Comments on: Moose Leads Royals Charge Over Yankees

By: PlayballGoRoyals

PlayballGoRoyals — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:21:15 +0000

@mmeade17

Add luck to that! Digg this http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/kc_royals_magic_season_spurred_on_by_charm_of_monet

By: LennyNightwolf

LennyNightwolf — Sat, 05 May 2012 22:47:00 +0000

@ArrowFan

By: mmeade17

mmeade17 — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:18:40 +0000

@jim fetterolf Absolutely. I’ll check it out.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Sat, 05 May 2012 03:40:25 +0000

@mmeade17 Valid points. A poster on Pine Tar Press, I forget his name, pointed out that Frenchy took a couple of shuffle steps before he launched and Quinteros swung and missed the pitch, suggesting a hit and run was on. I haven’t seen the replay, so defer on that point to those who have. On the odds of Quinteros or Getz getting a hit, combined they have a .564 average, so a touch better than a coin flip and Getz is historically and this year a good 2-out RISP hitter.

I’m not suggesting that Frenchy running was demanded and I have offered since last fall that it looks to me as if Frenchy may have lost a step, about all I’m trying to do is defend against the idea that it was a totally stupid idea.

May I invite you to drop by Judging the Royals and joining our little community? While we disagree sometimes, you are a solid, thoughtful poster who seems interested in baseball at a deeper level than just for fantasy purposes. Sign-in is with facebook.

By: mmeade17

mmeade17 — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:04:08 +0000

@jim fetterolf That’s an interesting question. I’m starting to wonder now if the results don’t dictate the decision–not in the Frenchy steal situation just in general. This is baseball so if it doesn’t work, to some degree at least, it was a bad idea. If it does, it was a good idea. That said, Frenchy trying to steal third was either a mistake of execution or a tactical mistake or both. I think it was both (I think regardless of the result the idea was bad in this specific situation). The fact that he hustled a double was great, but that doesn’t change the mistake of trying to steal third in that moment. Here’s the question of probability they must consider: Which of these two scenarios is more likely: 1) Frenchy successfully steals third on Russell Martin AND Quintaro gets him in with a sacrifice of some kind (surely in that scenario infield’s playing in so no ground ball to the middle infield). 2) Either Quintaro or Getz gets a hit. In my mind, it’s more likely that Quintaro or Getz would get a hit than it is that Frenchy successfully takes third and then, presumably down in the count, Quintaro gets him in. Hell, even if Frenchy were already on third with one out, I give Quintaro a 50/50 chance of getting Frenchy in. Throw in a successful steal of third base in that situation, and it seems like a better idea to stay put.

By: michael.allen.engel

michael.allen.engel — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:15:21 +0000

@jim fetterolf @mmeade17 without having base/out run expectancy in front of me I’d guess that the steal in that situation was a low value play. Stealing is tough in the first place. Stealing third is even tougher.

The only thing Frenchy had in his favor was a right handed batter at the plate. I wasn’t thrilled with the double attempt to begin with because it seemed too shallow and risky. After seeing it again, Granderson had a bad track to it, so fine, I’m less concerned about that. But to answer your question, yeah, with the Royals track record on basestealing this year, Dyson and maybe Getz are the only guys who should have a shot at stealing third. I would have liked the result if he were safe but not the process behind it.

And he was out by feet. A slippage wasn’t the problem there.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:04:12 +0000

@mmeade17 I would mention that Frenchy wouldn’t even have been on 2nd if not for aggressive base running that ended with a very close play. The steal attempt was good, Frenchy just slipped a little. In a play where a 10th of a second is the difference, that means something. Just a question: If Frenchy had been successful would you have considered it a ridiculous attempt based on his steal percentage and the game situation? Or is the kibitzer always right:)?

By: ArrowFan

ArrowFan — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:57:06 +0000

The defense in the 9th was just awesome that goes to show how talented our team is. Lets just keep the winning coming we are only 8 games back of 500 now.

By: ArrowFan

ArrowFan — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:51:53 +0000

@michael.allen.engel Thanks I just love saying “THE YANKEES LOOSE THE YANKEES LOOSE”

By: michael.allen.engel

michael.allen.engel — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:31:49 +0000

@ArrowFan Moose was the #1 Web Gem, at least. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7889239&categoryid=2378529

Beyond that, if you’re looking for the ENTIRE 9th inning, it may not be available anywhere but MLB.tv’s archives.

Also, here’s the double play in the ninth: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21134171&topic_id=29461918&c_id=kc&tcid=vpp_copy_21134171&v=3

By: ArrowFan

ArrowFan — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:34 +0000

Anyone know where to find a good highlight video of the 9th inning, all I can find is the video of Mario injuring himself.

By: mmeade17

mmeade17 — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:34:44 +0000

The way the Royals played tonight, and have played in their last 7 games, is how winning baseball teams play. They aren’t running into stupid outs (save Francoeur’s ridiculous decision to steal third). They aren’t making too many bonehead mistakes, and things are starting to fall their way a little bit. Dyson is hitting the way he needs to to be successful. Getz is playing very un-Getz like. Moose is apparently making an All-Star bid. I love to see the defense playing sharp and hitters having good ABs. If they can get pitching from a few guys, they can start the type of winning fans thought they would see early on. Go Royals!