Vlady, Teahen, Bartolo, Greinke, and some guy named Billy
So it was Billy Butler’s MLB debut today, which was much to my surprise. I almost wished I hadn’t have checked into BBTF before I left, simply because it would have been fun to see how I would have reacted. Stark, awe-struck silence? Happiness? Tears of sheer joy? In any event, Max ruined all my fun and I was resigned to a few fist pumps before I left for the game.
For all of the positive reactions to the Butler call-up, I think Lee Warren has a valid point, too:
Billy Butler was called up and got the start in left field. I don’t really understand this move. Surely, the Royals offense has been anemic, but between Emil Brown and Reggie Sanders, they have left field covered. And Butler was supposed to be in Omaha to get his defense up to par. Was he able to do that in one month? Seems to me like Moore is hitting the panic button to get the offense jump-started at the major league level. I’m guessing that Butler won’t have a problem in the plate, but I’m not so confident regarding his fielding.
And Lee seemed to be dead on with tonight’s game. In four at bats, Butler had two hits, both of which were pretty solid drives from where I was sitting. But I was seated down the third base line, where I got to see his defense up close. His one-and-only out (I believe, don’t quote me on it) looked pretty cool, pretty much because he made a really bad jump on the ball and he’s slow. Were he faster or if he had a better initial reaction, that’s an easy out. Still, it looks like the kid is here to stay, and I can’t lie—I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do in the bigs, even if it is rushed a bit.
The other reason I really wanted to go tonight was to see the Angels. I think they’re my unofficial favorite non-Royals team (hey, if your team lost 100 games a year, you’d allow yourself this indulgence too) and at the beginning of the year I was really looking for them to do some damage in the AL. The Gary Matthews Jr. signing might have been foolhardy, but he looked great tonight. Vlady, of course, hit a grand slam before a single out was recorded in the game. (He, along with Torii Hunter, are among my very favorite non-Royals.) It was one of the longest home runs I’ve ever seen in person—it banked off the top of the 810 WHB sign in left center field. Bartolo Colon looked pretty good early, but melted away at the end. He also looked very big.
Zack Greinke struggled mightily, especially early. It’s never fun to see a kid you root for so hard fail. His stuff looked very iffy, disaster for a finesse pitcher. His fastball kept rising on him and his breaking stuff looked eh. If anything, his slow curve was just about the only pitch worth watching. Still, he’s very young and after his therapy I’d bet he’s among the mentally toughest of Royals, so I hope for better things from him in the future.
One last note: Mark Teahen’s bomb—he PULLED that thing, didn’t he? Man, that was great to see, even if it was only to right center field. The more he pulls, the more he becomes the Monster Teahen of last year and less the above-average Teahen he has been so far in 2007.
Plus, despite the small attendance, Butler got a pretty big ovation every time he was mentioned—WELCOME TO THE BIGS, BILLY!
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Also, the Royals are 0-5 in the games that I attend. Fair warning: I'll be at Tuesday's game.
I can see keeping him in the minors for service time purposes, but by having him start in the minors KC has already accomplished that. He's probably not going to be any better with the glove than he is now. He's a big, slow guy who's been able to drink legally for exactly two weeks. He's just going to get bigger and slower as he learns to mash the ball.
I guess KC has to decide if they want to keep a slow player in the outfield or if he should be playing 1st base or DH.
I was at the game last night, and it was fun to see him up with the club. He really misplayed the only flyball he got all night but was able to correct himself and catch it at the last second, then made a nice throw to home that got the crowd's approval. He's going to make some dumb plays out there though. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's a full time DH next year once Sweeney is gone.
My wife remarked that although he had a baby face he has an old man's body. I tend to agree.
Downside: Ben Grieve
Most likely: Pat Burrell
Upside: Manny Ramirez
Would this be a good year for Butler? A disappointment?
It should be noted that Burrell was 23 in his rookie year, whereas Butler just turned 21.
This is sort of how I am with the Twins.... except my team doesn't lose 100 games a season. The Angels are my team and always have been. But, Minnesota is home to three of my favorite songwriters/people/inspirations in life (Westerberg, Dylan, Prince) - not to mention all the other Twin Cities people I'm a fan of (MST3K, Craig Finn, etc.) and I sort of have a crush on that state, due to the fact that every Minnesotan I've ever met has been incredibly, genuinely nice. Plus - Minn. has always had a handful of very talented, likable players that I rooted for. And in the days when the Angels were terrible, I especially loved watching the World Series and seeing Kirby leaping for flyballs. Obviously, it's a good time to be a Twins/Angels fan now, but it hasn't always been this easy.
I've actually been silently rooting for the Royals a little bit over the last few years too. Because I remember the Brett-era Royals as being absolutely great and a competitive pseudo-rival to the California Angels All-Star Veteran Party of the early-to-mid-'80s. I've been following their HOT PROSPECTS and hoping that Gordon (who I thought was black until a month ago, so shows how closely I follow KC), Butler and Greinke can help them turn it around. This sympathy for KC started when the Angels played KC in a game in '04, where KC had something like 5 errors. And they were embarrassing Benchwarmers errors, too. They blew a lead and I started rooting for the Royals to win 'cause I figured one loss wouldn't hurt that year's Angels and I felt downright uncomfortable watching Angel Berroa throwing outs away and getting booed. So here's to hoping that Butler & Gordon jumpstart the offense soon.
Hard as I try, I can't completely hate the Twins, mainly because of Hunter and also because of Aaron Gleeman's blog.
I guess I'm having a hard time seeing why they did this.
Sidenote: I really enjoy Soren's show. I have been avoiding sports talk radio like the plague since 2003, but I find that Soren is knowledgeable, has a realistic picture of all things at nearly all times, and is often funny.
Oh well. Gotta get back to class. Go Royals at 1! I'll be following via cell phone.
This year was never going to be about winning the division for the Royals, so they must find out what they really have talent-wise. Brown and Sanders are both sunk costs if there really was a decent trade for them this off season, I think Moore would have made it.
Once Shealy is healthy, he'll get some time in Omaha to remember how to hit...er, I mean rehab. At that point, Gordon will have started hitting or he'll get the Mark Teahen treatment, and Brown or Sanders can be released or traded for some talcum powder.
Sweeney has started hitting the ball (389/465/611 since April 17), so he may end up fetching something good by the trading deadline.
I think pitching is the biggest issue at this point in the season. Greinke may run hot and cold all year, but I'd rather he stay in the rotation. I hate the idea of him getting bumbed to the bullpen just so Scott Elarton can try to prove he has trade value.
I don't agree with this for two reasons. (1) I think if a guys' ready -- and Butler appears to be ready -- there's nothing to be gained performance-wise by keeping him on the farm (2) it's the FA clock, not the arb clock, that determines how long a guy will be with the team (3) I believe in treating your workers fairly. That means you don't cap their weekly hours at one fewer than it takes to get health insurance, or keep them in the minors just long enough that you can unilaterally pay them less for the same work product. It may or may not have a benefit to the team in loyalty or attitude in baseball the way it very clearly does in normal workplaces, but it's the right thing to do.
Right. But that's not my issue. My issues is having to pay him millions of dollars a year early, when we could delay that a year by having him in Omaha for a few more weeks. When you're a team on a limited budget like the Royals, having to pay Butler $4 million instead of $850,000 is a big deal, and money that could be spent in other ways.
I also see nothing wrong with letting Butler get fat on AAA pitching til July. Boost his confidence, let him enjoy some winning, keep from picking up bad habits and attitude from Emil Brown.
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