Various and Sundry News and Notes

With every passing day, we get closer to the start of baseball.  I’m a cheapskate and have an awful computer, so any MLB.tv or At Bat subscriptions are out of the question for me, so while I can follow the Gameday play by play on MLB.com or check a boxscore, I still prefer to watch or listen.  Personally, I can’t wait.  I’m sure you’re in the same boat.

I figure it’s a good time to get caught up on a few things that have been happening over the past few days.  Kila Ka’aihue is killing the ball.  Mike Aviles is looking like 2008 was the real deal, and Alex Gordon…well he’s walking a lot, at least.

• Prospects get a taste

I mentioned yesterday that due to a split-squad double-header, Wil Myers, Christian Colon and Brett Eibner (among others) would join the Royals to round out rosters.

Colon and Myers stayed in Surprise to take on the Diamondbacks.  Colon went 0-3, but made some solid defensive plays at shortstop during the game.  Myers pinch-hit for Billy Butler and flew out.

In the night game in Peoria, Arizona, Eibner tripled and drove in two runs in three at bats against the Padres, while Nick Francis, in his first spring training at bat, homered.

• Roster moves

The Royals started shifting players in camp yesterday.

Noel Arguelles, the big international signing of 2010 for Kansas City, was assigned to Wilmington.  He seems to be recovered from last summer’s shoulder surgery, so we’ll get a full season (hopefully) to see what he can do.

The Royals have also assigned Gaby Hernandez, Ryan Eigsti, Brandon Sisk, Patrick Keating and Johnny Giavotella to minor league camp.  None of those moves are really surprising, though Keating may have been someone I’d think the Royals might take a longer look at.  Still, there are a lot of arms in camp and many capable of being placed on the opening day roster.

Giavotella’s shift shouldn’t discourage anyone, either.  While I think it’d be interesting to see him stick around, with Wilson Betemit‘s return to action after a hyperextended elbow cost him the first week and a half, the at bats weren’t going to be there for the “dirt bag” second baseman.  Giavotella was 1-6 with a double and run scored in spring action.  He’d also walked three times.

• Hosmer – That’s it, just Hosmer.  That’s all you need to say.

Corey Ettinger does a great job writing about the teams in the AL Central at AL Central in Focus.  He’s recently done a prospect countdown for the whole division, and Eric Hosmer landed at the top.  He has a great analysis of Hosmer’s swing and other abilities.

Of all the prospects in the Royals system, Hosmer’s the one I can’t wait to see most, and the only jersey I think I’d buy in his rookie year.  Reader Nick Hogan sent me a link to a video of Hosmer’s grand slam last Friday against the Cubs.  The sound off the bat is incredible.

That kid’s good.

• Playing Pepper

Daniel Shoptaw, when not running the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, also writes about the Cardinals.  Despite that (I kid I kid), he’s a friend of Kings of Kauffman and the Fansided network.

One of the features he does this time of year is “Playing Pepper” which rounds up writers from various blogs about a certain team and has us answer questions about the upcoming season.  Along with myself, Daniel solicited the thoughts of Josh “Old Man” Duggan of Royalscentricity, Brian McGannon of Royals Kingdom, Jeff Parker of Royally Speaking, Matt Kelsey of I70 Baseball, and Ray from Royals on Radio to compile the Kansas City Royals edition of Playing Pepper.

• Zack Greinke. Oh brother.

This isn’t even about recent comments that Greinke made where he felt he needed to paint himself as the “bad guy” to help the Royals save face.  No, first, Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times loves his obscure anniversaries, and today marks the 10,000-day anniversary of Greinke’s birth.  Greinke celebrated it by telling the Brewers that he’d fractured a rib playing basketball.

That’s just Greinke being Greinke…

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