Welcome good people of Baseballandia! His Royal Majesty has hired me, The Jack-of-All-Trades Court Jester, to entertain you as His Highness enters the Royal Court to give the lay of the land. This week we saw Perfection in its 21st incarnation on the baseball diamond, the Red Sox continue to drive their Nation into a state of panic, and the Royals of Kansas City capture the first double digit losing streak of 2012. So without further ado, it is with great pleasure that I present to you Your King of Overreaction!
Red Sox, Red Alert:
Three weeks of baseball and three weeks of talking about the Red Sox; such is life for the King in my court of baseball royalty. The first week brought some panic about another slow start to the season for the Red Sox with some questions surrounding their All-star third baseman. The second week was a complete 180° as the Sox took three out of four from the Rays and Youkilis had a mini-breakout. Unfortunately, the men from Fenway could not sustain the success of that second week as they lost every game this week, including blowing a 9-0 lead against the hated Yankees. All these losses came at home with their Sunday night cap being rained out. The Red Sox now begin a 7 game road trip against a couple of AL Central teams, the Twins then the White Sox, which will hopefully turn their tides. The road trip could not have come at a better time, getting the team and maybe more importantly the manager out of Fenway and out of Boston may be what the Red Sox need to build some momentum and gain some confidence. My panic is pretty high for these Red Sox right now, but I’m not throwing in the towel just yet on this team as I’ve seen life out their starting rotation with a very good outing from new comer Felix Doubront, and David Ortiz continues to hit.
Royal Growing Pains:
The Kansas City Royals were the trendy pick from experts, pundits, and laymen alike this offseason to make a push towards respectability and possibly the playoffs. This pick became more widely accepted when the second wild card team was added to the playoff mix for the 2012 season. However, as we all know heavy is the weight of expectations! As my newly hired Court Jester mentioned earlier, the Royals are in the midst of a 10 game losing streak which includes three teams they could be competing against for a playoff spot. To pile on the pain for the KC fans lets delve into what has contributed to this utter lack of success. It all starts with their Star, Eric Hosmer, darling of the offseason as he broke onto the scene last year with a .799 OPS with 11 stolen bases and drew many comparisons to Joey Votto. Hosmer has struggled mightily to start the season, batting under the Mendoza line with a .183 batting average. Their pitching all around has been suspect with inconsistent starting pitching as Duffy and Hochevar have moments of brilliance then regress to the mistakes and bumps in the road that you expect from inexperienced pitchers. The bullpen may be in even more trouble as their backend relievers are either ineffective or hurt. There must be light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s hard to see from this vantage point.
Mariners Update (Adult Supervision Required as the contents of this next section are not safe for children):
Oh boy, what a week it has been for my beloved Mariners. It opened with a series against the Cleveland Indians where the M’s held an 8-1 lead after the 4th inning only to see it evaporate in the top of the 5th. The M’s went on to lose that game 9-8, and then in the finale of that series the M’s watched their King toss 8 shutout innings only to lose 2-1 after closer Brandon League surrendered 2 runs in the top of the 9th. After the Indians left town the M’s welcomed the Chicago White Sox to Seattle and proceeded to get swept. This was not biggest shame to befall the Mariners in this series, as on a beautiful Saturday afternoon Philip Humber became only the 21st starting pitcher to ever throw a perfect game in Major League Baseball history. The road only gets harder as the M’s must visit the Tigers, Blue Jays, and Rays this upcoming week.
As the King somberly saunters back to his chambers after his Royal decree, I would like to thank you on his Highness’s behalf for taking in his noble proclamation. Until next time, continue Overanalyzing and Underthinking.