Archive for December, 2011

After talking with Sam Mellinger on Wednesday, we lined up another writer from the Kansas City Star for some Royals discussion. Tonight, we’ll talk with Rustin Dodd, who took over the Ball Star Blog after Mellinger.  You can follow him on Twitter at @rustindodd. As always, we’ll have our chat room up during the broadcast for any questions and comments and whatever discussion arises. You can also call 1-816-394-9578 and leave a voicemail or join in during the broadcast The Royalman Report is brought to you by Kelly’s Westport Inn at 500 Westport Road in Kansas City, Missouri.  Tell them the [...]

Let’s be honest. When it comes to the baseball off-season, aren’t we all just looking for ways to speed up the time between World Series and Opening day? I fill my time with with Mizzou football, Mizzou basketball, and the Chiefs. Obviously, that last name is particularly painful at this point in the season. I’ve felt a modest dose of incredulity as I’ve watched the Chiefs so far this year. Sure, they put that string of 4 wins together that made them 4-3 and first in the division but even then I had almost zero confidence that they’d be able [...]

Until recently, I wasn’t all that familiar with the “GIBBYs”. After doing some research, I found out that a form of these awards have been around since 2002, but they’ve only been known as the GIBBYs since 2010. GIBBY stands for Greatness in Baseball Yearly, and is a way to wrap up the Winter Meetings. The “This Year in Baseball Awards” (as they were originally known ) were created by Major League Baseball as another way to recognize some of the top performers and performances of the recently completed season. They made sure to position this awards show after all [...]

If you were a Royals fan in 1989, things looked good. George Brett, even at 36 years old and still injury-prone as ever, put up a 123 OPS+ (though, of course, nobody really knew what OPS+ was back in those dark ages). Bret Saberhagen was winning his second Cy Young Award before his 26th birthday. And they had a not-so-secret weapon in Bo Jackson. The Royals finished 92-70, their third-best record in franchise history. They also finished second behind eventual World Series champions, the Oakland Athletics. The 1989 Royals record would have won the AL East and only the Chicago [...]

We’re glad to announce that our search for additional writers has led us to two contributors that we’re very excited to bring aboard. Before they make their first posts, I want to let you know more about them and their background, and, as has become tradition here at Kings of Kauffman, I’ll let them tell you in their own words: Mike Vamosi (@TweetsByVamosi on Twitter) Born and raised in Omaha, NE in the southwest suburb of Millard, I attended THE University of Nebraska at Kearney and graduated in May of 2008 with a degree in Sports Administration and Sports Communication [...]

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star came into the studio to discuss the state of Kansas City sports with us on the Royalman Report. Usually, we’re focused entirely on the Royals, but a large part of this episode dealt with the happenings a few hundred feet across the parking lot, where Mellinger commented on the Todd Haley firing, where the Chiefs go from here and the criticisms of ownership. Mellinger coined the “Mission 2012″ concept, so we had to get into that, discussing how close the Royals are to true contention, what would be a disappointment this year, the [...]

There was an article posted by Jim Bowden over at ESPN yesterday (Insider) that suggested five major trades that could (or should) happen this offseason. And they’re all long-shots, for sure, but they’re intriguing nonetheless. The most likely involved the Red Sox acquiring Gio Gonzalez from the Athletics, but others included Felix Hernandez to the Yankees, Adam Jones to the Braves, and both Wade Davis and B.J. Upton to the Reds. Those are intriguing, but it was the fifth that made me think quite a bit. He suggested the Royals could trade Aaron Crow, Jake Odorizzi, and Blake Wood to [...]

Wait, it’s not Sunday… That’s right, but Wednesday evening, we’ll be bringing you a special edition of the Royalman Report. Our guest is the lead sports columnist for the Kansas City Star, Sam Mellinger (@mellinger). The plan is to discuss the Royals and Mission 2012, more on his view of the Frank White/Kevin Shank firings and other topics. We’ll also talk about the use of Twitter as a journalist, the Big XII, the Chiefs front office and whatever happens to come up. As always, we’ll have our chat room up during the broadcast for any questions and comments and whatever discussion [...]

When the Royals were shopping Zack Greinke last winter, they sought a strong starting pitching prospect. In getting Jake Odorizzi in the deal, they did just that. The Brewers first round pick in 2008 and their #1 prospect according to Baseball America before the trade, Odorizzi was billed by some as a future Greinke in training. While he may not have the ceiling that could make him a Cy Young contender down the line, he looks to be a future option for the front of the Royals rotation. Clipped from: kingsofkauffman.com (share this clip)  

After some time without much news, the Royals announced that they’ve signed four players to minor league deals: catcher Max Ramirez, RHP Juan Gutierrez, LHP Francisley Bueno, and outfielder Greg Golson. Ramirez, 27, has played in 45 games for the Texas Rangers, batting .217/.343/.357 in 140 plate appearances. He arrived to Texas in a time when Taylor Teagarden and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were part of what was supposed to be the future of Ranger backstops, which never occurred. Ramirez has spent most of his time at AAA, where he’s hit .262/.338/.405 for his career. He should give the Royals minor league [...]

Outside of the consistent quest for starting pitching and a “killer bullpen” this offseason, the Royals have been in the market for a utility infielder. They haven’t excluded them being an all-around utility player, ready to fill in at outfield positions, but with Mitch Maier, Jarrod Dyson, and Omaha’s David Lough all seemingly ready to fill in if necessary, focusing on the infield is the bigger concern. If Alcides Escobar were to succumb to injury (knock on every piece of wood within reach), there aren’t really any suitable replacements, even for a short time. Now that we know Chris Getz [...]

Despite signing Bruce Chen to a new two-year deal, the Royals have been looking for another left-handed pitcher for the bullpen to supplement Tim Collins. The search has led them to two potential targets, who, if the rumors are true, may be on the radar. George Sherrill, former closer for Baltimore, has a career 3.68 ERA in 323 innings. Over that span, he’s produced rates of 8.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. He’s generally been good at avoiding home runs and doesn’t give up a lot of hits, but his 2010 was disappointing and saw his walkrate climb while his strikeout [...]