Archive for September, 2011

Wednesday night, despite a strong performance by not-quite-a-Red-Sox Bruce Chen, the Royals lost their 91st game of 2011, ending the season with a 71-91 record, their 13th worst record in team history. And yet, I’ve had more fun following this year’s group of players than, perhaps, any other (with 1989 and 2003 in the discussion).  Maybe I’m a sucker. Maybe I’m just hopeful, but I felt like tides were shifting in the second half of the year and the developments of this season could carry into next year and beyond. As usual, the Royals played well in September (and I [...]

Though not official, MLB Trade Rumors has posted projections of Elias Rankings, the basis for free agent compensation during the offseason.  In brief, Elias ranks free agents by statistical measurements and categorizes them as Type A or Type B (or neither). The rankings can be viewed here. That’s relevant to the Royals because, at the conclusion of last night’s game, Bruce Chen is slated to be a free agent.  Projections have him listed as a Type B free agent.

Tomorrow night marks the final game of the 2011 Royals season.  There have been a lot of ups and downs, but the last three months have been very exciting to watch. The Royalman Report, official podcast of Kings of Kauffman, will be broadcasting live from Kelly’s Westport Inn at 500 Westport Road in Kansas City, Missouri tomorrow night.  The show will start around 6 p.m. and carry on throughout the final game of the season. Again that’s Wednesday, September 28 at 6 p.m. For those interested, Kelly’s will have giveaways all night along with an extended happy hour that will [...]

Kila Ka’aihue is a big, slugging first baseman who isn’t much of a defender and won’t steal bases. He’s notorious for his ability to take a walk throughout his minor league career. If you’ve read Moneyball, he’s a Billy Beane kind of player, and now, Beane can have him.  The Royals received minor leaguer Ethan Hollingsworth for him in a trade this afternoon after Kila was designated for assignment last week. The Royals did well to get anything for a player they had no spot for any longer.

Luis Mendoza, the Mexican lord of pitching, has gone through a lot in his professional baseball career. He’s experienced the ups and, more often, the downs of pitching in the minors and majors. He’s been moved around numerous times and been bounced from the minors to the big leagues and back again. Mendoza has truly seen quite a bit. So, I think you’ll understand when I say that his story is maybe my feel-good story of the year. With all due respect to Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur, and the rookies, Mendoza’s twisted tale was able to put a [...]

It’s a lot of fun talking Royals baseball on the Royalman Report, and we had a full house for the festivities on Sunday. Fake Ned Yost joined Troy and I in studio to talk with Sam Sapenaro, Royals fan, Chiefs fan, and a member of the K Crew at Kauffman Stadium.  Amongst a group of knuckleheads, she held her own and then some. You can follow her on Twitter (@samsapenaro). Her goal is to get more followers than Fake Ned Yost (who also had a new installment of the Fake Ned Minute). Also, on Wednesday, September 28, there will be [...]

The minor league seasons are over and the Royals are in their final series of the year, but baseball keeps going.  Many of the Royals minor league players are in Arizona right now beginning instructional play. Chief among them is Bubba Starling, the Royals first round pick in 2011.  Because he signed right at the deadline, Starling wasn’t assigned to any short season rookie level club, so this will be his first work as a professional baseball player in a game setting. He’s not the only rookie down there though.  July international signees Elier Hernandez and Adalberto Mondesi will be [...]

(note: The following is a guest post by Jeff Herr, former staff writer here at Kings of Kauffman. He is currently the editor of Through The Phog on the FanSided Network.) ‘Moneyball’ does not require the depth of baseball knowledge that the stats the movie uses would lead you to believe is needed. That needed to be cleared up right from the beginning in order to make sure that nobody was deprived of this excellent film for fear of not knowing enough about baseball. A great sports movie reaches its greatness based on the fact that sports is not, at [...]

Here’s another post to add to the multitude you’ve probably already read about Moneyball. My brother gave me the book by Michael Lewis several years ago. He told me that he thought I’d find it pretty interesting.

Tonight, Kings of Kauffman presents another episode of the Royalman Report at 7 p.m. CST. Our guest tonight is Sam Sapenaro, a member of the Royals K Crew. She’s going to talk about working within the Royals organization, interacting with fans and there may even be a little bit of Chiefs discussion, as she’s a season ticket holder.  Fake Ned Yost will add another Fake Ned Minute. We’ll also talk about the goings on as the season starts to wind down and it all comes to you live here on Kings of Kauffman at 7. (There is a poll at [...]

Here’s the week in review on Kings of Kauffman: Young Guns – Ethan Evans Royalman Report 9/18/11 – Decently Decent with Guest Mike McCartney Counting Chickens - Kevin Scobee Flash Gordon – Gage Matthews Royals Free Kila Ka’aihue - Michael Engel Presence of Pitching - Brett Christie Apologizing to Melky Cabrera - Michael Engel Market Fresh: James Shields – Michael Engel Jeff Francoeur Has 20/20 Vision - Michael Engel Hit Parade – Ryan Wood You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Let’s face it – it’s Saturday, and if you’re like me, it’s been a very busy week.  It’s pretty nice out in the Kansas City area, but it’s just as relaxing to do some reading if you’re not the outdoors type. While I’d love it if you sat down and hung out reading Kings of Kauffman all day, there are a few things I found that I felt I should pass on.