By CHRIS RASMUSSEN
Got it? No, you don't.
After a few months, we can now review a time-honored rite of spring training baseball coverage: the yearly “Our Team Is Very Serious About Fundamentals This Season” story. This year’s version concerning the Royals contained two unique pieces of nuance:
a) Trey Hillman managed in Japan, a venue known for its fundamental approach, and therefore he will be able to import this knowledge upon American ballplayers.
b) Trey Hillman is willing to scold his team on the field in a spring training game for bad baserunning.
Four months later, here are the results:
■ Most teams leave men on base at the end of an inning. This year, the Royals decided to save everyone time by having those runners tossed out on the basepaths. In April and May, third base coach Luis Silverio resembled a WWI General sending young men to certain demise in a futile and desperate effort to gain only 90 feet of territory.
■ The Royals are horrific at bunting players over. This year, the only time Joey Gathright makes solid contact at the plate is when he attempts to bunt – which speaks poorly of both of his hitting and bunting ability. In fairness, Gathright is better at bunting than Billy Butler, who bunted into a double play on Tuesday. Tony Peña? You'd think that a .155 average hitter could bunt – but you'd most certainly be wrong.
■ Last in the league in walks and on base percentage, the Royals cannot or will not learn plate discipline. Guillen and Miguel Olivo are notably undisciplined at the plate, but at least both can hit – Gathright, Peña and others cannot hit and also cannot draw walks.
■ Both Gathright and Butler have – on multiple occasions – failed to run out plays, causing them some amount of embarrassment later. Jose Guillen? Well, let’s let others recite a full list of Guillen’s sins to save time.
■ On Wednesday, the Royals balked in the winning run, although, since the Royals were at home, it was not a balk-off win for the White Sox.
I’m not arguing that the Royals would be successful if they played fundamentally sound baseball all time. In fact, I’d rather have nine Jose Guillens, as frustrating as it may be. That would still be better than nine fundamentally sound Ross Gloads, a player who does the little things but fails at the big things -- like hitting at a competent level for a major-league first baseman.
Leave the talk of fundamentals to traditionalist broadcasters, elderly callers to sports radio stations and pre-season baseball writers. I’d prefer to have talent.
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I forgot to register my approval of the WWI reference. At first I thought it might be too macabre, but I think it falls under the 75 year rule. Nice work, young man.
"third base coach Luis Silverio resembled a WWI General sending young men to certain demise in a futile and desperate effort to gain only 90 feet of territory."
Congratulations! You've just gained a happy reader!
You know I was thinking this same thing after the game yesterday when they looked like the Bad News Bears in the ninth inning. Those things happen to other teams - maybe even at the same rate as the Royals. It's just that everybody forgets about it because most other teams have offenses that are remotely competent.
It's not just the talent - at this point it is safe to say that all of the batters in the lineup who should have a plan when they go up there and don't, are not getting proper coaching. And if they are getting proper coaching and ignoring it, that's management's fault for not keeping them in AAA until they are ready to accept proper coaching.
You know, I understand the position of the minor league people that you need to let young hitters learn to hit by hitting, and you don't worry too much about plate discipline when they are 18. But you know, when you look at the results from their AZL or Appy league rookie teams and every single game you look at the BB column and there is either a column full of 0's or a 1 mixed in, there is something wrong. Most rookie league pitchers have poor control. Why are we teaching young players to swing at everything, then complaining that the MLB team doesn't get on base?
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