Tag: Kansas City Royals (Page 8 of 14)

R’s – Six Weeks In

The Royals have officially reached the maddening stage with me. They had a nice road trip last week, winning four of seven games. With one exception, they continued to get solid pitching from the starters. Those guys just can not hit, though.

As Joe Posnanski and others have written about many times, what is especially infuriating is that this franchise hasn’t hit since the Golden Era. It doesn’t make sense. Yes, Kauffman Stadium is not a great home run park. But the Royals haven’t hit home runs on the road since pretty much forever, too. And when road teams come into the K, they still find a way to clear the fences, even if at lower rates than in their home parks.

It’s as though every Royals general and field manager since the artificial turf was ripped out doesn’t realize that slapping the ball and letting it bounce around doesn’t work anymore.

The problem isn’t just the lack of home runs, though. This organization has always had a horrific approach at the plate. Even the franchise’s greatest players were loathe to take a walk. When Tony Muser was managing the promising group of young hitters around the Millennium, he famously told them to jump on the first pitch they saw because they might not see another ball to hit in their at bat.

Tony’s been gone for a long time, but the Royals still hack as though he’s in the dugout.

Two weeks ago the Detroit Tigers retired six straight Royals on ten total pitches. Early in Sunday’s game in Seattle, Royals pitchers had thrown at least ten innings of 15 or more pitches in the series. Seattle pitchers? Zero 10+ pitch innings.

Even Eric Hosmer, who seems to be the only guy who can consistently hit, will come out of his shoes at the first pitch in an AB if it’s anywhere near the plate.

It’s infuriating to watch a rally die because two straight hitters try to jump all over the first pitch and pop it up on the infield.

The most common thing I say while watching the Royals?

“TAKE A FUCKING PITCH!”

So the Royals can’t hit home runs. They don’t work the count. Guys like Alex Gordon, Sal Perez, and Billy Butler will hit for a week or ten days and then fall into a deep slump. Mike Moustakas, who was supposed to be the power at the center of the lineup, can’t hit his weight, let alone live up to his hype, and is likely headed back to Omaha today. Hosmer is the only home-grown hitting talent who shows any consistency, and I’m beginning to believe that’s in spite of his approach at the plate rather than because of his terrific talent.

The Royals off-season moves have mostly worked out for the best. Omar Infante, when he can stay healthy, provides fine defense at second and a good bat at the top of the order. Nori Aoki has struggled at times with the transition to the American League, and his defense is the weakest on the team. But in general he’s been solid. Jason Vargas has surprised being terrific in most of his starts. And Alcides Escobar rediscovered his stroke from two years ago and is again playing Gold Glove caliber shortstop.

But the Royals are a game under .500 with just three weeks left in the soft early portion of their schedule. When the calendar turns to June, suddenly they begin playing much better teams more often. Maybe the warmer air will help balls carry at the K and some of those line drives will sail over the fence. And maybe those shots will build confidence in Gordon, Butler, and Perez and the bats begin to give the arms some support.

These are the Kansas City Royals, though. Putting your faith in being smart at the plate and getting on base and scoring runs every night is bound to leave you disappointed.

The Young Phenom

Tuesday night I did something I haven’t done in years. I took out a baseball scorebook I had stashed away1 and kept score for a game I watched on TV.

I keep score a few times a year for baseball and softball games that I’m covering for the paper. But I can’t recall the last time I decided to keep score for a game I was watching from home.

It’s one thing to do it when I need all the details for a story and box score that I will submit to be published with my name attached. The quicker pace of high school games makes that process easier as well.

It’s another thing, though, to tackle a 2.5 — 3 hour Major League game when you have the distractions of kids, other channels, checking Twitter, and maybe playing a quick round of an iOS game between innings.2

I thought Tuesday was a good night, though, because it was Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura’s first start of the year. Something about him reminds me of when Dwight Gooden first came up to the Mets in 1984. For the next 3-4 seasons, when Dr. K was pitching, it was must-see TV. Although this wasn’t Ventura’s first big league start – he started three games last September – this felt like a good night to document what happened to hold on to and look back upon years down the road.

Who knows how his career will go. Maybe he’ll be amazing, like Gooden, for a short span then burn out. Maybe he’ll have a long, solid career but never be the absolute ace some expect him to be. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll match those Pedro Martinez comparisons and be the dominant pitcher in the game for a long stretch.


It ended up being a fine night to keep score. Ventura was amazing. He made Wil Myers look foolish three times. He completely froze Evan Longoria, one of the best hitters in the game, on a called third strike. And he kept Tampa Bay in check all night. His only flaw was racking up too many pitches, limiting himself to only six innings, giving up just two hits and striking out six.

Tampa’s Chris Archer was nearly as good, though. The 25-year-old went seven innings, working around six hits and two walks and getting out of two bases-loaded jams.

The Rays bullpen escaped another bases-loaded threat by the Royals in the 8th and then scraped a run out in the ninth to win 1-0.

Perhaps, ten years from now, I’ll pull out the scorebook and look back on the night that two of the best pitchers in the game went up against each other on an early-April night when both of them were just beginning to discover how great their talents were.


  1. A fine little piece of work from Eephus League that I backed on Kickstarter a few years back. 
  2. Mostly self-imposed distractions, I admit. 

R’s Wrap Up / Playoff Predictions

I sit here on a lovely autumn evening, windows open, Upland Oktoberfest in a glass, watching MLB game #163. Not a bad way to spend a night, especially with David Price doing David Price things in the early going.

Since I can’t make full playoff predictions until this game is resolved, some final thoughts on the Royals’ season.


As I said last week, I’ve decided to milk the good from this season. 86 wins. Eric Hosmer finally figuring it out, having a monster second half, and ready to establish himself as a true star next year. James Shields was everything the Royals wanted/needed him to be after The Trade. Alex Gordon continued his quiet excellence. Danny Duffy tantalized after his return. Yordano Ventura was stellar in his first two big league starts. Greg Holland was the best closer in the majors, and most of the rest of the bullpen was outstanding as well. And then there were dozens of unforgettable moments, especially in the second half.

All of that was great. It took far too long for a Royals team do all that; it better not be another decade-plus before the next good Royals team comes along.

With that said, there is plenty to complain about. Where Hosmer figured it out, Mike Moustakas continued to look completely lost at the plate. His defense is good enough that he doesn’t need to hit .270+. But he does need to find a way to harness his massive power and hit close to 30 home runs while getting on base 30% of the time, at bare minimum. If he could become an Adam Dunn-type hitter, that would be great. Or even 2/3 an Adam Dunn. There are questions all over the Royals lineup, and Moustakas is the most likely spot where the answer is in place, if he can just figure it out.

We can pick apart Ned Yost all day. I’m in the camp that thinks he hurts the Royals if they’re going to contend for a playoff spot. But, with all the other warts on the team, I don’t think it’s fair to say he cost them a playoff spot. I don’t want him back, which sadly it seems he will be, but you can’t put missing the playoffs this year solely on him.

No, what cost them a playoff spot was the month of May. Throw out that brutal month, when the offense was horrid and the pitching spotty, and the team played at 99-win pace. Maybe that is on Ned, as a team good enough to play at division-winning pace for five months should not have a sixth month that poor. I put more blame on the players.

However, I mostly blame Dayton Moore. He put together a team that still ran Frenchy out most nights in May and Chris Getz most of the time when he was healthy. Most of Moore’s moves last off-season made the Royals better in 2013. But he still left too many holes and the team was far too prone to go on extended streaks where they would score 1, 2, 3 runs and get beat. Everyone understands that the Royals operate under financial constraints because of their market and owner. But for all the work Moore did to built a rotation around Shields, Santana, and Guthrie, he failed to find cheap parts that could have made a difference in a handful of games during their three long losing streaks. Find three more wins in May, one during their 0-5 run before the All-Star break, and two during their 2-10 run in August and the Royals would be playing a 163rd game, at minimum. And as hard as those last five wins are to get, I think smarter management makes them possible this season.

What would I do to put the 2014 Royals in a better position to make the playoffs? Find a serviceable second baseman, someone who has a decent glove but can get on base on a consistent basis. Offer Ervin Santana a two-year contract, but no more. Let him walk if he demands a 3-4 year deal. Do your damndest to find another quality arm in the free agent market, even if it is only a one-year deal. Move hell and high water to get one more legitimate bat, even if that means a package of a current position player, multiple arms from the pen, and a decent prospect.

The Royals are close. But not close enough that they can stand pat or rely on a couple bodies from the minors to fill in the gaps. They need to be aggressive and smart this off-season.


OK, Tampa closed out Texas, so prediction time

American League

Cleveland over Tampa.

Each fall in the stat-head community there is discussion over whether there is such thing as September momentum that carries over to the playoffs. The numbers seem to point to no, but when a team like the 2011 Cardinals comes along, it’s hard not to believe the answer is yes. Cleveland roared through September. That momentum gets them at least through Wednesday’s game.

Oakland over Detroit.

I would have picked different a month ago, before Miguel Cabrera got banged up. Unless Max Scherzer can pitch every game, I think Oakland shocks the Tigers.

Boston over Cleveland.

For as well as the Indians played in September, the only good team they played during their run was the Royals, who took four of six from them. Cleveland is confident and damn near caught the Tigers. But that won’t be enough to get past Boston.

Boston over Oakland.

These teams have played a memorable series or two over the decades. This one won’t be, as the Sox win easily.

National League

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.

For whatever the Wild Card adds to baseball, when both Wild Card teams come from the same division, and those teams were hot on the heels of the division winner until the final weekend of the season, it ends up taking away from the pennant excitement. How great would the NL Central race have been if only one team got into the playoffs, not all three? Anyway, Pittsburgh deserves this, as much as I hate saying a team or city or fan base ever deserves anything.

LA over Atlanta.

I have no real feel for this series. I know the Dodgers were one of the hottest teams in the history of baseball in July and August, then fell off a bit. But the Braves seem like a bunch of douches with all their dumb protestations of violations of baseball’s unwritten rules. I hope Yasiel Puig hits seven home runs and stares at them for hours.

St. Louis over Pittsburgh.

I’ll be pulling for Pittsburgh, though. The team that gave hope to the Royals that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

St. Louis over LA.

Man, it’s been awhile since Cards fans had anything to cheer about, hasn’t it?

World Series

Remember back in 2004, after those two thrilling LCSes that resulted in a St. Louis-Boston World Series, and everyone kept going on-and-on about how even the teams were and how it was clearly going at least six games? Then the Sox swept the Cards.

Similar theme this year. The two most complete, and best, teams in baseball. Terrific rotations. Great arms at the back of the bullpen. The difference will be the Red Sox bats. Man, those dudes can just hit. They’re somewhat reminiscent of the ’03 and ’04 Sox, who had a couple superstars and then a bunch of no-namers who all hit like .305 and 25 homers.

Red Sox in six.

So Close

(Stealing a line from Twitter…)

This is how the season ends. Late at night, in Seattle, on another evening when the offense is pathetic while losing to a bad team. Of course, I was long asleep when the game, and the Royals’ playoff hopes, ended with a 6-0 loss to the Mariners last night/this morning. But I knew that the Royals had to win to keep the most meager of playoff chances alive, and was not terribly surprised when I pulled up the scores as I was waking the girls up this morning.

A full post-mortem will come next week. But I have to say, this was a fun season. There are so many ways that this was yet another disappointing season. Long losing streaks. Ned’s poor in-game decisions. Losing too many games to crappy teams. Players who never got going, or couldn’t repeat their performances of previous years. Getz at second for a huge chunk of the season.

But I’m choosing to join the group of fans who acknowledge the many failures of this year’s team, while also enjoying the many successes. Baseball, kind of, mattered again in Kansas City, for the first time since I was in college. Whether this is the beginning of something, or just another blip, like 2003, remains to be seen. I sure hope it’s a start, and that next season, and seasons beyond it, will require me to watch/listen/check scores well beyond the equinox.

 

Walking Off The Weekend

Your weekly weekend wrap-up, featuring a two-hour stretch from Sunday that was as good as any sports moment this year.


This was no ordinary weekend. No, we had visitors! The Nesbitts traveled from Kansas City (with the Belfords also traveling here, but staying with the Heberts) for the Missouri-Indiana football game Saturday. There were plans to attend the local high school football game Friday, but rain ruled that out. 1

Saturday we cruised down to Bloomington for several hours of excellent tailgating and then the big SEC – Big 10 matchup. 2 Fortunately for those of us who weren’t terribly interested in the outcome, IU made it a game for a little while, and then MU pulled away at the end of the third quarter so that we could leave a bit early. These 8:00 kickoffs are rough for old folks with sitters watching the kids 90 minutes away.

It was great to have good friends visit and to enjoy absolutely perfect weather for football on Saturday.


Sunday was a soccer day for us, and we got the ideal schedule, at least from the parents’ perspective. Three games, all at the same time. S. had to do some shuffling around to catch glimpses of each girl, but I was tethered to L.’s field as a coach. She scored two goals, and seemed a bit down on herself for just scoring that many times. Never mind most of the kids in the game didn’t come close to scoring and the competition was a little better than last week.

I was able to swivel my head and see C.’s field, but missed her scoring her first goal of the year. By the time we got to M.’s field, after the two younger sisters had slapped hands with their opponents and gathered their post-game snacks, we got to see the last 4-5 minutes of the U-10 team’s game. And they were clearly either up big or down big because M. was playing forward. Turns out her team won easily and she was happy, so it was a solid day all around.


Race home in time for the Colts game. As I’m watching their bruising first touchdown drive, I’m following the Royals game on my phone. When Eric Hosmer doubled to lead off the tenth, I turned the TV down and toggled the audio on MLB. Bases loaded, no outs, became bases loaded two outs. The Royals seemed to be Royaling the chance to win away.

3-2, two outs, and, well, many of you know what happened next.

Justin Maxwell ends the home season with a swing that will never be forgotten, no matter what happens over the final week of the season. It’s a shame the Royals aren’t just a game back and Cleveland was playing someone difficult this week. Because Maxwell’s home run could be like one of George Brett’s three home runs against California in that epic September 1985 series, when the Royals won three-of-four and leapfrogged into first place on their way to the World Series title. But, even if it’s not perfect, that was a pretty amazing way to end the final home game of the year, clinch a winning season, and send a capacity crowd home happy.


By the time I listened to all the post-game stuff on the radio, got the kids inside, and began getting dinner ready, the Colts were up 10-7 at halftime. Surely the 49ers would make adjustments at the half and take control of the game in the third quarter. But the Colts’ defense kept containing them and forcing them to punt while the offense missed a couple chances to increase the margin.

A missed Colts field goal seemed to set the Niners up to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the defense held once again and the offense put together another long drive, with Andrew Luck running the bootleg to put the Colts up 17-7. A Colin Kaepernick fumble followed by Ahmad Bradshaw’s second touchdown gave the Colts two scores in 72 seconds, and a huge road win.

As I wrote last week, I thought the trade for Trent Richardson was a great move for the Colts. I was a little surprised that so much of the national reaction was mixed. When I read Bill Simmons’ reaction Sunday morning, I started to get worried. This line was especially sobering.

After the Colts lose in San Francisco this Sunday, they’ll be 1-2 with a home-and-home against Houston, home games against Seattle and Denver, and road games at San Diego, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Arizona and Kansas City remaining. They won’t be favored in any of those nine games. It’s true.

I mean, wow. I hadn’t thought of that at all. And, as Simmons wrote, if Luck gets injured this year the season is completely shot and they traded away a top quarter of the draft pick for a running back with serious questions.

Turns out the Colts didn’t lose Sunday, though, and who knows if San Diego, Tennessee, Arizona, and the Chiefs will be as dangerous when the Colts play them as they are now.

I still don’t buy all those questions about Richardson. We’ll have to wait and see how he fits in in Indy. And who’s to say that if the Colts do suck this year and they would be in position to draft in the top five next April, the guy they picked then would be any better than Richardson? I still say it’s a perfectly reasonable risk to take given the rest of the roster.

And, more importantly, I’m hoping this new level of toughness the defense showed on Sunday is a regular thing going forward and not a one-week fluke after last week’s loss. They shut down a very dangerous offense, on the road. Keep that effort up and life should become much easier for Luck, Bradshaw, Wayne, and Richardson not needing 30+ points to win. Now, if they can just find a way to protect Luck better. He can only take that beating for so long.


Between the walk-off grand slam and the Colts terrific performance in San Francisco, Sunday afternoon was a great capper to a fantastic weekend.


  1. I can sit in some rain to watch some football. We weren’t so sure the kids would hold up as well, though. 
  2. Or B1G as the Big 10 now refers to itself, even in graphics on the Big 10, errr, B1G network. 

Here We Go

Twelve games to play, 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. Isn’t this what I said was all I really wanted from the Royals earlier this year? Meaningful baseball in September? Well, we got it. And in late September, to boot.

It’s been a crazy, weird, frustrating, enthralling season. Thanks to all the peaks and valleys, this whole Wild Card chase thing kind of snuck up on us. Obviously, the Royals have played (mostly) great baseball since the All-Star Break. But those two bad weeks they wedged in between the three hot streaks kept excitement from reaching a fever pitch.

Yet here we are, in the penultimate week of the season, with six straight games against other Wild Card contenders at home, and I’m staying up until 11:45 to watch every minute of a game that was decided at least an hour earlier. Between innings I’m checking score for Tampa and Texas, Baltimore and New York, double-checking the Wild Card standings and mentally moving the teams around as the scores change.

The odds are against the Royals. They’re really only back in the Wild Card race because Tampa and Texas have gone ice cold this month.1 Chances are at least one of them will right the ship over the next week and hold on to one of the playoff spots, while Cleveland, with their weak final nine games, will ease into the second opening. But, dammit, the Royals are still in it.

The consensus opinion on Twitter and in the Royals blog community was that the team needed to go 5-1 this week against Cleveland and Texas to still have a shot next week. Last night was a great opening salvo, but it was just one game. Tonight the Royals run out rookie Yordano Ventura for his first-ever big league appearance. Man, what a moment for the young fella. I’ll be hustling the girls to bed, grabbing an 80 Acre, and taking a seat on the couch to watch the Royals try to catch the team in front of them. It’s like September 1985 all over again, although I’m pretty sure I was drinking Cherry Coke and listening to Denny and Fred on the radio instead of watching MLB.TV back then.


  1. And, it must be acknowledged, because of the second Wild Card that King Bug forced through a year ago. 

R’s – Slipping Away

I didn’t mean to jinx the Royals a week ago when I wrote that the series against Boston would likely be the high point of the season. And while it remains to be seen if their glorious month of baseball has come to an end and they will scuffle through the remainder of the season, things certainly don’t look promising.

Losing three of five in Detroit was perfectly acceptable, although blowing Saturday’s game was galling. Especially with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and a runner on third in the ninth. But and you just have to tip your cap sometimes.

They held their own in Motown and then came home for a stretch of games against bad teams.

And proceeded to get shut out by the Chicago White Sox. Sure, John Danks has owned the Royals in his career, but he’s not been a good pitcher this year. Didn’t matter last night, as they had no answers for him.

The big concern is that, through a combination of injuries and slumps, the team is looking pathetic on offense again. And they’re making mistakes teams that struggle to score can’t afford to make.1

That’s five losses in a week, after losing that many games over the previous month. Last night was only one game, but it sure felt like more than that. Perhaps all will be well tonight and the Royals will rip through the rest of this 18-game stretch against (mostly) teams that are not in a pennant race and be within shouting distance of the Wild Card lead when they play Detroit again on Sept. 6. But at 8.5 and 6.5 games out of the division and Wild Card races, they can’t afford to waste another night like last night.


  1. Chris Getz getting picked off last night was absolutely brutal. He’s untouchable, though, so he won’t be sent back to Omaha for a mental error. 

R’s – Recalling Better Days

Man, what a ride. I have a feeling, when we look back on this season, we’ll look at last weekend, when the Royals hosted Boston, as the high point. Big crowds, including the first August sell-out since 2003. Exciting games, including the great, six-run sixth inning Friday night. And a feeling that the Royals mattered again. MLB.TV was acting up much of the time, so I listened more than watched. What struck me were the roars from the crowd. Those were roars that I grew up on. In the 90s, those roars were fewer and fewer. Aside from Opening Days and the first two-thirds of 2003, they largely disappeared over the past decade. But for one weekend they were back.

The numbers still don’t look good for the Royals. Despite all their winning they’ve barely gained ground in either the division or Wild Card races. It’s going to take the miracle of sweeping five games in four days in Detroit next weekend to bring the division title back into the realm of the possible. Winning less than three games could be disastrous for the Wild Card race. They survived Salvador Perez’s injury. Now Miguel Tejada and Lorenzo Cain are both on the DL, Mike Moustakas might be injured. But they keep finding a way to crank out wins.

We can worry about all that next weekend, though. For now, I prefer to bask in the afterglow of last weekend while enjoying another solid game against Miami Monday night.

R’s – Poor Timing

The Royals are doing it all wrong again. After a quarter-century of losing, they decide to rip off a hot streak just as this year’s trade deadline approaches. In the process, they’ve likely tricked General Manager Dayton Moore into thinking they still have a chance to sneak into the second Wild Card spot and thus stop any attempts to move Ervin Santana or members of the bullpen for someone to fill the hole at second base, or other parts that will help when the team reboots next spring. I guess the up-side is that this may keep him from making a stupid trade that we all end up hating. Well, unless he decides to go for it and trade Adalberto Mondesi and Kyle Zimmer for Chase Utley.

I get his thinking, though. The Royals have played well since the All-Star Break, even with Alex Gordon’s bat going into the deep freeze. Even with Wade Davis still sucking.1 For the next two-plus week the schedule is mostly against bottom feeders, with only a home series against Boston looking tough before a showdown with Detroit. Why not gamble that the team can stay hot? As many smarter people than me have already pointed out, though, the gap to the second Wild Card spot is still steep at five games with four other teams in the mix. And as I keep thinking, the Royals have been streaky all year. Each two-week run of great baseball seems to be sandwiched with awful stretches. Despite their good recent play, and despite the up-coming schedule, it’s tough for me to have any confidence that they will continue to put pressure on the teams in front of them.

My quibble is that Moore may not even be listening to offers anymore, as a couple national writers have suggested. Which would be epically dumb given the weakness of this year’s trade market.. Teams need pitching and the Royals have arms to move, if the front office takes a realistic view of this season’s Wild Card race. To not at least listen to offers would be nearly as dumb as making a bad trade.

What the Royals need is another week. If the trading deadline was Aug. 7 instead of this Wednesday, we’d have a better idea of where they were. But with only one game to play before moves are completed, I fear Moore’s mind is made up and he’ll politely avoid other GMs who call to inquire about Santana, et. al.

All that stated, I would not be disappointed if Moore decides to stand pat if he can’t find a great offer for Santana or one of the bullpen arms. I don’t think the Royals are a legit contender this season, but I do think winning 81, or more, games is in play. That’s not insignificant. I’m disappointed “The Process” has yet to result in a playoff berth. But ending the season with a winning record could be a stepping stone for finally competing next year. It’s not much, but at this point, I think I’ll take it. And since Moore isn’t inclined to trade parts for future help, I think I’d rather see Santana help the Royals aim at 81 wins and then get the draft pick when he signs elsewhere in the off season.


  1. With the notable exception of his last start. 

Sports Notes

The promised thoughts on a few of the biggest sports news of the holiday week.


Brad Stevens to the Boston Celtics.

I was walking into a local brewery to fill growlers for the weekend last Wednesday when I got a text asking what I thought about the move. My first response was “Holy shit!” There were no rumbles here in Indy that Stevens was interested in, or talking to someone about, an NBA job. Since his rise a few years ago, he’s turned down Oregon, Missouri, and most notably UCLA, who he actually had contract discussions with. It seemed like he was happy sticking at Butler until either the Indiana job opened up one day, or until he was ready to retire. After all, at only 36 he could bide his time until Tom Crean moved on from Bloomington and still have a nice, long career as the Hoosiers coach even if it doesn’t happen for another ten years.

But after the shock wore off and I thought about it more,, the more taking an NBA job made sense. The rumor has always been that Stevens doesn’t like the recruiting side of college basketball. That may well be true, but if/when he did chose to take a BCS-level job, that task would become much easier than it is at Butler, where he still has to wait for IU, Purdue, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan State, and Michigan to pick through the top local talent each year. But maybe there’s more truth to it than I originally thought.

And as many have noted, his analytic interests are more in line with the direction the NBA is moving. I’m not expert on the advanced statistics that several organizations are using, but it seems like there is more opportunity to implement that coaching/team building style at the professional level than in college, due both to the longer season and the ability to build a roster that will stay together for an extended run.

There’s also a big difference in what coaches do at each level. You run the whole thing in college, from recruiting to teaching to managing a roster full of late teenagers/early 20-somethings. In the NBA, you may still play an integral role in building the roster in the off-season, but much more of your efforts are spent installing plays, scouting, building game plans, and then managing the game. I think Stevens views the NBA as a series of riddles that can be cracked with the proper amount of study and preparation and attention to detail. The NBA game fits how his mind works and where his interests are better than the college game. Or at least he views it as more of a challenge, I think. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be super successful, or never coach in college again. But it does, perhaps, explain why he politely turned down every program that has offered him a job since he took Butler to its first title game appearance in 2010.


I love the enthusiasm of a few KU fans who pointed out how this could work out perfectly for KU. Stevens goes to Boston, tries to build a winner, but fails. Gregg Popovich retires in San Antonio while Stevens is in Boston. Bill Self’s buddy RC Burford, the GM in San Antonio, hires Self to replace Pop. Stevens is fired by the Celtics just as KU needs a new coach. I give those folks credit for thinking waaaaay ahead.


Pacers Summer Moves

Since we’re talking NBA, a quick look at the moves the Indiana Pacers have made so far. They entered the off-season needing to re-sign David West and strengthen their bench, which was pretty putrid last year. They got the D-West deal done quickly, which was the most important thing.

The bench will get an automatic lift if Danny Granger is healthy next year. Granger will either be a super-sub and give the bench a starter-level talent, or Lance Stephenson will move back to the second unit and boost them after his terrific 2012-13 season. I think having Granger on the bench is the best way to ensure Paul George takes the next step to superstar next year, but either option makes the bench better.

Last week the Pacers shored up the backup point guard position by signing CJ Watson. He’s not great, but he should be an improvement over DJ Augustin. Then they snatched Chris Copeland away from the Knicks. Copeland killed the Pacers in a couple games of their playoff series with the Knicks. If he can keep shooting the way he did last year, over 45% from three-point range, it’s a good signing. But I always worry about guys with a lot of size who become perimeter focused. Then again, the Pacers had no bench shooting last year, so it’s a risk they had to take.

Finally, they rescinded their qualifying offer to Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho-T plays hard, and still surprises me by having some decent moments. But for the most part he’s overmatched and hurts the team more than he helps. Last year’s #1 pick Miles Plumlee should slide into Hansbrough’s spot. I don’t expect much from Plumlee, but he’s taller and a better athlete. So perhaps he can fill those minutes more effectively than Psycho did.

All-in-all, nothing dramatic but pretty solid moves by the Pacers. They kept the starting unit intact by re-signing West, have added some bench depth, and should get a lift if Granger can get healthy. Is it enough to win game seven in Miami? Hopefully we’ll find out next June.


KC All-Stars

Finally, kudos to Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez for making the American League All-Star team. I know I was shocked when I saw two Royals position players were selected. Gordon absolutely deserves it, despite tailing off a bit in June. Sal is a little more debatable, but it’s not a complete travesty he made it or anything.

With under a week until the All-Star break, the Royals are sitting at two games under .500, only six games out of first place. I think making a run at Detroit is silly to hope for. But maybe staying in shouting distance of .500 isn’t that crazy to wish for. I’m checking scores more than I was three weeks ago. If they can keep it together this week and not lose four of six or something like that, I may have to start watching games again after the break.

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