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.