Triple Play Podcast: Jedd Gyorko, Brewers, Kansas City Royals Rosters, Steve Physioc

Apr 5, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals batter Billy Butler (16) singles in a run against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

After it was announced that Maicer Izturis will miss 4-6 months months with a torn knee ligament, the Blue Jays infield is in serious trouble. Jose Reyes is already battling injuries. Brett Lawrie is struggling. Ryan Goins isn’t the answer, so Hunter, Matt and I speculate on a trade between Jays and the Kansas City Royals for Johnny Giavotella. The Royals apparently have no use for him anyway. What does it hurt to dangle him?

We praise the Jedd Gyorko contract extension that gives the Padres a nice advantage over rivals at second base. They locked up a young power bat, for reasonable money, at a position that is essentially a wasteland after the top five or six hitters at the position.

The Brewers are off to a hot start, but we don’t see the team as a true contender for the division title. Their bench is weak and the team refuses to take pitches or work counts, which will certainly backfire at some point. Still, they’re a decent team and fun to watch right now. Yovani Gallardo is healthy and pitching well. Kyle Lohse continues to prove his critics wrong by pitching well, so far, for his fourth straight year. After they acquired Matt Garza, their rotation looks solid.

During our breaks between segments, we took a page out of WalkOff Talk‘s book and put a little extra material in the breaks over the music of Slowdance.

Once we get the Kansas City Royals, we didn’t have much chance to be optimistic. The crazy roster moves have put the team into at least on position to lose a game (which they lost). They demoted their only left-handed reliever and then realized they needed one and called up Danny Duffy. They hadn’t used the bench at all at the time we recorded. The team continues to go without a backup middle-infielder despite spectacularly proving that it is a bad idea.

The team got swept by the Twins and is struggling to win games against the Astros. Despite it being so early in the season, the Royals need to get it together. They’re pressing to do something big and they’re swinging early in the count, making Ricky Nolasco and Kevin Correia look like Cy Young candidates.

We talk at length about Billy Butler who is struggling to get any loft on the ball. His groundball rate is over 70%. He is working with Pedro Grifol to stop rolling over the ball and we’re hoping that he can turn things around soon.

Finally, we rant about Steve Physioc’s incredibly foolish comments that blamed the fans for the team’s struggles.
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