Archive for April, 2011

Sean O’Sullivan walked the leadoff batter, Denard Span.  Matt Treanor committed a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Tolbert.  Jason Kubel walked. Justin Morneau came up with the bases loaded and no outs. It felt like a typical Royals game against the Twins, where the Royals fall all over themselves to give the game away. Then Morneau grounded out into a 4-3-6-4 double play.  Span scored on the play, but the Royals got two outs.  An error by Mike Aviles allowed Tolbert to score. Amazingly, even with seven O’Sullivan walks, those were the only runs the Twins scored.

The 1985 Royals were 12-13 after 25 games. After Thursday night’s loss against the Indians, I’m happy to say that your 2011 Kansas City Royals were also 12-13. A lot has happened in the first 25 games of this season, making for a roller-coaster journey to get us to the end of April. The expectations coming into 2011 were so low that all anyone could talk about were a handfull of guys who were cut from the major league camp & sent to Omaha. Then the Royals lost on Opening Day. The “see, I told you so” crowd reared its [...]

All spring, we heard about how the Royals were going to increase their aggression on the basepaths.  With Chris Getz, Alcides Escobar and others, they certainly had the personnel in place to steal more bases than other teams (provided they get on base first). Friday night’s game against the Twins demonstrated how significant that aggressive approach can be when applied in the right situations. A combination of timely hitting, hustle and superhuman speed combined to lead the Royals back to .500 as they beat the Twins 4-3.  The final three Royals runs came with one in the seventh and two [...]

This won’t look like your typical Twins/Royals series on paper.  The Royals are in second place; the Twins are in last. The Twins are without Joe Mauer.  Joe Nathan won’t be coming in to preserve a ninth inning lead, and Justin Morneau is still starting to get his bearings back after missing half of last season with a concussion. Meanwhile, despite a six game skid on the road, the Royals are playing good defense overall and are getting on base.  What they lack, however, is starting pitching that can keep the ball in the park.  They catch the Twins at [...]

Your weekly minor league update is here.  With the exception of Kane County the afiliates are all moving in the direction we thought they would be.  The Storm Chasers have won 9 straight, Wilmington continues to dominate and Northwest Arkansas is maintaining their hold on the Texas League.  This is what you would expect from the best farm system in the majors and it only gives credence to the excitement we all feel waiting for these guys to come up.  Here are the standings: Kane County Cougars (Low A): 7-14 (7th place) Wilmington Blue Rocks (High A): 12-7 (1st place) [...]

Eric Hosmer went 4-5 with a double and homerun and Mike Moustakas homered twice as the duo drove in six of Omaha’s seven runs on Thursday night. The offensive onslaught included back to back homers in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was more than enough offense for Omaha as four pitchers shut out Iowa, limiting them to three hits.  Danny Duffy led the way with six innings pitched, striking out eight in the process.  He allowed one hit, a shot off the glove of Johnny Giavotella. Okay. Fine. I’ll talk about the Indians game. Coming in, the Royals [...]

The thing that many Royals fans dreaded the most, Jeff Francoeur becoming a Royal, came true last offseason. It had been foreseen for at least two years before it actually happened. Francoeur was just Dayton Moore’s kind of guy. He’s great in the clubhouse and Moore saw him as having a chance to finally “figure it out” with batting coach Kevin Seitzer there to assist. I scoffed. I, and many other Royals folks, were of the mind that Francoeur wouldn’t help this team or realize anything new. In the off-chance that he did, he’d be a great trade candidate. Basically, [...]

Think back on the glory days. Think of the walkoff hit that brought the Royals within a game of first place.  Think about that rookie pitcher picking up his second win. Think of last Thursday, when the Royals were 12-7.  After a three game sweep at the hands of the Rangers, the Royals dropped the second of a three game series to the Indians. That’s bad enough, but they weren’t even in this one from the start.

The Royals have been slashed internally and they are bleeding. Bleeding at a terribly quick pace. There is hope that still lies around, but time is already running out.  The hitting is stop and go, the coaching moves are questionable, and the pitching is thinning the blood even more. “Someone get a doctor, this man is dying!” There. There is your honest truth of what is happening to this team. Today is not a day to break down what is wrong with this team. I already know. You already know. Why waste our time? Let rejoice because its not even [...]

There was a point where this one looked like it’d turn out to be a close game.  Then two franchise players for Cleveland stepped in and put it out of reach. After giving up eight homers to the Rangers in Arlington, the first game at Progressive Field featured more longballs.  The Indians hit five on Tuesday.  The first three were solo shots and didn’t do much damage, but they were also from the last two spots in the order. Still, going into the seventh, the Royals were down just 4-3. Then Luke Hochevar came back out for one more inning.

Historical periods are more remembered for the events that stand out rather than the undercurrents that lead to those events. You’ve heard of the Magna Carta, but may not be as familiar with the struggles between classes in feudal Europe that played a role in building to that event. The Declaration of Independence (rightly) stands out, but not as many are as concerned with remembering the accounts of British intrusion on businesses and homes that bubbled up later until the Boston Tea Party and other notable dates. It’s a way of simplifying things. Cut and dry. Results typically don’t develop [...]

It was only a matter of time, and I’m sure I’m not the first one to think or write it, until the “Free fill-in-the-blank” campaign made its way to the Royals second baseman utility infielder. It is only a matter of time too, that people start to realize the water noodle that is the bat of Chris Getz. It’s just a matter of time. Time, you would think, is on the side of the Royals because the 2011 season isn’t happening anyway. It doesn’t count. I’m not sure if anyone got the notice in the off season, but MLB officials [...]