MONTREAL (AP) - The first key to the Royals' offense this year has been the
invenerable Hal Morris. He is leading the team in both home runs and RBIs,
and has had a lock on the cleanup spot. The second key to the team's
offense has been perennial star and leftfielder Rusty Greer. Only, Rusty
Greer will be missing from the lineup for possibly 4 weeks with an inflamed
goin muscle he suffered before yesterday's game against Cockeysville.
Greer is an irreplaceable leadoff hitter, so the newly acquired Tim Raines
and Hal Morris will have to share the job. Why did Hal get the job, moving
from cleanup to leadoff? "He's been getting on base consistently every
game," said batting coach, Ellis Valentine, "and by moving him to the
number one spot we avoid his biggest problem--hitting into double plays."
The trade of Ray Lankford for Mike Lansing has foreshadowed the injury.
Previously, Lankford was the only player capable of replacing Greer. While
Lankford has struggled this season, he had the best speed on the team.
The Royals will be waiting anxiously for Greer to return because they need
every contribution they can get when the team is marked down for being the
second worst offense in the EL.
Luis Andujar Fights For Spot, but Without Avail
The Royal's pitching has edged into the 3rd spot for the best ERA in the
EL, behind the Edmonton Oilers and the Galena Hamsters, mainly due to the
fact that Kirk Rueter, Salomon Torres, Mike Grace and Randy Johnson all
have ERAs under 3.00.
But Luis Andujar (3.30 ERA), forced into a bullpen position all through
this season, has been fighting for a spot in the rotation, but so far none
of the current starters have given him a chance. Even Pete Harnisch, with a
5-7 record, has been having some incredible starts of late. In his last
game, he didn't let up any runs.
This leaves the team in a good position in case of injury, because Bob
Peterman and Luis Andujar have both been pitching reasonably well.
Hetrick Continues to Dominate in Late Innings
Joe Hetrick was acquired by the Montreal Royals in the first round of the
draft to solidify their bullpen, but no one thought he would be the most
solid pitcher on the staff. As of this writing, by no contest he leads
relievers in wins (4) and ERA (2.67) and holds (11).
And so far this year, he's let up only one home run in his 30 innings of work.
