Opening Day lineup splits + Teahen recovery update

Jeffrey Flanagan checks in with my official man-crush of 2006, Mark Teahen, to see how that ol’ shoulder’s doing.

“I’m not feeling any pain or discomfort,” Teahen said by phone. “I’m right on schedule, and I’m throwing about 45 feet right now.”

That may not sound like a lot, but after his shoulder surgery in September, it’s right about where he should be. He expects to be throwing regular distances by spring training.

And that’s good because the Royals most likely will be looking for him to stretch out his throws from the outfield position instead of third base, clearing the way for super prospect Alex Gordon to take over at third. Teahen said he’s ready for the switch.

“I still consider myself a big-league third baseman,” Teahen said. “But if it’s better for the team that (Gordon) is at third and I’m in the outfield, I’m OK with that. I can learn outfield. I’ve never played it, but I can learn.”

Also… is the AG’s#1 theory of the Meche signing having unseen ramifications coming true?

“I remember talking near the end of the season with Mark Grudzielanek,” Teahen said, “and we were talking about what a good idea it would be to go out and get a relatively young guy like Gil Meche. And then wow, a couple of months later, we get him. That fires you up.”

Well, that’s certainly good news for the Royals and Royals fans.

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I also wanted to continue on the topic of the Opening Day lineup and continue to visualize what all of these new signings and trades means to KC. Here is the same offensive lineup and bench, but with 2006 stats vs. R- and L-handed pitchers [stats via ESPN, plus Gordon’s stats from MinorLeagueSplits.com]:

2006 AB | AVG/OBP/SLG | RC27 | BB/K ::: Slot—Pos. Name—Bats R/L
(I’m flipping the stats and the names because it’s easier to compare numbers in a line.)

VERSUS RIGHT HANDERS

LINEUP
351 | .291/.355/.413 | 5.37 | 0.50 ::: 1—CF David DeJesus—Bats L
400 | .305/.336/.423 | 5.12 | 0.43 ::: 2—2B Mark Grudzielanek—Bats R
287 | .296/.366/.530 | 7.41 | 0.54 ::: 3—RF Mark Teahen—Bats L
153 | .255/.343/.451 | 5.30 | 0.50 ::: 4—DH Mike Sweeney—Bats R
051 | .322/.366/.510 | 6.83 | 0.23 ::: 5—1B Ryan Shealy—Bats R
370 | .308/.375/.454 | 6.15 | 0.65 ::: 6—LF Emil Brown—Bats R
378 | .320/.440/.598 [* AA Stats] ::: 7—3B Alex Gordon—Bats L
140 | .179/.314/.329 | 3.63 | 0.59 ::: 8a—C Jason LaRue—Bats R
257 | .245/.295/.370 | 3.48 | 0.22 ::: 8b—C John Buck—Bats R
345 | .241/.272/.328 | 2.51 | 0.21 ::: 9—SS Angel Berroa—Bats R

BENCH
C—LaRue/Buck
161 | .311/.416/.441 | 6.96 | 0.79 ::: IF—Esteban German
117 | .333/.358/.462 | 6.40 | 0.40 ::: IF/OF—Ross Gload
228 | .237/.266/.417 | 3.34 | 0.14 ::: OF—Reggie Sanders
070 | .263/.318/.326 | 3.54 | 0.43 ::: OF—Joey Gathright

The lineup looks very impressive for the first seven batters. We’ve got grizzled vets, rookies, and everyone in between all batting at-average, above-average or well-above-average. (Those RC27 would indicate that every single batter is at least a half-run per game above average.) Of course, this assumes Mark Teahen will continue his unlikely climb into elite company, especially considering his shoulder surgery, and this assumes that Ryan Shealy’s short-term success was not a fluke. But, if those are the two biggest problems the Royals’ lineup faces up to that point, things are looking good.

But then, around the 8 spot, things just kerplunk. Buck is, to me, the better option over LaRue versus righties, but even Buck + Berroa is downright shameful in that lineup. Looking at that bench, one wonders—is Berroa really worth 4+ runs per game of defense more than Esteban German? I kind of doubt that.

But… that bench! German and Gload alone constitute a very strong bench here, covering most of the positions on the ball field. There’s also the free upside of a potential Reggie Sanders recovery, and there’s room to spare for a defensive sub and a bunting mastermind there in Gathright, too.

Overall, I’m very impressed with this lineup verses righties, particularly considering how many of those batters are right-handed.

VERSUS LEFT HANDERS

LINEUP
140 | .307/.384/.529 | 7.19 | 1.00 ::: 1—CF David DeJesus—Bats L
148 | .277/.316/.372 | 3.88 | 0.36 ::: 2—2B Mark Grudzielanek—Bats R
106 | .274/.333/.481 | 5.59 | 0.31 ::: 3—RF Mark Teahen—Bats L
064 | .266/.365/.406 | 5.90 | 0.83 ::: 4—DH Mike Sweeney—Bats R
050 | .160/.263/.280 | 1.65 | 0.67 ::: 5—1B Ryan Shealy—Bats R
157 | .236/.316/.465 | 4.77 | 0.56 ::: 6—LF Emil Brown—Bats R
109 | .339/.371/.550 [*AA Stats] ::: 7—3B Alex Gordon—Bats L
051 | .235/.328/.392 | 4.49 | 0.36 ::: 8a—C Jason LaRue—Bats R
114 | .246/.331/.456 | 5.30 | 0.50 ::: 8b—John Buck—Bats R
129 | .217/.223/.349 | 1.75 | 0.04 ::: 9—SS Angel Berroa—Bats R

BENCH
C—LaRue/Buck
118 | .347/.430/.483 | 7.35 | 0.85 ::: IF—Esteban German
039 | .308/.341/.462 | 5.57 | 0.40 ::: IF/OF—Ross Gload
097 | .268/.385/.443 | 5.41 | 0.83 ::: OF—Reggie Sanders
039 | .256/.396/.333 | 6.00 | 0.75 ::: OF—Joey Gathright

While there are some bright spots here—production like that from the leadoff spot is unfair, Buck looks a little bit more like a major leaguer against lefties—this is, by and large, very unsettling. In fact, by year’s end, the next-best hitter besides David DeJesus might actually be a rookie. The RC27 numbers look much better than I would expect given the low OBPs and SLGs across the board. Hopefully, Shealy will make a big improvement over those numbers from last year. If he doesn’t, I can easily see Buddy Bell shifting to a Gload/Shealy 1B platoon, or what I like to call “Justin Huber Fiasco (Remix) (Feat. Ryan Shealy)”.

The bench, again, shines. Sanders doesn’t even need to improve to be a so-so fourth outfielder, but any improvement does help. Gload has very decent production here. German again begs the question: “Why isn’t he playing everyday?” And even Gathright’s OBP looks very, very nice (in an admittedly extremely small sample size).

Overall, there had better be some large improvement from the young pups if this lineup is going to do anything against lefties.

Oh, and here’s a funny joke for you in case you missed it—I bolded it intentionally—Angel Berroa’s walks-to-strikeout ratio versus left-handers is .04. You’re welcome for that laugh.