Results tagged ‘ Bruce Chen ’
Pitcher Bruce Chen named winner of 2010 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award
The Royals have announced that left-handed pitcher Bruce Chen was selected as the 2010 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner. The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The award goes to an unsung player who contributed above and beyond what was expected, or someone who the writers felt deserved some recognition for an outstanding season. Chen becomes the first Royals player not on the Spring Training 40-man roster to win the award since 1995 when infielder Keith Lockhart began the strike-altered season in the minor leagues with Omaha.
The 33-year-old Chen began 2010 as a non-roster invite to Spring Training and concludes the season as the 2010 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner after leading the club in wins with a 12-7 record. He finished the campaign with a 4.17 ERA in 33 appearances, including 23 starts, and also added a save. The win total fell one shy of his career high of 13 set in 2005 with Baltimore. He finished with the most wins by a Royals lefty since Charlie Leibrandt and Floyd Bannister posted 13 and 12 victories, respectively, in 1988. A native of Panama, Chen capped his sensational comeback season by tossing his first career shutout in his final start on October 1, posting a two-hitter in a 7-0 win over the A.L. East Champion Tampa Bay Rays.
Congrats to Bruce! We’ll be sitting in on a conference call with him later today, and will bring you a recap.
The Royals plan to announce the 2010 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year tomorrow and the 2010 Les Milgram Player of the Year on Monday, November 9.
Ned Yost media session: September 4
Welcome to the big show!
Lucas May will make his Major League debut tonight. Yost sees the start as necessary in order to get a good look at the catcher and see what he’s capable of doing. The manager doesn’t plan on filling May’s head with advice before the game, but does expect him to discuss strategy with tonight’s starter, Bruce Chen. Yost believes the veteran Chen will pair up well with the “newbie” and will have the patience to hang with the young catcher and help him get through his first start.
Detroit catcher Max St. Pierre is also making his big league debut in tonight’s ballgame after having spent nearly 14 years in the minors. St. Pierre spent 2007 Spring Training in Surprise with the Royals.
It’s a balancing act
Yost also discussed his “dual thinking,” meaning he first and foremost shows up everyday to win, but at the same time he is trying to figure out how to get better for next year. For example, Yost might let a player hit when he would normally would pinch hit for the player because he needs to see what the player is capable of doing in certain situations. He admitted it’s tough to balance the two, but he tries to keep it as steady as he can.
In the two-hole
With Jason Kendall out due to extensive repair to his rotator cuff, Mitch Maier is now seeing playing time at the two-hole in the batting order. According to Yost, Maier is statistically the best situational hitter on the team (Kendall had been second). Situational hitting is something the team tracks from game one until the end of the season, and is also something the club works on everyday.
Chen music
Bruce Chen, shown here in a June home start, took a perfect game into the seventh tonight before Erick Aybar picked up a single. Chen was helped by a pair of great catches from David DeJesus. Jose Guillen’s single gave KC a 2-0 lead in the eighth as they went on to a 4-2 win over the Angels. Chen moves to 5-2 on the year and Kansas City is 2-0 on the trip. The Royals, who have won 7 of 9, play tomorrow night on ESPN (first pitch at 7:15 Central).
Chen, Getz help at NSCD sports camp
Yesterday, pitcher Bruce Chen and infielder Chris Getz were guest instructors at The Baseball Ability Camp, a clinic sponsored by the National Sports Center for the Disabled and the Royals. The free camp allowed kids from 6 to 18 to experience baseball first hand. Bruce and Chris were a hit with the campers and the volunteers!
For more information on the National Sports Center for the Disabled and to learn about volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.nscd.org
Ned Yost media session: June 27
The word on Bruce
Yost believes today’s starting pitcher Bruce Chen has done a nice job in 2010 thus far. Chen’s secret to success hasn’t just been his command, but also the way he keeps hitters off balance and changes speeds and eye levels. Yost argues that there’s a difference between someone who stands on the mound and throws and someone who is a pitcher, and he believes Chen is definitely the latter.
A work in progress
Although Yost worked for the organization before taking over the manager position, he said it still takes time, a couple weeks to a month, to get to know players on a personal level and figure out what makes them tick. He said he has tried to really study and watch players in order to find out what they focus on and don’t focus on. In general, Yost takes a mixed approach when it comes to treatment of his players. He claimed that while most rules apply to everyone, he still tries to treat everyone as individuals. The main rule he is concerned with is simply maintaining a high standard of play. The manager expects everyone to give all they have each day.
Feeling at home
Yost had nothing but positive things to say about his experience with the Royals. He thinks he has a great group of players who have the desire to win, and he is also very fond of Kansas City and Kauffman Stadium.
Photos: Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament benefits Special Olympics
Players, alumni and broadcasters were among the participants in the third annual Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament, held on Monday at The National Golf Club of Kansas City. The team captained by alum Al Fitzmorris (third picture below) won the title. Squads captained by Gil Meche and Denny Matthews also tied for the top spot, but lost a tiebreaker to Fitzmorris’ team. Here are some photos of a great day on the course!
Trey Hillman media session: April 23
The talk today centered on the new additions to the Kansas City Royals; right-handed pitcher Brad Thompson and left-handed pitcher Bruce Chen. Royals’ manager Trey Hillman is excited to see the new arms in the bullpen and stated he is looking for the right combination to get the baseball to closer Joakim Soria in the ninth inning. Hillman knows that the Royals record this season would be significantly improved had they seen better outings from their relievers.
With these additions, also came some losses from the Royals’ bullpen. The Royals released relief pitcher Juan Cruz and designated relief pitcher Luis Mendoza for assignment. Hillman cited that Cruz didn’t have his full strength on several occasions this spring, possibly from a lingering sore shoulder that bothered him last season. However, Hillman believes these moves show the Royals are dedicated to winning now and will not settle for giving away any victories.
Trey Hillman Media Session: September 23
Meet Mr. Lerew
The mystery surrounding Thursday’s starter against the Boston Red Sox is officially over. Say hello to #54 Anthony Lerew, previously the ace of the Double-A affiliate Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Lerew, 26, has pitched sparingly in three previous seasons with the Atlanta Braves compiling a 0-2 record with an 8.31 ERA. He was signed by the Royals in Spring Training and collected a 10-6 record while pitching for Northwest Arkansas and then went 2-0 in the playoffs for the Naturals. What can we expect from Mr. Lerew? Manager Trey Hillman says he hears good things about Anthony. “I’ll be honest, I have not even seen him pitch to a live batter, nor have I seen him even throw a bullpen session, but I hear good things about him. He is a big, strong kid who has good command and solid stuff. Anthony has experience in the big leagues which is important. It will be interesting, and as you see him for the first time, I will be doing the same.”
Injury Report
LHP Dusty Hughes-Feeling better, will be missing Thursday’s scheduled start but plans on a bullpen session. If and when he returns, look for him to return to the bullpen.
RHP Juan Cruz-Off the DL should be available as soon as tomorrow for the final game of the series against the Boston Red Sox.
LHP John Bale-Has been throwing batting practice, multiple bullpen sessions are in order leading him to eventually throw to live batting. Hillman and the club continue to be very cautious with this lefty reliever, so there is not a guarantee he will pitch again this season.
RHP Kyle Farnsworth-Continues to be suffering from a sore lower shoulder (back), team is hoping to use his services before the end of the season, but again the cautious approach is being taken with Kyle.
LHP Bruce Chen-Done for the season and put on 60 day DL with torn left oblique muscle.
Trey Hillman Pregame Media Session: September 5
Injuries Mounting
A list of injured Royals came out this afternoon during manager Trey Hillman’s dugout interview. Royals starters Brian Bannister and Gil Meche are out due to sore right shoulders and each will miss at the very least their next scheduled starts, beyond that is yet to be determined at this point. Taking their rotation spots will be LHP Bruce Chen and last night’s starter, Robinson Tejeda. Outfielder Jose Guillen has been shut down for the rest of the season to allow him the optimum amount of time needed to recuperate and get healthy for spring training next season. Reliever John Bale is out indefinitely and quite possibly for the rest of the season with a strained hamstring which he aggravated in last night’s game against the Angels. Second basemen Alberto Callaspo injured his ankle in last night’s affair and is out of the line-up for tonight’s game. Lastly, reliever Kyle Farnsworth tweaked his back, also in last night’s game, but is probable for the game tonight.
Three New Royals
Well, with so many injured Royals pitchers, who is going to take their place? Let me introduce you to new Royals pitchers, #31 LHP Dusty Hughes, #47 RHP Victor Marte, and #53 RHP Carlos Rosa, all of whom will be contributing in relief. “They have good stuff, we are in need of pitching but that doesn’t diminish what they have done, they got here on their own merit. We are going to work with them on their command, location, and being more efficient with not getting behind in the count as much. This is an evaluation process for each one of them, we are excited to see what they can do at this level,” says Hillman. For Hughes and Marte, this is their first time in the bigs. Rosa was up for a brief stay last year.
Photos: Royals and Wizards visit one another
There’s still time to purchase the KC Blue Sports Pack for $30 online at royals.com/wizards. The Royals half of the promotion will be Tuesday night as the package features a View Level Infield Ticket at Kauffman Stadium for the Royals-Indians 7:10 p.m. game tomorrow and a Bleacher Ticket at CommunityAmerica Ballpark for the Wizards-Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer contest at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, August 29. Each ticket package also includes a Royals cap and a Wizards T-shirt..Tuesday’s game also features the fifth installment of T-Shirt Tuesday with the first 20,000 in attendance receiving a powder blue T-shirt with a classic Royals design presented by AT&T.
Members of the Royals and Wizards each saw how the other half lived as Billy Butler, Jamey Wright and Bruce Chen (right) attended the Wizards practice in Swope Park earlier today, then Jimmy Conrad, Jack Jewsbury, Davy Arnaud, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi participated in early batting practice here. Fans can also purchase the KC Blue Sports Pack by calling the Royals Ticket Services Department at (816) 504-4040, option 3.
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