THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014
PAGE 9B
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THE DAILY DEBATE
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Who has been the Royals' postseason MVP?
By Christian Hardy
@HardyNFL
"THE BULLPEN"
Relief pitchers are often overlooked by the everyday baseball fan. They don't hit home runs, pitch no-hitters or even complete games. They don't steal bases, win gold gloves or make jaw-dropping plays that are featured on ESPN's Top 10.
But the Royals wouldn't be where they are without their bullpen efficiency as the season winds down.
On Sunday, James Shields was on the mound for arguably the biggest game for the Royals since the team won the World Series in 1985. They didn't need a shutout from their pitching kingpin. Just six innings.
"Just get us through six in the ballgame and we can turn it over to the bullpen guys," Royals manager Ned Yost said on the Royals' official website before Shields pitched a six-inning, two-run game. The bullpen threw a three-inning shutout, and the Royals advanced to the American League Championship Series with the win.
The bullpen has been stellar for the Royals all season, with
the seventh-best ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in the regular season. Both numbers would be higher if it were not for pitchers like Tim Collins, Michael Mariot and Louis Coleman bringing the team's numbers down before they were relegated to the minors.
For the main crew—Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Jason Frasor, Kelvin Herrera and the new addition of southpaw Brandon Finnegan from Texas Christian—there have been superb performances day in and day out. The staff has ultimately led the team through the postseason so far.
In the opening Wild Card game, after Yordano Ventura and Shields pitched 5.1 innings and allowed six runs, Royals fans likely thought it was over. Of course, the rally wouldn't have been made without big eighth and ninth
innings from the bats, but it was the bullpen that allowed only two runs over the final seven innings of play.
run in 12 innings on the mound in three games against the Angels,including two 11-inning games in which the crew didn't allow a run.
The bullpen sustained just one
Holland has pitched four scoreless innings, notching two saves. Finnegan has burst onto the scene in big spots, giving up only one hit in four innings on the mound. Frasor got the Royals through the ninth inning and to extra innings on Friday. Davis has been the same regular season Davis that sported an impressive 1.00 ERA. Even when Herrera wasn't ready to throw before Sunday, the rest of the staff has performed in a big way.
After six innings, the Royals are going to be hard for any team to beat, especially if the bullpen keeps playing efficiently.
Edited by Jennifer Salva
"ERIC HOSMER"
It's very clear that the Royals can't thank only a single player for their successful playoff performance, but the work of first baseman Eric Hosmer can't readily be ignored, either. While the entire team is playing great baseball, Hosmer's had two playoff-defining hits that have propelled the Royals further into October.
By Miranda Davis
@MirandaDavisUDK
Hosmer, who was the 2008 number three overall draft pick, is currently living up to hefty program expectations and delivering key hits in key moments of the postseason. Hosmer did just that when
Hosmer did just that when he hit the go-ahead home
run in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels. The Royals were tied 1-1 when Hosmer hit the home run in the top of the 11th run, bringing in a runner to pull the score up 3-1. The Royals went on to win the game 4-1 and sweep the Angels with a final game at home.
In Game 3, Hosmer hit his second homer of the postseason during the bottom of the third on what would become the final game of the series. The Royals won that game, 8-3.
Just how important have powerful bats been this postseason? The Royals finished last in the MLB in home runs hit with just 95 in the 162 games of the regular season, but have already hit four in four games this
postseason,
two of those
belonging to
Hosmer.
incredible performances from their pitching and bullpen this October, game-winning home runs are remembered and add to the atmosphere the Royals are establishing for the first time in 29 years.
His presence at the plate, outside of those big moments has also been impressive. So far, Hosmer has an OPS of 1.774 in the postseason, compared to .716 in the regular season, according to ESPN.com. In 14 at bats this postseason, Hosmer's seven hits puts him at a .500 average, along with five runs and five RBIs.
Hosmer's big hits will be a big part of what is taken away from this postseason. While a lot of credit should go to the Royals'
The entire Royals roster has certainly shown some Kansas City magic this October that has propelled the team into the postseason with a bang, but moments like Hosmer's home runs will forever be on the highlight reel of this postseason. If Hosmer can keep performing at the plate, and the rest of the Royals continue playing to the high caliber they have been this postseason, Kansas City might just be able to make it past the Orioles and into the World Series.
DAILY DEBATE RESULTS: OCT. 8, 2014 Who is the Kansas soccer MVP so far?
LIANA SALAZAR
27. 3%
72. 7%
KAITLYN STROUD
VOTE FOR THE WRITER WITH THE MOST CONVINCING ARGUMENT AT KANSAN.COM
Edited by Drew Parks
Moore deserves credit during Royals run
Things have been magical for the Royals, and thing
have become so close to not materializing. As the Royals are a mere four games away from the World Series, a lot of people will soon come to the realization that you have to give credit to the man who is responsible for getting the team to this moment. As painfully reluctant as fans have been to give Dayton Moore credit, he is a huge reason why they're playing in Baltimore on Friday.
One of the things on Moore's resume that can't be disputed
is that he has been a huge proponent of developing a talent base in Latin America, which led to the signing of pitcher Kelvin Herrera and catcher Salvador Perez. The Royals had remotely no presence in the region under the previous administration.
In addition, Moore built himself what was coined as the Best Farm System with nine top 100 prospects on Baseball America's annual list. No teams had ever done since the inception of the list in 1983.
The Royals built their minor league stock up with a balance of hitting and pitching. However, as time had progressed, no one was making a withstanding impact. Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer played their first season in the majors in 2011 and were above replacement-level players, but after their second season in the majors culminated, the Royals stood at 72-90 and third place in the American League Central. There wasn't
any validation of the hyped farm system.
But as Dayton Moore preached loyalty in his players throughout his entire tenure, it certainly has had a profound effect on them, most notably Moustakas and Hosmer. While Moustakas hasn't played up to his capabilities, Moore's faith in him has paid off as he has hit two home runs in the postseason. The Royals front office is hoping for a bolt of confidence from him.
Meanwhile, Hosmer has been one of the hottest hitters post All-Star break, and as he did last year in the second half of the season, showed the potential is right in front of him. The only thing stopping him is the technical aspects of his swing.
Starting pitching was something that was never developed and always was the crux of Moore's teams, until the last two years. Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy were the two tipping points
from the Royals being a fringe contender to them taking it to the next level.
They were pitching in their first full season as starters in 2014 and many pundits wondered if they were going to be able to sustain the dog days of the season without falling apart. Without their production, the shortcomings of the offense would have been more glaring.
Since Moore arrived in Kansas City in 2006, fans of the Royals probably heard "process" more than any other word. His fingerprints in the Royals' organization were brought into question when his first round picks hadn't panned out. And nobody would have ever predicted that Moore would be given eight years and Ned Yost would keep a job for four of them, but you can't argue with where they are, on the verge of an AL Pennant.
Edited by Kelsie Jennings
Hill leads Pacers past Timberwolves, 103-90
INDIANAPOLIS — George Hill had 17 points and seven assists, Shayne Whittington scored all of his 11 points in the second half, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-90 in the teams' preseason opener on Tuesday night.
Hill scored 11 of the Pacers' 36 points in the third quarter points and Lavoy Allen had eight as the Pacers closed the quarter on a 19-5 run to stretch their four-
point halftime lead to 82-62.
Lavoy Allen scored his 10 points for Indiana in the third quarter.
Indiana shot 48 percent from the field, including 65 percent in the third, while holding Minnesota to 37 percent.
Andrew Wiggins, the top overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, led the Wolves with 18 points. He shot 4 for 11 from the field and 8 for 10 on free throws.
Gorgui Dieng added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.
Associated Press
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