Royals Rewind: 7/5-7/11

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The week started off with the Royals sweeping Seattle in Safeco Field which got some Royals fans all in a tizzy about the playoffs and deeming Ned Yost a prophet. Then the Royals brought a pencil to a gunfight against the White Sox (no, they didn’t even think to bring a knife) and got swept by the new leaders of the American League Central.

Talk about mood swings…

The Numbers
AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS: .290/.363/.478/.841
18 walks in 233 plate appearances, a 7.7% rate. That still should be higher but I don’t see it happening with this group
1-4 in stolen base attempts. Yuck.
24 runs scored
6 homeruns
20 of 61 hits for extra bases – that’s an improvement

Team ERA: 6.06
Starters ERA: 7.03 – If not for Zack Greinke‘s 7 inning 0 earned run start, this would have been an even 9.00
Bullpen ERA: 5.40 – seen better days. Victor Marte had a bad week and other than Joakim Soria, Robinson Tejeda and Kanekoa Texeira, the other relievers were just average.

35/21 K/BB ratio
The Royals gave up 13 homers. Ouch.

Streaking
Jason Kendall, 8-23, 4 RS Of course he picks the week I label him the least productive batter in the lineup to lead the team in hits.
Billy Butler, 7-20, HR, 4 RBI
Jose Guillen, 5-13, HR, 2 RBI
Wilson Betemit, 7-14, HR, 3 RBI
David DeJesus, 7-22, 5 RS

Slumping
Mitch Maier, 4-20, but he did hit another homer
Mike Aviles, 2-18

The Verdict
The Royals keep hitting, and after a prolonged drought, they got some homers and extra bases this week, too. Their six homers were hit by six different players, so it’s not just one player finding the power.

The starting rotation is showing signs of being exposed for what it is – a group of journeymen and short-term overachievers. Bruce Chen has been pretty consistent this year, though, so he may be able to get right. Kyle Davies isn’t getting blown up, so that’s something. Anthony Lerew isn’t as good as his first start with the Royals in 2010, but he’s not as bad as his debacle against the White Sox on Sunday. I’d say there’s a week or maybe two before any changes come around. There’s also the potential of Gil Meche of Luke Hochevar perhaps making miraculous recoveries and getting back in the rotation.

There are just over two weeks until the traditional trade deadline. I say the Royals should start selling some of the batters and clearing space for Alex Gordon and Kila Ka’aihue to make their returns to Kansas City. They’ve done all they can in Triple A, and another month is just diminishing your return while learning nothing new about their abilities.

The Royals return after the All-Star Break on Friday, facing Oakland in Kansas City. So long as everything’s okay with his shoulder, Zack Greinke is scheduled to make the start.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.