The Royals beat the Mets 4-3 Sunday night to finish the first opening day of the season. Watching the game, these thoughts struck me.
The Royals defense is still very good. They are capable of covering up a number of pitching flaws. The only real defensive mistake I saw came from Lorenzo Cain, who misjudged a Michael Conforto fly ball that carried to the wall. Cain, to his credit, covered a lot of ground.
Conforto’s wall ball went for a double, capping a great night in which he also walked twice and singled in four plate appearances. He is playing 2016 as a 23 year old, and it may not be that much time before he’s the best hitter on the team. Jessica Mendoza on the ESPN broadcast noted that Conforto’s batting practice hits seemed to carry farther than one would expect seeing the ball off the bat, which is why Cain might have misjudged the ball. I wonder if Conforto’s swing puts high back spin on the ball that causes it to carry like that? He already has a good eye at the plate and hits for power, can’t wait to see how high his ceiling goes.
The Royals bullpen is not invincible. They allowed five hits, three walks, and all three Mets runs in three innings Sunday night. Teams seem to be moving toward the Royals model of starters who can go six innings and three lights out relievers. As relievers pitch less, however, it becomes more difficult to gauge their true talent level, and it also makes them susceptible to bad luck.
David Wright‘s days as a third baseman might be numbered. His throws to first looked like they required maximum effort. Fast batters may very well take advantage of him as the season wears on.
Eric Hosmer is cool. I loved the bunt in the sixth inning. It came as a surprise, and the worst that could have happened is that he would put a man on second with one out. As it happened, he set up the winning runs for the Royals.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1W579wB
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