Archive for May, 2010

When last we saw our Royal blue heroes, they were coming back down to earth after an initial hot streak under new manager Ned Yost.  After a hot start to the week, the Royals dropped the last two games at home to the Rockies, finishing their week at 4-3. So what happened next? Is the honeymoon over?  Would the Royals remember that they are, in fact, still the Royals?  Well read on, as we recap the week’s happenings and trends:

By now I think we can all agree that it is safe to be excited about Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Montgomery. I’m talking about both the present and future of all three, and in the case of Montgomery the past as well.  Before I espouse happy thoughts, sunshine, roses and lollipops I wanted to take a step back and stress that it is going to take more than these three prospects reaching their potential for the Royals to make a move in the hierarchy of baseball powers.  I know that is kind of a duh, but stay with me here [...]

I came across an entertaining, brief interview with Brian Bannister on Baseball Prospectus radio. Bannister’s one of those players that I think most fans really enjoy – he’s accessible, he’s definitely put a lot of effort into parlaying a fairly weak skill set (relative to most pitchers) into an average major league career, and for those in the statistical branch of the baseball fan community, he’s among the louder voices espousing the use of statistical analysis in judging (and adjusting) performance.

The Royals placed Gil Meche on the 15-day DL today with shoulder bursitis.  To replace him on the 25-man roster, they recalled RHP Victor Marte from Omaha.  Bruce Chen will start tomorrow in Meche’s place.

As I mentioned late last night, Michael Montgomery and Mike Moustakas – likely the two most important minor league players in the Royals organization – came out much earlier than anticipated against the Frisco Rough Riders.  Montgomery left after 3 innings and 52 pitches after giving up 3 runs on 6 hits.  Reports mentioned that his velocity was down by 3-4 mph.  It’s definitely concerning. Moustakas left after one at bat after making a play in foul territory.  The early exit was deemed precautionary and isn’t as serious on the surface as an arm issue with our top pitching prospect. [...]

According to a recent landmark scientific study by a very impressive sounding institute of academic scholars from somewhere in Europe (or perhaps China), Royals fans are 41% better looking — on average — than Yankees fans. We are also 17% smarter, and 6% better groomed (if you don’t include dental hygiene). Those are facts, you can look it up on the internet (start with wikipedia, where I get all my information).

Ethan Saporito of Project Prospect was at tonight’s Double-A game between the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Frisco Rough Riders and reported on two significant events involving two key Royals prospects. First, Mike Moustakas left the game after running into the wall making a catch in foul territory and was pulled after only one at bat. He did finish the inning after making the play, however, and the move appears to be a precaution only. There will be more information on that tomorrow. Second, Mike Montgomery left the game after only three innings and 52 pitches. Mike Montgomery lasted only 3 [...]

I’ve come across some pretty interesting articles about the Royals in the last week or so. I always like to learn something new and discover things I hadn’t thought about yet. Luckily, that curiosity is widespread amongst Royals fans, and we’re not shy about sharing. Check these out sometime during your day (and then come back here, of course): Clark Foster at Royals Authority asks how many players away the Royals are from contending.  The answer?  Well, a lot, yes, but there’s reason to hope. Jason Kendall leads the majors in stolen bases against.  But it’s not ALL his fault.  [...]

One of the themes for 2010 before the season began was the necessity for Luke Hochevar to mature as a pitcher and develop more consistency. His last time out on May 20, Hochevar went 9 innings against Cleveland, striking out seven on 107 pitches. It was Kansas City’s first nine inning complete game of the year. But Royals fans who follow the team closely were waiting for the other shoe to drop. We’ve seen sizzling performances from the former number one overall pick before, only to watch his next start fizzle in a puff of smoke. Today, to follow up [...]

The Royals have purchased the contract of infielder Wilson Betemit from Omaha. To make room, Bryan Bullington was optioned back to Omaha, returning the Royals bullpen to a more conventional 7-man construction. Betemit was signed to a minor league contract before the season and has played all over the infield in Omaha, mostly at shortstop. The former prospect (#8 overall in Baseball America’s 2002 rankings) was hitting .265/.358/.407 in Omaha with 17 RBI. Bullington joined the Royals on May 17 to add depth to the bullpen while Robinson Tejeda battled a minor calf injury. Kila Ka’aihue was optioned to make [...]

I received an email yesterday from Navin Vaswani, a blogger for Toronto’s Globe and Mail.  He’s currently on a quest to visit every major league ballpark – something that is probably a lot more awesome than it sounds like, even.  Color me jealous. His most recent trip brought him to Kauffman Stadium, and as a longtime Royals fan, I’ve seen the stadium enough times that I probably take it for granted.  You should definitely check out his latest article about his visit.  It’s both well-written and provides a perspective of a newcomer’s take on the stadium. It got me to [...]

After the dust settled and Trey Hillman had become the first managerial casualty of 2010, the Royals had business to tend to, hitting the road for a pair of two game series before returning home. The Royals won their first series under new manager Ned Yost, so would the good times continue to roll?