Archive for August, 2011

I was asked six questions about the Royals by BoSox Injection staff writer  Derek Stykalo (BoSox Injection is the FanSided Network’s Red Sox site, of course) which you can read here: Clipped from: bosoxinjection.com (share this clip)   So if you’re looking for a hint of what’s to come over the next four days while Boston visits Kansas City, that’s a good place to start. While at work all day today, I missed news of Kevin Youkilis going on the disabled list – but BoSox Injection gave me the heads up before I started catching up on other baseball news. I also [...]

If you’re a Royals fan, these days you almost have to be a fan of the minor league system and the many prospects making their way up to the big leagues. There’s not much else to look forward to, quite frankly. Here on FanSided, the central hub of minor league updates is located at Seedlings to Stars and this week they were kind enough to feature Kings of Kauffman in their feature “Harvesting Opinion”. Specifically, this week, they’re discussing the Royals pitching prospects in light of the following question: The Royals have had less than stellar starting pitching at the [...]

Clipped from: twitter.com (share this clip) Okay, so he’s not, really but Dave Gershman’s tweet brings up an interesting point. Despite the press and preseason accolades, to this point, Eric Hosmer hasn’t been the world-beating giant one might expect.  Hosmer, as difficult as it may be to believe, is human. That being said, he’s still plenty good.

  I’m both fascinated and disturbed by extreme couponing. I’ve never tried it myself and other than one woman in my office and people on TV, I don’t know anybody who really does it either, but it still blows my mind how people will pile up case after case of canned and boiled tripe because they have a double coupon that will actually pay them fifty cents to purchase. It’s a very savvy way to take advantage of the constraints of the system.  The store will allow a coupon on top of a sale? Make it happen! Preparation and savvy [...]

The fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Bubba Starling, signed a deal with the Royals, going down to the last moment of the signing deadline before the decision was announced. Starling (as you may know by now) had a commitment to Nebraska for football and baseball, but chose professional baseball over Big Ten football. Clipped from: twitter.com (share this clip)   He signed for a Royals record $7.5 million (according to Keith Law), eclipsing Eric Hosmer‘s $6 million in 2008.  Jim Callis of Baseball America adds that it’s spread over three years (since he has a college scholarship from [...]

In the lastest Royalman Report from Sunday, we had to cover the release of Kyle Davies and subsequent news of his arrest in Florida. We called up Craig Brown of Royals Authority to talk about Davies and the legacy of the “worst starting pitcher in history“. Then, with the draft pick signing deadline coming approaching minute by minute, we talked about the options in front of Bubba Starling and past decisions by Royals draft picks. Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3 here. If you happen to be a musician [...]

At 11 p.m. CST Monday, the deadline to sign draft picks will pass.  By that time, the Royals have to have an agreement with outfielder and fifth overall pick Bubba Starling from Gardner, KS. Starling was the first position player selected in the 2011 amateur draft after gaining notoriety by being both a football and baseball star with tales of 500 foot homers and 300 yard rushing games.  He has scholarships at the University of Nebraska to play quarterback and the outfield, so if he passes up the Royals, he will be in Lincoln for the next three years before [...]

I hate being wrong. Okay, let me be exact. I REALLY hate being wrong. But if I have to be made to look the fool, I hope it’s a Royals player who does it every time. I’ve hinted at this in many of my posts, but I feel like an entire post is due from me to Alex Gordon. And not just any post….an apology post.

At every stage of your life, there are ways to measure your success. In business or personal life, over short or long periods of time, there is a measuring stick. There are goals and categories, highs and lows, awards and punishments. Whether you’re in school and bring home a report card or you have to sit through your yearly performance review and look at your sales numbers, your success is measured. In sports, success is often oversimplified. Wins, Championships, Pennants, and Rings are what teams strive for. Stats, MVPs, Contracts, Endorsements, and Models are what individuals are after. It’s simple [...]

Royals starters have given up 4.77 runs per game, third worst in the American League. Their opening day starter, Luke Hochevar, entered 2011 with a 5.60 ERA and, only after a strong second half, has gotten his 2012 ERA under 5.00.  Their best starter has been Felipe Paulino, given away by Colorado, with a 3.45 ERA in 78.1 innings as a Royal. The team almost went into a complete meltdown while the well-traveled Bruce Chen (career ERA+ of 95) was on the disabled list. With a starting lineup full of guys picked from top prospect lists (past and present) and [...]

I wanted to pass on a few great things I stumbled upon in the past couple of days (mostly today). In light of the collection of Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella, Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas in the Royals current infield, Jeff Parker at Royally Speaking set out to determine the best overall Royals infield in history.  It’s a nice piece of work, and Jeff is as solid as they come among Royals bloggers. I hope you saw Jeff Francoeur‘s throw to third to nail Jhonny Peralta in the Detroit series.  If not, great news! ESPN’s Sports Science named it the [...]

The Royals are committing to Salvador Perez for the rest of the year, it seems. If you saw his debut on Wednesday, it’s clear why. Perez got his first major league hit, RBI, run and picked off two runners. When Brayan Pena was eligible to return from paternity leave, the Royals had a logjam at catcher. Lost in the shuffle of the Kyle Davies arrest news breaking, Manuel Pina was optioned back to Omaha. Pina spent 11 days in the big leagues, collecting three hits in 14 at bats and throwing out one of the two runners who tried to steal [...]