annoying habit...
Mientkiewicz has taken the first three pitches! Stop the presses! Sure, he lined out on the fifth pitch, but he hit it hard, largely because he worked the count a little and forced McClung to throw a strike. Some things aren't as hard as they look...
Except for Emil Brown, who swung at the very next pitch and hit a fly ball for out number two. Oh well, I guess it's a learning curve...
Teahen, pitch number two, liner to center, out number three. Eight total pitches, three more outs, and now McClung has gone through two innings on less than 20 pitches. That's Seth McClung. Seth Freaking McClung.
Bottom 2nd: Jonny Gomes leading off for Tampa, and an extra year in the big leagues hasn't improved his style at all. He still looks like a slob. Whatever happened to this guy?
I guess it doesn't matter, he was smart enough to draw a walk to lead off the inning, promptly followed by a double-near-homer by Russell Branyan, so it's now second and third, no one out. Uh-oh...
Groundball to short for out number one, but it gets in Slob Gomes for the first run, 1-0 Devil Rays...
And now The Omen occurs; an infield hit by the catcher. That's never good news. By the way, Wood is up to 29 pitches already. That's right, the Devil Rays are more patient than us now...
Bob Davis just mentioned that the Royals have walked 27 hitters (or is it walkers?) in the last four games. Oh joy...
Well, the good news is that Wood got out of the inning with just the one run scored, but the bad news is that it took him 24 pitches, so he's up to 40 through just two innings. Looks like we will be exploring the depths of the dreaded Royals bullpen again tonight.
Top 3rd: Let's see how many pitches the Royals see this inning. I'm going to say twelve, not because I have faith in our hitters but because I don't have faith that McClung can consistently be in single digits each inning...
Two pitches to Berroa before he managed an infield hit on number three. A hopeful first step...
Have no fear, John Buck popped out on pitch number two, so we're still only up to five for the inning...
Well, McClung earned my lack of faith, but in a uniquely different way. He threw away a pickoff attempt down the right field line, letting Berroa get all the way to third base with just one out and DeJesus hitting. Hope again?...
Wow, DeJesus just got lucky. He watched strike three, but the ump called it a ball, and he then walked on the next pitch. Unless Grudzielanek hits into a double play on the next pitch, McClung will blow through my prediction of twelve total pitches...
Ball one on pitch number twelve, so there goes that prediction. I'm not sure if I underestimated the Royals or overestimated McClung...
Grudzielanek just whiffed on about the most obvious ball ever swung at. It was a curve that started off the plate and just kept going, none of which deterred Grudzielanek from swinging and missing by three feet, sort of like a Little League player, only paid better. So it's up to Sweeney, our oft-injured captain...
Actually, it's up to Reggie Sanders, because Sweeney just walked to load the bases. Five career grand slams for Reggie, whose middle name is Laverne, by the way. Warrants mentioning. The Laverne thing, not the grand slams...
Line drive, caught for out number three. So even though the Royals drew two walks (be still my heart) and had a single and a two-base throwing error, putting a man on third with only one out and their best hitters coming up, they failed to push a run across. Ladies and gentlemen, your Kansas City Royals!...
Bottom 3rd: Here's a good quote from the TV crew. "And there's a leadoff walk to one of the fastest runners in baseball (Carl Crawford). That can't be good." Well said, Bob. Well said.
A double for Jorge "The Helmet" Cantu, a.k.a. The Man With No Eyes, but miraculously it didn't score Crawford from first, despite the fact that he "can literally fly" according to Bob Davis. Really Bob? He can literally fly? I think I'd like to see that...
Ball four, bases loaded, no one out, with Slob Gomes coming up, and out comes the pitching coach for the first time today. I think we're going to be very familiar with the intricacies of Bob McClure's stride to the mound before this year is over...
Wow, a strikeout of The Slob. Now all we need is a double play to get out of the inning unscathed...
Never mind. Branyan just hit a sacrifice fly to...the shortstop. It was really shallow, and it looked like Emil Brown either wasn't going to get there or lost the ball in the Tropicana Field roof, so Berroa had to make the catch with his back to the plate. With Crawford on third ("he can literally fly"), he scored easily. Still, a grounder ended the damage there, so it's only 2-0 D-Rays, despite the 63 pitches Wood has thrown...
Top 4th: Oooh, the Aflac Trivia question. Who are the only three KC relievers to record ten wins and ten saves in the same season. I'm going with Tom Burgmeier, Steve Farr and Ted Abernathy. Mark it down...
Hey , a leadoff double for Minky, whose name is too long to type out every time. Now I just need a nickname for Grudzielanek. I think his teammates call him Grud. Done...
And an infield single for Brown. No advance for Minky, because the ball was hit right to third base, but now we've got runners at first and second with no one out. Come on Teahen...
4-6-3. Ugh. Thanks Teahen...
Berroa just picked him up with an infield single to score the run anyway, 2-1 Rays. Not as much damage as I would have liked, but I'll take runs any way I can get them. If Buck could get hold of one here. I like the way he's been swinging so far this year...
I jinxed him. No sooner had I typed that last remark when he launched one nearly into the second deck...but foul. Damn...
Buck just let a curveball go by to make the count full, and I'm certain he would have whiffed on that pitch last year. Yes, he popped out to shallow right field to end the inning on the next pitch, but it was a much more professional plate appearance than he's shown his first couple of years. Hey, you take your hope wherever you can find it...
Bottom 4th: And the Aflac answer is...Dan Quisenberry (1980), Doug Bird (1977)and Moe Drabowsky (1969). In other words, I was completely wrong. Thank you, I'll be here all week. Remember to tip your waitress...
Did you know that speed shows up to the ballpark every day? It never slumps. That Paul Splittorff is just a cornucopia of baseball cliches, bless his heart...
Much better inning for Wood. He walked a guy, but still threw just ten pitches to retire the side. He needed that badly...
Top 5th: This game is full of odd occurrences. Tomas Perez just took a header into the front row trying to catch a foul ball. He nearly took out Andy Sisco in the process, as he vaulted over the Royals bullpen bench. Perez is fine, but if Sisco got hurt there it would have been a fitting symbol of Royal luck...
Hey, I haven't heard the Devil Rays' obnoxious fan tonight. I wonder where he is. And there hasn't been a single shot of Dick Vitale either. Seeing, or hearing, those guys in the stands is the only reason to even watch a game played in Tampa.
Another 1-2-3 inning for McClung, on eleven pitches this time. He's thrown just 73 through five innings, largely because the Royals are acting like their facing Nolan Ryan tonight...
Bottom 5th: Leadoff walk with the heart of Tampa's order coming up, and that spells the end for Woods' night. Sorry Mike. I'd like to say something nice here like "He sure battled out there", but the reality is that five walks in four-plus innings isn't going to get it done. On to Luke Hudson...
Who promptly induces a double play ball, followed by a strikeout. Nice...
Top 6th: Well, we're in business. Reggie led off with a single, and after a fly ball out from Minky, Emil roped a double to left field, giving us second and third, one out. Up comes Teahen, who has hit the ball hard all night...
Fly ball to left, the run comes in, tie ballgame, 2-2. Good job Mark...
Whiff by Berroa to end the inning. Still just 85 pitches for McClung, who has lowered his ERA for the season by 4.50 runs tonight....
Bottom 6th: Hey, another whiff for Luke Hudson. Other than his appearances this week against the Yankees, he's looked very good since the Royals picked him up...
He let up a single, but otherwise had a clean inning. It was probably his last, since Andy Sisco was warming up in the bullpen. Good job Luke. By the way, Hudson, in his face at least, looks exactly like Kyle Farnsworth, but I won't hold that against him...
Well, I see the resemblance at least...
Top 7th: Solid leadoff single for John Buck. Like I said, he's swinging the bat pretty well. Now if the top of the order can earn their pay...
Solid single for DeJesus, off the glove of Travis Lee, and Buck went all the way to third. Now it's Grud's turn...
Bang, deep fly ball on the first pitch, 3-2 Royals. Who said swinging on the first pitch was bad?...
Miraculously, McClung is now creeping toward 100 pitches, which would have been a good sign. Unfortunately, Mike Sweeney just did two typical things. First, he hit into a double play to end the inning and drop his batting average for the year to .107. Second, he pulled up a little lame after crossing the bag, bending over to grab his lower left leg. Heaven forbid he play three or four games in a row...
Bottom 7th: And here we have the "logic" of Buddy Bell at play. Despite having said just this past week that he can't blow out his bullpen by allowing guys to throw more than a couple of innings at a time, out trots Luke Hudson for his third inning, despite having thrown 26 pitches already, seven more than Elmer Dessens had thrown in New York a few days ago when he was lifted prematurely. I'm okay with leaving Hudson in, but I'm baffled by the inconsistency...
Joey Gathright just greeted Hudson with a double that could have been a triple with a more aggressive third base coach, followed by such a perfect bunt by Carl Crawford that there are now runners on first and third with no one out. Honestly, I wonder if Buddy is leaving Hudson in to prove a point to all dumb writers like myself about leaving relievers in too long. I wouldn't put it past him...
By the way, Gathright is looking very Negro Leagues the way he's wearing his pants tonight. I'll post a picture when I find one...
The Man With No Eyes draws a walk to load the bases with none out, prompting Bell to finally call on Sisco. He promptly whiffs Travis Lee after running the count full. I gotta say, Sisco is always an adventure...
Slob Gomes now batting, he takes the first three pitches for balls, ensuring another exciting at bat... Ball four, tie ballgame, 3-3. That's seven walks for the staff tonight, and 34 walks in the five games on this road trip. Holy mackerel. Here's what I'm wondering; if the Royals know that it's bad for our staff to walk the other team, why don't they recognize that it's bad for the other team if we draw walks too? They have a first-hand example of how devastating it is to a team to give up walks, yet they make almost no attempt to draw more themselves. Maddening, isn't it?...
Well, the wildness caught up with him even further. After being challenged by Bell to throw more strikes, Sisco did just that. He whiffed Damon Hollins, a pinch-hitter, but grooved one down the middle, belt high, to Ty Wigginton, who raked it into center field for a two-run single. 5-3 Rays. Oh well, it was nice to have a lead for 15 minutes...
Top 8th: New pitcher for Tampa, former Royal Shawn Camp...
Reggie Sanders coming up, Reggie Sander going down, on three straight curveballs that he never came close to hitting. Thanks Laverne...
Followed by Minky tapping back to the pitcher on the second pitch. I'm getting pissed...
Emil Brown is hacking away from the outset, but is called out looking on the third pitch. How infuriating. Here we are, needing a baserunner desperately in order to get the tying run to the plate, and three veteran hitters let a brand new pitcher get them out on eight total pitches. Shouldn't these guys have gone up there looking to take a couple of pitches from the new guy, maybe coax a walk out of him? This isn't Mariano Rivera, it's Shawn Friggin' Camp, Royal castoff, someone for whom the team should have a perfect scouting report. Look, I'm okay with us bringing in some veterans to give the kids some development time down on the farm, but I thought you said we were going to see more professional play on the field? Well, this inning is about the last thing I would call professional from these veterans. It was much closer to pitiful...
Bottom 8th: On comes our closer, Ambiorix Burgos, who must resort to getting an inning of work while trailing by two runs because we have no idea when he'll ever have a lead to protect again...
To his credit, Burgos looks dominant again, starting off the inning with a pair of strikeouts, effortlessly pumping fastballs up there are 95 and 96. He'd be an awfully pretty site in the ninth inning of a game where the Royals actually had a lead...
I jinxed him, too. No sooner had I typed that when Burgos walked Gathright, losing his composure when the home plate ump called timeout in the middle of one delivery because Gathright wasn't ready for it. A steal and a double later (Carl Crawford's first extra-base hit of the year), and suddenly we need three in the ninth to tie it up...
Top 9th: I'll say this; at least Teahen went up there taking some pitches, trying to coax a walk, making Camp work a little. He's got a full count on him now...and drew that walk. Nicely done...
Wow, even Angel Berroa is taking pitches. Amazing what a three-run deficit in the ninth will do for plate discipline...No matter, Berroa hit into a double play anyway, no doubt reinforcing for himself that being patient is stupid...
Amazing. Bell is sending Matt Stairs up to hit for John Buck. Hey, I like Stairs, but if you're going to send him up there, send him up for Teahen, who has struggled all year. Buck is actually swinging the bat better than just about anyone else on the team, and has enough pop to get us back a run pretty quickly. I can almost guarantee that he wouldn't have grounded out on the first pitch, like Stairs just did to end the game.
This was a really, really frustrating game. And it proved that my running diary mojo just doesn't work for teams that seem determined to shoot themselves in the foot.
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