The Royals’ Bullpen Needs Help … Fast

3 Comments

1. 

   @marioandluigi101 1 year ago

   I was there on Saturday. I was really hoping to get a Pasquintino HR since he had a bobblehead that day.

2. 

   @criscoleman 1 year ago

   A couple things—okay, three things.
   The first thing I noticed was the text printed across the screen, which I don't mind. But that little purple thing dancing across each word as it's spoken is really annoying and distracting. It reminds me of something in my far distant past. I think it was on some kind of TV program. But it was during some kind of sing-a-long, or something, where the words would be displayed like yours are, and there was this little bouncing ball that went along with each word. Boy, that was a long time ago; and here, you've brought it back again, albeit without the bouncing part. It wasn't annoying and distracting as a kid, but it's big time annoying and distracting as an adult.

   Secondly, yes, the bullpen needs help . . . badly; they've blown too many games this past couple of weeks, even the stalwarts. I've heard Piccolo is looking around; but, then, so are a lot of other teams—probably all looking at the same few people. If they wind up trading for someone, what will the price be? Will it be an elite bullpen arm? Or just a (most likely) middle-of-the-road arm? It doesn't appear that there is anyone waiting in the wings down in AAA, so a trade might be the best option. However, you mentioned Pennington, and he certainly has some upside. I seem to remember him striking out a lot of people, but I don't remember anything else about him, like his control and walk-rate. You also mentioned a couple of guys to trade for, both of whom have high walk rates. In my view, we don't need anymore high walk issues, as we already have too many of those. I don't care what else they bring, but high walk rates are immediate red flags for me. It's those free passes just before someone hits a home run that have been the killer for me, and, I imagine, most fans.

   Third, there's the matter of the Royals not being able to hit good starting pitching. And looking back for quite awhile, judging by how poorly the Royals have been hitting almost every starting pitcher, it appears that ALL the starting pitchers have been really, really good, regardless of their incoming ERA's. And because their bats have been almost silent against starting pitchers, they most often find themselves in a hole and have to fight back to get out of the hole in the late innings, not a very good scenario, to say the least. I admire their tenacity, though: they don't quit. And every once in awhile, they DO come back, like last Sunday. But most often, they come up short. And then, so many times when they did have a lead in the early innings (1-0 up to 4-0), the bullpen comes in an blows it. So, the Royals have some serious work to do, both in the bullpen department and in the hitting. I would assume the hitting coaches are in their for some reason; so, hopefully, they can figure something out so the Royals can start hitting starting pitching on a more regular basis.

3. 

   @tyflan8277 1 year ago

   With hampson hitting .319 right now, he’s not a bad trade piece for teams wanting a guy playing multiple positions. I think we move him at the deadline.