Archive for August, 2011

Last night reports broke stating that Kyle Davies was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida for disorderly intoxication early Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, Davies was released to make room for Salvador Perez on the 40 man roster. The Royals insist that the release was connected more towards poor performance and the fact that Davies shoulder issues would not be resolved by the end of the year. It’s a sad set of circumstances for everyone, really.

I’m working on blocking Wednesday night’s loss out of my mind.  I’ve come to grips with what happened, I’ve accepted it.  I’ve moved on. If you missed it, the Royals got a three-run homer in the top of the ninth from Melky Cabrera to extend their lead to 7-3.  Ned Yost felt confident in the lead and sat Joakim Soria, who had been warming up in the bullpen. After two batters reached on Aaron Crow (who had gotten warm in a hurry after the homer), Soria came into the game. I’m going to do my best to not rant about [...]

Luke Hochevar is a good pitcher. No, he is. At least I think he is. I mean did you see him against Tampa Bay on Monday night? The guy was more lights out than Matt Treanor after a hefty helping of Matt Laporta and his sinker sunk more than the Titanic. He boasted a line of: 7 IP, 5H, 1ER and a 7/2 strikeout to walk ratio. His start before that v.s. the Orioles was better—going 1/3 of an inning longer and giving up one less hit in eight fewer pitches. And the start before that against the Red Sox [...]

To many, the release of Kyle Davies was long overdue. Shut down by shoulder troubles for the second time this season, Davies was released by the Royals in order to add Salvador Perez to the 40 man roster.  Davies was playing on a one year arbitration deal and wasn’t likely to see his health improve by the end of the year. As a Royal, Davies had a 5.34 ERA in 99 starts over 531 innings.  The Royals acquired the former Braves prospect in 2007 for Octavio Dotel (a move that ushered in Joakim Soria into the closer’s spot). The move [...]

Welcome to a special Tuesday edition of Fish on the Farm! (It’s special because it’s several days late) After spending three weeks focused on the Idaho Falls Chukars, it’s finally time to move on. The next logical step is the Burlington Royals so that is where we’re heading. As you can surmise from the title, today I’m breaking down the pitchers and in the next column I’ll delve into the position players. All 14 of the pitchers on the Burlington roster have been introduced to the Royals system in the last 4 years. 3 came in 2008, 5 in 2010 [...]

Apparently two weeks in Triple A was enough for Salvador Perez to assume his place as Kansas City’s catcher of the future. On July 27, Perez was promoted from Northwest Arkansas to Omaha.  Now, after 49 plate appearances, he’s stepping in after a series of events leave the Royals thin at catcher. He should make his big league debut tomorrow in Tampa. Matt Treanor was concussed* and placed on the 7-day DL after a collision with Matt LaPorta.  Manny Pina was called up to fill his place. This time, Brayan Pena‘s wife in Miami is having labor induced and he’ll [...]

  One day, when the Royals are playing in late October, I can hear the voice of Tim McCarver saying “Greg Holland into the game, who you may know was the first draft pick by Dayton Moore to debut in the big leagues. Not Danny Duffy, not Eric Hosmer. Greg Holland.” Then he’ll throw it to Joe Buck while the Royals preserve the lead and win the pennant/World Series/what have you. That’ll be a pretty cool memory one day, but Holland has a chance to be much more than a footnote or a blip on Dayton Moore’s resume.

I think I’ve been a fan of Johnny Giavotella since he started ripping the ball at Northwest Arkansas last season. Well, I think most Royals fans have been. Despite reports of slow footwork and defensive lapses, he seemed like a fun player to root for, especially with the lack of any strong second base candidate in Kansas City in several years. I always had an inexplicable fondness for Mark Grudzielanek, but have been waiting for someone to give the Royals a solid contributor at the spot. It seems the time has come. And yes, yes, yes, small sample sizes are [...]

It’s always great to get insight from baseball players, and talking with Jason Adam on the Royalman Report last night is no exception.  He discussed his preparation, his path to the big leagues and offered his personal views on the signing period after being drafted in the fifth round in 2008. We were also joined by Jed Marshall of 810 Sports “Three Guys in a Garage” for a segment talking about the big league begginings of Johnny Giavotella and Mike Moustakas. Also Troy and I discussed Blog to the K in greater depth.  Check out his special edition of that event, [...]

I may have mentioned this before, but I didn’t exactly have an extensive baseball career. Basically, I played two years of T-ball and two years of machine pitch. I was pretty awful. My coach ended up telling me that he was going to bat me ninth. He called it “clean-up.” Looking back, I see how he bamboozled me but I guess he had good reason to do so. I had crummy eyesight and couldn’t hit anything. To this day I still contend that if I’d been able to have Lasik* at the tender age of 9, I’d have become the greatest baseball [...]

It’s getting closer. The deadline for signing selections from this June’s first year player draft is August 15 and the Royals have a lot of stake.  Bubba Starling, taken fifth overall by the Royals, is as dynamic a player the Royals have drafted since perhaps Bo Jackson.  His reputation coming out of Gardner Edgerton high school is a tale of 500 foot homers, 80-yard runs and the type of athleticism that earned him scholarships to Nebraska to play football and baseball. He’s in line for a huge bonus from the Royals – if he takes it.

When I was at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday, I got to witness the Major League debut of Royals catcher Manny Pina. That same night, also in the Royals lineup for the first time, was newly acquired infielder Yamaico Navarro. He was impressive in his first start, the opportunity coming from Mike Moustakas‘ scheduled two-day break. He had two hits and made a couple of nice plays in the field. However, because baseball is a business and a fickle beast – you couldn’t find him at the K on Friday night. Like a puff of magician’s smoke, he’s gone. It was [...]