Whoa. Jason Hammel pitched a complete game. Part of this, it’s true, is due to the singular nature of his accuracy and his pitch economy in Friday’s doubleheader opener against Detroit. He was deep into the eighth before he reached 80 pitches, finishing eight innings for the first time since 2015 and his first complete […]
Tag: Jason Hammel
Series Preview: Royals at Detroit Tigers, April 20-22
The Royals get to take on one of their fellow basement dwellers this weekend in what’s become a four-game set due to the postponement from a couple weeks ago. Of course, the Royals will really have to do some winning this series in order to actually be on the same level as the Tigers, who […]
Losing Games, Building Value
It could be worse. Yes, it’s been more than a week since the Royals last won a game. In the eight games since their 10-0 drubbing of the Mariners, they have been blown out, blown leads, blown ties, been postponed in a dome and even missed the chance to see Shohei Ohtani pitch. It’s been […]
RECAP: Please don’t pitch Brandon Maurer when it matters
For just a second, I’m gonna say some nice things about Jason Hammel and Ian Kennedy. In back-to-back days, Kennedy and Hammel pitched a combined 12 innings. They allowed seven combined hits and no runs to the Cleveland Indians, a very good team with the deepest lineup the other side of Houston. That is not […]
Series Preview: Royals at Cleveland Indians, April 6-8
The Royals, fresh off a real-life win and two days off head to Cleveland to take on the best team in the division. The Indians have had a bit of a tough go to start the year, but it’s just six games. Last year’s sensation, Jose Ramirez, has just one hit in 23 at bats […]
Recap: Royals Baseball Not Good Again
Oh neat, Francisco Liriano got the win for Ron Gardenhire against the Kansas City Royals. If this were 2006, that would not be a problematic sentence, because Liriano was an All-Star and Gardenhire was coaching the playoff bound Minnesota Twins. Twelve years later, somehow both are once again gainfully employed in the American League Central, […]
Series Preview: Royals at Detroit Tigers, April 2-4
The Royals and Tigers both will be searching for their first wins in this series as both were swept to open their seasons, both losing to teams that weren’t expected to compete this year. Anything can happen and all that, but that seems to be a pretty good anecdote to describe these two clubs. What […]
Series Preview: Royals vs. Chicago White Sox, March 29-April 1
Ready or not, here comes the 2018 season, and it begins for the Royals with a visit from their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are an interesting team after they started their rebuild in earnest last season and are in the midst of seeing some of their highly regarded prospects ascend […]
For Starters, the Royals Might Be Okay
In one week, Royals pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in Surprise to begin the 2018 season. There are an inordinate number of questions left to be asked and answered, but one area where I think the Royals may be surprisingly sound is in their starting rotation, at least as of this particular […]
Player Profile: Jason Hammel
The knock on Jason Hammel when the right-hander arrived in Kansas City was he habitually struggled in the second half of the season. He came by that reputation honestly. Hammel scuffled after a trade to Oakland in 2014. He limped to the finish line with an injury in 2015. The results were a little better […]