Alex Gordon: Further Observations

This might be a little late to the party concerning the Alex Gordon extravaganza but sometimes a little reflection is required even after all the reports claiming the new found success in his new home; left field.

A recent Joe Posnanski blog entry further brings up the often repeated draft order surrounding the Alex Gordon pick, back in 2005.

The often reviewed list is as follows:

1) Justin Upton
2) Alex Gordon
3) Jeffery Clement
4) Ryan Zimmerman
5) Ryan Braun

There is the age old debate as to whether drafting college players (especially hitters due to the literal “material” difference in bats between college and the pros) has a disadvantage to drafting high school players. One theory might be:

“while Alex Gordon was busy running around chasing sorority girls at the bar on Wendsday, taking a charter plane to play Texas on Thursday afternoon, having his “tutor” do his homework for him on Friday afternoon and then hitting off of some other college player with a bat made of materials that would make a weapons defense manufacturer jealous…..

"Billy Butler signed at 18 years old and got right to business hitting with the wood against some other professionally paid player and thus by the time he was 22 years old he had been playing baseball for four years in an environment much more resembling the major leagues than the glorified traveling baseball circuit of suburban white guys that is Division I baseball.”

Except here’s the rub, Gordon, Clement, Zimmerman and Braun were all college players too. All four were 4 year guys born between 1983 and 1984. A quick chart:

Name---------MLB Debut-----GP 1st yr in ML--G.P. in 2nd Year

Alex Gordon--------April 2007 ---------151------------------134
Jeffery Clement----Sept 2007-----------9--------------------66
Ryan Zimmerman--Sept 2005----------157------------------162
Ryan Braun--------May 2007----------113-------------------151

Everyone is quick to lament the fact that both Zimmerman and Braun have exploded into downright major league hitters. Zimmerman obviously got there quick buy signing quick and getting in 134 games in the year he was drafted (which is rare, most players spend the summer after they are drafted attending Scott Boris self-help seminars).

Braun spent two years in the producing solid numbers. Clement was by far the least impressive minor league player and could be labeled just as big a bust as Gordon. Take a moment and scan the minor league stats of those three players, Braun, Zimmerman and Clement.

Below are the numbers for Gordon’s only full year in the minors:

Year_L_G_AB_R_H_2B_3B_HR_RBI_SB_BB_SO_BA_OBP_SLG_OPS
2006_AA_130_486_111__158_39__1_29_101_22_72__113__.325_.427__.588__1.016

These are good numbers, certainly on par with deciding that after a little bit of corporate run-a-round, one should be called up to the show and see if they can be replicated.

Here are the first full season in the majors for each respective player.

Braun
Year_G_AB_R_H_2B_3B_HR_RBI_SB_BB_SO_BA_OBP_SLG_OPS
2007__113_451_91_146_26__6__34_97__15__29___112__.324__.370__.634__1.004

Zimmerman
Year_G_AB_R_H_2B_3B_HR_RBI_SB_BB_SO_BA_OBP_SLG_OPS
2006__157_614_84_176_47__3__20__110___11__61__120_.287__.351__.471___.822

Gordon
Year_G_AB_R_H_2B_3B_HR_RBI_SB_BB_SO_BA_OBP_SLG_OPS
2007__151_543_60_134_36__4__15___60___14__41__137__.247__.314__.411__.725

Obviously, Braun and Zimmerman really gave their respective organizations no argument as to what the term “potential” meant. Braun and Zimmerman also spent the next two years playing baseball while Gordon spent them running up co-pays on his health insurance.

But this leads us to a couple of real questions. Is it really just a crap shoot as to who pans out at the major league level? Does a guy who spent four years supposedly learning his craft in college really deserve two or three “introductory” seasons in the show before “their full talent is realized”? Last of all, were there scouts who actually stated on the record why they would have taken Braun or Zimmerman ahead of Gordon and Clement if they were available?

It appears (and I know this is a negligible sample size by scientific standards) that if you draft right and know who you are drafting out of college as far as hitters go, the beauty of it is that you get a player who is almost ready to go. The next question might be “is it worth it to mess around with a 26 year old who still needs polising”?.

This is the Royals’ conundrum as we speak. There have been the rumors that Gordon will not change his swing and the reason for the demotion last year was to send him a message. If this is the case, then the PBR wonders if Mr. Braun and Zimmerman also had this "hole" in thier swing as a college player. Who was the cross-checker that saw Gordon play at Nebraska that didn't realize this "hole". It sounds a lot like the bank executives that "didn't know about the derivatives on their balance sheets". If Alex Gordon has a hole in his swing, its probably been there a while and if Dayton can't see it or Datyon can't hire someone to see it, the Kansas City Royals are in a real pinch.

The Powder Blue Room would like to querry the people in charge as to why they used the second pick in the entire draft on a player who will require a swing revamping before being successful in the show, especially when said player is a 23 year-old college player who should be close to having it all ready to hit the ground running. Had Alex not been to enough baseball camps by 23 years of age to have that swing ironed out?

This is an entirely different situation than having a raw 17 year old Dominican kid or a wild swinging 18 year-old Billy Butler who needs to work out a couple of kinks in the ball-swing.

As stated in an earlier Powder Blue Room article, the Royals appear to be sacrificing a small upgrade defensively at second base in order to show Alex Gordon who is boss. For an organization in need of real major league hitters this excuse is lacking and trust me it is much more difficult to find real major league hitters than it is find players that will do whatever that horrible Trey Hilman quote describes:

Trey Hilman describing why Chris Getz plays baseball:

“It may not be those standout things like a double in the gap or the great diving play every night, but he’s going to turn the double play. He’s going to range up and the middle and, especially, into the 4-3 hole”.

What Trey is describing would be an excellent observation if the Royals organization were really one of those teams that could claim "we are one player away" or "its the little things that count". My friends, the Royals are "many many many things away" and its the big things that count at this point, the big things being developing big league hitters, the kind that are real Major League outs. These are not tinkering kind of things and certainly can't be made up for with a small dose of "ranging up the middle".

And after all this meandering around, here is my final verdict:

The Royals should tell Alex that he is playing third base at the major league level for the rest of the year. You tell Alex that he may use whatever swing he likes, just hit the ball. Inform Alex that he will play every single game regardless if he has a shrapnel wound or if he was out at the P&L district until 3:30 am the night before (throw in George Brett’s cell number for hangover tips on gameday). Tell Alex he has the whole year to do whatever he likes and you will re-evaluate at the end of the year.

Callaspo goes back to second base and tell Trey that when the Royals have a legitimate major league hitting line-up consideration such as “range up the middle and the 4-3 hole” will begin to have some clout in personel decisions.

Chris Getz just has to deal with this situation or have Dayton Moore find someone else in the league to over values “range up the middle and the 4-3 hole” as much as Trey Hillman (good luck).

Royals Morning Sickness

As Royals fans go these days its pretty tough to wake-up and read the morning paper and see what's happening with the team. Your stomach starts to churn a little bit, then come the shooting migraine-like splitting headaches, blurred vision, loss of motor control - more or less like a hangover but without the night of good times to remember. Here's how my list looks:

#1 - Yuni is fined for dropping a pop-up??? This is what management decides is appropriate action for a Major League Baseball team; fining players for errors because of bad technique. It's okay for Jason Kendall to drop pop-ups so long as he uses proper technique. What's next, fining Rick Ankiel for too many swings and misses? Meche walked 7 yesterday, doesn't that look just as bad as dropping a pop-up, Gil write a check for a mil, your making the team look bad. There was a real easy solution to this, START Mike Aviles until he drops a pop-up trying to catch it between the legs. Does no one realize that its these types of things that make you look like a pathetic organization? This was what caused my shooting headache.

#2 - The Soria blown save. This one was about as bad a loss as you could have in terms of demoralizing a fan. Everything went right, huge comeback, big hits, taking the starter off the hook, solid performance from Tejada and then Soria comes in and gives up back-to-back homers. I could hear grown men weeping throughout the KC area, the worst part is there is no one to get mad at, the feeling that maybe you should stop caring and grow-up sets in a little deeper. This was the cause of my frequent trips to the bath room.

#3 - Zach Grienke box scores. There have been so many recent articles detailing how bad the Royals have performed in his starts that its not worth recounting but there is just no better sign of how hopeless the team is than having a losing record when this guy starts. You read the box score and wonder if its a joke, but its not and it really isn't funny. This leads to blurry vision.

#4 - The lack of big hits. How many times have you wanted to throw things while watching the offense squander opportunity after opportunity. With the one exception during the Soria-blown-save-game, last week has been glaring evidence that we still do not have a big bat in the line-up. I have a real loss of motor control and my remote control, cell phone and computer won't make it through another stretch like this.

The worst part about all of this is that you know its going to be like this until the end of September, granted some days will be better than others but its not going away anytime soon.

PBR's two cents

Since this wouldn't be a Royals' blog if we didn't address our opinions regarding the sensitive issue that is the Alex Gordon demotion, we have to weigh in and make some sort of Hilman/Moore bashing statement in order to keep our name in the ranks of the top 50 Royals' blogs (I just made that up, but can there really be more than 50?). However, we're going to make an attempt to add something novel to the discussion and take a peak at it from a new angle...

It hasn't yet gotten weird enough for Alex Gordon, we all know the story: George Brett reincarnation now all the way down to LF in Omaha. As opposed to re-hashing the well covered arguments that he is simply better than Chris Getz, lets just get it out there: The PBR is most definitely in favor of seeing Callaspo at second, Gordon at 3B and Getz loosening his legs with Willie Bloomquist. However, for the sake of argument, lets just take the angle that Moore and Hilman have some sort of predictive vision that we don't and see Getz as a future all-star and Callaspo just will not stop hitting .300. This move might then make some sense because we get to see Mike Aviles back and who didn't love seeing him last night? Yuniesky who! Also, due to the Ankiel DL stint, Royals' blogger favorite Kila Ka’aihue is finally getting his shot, maybe-sorta-kinda.

So, sorry Alex you now have to re-invent yourself as an outfielder, good idea - almost. The new position for Alex is LF, okay, but don't we already have enough of those? In fact, one is playing RF and two are in CF (counting Maier and Ankiel). Why would the position of choice for Alex not be RF? We will almost certainly pick-up one, if not both, of the options we have for next year on the contracts of Posednik and DeJesus. And correct me if I'm wrong but usually, having failed center fielders at both LF and RF is less than ideal. Do the Royals really see DeJesus as a long term option in RF? Are they already eyeing an aging RF for whom they can over-pay in the offseason? Is there someone in the minors ready to become the next Jason Heyward? I think the answer to all of these questions is NO and if it is YES, I'd like an explanation of who and/or why. AG has all of the makings of, at worst, a poorman's JD Drew and, at best, a JD Drew carbon copy. Good arm? Check. Potential Power? Check? Gets on base? Check. The similarities to Drew are pretty good, at the end of the year, though he may not be a super-star, his numbers are solid. At least good enough to beat out whatever the Royals next best option is at RF and more appropriately positioned than in LF. New possible end-of-year line-up: DDJ-LF, Maier/Pods-CF, Gordon-RF, Callaspo-3B, Aviles-SS, Getz-2B, Kila/Butler-DH&1B, Pena/Kendall-C. This would be down right youthful for the Royals and might actually look like a stable future line-up into 2011 (oh, I'm sorry did you still like our chances in 2010?).

So, if this switch to LF is real, then when pray tell is he going to get a reasonable shot at that position? Are they planing on not picking-up the options on DDJ and Scotty Pods? Seems unlikely, barring injury. The DDJ switch to RF is permanent? Not really desirable, but AG in RF 20+ HRs, .350+ OBP, solid defense...Of all of the Gordon scenarios I hate this one the least.

The Love Triangle begins...

No amount of DL stints could stop this Royals' love triangle from forming, it was bound to happen. Chris Getz has made his return from the DL and now we begin the Gordon, Getz, Callaspo love triangle with Trey playing the role of director in the saga. With seemingly no good solution to the situation it is bound to look bad from any angle. The most obvious reaction to his re-arrival would be to say "hey Chris get to know Willie, talk shop on the bench and wait your turn; you´re the least accopmlished member of the triangle and either Alberto or Alex has to fail miserably before you get your chance again." Well, we knew this wasn't going to happen and now Gordon is relegated to a wait and see position where his only outs are that someone gets injured, traded or again fails miserably. Once the pride of the organization, now forced to ride the bench and pinch run/hit when the situation arises - it really is pretty sad.

This all started with the Teahen trade and the Royals' inability to trade Callaspo during the offseason. At first it looked like Callaspo was the odd-man-out and then Alex got injured early which opened the door for Alberto to hit lights-out in Spring Training and remind everyone that, oh yeah he's a pretty good hitter. So the Hilman Think Tank realized that yes his bat must be in the line-up. However, Getz is just like the coaches son in little league; no matter what he does Hilman and Moore will not see his flaws because their paternal love for him is so blinding that he is infallible in their eyes. You could point out that while Gordon didn't hit lights out, he walked a lot, has a higher OBP than Getz and his one homerun led directly to one of the Royals few wins while Getz has yet to hit anything but singles. But they would most certainly tell you all about his amazing defensive abilities and OH MY GOD that incredible speed of his. You could also point out that moving a bad defensive second baseman to third and thinking his bad defense will be hidden there doesn't quite add-up but they will tell you that Callaspo goes from horrible second basemen to Brooks Robinson over at the Hot Corner. You could also try to explain that Callaspo's real value is at second base, because he has some pop and hits for average and gets on base and is a well above average offensive second basemen, but will never have corner infield pop. But they would look confused and tell you that classic baseball strategy says second base = short, can't hit for power, speedy, good bunter. That is what you want at second and that is our boy Chris Getz. So never mind Gordon's potential and Callaspo's proven track record as a hitter, CG is the Royals second baseman, forever! I'm expecting that at least by the end of the season they'll have a lifetime guaranteed contract in Getz' hands (Frank White watch out for your team records).

Its hard to really fault the team, they like Getz at second, Okay. But this is the result: Someone loses and right now its Alex Gordon. While he has not been Evan Longoria, he seemingly still has more up-side than Getz but for now it seems that he's forced out into limbo land.

Letter To Zach Greinke

If I were Dayton Moore I would send this, via certified mail to young Zachary.

Dear Zach –

I am writing to inform you that the times have changed and you will no longer be treated as a human being with a future, but rather as an Iron Mike Pitching machine at a run-down Putt-Putt golf course. Zach, when you signed that four-year deal in January of 2009, let’s face it, you and the Royals were both hedging a bet. You were looking for some solidarity after losing your mind and the Royals were basically buying a growth stock, at a reasonable price, they thought might turn into the next Google. As the fine gentlemen from Goldman Sachs have iterated over the past week, when two people hedge the same thing, someone looses.

Well Zach, out of necessity the Royals are going to have to go Goldman Sachs on you and basically make you wish you never signed that deal. Zachary, I don’t know if you have looked around or read the newspapers lately, but the Royals bullpen is the most pathetic collection people demonstrating overhand throwing that have come around in quite some time.

Zach, I had to call Bruce Chen up from Omaha to pitch out of the pen. I have received death threats from the Powder Blue Room for signing Bruce Chen originally, much less recalling him a year after the sport of baseball did everything in their power to pull his union card out of embarrassment. My 8 year old daughter has personally requested Bruce to come throw live to her traveling softball team so the squad can “build some confidence in a game time environment”.

I will finally get to my point. Zach, although I respect your future as a baseball player I regret to inform you that at the conclusion of the contract you will not so much as be able to shoot a game of pool. From this point forward we will be treating you like that kid who throws really hard for a 10 year-old in 10 year-old traveling baseball tournaments. This means you will be throwing every single chance in every single game in which it is possible. This will be easier than in those traveling youth baseball tournaments due to the fact that Major League Baseball does not have one of those pesky “maximum amount of innings pitched in so many games” rules.

As far as your duties as a starting pitcher, you will no longer come out of any game, for any reason. I mean this. I have forced Trey Hillman to adorn a shock collar I borrowed from my German shorthair hunting dog with a distance boost on the signal which I will use in spades should I so much as see the toe of his shoe on the top step the dugout.

I will not continue to reduce your manhood any further by making you give a baseball to Bruce Chen, Dusty Hughes, Josh Rupe and crew with thousands of people watching. I will monitor all pitch counting devices via Chinese internet monitoring equipment and prosecute any offenders found counting pitches within the 50 mile radius of Kansas City by making them spend everyday of their remaining lives sitting at the bar at McFadden’s listening to “Shot through the heart and your too brave” while drinking water.

Concerning your relieving duties for which you are eligible on any day in which you do not start, please consider the following; If I have to choose between watching Josh Rupe walk someone or wheeling you out on a Red Cross bed, I choose the later. Little league managers are rational. If Toby the Fireballer is on his 2,209th pitch of the “4th of July Blowout Baseball World Series of all World Series’ of all of Youth Baseball” Mr. Little League Manager simply says, “But if I put in that pathetic chump Gary’s kid in there, this child with a full beard will use his glorified airplane wing of a bat to hit the ball onto the next complex where the Chicago Traveling Firepants Sox are playing”.

You know what Mr. Little League Manager does? He decides that perhaps Toby needs to run pitches 2,210 through 2,213 up to the plate to get the heck out of the inning so that they might play the Chicago Traveling Firepants Sox in Sunday’s final. This is how it’s done. Don’t take Toby out unless you have someone better to put in. Toby will be fine, he’s young. Nothing that a 20 piece from McDonald’s and an Eastbay catalog can’t take of. You too Zach are young, especially when graded against the median age of the Royals bullpen.

Zach, we have no one better to put in the game. This has been demonstrated. I realize you might seek council and sue the organization for damages and lost income on your next contract. Chances are I will be scouting 17 year-olds in the Atlanta suburbs for the Braves by that point, so go ahead. In fact, we might let fans at The K vote with those things they used in America’s Funniest Home Viedos as to when you should come into the game on days in which you are not starting. Trey does not get a vote. I might summon Goldman Sach’s themselves to create an index which tallies the total amount of innings you will throw by the conclusion of your contract. You most surly will recoup some of your potential lost earnings by joining me in placing large bets going “long” on this index.

I understand this is not fair nor correct, but you signed the contract. Until I can get over my urge to sign middle aged relievers this is the way it must be. At least you will have the liberal media on your side, you know they will come to your rescue.

We will be upgrading the ice making facilities in your honor, it’s the least I can do,

Sorry again,

Dayton

no comment

So the Royals used their usual antics - bullpen failures, ill-timed offense, dropped pop-ups, Gil Meche bricks - to lose yet another series to their arch nemesis' the Twins. Instead of re-hashing a bunch of very forgettable moments from this past weekend lets take a look at things the Royals could do to totally redeem themselves...

1. Admit that Bruce Chen coming-up isn't the answer to the bullpen problems and just tell us the truth: he and Trey are really good poker buddies.

2. Tell us that this year's team was built to trade not to win; we have enough spare parts to rebuild a '73 Camaro. Dayton knew this year was a wash but he really wanted to have something to do when the Royals were out of the race by June. We might as well start talking about trade deadline possibilities there really isn't much else right now.

3. Confirm what we already know: Chris Getz is actually Dayton Moore and Trey Hilman's genetically engineered love child. I'm sure by now everyone has read this KC Star article letting us know that Getz is more important to the team than Alex Gordon.

4. Stop telling us that they see no problems with Meche's mechanics/arm/delivery angle/hat size/eye sight/chapped lips and let us know that yes after three terrible starts there might just be a problem with Gil.

5. End the Trey Hilman experiment sooner than later. Juan Cruz' release wasn't enough to let us know Dayton is sick of losing and under-performance. Since he can't fire himself then he should just put Trey out of his miseries and not make him suffer through the rest of the season. Frank White is the answer!

The Royals Should...

The semi-dramatic conclusion to the Royals road-trip and series was something of a bright spot for a lot of reasons and one tha SHOULD lead to good things...

1. Alex Gordon beaver-taps a bomb to center to win the ball game after a horrible game. Now, in a perfect world, this should lead to the resurgence of Alex Gordon and add to what has been a promising start to the season for the Royals offensively. At the same time allowing him to shake-off two early season errors and become a rock at third-base again.

2. Zack Grienke´s start was very much more Grienke-like. This should lead to all concerns that he´s not the same pitcher being diminished and put him on his way to being the same dominant starter that we saw last year.

3. The bullpen bent but didn´t break. While the duo of Rupe and Parrish blew the win for Zack it wasn´t that bad; a sac bunt and a seeing-eye single led to a run. The key being A RUN not four, five or six but a single run which only allowed the game to be tied and gave Alex the chance to become hero for a day. After the set-back Tejada came out and dominated, which should be a good sign and Soria, as it should be, breezed his way to a clean save.

4. Guillen hit another bomb. He should be on his way to solid season with the bat, while we expect some cooling down, a full season at DH with 25 HRs and 100 RBI is well within his sights.

5. The team was all of those words coaches like to use when describing their teams ability to stop the bleeding (Resilient, Gritty, Verterany, etc.) They won the final games of the series´ in Toronto and Minnesota after losing the first two and where a third loss would have stung. Thus the Royals did exactly what good teams should do when things don´t go quite right; salvage a game and move on.

The Royals come back to the lovely K tonight to square off against the Twins, now what they should do tonight is: Gil after showing positive signs in his last game, should have a good outing, after pounding Pavano in his last outing the offense should put up some runs tonight and they should kick-off a successful home-stand. One that should, could, maybe, please for the love of God lead to a decent season!!!