At the Quarter Pole

The Royals will reach the 40 game mark today in Oakland. They will be at least 500 after today's game. A 500 record will indicate either a very consistent team or one that is up and down. This unit seems to be the latter. They were 17-10 at the high point. I'm pretty sure that will prove to be the high point. I'm not even going to guess how low this crew can go. Positives: Shields has been very good. Santana has been good. Guthrie has been good. The three solid starters have proven to be just that. Gordon is an excellent major league left fielder. He hits for a high average and he is leading the team in RBI's and just about every offensive category. Butler hasn't been hitting at the same consistent level we are used to, but he had a great series in Houston to raise his RBI total. He is on a great pace. Alex and Gordon are good. Cain has been pretty good. Dyson was even hitting well before he thought he was spider man. I'm not a fan of Dyson at all, but he has improved to the point that I hope he permanently displaces Frenchy. Holland has been up and down but I still like him as the closer. Negatives: The corners. Moose is awful beyond description. Hosmer is just as bad, if not worse, than last year. Frenchy is the same shitty hitter he has always been. Herrera can't keep the ball in the park. Perez took that contract extension and ate a good deal of it. He is over weight and playing slow. The team just lost consecutive games by 2-1 scores. The offense is going to guarantee that they will end up with at least 90 loses. They are awful and they need to improve. What needs to be done? Yost has stated that he is going to be patient with Moose. Wow, really? He is hitting in the 170's. He is making errors. Yeah, I can see that the only thing needed is patience. There may not be a third baseman tree but god damn, Ned. Omaha is there for a reason. I don't want to hear that Moose has proven all he needs to at AAA. Bull! I don't think he could hit a little league pitcher at this point. Send him down. Send him down, now. He has already stated that he is confident. Good. That means you can confidently find your swing in Omaha and then come back and contribute. Right now he is a gaping hole in the line up. Why do Moose and Hosmer get handed everything? Hosmer is terrible. He can't pull the ball. It's more than a slump. Maybe he needs to go to the Dr. He and Bubba can exchange stories while they wait to SEE what the hell is wrong with their eyes. Hosmer would benefit from a trip to Omaha as well. You may ask who will play first and third? It doesn't matter. Tejada would hit better than 170 at third. Billy isn't that huge a drop off at first. Those kids need to get right. This team can't be contending for anything but draft position if the infield has gaping holes at both corners. Frenchy should be gone. Lough is up while Dyson heals. They should get real comfortable with a platoon in right field. That contract by DM was criminally bad. You would think a 500 record at the quarter mark would leave me with an overall positive outlook. Well, I don't have a positive outlook. The team is held together with chewing gum and duct tape. The starters have been solid. The hitting is atrocious. Gaping holes at spots that MUST generate runs is going to doom this team to 90 plus losses. I hope the Royals send Moose or Hosmer down. They are killing this team. A league average hitter at those two spots and the Royals outlook would be so much better. Stop handing them everything. They haven't earned anything at the MLB level. Let them be AAA all-stars. 170 and 230 from first base and third base. Yeah that's the ticket. I, unlike Ned, don't have patience for such things. I'll check in periodically. I'm sure I'll post when the double digit losing streak occurs. I'll post at the 80 game mark. I doubt this team will have 35 wins at that point. It has been a good first quarter. Not too sure the Royals are going to pass the final exam, however.