Comments on: And Then There’s Kyle

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:01:52 +0000

Why do I keep hearing Hoch being a closer, he doesnt even have the mentality to keep it together as a starting pitcher let alone as a closer. His biggest problem is his mentality issues because he has good stuff and has been brilliant at times but he finds a way to lose it every time. We have multiple bullpen arms that could be a closer in the case we lose Soria, Hoch however is not an option under any circumstance.

By: kcghost

kcghost — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:49:58 +0000

One game does not a pitcher make. Yes he had a nice 6 innings. Good for him. The prior 750 sucked.

By: Big Lee

Big Lee — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:34:07 +0000

Sweet, we may see Meier pitch tonight. Understand he is emergency catcher, too, from his high school days. He is a ideal 25th player, although like Jim I would like to see Falu up here in a utility role.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:01:51 +0000

Harry, I was going on eyeballs, but defer to BR. When I watched Davies he usually coasts through three, wobbles in the fourth and fifth, and collapses in the fifth or sixth. Even last night, a superficially dominant start, he threw 104 pitches through six innings but had a couple of lights out innings. Good info on Hoch. Guy looks like a closer to me.

By: Harry

Harry — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:34:14 +0000

I may be less of a Davies-hater than most, but I’m still concerned the Royals will try to re-sign him this offseason. My biggest concern is his price tag. He’s making $3.2M this year and with what looks like a weak free agent pool of starting pitchers this offseason, that could drive up his price…

@Jim – I agree with you on Hoch having a possible future in the bullpen, but not as much on Davies. While Davies does get a bit worse the second time through the line-up, his splits aren’t as pronounced as Hoch’s. If you go to Davies’ Baseball Reference page (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=davieky01&year=Career&t=p), it shows he gives up a .792 OPS the first time through the line-up, a .842 OPS the second time through, and a .848 the third time through. Hoch, by comparison, gives up a .696 OPS the first time through, a .820 OPS the second time through, and a .891 OPS the third time through. Yikes…

By: Kyle Davies

Kyle Davies — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:52:00 +0000

ACE!

By: Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:56:53 +0000

I’m hoping (against hope) that with his last two starts – last night especially – Davies maybe has increased his trade value from “are you @#$*@! kidding me?” to “sure, we’ll take him off your hands”. I’d be happy to eat salary and take a non-existent prospect for him at this point – even the dreaded PTBNL.

Is anyone pitching-starved enough to make such a radical, reckless deal?

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:43:43 +0000

Mike, good scenario. Given that Davies is often dominant the first time through the order, like Hoch, I’ve been suggesting all year that he belongs in relief. He and Hoch both, with stuff and multiple pitches, profile best as closers or set-up men. I doubt Davies gets signed in the off-season, so your prediction that he comes back to the Royals on a minor-league contract with a chance to win a bullpen job may be prophetic. May happen earlier if Montgomery can ever string together three straight good starts and earn his way up.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:26:36 +0000

My guess is that Davies is back next year on a minor league contract. I can’t see any teams giving him a major league deal unless they think he’d be increadible out of the bullpen and give him league minimum.

By: rick

rick — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:11:35 +0000

its kind of a good news – bad news thing….good news davies threw well and the royals won…bad news is davies threw well…actually for two games in a row now…