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.