Not a Bullish Pen

The bullpen is about as important a thing in the history of Kansas City Royals as anything this side of George Brett. The Royals pretty much lost the 1980 World Series because their closer Dan Quisenberry had a dreadful time of it, and they won their second title in large part because Mets closer Jeurys Familia blew three saves.

       It’s not quite that simple, but it’s not far from it. Those who jumped aboard the giddy bandwagon in 2014 and on into the championship season saw a world where a game was truly over after six innings if the home squad was ahead, and where just a little bit of offensive excitement in the late going could turn defeat into victory. Their bullpen was historically good and trend-setting.

     Of course, there are some who have seen all of it. They are the type of fans who know the vagaries of the men who come after the starting pitcher, a group that becomes more and more important with each passing year. In 1980 American League starters went, on average, just over six and a third innings, last year that was a full inning less. So, three more outs are in the hands of the guys who walk in from the pen.

     The fans who were newcomers in 2014-15 were spoiled to the point that when old friend Joaquim Soria came aboard in 2016-2017, the reaction to his ordinary, but hardly horrible, performances those two seasons was absolute outrage. He posted an E.R.A. of about 3.8 those two seasons.

     They didn’t know what bad really was, and would find out in last years dreadful fall from grace for the franchise. The Royals would blow leads in 51 games on their way to an E.R.A. of 5.04, the worst in the American League by a country mile. The Royals wouldn’t have been any good even with a decent bullpen, but only a fairly strong finish kept them from historical lows, with a really bad one.

     Now, oh glory, six games into the season, the arson squad is at it again. They have been singularly responsible for three of the losses in the 2-4 start, tried hard to give away the two wins, and haven’t had a clean game yet. Yes, it’s only six games, but it sure has the look of the kind of big problem that could make a season of a little promise look a whole lot worse than that.

     The opening of a baseball season is over-analyzed, but there is little question it can set a tone. When you start 5-20 like the Royals did last year, talking openly this spring about making sure that a solid start is attained is natural. It also is dangerous, because it you say it’s important, and you don’t do it, it’s hard to give the usual “It’s early” answers.

     The true sign of a bad bullpen stretch, or season for that matter, plays out like the backup quarterback syndrome. Whoever you haven’t seen suck yet, or recently, is the most popular guy in town. That played out in the 24 hours leading up to yesterday’s game in Detroit. Kyle Zimmer had pitched in only one game, and in fact, one game in his career, so no one had seen him fail, thus the cry went out for more Zimmer. Like more cowbell.

     So, in the seventh inning came the big moment in a 3-3 game. Three batters, three walks, and many pitches that weren’t anywhere near the zone later, Zimmer was headed for the showers, and the Royals were headed for another frustrating loss.

     Obviously, now the question is whether the Royals can actually improve in an area they put so much emphasis on in the off-season. Job one to me is at least steadying the water soon. With each passing bad bullpen day comes more pressure on each individual performance. These guys are human, they hear things, and they also know what has gone before. It is only natural if a blooper drops in, or an ump doesn’t give a borderline call ,to start thinking “Here we go again”.

     Ned Yost came into the season saying that he wasn’t going to define roles as clearly as he has in the past, and he was talking leverage more than particular slots. He sure has lived up to that. Ian Kennedy has been a perfect example. He pitched the eighth inning in his first outing and threw very few pitches, but wasn’t brought back out for the ninth inning in a 5-1 game, and it took four more pitchers to finish the job, with Brad Boxberger getting the save. But that didn’t mean Boxberger, who once saved over forty games in a season, assumed the role. Kennedy’s next two outings were save situations, one he cashed, one he blew.

     Willie Peralta was the incumbent closer, and he was brought out to open the ninth in the opener, although it was a non-save situation. He had to be yanked, and hasn’t been in a save situation since, although he opened the ninth in a tie game Wednesday, and took the loss.

     Hopefully the Royals will have a save situation soon, and then we can get the next answer as to Ned’s thinking regarding that role for now. What he knows right now is that there are few pleasing options. Maybe that can change quickly with the guys on hand, maybe other options will have to explored.

     What is certain for the time being is that no lead seems safe. The Royals have done some good things so far. Adalberto Mondesi is on fire, Alex Gordon has heated up, Whit Merrifield has been his steady self, and the starting pitching and defense have been solid.

     But history, both past and recent, shows us that all that can be in place, but one phase can submarine everything. The boys in the pen have to put last years failures in the rear-view mirror, or steps forward from last year’s abyss will have to be judged apart from wins and losses.