A Crazy Thought...

The Royals bounced back Friday night and defeated the Texas Rangers, 4-2. Zack Greinke seemed comfortable, and the bullpen wasn't awful. I don't think the victory, or the way Greinke pitched is worth getting excited about. Much like the loss to the Rangers meant nothing, the victory Friday was meaningless as well. Spring Training is not a reliable indicator of any player or any team's ability once Opening Days comes around. There was something that I did take note of, however.
Joakim Soria is always on my brain in one form or another when I am thinking about Royals baseball. He reminds me a lot of Alberto Callaspo in that, he is largely wasted talent (on this team). Bullington closed out the game on Friday and got the save. It wasn't a big deal...AT ALL. In fact, he really didn't put up great numbers in his one inning of work. He gave up two hits AND a run, in ONE inning of work. He didn't "save" the game, on the contrary... he managed not to lose it. This is my problem with Joakim Soria. There is little doubt that he is a legitimate talent. The guy can flat out pitch. Watching former Royals closer Mike MacDougal take the mound in the ninth was an absolute nail-biter. No one was certain what the outcome would be. When Soria comes in, however, most of us have a great deal of faith that the lead will be maintained. It's amazing. The Royals have a great closer, but...WHO CARES?



When I think of the reasons why the Kansas City Royals have flirted with 100 loses for so many seasons, the closer role rarely comes to mind as one of the big factors. Instead, I tend to think of: a lack of timely hitting, poor defense, failure to advance runners, a sketchy bullpen at times, etc. The closer role is like the cherry on top: it's a nice finish to my sundae, but if the rest of the sundae is crap...it really doesn't add enough to overcome the "crappiness".
Baseball didn't always have closers. In fact, most of baseball has been without closers. The save wasn't even in existence until 1969, and it wasn't a one inning affair at that time (think Goose, think multiple innings). In fact, it is only recently (1995) that the closer role has almost become exclusively a one-inning job.  The closer has certainly effected the way the game is played, but it hasn't resulted in more wins...or less runs scored in the ninth per se. In fact, when you really step back and think about it, all the save amounts to is NOT LOSING the game. Sometimes it is more meaningful than others, but let's face it: a closer can give up hits and even runs and still "get the save". So, do the Royals really need a guy who is excellent at not losing the game in one inning of work? It is a nice thing to have, but couldn't they use the talent elsewhere? Aren't there other teams that would benefit from Soria more than the Royals? The question is not easily answered, but certainly warrants some investigation.

Kansas City Royals 2010 Runs Per Game Projections

Check out this link from rotoauthority.com:

http://www.rotoauthority.com/2010/03/ranking-american-league-offenses.html

2010 Predictions

So, I haven't been feeling well for over a week. I am not a person who gets very sick or gets sick very often. This time was different, I just didn't realize how different. I went to the doctor to discover I have had pneumonia (and still do), pink eye, and an inner ear infection. Anyways, posting slowed down for a bit and I managed to waste a paragraph explaining why.





I have been pouring over the Royals roster, reading any and every piece of news, and frequently visiting sites that regularly cover the Royals and I have come to some conclusions: This team is pretty bad...STILL. This should come as no surprise to anyone that pays attention. Do you see any other teams "excited" about converting their overpaid relief pitcher into a starter? Any other teams counting on big production from players like Jose Guillen or Rick Ankiel? Probably not, and if they are...well, then they are probably about as good as the Royals. 
Top to bottom, the lineup is not much more intimidating than it was this time last year. The Royals still lack a legitimate lead-off hitter and clean-up hitter. This has been the case for a number of years and little has been done this off-season to remedy the issues. The Royals will be counting on the emerging bat of Billy Butler and will maintain the ever-hopeful view of Alex Gordon. Neither one of these guys are going to challenge the club record for home-runs this year. I am going to take the less-than-popular position and say that Billy Butler's numbers will not be a whole lot better, maybe even a little worse, than last years. Maybe I'm a cynic, or maybe I have seen too many Royals hitters apparently "emerge" only to have an abysmal following season in which pitchers "figured them out". Don't get me wrong, I think Butler is legit. I am just not going to confuse him with Albert Pujols and expect him to get a whole lot better. 
I have talked about Alex Gordon in a past post and do not feel motivated to give him much more thought. Bottom line, if he stays healthy...I would look for a 260-270 average with 15-20 home runs. We could argue this for weeks, but the guy is neither superstar nor dud...he is average. 
Podsednik might be able to reproduce last season's numbers, and he might not. If he does, he is still not even a three-year fix for a lead-off hitter. If he doesn't, the Royals still won't have a lead off hitter. So, who cares? Honestly, I feel that way regarding most of the Major League signings the team made this year. The rest of the potential lineup appears pretty boring at first glance. There might be some exciting surprises, but overall a very pedestrian group of hitters. 
Kendall is an offensive downgrade, no argument there. He was overpaid, again...no argument. Hopefully he really has an impact on a young pitching staff, and hopefully he truly is a defensive upgrade. Otherwise, I might be scratching my head even more than I already have with this signing.
Callaspo is really more of a problem than a bright spot. Talent that the team really can't utilize is very frustrating. He is an average to below average defender. He can hit, but he can't really hit for power and he is not a lead off guy either. How he fits into the lineup or where Kansas City can deal him is the biggest Spring Training question in my mind. I really like what he did offensively last season (and, to some extent, the season before). Aside from that, he is nothing special. Maybe as a fan I am putting way too much thought into him, but I do not see him on the Opening Day roster unless the Royals had no takers. 
The pitching staff might really be a bright spot this year. This is the part of the team that really has me thinking they won't loose 100 games and they might even win 75-80. Greinke, even if he declines a bit, is going to be great. Gil Meche appears healthy. Brian Bannister appears healthy. Hochevar is working on his delivery. Robinson Tejeda showed some great work late last season (Kyle Davies did the same thing a year ago, but let's not go there). Joakim Soria is still the "Mexicutioner". If there is any hope on this team, then it lies within the pitching staff. As I write this, however, the Royals are getting absolutely shelled by the Texas Rangers...but, hey IT IS Spring Training. 
Overall, I don't see the Royals making a run for the top of the A.L. Central. I don't see them winning 100 games, but I don't see them losing 100 games either. I really think the Royals will win somewhere between 70-79 games in 2010. The Major League club is not what I care about this season, however. As a fan, I am willing to be patient...AGAIN. For one, I don't really have a choice. I mean, let's say I am not going to be patient: "Look out Royals! I am done being patient!!". It wouldn't make any difference. Dayton Moore has done a lot of work with the farm system, and I believe that is the future of this club. He has drafted fairly well, and has really explored the international market and made some potentially good signings. 
Again, Royals fans...hold your breath and your tongue and wait. Wait to see if the long term investments pay off and be thankful that the Royals haven't continued to tie up money in expensive mid-tier free agents. The Royals must play small market baseball: Less is more, and the Royals are starting to understand that.

Off-Season Review

My opinion of Dayton Moore since coming to Kansas City has fluctuated somewhat like the tachometer on my car during HWY 26 rush hour. Largely, that fluctuation has to do with the difference between what he is doing in the minors versus the majors. This off-season, was Dayton's best to date. Whoa, I cannot believe I just wrote that. Okay, deep breath...really, this one was pretty good. He didn't bring in another Gil Meche type free agent, but he also didn't lock the club up with another Jose Guillen. This off-season, Moore spent little to get a lot. A lot of what???...... DEPTH.
I have been a big basher of many of the signings made as of late, and that's because I don't like most of them. I didn't want the Royals to get Podsednik, Ankiel, Kendall, or Anderson. None of these players are going to push the Royals close to or above a .500 record. None of these players are going to be All-Stars for 2010, not even for the Royals. None of these players are long-term solutions, but they do offer depth.
Depth to a club that suffered more injuries last season than I can remember in a long time. Podsednik, Ankiel, and Kendall are everyday players, and they should be. No one team should likely have all three of them on their roster, but they are Major League caliber players that can each handle potentially 400 at bats in a season. These guys will keep the Royals from using guys like Bloomquist way too much.
The money situation for the Royals is what it is. They are not going to buy wins (in case any of you had been living under a rock). The goal of this off-season needed to be: acquire depth and don't spend money, and Dayton Moore accomplished both. There were arguably better options out there, but we are not general managers and who knows what it is like to be one.
The biggest off-season accomplishment: the signing of Noel Arguelles. Here is a quick review of the Royals Major League signings, in case you missed any (I'm not putting the numbers, because I will get angry when it comes time to type in Kendall's).

Major League Signings:
-Noel Arguelles SP
-Jason Kendall C
-Rick Ankiel OF
-Scott Podsednik OF
-Brian Anderson OF

As far as minor league contracts, I personally don't care until they are on the roster. If you want to take a look, here's the link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/kansas_city_royals/index.html

Spring Training Wishlist

No stats today and nothing too intense. Spring training is clearly NOT the regular season. A lot of players use this time to work on new pitches, plate approaches, etc. Nonetheless, these are the things I would love to sense at the close of Spring Training this year (as a fan, nothing more or less):
1. Alex Gordon shows that he is healthy and capable of being a positive contributer at the Major League level.
2. Billy Butler demonstrates a slight, if not moderate, improvement playing first base.
3. Chris Getz lives up to the tiny bit of hype that has been attached to him.
4. Jose Guillen (even though I can't stand him) is healthy and plays his heart out to secure a new contract ELSEWHERE.
5. Gil Meche doesn't look like a worn down mule and is able to be a solid #2 starter.


6. Zack Greinke shows no signs of slowing down.
7. Betancourt gets lost in the Arizona desert, forcing the Royals to sign ANY OTHER SHORTSTOP available to fill his roster spot (oh dear, maybe that was too harsh).


8. Callaspo either shows that he is too valuable a hitter to be out of the lineup or gets traded for players that don't create more logjams.
9. Jason Kendall...umm...hmm...the Royals did sign him didn't they...a positive clubhouse influence perhaps?
10. Farnsworth throws a solid two-seamer and becomes a solid setup for Soria.
11. Juan Cruz becomes the other solid setup for Soria.
12. Robinson Tejeda proves to even Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman (it will take a lot) that he belongs in the rotation.
13. Luke Hochevar stops his impression of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, becoming the starter he was supposed to be.


14. Rick Ankiel returns to form (Shh...I am not opposed to HGH, as long as no one finds out)
15. The "Soria to the rotation?" discussion ends because the Royals have five legitimate starters (boy, is this a wishlist or what?).
16. A lead-off hitter emerges (I really don't care who) that does what lead-off hitters do: GET ON BASE!
17. Sluggerrr improves his delivery and avoids retinas this season.


18. Zack Greinke carries his Samurai sword onto the field, stabs it into the mound, and screams, "EXCALIBUR!!!!!!" at the start of every home game (think of the t-shirt sales).
19. The Royals ditch the new, ridiculous, insulting, vomit provoking powder blues for the ones of old (Cal Ripken Sr always told Jr "If you are going to do something, do it right").
20. Lastly, and most importantly, Trey Hillman gets rid of the Mullet, realizing that there can't be a "party in the back" until the Royals take care of some business up front (the funniest stuff you've heard...right?).