Tagged: Trey Hillman
Hillman covered up Soria injury to protect the team
After the TV cameras and microphones went off on Friday afternoon, I asked manager Trey Hillman about the Royals’ decision to keep Joakim Soria’s injury under cover.
“So you didn’t tell us because you didn’t want the other teams to know, basically?”
“Correct,” he responded and then asked to go off the record. Therefore I cannot tell you what he said.
Yet it’s interesting that he could have taken that opportunity to publicly further justify the decision, amplifying his on-record remarks about keeping Soria’s shoulder stiffness secret so the Royals’ opponents would not know he was unavailable to pitch. But he did not, in effect sticking his chin out and letting the critics take a punch if they wanted.
The Royals did not believe Soria’s stiffness was severe enough for him to go on the disabled list but they did not want the Rangers and then the Indians to know he might not be ready to pitch, thereby allowing the enemy to plan accordingly. So Hillman did not use Soria’s problem as a reason, for example, of going with Kyle Farnsworth in the ninth inning when he gave up the game-ending homer to Texas’ Michael Young. Or to explain why Soria had not pitched over a six-game, eight-day stretch.
Hillman was willing to take the bullets for hiding the injury because in doing so, he felt he was doing the best thing for the Royals. He played tricks with the truth, certainly, but I really can’t censure him for that. Why tip off the opposition that your premier closer is unavailable?
–Dick Kaegel
Soria out at least 3-5 days with stiff shoulder
There is something wrong with Royals closer Joakim Soria after all.
Manager Trey Hillman said on Friday that Soria is expected to miss at least the next three to five days because of tightness behind his right shoulder.
“There is a problem but it’s not a DL situation,” Hillman said. “He doesn’t have any structural damage but he does have a tight right shoulder on the back side. We’re looking at a minimum of three to five days.”
Both Hillman and Soria insisted earlier this week that he was fine despite not appearing in a game for eight straight days. He returned on Wednesday night to post a save at Cleveland but apparently felt stiffness on Thursday.
General manager Dayton Moore said the stiffness came to the Royals’ attention last Saturday at Texas while he was warming up as a potential replacement for Zack Greinke who finished the game.
Hillman said he’d kept Soria’s situation under wraps until now to avoid tipping off opposing teams.
The closing role now will be handled by a “committee” until Soria returns, he said
— Dick Kaegel
Gordon goes on DL, Teahen to play third base
Alex Gordon’s right hip injury proved to be much more serious than imagined.
Gordon, the Royals’ third baseman, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a labral cartilage tear of the right hip. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear on Friday by Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo.
The Royals said no estimate on how long Gordon might be out would be available until after the procedure. He was injured Saturday and missed the next two games but played the last two games.
To take Gordon’s place on the roster, the Royals recalled outfielder Mitch Maier from Triple-A Omaha.
Manager Trey Hillman said that Mark Teahen would replace Gordon as the starting third baseman.
Teahen, whom Gordon replaced as the third baseman two years ago, has been playing in right field for the Royals’ other disabled regular, Jose Guillen. He is on the disabled list, also with a right hip injury, but is expected to return by April 25.
“It seems like Teahen is the natural choice because he’s the most natural third baseman and, obviously, offensively we want Teahen’s bat in the lineup,” Hillman said.
“I think it makes us the best defensively on that side.”
For right field, it most will be Maier, a left-handed batter, or Willie Bloomquist, a right-handed batter, depending on the matchup with pitchers.
This could be a big break for Maier, who was getting considerable playing time last season after being recalled from Omaha on July 24 when Joey Gathright went on the disabled list. However, on Aug. 20, he was hit in the face by a pitch at Cleveland and missed 19 games with a cheekbone fracture.
Maier batted .370 (10-for-27) in six games for Omaha with two homers and nine RBIs. He’ll join the Royals on Friday night when they open a series at Texas.
Last season Maier hit .286 in 34 games for the Royals after posting a .316 mark for Omaha. He’s considered a good gap hitter – 14 homers is his Minor League high – and an outstanding outfielder.
Bloomquist, though primarily an infielder, has started three games in right field this year. He’s batting .231.
Teahen, in his two seasons at third base for the Royals, built a reputation as a solid defender. He played third base once in Gordon’s place this year and made 19 starts there last season.
“There’s always the possibility depending on what the matchups are, if we decide we want Mark back out in right field on any given day, then we might have Mike Aviles at third and Tony Pena back at short,” he said.
Aviles, the regular shortstop, logged a game at third base last Monday while Pena played shortstop and made at least one dazzling play.
The injury apparently occurred when Gordon slid into second base during a force-out play in Saturday’s game against the Yankees. He aggravated the hip when bolting from the batter’s box in his next at-bat and was replaced after five innings by Teahen.
After missing the games on Sunday and Monday because the hip was sore, Gordon returned to play Tuesday and Wednesday. In those two games, he was 0-for-6 and struck out four times.
It’s been a struggle at bat throughout the first 10 days of the season for Gordon. He’s just 2-for-21, .095, with one homer, three RBIs, in seven games.
Hillman noted that Gordon insisted that he was ready to play this week.
“He’s extremely tough,” Hillman said. “I was hesitant but he was so adamant about being able to play. But there was soreness there and I think it’s a testament to just how tough he is. Then, obviously, after a couple days he realized that he might need to go ahead and get something done.”
— Dick Kaegel
Rotation set with Ponson, Ramirez added
Sidney Ponson will pitch the first game at renovated Kauffman Stadium, manager Trey Hillman said on Wednesday in completing the Royals’ starting rotation.
Ponson and left-hander Horacio Ramirez will join Gil Meche, Zack Greinke and Kyle Davies in the rotation.
Ponson will start on April 10 against the New York Yankees in the Grand Re-Opening of the stadium. Ramirez will make his first start on April 12 against the Yankees.
The Royals also optioned pitcher Brian Bannister to Triple-A Omaha, asked unconditional release waivers on pitcher Joel Peralta and placed left-hander John Bale on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27.
Earlier on Wednesday, they traded first baseman Ross Gload to the Florida Marlins for a player to be named.
–Dick Kaegel
Official Assumption: Davies is No. 3 starter
Manager Trey Hillman didn’t come out and exactly say it on Sunday but he came close to anointing Kyle Davies as the Royals’ No. 3 starter.
“I think that you can assume that,” he said, knowing full well that we’ve been assuming that for two or three weeks now.
Davies will pitch on Monday, right after No. 1 and 2 Gil Meche and Zack Greinke, so he’s right on target to start the third game at Chicago.
Just who will start the April 10 opener remains in question, of course, because the fourth and fifth spots are still undecided. So it’ll be either Horacio Ramirez, Luke Hochevar, Brian Bannister or Sidney Ponson. It can’t be Meche because he’d have only three days of rest, not four, before the first home game against the Yankees.
–Dick Kaegel
Teahen, Aviles stay sharp in Triple-A game
Mike Aviles and Mark Teahen weren’t in Sunday’s high-scoring rout at the Mariners’ ballpark but they weren’t idle.
They were left behind in Surprise to play in a Triple-A game, giving shortstop Aviles and would-be second baseman Mark Teahen another chance to work together. Another of manager Trey Hillman’s motives was to give Aviles some swings in a relaxed atmosphere after he’d had a rough 0-for-3 game against the Rangers.
No report on how the fielding went but the hitting went well. Aviles went 3-for-5 with a triple and Teahen was 2-for-5.
Against the Mariners, Alberto Callaspo played the whole game at second and he had a real blast at the plate with four hits including three doubles in the 17-12 win.
Hillman, by the way, gave a hint that there’s a chance the Royals might not open with 12 pitchers and 13 position players after all. Because of three open dates in April, there have been discussions about keeping just 11 pitchers for a while.
“I don’t think it’s going to go there but it has come up – what about the possibility of going 14 and 11?” Hillman said.
As far as the rotation goes, he’s taken the three off days into consideration and concluded the Royals will need a fifth starter at least twice during April.
One more thing. Aviles and Teahen both took batting practice on Sunday morning against left-hander John Bale, the first live BP that he’s thrown since returning to camp after thyroid surgery.
“He threw 25, 26 pitches and the ball got out of his hand better than I anticipated,” Hillman said. “He looked pretty good.”
The Royals will try to get Bale into a game before camp breaks. After undergoing surgery, Bale is regaining strength and weight – he’s up to about 212 after getting down to about 200. But he’s not likely to be ready for the start of the season, at least on the Major League level.
— Dick Kaegel
Meches seven zeros add up to big plus for opener
Gil Meche’s excellent outing on Friday against the Dodgers gives the Royals’ rotation picture a huge boost.
Sure, everybody knew he was much better than he’d pitched this spring. He was not a 10.45 ERA guy. He’d proved himself in the last two years. Even so, there were those nagging thoughts: What if that back problem really hadn’t gone away? What if he’d just lost something? What if, what if?
Anyway, Meche blew away the doubts with seven shutout innings, breezing through in about 80 pitches and using just three in the last inning. So he looks ready for Opening Day.
Zack Greinke will go in the second game and, even though manager Trey Hillman won’t say so, Kyle Davies has the third starting job sewed up.
So how does it shake out for the other two, with Brian Bannister, Luke Hochevar, Horacio Ramirez and new arrival Sidney Ponson in the shootout?
Here’s a guess: Hochevar gets one spot because, frankly, he’s looked good enough to win it. The other spot goes to Ramirez unless that loose fingernail problem pops up again and proves to be a problem. The Royals badly want a left-hander in the rotation, just to break things up, and they think Ramirez will be better once he unleashes his cutter. He’s purposely held off on that pitch, which might be his best, while he improves his other pitches.
Bannister, who’s struggled most of the spring, gave himself a boost with five shutout innings in a Minor League game the other day. But it’d be easy for the Royals to send him to Triple-A Omaha to work on finding himself again. Likewise, because Ponson has pitched in just one Cactus League game and there’s time for him to pitch just one more, it’d be logical to send him to Omaha for more tune-ups. Then if somebody falters or gets hurt, the call can quickly go out to Bannister or Ponson.
The Royals can dip down and pull up a proven Major League starter. It’s nice to have that kind of depth and it’s something they haven’t had for a while.
–Dick Kaegel
Screen test shows Hillman something
How does a manager tell if his pitcher is losing something?
How about if he gives up a home run and then throws the next pitch about 10 feet over the plate and to the screen? That tipped off Royals manager Trey Hillman to Kyle Davies’ plight on Saturday at Goodyear Ballpark.
Davies gave up a fourth-inning homer to Beau Mills and his next pitch sailed high over Tony Graffanino. Oh-oh. Hillman went out for a mound visit.
“Man, my legs are gone,” Davies told the skipper.
And when a pitcher’s legs go, so does he. Hillman let Davies finish off Graffanino with a strikeout but then waved in Tim Hamulack from the bullpen.
“I was going to let him get out of that inning but he just flat lost his legs,” Hillman said. “He was right at 59 or 60 pitches – but the fastball sailed all the way the screen.”
Hillman was pleased with Davies’ effort. He finally gave up his first two runs of the spring but one was unearned. Also, Davies didn’t walk anyone, always big for a guy who has battled for command during his career.
“Third outing in spring is usually when you get that little dead-arm stage so your body has to catch up with how many innings you’re throwing but I feel fine, just like I’m supposed to at this time,” Davies said.
His legs should be stronger next time, too.
— Dick Kaegel
Its a learning process at second for Teahen
Don’t get too discouraged by Mark Teahen’s first game at second base. It wasn’t pretty, he didn’t look very comfortable and all that but give it time. Teahen certainly wasn’t happy with his two errors and a couple of other misses but he kept an upbeat attitude.
“Obviously I would’ve liike to have made all the plays but that’s why we have Spring Training,” he said afterward. “I’m assuming I’ll feel more comfortable. That’s the plan. Like I said, you don’t want to peak too early so I’m giving myself room to go up.”
He was poking a little fun at himself there and that’s good. You can’t let this stuff get you down.
Manager Trey Hillman bumped into Teahen in the training room after Wednesday’s game and asked him if he wanted to discuss the game now or later. Teahen launched right into it.
One point Hillman made was that in the first inning, with one out and a man on first, Teahen might have just taken the ground ball he fielded to his left and thrown out the batter for the second out. Instead, he went for a double play and threw past shortstop MIke Aviles for an error. That open the gates for a six-run inning against Horacio Ramirez.
“From a mental mindset, he was in a good frame of mind. He pretty much understood and knew all the mistakes he had made,” Hillman told us on Thursday morning. “But, as we’ve talked, in the teaching moments he understood better after I explained the number of outs, how early we were in the game, Horacio having a chance to pitch out of some damaging run totals in the first inning. He understood a lot better about going to first base. He just did what he instinctively knew that he had the athletic ability to do. And he did have the athletic ability to do it, he just didn’t make an accurate throw.”
Small point but food for thought as Teahen adjusts to a new position.
— Dick Kaegel
KC Camp Capers: A Gator escapade
What was this? John Buck was wearing a Florida Gators baseball jersey during the Royals’ conditioning drills on Monday morning. He stuck out like an orange-and-blue sore thumb.
Not only that. The uniform number was 43, a replication of teammate Ryan Shealy’s garb when he played for the Gators. Shealy is the No. 1 Gators fan in the KC clubhouse, or maybe any clubhouse. And he lockers next to Buck.
“He was supposed to get me a sweatshirt and he never did,” Buck said. “Since I love Ryan so much, when I pull a prank I want to make him happy.”
Oh, sure. This was a little payback. Buck didn’t get his Gators sweatshirt as promised so he ordered a jersey himself and wore it, just to aggravate his buddy.
To be sure he wouldn’t break any team rules, Buck got permission from skipper Trey Hillman for the prank. Shealy said appreciated any exposure his beloved Gators can get.
Shealy was asked if his No. 43 had been retired at Florida.
“Not yet,” he said. “But it’s hanging in a Gators’ bar, the Swamp across from the stadium.”
Iin other news: Wednesday’s first game against the Texas Rangers will count in the Cactus League standings. Originally, the Royals’ schedule indicated that the charity game would not count. But, upon further review and this may have gone right up to the Commissioner’s Office or the Supreme Court, it was decided that the game would count in the standings and the stats would count as well. Hey, it could have an effect on the Cactus League championship. . . . Spring Training records usually don’t mean Bo Diddley but, in 2003, the Royals had their best record ever in Arizona (19-10) and that was the year they held first place for a long time and finished in third place at 83-79, their last winning record. . . .Luis Silverio, the Royals’ former third base coach and now a special operative in the organization, stopped by camp for a visit and some meetings. After returning to his KC home, he’s off to Jupiter, Fla., where he’ll be a coach for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic. The D.R. will play in Puerto Rico. Then he’ll be back to Arizona to help coach the Minor Leaguers.
— Dick Kaegel
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