Blind Quarterback Plays Baseball: Week 6

The fact of the matter is, baseball is played almost every day, and between work and my family, I may not catch each game in full but I am always keeping track. 

Royals Round Up

Nothing makes me happier than opening my MLB Schedules and Scores app and seeing the Royals are pummeling a hated divisional rival 15-2. On Saturday, during the second game of a 3 game series against the Detroit Tigers, the Royals showed just what offensive fire power the boys in blue can do. 19 hits, 15 runs, 10 walks and only 6 strike outs, Royals bats were doused in lighter fluid and set ablaze as they carved their way through the Tigers pitching staff. Kelvin Gutiérrez, who was traded to the Royals by the Washington Nationals in 2018, started the 2019 season in the Royals Triple A club, but was brought up to the show last week. Yesterday, he made sure the organization would never regret the trade, recording 4 hits and scoring twice. The flaming bats continued, as Alex Gordon racked up 3 hits, 1 homer and 5 RBIs.

The Tigers starting pitcher rotation is strong and their closers are lights out, but the glaring weakness of the Tigers was exposed on Saturday in their middle relievers are the proverbial underbelly of the Tigers pitching staff. Once the Royals were able to move past Tigers starting pitcher, the fireworks display began.

Unfortunately, despite flaming bats on Saturday, the Tigers still won the series, having beaten the Royals the night before on Friday, and beating them again on Sunday in the rubber match. A homer off the bat of Hunter Dozier forced the game into extra innings, but with 2 outs and 2 strikes, Tigers outfielder Brandon Dixon hit a walk off home run against Ian Kennedy.

Up Next:

The Royals travel to Minute Maid Park in Houston for a 3-game series against the Astros.

The Astros are returning home after a two game stint in Mexico against the LA Angels, where the Astros were victorious in both outings. The Royals however, have not won a series since sweeping the Indians at home in mid-April. 

Divisional match ups always matter, but without a series win in almost a month, at least one series win will be required for the Royals to look respectable. After Houston, they have a day off on Thursday and then face off against Bryce Harper and the Phillies at Kauffman Stadium in a 3 game series. 

The expectations for Harper are monumental, after he inked a $330 million contract during the off season, and has had a rather slow start for such a price tag. He is only hitting .233 with 6 homers and 25 walks. Harper can certainly be expected to turn it around, but at such a price tag, and with a rather auspicious start to the season, he will be the main story line every time he steps to the plate. Let’s hope that the Royals pitching staff will take advantage of his rough start. 

King of the Hill:

Stephen Strasburg.

Washington Nationals’ starter Stephen Strasburg is my first "King of the Hill". On Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, Strasburg became the fastest pitcher to reach 1,500 strike outs. He did so with a 3.16 ERA and a rather nasty changeup that has proved very difficult for the opposing bats to make contact with.

On This Day in Baseball

On this day in baseball history, a young talent made his long-awaited debut in the big leagues for the Kansas City Royals. The Royals sold ten thousand walk-up tickets for Royals' rookie Eric Hosmer to make his major league debut at Kauffman Stadium. Hosmer was a 21 year old first baseman, who had received the largest signing bonus in franchise history. He was hitless in his two official at-bats in a 3-2 loss to the A's, but he is walked twice and steals a base. He quickly became a crucial piece of the Royals team that traveled to the World Series in 2014 and win it all in 2015

In 2011, the Royals farm system was ranked as one of the best in baseball, and that was mostly thanks to Hosmer and 3^rd basemen Mike “Moose” Moustakas,. Hosmer being ranked as the best first basemen prospect in the MLB heading into 2011. During the 2015 World Series run, Hosmer had a career year with a .297 batting average, 18 homers and 93 RBIs. On November 1^st, 2015, Hosmer scored the tying run in the 9^th inning, which lead to the Royals victory over the New York Mets in game five of the World Series.

Ask the Old Dog:

I put it to my good friend Tom to give me his opinion on an issue that seems to be sweeping the league: poor attendance. Last week, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Royals had something around the figure of only 500 people make their way out to the K for the game. It is not just the Royals however, many other teams are experiencing a drop not only in attendance, but in views on television as well, and at the moment, baseball’s only competition is in the NBA playoffs. 

“The Royals had a makeup game that turned into a day-time double header. The first game only had a sparse crowd. Baseball is looking at attendance figures throughout the league. Ballparks are rehabbing stadiums to make the game experience more entertaining. MLB looking at things to speed up the game.

I think it’s competition for the sports dollar. MLB needs to get back to basics. Sell the game. Owners are faced with millennials that can only sit and watch two and half innings before they are bored and need to be entertained. That is why ballparks are rehabbing to provide that entertainment.

Royals have rehabbed all of their bars and expanded them. From the expansion of the Miller Lite bar to expanding Rivals and other locations. The Outfield Experience allows families with kids to run the bases at Little K or hitting areas. Not many people out there like me who watch the whole game, keep score and don’t leave their seat.”