Is it officially time to get worried?
Conventional wisdom a week ago, after the 0-6 road trip, was that the Royals would come home, beat up on a couple last place teams, and get their groove back. A 2-4 home stand did not inspire confidence. And, of course, they were lucky to be 2-4, thanks to the epic 9th inning comeback on Monday night. They also got some help from Baltimore Sunday in the other win.
The defense went from poor to pathetic. The bullpen is melting down. The starting pitching was actually solid, outside of Hochevar. But the offense couldn’t give Meche or Greinke enough runs to keep the pen from ruining their solid, if unspectacular, efforts.
Now they’re off to St. Louis and then get red-hot Detroit back at home on Memorial Day. I don’t think it’s time to panic. Tread water until Soria comes back and balances the pen out, hope Meche continues to be right, and then hope someone can put a glove on the ball on defense and the heady days of April could return. But if Detroit keeps winning, it won’t really matter. It would be nice if they got their shit together next weekend, since that’s when I’m making my annual baseball trip to KC.
Random thought: It seems the Red Sox don’t know what to do with Clay Buchholz. He’s stuck in Pawtucket, unable to crack the rotation in Boston. Word has it they still like his potential, but aren’t convinced about his makeup. Sounds kind of familiar.
It’s too early to give up on Hochevar,* but if that point comes, what about a Buchholz for Hochevar deal? Now I think a guy who confidence issues should never get near Boston, but perhaps the Sox might think their approach can help him. Meanwhile the Royals would plug Buchholz in and let him sink-or-swim in the bigs. Just a thought.
(Get back to me about that after his next start. We’ve turned quickly on him, haven’t we?)