Archive for October, 2011

You can debate whether Justin Verlander should win the “best player in the league” award.  There was no debate on if he’d win the “best pitcher” version. The Detroit Tiger ace was an unanimous selection for the Walter Johnson Award, given out by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.  Verlander was the top name on all 21 ballots, easily outdistancing Los Angeles of Anaheim starter Jered Weaver.  Weaver was a distant second, 80 points behind Verlander.  New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia came in third. On the National League side, results were a little bit closer.  Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw [...]

On Thursday, Royals second baseman Johnny Giavotella underwent hip surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. Early recovery time is reported as 10-12 weeks, which would give him time to make a full recovery before spring training. Such an injury occurs when the elastic tissue in the hip joint tears, often with a “catch” in the joint. It’s common in athletes due to twisting while the hip is bearing weight. In this case, since it’s the right hip, it may have occurred while Giavotella was taking a swing at some point and turning his back foot (“squishing [...]

Miguel Cabrera, the key offensive cog in Detroit’s playoff machine, has been selected by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance as our nominee for the Stan Musial Award, given annually to the best player in his respective league. Cabrera’s .344 batting average led the American League and his 1.033 OPS was second best in the league and 181 OPS+ tied him with Jose Bautista for the lead. He anchored a Detroit lineup that scored the fourth most points in the AL. Final voting determined nine runners up (in order): Adrian Gonzalez, Bautista, Justin Verlander, Paul Konerko, Jacoby [...]

It was a close one, but the Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury ended up leading voting among FanSided bloggers for the AL Player of the Year Award. While also winning Comeback Player of the Year in 2011, Ellsbury edged out Jose Bautista, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera to win the FanSided Network’s Award. Blaine Blontz at Call to the Pen has a full run down below: Clipped from: calltothepen.com (share this clip)  

At a certain point in 2010, rarely would someone mention Yordano Ventura without also mentioning Robinson Yambati. Both were signed out of the Domincan Republic in 2008. Both pitched well in the Dominican Summer League in 2009. At the end of 2010, Ventura and Yambati were second and third respectively in Baseball America’s rankings of Arizona Rookie League prospects. In 2011, the two started to separate. We’ve already discussed Yambati’s disastrous 2011 season. Ventura fared much better in low A Kane County this year. At 5’11″ and maybe 180 pounds (if he’s lucky), Ventura wouldn’t seem intimidating. Yet, despite his [...]

What separates Red and Blue? Saint Louis playoffs, just another day. Its the first of Fall. Just another night in Saint Louis, MO. In one of the best baseball games I’ve seen in years, Carpenter pitched his heart out. Halladay a valiant effort, but a run given up on this night, was far too much. Carpenter jumping by the mound, mobbed by his teammates. Saint Louis victorious, Philadelphia battered, finished, torn. The Cardinals advance. The Phillies walk away losers. On come the Brewers, led by familar pitching, pounding bats, and a rambunctious fan base. A world series appearance is on the line for two division rivals, [...]

After a disappointing year in Double A where he missed time due to injuries, Wil Myers is making up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League. Myers leads all Royals hitters taking place in offseason leagues with a 1.214 OPS.  He also leads all hitters in base hits, walks, runs scored, RBI and extra base hits. He’s taking advantage of the opportunity to get in more time in the outfield as well, logging an outfield assist at the plate. It’s an encouraging sign after he hit .254/.351/.393 in Northwest Arkansas as a 20-year-old. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain has also put [...]

This week’s Royalman Report put myself, Kings of Kauffman alum Jeff Herr and Fake Ned Yost in studio talking about all sorts of Royals topics. We covered the search for a pitching coach, the importance of minor league statistics, Eric Hosmer‘s search for a fan club (and his chances for the Rookie of the Year award). We also talked a bit about the World Series, the Rangers as a blueprint for the Royals (inspired by Ryan Wood‘s post from Saturday, which you can read here), the potential of renaming stadiums, plus we asked if the bye week came at the [...]

The Walter Johnson Award is handed out by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance to recognize the best pitchers in both leagues. In this case, the voting bloggers of the Kansas City Chapter of the BBA agreed with FanSided writers and named Justin Verlander the best pitcher in the American League. Jered Weaver of Los Angeles and James Shields of Tampa Bay tied for second in the voting, and others receiving votes included C.C. Sabathia, Jose Valverde and Doug Fister. Not a bad showing by the Tigers. The final voting results will be announced October 20. Baseball Bloggers Alliance – Kansas City [...]

In earlier voting this postseason by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel won the Willie Mays Award for top rookie handily while the American League race for that award was much tighter.  With the Goose Gossage Award, handed out to the best reliever, Kimbrel got to see how the other half lives, at least somewhat. Kimbrel beat Milwaukee’s John Axford by 13 points in the votes submitted by the National League voters of the Alliance, accumulating 78 points and garnering 12 first place votes.  Axford, on the other hand, received 65 points on the strength of seven [...]

Amidst talk of being an MVP candidate – or favorite – it’s little surprise that the baseball writers of the FanSided Network voted Justin Verlander as the Pitcher of the Year in the American League. Verlander had a 24-5 record with a 2.40 ERA in 251 innings. He allowed less than one baserunner per inning and added a no-hitter for good measure. The Royals were particularly aware of Verlander’s dominance. He pitched 22.2 innings over three starts against Kansas City, compiling a 1.59 ERA in the process. He’s the heavy favorite for the Cy Young Award this year. You can [...]

Tonight at 7 p.m. you can find your regular dose of Royals discussion on the Royalman Report. This week, we’ll talk about the potential pitching coach, offseason expectations, memories of 2011 and more. We’ll also touch on the playoffs and get into some general baseball chatter, while taking a glance at other Kansas City sports. In the house will be Fake Ned Yost and Jeff Herr along with myself. As always you can join the discussion live in our chat room below. (There is a poll at the bottom of this post. We would appreciate your participation.) The Royalman Report [...]