Offensive Woes Continue

Oh boy! Since Carlos Beltran last appeared on the field for the Royals on June 24th, the Royals are 1-10 having scored just 27 runs (2.45 per game) while their opponents have scored 75 (6.82 runs per game). During this period Joe Randa, David DeJesus and Mike Sweeney have all been sidelined for part of the time as well (they now have 10 players on the disabled list and have used 47 players this season - a new major league record before the All-Star break!). As a result the lineup is packed with weak hitters with no extra base power who don't get on base. Yikes. In an earlier post I said that the Royals would probably come back to win around 75 games. For them to do that they'll need to go 46-37 the rest of the way. With this offense combined with the poor pitching and defense that is unbelievably unlikely.

With Sweeney now out for 4 days and counting it would have been a good time to call up Calvin Pickering. However, the Royals have made clear that they don't feel Pickering is a bona-fide prospect any longer at 29 years of age. Pity - because he's a better hitter than anyone else on the team and he's earned the right to be in KC with his performance in Omaha.

So what the Royals did do this week was tade for former prospect Ruben Mateo from the Pirates for cash and send Byron Gettis back to the minors. Mateo is a "tools guy" but unfortunately he's never used his tools at the major league level. He had a good stint at Louisville (AAA) last year hitting .327 with a .408 OBP in half a season but has never shown any patience at the big league level drawing only 46 walks in over 800 plate appearances. If he can find some patience the Royals are the one team he could stick with. As for Gettis (24), I'm glad he's being sent back down since he wasn't getting any playing time (only 39 at bats since being called up on May 27th).