Disco Hayes/Posnanski column

[44Fishy]

http://www.kansascity.com/159/story/1412928.html?storylink=omni_popular

 

Great article about a longshot prospect in the Royals system-

 

couple quotes that made me laugh:

 

Disco Hayes showed up at a Royals tryout back in 2006. He was out in Arizona on money he did not really have to try out for teams that had shown only vague interest - the White Sox, the Padres. Someone mentioned that the Royals were having a tryout camp. An Abbott and Costello skit followed.

"Where?" Disco asked.

"Surprise," the guy said.

"What's the surprise?" Disco asked.

"The town," the guy said.

"The tryout is going to be in a surprise town?" Disco asked.

"Exactly," the guy said.

 

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There's a famous story - or, anyway, famous in Kansas City baseball circles - about the first time Royals manager Jim Frey saw Dan Quisenberry pitch. Quiz had pitched very well in the minor leagues, but nobody really knew why. He threw sidearm then - he would soon throw submarine style - and he threw preposterously slow. As he would say, his slider didn't slide, his curveball didn't curve and his change-up didn't change a thing.

Frey watched Quiz throw for a while. Then he stopped the action, walked up to Quiz and held an impromptu interview.

"Are you throwing as hard as you can?" Frey asked.

Quiz nodded. That was as hard as he could throw.

"And is that your curveball?" Frey asked.

Quiz nodded again. That was his best curveball.

Frey nodded and then gave his summation of Dan Quisenberry's talents. "Holy (BLEEP)!" he muttered, and he walked off.

[Baldkin]

I don't know that he's much of a long shot.

 

He could very well be up next year, and someone will pick him up if the Royals don't put him on their 40-man roster.

 

The "He only throws 80" argument shouldn't hold with him as his delivery is crazy and his breaking stuff is nasty.

[jwaltz]

Hayes believes he will make it to the bigs and so do I. There's so many worse pitchers with worse stuff that are in the bigs for multiple seasons. I'd like to see that team be the Royals. That way when the Royals play the Twins in MN I can go and maybe see Pat Neshek pitch for the Twins the same game Hayes pitches for the Royals.

[dadofandrew]

He's a long shot, he throws 80 and does not K a lot of batters. RHP's that are not knuckleballers...I can't think of a single one in the majors. That's why Quisenberry was so heralded (and maybe Tekulve)...very few ever make it, never mind have long careers.

[Baldkin]

He's very similar to Chad Bradford, actually, his FB tops out mid 80's.