Royals at the All Star Break

The All Star break is upon us. The Royals, as seems customary, are pretty much out of contention. They sit 10 games below 500, and they are riding another multi-game losing streak. The team has been better in spurts, but they slip when they get close to 500. They have been at 4 or 5 games below with a chance to get closer then they get swept in a series. The team, simply, isn't very good. It doesn't take sabermetrics to figure out their flaws. Pitching. There that is done. The starters are pathetic. They have the worst ERA in the league. That is all you need to know about this team. The bull pen can be good, but not if they are used every game. Collins has been burned out again. The team will never be good if they don't get pitching. They don't have any prospects so they may never be good. The Process now must be what, wait for Duffy? Wait for Lamb? Wait for Paulino? They might as well sign THE Tommy John. At least he can pitch now. The sorry development, or lack thereof, of pitching will handcuff this franchise going forward. Mijares has been very good in the pen. Broxton is a gravy drinking fat boy that gives me a heart attack every time he pitches. He gets the job done, though. Luke, Chen, Mendoza, yikes. The rotation is awful. Chen should be your 4-5 starter. He has been struggling and killing the bull pen. Luke had a couple excellent starts where he brought his ERA DOWN to 5. something. Come on. He isn't going to develop. The guy has a soft melon. He gives up runs after he is given runs. He pretty much represents the Royals, though. The first overall draft pick and he is 20 games under 500 for his career with an ERA over 5. That's how the team is. It is sad but the pitching is only half the problem. Butler has been having a good year. He is on pace to break his homer and RBI totals. That is great. Moose has been better than I expected power wise. He has 14 at the break and 40 plus RBI's. Escobar has been excellent. Yuni has been one of the most clutch hitters on the team. Take those three out and the line up sucks. Hosmer has been beyond bad. I'm afraid he needs eye surgery again. He swings at everything. Reminds me of The Hammer Hamlin. Remember him? Yeah, I didn't think so. Flash in the pan. Take his Boras-represented self to a big market. I'm done waiting on the Hosmer rise. Frenchy is the poster child for the current GM. Very bad choice keeping Frenchy and giving him the extension. Watching him bat is painful. It is going to be 0-1, then 0-2, then a pop up or strike three. There I'm done talking about Frenchy. Overrated, overpaid, and here to stay. Go Royals. Moore makes bad decisions all the time. He has to be held accountable for the bad decisions he makes. Jose Guillen remember him? I'd rather see Jose at the plate than Frenchy. Overall, I guess I could change the name of the blog but the Royals simply aren't worth the effort to edit the title. They won't be 500, they won't be in contention. They will flounder to 20-25 games below 500. They will continue the PROCESS. They won't sign pitchers. They will give and extension to Dyson, they will do a myriad of dumb things and leave us all scratching our heads. That's the Royals. That's the process. Here's a hint. Score runs and stop the other team from doing the same. That is a process that might succeed. I'm sour. It will just get worse because now is the time of year when the Royals trade to make the team so much better. Lets go get the trash from the curb and make it our own! Go Royals, I know I'm going. I'll post again after the first trade, or when the team is 5 games or closer to 500. See you Mijares, you did well!

Royals with 100 games to go

The Royals have 100 games left. They are currently 28-34. This is pretty much the high water mark for the season. They had a chance to get to 4 games below 500 but they didn't get there. They are riding a crazy 4 game winning streak. The 4 games have all been 1 run games. The last three have been of the walk off variety. I know you can't get a "walk off" win on the road, but throwing out the tying run at the plate counts. I was moaning how this team finds ways to lose games. They have been winning in a variety of ways. The pitching has been very, very good this month. I think the team is 7-6 for June. That's just going by feel, but it is close. I know that each win has been by one run. The team has had terrific STARTING pitching this month. I never thought I'd write that about this team. Mazzaro was pretty good tonight. No, he was good. Luke was good last night. I'm as excited as any Royals fan with the good play. The offense is so bad. They can't score more than 4 runs. Here is to hoping that the offense will start clicking soon. Getz is doing well. Dyson is fast, and he scored the winning run in the walk off, but he isn't the best fielding center fielder I've ever seen. He isn't a good fielder at all. I'd love for the Royals to have three legit MLB players in the outfield. I'll settle for 1.5. Frenchy did the best thing for the team last night. Getting ejected was glorious. The guy rubs me wrong. 62 games and he hasn't driven in 20 runs. I, for one, am counting the days until Wil Myers is up. I'm secretly hoping that it doesn't happen until September. If it happens before that it means this Royals team, like every team since 94 has dropped into the abyss. I know they had a winning season mixed in, but do you really remember that season? 2012 may be the end of the streak. The team my be 500 and in contention. Heck, they are only a few games behind the Tigers. Who would have guessed that? Many things can change, hopefully the Royals will be in contention. The streak has me feeling a little positive. The good pitching has me confused. Happy, but confused. Go Royals.

Zack back, Royals bad as usual.

Zack Greinke will make his return to KC tomorrow. Count me as one that is not impressed. Zack's Cy Young season was special. He is likable enough, I guess. He was a damn good pitcher and he was awesome during his Cy Young season. The part I remember best, and the reason I said good riddance to the guy is the way he quit on the Royals. He did too! He quit throwing his slider and he went through the motions because he wanted to save himself for his new team, I guess. Well, there you go. You are a Brewer. I see you are throwing the tight slider again. Good for you. I don't dislike Greinke, but I'm not all that sad he is gone. I would love the Royals to have an ace, but they don't have one. I guess I'd love them to have an ace that wanted to be here. One that would actually try to win games he started with ALL his pitches. Long for the old days with Zack if you want. I prefer to let those days go. I watched Zack pitch one time. He was awesome against the Angels in Anaheim. He lost 1-0. I see why he wanted out, but that doesn't excuse him from the BS way he quit before he was traded. That's out of the way. The Royals are, simply, a bad baseball team. They can't hit and they can't score runs. The were just swept by the Pirates. That team is building. The Royals are treading water in choppy waters. They will sink soon. This team finds ways to lose games. I'm so glad they had the best farm system in the history of baseball. This lineup sure reflects that doesn't it? Hosmer suffering the sophomore slump, big time. Gordon fooled me. I guess he is a 250 hitter. I really thought he turned a corner last year. Frenchy isn't worth my time. Butler has hit well but he is not driving anyone in anymore. Moose has been pretty good. Escobar has been very good. Center field is empty. The rotation is awful, but they have outperformed the line up. This team cannot hit for power at all. They are opposite of clutch. They are LAST in the American league in hitting. LAST. They are in last place in the division. They are in the midst of another long losing streak. This team will not be 500 and in contention. They can't hit well enough. They simply don't score runs. Hosmer has been a huge disappointment. I refuse to get excited when he gets his average up to 225. I figured he would be 100 points higher than that. I really thought that. I also thought that Alex had turned a corner. Well he is circling the block. He has been bad. Hosmer has been awful, but he will catch and pass Alex by the end of June. Both of them will be ahead of the overpaid, on the wrong team Frenchy. I'm past the disappointment of the season. I'm diving into disgust. There is no bright spots on the team. The All Star game being played in the K will be cool. I can't wait to watch the home run contest. The ball can actually go over the fence at the K. You would think it was the biggest park in history. The Royals can't home runs, true, but their opponents have no problem. Even the concussed Morneau can clear the wall. I'm tired. The Royals have worn this long time fan out. I can't take the idea that every loss could be the start of a double digit losing streak. The current streak is at 4. They will basically give up against Zack to stretch it to 5. I'm tired of these guys. Perez will be back and that will help the team. Odorizzi needs to be up and throw 100 innings at the big league level. The Royals really need to think about signing Hamels or some other big time pitcher. It is time for the team to earn my fan ship. No effort on their part to win shouldn't be rewarded by me or any other Royals fan. Here is to hoping the current losing streak won't reach 19. Go Royals. I'm close to gone.

Royals winning May, same to start June

Paulino and the pen shut the Athletics out last night. The 2-0 win was very nice to see. The Royals won a home game, the Royals won a home game! Sounds crazy to celebrate a home win against a poorer team at the start of June, but hey I will celebrate anything positive for this team. Quick thoughts: Yuni is back, Falu is sent down. Giavotella and his 230 batting average and less than stellar D at one position stays. I like the Falu story. I'd rather have a switch hitter capable of playing more than 1 position but I don't get to make the decisions. I'm tiring of the Gio watch. Kid hasn't been hitting. He is here to hit. I find myself happy that Yuni is in the game. His double won the game last night. Gio is not a bust yet, but I'm getting tired of waiting on him. Yuni is back. Sanchez is rehabbing and he will be back soon. I'm thinking that he needs to stay hurt. I don't like the vibe he sends off. The guy seems to dislike baseball. He doesn't strike me as the most hard working guy. The big leagues are full of great hitters that will make adjustments. If you can't get the ball over the plate you will have an ERA like he has. If he comes back as the same 5 walks, 6 ERA guy just cut your loses with him. Sanchez, Getz, Perez, Cain, and the list of injuries goes on and on. The fact that Perez is getting close is nice. Quintero and Pena have held down the catching position pretty well. I can't wait until Perez gets back. That is a player who makes a difference. When he is ready, which will still be a while, who do the Royals jettison? DM has an unhealthy attraction to Bryan Pena. He traded for Quintero. Don't tell me that this team will keep three catchers, don't tell me that. I have an idea of how I'd handle that situation, but I have a different thinking "process". Pitching continues to be the biggest question. Mazzaro will get a start tomorrow. That scares me. Broxton has been pretty good lately. That surprises me. Luke is Luke and that frustrates me. Paulino has been the defact ace of this rag tag rotation. He has been good. Chen is Chen. Come on Chen! Royals still climbing back from the 12 game losing streak. They are currently 22-28. I'd say they have been better, not as good as I expected at the start of the season, though. I really thought this team would be 500 and in Contention. They are closer than they were at 3-14, but hey have a long way to go. Hosmer isn't a bust but this season has been awful. He may need to go back to chasing storms. That is probably drastic but his AB's have been awful. Hopefully he will get his groove back. Gordon has to start finding it too. I guess I was blinded by hope after last year. I figured Gordon and Hosmer would be last year or better for years to come. Looks like I was wrong. If they are just slumping then the season has a chance. OK, Myers time. What to do with Will? He tore AA up. He is currently tearing AAA up. What do the Royals do? Nothing. That's what I'd do. Let Will tear up the PCL. He may get a shot but it won't be soon unless there is an injury. If the kid could play center, and Cain is done for the year then bring him on up if the floor falls out of the record. Otherwise leave him where he is. Bring him up for September and let it rip. DO NOT TRADE HIM FOR PITCHING. The fabulous farm should develop pitching not trade their best commodity for used goods. Here we go Royals. Keep plugging away at 500. Contention in the mediocre AL Central will follow. Undefeated June here we come.

Royals, bad, but not out of it

Hey, it is good to be back. A busy schedule on top of a computer melt down made it impossible to blog for almost two months. Segue time: The Royals are finding it hard to play baseball for the past two months, too. The win in Baltimore today brought Royals to 19-27. OK, the blogs name is Royals 500 and in contention. Not so much at this point. The team "survived" a 12 game losing streak. They lost Perez, Soria, Wood, Duffy, and others to the DL. Hosmer has been awful. Gordon made a liar out of me. Cain also got hurt. The Melkman is leading the entire world in hitting and Sanchez is on the DL. The fact that I like him better on the DL than on the mound says a bunch. This Royals team can't pitch. The rotation was killed when Duffy went down. Paulino has been faking it nicely of late. Chen had improved until his last start. I still think Bruce will be OK. Luke is awful. Sanchez, like was mentioned, is on the DL. I've never seen a guy who hates baseball more than Jonathon seems to. He is a miserable looking young guy. He is also a miserable pitcher. No drive. Nothing but excuses. Not a good trade, as it has turned out. I wasn't opposed to it at the time. I guess Sanchez was a huge disappointment. The starters were a question mark to start the season. The pen was going to be lock down. Holland struggles. Crow hasn't been the same, he has still been pretty good. Coleman gets lit up. Collins and Mijares have been GOOD from the left side. Add Teaford and Hottovy to the lefties and there is a positive. Broxton, oh my, that fat ass gives me a heart attack when he comes into the game. He blew the game that started the 12 gamer. He blew another game that would have been the Royals 5th win in a row. Guy is too inconsistent to be the closer. It doesn't matter all that much because he only gets the chance to blow one or two games a week. How about that set lineup of all young studs we talked so much abut during the spring? Gordon has regressed to the point of Mitch Maier. Francouer is the biggest pain I've seen in a Royal uniform in a long time. His fundamentally unsound play in the outfield drives me crazy. This week he misplayed a single into a double. He knocked the ball out of Giavotella's glove today. He gets caught stealing ALL the time. He is the worst base runner on the team. He has a great arm. He still throws to the wrong base all the time. He irks me. He has been hot at the plate recently. That doesn't make up for the other aspects of his game. He isn't good. Dyson got hurt He isn't good either. One reason I had for optimism in the preseason was I thought Cain would be good. He wasn't good and he got hurt. Dyson and the others in Center have proven to be nonsensical. Maier in Center today. He will just get his timing back. His average will start to climb, then Dyson will be back taking called third strikes and bad angles to fly balls. Center has been an awful hole all year. Moose had been good. He is struggling big time right now. He still looks over matched to me. Dip shit Yost had him hitting clean up today against a lefty. Nice move, Ned. Moose is a 250 hitter with occasional power, best case. Alcides has been very good this year. Good field, better bat. Getz/Yuni/Falu/Gio, have all been GOOD. Gio hasn't done anything but the rest have. Yes, Yuni has made a liar out of me too. He hit pretty well, then he got hurt. That's the only way he can help the team. He was better at second than I thought he would be. The catchers have been doing what you'd expect from two third string catchers. That brings me to Butler and Hosmer. Billy catches his share of blame in this blog. I've said for years that he should be driving the ball more. He should be creating runs. Well, he is doing that. He has 11 homers and 34 RBI's. He is still hitting over 300. He is having a tremendous season. I don't remember the exact date but Billy hit his 10 homer in late July last year. In Boston, I think. He is having a great season. Hosmer has been pathetic. He is completely over matched at the plate. He has brought his average above 200 with two recent 3 hit games. He is pulling off of pitches. He is pressing. He has been awful. He has had a pretty productive 23 RBI's with his 35 hits. I watch the kid bat and he simply looks lost. It isn't his fault the team is as bad as it is. I just never expected that big a drop off from him. Hosmer is the biggest disappointment of a very disappointing season so far. I really like Falu. Escobar has been very fun to watch. Yost angers me most of the time. Broxton scares me. I've said how over rated the farm system is. People believe me now. There isn't one pitching prospect anywhere close to the big leagues. Monty is a bust. Dwyer, same thing. Lamb is hurt, Duffy is hurt, and Arguelles is in AA. Odorizzi is making his way. You would think all that press the farm was getting would have been real if ONE pitcher was on the team. Duffy was, but now he is gone. I guess we wait for DM to reload. I guess its part of the process. I've heard whispers that by the year 2020 the Royals will be ready to contend. The process is hogwash. The season isn't lost yet. Adcock may prove to be a good starter. Chen will win 13 games. Paulino will win if he stays healthy. Luke will give up one more run than the team scores, that is just how he is. Jake Odorizzi will be pitching in KC by July 4 is my prediction. Will Smith can be thrown away. The Royals in their infinite wisdom started him in Yankee stadium. What a dumb move. Hey I haven't lost all hope. The Tigers aren't playing well. The Indians aren't any better than the Royals. The division is awful. Maybe lightning will strike. Hey a 12 game winning streak and the team will be 31-27! Go Royals, get back to 500. Get into contention.

Royals off to 81 wins!

Spring has sprung. The practice games are over. The roster is set. The team is in California ready to start the season against the Angels. The 32 game spring schedule resulted in 16 wins and 16 losses. I know people will say that spring stuff doesn't matter. Records and stats are thrown out when the season starts. I don't believe that. The team gets used to winning. They get used to being in games. They get used to having to deliver in the clutch. The Royals did that to the tune of a 500 record. They were much better the last few years in the spring. That may have to do with the new pitching coach, or it may have to do with the fact that the Royals don't have all the studs taking the late game AB's. Those kids are the regulars now. Hosmer, Moose, Cain, they get the early at bats. The second wave of prospects is a ways off. I've mentioned many times how overrated the Royals farm system is. The fact that they have NO prospects ready right now proves that. Gio is down. He is hurt and he will be back, but after him there is not much. There is zero pitching on the farm. The Royals are who they are. I think they are a team that can win 81 games. I think they are better than most of the teams in the Central. The Tigers are very good. The rest of the teams are not that great. I see the Royals in second place. I see them in contention for the wild card. I know that is optimistic but it is opening day! The Rangers/Angels will take one spot. The Yankees and the Red Sox and the Rays may get the second one but the Royals will have their names on the standings list for the wild card until late in the season. Luke will step up and pitch well. Cain will be a great find. Hosmer is an absolute stud. Billy is a great hitter. I hope the pitching holds together. I think it will. Moose and the second baseman have to hit. They must be productive at the plate. No hitting below 200 for 2 months. Moose needs to hit 280 with 20 homers. That's not asking too much. Frenchy is a pain. He was great last year. He is a 240 hitter that swings and misses too much. If he can get back to where he was last year I'll shut up and say I'm sorry. I did apologize to Melky and Frechy last year. They were both way better than I anticipated. The opening week is a awful. The season, however, will not be awful. The Royals are going to be 500 and in contention. I truly believe that. Here we go Royals. Here comes summer! YES!

Gordon extended, season coming quickly.

OK, Alex got his deal. 5 years, reasonable money. I'm glad. I kind of figured the arbitration time deal of 4.8 was a stop gap until they go the long term deal done. Good! I hope/think Alex has arrived. I think the hitter we saw last year is the guy that will be playing for the Royals for the next 5 years. He has way better plate coverage now. He is a GOOD hitter. He won the gold glove. Argue if he deserved it or not, he is a very good left fielder. He deserved the extension in so far as I believe he will be the 20 plus homers 90 plus RBI guy from the lead off spot. That is a very valuable commodity. He won't steal bases. So what? He is different as a lead off guy. Alex, Cain, Hosmer, Butler--I see quite a few first inning runs this year. Cain will see good pitches. I hope he takes to the two hole. That will be great for the team. Hosmer is who I think he is. He is the best hitter I've seen in the Royals system in a long time. Many will compare him to Beltran. He is better than Beltran at the plate. He may not be the 5 tool player Carlos was but his bat is way better than Carlos. Beltran seemed to muscle up down in Houston. Clemens was there. Weird coincidence. Hosmer is real. Hosmer is real good. The line up will be fine. Getz needs to be at the bottom to flip the deal. Escobar, Moose, Frenchy, Pena, in whatever order you prefer. Moose is the hole, folks. He can't languish at 200 and no power, he just can't. The team needs production from him. He gives them what he gave them in September, then this line up if very formidable. He gives them the crap he gave early last year, then the team loses games and he loses confidence. He needs to start quickly. That hasn't been his MO, but it needs to be now. The rotation is set. Chen, Luke, Sanchez, Mendoza, and Duffy. That isn't the Phillies rotation, that's for sure. This teams 500 record and chance at contention lies in the hands of these 5 dudes. I'm hopeful, just not overly ecstatic about the prospects. Hope springs eternal in the Spring. I just see this ship springing leaks. Chen is Chen, come on. He won't be a sub 3 ERA guy. He will be about 4-4.5. He will compete and keep the team in games, but Bruce against guys like Weaver, Verlander, CC? Who you betting on? The order of the starters will work itself out, I just hope they are competitive. Chen/Weaver I'm guessing you get pretty good prices on the Royals on the moneyline. That is a discussion for another blog. Pen is a strength, but being turned into a mess. Yost thinks a closer by committee is the answer. Nope. You need to have a mindset to close games. You can't spring it on different guys in different situations. Give Holland the ball and tell him he is the guy. That should happen. Don't screw with the end of the game. I'm afraid the closer on this team will be less than busy anyway. The rotation is just not good enough. Stick Oswalt in there you are a little better. You can't make a guy want to play for you, though. Here is to hoping that the Royals start hot and stay hot. I also hope the guys in my fantasy league don't take Hosmer too early in the draft. I'd like to have him. Go Royals. 500 and contention is the goal.

Soria done, trade completed

Soria has to have a second Tommy John surgery. That is a tough break for a classy guy. He has been a bright spot in a pretty dark stretch for the Royals. Soria was always a reliable closer. He had struggles last year. I wish him well. Royals fans are saying that the team should have traded him when his value was high. I don't subscribe to that thinking. The guy literally gave his arm to the franchise. I prefer to say thanks and wish him well. The closer role has to be filled. I have always thought Holland had the pure stuff to close games. He gets his mind right he will be lights out. Broxton was brought in. Many say he should close. I simply like Hollands stuff better. Either way the Royals will be able to move forward from a Soria injury. The injury that worries me most is the Perez injury. The Royals traded for a backup catcher (Q) and a 4th outfielder type (B) from the Astros. The trade is receiving mixed reviews. Some subscribe to the fact that the Royals have the best farm system in the history of baseball and all the prospects are going to be all stars. I don't subscribe to that. The farm system is a farm system. Hosmer, Moose, Butler, Gordon, weren't they all first round draft picks? I'd hope your first round picks turn out. Especially if they are paid to perform. Where is the rest of this super farm system? Gio is struggling at second. There isn't a pitcher worth a rotation spot. Duffy is close but what do they Rays have, 11? Come on best farm system ever my ass. Trading the 18th best prospect for a back up catcher and a back up outfielder is a GOOD move in my opinion. Q can come in and catch when Pena isn't out there pretending. I think it solidifies the position that was left vacant when Perez went down. Perez, was from the greatest farm system, I know that. I've read other blogs that can't figure out why B was part of the trade. I watch the Royals all the time. I don't analyze every ab and break down pitching charts. I watch as a fan. I like Mitch Maier as a kid. He squared to bunt in Cleveland and took one right in the face. He is a tough player, tough kid. He can play good outfield and he hits about 260 with very little power. Jarrod Dyson is fast. He can steal bases, and he is fast. Dyson is fast. The Royals need a legit 4th outfielder. B could be that guy. He hit 290 and stole 30 plus bases in 93 games last year. He can play outfield, steal bases, and hit better than Maier and Dyson. I like the trade. I'd keep B and Maier. Dyson is not a legit player, in my opinion. He and Joey Gathright can race each other and jump over cars. You need to be able to hit the baseball to play the game. You can't steal first. I'll go on the record to say I like the trade. I'm on the record for saying the extension to Frenchy was dumb and the Yuni deal was made by Lloyd Christmas. This trade helped the team. Get over the idea that we lost a great prospect, a pitcher even. Yeah, maybe that kid was the next Monty! The greatest farm system may have brought two useful big leaguers to the team. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Royals flip B. They are in a better position now, that's for sure. I don't always agree with the GM of this team, but I agree with this move. I hope the team plays better. Chen needs to wake up. Sanchez needs to be much better. I guess I don't really have to worry about the rotation because the greatest farm system ever will just plug the holes, right? Yeah, right. The Royals seem to be playing about 500 ball this spring. Here's to hoping they can carry that over to the regular season.

Soria hurt or injured?

I wasn't able to watch the game yesterday. I just looked at the box and saw that Soria struggled. Now as we all know he left the game when he felt a tug in his elbow. That tug may very well put an end to Soria for this year, and beyond. He looked off against the Dodgers a couple of games ago. His change up was just not good. His velocity was down. Now his elbow is tugging. I've a sneaking suspicion that old Tommy John is calling. I hope I'm wrong but Wood and Soria will be done. Wood should be done. He is a gas can beyond hope. Soria is hurting. Holland better polish that closer label because it is about to be hung on him. Too many injuries this spring. The team was like Houdini avoiding the injury bug last year. Adapt and overcome. The Royals need to address the catching situation fast. The new guy needs to come in and get acclimated to the pitchers. You can't do that from the waiver wire right at the start of the season. I'd love to see Rob Johnson come to KC. I know the kid personally, I like him, and I want him on my favorite team. You can check out his stats but he is a good defensive catcher and King Felix loved him. You have to love Montana kids. You have to especially love Butte, Montana kids!! Rob or someone else the Royals need to get a backup catcher.

Soria issues. Too big to ignore

OK, Royals fans. Soria is struggling. I saw him throw in the game before today and he looked off. The change was just off and he got touched up for runs. Today he got hit around again. It is spring training but if this Royal team is going to be successful they can't have Soria be the gas can he was at times last year. He looks to have lost velocity and his control had to be perfect with better velocity. He loves the big breaking ball and now he has found an affinity for the change up. It is good to have pitches but you don't need 5 pitches to close games. Soria is not Hoffman. That change Joakim was throwing looked forced and his arm speed slowed quite a bit. I don't know if it is his head or his elbow but Soria is not the old closer. He can prove to be a liability if he doesn't get it together. The Royals are OK at the end of the pen if they let Holland close out games. His stuff is nasty and he is a good pitcher. Broxton can set him up, hopefully. I know its early but if Perez is out and the bull pen is leaky like it has been. This team won't be contention for anything but the number one draft pick. The hitting has been very good this spring. The pitching hasn't been. Luke has been pretty good. Chen and Sanchez have not been good. I'm still optimistic but there are real problems that need to be ironed out. Halfway through spring and the questions abound. Tighten up the bull pen. Get Soria back to being Soria or give the job to Holland. Wake Chen and Sanchez up. Time for all of these things to happen. You Gio fans better get him cranked up. Getz and Yuni have been out playing Johnny this spring. That isn't good. Moose has been injured but his 185 average looks familiar for some reason. Billy, Hosmer, and Gordon are legit. They look ready. DM's boyfriend hitting at the Mendoza line looks about right. Cain has been good, Escobar has been good. Not all good. BAD pitching and a hurt catcher are not a recipe for 500 and contention. Here's to hoping for answers in the next two weeks.

Spring progresses, Perez shelved

The Royals are progressing through spring. They are showing good signs and not so good signs. The Sanchez acquisition looked good, but it hasn't looked good on the field. He needs to control his stuff. If he does then he will be good. Luke seems to be pitching well. I'm confused as to what they are doing with Soria. I'm guessing the lets try him in the rotation crew has won out. He pitched two innings today. He was working on a change up. He wasn't good with it. He got slapped around in two innings of work. Come on, is he the closer or is he something else. I'm guessing Mo Rivera isn't pitching 2 innings. They can try Crow in the rotation. They can give Teaford a look. Let Soria be the closer. Cain seems to be the real deal. Less than 15 games, but you can get a feel for guys. I'm getting more comfortable with Lorenzo in center. Gio and Moose have to prove more to me. This brings us to Perez. Man that injury will hurt this team. You can't prepare for an injury, I get that. This team is hurting big time at catcher. Perez is a stud. He works with the pitchers. He can actually catch, which is a nice thing for Royals fans! That was a huge blow, guys. The team won't be as good with Sal on the shelf. Pena has a good chemistry with Chen, but that's about it. Sanchez needs that huge security blanket back there. That injury hurt the team. Hopefully they can get it together. The injury to Perez is bad. The news of the Escobar extension is GREAT news. DM is serious when he talks about building a team up the middle. Perez, Escobar, Cain? The Royals need to get the pitching staff throwing better. Just how good is Holland? Holland, Herrera, Coleman, Broxton, Mijares,Collins. The list answers just about any bullpen questions you can have. Well Royals fans, the Royals are about 500 and in contention thus far in spring.

Royals spring into spring.

Spring training games are off and running. The Royals won their first two games. They dominated the first game and then had a walk off win in the second. I know it is spring training, I get it, but it is fun to see the team win. The Royals have been very, very good in the past few springs. They win, and they are right at the top of the league record wise. This year will be more of the same, I hope. I realize it is way too early to tell anything, so I'll make some predictions. The competition between Moose and Kouz will be a good thing. Moose will rise up and be the player we all are hoping him to be. Getz will push Gio at second. This is a very good thing. The line up will be better with Gio in it IF he is hitting 280 with pop. If he is hitting 230 then the team is better off with Getz. He will steal bases and play an OK second base. That is the kind of competition I like. Older guys pushing the young guys. The team is better with Moose, Escobar, Gio, and Hosmer. There is no question about that. The thing is they can't be handed anything. They need to earn the spot and keep earning the spot. Once the corner is turned their talent will win out and there will be no more discussion. This is a good thing. Yuni, oh man, what do you even say. Yost is saying how well he is playing at third and second. That's good because my recollection is that he pretty much stunk up the field at short. He and Frenchy are DM's guy's. I've stopped trying to figure that stuff out. Yuni is going to take a roster spot. I just hope he earns it by being a true utility guy. Backing up at third, short and second makes him valuable. A big injury and the team will suffer but not crash if you have legit backups. I don't think of Yuni as a legit anything. I just remember he had way more RBI per AB than Billy did in his last Royal season. Chew on that for a minute. The outfield is Gordon, Cain, and DM's boy Frenchy. Maier and Dyson and others have a shot. I like Maier but I've seen him play enough that he needs consistent plate appearances to be effective. Last spring he hit over 500. He won't hit that but I'd bet he would be 280 or better playing full time. He won't get that chance, and I'm not saying he deserves it, but I like the kid and hope he does well. Dyson is a wild card. His speed is a weapon. No player has figured out how to steal first. He needs to muscle up and become a threat with the bat. He does that then he may be the leader in the 4th outfielder race. Mitch can play D, but he doesn't have the base stealing capability that Dyson brings. Both are good on D. That will be a good contest to watch. We have to hold our breath with Cain. He does well and the Royals will be a force. They will be 500 and in contention. If Cain, Moose, Gio or Frenchy struggle there will be no sniff of 500 this year. The pitching needs to step up and improve. I have high hopes for Sanchez. I also think Paulino will be very good. If both of those occur that would be awesome. Luke needs to improve. Chen can just be Chen. 13 wins with a 4.00 ERA is good enough for a 4 starter. Luke, Sanchez, and Paulino need to step up to the 1,2,3 spots. Duffy and Dwyer can have a competition for the 5 spot. That makes for an interesting team this year. I'm not too excited about two spring wins but they DO count. This team needs to learn how to win. They need to build confidence. The AL Central isn't really that strong outside of Detroit. Detroit has the look, but the Royals always play well against them. Here is hoping that my optimism lasts. Go Royals.

Perez extended

I just heard that Salvadore Perez was extended by the Royals. Great move. They buy 3 years of pre-arbitration years and they get him in the fold for the next 5 years. Very nice move. This Royals team could have the makings of a great one. Perez is a vital cog. He is the best catcher this organization has seen in many, many years. He may turn out to be the best catcher the team has ever seen. Signing him now shows foresight and it just adds to my optimism for the season. I'm excited for the Royals this season and going forward. I love that fact that Butler and now Perez are here for the future. I'm pretty sure the Boras clients on the team will not be willing to sign such team friendly contracts. I'd love to wrap Hosmer up now, but that will not happen. Perez is locked up. He is the anti Jason Kendall. I love the energy he plays with and the smile he wears while playing. The kid works hard and the pitchers the Royals do throw out there will be better of with Perez than most other catchers. Escobar/Gio/Cain as the up the middle D. Well, a very good catcher is in the fold. Hopefully the season will result in the Royals being 500 and in contention. Hey where is Mijares?

Gordon, arbitration, and Nelson Cruz

The Royals completed the offseason by avoiding arbitration with Gordon. They signed him to a one year 4.8 with escalators contract. This comes the same day, or within a day or two, of Nelson Cruz signing for 16 over 2 with Texas. The Royals got the better of the deal. Alex had a fantastic year. He hit well and he won the gold glove. You can argue that someone else could have won the gold glove. What you can't argue is that someone else was Nelson Cruz. Rangers fans will need sedation when the game 6 fly ball is replayed. Not an easy catch for Nelson but one that he could have made. I don't really care about that. What I care about is that Royals were more patient than I would have been. I may have knee jerked and rewarded the season Alex had with a big extension, you know how Lloyd did with Frenchy. If anything good comes from the stupid Frenchy extension maybe it will be using their head with Alex. You can lock him up long term or you can still have 2 arbitration years. I have stated that I would extend Alex now, I even asked DM to do so. I like the approach both sides are taking on this. Alex has another great season, he gets paid. The sides work out an extension, Alex gets paid. Either way the Royals will be better with AG in the lineup. He approached the potential I was hoping for last year. If the Royals are to be 500 and in contention they need a season equal to or better than last year out of Gordon. They need 20 and 90 from Frenchy, too. I think Alex having a great year is more likely than Frenchy having a 20/90 season. The Frenchy extension was a Lloyd Christmas move. Yuni being back was too. Maybe Lloyd took a detour on the way to Surprise and made a 16 over 2 year deal to Nelson Cruz. Pretty sure Jeff would have made that catch in the World Series. Fun and games until the fun and games start. Go Royals. Get to camp and lets get ready for being 500 and in contention.

Prince and the Paupers?

Prince signs for a ton of years for way too much money. That makes the Detroit Tigers the runaway favorites in the AL Central, right? Prince and Cabrera are very, very good. Verlander and Velverde are very, very good. The Tigers won the division by 15 games last year. The addition of Prince Fielder has to make them the favorites. I guess I agree with this assessment. The Tigers are good. Cabrera and Fielder are a ridiculous combo. The White Sox are a mess. The Indians are trying, but they need pitching. Preferably guys who say who they really are. Ubaldo is good and they will be OK. The Twins, remember them? The group that gave a huge contract to Mauer and Morneau. Mauer pretty much can't catch and Morneau is struggling coming back from concussion symptoms. Investing huge cash may pay off in the short run, but I'd take the Royals finances over the Twins any day of the week. The Twins are no threat to the Tigers. Twins, Sox, Indians are not credible in the long run. I see the Indians having the best year. I don't like the mix of players in Chicago. They will be better simply because Ozzie brought his freak show to Miami, but they are too old and too expensive to compete. I'd take the Royals finances over the Sox. I think I'd even take Moore over Williams. Don't care for Kenny's persona. Maybe he was just trying to outdo his former manager, but he is hard headed and makes some dumb moves. I've eliminated every team in the division except for the Royals. The Royals don't have Verlander, no team outside of Detroit has him. They don't have Cabrera. They have Butler who can't play the field, either. Could you imagine Billy trotting out to third base? It has been a long time since Miguel played third base. That was many years and many six packs and tequila bottles ago. He is way too heavy and disinterested to make the adjustment to third. The Royals don't have Prince, either. He of the 38 homers and too many RBI's for me to remember. Prince is playing in Comerica Park now. Miller Field is more hitter friendly. I'm not saying Prince won't hit 30 homers, I'm saying he will hit closer to 30 than 40. He won't be playing all those games in Houston and Wrigley. He will be playing in Minnesota and KC. Those parks, along with Comerica are pretty tough homer parks. I'm saying the Royals have a shot at second place, I really believe that. They play well against the Tigers, that won't change because of Prince. Victor Martinez kills the Royals anyway. I see the Tigers being good but not unbeatable like they were in 1984. What a team that was. This Tiger crew won't go 35-5 to start the season. The Royals won't either. The Royals need pitching, pitching, pitching. I'd bet right now that Hosmer has equal numbers to Prince at the All Star break. Hoz hits for average and he will hit more homers. He and Butler and Gordon will lead a formidable line up. If and it is a huge IF, but if the Pitching can be good the Royals will not lose the division by 15 games to the Tigers. They may not win the thing but they will be close. Luke and Sanchez have to realize potential. Paulino has to prove that last years flashes were what we can expect. Chen has to be Chen, come on Chen! Duffy has to take a giant step forward.If this occurs and the bull pen is as lock down as I see it being, I see the Royals at 500 and in contention, even with the big, bad Tigers. Royals fans know that Billy Butler can't play third base. Tigers fans have to watch their star struggle trying to turn back time. I'd take our position on that. Now imagine how financially strung out the Tigers will be over the next decade. They have to sell a ton of Hot and Ready Pizzas to cover that payroll. I just hope Miguel gets to the pizzas first. Just having fun, Tigers are good, but the Royals COULD be good too.

Arbitration, Royals style

The Royals seem to be cruising to spring training. Arbitration went well for the club. Raises across the board, which is expected in baseball. Maier, Getz, Pena are coming back very cheap. Sanchez and Luke are getting expensive so they had better produce. We knew that going in. The Royals are going to be 500 and in contention. That only happens if Luke and Sanchez are very good. Getting Paulino back relatively cheaply is good, too. Felipe needs to prove he can do it. He looked good at times last year. The team is rounding into shape. I'm not expecting any major moves. I have mentioned that I liked the Kouz move. I have also mentioned that the Yuni deal had to have been made by Lloyd Christmas. Broxton, Sanchez, and the young guns make for exciting times in KC. I mentioned earlier in this blog that the Royals should lock up Gordon long term. You do have Bubba in the system, but it may be years if he develops. Why not reward Alex for that special season. OK, I get it, last year may have been a fluke so lets go the arb route. I see that, I do. I'm just thinking that getting Alex into the fold for 4 years might be very good. We all hope that the young guys are super successful. Hosmer and Moose and Gio and Salvatore, and Cain. Those guys all go off the way we want them to this club will be expensive in 2-3 years. Lock Alex up now. That's my thought. I'm getting ready for the season. My favorite football team was shown the door in the playoffs. I guess its easy to figure out I'm not a Chief fan. Go Royals, looking forward to pitchers and catchers.

Kouzmanoff in the fold

The Royals signed Kevin Kouzmanoff to a Minor League contract. Good insurance for Moose. He hasn't been Mike Schmidt, but Mike would never be on the waiver wire. Moose and Gio have me worried. If they break out the lineup will be very good. If they struggle then the team won't win many games. Moose and Gio have to be plus bats or they are liabilities. They aren't gold glove contenders. I like this move. I wish the Royals never resigned Yuni but this move is small step in a better direction. You need to have a solid backup for young guys. The Royals are playing the IF game. IF Alex can continue, IF Cain can hit, IF Frenchy can have the same type season, IF Perez can actually hit as well as he showed, IF Gio can hit, IF Moose can hit like he did late in the year. All those ifs, and we haven't even talked about the pitching. I'm a Royal optimist. I feel that many of the ifs will be positive. Frenchy should not have been given the extension, but DM was impulsive. IF Moose struggles then Kouz is a legit back up. If Escobar or Gio get hurt then the trouble really begins. Yuni, yuck. Kouz isn't Pineda, but at least the Royals did something positive. It has been a good off season. Yuni is overshadowed by the Broxton and Sanchez deals. Go Royals!

Pineda a Yankee

Michael Pineda to the Yankees. This is the kind of deal the Royals needed to make. I mentioned before that I'd be willing to trade Butler in a Pineda deal. No dice. The Yankees are getting way too much equity for Montero. There is no way Montero is worth Pineda. It is early but the Yankees didn't buy this pitcher they stole him. Why can't the Royals make a play for someone in a deal like this? The Yankees don't need the Mariners help to be good. They got it here. How is Montero going to help that team win in Seattle? You would think an ace would help them. King Felix is good. I think Pineda will be just as good, or even better. Good for the Yankees. Nice to see that rich get richer. The Royals, however, are rich enough. Monty, Monty he's our guy. Myers maybe the guy. Bubba, wow he may be great. All these maybe guys. The Yankees have a pitcher better than CC for a young guy. I didn't expect the Royals to make a deal, but it would have been nice. I think DM should have to give his salary back if Luke can't match Pineda this season. I'm disappointed that the Yankees are better. I'm sad the Royals are betting on maybe guys. Myers had better be Clemente and Bubba will be Mays. I'm sure that will be the case. Oh well, go Royals. January is almost half over. Pitchers and catchers are stretching already.

Montgomery

Chirping crickets in Royals land recently. I doubt they are trying to piece together an offer to Prince, but who knows? The team seems to have done all they are going to do this off season. They need to tighten up the roster later, but I don't see any significant moves on the horizon. I'm a pretty optimistic Royals fan. I have been a fan for a very long time, and I can tell you that 1985 was great, but that was a long time ago! I always expect good things from the team and I'm generally very much into the NFL draft because our Royals have played themselves into a big hole. I'm used to being disappointed. I read an article on the Royals homepage about Mike Montgomery and it bothered me. Montgomery had an awful season last year. He was BAD. ERA over 5. Trouble with control. An overall BAD year. The article says the stats and calls them bad. The tone of the thing was such that he will get a shot at the big club in the spring. Really? Dude walks AAA hitters and gets slapped around for an ERA over 5. He should be invited, absolutely. He should have to be devastatingly good to be even considered for the big league club. You bring him up now he will get blasted and his confidence will be zero. Yost will leave in the game until every ounce of confidence is gone, just ask Mazzaro about that. Monty isn't, or at least wasn't last year, the guy we hoped he would be. Maybe it comes this year and he makes an impact. I hope so. I just don't see how the season he had last year gives anyone confidence that he will be average next year. I'm not as familiar with Monty as I am with Duffy. Danny was beaten around and he had an ERA over 5, in the Major Leagues! He seems like a fighter and I expect him to improve over last year. Control is his issue. Does Monty have that make up to comeback from adversity? I don't know, but we will find out. That season was very adverse! Lets just hope he finds it and becomes a 1/2 starter in the next few seasons. I expect Odorizzi will land in KC next year. I'm guessing early, like June. He is the real deal. Now, he may suffer a set back just like Monty did. That would be bad. The Royals need great young pitching to lead them where I think they can go. I'm hoping that Jake, Monty, Duffy, and Lamb will lead that charge. The injury to Lamb was awful. He will be back, though. Stausbergh is doing just fine, so will John. I'm expecting the Royals to be 500 and in contention. Monty isn't ready to help yet. Chirping crickets are fine. Lets just hope no news stays that way. We don't need Lloyd Christmas getting antsy. Oh, I mean Dayton Moore, of course. Go Royals.