2014 Game 132: Twins at Royals

Hughes vs. Hendriks. Kaufmann Stadium. The Tigers aren't in first. What's not to like?

Well, the local nine are 58-73. That's not to like. The Royals are the opposite, and I have to say I like the team and have nothing against the fanbase, so if my team loses here, I suppose I can live with it. ESPN just did a thing on the state of the world the last time the Royals made the playoffs - Back to the Future being released in theaters, for instance - so I guess they're our Pirates this season.

38 thoughts on “2014 Game 132: Twins at Royals”

  1. Jordan Schafer has been a pleasant surprise since his trade, not getting sac bunts down withstanding

  2. How's it goin', gang? I've been watching since the second inning, but I'm locked in an endless conversation with some of the people in the jury room of my Survivor game addressing a problem that almost certainly doesn't even exist. It's a fantastic way to spend my day off.

    But baseball, woooooooooooooo

  3. Made the mistake of reading the comments in a Strib article (TwinCentric). Why do I bother.

    However, it made me ponder (no pun intended) the season as a whole, and I am cautiously optimistic on this team. Nick makes the point that we really aren't in the position of hunting down multiple free agents this next offseason and I agree. The line up should score more runs next year with the youngins gaining valuable experience. Why block a position with a marginal free agent. Starting pitching could use some help, but who are we going to sign (for a reasonable price) that is worth blocking Mays, Meyer and Berrios?

    I think we hit 75-80 wins next year and possibly contend in 2016. Use the payroll flexibility to extend some key young players. I can wait a couple more years as long as progress is being made.

    That being said... the last 2 games have been hard to watch.

    1. The hard ones to watch are when the starting pitching gives no chance. These games have been frustrating, especially since it's hard to blame anything but bad luck. Both of the Royals' big innings in these two games started with a popup that fell for a single. At least the home run you could just say was a mistake pitch. Tonight, it was death by a thousand paper cuts. It went popup single, infield chopper single, popup out, bunt single, soft liner just over an infielder single off the end of the bat with an out at third, infield dribbler single, walk by Duensing and then bloop single to right to make it 4-1. Didn't see the last two runs, but the game was over after that with Holland ready to close. I can handle bad luck in a game that doesn't matter as long as the streak doesn't last too long over multiple games.

    1. Poor strategy by Twins. In Hendriks' career coming in, he has an OPS against of less than .800 in a tie game. When he has a lead, it jumps to over 1.000. Hughes should have given up 1 early run.

    1. It's perhaps irrational, but I get super tense and frustrated whenever Dunce comes in anymore. I'd like him to pitch for another team.

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