That’s the record James Shields had after his first 8 games started in 2012.

We talk all the time on here about how overvalued the “W’ is as a statistic, but unfortunately, the world we live in still hasn’t seemed to consider the ridiculous ways an individual gains a “win” or a “loss.” Michael talked last week about the way Shields’ record seemed “Grienkesque” in the way he’s compiled a 2-3 record despite an ERA of 2.48 with 53 strikeouts and 14 walks

Guess what Shields’ record was after his first 8 games in 2011?

3-1 (ERA – 2.08) 51 SO and 13 walks

There are some conflicting statistics here. Shields’ 2011 and 2013 stats are very similar and yet the discrepancy in record is pretty glaring. 7-1 to 3-5.

However, in the first 8 games of 2012, James had an E.R.A that was actually more than an entire run higher than his current progress. The difference? In 2011 and 2013, Shields was getting an average of 4.125 runs per game from his offense. In 2011, it just worked out that he was on the right side of the fence. In 2012, Shields, though still good, wasn’t anywhere near his current progress. However, his offense was averaging 5.125 runs a game.

All of this to say, I’m kind of bummed out that James has been getting slapped with so many losses. Not because I think anything of the “win,” but because I hear too many people talking about “wins” and “losses” as if they are the one thing that defines a pitcher’s success.

It gives me a headache.

So to all of you people, Shields has had a great start to the year. Don’t be morons. If a pitcher is good, it makes sense that he would probably have more wins than losses when the season ends. If he pitches well and his team provides him any sort of offense, he’s likely to do all right in that department.

However, if his team is struggling offensively (as the Royals have been this season, though it looks like they brought their bats to the game against the Angels last night) then it’s not too unbelievable to see James hang a 3-5 record through the first 8 games of the season.

Just stop acting like his record is important and have faith that the bats will start to pick up and help steer the course of his record back onto the straight and narrow.

I think this is just as important for the fans as well. We all have our rituals that make us feel as if we somehow hold sway over the outcome of a game. There’s the effervescent rally cap, a classic maneuver a fan makes when his team is struggling late in the game.

Down here in Bolivar, there are two bros that watch/follow Royals games with me and we all have our own rituals for coaxing victory out of they guys. We all went on a stadium tour a few months ago and at the end, we got some Royals swag to take with us. The hats we got were a little bit crummy. They weren’t even snap-backs. They were like those lame belt-loop ones that hardly anyone our age wears.

Anyways, after mocking these hats incessantly, my buddy Trev has started rocking his during the game because every time he wears it, we start scoring runs. It’s a little eerie, really.

My other buddy Jake has a bat signed by Amos Otis that he likes to hold during the games. It makes the players play better. For reals.

I, myself have this awesome Royals light that I turn on after each Royals win. Much like, Paul Revere….or something.

What do you guys do?

I want some weird traditions, man.

Naturally, the worry is how the team will stack up against the rest of the A.L. Central. So far, the results are positive. They’ve played each team this month and, regardless of a win or loss against Cleveland tonight, will only have LOST one series against a division foe. That series loss came in the first three games of the year. Overall in the month of April, they’ve gone 7-4 against the division.* They dropped two out of three to the White Sox, swept the Twins, split with the Tigers and will either take three out of four from the Indians or split with them.

*Again, pending tonight’s game

Let’s take a look at how the rest of the division is faring in-house:

Cleveland Indians - As of yet, the Indians have only played the White Sox and us. They’re 3-2 against the Sox (one game got rained out) and they’re currently 1-2 against us for a record of 4-3 against the division.

Minnesota Twins- The Twins have actually won series over both the division favorite Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox this month. What’s hurt them was getting swept by the Royals earlier in the month. They haven’t played the Indians yet and currently hold a record of 4-4 against the division.

Chicago White Sox- The White Sox won their first series of the season against the Royals, but have struggled against the rest of the division ever since. They have lost series against both the Indians and Twins. They have yet to play the Tigers. Their divisional record is currently 4-6

Detroit Tigers - The (mostly) consensus pick to win the division, the Tigers lost their first series of the year against the Twins and split their series with the Royals for a divisional record of 2-3. They haven’t played the Indians or the White Sox yet.

The Royals are the only A.L. Central team to have played against each of their divisional foes. As stated above, aside from a slight sputter out of the gates against the White Sox, they’ve played well in these games. It’s going to important for them to have continued success against these teams as they push forward into May.

CURRENT STANDINGS

1. Kansas City Royals – (13-9)

2. Detroit Tigers – (13-10)

3. Minnesota Twins – (11-10)

4. Chicago White Sox – (10-14)

5. Cleveland Indians – (9-13)

Six of the Royals ten wins have occurred in games where the opposing team has drawn first blood. That is six wins out of eleven games where the other team has scored first.

This may not seem like a big deal until you look at the first seventeen games of last year and notice that the Royals dropped all eleven games in which their opponents scored the first run(s) of the game. Granted many of these losses were achieved during the great winless drought of April 2012.

There has been plenty of talk about the struggles of this team. Hey, it comes with the territory. We KC fans are generally only happy when we’re miserable. People are worried about Holland after all of twelve games….he comes in and blows through the Red Sox for 2 saves in the doubleheader today. People worry about the unfortunate location of Kelvin Herrera‘s pitch yesterday and he comes in and goes two strong innings in the doubleheader’s nightcap. The small sample size rule is still in effect and the outcry I see on social networking (specifically Twitter) makes me cringe.

On the other hand, the struggles of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are legitimately troubling. I hope they can pull it together. If not, something needs to happen.* I would say that seventeen games is too small of a sample size for them too, but their struggles date back to last season.

*The amazing thing about saying that “something needs to happen” is that you can just say it without really having to back it up. Ok, maybe that’s not true. I guess the most logical option would be to send at least Moose down, if not both of them. The only problem with that is you are faced with starting Tejada, Johnson and/or Falu (if they called him up). I think I’d rather ride the Hosmer/Moose train for just a little while longer. Good grief, they need to get it going, though.

Yeesh, I got off track there.

I think the above stat is very important because it signifies that the Royals are still capable of coming from behind and winning tough games. They were unable to do this last April during that debacle of a losing streak and thusly, had an awful record at this point last year.

I think the capability of winning tough games like these will be a make or break factor for the 2013 Royals. So far, they’ve proven that they’re up to the challenge.

April 08, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pinch runner Jarrod Dyson (1) reacts after getting tagged out attempting to steal second base by Minnesota Twins short stop Pedro Florimon (25) during the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

It’s never too soon to watch the scoreboard though, and every week, we’re going to try to keep up with the AL Central across the FanSided Network by going right to the guys who know the most about each team. In this week’s installment, we’ll collectively wrap up the first week-plus of the season. For the Royals, that included two matchups with division opponents, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.

A lot of things have gone right in the early going. The starting pitching has been solid, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler have been very good, and even Jeff Francoeur hit a ball out on Wednesday. The end result is a 6-3 record through Thursday’s off day.

But how about the competition?

Second place Detroit, as discussed by Motor City Bengals editor Matt Snyder:

The Detroit Tigers’ bullpen has been awful early on this season; through nine games (26.2 innings) they’ve accumulated a 6.41 ERA (second worst ERA in baseball). A lot has been made of the Tigers’ troublesome closer situation (mostly being that they don’t have one), but the current relief issues aren’t necessarily directly tied to that — they’ve had trouble even getting the ball to the ninth inning in a save situation. They’ll continue to have trouble in the middle and late innings unless they can get their starters to go deeper into games.

The tied-for-third-place Chicago White Sox, brought to you by Matt Adams of Southside Showdown:

The White Sox started off the season looking decent, albeit against teams without proven track records, and watched it catch up to them once they faced a reigning division champ in the Nationals. Their inability to hit with runners in scoring position has left them relying on solo home runs to carry the scoring load, which needless to say isn’t always enough.  The pitching staff has been faring well despite the spotty run support even with John Danks beginning the season on the DL.  The Sox will enter the next week with two infielders that were recently thought of as utility players manning full time positions in Conor Gillaspie and Jeff Keppinger due to an injury to starting second baseman Gordon Beckham.

 The also-tied-for-third-place Minnesota Twins, reeling from a sweep at the hands of the Royals, as evaluated by Ben Noble of Puckett’s Pond:

The Twins sit at 4-5 after a week and a half of play, taking series from the Tigers and Orioles to begin the season before being swept by the Royals in three games. Aaron Hicks has struggled mightily after coming up from AA to begin the season as the Twins starting CF following the off-season trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere. He has two hits in 35 at bats, has struck out 16 times, and has walked just twice. The Twins boast one of the top minor league systems in all of baseball, however, and prospects have been raking.

And, in last, the Cleveland Indians, who can’t seem to keep teams off the board in the early season. Lewie Pollis from Wahoo’s On First has more:

The Indians had a great first couple games of the season, beating the revamped Blue Jays 4-1 and 3-2 in a pair of good, close games. Then came trouble: they lost five of their six subsequent games to the Blue Jays, Rays, and Yankees before a pair of storms washed out the second half of the home opening series. In each of those losses the Indians gave up 10 or more runs and/or scored one or fewer runs, but on the plus side the one win was a 13-0 rout of reigning AL Cy Young winner David Price and the Rays. So while it’s way too soon to panic, it hasn’t exactly been a fun week in Cleveland.

It’s been a pretty fun week in Kansas City though, despite crummy weather (other than the home opener). By this time next week, will that fun feeling stand?

Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers hope a third trip to the World Series is the charm. Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Kings of Kauffman – Detroit gets Victor Martinez back, what does Jim Leyland plan on doing with him DH/First or what?

Motor City Bengals – Martinez has played a couple of games at first base this spring, but the plan is for him to pretty much be a DH-only guy this year. Prince Fielder doesn’t miss a lot of time — he’s missed one game total over the last four seasons — so there probably won’t be much playing time at first for Victor. He could fill in for a game here or there, but I don’t think he’d even be the primary backup option should Fielder go down with an injury.

Leyland has opened the door for Martinez to get back behind the plate for a handful of games in National League parks if they’re facing a left-handed pitcher. But between catcher and first base, I don’t expect him to see the field for even a double-digit number of games.

KOK – The Tigers are clearly the best team in the Central but what do they plan to do to not win the division later in the season again?

MCB – There was a lot of talk of “underachievement” last season, but I think the truth was that they simply weren’t quite as good as many thought they were. Delmon Young was a terrible DH, and I think we actually saw the real Brennan Boesch in right field (those two combined for -2.0 WAR). They’ve plugged those two holes with Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter and they’ll be getting full seasons from Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez (who they acquired at the deadline last year). I think the team could be seeing a 5 WAR improvement just in the RF and DH positions over last season.

Other than that, though, you just have to put the players on the field, watch the games, and understand randomness is a part of the game. Jim Leyland never panicked last year, even when it was September and they weren’t where they wanted to be. Fans hated him for it (though the anti-Leyland chatter mysteriously died during the playoff run to the World Series), but he managed his way up until the very end of the regular season.

KOK – What are the concerns of the fans heading into this season in the Motor City?

MCB – The bullpen is definitely a concern. Right now no one knows who will close out games – and Leyland usually does like to have “a guy” – so there is a lot of hand wringing there. It looks like rookie Bruce Rondon will make the team and could be the guy to get the first crack at save chances. He throws 100 mph and strikes out a ton of guys, but he also issues a boatload of walks. Other guys in the immediate closer mix include Phil Coke, Joaquin Benoit, and probably Octavio Dotel.

I would personally like to see them play out the final innings based on situational leverage and platoon matchups, but that’s not something the Tigers have done under Leyland. He has said that he will “play the matchups” if they don’t have a closer named, but he’s always been much more comfortable defining seventh, eighth, and ninth inning roles.

KOK – After getting swept in the World Series do you think that this team will have enough motivation to end its title drought?

MCB – The players really seem to want it, especially a guy like Justin Verlander who has been to two World Series with the team (with a 1-8 team record). Following the season, a bunch of players took to Twitter and talked about training all offseason in order to get those final four wins.

As a fan, though, I don’t really concern myself with postseason success. I obviously would love to see a World Series Champion in Detroit, but so much of each playoff series is determined by luck and randomness that I can’t pin all my hopes and dreams the outcomes. I’m much more concerned with their overall play in the regular season, winning a division championship, and simply getting that playoff berth. In October, I just try to enjoy being there (not that I’m there, of course).

In a very competitive battle for the final bullpen role, right-hander J.C. Gutierrez was tabbed as the final piece to manager Ned Yost‘s pantry of relievers.

Feb 21, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher J.C. Gutierrez (27) poses for a picture during photo day at the Royals Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Gutierrez captured the spot over two other remaining candidates in big-league camp: righties Louis Coleman and Dan Wheeler.

Prior to the move, Yost and the Royals sent the organization’s No. 11 prospect, Donnie Joseph, back to the minors after having an electrifying spring tour, striking out 14 batters over ten innings of work and holding opposing hitters to a .083 batting average.

While some were hoping Joseph would grab the final spot, it’s apparent Yost and the Royals were looking for a right-handed pitcher to round out the bullpen.

Over the course of spring training, Gutierrez compiled 12 innings of work with 10 strikeouts, but also posted a 4.50 ERA and a .308 opponent batting average.

As for the other candidates who saw their spring training tour come to an end with the big-league team, Coleman posted 12.1 innings and eight strikeouts with a 1.46 ERA, while Wheeler tossed 11 innings of work, 14 strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA.

The numbers drastically differ between the three right-handed pitchers, but, obviously from a small pool of work and opportunities, Yost must have seen something in Gutierrez that will translate into regular season.

With the final trimming done to the pitching the staff the bullpen will look something like this:

RHP Luke Hochevar

RHP J.C. Gutierrez

RHP Aaron Crow

RHP Kelvin Herrera

RHP Greg Holland

LHP Tim Collins

LHP Bruce Chen

It should also be noted that once lefty Danny Duffy returns from the disabled list, a spot should either open up for him in the bullpen or rotation with either Chen or righty Luis Mendoza being shuffled out of the picture.

On top of the pitching cuts, minor league catcher Max Ramirez was sent down to the minor league camp, leaving the back-up catcher position up to either Brett Hayes or George Kottaras.

Ramirez hit .318 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs in big-league camp.

Finally, the back-up infielders have also been selected with Irving Falu being sent down to triple-A Omaha. Falu concluded his spring training by hitting .217 in 23 at-bats. Falu also spent some time away from camp as he played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Utility player Elliot Johnson, who was final player in the big offseason acquisition for James Shields and Wade Davis, and veteran infielder Miguel Tejada rounded out the infielders selected for the Opening Day roster.

Johnson batted .286 with eight RBIs, while Tejada hit .367 in 30 at-bats.

Xavier Paul – He is not as young as I would like, but Paul is a career .275 hitter against right handed pitching.  He has decent on-base skills and speed, and not a zero in power, though below average for sure.  Not my first choice, but serviceable and I don’t know that Cincinnati has room for him.

Tyler Colvin – The Rockies seem to be interested in him playing quite a bit, so it might take more to get him than I would want to spend.  He is exactly the profile of a platoon player, though.  Crushes right handed pitching and not great against lefties.  Last year he hit 17 HRs against righties and only 1 when facing southpaws.  Fielding metrics used to hate him, but not over the last couple of years.  The Royals recently talked with the Rockies about a trade, though Hochevar is not going to get Colvin.

Kole Calhoun – The Angels have four guys that are better than Calhoun and Vernon Wells.  Looking at Wells on the Angels’ depth chart made me smile a little since it means we don’t have the worst right field situation in the AL.  He is a more expensive Jeff Francoeur!  Nothing quite like having a backup get paid $21 million a year for two more years.  Calhoun has shown good on-base and power in the minors although he struggled in a cup of coffee last year.  The Angels also may need some starting pitching due to Tommy Hanson’s injury issues.

Chris Coghlan – Probably cheap, and if he could regain his form of 2009, would be an awesome steal.  That isn’t likely, but even in a bad 2011 he hit right handed pitching well.  Maybe he would be better in a platoon, and every player is better off away from Jeff Loria.

Feb 21, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur (21) poses for a picture during photo day at the Royals Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Gindl – Took a big step back in AAA last year, but probably worth evaluating.  Milwaukee doesn’t seem to need or want him badly, and his spring has been good so far.  He is only 24 and has shown the ability to get on base and hit for a least moderate power, which could mean a decent future depending on how he adjust to the majors.

Travis Snider – Still only 25 and could turn out to have an Alex Gordon sort of breakthrough based on what he was once thought of as a hitter.  If the Pirates decide to start him maybe Jerry Sands would be available, and could scoop up Sands.  He could just start over Francoeur and we could forget about this platoon thing.

Anthony Gose – He struggled in his first major league experience last year, and the outfield in Toronto is not lacking currently, if you believe in Colby Rasmus.  Maybe he could be stolen due to the shine coming off of the apple last year, but I doubt a 22 year old with his minor league track record would be cheap enough.

Roger Bernadina – With Denard Span coming in, it seems that Bernadina just became the world’s best 4^th outfielder.  Maybe the Royals could trade them Jarrod Dyson plus something so that they still feel like they have viable backup.  If that was possible I would put Bernadina in center, Lorenzo Cain in right, and cut Frenchy outright.  No way the Royals would do this, but I can dream.

The nice thing about finding someone to play opposite Francoeur in the batter’s box is that the bar is fairly low.  All they have to do to be valuable to the Royals is hit righties in an average fashion and not kick the ball around defensively.  My guess is that every guy on this list could do this, and some of them could be better when lefties are pitching too.  Hopefully the Royals can get an evaluation and trade done sooner rather than later, so that the platoon can begin.  Otherwise we need to give David Lough a chance as Tony said a couple of days ago.  The added benefit of getting someone who may be able to help the team for several years should make these sorts of players attractive at the current time.

Cleveland brought in Terry Francona in the offseason to return the Indians to the top of the AL Central. Photo credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Kings of Kauffman – What does the fan base think about Terry Francona taking over the team?

Wahoo’s on First – At the time, the general reaction was a muted positive one. It was exciting to bring in such a renowned manager, but it was bittersweet that local hero Sandy Alomar Jr. didn’t get the job. But even the biggest Sandy fan has to admit that bringing in Francona now looks like a stroke of genius. He’s helped to reenergize a clubhouse that had turned to torpor last year under Manny Acta and the gravitas he brings to the team has made Cleveland a more attractive landing spot for free agents. So yeah, give the Tribe an A+ for that one.

KOK – Cleveland like Kansas City is a team that seems to be a trendy pick to do big things, how realistic do you think this is?

WOF – Very. The Indians now have one of the best lineups in the league and possibly the best defensive alignment in baseball. Combine that with an incredibly underrated rotation—yes, there are a lot of question marks, but this staff has a lot of upside and a ton of depth—and there’s a lot to like about this team. I’m not expecting 90 wins, but they’re a lot better than the .500-ish projections most people have been giving them.

KOK – Which offseason moves do you like that the club made?

WOF – Almost all of them. Francona was a great hire. The Shin-Soo Choo trade was sheer highway robbery. The Nick Swisher deal was terrific. So was the Mark Reynolds signing. And Michael Bourn. Mike Aviles is going to be nice to have around, and the minor-league deals we gave to Scott Kazmir, Jason Giambi, and Ryan Raburn all look like winners. I still don’t get the Brett Myers signing and I think the team will live to regret not trading Chris Perez when his value was at its peak, but it’s been an incredible winter for the Tribe.

KOK – Where do you think the Indians finish in the standings this season?

WOF – Second place in the AL Central, somewhere around 86-88 wins. The Tigers are probably the better team—for now—but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tribe in the playoff hunt for most of the season.

If you follow the Royals’ minor league system at all, there is one theme.  Wilmington is a tough place to hit.  Being a position player in the system and getting a promotion to high A ball is the equivalent of the Royals Brass telling you that they would like to see how you handle failure.  It is a pitchers park of nearly epic proportions.  Cuthbert’s 2012 line of .240/.296/.322 is definitely scary, and maybe completely meaningless as well.  I went back and looked for Royals in Wilmington going back to 1994 to see who hit well there.  Plenty of players, including Johnny Damon, Mike Sweeney, and even Ken Harvey had nice seasons for the Blue Rocks, but there is a consistent similarity among them all, and that is that they were all in their early 20s.  Only one player under age 20 had a significant amount of playing time in Wilmington and had good hitting numbers.  Wil Myershad a nice half season in is age 19 season.

Cheslor Cuthbert via Jen Nevius

The best parallel for Cheslor is Carlos Beltran.  Beltran was actually a year older at each stop, but had a similar path of decent rookie ball year and a pretty good line between low A and A ball.  Then he arrived in Wilmington and struggled to a line of .229/.311/.363 as a 20 year old.  The following year he repeated his time at high A, and did much better, getting a promotion to AA where his numbers exploded.  That is the hope for someone like Cuthbert in 2013.  Getting a chance to age and repeat could lead to similar growth as a player.  Not only that, but the fact that he is following a similar path at a younger age means that the ceiling for him may be very high.

Digging into last season there were some good signs.  Away from his home park, Cuthbert’s average was similar, but his OBP was 20 points higher and his slugging was 60 points higher.  Also, after three really awful months, his OBP in the last two months (a little over 100 PAs) of the season were .343 and .364 with the usual small sample size caveats.  Everyone is loving up Adalberto Mondesi this spring, and for good reason, but don’t forget about Cheslor Cuthbert.  It would not at all be surprising to me if next year he was in AA and/or AAA and creating questions about how to handle the log jam at third base.

December 12, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore speaks during the press conference at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

About a week ago, I wrote a post vilifying the Royals for their flippant use of the term “competition”. I chastised them for using a rhetoric of lies while giving players like Luke Hochevar the chance to continually disappoint. I even had a very witty Ron Mexico joke in there.

The very next day, they pulled Hochevar from the rotation, and my post was DOA.

Go ahead and search the major Royals blogs (especially Kings of Kauffman, which his in my opinion the bestest blog ever!). You’ll find plenty of writing about Hochevar’s move to the bullpen so I’m not going to go there. I’ll just state that moving a guy who can’t pitch with runners on base into a position in which one primary function is to pitch well with guys on base is a little confusing. But here’s hoping he turns into Mariano Rivera.

Instead, I’m thinking about the shift in approach that this move signals … if it does in fact signal one … which I don’t think it does. Those same writings on Hochevar mention this potential shift, but I’m not so optimistic that a shift has necessarily occurred. In fact, I’m not sure that Hochevar being moved could even be evidence of a shift in approach.

Moving Hochevar is not an un-Royals move. It’s actually a very Royals move once viewed as a whole. Because you can’t look at this move in the moment; it must be looked at in its entirety. What have the Royals really done here? They drafted a guy number one overall, moved him quickly threw the minor leagues, pushed him to be their number one starter, and then stuck by him through one of the worst starting pitching careers in history. They stuck with him much, much longer than anyone in their right mind would have, and finally, when they were the last ones left to realize what he was, they made a move to salvage that product.

In what way is that un-Royals like? On different scales (over different periods of time) that’s the story with Jason Kendall and Mike Jacobs and Jose Lima and so many others that if we crowd sourced might fill multiple rosters. Go ahead, name the one’s I’ve left out for the sake of brevity in the comments section.

No, Hochevar is not the measure of a shift in approach or attitude or perspective. The Hochevar move is a team making a big mistake, realizing it way, way, way too late, and trying to salvage. The real test of whether or not a shift in approach has occurred might be in the two other fifth starter candidates: Luis Mendoza and Bruce Chen. Anyone with eyes knows that Mendoza is the better pitcher and deserves that job. Anyone who knows baseball a little, knows that Chen’s best years (the two roughly average years he had with Kansas City) are behind him. Choosing Mendoza over Chen might signal that the Royals have opened up more to bailing on their mistakes when they’re apparent, a small shift in attitude but an important one. It might signify that they no longer get oddly protective of certain players who can’t perform, as if those players are all David Glass’s favorite nephews.

Really, it will take a body of decisions to evaluate whether or not the Royals decision makers have evolved their thinking to fit a team that is seemingly in place to win now. Do they stick with Jeff Francoeur if he struggles mightily in the first month? Do they send Donnie Joseph to AAA even if he is the best option they have as the last member of their bullpen and their best LOOGY option? These are difficult decisions (ok, the first one isn’t) the answer to which changes depending on where a team is at in its progress. If a team is rebuilding, options and service time and protecting large numbers of players is more important. If a might contend, those things should matter less (that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t matter at all; it just means they should matter less).

The next month and a half will give us a clearer indication if the those pulling the strings at Kauffman Stadium have actually wised up or if it’s just business as its often shitty usual.

What will year two of the Robin Ventura era be like for the Chicago White Sox? Photo Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Kings of Kauffman – What did the White Sox do to improve this offseason?

Southside Showdown – You might say the main portion of the White Sox improvement plan was to go au naturale. Let some of the young arms improve with experience, hope confused bats like Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham figure it out, and rely on aging performers like Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn to repeat their career production levels.

Obviously a gaping hole was filled at third with Jeff Keppinger.  The nightmare experienced to start 2012 with an awful Brent Morel and eventually Orlando Hudson couldn’t be repeated.  Of course, now Keppinger is making it clear that he’s not the most durable fellow in the world so it might be repeated after all.  With A.J. Pierzynski leaving, it may seem at a glance that the team has moved backwards rather than improve, but A.J.’s numbers from last season wasn’t going to happen again, so there’s nothing wrong with giving Tyler Flowers a chance.

KOK – Who has stood out this spring?

SS – As “meh” as I was when the Jeff Keppinger signing occurred it is impressive to see a guy out there that doesn’t really strike out much. In a lineup full of K’s it’s great to watch a guy step into the box and make contact nearly every time.  In the minor league ranks, Jared Mitchell has looked fairly impressive, considering he seemed to have stalled after breaking his ankle a couple years ago. And Simon Castro has looked straight nasty in all of his mound appearances so far.  Definitely hoping he can spend some time in AAA amassing innings and erasing the idea that these showings are a fluke.

KOK – Year two under Ventura, what do you expect?

SS – He’s shown that he’s not the “new thinker” that I hoped when he came in with no experience.  It was my admittedly far-fetched hope that the White Sox had gone and hired a manager with no experience because he had an approach between the lines that didn’t fall in line with the “conventional wisdom” applied by pretty much every other manager in the league.  Well it’s not so, however Ventura does a great job on the clubhouse end.  The players like him, respect him, and seem to carry a relaxed approach.  That says a lot.  You or I could get in there and do reasonably well making the in-game calls but the having the players buy in and listen to you is the hardest part.

KOK – Can Chicago finish this season if they lead the division late again?

SS – If they find themselves in that situation, certainly.  For one, it’s just bad luck that the offense fell off to the degree it did at that particular time.  I don’t think it happened because it was September, I think that it happened and it also happened to be September.  One thing that September did have an effect on is the arm of Chris Sale, who had never approached that sort of workload before in his career.  Having a little more endurance built up, knowing what to expect and how to deal should help him out this year assuming he can reach the same levels he did in 2012.

Here is the other side of the conversation at Southside Showdown

It’s important to take spring stats with a grain of salt, but it is hard to deny how well this team is hitting.  Alex Gordon is leading the way with a .536 batting average to go along with three long balls.  Mike Moustakas is also getting in on the action with a .452 average and 5 extra base hits.  One guy the season will be riding on is Eric Hosmer and how well he can produce.  It’s great to see he’s off to a good start this spring but it’s whether he can ride it into the season that will truly matter.  I do think he’s way too good of a hitter to not have made the proper adjustments that he needed to from last season.  The greatest adjustment I noticed for him to make is to let the ball get deeper in the zone and not be so pull-happy.  He had a bad tendency of flying open way too early last year.

September 19, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera (40) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

If the starting pitching can be above average, which it should be, that will be the main factor for this team competing.  The hitting will come around and to go along with the bullpen, this team just needs to be in the game heading into the 6th inning.  James Shields has me all kinds of excited!  If Wade Davis can stay healthy I’m excited to see what he can bring to the table.  A number four starter, such as himself, that has had above average success in the AL East certainly would bolster the rotation and improve it a great deal over what this team has trotted out over the past several seasons.

Las Vegas has their over/under on wins at 79.5.  Even though it has been ten seasons since KC has seen an 80+ win season, I strongly believe that streak will be broken and the over seems like a favorite to me.  Obviously injuries can and will play some sort of role in how the season plays out, but this team is too good not to compete.  After adding in all the variables,  I can confidently say 85-90 wins is very realistic and contending deep into September should be a thought in most peoples’ minds who are familiar with this team.

I know, like most Royals fans, I’m anxiously awaiting the regular season opener.  It cannot come soon enough.  This season could and should be one of the best seasons we have seen in a very long time.  Besides watching James Shields, the other thing I can’t wait to see is Yordano Ventura, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland shutting the door at the end of games.  But I’ll get more into that with a post at a later date.

Outside of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau the Twins will have plenty of new faces in 2013. Photo Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Kings of Kauffman – What do the Twins need to do get the offense going this season?

Puckett’s Pond – Actual issues for the Twins offense replacing Denard Span and Ben Revere (finding a leadoff hitter, could be rookie Aaron Hicks), Trevor Plouffe needs to be more consistent at the plate, Chris Parmelee will most likely start the season in RF and needs to show that his AAA mashing can translate to the gigs. Josh Willingham is a candidate to drop off production in 2013.

KOK – Pitching was a problem last season for Minnesota what can we expect in 2013?

PP – Pitching should be better than last year, but that’s not saying much. Twins brought in a number of mid-level and bargain free agents, but they have a number of young stud pitchers who could see time with the big league club this year, notably Kyle Gibson and Trevor May. This rotation could look very different at the end of the season. Bullpen was very solid last year and should be again.

KOK – Expectations are low but what are your expectations for this season?

PP – Who knows, the offense has the potential to be pretty devastating, and the pitching should be poor but improved this is a team in flux, so rookies and young players could step up and help the Twins surprise, but realistically this is a team in transition, and by the end of 2013, you’ll start to see the pieces of a future contender trickling in. So in sum: the record is much less important than seeing the team moving in the right direction prospects/youngsters Hicks, Gibson, May, Parmelee, Oswaldo Arcia, Joe Benson and others could all see MLB time this year and start to form the core of a team that
should contend by 2016.

KOK – The Royals farm system is well know but how is the future looking for the Twins organization?

PP – The Royals farm system dropped off severely in national rankings this year, but the Twins farm system jumped dramatically we’ve got an at least top-7 system, higher in many publications. Span was traded for Alex Meyer and Revere for May, and the Twins drafted Byron Buxton, JO Berrios and a slew of college power arms last year. Here’s the top 5 with links to the top 40; we’re stacked and deep, and now sitting much better at pitching after the past year.

The Royals are spending more on payroll this year. A lack of willingness to shell out the cash is typically a mainstay complaint for most Royals fans. They move from just under 61 million dollars (27th out of 30 MLB teams) in 2012 to app. 78 million dollars (20th out of 30 MLB teams).

Many people will look at this as a step in the right direction for the Royals as they’re shelling out more money than they ever have before. In fact, as the above Yahoo article states, the Royals were the #5 overall team in positive payroll percent change at +28.04%.

However, if you look back at the Royals payroll ranking in the past 5 years before 2012, you may find that the jump is not very awe-inspiring.

2011: 30th in the MLB (36,126,400)

2010: 20th in the MLB (72,267,710)

2009: 21st in the MLB (70,908,333)

2008: 24th in the MLB (58,245,500)

2007: 22nd in the MLB (67,116,500)

So while many less-informed fans may be excited about more money being spent than ever before, it once again comes down to one thing:

Allocation, allocation, allocation.

Seriously. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that spending money pales in comparison to spending money wisely. And yet, when I and other Royals fans I’m familiar with complain about the way the club spends money, I continually get the same response.

“Well, at least they’re finally spending money.”

No, you idiot. That doesn’t guarantee you a winner.

Okay, I’m not naive enough to believe that JUST spending a crapload of money doesn’t always get you very far in professional sports. But wasting money makes me even angrier than not having any to spend. That’s why, to me, paying over 4 million dollars to Luke Hochevar is a waste. That’s why I can’t figure out the Miguel Tejada contract.

You can tell me it’s good that the Royals are spending a little more money and I will agree with you, but it’s hard to fully back Dayton Moore on some of the ways he chooses to spend that money.

I’m not saying that being the Royals’ G.M. is an easy job. I’m sure it’s more difficult than I can even imagine, but without a legitimate explanation for moves like these, I continue to be wary.

Spring Training starts in a month and there are a lot of hopes riding on this season. I’m just not sure how these recent moves have helped the team.

On a last note, The Los Angeles Dodgers’ estimated 2013 payroll is increased 123.9% from their 2012 payroll. That figure is mind-boggling to me. The combined payrolls of all 30 MLB teams this season will surpass 3 billion dollars.

That is insane.

*I’ve forgotten the exact amount of days. It’s written on the board in my classroom.

This means that in just over a month, I will be able to watch the Royals play again and despite all the oft-questioned moves of Dayton Moore in the last month, I’m very excited to watch this new team. I’m also very aware that the whole thing could blow up in my face, but nonetheless, I’m excited. I can’t help it.

This is causing me to come to two very important realizations for the coming year.

• I’m becoming more and more confident that Jeff Francoeur is going to be our everyday right-fielder this year. I’d much rather there be some sort of platooning option, much like the Dyson-esque idea put out there on the site a few days ago. I don’t know that Dyson will ever establish himself as a serious contender for consistent MLB time, but at this point I don’t think Francoeur should be garner a starter’s portion of at-bats. Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more an inability to find some way to cut ties with Frenchy’s contract, means the Royals are going to play him consistently in right.
• I’m resolved to being disappointed about the production from the 2nd base, both offensively and defensively. I really don’t know why we signed Miguel Tejada, but I’m thinking that whether it’s Getz, Gio, or even the old man, there’s a lot more that could go worse at that position than positive.

Hmmmmmm

It’s easy to have high expectations going into a new baseball season. Everyone is on the same page. However, I feel like I’m going to treat this year’s team like I treat that movie everyone says is awful. I’ll go into it with severely low expectations and that way I can possibly end up pleasantly surprised. The same mentality goes towards the two aforementioned positions. I will not expect much production from either and if and when some modicrum of production appears, I will be pleasantly surprised.

40-ish days until baseball, People!

But as I’m sure you know if you’re checking this site during the cold, bitter offseason, there’s just something about baseball. That being said, I want to talk a bit about some games that I am planning on trying to hit this year. Now, I’m going to be living back home in St. Joseph this summer, so I guarantee that I’ll be going to many more games than this throughout the year, but these are the ones I definitively want to hit.

1. Opening Day – Okay, I’ve never been to opening day. I could cite a few different reasons. I’ve generally had school to deal with and honestly, despite the excitement that comes with the beginning of each new season, I’ve never been pumped enough to spend money in these last few years to go see Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar or someone similar serve court to start a season out. But this year, with Shields taking the mound, I believe that it might be enjoyable to see Kauffman filled up while watching the season begin.

2. Jersey Day – Jersey day is awesome.  I’ve gone the last 4 years and always enjoy it. I’m a sucker for free gear, though, so if that’s not something that appeals to you, I suppose you should skip. But the jerseys always look pretty sweet (in my opinion) and I feel like it makes more sense to pay 30 bucks to go see a game and get a free jersey than it does to throw down $80+ for a jersey and no game. It’s math.

3. Any Game Against The Cardinals – I love going to these games because nothing tastes as sweet as beating the Redbirds. They always travel well and enjoy trying to make a point of filling the stadium with more red than blue. Getting to experience and revel in a victory over St. Louis firsthand is a treat. Trust me.

I’m shooting for at least 15 games this season. It may be a lofty goal, but teachers get a summer break (sweet!) so I think it’s doable.

What are some games you’ve got marked down as “must-sees” this season?

Chavez is coming off a very bad season with the Orioles, where he hit .203 in 169 plate appearances.  He also landed on the disabled list twice and was designated for assignment on August 4th.  However, he was later added to their Wild Card and Division Series roster as his contract was selected on September 11th.

Sep 15, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Endy Chavez (9) makes a catch against the wall during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

This will be the second time Chavez has graced this organization with his presence.  In 2001, he hit .208 while driving in five runs and hitting two doubles in a limited role during a span of 29 games.  Chavez, who will turn 35 in a month, has played for a plethora of teams including the Expos, Mets, and most recently the Orioles.  He might be most known for his catch in game 7 of the NLCS in 2006 where he robbed Scott Rolen of a two-run home run in a 1-1 game.  This outstanding catch can be viewed here.

Chavez did have a nice season with the Rangers in 2011 where he hit .301 and belted five home runs and knocked in 27 runs.  This was after not playing a single game in the majors in 2010 and only collecting 36 plate appearances in eight minor league games.  He could be a bit of good luck as he has also played for three different post season teams.  In the last two years he has played on two post season teams, so maybe there’s room to make it three in a row.

The first and most important thing I’d like to see is for the team to be above .500 and compete in the second half of the year.  With additions to the pitching staff this offseason, the Royals have attempted to bolster their weakness from the 2012 season.  I do believe this will certainly help them contend into the latter part of the season, and hopefully into September.  If we could even attempt to come close to 90 wins, I’d be beyond ecstatic.

The second thing I’d like to see in 2013 is no more Jeff Francoeur in right field and no more Luke Hochevar on the mound.  The subtraction of Wil Myers could mean we see more of Frenchy than we’d like but I do believe the Royals will try and part ways with their right fielder or at least acquire some talent that can take away from his playing time.  The acquisitions of James Shields, Wade Davis, and Ervin Santana could mean that Luke Hochevar has thrown his last inning in royal blue.  It seems there is no more room in the rotation for the former number one overall draft pick.  The Royals have actively been calling other teams about their interest in Hochevar and it’s in my best guess he will be dealt sometime in the spring when injuries can affect other teams’ rotations.

June 9, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) hits a double against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

There has to be many people who are hoping for my next wish to come true.  We’d all like to see James Shields live up to his nickname ‘Big Game James’, and that is my 3rd wish.  If history repeats itself, he should start around 33 games and post about 15 wins with a mid three ERA.  However, I don’t think it’s out of the question he can come close to repeating his stellar 2011 campaign where he threw 11 complete games and tossed four shutouts as well.  The move to the AL Central and not facing the vaunted AL East offenses should certainly help his chances of dominating for the Royals and making the move to deal Wil Myers a little easier to digest.

My fourth wish is for Eric Hosmer to be the key offensive guy for the Royals this season.  The Royals will live and die off of his bat.  If he can rebound to his rookie season form and beyond, I think this team will definitely be a surprise offense to watch out for.  We need Hoz to be the cleanup hitter he is projected to be and it starts this year.

My last wish for 2012 is for Greg Holland to be an All-Star closer that I know he is capable of being.  He clearly has dominate stuff with 188 strike outs in only 145.2 innings and a 2.97 career ERA.  He was able to get a little taste of the closer’s role last season after the Royals traded Jonathan Broxton to the Reds.  There is no doubt in my mind Holland can wind up being a Royal representative at the All-Star game in New York, and if he is then we have a reliable guy we can count on to shut the door in the 9th.

My wish list is optimistic but also very reasonable.  It is not out of the question that all of these wishes can come true.  If they do, I truly believe we will see a magical season at Kauffman, and it has been far too long since we’ve seen such a thing.

And….Gasp! Your Royals fan wants a jersey! But how will you know what player’s jersey to invest in? Royals players seem to zoom in and out of Kansas City as if Kauffman Stadium was a giant revolving door. And buying a Royals player’s jersey is like trying to keep up with the most current Iphone. You’re gonna have to trade it in next year for a new one. Well, fear not, procrastinating shopper! I will help you acquire a jersey that will (hopefully) last for awhile. The trick is to disregard guys you don’t think will be around for much longer…..or guys that stink…unless you’re trying to make a point. Well, we’ll get to that.

I hope this gives you some direction in your holiday jersey-acquiring endeavors. And seriously. If you find an Jose Offerman jersey somewhere in the Large to X-large range, you let me know and we will figure out a way for you to get that to me. (You’ll see what I’m talking about in a minute.)

Let’s get started:

1. George Brett – Okay, this is kind of a cop-out, but…I mean…you can be assured that he’s never going to be traded. So there’s that.
2. Salvador Perez – Once he was back from injury last year, it looked like the Royals made one of the smartest moves in history by extending him right before Spring Training last year. This guy’s jersey is a long-term investment. It’s a smart buy.
3. Alex Gordon – Those who bought his jersey right after we drafted him have spent a couple of years sweating out the purchase, but he’s finally come up spades as a baseball player in the last few years. I think this would be a safe buy.
4. Carlos Beltran – Being that I was hardly alive the last time the Royals played a significant game in September/October, I can say that the first Royal I really followed with vigor was one Carlos Beltran. That guy was a great Royal. Heck, he was one of the few people who put on a Cardinal uniform last season that I didn’t loathe. I didn’t like him….but I didn’t loathe him either. Incidentally, please buy the ROYALS Beltran jersey and not the Cardinals one, unless you want to break your special Royals fan’s little heart.
5. (Insert Super Obscure Jersey Here) – I am a gentleman who loves an obscure jersey. A couple of years ago, I went to Chiefs training camp and saw a guy in a Dustin Colquitt PRO BOWL JERSEY! Mad respect goes to that guy for laying down lettuce for that outerwear. How many of those do you think have been sold. 3?….5?….It can’t be double digits. Anyways. I love when someone snags an obscure jersey to wear to games. I’m talking about your Jose Offerman jerseys, your Doug Mientkiewicz* jerseys and the like. If your Royals fan likes obscurity as much as I do, this may be the path for you to take. You may have to do a little research to figure out which obscure player would be best, but trust me….the overjoyed look on your loved one’s face will be well worth it. (*I just Googled Mientkiewicz’s name to see how to spell it. Did you know that guy is managing the Minnesota Class-A advanced team now? Wasn’t expecting that. Interesting.)

While Greinke was the center piece of the deal, he is no longer with the Brewers.  He found himself traded by the Brewers in the middle of this year to the Los Angeles Angels where he went 6-2 the rest of the way with a 3.53 ERA.  After the season Greinke was granted free agency, and after testing the market, he wound up signing one of the richest deals for a pitcher in Major League history.  He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for six years at $147 million.  It’s remarkable to believe that a team struggling to develop pitching was able to produce one of the most sought after free agent pitchers of the last several years.

October 02, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar (2) crosses home plate after hitting a home run in the first inning of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals greatest return is their shortstop Alcides Escobar.  He should be a mainstay for several years and be an anchor up the middle.  He was known for being flashy with his glove, but has actually put up some solid, yet unexpected offensive numbers.  He struggled his first season at the plate in Kansas City, but found his stroke as he hit .293 and stole 35 bases while collecting 42 extra base hits.  While I do think Escobar had his peak season at the dish last year, I do think he will be around his 2012 numbers for the rest of his time with the Royals.

Another great haul in the trade is current Royals outfielder, Lorenzo Cain.  When Cain is healthy it looks as if he can be a staple in the outfield where he can provide a decent amount of pop and speed.  In an injury-shortened season he still connected on seven home runs and drove in 31 runs while stealing ten bases.  If you stretch that out over an entire season that’s roughly 20 home runs, nearly 90 RBI and almost 30 stolen bases.  I’d gladly take that on this team, which has been looking for an answer in center field for a few years now.

Jake Odorizzi was a former first round pick and one of the Royals most coveted pitching prospects.  He had an incredible season at two stops this year in the minors.  He went a combined 15-5 with a 3.03 ERA to go along with 135 strike outs in 145.1 innings.  Odorizzi was just included in the Royals latest trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, that netted James Shields and Wade Davis.  It strikes me odd that this former first rounder who’s had a lot of success in the minors at a young age has been traded away by two teams already.  Maybe I’m just reading into that a little too much though.

Another first rounder included in the deal was Jeremy Jeffress.  He was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays in November after two subpar seasons with the Royals.  He appeared in 27 games and allowed 18 runs in 28.2 innings pitched.  He has a power arm but always struggled with command as he walked 24 men in his brief time with the Royals.  Betancourt is no longer on the Royals even though we signed him as a free agent following his year with the Brewers.  He was released by the Royals midseason in 2012.

We still have two very important pieces from the original trade two years ago.  If we play our cards right, they could be intricate parts to a playoff run over the next few seasons, especially after packaging Odorizzi to get two impactful veteran pitchers in Shields and Davis.  This trade has worked favorably for the Royals in the short term and I believe it will still be very favorable in the next coming seasons as well as it looks like they have set themselves up for possible success.

My high school was small enough that there was not a baseball team. We had track, cross-country, basketball, and eight-man football, but no baseball. I really started following the Royals passionately during my freshman year of high school. It wasn’t long before I felt I had the authority to act supremely snobbish whenever someone started talking about the team. I knew who Alex Gordon was. I knew Hochevar was going to be the next coming of Zack Greinke.*

*I didn’t know as much as I thought.

It wasn’t long before I realized that judging and mocking people who I think are “lesser fans” than myself was a waste of time.* Anymore, I think are willing to call yourself a Royals fan, you deserve no mockery from people who have, perhaps, followed the team for a couple more years than you have. You’re not really jumping on the bandwagon of a winning team. Heck, when and if the Royals ever amount to anything, I’m going to be so ecstatic about the state of things, I don’t think I’ll have time to get annoyed by “Royals fans” suddenly appearing out of the woodwork.

*Unless it’s a fan of another team telling me about how dumb Royals management is. Look, the Royals often make foolish decisions. But if I hear the “the Royals traded Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye!” argument, I will ignore you. It proves to me that you haven’t been tuning in for about ten years.

Anyways, this spiel actually comes from watching that new Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial that was released a few weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it, watch it here.

This reminds me of why I love sports in general and specifically, baseball. As an individual who majored in English and is currently a high school English teacher, I enjoy things for the stories they tell.

The reason I’m a fan of baseball? All the stories I’ve gotten to be a part of. Each game I’ve watched was a story. Each game I’ve attended was a story. Stories that I experienced with family and people close to me and that makes each story special.

The reason I love baseball is because when I’m sitting in the stands watching Alex Gordon lace a double into the corner to drive in two runs, I am immensely happy. And when Hochever gives up 7 earned runs in the first inning of a game, I am sick to my stomach.

“Well, uh….Luke has got good stuff…..and toughness….grit….words.” (Don McPeak-USA Today Sports)

Baseball tells a story and that is why I come back to the Royals year after year. The stories may not always be happy. But they are MY stories and that’s a connection that can’t be broken by how well the team plays.

Although, it’d be nice if the team could be good.

1) The first news article I saw was entitled “Getz returns to Royals with one-year deal.” This isn’t necessarily so funny in and of itself, but a quote by Chris Getz regarding his injury-plagued season made me chuckle:

You kind of know if you’re going to be around .300 and there are other years where you’re kind of inconsistent and battling to be around .250,” he said. “That was the hardest part, because I felt I was having one of those around-.300 years, but I just kept being knocked down by injuries.

I don’t exactly know where Getz is coming from. I find it doubtful that a player comes into a year thinking, “Man, it feels like a .250 year,” or “Man, there’s no way I’m hitting anything less that .300 this year.” Mostly this is funny because in all the years Getz has been in the league, he only sniffed .300 in 2008 as a member of the White Sox where he batted .286. So here’s to hoping that Getz “feels like it’s another .300 type of year.”

2) The next article that caught my eye was entitled “Glass keeps future in mind as Royals eye upgrades.” There are plenty of amusing quotes to tickle your innards as you read, but I chose this one:

What we’ve said is we need to be in the $70 million range to break even, and our goal is to try to continue to break even,” Glass said. “We’re not interested in making money, but we don’t want to subsidize it to any great extent.

I could sit here and discuss with you the issues with this statement, but as luck would have it, Rany just posted an article that discusses the budget and he does it in a much more knowledgeable way than I ever could. The article doesn’t strictly deal with the financial straits of the franchise, but he does hit on it at the end and his posts are always worth a read. Take a look at it here and smirk cynically at the idea of “breaking even” with me.

3) The final article I’m taking a look at is “Royals uniform numbers a Powerball coincidence.” I’m originally from St. Joseph, Missouri, which is near Dearborn and when I originally heard that one of the Powerball winners up there had used Royals uniform numbers to pick numbers, I thought it was a pretty good story and was hoping that it proved true. My hopes were, however, dashed:

The Hills, from Dearborn, Mo. (pop. 496), near Kansas City, did not pick their winning Powerball Lottery numbers by summoning up the uniform numbers of Royals stars of the past. It was a nice theory bounced around the Internet for a while on Friday.

Apparently these guys are Royals fans, though, so maybe they’ll donate some of their winnings to payroll?

I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

Obviously, Jake Odorizzi has arisen as the primary pitcher to make a splash at the big league level in the upcoming season. After spending the primary part of the 2012 season in (AAA) Omaha, where he went 11-3 with a 2.93 ERA, Odorizzi got a brief glimpse of the majors to the tune of 7.1 innings pitched with 4 earned runs, 4 strikeouts and 4 walks.

This year, hopes are riding pretty high on Odorizzi’s success. But what about the farm’s now tarnished former golden boys, Mike Montgomery and John Lamb?

Montgomery is coming off a fairly ugly year split between (AA) NW Arkansas and (AAA) Omaha. He went 2-6 with a 6.67 ERA at (AA) ball and 3-6 with a 5.69 ERA at the (AAA) level. Maybe he’ll come to spring training and blow everyone away. Maybe he will continue to be awful. He seems to have taken a giant step back and I will be surprised if he makes any kind of noise this season. I’m hoping he’ll surprise me anyways.

I don’t want this guy to fall off the map. (Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE)

I’m really intrigued by John Lamb, though. Spring training in 2013 will mark just under 2 years since Lamb went down with Tommy John. It’d be wonderful if he came out and pitched adequately enough to make the big league squad.

It’s true that the only reason Lamb looks better at this point is due to the fact that he didn’t have the chance to be as bad as Montgomery was. It’s possible that given the same opportunities that Montgomery had last year, Lamb might have tanked as well. Fate saw differently, though, and now I’m ready to see if Lamb is up to the task.

In my mind, it’s likely that Lamb and (definitely) Montgomery will probably need some more time honing their stuff in the minors, (if they don’t completely flop that is) but if one of them could shoot out of the gates this year and prove themselves worthy of a spot in the rotation, how great would that be?

I think we are in desperate need of some solid arms moving up the pipe to the big leagues and I think Montgomery, Lamb, and Odorizzi are the closest to making a splash. If 2 out of 3 can surprise us in 2013. That’d be huge.

I just want to see one of these highly touted arms actually come to the major league team and have success.

In 2011, Escobar hit: .254/.290/.343/.633. He also had 73 SO, 25 BB, stole 25 bases and was caught 9 times.

In 2012, Escobar hit: .293/.331/.390/.721. This was coupled with 100 SO, 27 BB and 35 stolen bases while being caught only 5 times.

I don’t consider myself a player-analysis guru. Far from it, in fact. I originally thought that Escobar’s improvement must have come from a increased amount of patience at the plate. However, I don’t know that that’s true. Escobar only walked 2 more times in 2012. I generally look and see if there was a significant change on the kinds of counts a player swung on throughout the season.

Alcides’ “first-pitch swinging” percentage went up from 24% in 2011 to 25% in 2012. His “swinging-strike percentage” went up as well from 12% to 14%. I don’t know if these are stats that are big factors or what the league average of such statistics is, but I expected to see significant change in these advanced statistics and others, and I”m not seeing much of a bump.

One reason for the uptick in production probably has something to do with Alcides’ somewhat inflated BABIP of .344. The traditional idea is that a BABIP should average out around .300. Escobar’s BABIP from 2011 was .285, so, if you believe in sabermetrics, it’s reasonable to imagine that Esky’s production should be expected to fall somewhere near the median of the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Even if that’s so, and Escobar hits somewhere in the “.270″ area, his ability to steal bases has shown growth and that makes him even more of a danger. Stealing 10 more bases in 2012 while getting caught 4 FEWER times is nothing to sniff at.

Escobar has shown an increased ability to steal bases. Or Yost just sent him more in 2012. You make the call. (John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

In my opinion, Escobar’s ability to swing the lumber and become an offensive threat is merely gravy upon the meat and potatoes of my estimation of him as a player.

Escobar has great range and is capable of making highlight-reel plays. He is, in my opinion, one of the best defensive shortstops in the A.L., if not baseball. He made a few more errors in 2012 than he did in 2011, but his incredible ability to get to the baseball makes up for that slight bump.

And if he is somehow able to maintain this sudden outburst of offensive prowess?

It’s gravy, Baby. Gravy.

The Tampa Bay Rays are a team that have been connected with the Royals as possible player-swap partners. There’s a wealth of pitching talent in the southeast and it’s been postulated that the Royals could afford to give up a bat which said Rays have indicated they’re in need of.

I’ve been thinking a lot regarding how I would feel about shipping Billy Butler somewhere. I love Billy. He’s a great hitter and he’s a long-standing statesmen on this team, but he’s also a designated hitter that doesn’t really have the ability to excel at any other position. This makes it easier for me to see us parting with him. But that fact also lessens his value to other teams, particularly of the N.L. persuasion.

You can sit there deciding the happy medium where the Royals can give up something valuable but gain something valuable in return, or you can completely ignore it and resign yourself to heartache.

I generally am pretty intimate with resignation, but find it increasingly hard to be so when prestigious sports magazines comment on trade possibilities for Kansas City. That happened in this week’s copy of Sports Illustrated Magazine. A cousin of mine asked me if I’d read the article about the Royals getting David Price. I assured him I hadn’t and proceeded to do so.

It was one of those “5 Deals That Should Happen” type of lists and the #1 deal was David Price for Alex Gordon, Johnny Giovatella, and Mike Montgomery.

Are you kidding me? I think you pull the trigger on that deal in a heartbeat.

Gordo is one of my favorite Royals, but considering management’s refusal to utilize Giovatella, Montgomery’s struggles, and the Royals desperate need for an ace , I think this is a no-brainer.

Now, obviously this is just some sportswriter’s analysis of what HE thinks would be a good deal for both teams. I believe the likelihood of this happening is embarrassingly low. That being said, apparently one writer finds it worthwhile enough to list it in Sports Illustrated.

I know better than to be hopeful. The off-season is a time for wild possibilities. I honestly don’t think the proposed situation would be a good deal for the Rays.

What do you think about that idea? Would you put your stamp of approval on that trade for the sake of acquiring David Price?

That’s why I’m interested in what fans have to say about Hosmer after the season he’s had this year. Here’s a link to a year-old article about Hosmer’s extension candidacy. Look at the first comment. It’s crazy how a year can change things, huh?

During last year’s offseason, we here at Kings Of Kauffman wrote various articles about ways the Royals could attempt to entice Hosmer to sign an extension and attempt to buy out years of Hosmer’s arbitration and maybe a year or two of free-agency. Now, it remains to be seen whether Hosmer’s sophomore slump is a fluke or a sign of things to come.

Looking at Hosmer’s slash line runs the risk of melting your face a la “Raiders of the Last Ark,” but I’m willing to do it anyways.

.232/.304/.359/.663

I’m still able to draw a few positives from his season. He took more walks this season. He took 56 walks this year compared to 34 last year. And it wasn’t like that stat is swollen based on more plate appearances this season. He only had 35 more PA’s in 2012 than he did in 2011.

His BABIP was also significantly lower in 2012 (.255) as opposed to 2011 (.314). Using that .300 benchmark that most individuals like to use for an average BABIP, it seems safe to say that Hosmer could be due for a bit of a bounce-back.

I hope this happens because honestly, I think I’ve finally come to the conclusion that it’s unlikely that Hosmer will sign an extension with the Royals. He’s a Boras client with huge, if somewhat tarnished, potential and as we don’t and likely never will have the monetary capacity to retain Hosmer’s services in the long-term, I’m fairly sure he will migrate to a wealthier climate when his indentured servitude is complete.

Now, if the Royals somehow prove that they have some remote shot at contending between now and his release date, I think it’s possible that we may have more of a shot at keeping him around. He has seemed to jell with his teammates and winning makes everyone happy.

Either way, I want Eric Hosmer to make paper.

If the Royals actually make good on their promises of contention in the short-term, it will raise the possibility that Hosmer will want to post up in Kansas City for the long-term. I’m betting that if the Royals are successful next year, it will be partly a result of Hosmer having a comeback year.

However, I’m okay with the other scenario as well. Hosmer could turn things around and make it clear that he has no intention of sticking around, regardless of the Royals’ success or lack thereof. If this happens, it will mean that (hopefully) the Royals will be able to spin Hosmer for a wealth of talent.

So, in my mind, Hosmer making  money will be a win-win situation. It means that he broke out of this crummy slump. Whether it’s a (reasonable) amount of dough coming from us in the form of an extension or whether it comes from another team that we trade him to in the next few years, I think I’ll be at peace.

Unless we trade him for a Jermaine Dye-like return.

Then….there will be no peace in this heart.

Luke Hochevar Is Affirmed As A Significant Contributor To The Starting Rotation

• This issue has been infinitesimally discussed and rehashed as the season came to a close. Luke Hochevar is a bad starting pitcher. His inconsistency is stroke-inducing. He’s worn out his welcome. It’s understandable that the organization may not want to acknowledge the egg on their face. They may not want to admit to a failed #1 overall draft pick. But it’s better to acknowledge a mistake than to continue to throw a guy out there and continually tell a burnt-out fan base that he’s just about to “turn the corner” or “figure everything out.” Pull the plug, stick a fork in him, whatever cliche you like best…Luke Hochevar should not be a significant part of the rotation going forward.

Frenchy Reigns Supreme

• Jeff Francoeur is a great teammate. A great clubhouse some guy. But there is absolutely no reason that he should be the Royals starting right-fielder next year. The job should be Wil Myers’. If Francoeur is still the starter by mid-April, the organization has some explaining to do. I don’t think Myers has anything else to prove. We still owe Francoeur a significant amount of money for this next year, but that’s no excuse to keep Myers tethered in the minor leagues when he is an offensive (and possibly even defensive) upgrade.

It’s Announced That Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino’s Rehabilitation Will Take Longer Than Anticipated

• Tommy John surgery hurt the Royals last year and when this season rolls around, we will still be feeling the after-effects. That means that there needs to be absolutely NO hiccups in the recuperation of Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino. Duffy was impressive last year before he got hurt and Paulino has been quietly steady in his production during his time as a Royal. Dayton Moore’s recent comments about how we can’t build our team through free agency makes the recovery of these two pitchers even more important in my opinion.

These are just a few scenarios I think could railroad the Royals’ before the season even starts. Happy thoughts, I know. However, we snagged Santana today via a reasonable move. I suppose it’s good that Dayton is sticking with his “strike quickly” mentality. We’ll have to see what else happens.

The Royals were underwhelming throughout the 2012 season. After a heart-breaking losing streak early in the year that completely deflated the already laughable “Our Time” moniker, I suspected that these Royals were, in all likelihood, going to shoot far below the expectations that had been placed on them before the season started. Part of that was the unrealistic belief that many Royals fans had about the team and the “weak” division, but this team seems to struggle even meeting fans in the middle. They didn’t have the pitching from the get-go and were soon crippled by injury and sub-par performances by expected breakout stars.

There were bright spots. Sal Perez made his contract look like an absolute steal for the organization and the bullpen had another solid year overall, but aside from looking vaguely threatening as we approached the All-Star Break just before getting swept by the Tigers and spiraling once again, we were disappointing.

Fast-forward to football season and I was hearing the same pre-season hopes regarding the Chiefs. They were a team with a lot of young talent that seemed poised for a breakout year. They were in what was considered a weak division and looked like they had a great shot to win the A.F.C. West.

Then they remembered that they’re a Kansas City sports team. They are so bad they are making the headaches of the Royals’ season look desirable.

I hate whining sports fans, so I’m trying to avoid that, but good grief, what do I have to do to get a successful franchise to root for? The Royals are bad, the Chiefs are bad, Mizzou football is dashing my hopes of at least being passable in its S.E.C. debut. (Laughable mementos like THIS don’t help any.)

I’m not a soccer fan, so I don’t really feel qualified to rejoice in the success of the Sporting.

That leaves Mizzou basketball.* My one last hope at glory. I think if they struggle, I may go off the deep end. I don’t believe it’s too much to ask that one of my teams actually have a successful season.

*Cue Michael Engel arguing that I should be a Jayhawk fan……..Cringe.

I’m desperately clinging to the hope that the basketball Tigers can carry my sanity for this sports year and I’m adamantly hoping that Dayton Moore and David Glass deliver on these promises, half-promises, and/or somewhat retracted promises that they’re spouting.

I, like many people I’m sure, am sick of my teams being consistently bad. Something’s got to change and if there aren’t some fairly drastic things happening during the Royals offseason, it looks like we’re in for more of the same.

Conventional wisdom says the team’s skipper only counts for a handful of wins during a season, but talk with Kansas City fans during a game or on social media and the term “Yosted” gets thrown around, which defined to me is a poor choice made by Ned Yost. To extend the definition it can be a move that isn’t made or one that only Yost could make to cost or help the team, keeping in starters too long, question bullpen move or calling for bunts. So with that’s lets go down the oppositions by 2012 finish.

Can Ned Yost lead the Royals to glory compared to other managers in the AL Central next season? Photo Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers –
Resume: Won 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins and has led the Detroit Tigers to the 2006 and 2012 World Series. In addition to three trips to the World Series he’s lead the Pirates to the NLCS multiple times before stops with Florida, Colorado and Detroit.
Outlook: Leyland is known as a guy who wins wherever he goes and his success backs this up with multiple League Championship Series appearances plus managing in three World Series.
Effect on the Royals: Kansas City had a tough time with Detroit this season winning just four times in 18 meetings. The signature for the Tigers against KC was winning close games which in my opinion comes down to the manager making the right moves.

Robin Ventura, Chicago White Sox –
Resume: As a player Ventura was known as an excellent third baseman with the White Sox and others. Chicago GM plucked him out of near obscurity and all he did was keep the ChiSox competitive all season, nearly winning the division.
Outlook: Sure you can dwell on the negatives but without any experience as a manager the team had success that Royals fans crave.
Effect on the Royals: It could be said that Kansas City kept Chicago from the division crown with their success. Will this continue? Hard to say but one would think that Ventura will remember this next season when the teams play. The biggest example might be to stop issuing intentional walks to Jeff Francoeur in 2013.

Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians –
Resume: After a largely forgettable stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, Francona rebounded with two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. While forced out after a non-playoff season during his last season it might not of been all him with the Red Sox 2012 failings.
Outlook: Cleveland made this hire feeling that having a quality manager will lift this long suffering franchise to the success they enjoyed in the 90’s.
Effect on the Royals: Will Royals fans pine for the days of Manny Acta with Cleveland upgrading with a World Series manager on the bench? Expect the Tribe to start the process of improving with this hire in the coming years.

Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins –
Resume: Since taking over for Tom Kelly the Twins have been to the ALCS and won multiple central crowns. Gardenhire might lack a World Series appearance and dropped off the past couple years but his teams always compete.
Outlook: Minnesota made some coaching changes this offseason with the hope of changing its luck, also expect on-field moves to help the team.
Effect on the Royals: One of the many complaints of Royals fans is why can’t we be as good as the Twins? Well a good starting point is their manager who continues to have KC’s number whenever the teams face off.

While Kansas City needs to upgrade the pitching, defense and other aspects of the team competing against these guys shouldn’t be undervalued. Upgrading the talent will help even a guy like Ned but know the opposition is looking to do the same.

“Mooses?” (more…)

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I drove my ‘69 GTO to the stadium in the summer of 1977 and climbed the steps to the high altitude seats at the far reaches of the upper deck – not because I couldn’t afford a better view, but because all the other seats were taken.  Other than Arrowhead Stadium, I’ve never felt more energy and passion in a fan group than I did back in the team’s heyday.  Everybody wanted to go to the Royals games, they were the hottest tickets in town.

Kauffman Stadium, the most wonderful place on earth to watch a baseball game.

Kauffman Stadium, originally called Royals Stadium, was built in the early 70’s when most cities were constructing butt-ugly cookie-cutter, multi-use stadiums.  There are few things worse than playing baseball on a football field, or football on a baseball field.  The twin sports gems in Kansas City were each built to house one sport, and one team, making us the envy of the sports world when they opened.  The beautiful sight lines with every seat facing second base, the one-of-a-kind fountains, the dramatic centerfield scoreboard, the convenient highway intersection location – Kauffman offered many cutting-edge features long before anyone ever dreamed of adding the Little K, the Hall of Fame, the Buck O’Neill legacy seat, the carnival beyond the outfield, and the one-time largest High Def LCD screen in the world.

Have you ever visited a baseball stadium in another city?  Have you been to Wrigley, Tiger Stadium, Minute Maid Park, Yankee Stadium to name a few?  If you have, you’ll notice Kauffman offers one enormously important critical advantage over all of them – parking.  It’s something we take for granted in Kansas City.  In most other cities, you must take the bus, or drive in circles before each game seeking out the gangsta-looking guys standing in their front yards with a “Park Here $20” sign.  And good luck trying to leave early with cars jammed bumper to bumper and side to side, 5 cars deep on the grass.  I’m serious, you have to wait until everyone parking in front of you leaves before you can drive away.  Why anyone would build a stadium in a location without sufficient parking, I’ll never understand.

And here’s another Kauffman advantage: Tiger Stadium has great sausages, Camden Yards has crab cakes (yuck!), Ahi Tuna at AT&T Park in San Francisco (yuck again!), and the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati has fried cinnamon rolled doughnuts topped with warm caramel.  But do you know what Kauffman Stadium has?  The most perfect mid-summer baseball game snack ever invented – no, not peanuts (although that’s a fantastic option too), but delicious, icy, chocolate frosty malts.  Hard to believe, but few if any other stadiums offer this tasty treat.

And there is history that still rings in this hallowed place.  Of all the key moments in the stadium’s past, October 27, 1985 stands alone as the most important date and the most glorious game ever played at Kauffman.  The Royals pounded the hapless St. Louis Cardinals 11-0.  George Brett went 4 for 5.  The Cards used 7 pitchers, the Royals needed only one – Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen.  41,658 crazed fans watched the Royals wrap up their one and only world championship on a Fall Classic perfect 62 degree evening.  The smell of cotton candy was in the air, the fountains splashed, the Crown scoreboard flashed, the eyes of the entire sports universe were trained on Kansas City –  and never again has a meaningful game been played at Kauffman in the month of October.

When I drive past the intersection of I-435 & I-70 in October I can actually envision the crowds, the television satellite trucks in the parking lot, the blimp overhead, and the beautiful, awe-inspiring roar of the fanatical KC crowd.  Every year I tell myself – maybe next year.  Maybe in 2013 or 2014 we’ll get to play meaningful games in October.  Maybe the young fans of Kansas City will have a chance to experience the rapture of playoff games.  Maybe our beautiful, timeless baseball field with the Hall of Fame former groundskeeper, the frosty malts, the gargantuan HD scoreboard, world class parking, and the $250 Million facelift will see another October moon shine down from a cloudless night sky.  Someday.   One thing is for sure – Kauffman Stadium deserves better.

When you read the title of this article, what did you think when you saw the word “Competitive”?  Did you imagine the Royals winning the World Series, or would you be satisfied with a .500 record for the season?  Maybe you pictured the Royals on top of the American League Central standings above the Tigers and White Sox.  Many of us would be content and consider our team to be competitive if we simply believed we had a real chance to win every time we went to the ballpark.

As we witnessed this season, the Royals have a long way to go before becoming competitive by any of these definitions.  But the good news is the team’s weaknesses became glaringly apparent this year, and this gives us a target to work with when repairing the broken pieces.  It’s impossible to fix a problem if you don’t know what the problem is – and I think we all know what the problems are after watching the team play for the past six months.  Let’s discuss a few of the issues the Royals need to address to become competitive.

Jeremy Guthrie is one piece of the puzzle that could make the Royals competitive. (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

As we have discussed many times (ad nauseam), number one on the list of needs is starting pitching.  With two possible exceptions, I would be hesitant to say that any of the hurlers the Royals sent to the mound this year could earn a spot in the rotation of a competitive ball club.  The Royals lucked into the mid-season addition of Jeremy Guthrie who has turned into a real gem.  As George Costanza would say, “It’s like discovering plutonium by accident.”  If Guthrie has indeed found his old form, he can be one of the mainstays of a competitive rotation – assuming we can sign him.  (Message to the Royals – you better sign him, or you’ll have one massively disappointed fan base.)  Jake Odorizzi could be the real deal too, but I suggest we withhold judgment until we’ve seen a larger sample size at the big league level.

It’s easy to forget about them when they aren’t around, but the Royals have a couple of decent pitching options on the shelf this year who are recovering from Tommy John surgery.  I believe Danny Duffy can play a role in the starting five of a competitive team, and I’m not ready to completely commit yet, but I think Felipe Paulino should be given a shot too.  Add Joakim Soria back to what is already possibly the best bullpen in the major leagues and it’s lights out for the opposition anytime the Royals are ahead in the 7^th inning or later.  Unfortunately, it’s unlikely any of these pitchers will be available and contributing until sometime around the All-Star break of next season.

The Royals have a few more viable starting pitching options in the minors in Yordano Ventura, Kyle Zimmer, and John Lamb.  However, I’m skeptical that any of this group can reach Kansas City until 2014.

David Glass recently assured us that he’s willing to open the checkbook and add to our pitching staff.  What he said exactly was “when we get to the point where we’re competitive, we’ll do what we have to do to improve our position.  Yes, we’ll do what we need to do.  We are committed to improving our starting pitching.”  And there’s the dreaded “competitive” word again.  Did anyone ask Glass about his definition of competitive?  If so, I haven’t heard his answer.   My guess is we’ll probably end up with a “B” level free agent and maybe another journeyman who we hope will finally realize his potential after being cut by 5 or 6 different teams.  In other words, don’t count on our pitching solutions coming through free agency.

The Royals have the prospects and young major league talent to trade for a top-tier pitcher.  But if the price for this trade means the loss of Hosmer, Moustakas, Wil Myers or Bubba Starling plus a couple more guys with potential including one of our pitching prospects, is it really worth it?  And do you trust the Royals front office to make a trade that includes equal talent on both sides?  On the one hand, if you land a real #1, yes, it might be worth it.  On the other hand, you’ll probably just create another hole that needs to be patched, so you may just end up trading one problem for another.  In my opinion, barring a miracle, our pitching problems will only be solved when a few of our internal candidates realize their potential.

Right field is another glaring weakness with Jeff Francoeur regressing to his pre-Royals form and returning to the status of the worst player in baseball.  Wil Myers is the answer here.  Period.  Let’s move on.

And what about second base?  The Royals don’t seem to be happy with any of their options here.  It’s obvious to me that they don’t see Johnny Giavotella as the solution, and I don’t think Chris Getz is either.  The team has trotted out a number of additional players, mostly career minor-leaguers, with varying degrees of success, but none of them has performed to the level that demands the team consider him as the future of the position.

Is it possible Christian Colon, our first round pick from 2010 (the 4^th pick overall) could end up at 2^nd?   It’s possible, but I believe it’s unlikely.  I’ve never heard the Royals speak highly of him since he was drafted, although he has turned out to be exactly the type of player most scouts predicted him to be – steady, but unspectacular.  I don’t understand why the Royals drafted a player in the 1^st round that they didn’t have high expectations for.  In my opinion, there is no clear answer for the Royals at second base, which means this will be a continuing issue for the foreseeable future and something that could potentially prevent the Royals from becoming competitive.

With a couple of caveats, the rest of the team is relatively solid.  Alex Gordon has now proven to be a regular contributor that we can count on to perform well.  Although Centerfield has been a bit of a merry-go-round this year, I still believe Lorenzo Cain can do the job.  (I realize I may be in the minority, but I still like what I see from him.)  I’m convinced Mike Moustakas is only going to get better every year, and although I’m a little bit worried about Eric Hosmer, none of the well known sports prognosticators appear to be concerned, so I’m going to take their word for it.

And what about short and catcher?  I must confess I have a flaming man-crush on Salvador Perez and I think Alcides Escobar is incredibly talented.  In my opinion, I believe Escobar and Perez may be the best Shortstop and Catcher combination the Royals have ever fielded, and I’ve been watching the Royals play for a long, long, long time.  The Royals have both players tied-up long term, two of the smartest decisions Dayton Moore has made during his time in KC.

Royals fans anxiously await the return of Danny Duffy (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

So here’s the bottom line.  By almost any definition, the Royals won’t have the pitching horses to be competitive early next season.  By the All-Star break of 2013, we could see Danny Duffy, Felipe Paulino, and Joakim Soria return to Kauffman – and just imagine how much better they’ll be when they’re throwing to Salvador Perez!  Depending on whether Hosmer finds his bat again and if the Royals do what they are expected to do and play Wil Myers in Right Field, I believe they will begin to have a chance to win every time they take the field in the last half of 2013.  If your definition of “competitive” means that we win the division, you’ll be disappointed next year.  But if you enjoy watching fun baseball games, get yourself a ticket to watch the Royals play next August and September, I think you’ll like what you see.

Then in 2014, this is when things begin to get really exciting.  Kyle Zimmer, John Lamb, Yordano Ventura and possibly a couple of additional wild cards (Aaron Crow?  Joakim Soria?? Tim Collins???) will be competing for a position in the rotation with Jeremy Guthrie (hopefully), Danny Duffy, and John Lamb.  Hopefully Luke Hochevar will be in our rear-view mirror.  Hosmer will have his feet on the ground again and be ready to dominate.  Perez and Escobar will be poised for All-Star seasons.  Bubba Starling will be knocking on the door and pushing all the Royals outfielders to play well for fear Bubba will take their place on the field in 2015.  Surely to goodness the front office will find someone to play second base by then.

Do I think the Royals have potential to be competitive by almost any definition in 2014?  If things unfold the way I pictured them in the previous two paragraphs, then you bet your sweet bippy I do.  Does this mean we should give up on 2013?  Have you noticed where the Oakland A’s are in the AL West standings?  They are going to the playoffs with (in my opinion) less talent than the Royals have right now.  Would I bet that the Royals will be competitive in 2013?  No, I wouldn’t.  But then, I wouldn’t have bet on the Oakland A’s this year either.

The Royals Fell Flat as the Month of September Ended.(Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)

Going into the last full month of the season, the Royals had some nice momentum and the phrase “.500″ was even starting to creep back into some people’s vocabulary. They had just swept the Detroit Tigers and put together their best month of the season. Any momentum was quickly halted with a disappointing doubleheader defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Twins on September 1st. They continued with their poor start to the month, losing 5 of their first 7 games. They also ended the month with a thud, losing 7 out of their last 8. However, sandwiched nicely in-between disappointing streaks was a pretty good stretch. They beat up on the first place White Sox and won 9 out of 14 through the middle of the month. They looked like a different team during that stretch, one that could beat anyone. However, towards the end of the month, the Royals seemed to be falling apart at the seams. An influx of injuries, mental mistakes, multiple errors, and mindless mishaps were all signs that pointed to a team that looked to be completely exhausted. Here’s a look at what happened in the Month of September…
I. Record/Standings
a. September Overall Record: 12-17 (.414)
Season Record: 71-88 (.447)
AL Central: 3rd (of 5)
American League: 10th (of 14)
Major League: 22nd (of 30)
b. September Home Record
7-9 (.438)
Season Home Record: 36-42 (.462)
c. September Road Record
5-8 (.385)
Season Road Record: 35-46 (.432)
d. September Streaks
Winning: 4 (9/19-9/22: White Sox, Indians)
Losing: 6 (9/23-9/28: Indians, Tigers, Indians)
Current: Lost 1
e. September Opponents
Twins: 3-3
Rangers: 1-3
White Sox: 4-2
Angels: 1-2
Indians: 3-3
Tigers: 0-4
II. Ned Yost Quote of the Month
9/12-after being “determined” to get Luke Hochevar his first win since July 31st. Hochevar gave up 5 ER in 5 IP, but the offense gave him a lead and the Royals ended up winning 10-5.
“He hasn’t won a game in his last seven starts and I wanted to get him over that hump,” Yost said. “He was working hard out there, maybe a little too hard, but he was trying with everything he had to get over that hump, too. I was bound and determined to give him every opportunity to do it. Part of my job is to get guys in a frame of mind so they can go out and compete and be successful. Sometimes you’ve got to let ‘em work through some things.”
III. High Point
Beating the Angels with Late Inning Power on 9/15
Zack Greinke took the mound to face his old team in his old stadium and kept the Royals in check for 8 1/3 innings. Jeremy Guthrie nearly matched him, pitching 8 full innings but giving up a single run in two separate innings. The Royals had scattered just 5 hits throughout the game, and things looked bleak. However, after a leadoff strikeout by Alcides Escobar in the 9th, Alex Gordon stroked a single and chased the former Cy Young Winner. Ernesto Frieri replaced Greinke and on the first pitch he threw, Billy Butler hit a long home run to the deepest part of the park. Just like that, it was a tie game. Salvador Perez came up next, and three pitches later, hit a walk-off home run to end the game. Like a skilled ninja, the Royals lured the Angels deep into their lair, then swiftly dispatched their opponent in dramatic fashion.
IV. Low Point
Getting swept in a four game series by the Tigers on 9/27
After playing tough against the first place White Sox, the Royals went to Detroit to take on another contender. I saw it as a chance to see how the Royals could stack up against the Tigers. Well, it turns out that they really didn’t. The Tigers won the first 3 games, then in the 4th, the Royals looked completely worthless. In the game, the Royals made 5 errors, including 3 by the usually slick-fielding Mike Moustakas. Doug Fister tied an American League record by striking out 9 Royals in a row. It was just embarrassing. The loss meant a rare 4-game sweep, and a 5-game losing streak for the Royals.
V. Surprises and Disappointments
1) Hosmer’s Forgettable Season.(Disappointment) Things just never really got going for our talented first baseman in 2012. His early struggles that everyone thought he’d be able to shake have refused to go away. Hosmer hit .179 during the month of September and ended the month, and maybe his season, by diving for a ball and partially tearing his rotator cuff. Here’s hoping that the disappointment of 2012 serves as motivation for him to work harder than he ever has during this offseason so he can try to redeem himself next year.
2) Going Streaking. (Surprise) During September, the Royals went streaking in both directions. While this might be fun to watch on a college campus, it can be frustrating as a baseball fan. The disappointment in this is that the losing streaks outweighed the winning. They had a losing streak of 6 in a row that came immediately on the heels of a 4-game winning streak. While the losing streak seemed long, it was still only half as long as their losing streak in April. They’ve got to find ways to not lose so many games in a row.
3) Picking Favorites. (Disappointment) I know it’s not over yet, but the Royals can be credited with giving the Detroit Tigers the AL Central crown. They played with a vengeance against the then-first place White Sox, and then rolled over against Detroit. It’s got to infuriate the White Sox, who have imploded over the past month or so. Losing to the Royals is never a good thing, but it’s something they’ll be thinking about all winter. Did the Royals decide that they wanted the Tigers to win the division? Maybe – I mean, wouldn’t you rather see the Tigers win than the White Sox?
4) No Walking. (Disappointment) The Royals drew just 59 walks for the month of September. That’s almost half the number of walks that the Yankees drew and the least in the Major Leagues. This contributed to the Royals having the 2nd worst OBP in the AL, better only than the Boston Red Sox. Going into Saturday’s win at Cleveland, the 5-game road trip had produced just 1 walk and 45 strikeouts. That must have been brought to their attention, because they drew 5 walks in that Saturday game.
VI. Transactions
1) 9/1: Recalled OF David Lough from AAA Omaha and C Manny Pina from AA Northwest Arkansas.
2) 9/4: Recalled RHP Jeremy Jeffress from AA Northwest Arkansas.
3) 9/14: Recalled OF Jason Bourgeois from AAA Omaha.
4) 9/16: Called Up RHP Jake Odorizzi from AAA Omaha. Recalled RHP Nathan Adcock, INF Irving Falu, C Adam Moore, and LHP Tommy Hottovy from AAA Omaha.

Billy Butler Continues to Mash in 2012. (Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)

VII. Player of the Month
Billy Butler
Billy just continues to have a great season. He played in every game during the month of September, and hit .336 with 11 doubles and 24 RBI. Billy had 8 multi-hit games in September, including 5 games where he had 3 hits. His consistent bat hammered out streaks of 6, 10, and just ended another 10 game hitting streak. All in all, he hit in every one but three games during the month. He’s putting up numbers comparable to those that he put up in 2010, but with 30 more RBI and almost double the amount of Home Runs. He heads into the final homestand of the year hitting .312, slugging .511, and with 107 RBI. He has filled the team’s need for a full-time designated hitter, and is definitely one position that won’t be in question going into 2013. It will be nice to stand up and applaud Billy for his finest season this coming week.
Honorable Mention: Alex Gordon. Despite being moved out of his leadoff spot, Gordon has continued to hit – and field. While Alex’s average was down in September, he continued to hit doubles. He’s now got 51 on the season, which ties him with Butler in 2010 & is just 3 behind Hal McRae’s club record of 54. Gordon also gets kudos for drawing 11 walks in a month where it seemed like the Royals forgot how to do so.

The Results Were Usually Good When Kelvin Herrera Took the Ball in September. (Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)

VIII. Pitcher of the Month
Kelvin Herrera
Herrera was the most opportunistic pitcher out of the Royals bullpen in September. He appeared in 14 games throughout the month, and the Royals won 8 of those games. Herrera walked away with a 3-1 record and a 1.84 ERA. He collected Saves in both opportunities on September 22nd & September 29th. In the latter, he got to come in and pitch the bottom of the 14th inning after the Royals were able to break the tie in the top of the inning. Herrera has been a solid Right-Handed arm for the Royals in 2012. His 2.38 ERA over 83 1/3 innings is impressive. Also impressive is his Walk to Strikeout ration of 21/75. In a month where the starting pitching wasn’t all that great, the bullpen has had to carry the weight. That’s something that isn’t solely a September issue, and we’ve got to give credit to the guys in the bullpen for helping out the starters all year. For Herrera, he earned his spot on 2013′s roster in September.
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Guthrie. Despite only having a 1-0 record in 5 outings, the Royals won 4 of those games. He pitched at least 7 innings in four of those outings, and never gave up more than 4 earned runs. His ERA for the month was an impressive 2.25. He’s gotten better as the season has progressed & he’ll get one more start on Tuesday night.
IX. Compare to September 2011
The 2011 Royals came together to form their “team of the future” by the time September hit. As a result, they wowed Kansas City fans by playing well and having their best month of the entire season. At 15-10, they outscored their opponents by 29 runs. The month also included their longest winning streak of the season (7 games). The Royals lost their final home game of 2011 on September 21st before going on the road for the final 6 games of the year. They won 3 of those games before dropping the final 2 games of the season in Minnesota. The games in September were heavily weighted to AL Central opponents, and the Royals were 2-1 against division-winning Detroit. They were good against Chicago again, going 5-2 against the White Sox. They also went to the West Coast to play the Mariners and A’s, going 4-3.
Royals starters had a good month, with several guys compiling good records, good ERAs, good walk-to-strikeout ratios, yada, yada, yada. Joakim Soria (remember him?) had 4 saves, Greg Holland had 2. Offensively, Salvador Perez had arrived in full, and hit .375 with a .513 Slugging %. Mike Moustakas had figured things out, and hit .352 with 4 HR. Eric Hosmer hit .349 with 19 RBI. Even Jeff Francoeur was on fire, hitting .329 for the month and pounding 5 HR.
September 2011 saw just one call-up by the Royals, probably because everyone else was already in Kansas City. Kelvin Herrera took to the mound in the top of the 8th against the Tigers on September 21st. He promptly hit Ryan Raburn with the first pitch. He’d proceed to give up a double and a home run, allowing 3 runs in his 1 inning of work. He pitched just one other time 5 days later and would fare much better, not allowing a hit.
X. October Outlook
The Royals have just three games left, a final series at the K against the First Place Detroit Tigers. The Tigers dominated the Royals last week, sweeping a four game series. The two teams have swept each other in each of their last four series. We’ll see what everyone has left in the tank, and if they can top their win total from 2011. They currently sit at 71 wins on the season, which is exactly how many they won a year ago. With just one win against the Tigers, the organization can claim that “progress” is being made. If the Tigers can beat the Royals just once, they’ll win the AL Central, so they’ll definitely have something to play for.
During this final homestand, there’s really only one promotion left in October at the K: They’ll be handing out Early Bird Schedules and Team Photos at all three games.
XI. Summary
There are three games left in a season that began with such hope, such promise. A lot has happened in 2012, including having the nation’s eyes focused on our stadium for the All-Star Game. There have been many ups and downs as we’ve gone. There were signs of success and signs of strife, but we mostly saw signs of a young and inconsistent team. Hopefully, with another year of experience under their belt, they will come back stronger and more seasoned in 2013. For now though, they should focust on these remaining three games. We’ll see how Ned Yost is able to motivate them for this final homestand. I know that they don’t really have anything to play for, but I hope that pride still exists, and the guys will come out and give the home fans something to cheer for this week.

That being said, I’ve not had much of a chance to watch Tony Abreu play. Here’s his offensive slash line in the 19 games he’s appeared in this season:

.266/.273/.375/.648

I don’t pretend to be able to make an assessment of defensive ability, so if you’ve got an opinion on that, throw it out there. But when questioning whether Abreu should be retained on the 40-man roster next season, I have to ask the question: Can you tell the difference between Abreu and Irving Falu?

Here’s Falu’s line in 20 games:

.375/.384/.486/.870

Falu has been a lot more successful offensively this season in a similar, albeit small sample size of games and plate appearances. Again, my ability to assess Falu’s defensive capabilities is limited based on my inability to watch the games and or decipher advanced defensive metrics. However, a quick eye test tells me that both Falu and Abreu are fairly similar in physical capabilities. They both throw right-handed and they both switch-hit. They both have last names that end in “u.” Falu is 29 and Abreu is 27 which means that they’re both probably too old to become much more than decent fill-in guys.

Honestly? These guys are the same player to me, which means I only think we need one of them on the bench when next year rolls around. I think I like what I’ve (briefly) seen from Falu more than what I’ve seen from Abreu. If you’re an Abreu apologist or someone that thinks both guys need a spot on the bench or even the 40-man roster, explain yourself to me. Otherwise, I think Falu has more value than Abreu.

What aggravates me the most about these people is that the majority of them state their sports allegiance superiority by claiming to be a fan of the Yankees, the Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys, the Red Sox or some other team that has a “cool” following of hip, band-wagon devotees.  I know this same scenario plays out in your life.  Challenge one of this wannabees sometime and ask if they’ve ever bought a ticket to see their team in their own home stadium.  In my rule book, if you’ve never once paid to watch your team play in person at home, then you simply cannot be a “real” fan.

Maybe Jake Odorizzi’s performance in 2013 will encourage more fans to stick around next September. (Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports via US PRESSWIRE)

I’ve always viewed my loyalty to the Royals the same way I have always felt about watching my sons play little league.  When your kids play baseball, you go to the game, and you root hard for them, win or lose, and you never stop cheering or believing in their potential because they’re your kids – and nothing will ever change that.  This is how I feel about the Royals.  They are my team – always have been and always will be – and nothing will ever change that.

We all know the competitive landscape in baseball isn’t fair, at least not in the same way that the NFL is fair with virtually every well managed football team having a shot to make the playoffs each year regardless of market size.  For whatever reason, Major League Baseball has rejected the revenue sharing lessons taught by the NFL, which is the primary explanation for why football overtook baseball as America’s game many years ago.  Yes, believe it or not, once upon a time, baseball was the most popular sport in America by a long shot.  In my opinion, George Steinbrenner and big market money have been the most significant contributors to the dulling of baseball’s once bright luster.

We Royals fans are an unusual bunch.  Are any of us “bandwagon” fans?  There were a few earlier this season when hopes were high and expectations were unrealistic, but most of them are long gone.  If you’re still watching games and reading this web site in September of 2012, then most likely, you are a “real” Royals fan.

And how did you become a Royals fan?  I’m old enough to remember the great years, when the Royals dominated professional baseball, so it was natural for me to become a fan.  (It seems like a dream, but yes, it’s true – the Royals completely dominated for many years.)  But how about you?  If you are younger than about 35-years-old, then you are the purest of fans.  You cheer for a team that has never played competitively in your active memory, because you’ve chosen them and they are your team, and because real fans don’t jump to another bandwagon when their team doesn’t win every year.

I have great respect for Royals fans who started following the team during the dark ages of the past couple decades.  One of them is my friend Chris Anderson.  I think Chris is about 27-years-old and he’s as hard-core and knowledgeable as any old-school Royals fan I know.  I don’t have any idea how Chris became this way, but I have great respect for his devotion to the team, and I’m proud to count him amongst those of us who bleed Royal blue and long for the day when we will celebrate another championship.  You can follow Chris on Twitter at @dieselChristoph.

I don’t have any other point to this story except to say that it’s when times get rough, that’s when you find out who your true friends are.  And in the world of sports, there are few things rougher than rooting for a perennial loser as they play out the stretch, eliminated from playoff contention, during the final weeks of the season.  Royals fans who hang on in September are the true fans, and they should receive some sort of medal or certificate of recognition.  In lieu of an award, I salute you, and I stand with you as we cheer our team together until the last out of the last inning of the last game.

Although the Royals aren’t going to win 82 games as I hoped a few months ago, it’s still been a fun season and I’m excited about what the future holds with Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and our returning Tommy John group of pitchers added to our current team, along with hopefully a few additional tweaks and adjustments to the roster.  (And maybe one or two big name acquisitions.  Hey – I can dream, can’t I?)  In just a few days we’ll close out the season, we’ll watch longingly as the fans in other markets cheer their teams in the playoffs, and we’ll make plans to do it all over again starting next Spring.

The Royals Celebrated 12 Wins over Division-Leading Chicago in 2012.(Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

Not as a contender of course, but as the pesky underachievers who could spoil the party. Their play over the next 10 days will determine the winner of the American League Central Division.

To the Chicago White Sox fan’s relief, they and the Royals are done seeing each other for the season. The Royals beat up on the Sox again this year, going 12-6 against the self-proclaimed “Good Guys”. (The Royals were 11-7 against them in 2011) The Royals played a big part in Detroit’s run at the Division Title by winning these games, and by winning 4 of 6 against the Sox in September. Going into today, Chicago finds themselves at just 9-12 for the month, in the middle of a five-game losing streak, and clinging to a one-game lead in the Division.

Of the Royals’ remaining 10 games, seven of those will be against the team that has been chasing the White Sox for most of 2012 – the Detroit Tigers. This could either be good news or bad news for Tigers fans. Up to this point, the Tigers hold a 7-4 advantage over the Royals this season. However, in their most recent matchup, the Royals swept Detroit in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. Before that, the Tigers were the ones doing the sweeping, winning their three-game series in Detroit back in July. All in all, the Tigers are 4-1 vs. the Royals at home and 3-3 at Kauffman.

It shapes up to be an advantage for Detroit, considering that the first four games are in Detroit, with tonight’s game being a make-up of a rainout on April 30th. Justin Verlander will face the Royals tonight, and if the rotation holds true, the Royals would not have to face him again. However, it’s likely that if Detroit’s playoff chances come down to needing a win on the final day of the season, they’d move the Cy Young winner up a day to face KC on October 3rd. Verlander on the hill does not mean an automatic win for the Tigers though – the last time he faced the Royals, he was roughed up about as bad as he ever has been. You know that will be on his mind when he takes the ball tonight.

While the Royals & Tigers are battling in Detroit, Chicago will be facing Cleveland for three at home, then will welcome in the Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game set. Chicago is a healthy 8-4 against Cleveland this year, and are 3-0 against Tampa Bay. With seven straight home games, they’ve got to like their odds. Advantage Chicago?

After this first four-game set between the Tigers and Royals, Detroit will travel to Minnesota for a three-game series. The Tigers are just 8-7 against Minnesota this year, but are 5-1 in the Twin Cities.

The final three games of the year will come down to Chicago at Cleveland and Detroit at Kansas City. Depending on what happens over the next week, the race could come down to these three games. Royals fans should treat this as our World Series. These will be games that Detroit will HAVE to win, so they’ll be all business. It will be great experience for the Royals to strap it on and go toe to toe with the Tigers to see how they match up. In a season of disappointment and underwhelming achievements, it will be good to see how our guys measure up against a team in the hunt for the playoffs.

Chicago definitely has the home field advantage going into this final stretch, getting to play 7 of 10 at home. Detroit is playing better baseball right now, but not by much. They’re just 10-11 in September and have lost 3 of 4. As a matter of fact, at 11-11, the Royals record for September is better than both contending teams. If they’re able to keep it up, Chicago will win the division.

As for the Royals, they’ll finish in third place, their best finish since 2003. That was also their last winning season. They won’t break the .500 mark again this year, but they will have a say in which team raises a banner as the 2012 AL Central Champions.

The rules stipulated that if you won your league during the regular season you had to move up and play in the post season tournament for the next higher division, in this case, the “C” league.  Conversely, if your team finished last, you dropped to the next lower league’s tournament.  And wouldn’t you know it, my “D” league team ended up playing in the championship game for the “C” league against the team that had come in last place in the “B” league.  Makes your head spin a little bit, doesn’t it?

I know you’re dying to learn the result of the Championship game, aren’t you?  We won.  The best team in the “D” league handily defeated the worst team in the “B” league, while all the “C” teams sat on the sidelines during their own league Championship game.

During the regular season I knew our softball team was good, but I had no idea just how good we were.  How could I?  We were never really challenged and we weren’t allowed to live up to our potential until the post season tournament.  We were just a “D” team after all, and we thought that surely every “C” and “B” team was much better than us.  Well, we were wrong.

Wil Myers is the best player in the minor leagues according to Baseball America. (Credit: Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE)

Ever heard of a guy named Wil Myers?  He plays a variety of outfield positions in the Royals minor league system.  He also played catcher a couple of years ago too, but surrendered this position to make room for the rocket-armed Salvador Perez, but that’s another story.  Except that it’s proof he’s willing to do whatever the Royals ask him to do, anything necessary to put himself in a position to move up to the majors.  He batted .314 this season with an impressive 37 home runs and 109 RBIs in only 134 games.  Baseball America just ranked him as the 3^rd best prospect in the entire minor leagues, and oh by the way – Baseball America also named Wil as their Minor League Player of the Year for 2012.

Beginning with his head turning performance in the Arizona Fall League a year ago, Myers has been on a tear that has captured the attention of baseball prognosticators nationwide who are all drooling over his potential.  For a somewhat scrawny looking 6’5”, 205 lb bean pole, Wil’s homerun prowess is prolific.  At the ripe old age of 21, just four other players have hit 36 or more home runs in a minor league season over the past 30 years.  Their names are Wil Myers (37), Paul Konerko (37), Jose Canseco (36), and – drum roll please – Mike Moustakas (36).

Paul Konerko has 400+ home runs in his career, over a hundred more than any Royal ever, and at 37 years old he’s still batting over .300 and proving he has many miles left on his talented bat.  Jose Canseco has turned into a bit of a joke recently with his weird Twitter rants and embarrassing desire to renew his baseball career at 48 years of age, but back in the day, this half of the Bash Brothers could swing the wood.  Jose retired in 2001 with 462 career home runs.  I believe this puts Wil Myers in pretty good company and speaks volumes about his potential in the major leagues.

Now, let’s talk about Jeff Francoeur for a moment.  If you’ve been paying attention to the Royals this year, you know that Frenchy has a great arm, and a talented, ummm, well, let’s see…  I’ll take the politically correct route and just say he hasn’t performed up to expectations this season.

Jeff Francoeur (Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE)

Jeff has been hovering about 30 or 40 notches above the Mendoza line for most of the year, he’s hit 13 home runs and driven in 41.  Let me say that again – he’s our Right Fielder, one of the corner positions where the team should expect to derive most of its power, and he’s driven in a pathetic 41 runs.  He leads the team in strikeouts per plate appearance, he doesn’t walk much, doesn’t steal many bases, and he covers the outfield like a mule that’s been weighted down with a prospector’s once-in-a-lifetime gold strike.

According to Baseball America’s WAR stat (Wins Against Replacement), Francoeur is having one of the worst seasons in the history of professional baseball.  At least he isn’t burdening the Royals with a huge payroll number.  Oops – he’s earning $6,000,000 this year for taking up valuable space on our roster.  Yes, that’s a 6 with six zeros.  And the Royals are contracted to pay him a whopping $7.5 million next season.  Can you say “it’s good to be Dayton Moore’s buddy”?

Yes I love Frenchy’s smile, his great attitude, and his team mentality.  But at some point (and I reached this point many months ago), you want to win more than you want to root for the nice guy to pull out of his long, lingering, mind-numbing slump.

The concept of watching your team field a historically inept player day-in and day-out, would be almost understandable if there were no other options.  But wait – don’t the Royals have that Wil Myers guy down in Omaha, leading his team to another PCL Championship Series last week?  The concept becomes inexplicable when you see the big picture and learn that not only do the Royals have a replacement option for the worst player in the majors, but the replacement just happens to be the very best player in the minors!

So, what would you do?  Or rather, what would have done a few months ago when this best player vs the worst player scenario became obvious?  Would you let Wil Myers pound away on inferior minor league pitching and chase a few more fly balls in the outfield to further perfect his craft?  Or, would you bench Frenchy and write Myers name on the Royals lineup card to give him a taste of what is to come next year when he surely, hopefully, we all pray will be playing Right Field for the Royals?  I know what I would do.  I didn’t even need to think twice about it.

Pick up a delicious funnel dog in the concession stand near the right field corner at Arvest Ballpark (CREDIT: Alan Barrington)

I was pleasantly surprised by two things I didn’t expect at the game.  Surprise number one was the incredibly delicious funnel dogs served in the concession stand near the right field corner.  Yes, funnel dogs.  They’re just like a corn dog, but instead of dipping the hot dog in corn meal before frying, it’s lovingly dunked in a giant bucket of thick funnel cake batter.  If you’ve never previously been to a Naturals home game, this alone is worth the trip to Arkansas.

The other pleasant surprise came in about the 4^th or 5^th inning.  The opposing team moved a runner to 2^nd base.  A couple of pitches later, I saw something that was so unbelievable, so incredibly awesome, so downright thrilling for a fan of defensive prowess like me that I almost choked on my funnel dog.  Salvador Perez quickly stood to his feet and rifled a throw back to second base in an attempt to catch the base runner napping.  And this wasn’t any throw, it was a scorching hot laser beam shot directly from home plate toward second, incredibly landing just on the 3^rd base side of second right as the runner was desperately trying to scramble back.

I wish I could say the runner was tagged out and the stands erupted in cheers, and although it would make my story better, it wouldn’t be true.  Somehow, I have no idea how he did it, but the base runner was able to get back to the bag just in a nick of time.  But never in my entire life, at any level of baseball, have I ever seen a catcher make a snap throw to 2^nd base.  It was quite astonishing to watch, and if it wasn’t for a miraculous demonstration of agility, the runner would have been out.

I stood to my feet and started shouting “You da man Salvador!  You keep that up and I’ll see you in KC in no time!”  And as you know, I was right.

Salvador Perez says "Go ahead, make my day" to opposing base runners. (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

If you’ve been paying attention this year, you know that the Royals have two unbelievable defensive arms on the team – Jeff Francoeur and Salvador Perez.  (I’m not talking about “pitching arms”, the Royals rotation is woefully short in this area.)  You can read about Frenchy’s cannon arm here, his one redeeming quality.  For now, let’s talk about one of my favorite Royals, Salvador Perez.

So far in 2012, Salvador Perez has thrown out 42% of attempted base thefts.  Jeff Mathis of Toronto is leading the league with 43% putting Perez in 2^nd place.  Let’s put that in perspective for a moment – the league average right now is 26%.  This means Salvador has thrown out 61% more runners who were attempting to steal a base than most other catchers in the league.  And what’s really impressive about this stat is that most base runners know Sal has a gun, so they don’t run unless they feel nearly certain they can make it.

Another interesting stat is catcher pickoffs.  So far in 2012, after only playing in 53 games, Salvador has picked off 3 base runners (the 3rd just last night), and he had 3 pickoffs in only 39 games last year.  Salvy’s three picks lead the majors, once again, after only playing in 53 games!

How does that compare to some other notable Royals catchers?

• Darrell Porter averaged 38% caught stealing over his career, and his best full season was 47% in 1979, with 7 pickoffs in 1974
• John Wathan had a career average of 33% caught stealing, his best full season was 40% caught stealing, and the most pickoffs he ever had in a season was 1 (for a grand total of 2 in his career)
• Mike Macfarlane’s career caught stealing average was 33%, his best full season was 43%, and the most pickoffs in a season was 2
• John Buck’s pathetic career caught stealing average was 25%, his best full season was 34%, and he picked off a surprising 6 base runners in 2005.  Surprising mostly because he only picked off 10 in his entire career, so I have no idea how he caught 6 guys napping in 2005.
• Brent Mayne’s career caught stealing average was 29%, his best full season was 32% and the most pickoffs in a season was 1.

It’s easy to see that if Perez can simply maintain his performance, he’ll soon become one of the Royals most successful defensive catchers ever (at least regarding his ability to throw out base runners), joining Darrell Porter at the top of the list.  But at 22 years of age, in my opinion, we’ve only seen the beginning of what Salvador can accomplish in a Royals uniform and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the All Star stage within the next 3 or 4 seasons.

If you’re a fan of poetry in motion, click here for a highlight video showing Salvador picking a runner off first base on August 21.  Or how about this video of Perez throwing behind a right handed batter and nailing a runner at 3^rd by a mile with a textbook perfect, perfect, perfect throw.  And I thought it was supposed to be easier to steal 3^rd base because you could get a better leadoff, you can see the exchange between the pitcher and the catcher better, etc.?  Apparently none of that makes any difference if Salvador Perez is behind the plate.

Several weeks ago, Sam Mellinger wrote about a baseball scout who watched Salvador play in the minors.  Sam says the scout stated that Salvador is a “Latin Johnny Bench.”  (The reference to Sal is about halfway down in the article.)  I think Perez might be more like Dirty Harry, telling base runners – “Go ahead, make my day.”  Either way, I’m very very excited that Salvador Perez is going to play catcher for the Royals for several years to come.

"We've Made the Big Time - Omaha!" (Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE)

The Royals should put all of their effort into making the Omaha Storm Chasers the most dominant Minor League Baseball team in History. Forget about the Royals. Let them be the doormat of the American League for the foreseeable future. Put forth zero effort into their success.

Now, I’m not ignorant. I know that the purpose of the minor league system is to develop future major league talent. However, it’s also to entertain. Within the Royals organization, Omaha is where our players perform best. Once they make it to Kansas City, something happens and they are all of a sudden not the player that we thought they were. What’s worse, if they are that good of a player, the Kansas City Royals are often considered the minor league team for MLB’s big spenders. Good players pack their bags and move on to better things. Mediocre players spend their careers being mediocre in Kansas City or driving back and forth to Omaha.

It’s a Jeckyl & Hyde situation for the Royals. In Omaha, they are world beaters. In Kansas City, they are beaten by the world. (See: Kila Ka’aihue)

So, my proposition is to turn things on their head and just try to win as many games in Omaha as possible. Even Ned Yost said earlier this week that they weren’t going to pull any players up to Kansas City until after the AAA Playoffs are over. “We don’t want to take away from their chances of winning.”

So why do we ever? Why don’t we beef up their roster instead? That way, the Royals could be a roster filled with experienced, underachieving, aging Major League players, and the Storm Chasers could be filled with our best and brightest talent. Make Omaha the goal, not Kansas City. Leave them there in AAA, let them win championships year after year, and pay them accordingly. It would take a change in philosophy, some understanding by all involved, but I think that it would ultimately be embraced by the fans and the players.

What you would avoid is the annual frustration that we experience here in Kansas City. Instead, in the Storm Chasers, you have a team that is currently plowing their way through the 2012 Season. They are the defending Pacific Coast League Champions. They’ve got the second-best record in the entire PCL and are just two games behind Sacramento for that mark. With just four games to go before the playoffs begin, they are 82-58. 24 games over .500 and Back to Back American Northern Division Champions.

That kind of success is unfathomable here in Kansas City. Instead, we’re questioning Jeff Francoeur’s existence, complaining about the price of parking, and counting the number of fans at the K each night. In Omaha, they’re playing in front of sell-out crowds in a new stadium, prepping for a “Blue Out” for the first two games of the playoffs, and headlining the All-PCL team. They’re finishing with their third straight winning record. Manager Mike Jirschele is in his 10th straight season at the helm. He’s secure in his job and surely would never want to manage the Royals. The players need to follow his lead.

And all of this success comes without their best stars from recent years.

I’m talking first of all about Moustakas and Hosmer. These are two guys who could do no wrong in Omaha. They have shown flashes of brilliance over just about two seasons in Kansas City, but it’s nothing compared to how good they were at AAA. So why not send them back? Think about how stacked that team would be with just those two guys added to the roster. Mike Moustakas hit .290 with a .531 slugging percentage in parts of two seasons in Omaha. In 107 games, he hit 25 HR & drove in 92 runs. With his improved defense over the past couple of seasons, he’d enable Wil Myers to go back to playing the outfield where he belongs. And, on that note, the stress & wondering that Myers is going through right now over when he’d be called up to KC would immediately dissipate. He would be right where he needed and wanted to be.

For Eric Hosmer, he played just 26 games in Omaha, but hit .439. He’s hitting .241 in Kansas City this year.

Keep going down the list. Guys like Salvador Perez and Billy Butler had great experiences in Omaha. Let’s get them back there so the Storm Chasers can dominate. What’s so great about keeping them in Kansas City? Their greatest hope is that they might be selected for an All-Star Game (one guy per year) or that they might be able to hit over .500. Wouldn’t playing for a Pacific Coast League Championship on a yearly basis be more exhilirating?

Ned Yost thinks so. He said earlier this week that, “winning a championship is probably a greater experience than coming up here and playing in the big leagues.”

I could not agree more.

Eric Hosmer Watches 2012 Fly Past Him (Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE)

Has anyone seen the Royals today? Nope – because they’re hiding again. Oh – wait…there they are! Taking the first two games from the Tigers as they try to fight their way back into first place.

All year long, this team has been playing Peek-a-Boo baseball. Plain & simple – when the stakes are low and all is lost, the Royals play their best. When people start paying attention, they coil up and run for the hills.

You know the trend. The team gets off to a promising start, then craps out quickly, struggles to find an identity, struggles with a youth movement, falls miles out of first place, then rallies in September to give you hope for next year. I know it’s not in the same exact order every season, but in general, this is the fate we are dealt on a yearly basis.

I’m tired of it. And I say that as I watch it all happen again.

This year seems to be even more harsh than usual. I’m sure it has something to do with the way we all bought into the youth movement, thinking that these guys had accumulated enough major league experience over the second half of last year to show up in 2012 and dominate the AL Central. I admit, I was on board. Like everyone else, I want SO BADLY to see a winner in this city.

With the precursor of “Our Time”, I sat in the upper deck during the Home Opener and watched the Cleveland Indians score seven runs in the top of the first inning. My first Opening Day landed with a gigantic thud. That loss helped spiral the team into a 12 game losing streak and an 0-10 start at home. The bullpen struggled, the much hyped offense sputtered, and just like that, Royals fans had to laugh at everything they’d been sold and call the season a loss.

The Royals sat at 6-15 after the first month of the season. After everyone else went searching for another team to root for in 2012, the team came out of hiding and started to figure things out. Alex Gordon started hitting again out of the leadoff spot, the bullpen found its good stuff, and we even got good starts out of the rotation from time to time. While nobody was watching, the Royals put together back to back winning months in May and June.

I wrote an article on June 28th because I had been awoken from my 2012 slumber and noticed that the team was playing good baseball. In this article, I saw a path to where the Royals, just five games under .500 and five games out of first place could be both of those things in time for the All-Star Game. I believe that everyone woke up around this time and the excitement for the All-Star Game and the potential of what the team could accomplish by then had the city buzzing. The team must have sensed this, because they promptly dove underneath the bed.

The team went just 3-8 over their next 11 games and found themselves watching the festivities 9 1/2 games out of first place. The losing continued, and the team finished the month of July with a 7-19 record. The team found themselves with the worst record in the American League. They were 13 1/2 games out of first and sat 18 games under .500. Frustrated fans were joyous for the start of football season, for school to start up, or for anything else that would help them forget about the so-called baseball team that occupied the K.

Once again, sensing that the coast was clear, the Royals showed up again. We’re almost to the end of what has been a fantastic month of August for this team. A couple of personnel changes has rid the roster of most of their black holes. The starting pitching has come around with the help of Dave Eiland. The team has fought hard and pulled out some amazing wins. With two games left, the Royals are 16-11 this month and find themselves in 3rd place in the AL Central. Are they within striking distance of the White Sox & Tigers? No. But they have a chance to finish in a respectable manner.

This will be the team’s first winning August since the year 2000.

So what will happen in September? We all know the trend. Typically, the Royals play well enough during September to raise some eyebrows and generate a lot of buzz heading into next season. There are tons of possibilities as to why – people are watching football, the young guys figure things out, or we’re playing more games against other young guys who are just now making their way to the major leagues.

In the past four seasons, the Royals have put together records over .500 in three of those. They are a combined 58-48 over those four seasons. In 2008, they went 18-8 to close out a season in which they only played .500 baseball in one other month. All four were losing seasons, but three of them ended on a high note. It was enough to keep people hanging on for high hopes when Spring Training rolls around.

Any way you slice it, it is incredibly frustrating. You see glimpses this year of a team that is good enough to compete, but those possibilities are overshadowed by horrendous failures at the times where it matters most. If these guys were able to avoid the gigantic pits that they so predictably fall into each year, they’d be right in the hunt for what all of a sudden is a winnable division.

Was this the year? Was it “Our Time”? It’s possible. If the team had not played .382 baseball for two months of the season, they’d be gunning for 1st place right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter. I was raised on “ifs” when it comes to the Royals. “If…Johnny Damon“. “If…Ewing Kauffman”. “If…National League Central”. It only matters what they DO. If they DO finish strong this year, hopefully it will bring improvement in next year’s team in the same way that we saw over last year’s team and the hiccups and hiding won’t be as prominent in 2013.

Color me hopeful…or just a sucker for hide & seek.

The enigmatic Luke Hochevar (Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE)

Luke has a somewhat unusual and convoluted baseball history.  I’ll spare you most of the sordid details, but he was drafted three times, including twice by the Dodgers, signed with Scott Boras, fired Boras, hired another agent, signed a deal with the Dodgers, reneged on his deal with the Dodgers, fired his other agent, rehired Boras, and spent time playing independent ball before eventually coming to an agreement with the Royals as the first pick of the 2006 draft.  Not just the Royals first pick, but THE first pick of the draft.

And yes, 2006 is the same draft when Evan Longoria was selected as the 3^rd pick, Clayton Kershaw with the 7^th pick, Tim Lincecum with the 10^th, Max Scherzer with the 11^th, Ian Kennedy 21^st, …  need I go on?  Not that I would want him on my team, mostly because he’s a blowhard egotistical lowlife, but Chris Perez was also drafted with the 42^nd pick in 2006.

There are times when I don’t know if I’m more enraged at Hochevar over has maddening inconsistency and inability to live up to expectations, or with the Royals historical failure to accurately evaluate talent.  Either one is enough to drive Royals fans to pull their hair out.

Beginning with the Zach Greinke pick in 2002, most of the Royals first round picks have experienced moderate success, and many of these picks are on the roster now, such as Aaron Crow, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Billy Butler.   Unfortunately, the fact that many of them are playing in Kansas City obviously hasn’t done much to improve the Royals win/loss total.

Earlier this season, the Royals gave up on Mitch Myer, their 2003 first round pick, Chris Lubanski (also 2003) and Matt Campbell (2004) never made it to the bigs, and Christian Colon (2010), Bubba Starling (2011), and Kyle Zimmer (2012) still need more time in the minors before we’ll know if they can contribute in Kansas City.  These athletes are all familiar to Royals fans as high expectation players, but the team has very little to show for it.

What about the Royals first round picks prior to Zach Greinke?  Do you remember Colt Griffin, Mike Stodolka, Kyle Snyder, Matt  Burch, Jeff Austin, Dan Reichert, Dermal Brown, and Juan LeBron?  Once again, all are familiar names to Royals fans (if you’re old enough) and all are complete and total busts.  You have to go all the way back to Michael Tucker in 1992 to find even a passable major league talent.

Luke Hochevar is the poster child for the Royals first round picks.  Full of promise, loads of potential, occasional brilliance, but infuriatingly inconsistent.  Picked as the opening day starter in 2011, his ERA was an abysmal 5.56 by July 9.  Then from that point on to the end of the season, he posted an ERA of 3.49.

Reports say Hoch wasn’t throwing his most effective pitch, a slider, frequently enough early in the 2011 season, using it only about 10% of the time.  So he changed his approach and threw it twice as often in the second half, and this is probably why his performance improved so dramatically.  Fast forward to 2012 and since June 1 of this season, he’s returned to only throwing the slider 11% of the time again.   If you know something is working, my question is this – Why don’t you use it?

Now here’s the real mystery – on August 21 when he one-hit the Rays, he only used the slider 8 times (7.6%), so maybe his other pitches are more effective than we thought.  However, 7 of the 8 sliders found the strike zone, and when the Rays swung at the slider, which they did 75% of the time, they whiffed on half of these occasions.  So maybe it IS his most effective pitch.  So I ask again – Why doesn’t he use it more often??  It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Trying to figure out Luke Hochevar is like a color blind man trying to solve a Rubik’s cube.  It’s just darn near impossible and probably a waste of time.  But if you’re interested in some real hard-core analysis of Hochevar, check out this story at the Royals Review.

The Royals had some discussions with the Orioles this season about trading Hoch, but even when packaging him together with Jonathan Broxton, the best offer they received was former 5^th round pick from 2007 Jake Arrieta who sports a career 5.27 ERA.  Pathetic.

The story lines revolving around the Royals starting pitching would be comical if they weren’t plain depressing.  Bruce Chen as opening Day starter (yes, that’s comical to me); Danny Duffy, Joakim Soria, and Felipe Paulino all require Tommy John surgery (much more depressing than comical); the Royals recycle Jeremy Guthrie and he throws 500 consecutive shutout innings (well, not quite 500) and then surrenders 7 runs in less than 3 innings to the Red Sox, the Royals bullpen has more candidates for the 2013 starting rotation than the current group of starters, etc., etc.

But in my opinion, all of these story lines, and all the Royals pitching question marks and inconsistencies, and all the team’s concerns about the future starting staff can be summed up with one question – What in the world is the deal with Luke Hochevar?

April 10, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) loses his bat during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Late August is the hardest time to be a Royals fan. They’re out of any type of race other than a race for top draft picks in 2013.

They’re not calling up any young prospects of the future for at least a few days and maybe not even then. They’re stuck in this state of mediocre baseball and near hopelessness.

By now, we pretty clearly have a sense of who the 2012 Royals are: an extremely inconsistent team with players still learning what it takes to be successful at the major league level. Eric Hosmer has disappointed to a level I’ve never seen before when we consider expectations (granted I’m only 26). Mike Moustakas has been decent but not jaw dropping. He continues to struggle with left-handed pitching, and watching him swing and miss at the same pitches over and over again makes me want to throw objects at a television … my television to be specific.

I point to Hosmer and Moustakas only because they are the poster children for this new wave of talent meant to push the Royals back to prominence. But of course they are not the sole holders of blame. Starting pitching has been terrible (as most thought it would be). Jeff Francoeur has been atrocious (as many thought he probably would be). And some of the moves made by Ned Yost and Dayton Moore have been awful (as anyone with brain cells knew they would be).

Now, we’re stuck in this purgatory, a holding pattern, and it feels like eating plain bread. Nobody knows what Moore will do with Wil Myers. Nobody knows what Moore will do with Jake Odorizzi. Right now, all we have are dreams of the future, and those dreams are opaque at best.

That’s why I hate late August for the Royals. When we get to September, we can at least sink into the warm delusion of our strong Septembers. Last season the Royals went 15-10 with what many considered to be a glimpse into their lineup of the future. Salvador Perez, Johnny Giavotella, Hosmer, and Moustakas were all in the majors, and the Royals started winning. Fans could then delude themselves into thinking that this was proof of future success. I want that delusion to get here already. Much like in the movie Inception, I need the dream world because it’s much better than the real world (or something like that … I don’t know that movie was super confusing).

The only pieces of the puzzle left are Myers, Odorizzi, and a pitcher to be named. Maybe that pitcher will be John Lamb or Yordano Ventura or Kyle Smith or Kyle Zimmer. Who knows? Maybe it will be a free agent (I doubt it). But for now, we’re left only to stew in this place of wonderlessness.

You see, wonder is what drives the passion of Royals fans. We wonder what the future will bring (I’m using “wonder” as a double entendre). We look at our future with a sense of wonder. We look at players like Myers and Odorizzi with a sense of wonder. It’s what keeps us going as fans. If we can’t wonder, morale drops like Francoeur’s batting average after facing a righty for one game.

The wonder is off both Hosmer and Moustakas. I’m not saying they won’t be great players. They might be, and if they do become great players it will be wonderful. But it won’t be the same thing we feel when everything is possibility, as it is with Myers and Odorizzi, as it is with next season.

I need September to get here. I need to see the future Royals so I can replace the sense of stuckness I feel now with a sense of wonder.

How about “Billy Butler?”  Quick, what did you think of? How about Billy in his All-Star uniform smiling from ear to ear while the crowd booed Robinson Cano as he whiffed at one pitch after another during the home run derby?

If I say “Alcides Escobar,” what pops into your brain?  A spinning, whirling, Tazmanian devil patrolling the left side of the infield and gunning down every hitter dumb enough to think he can shoot a ball through the hole?

“Mike Moustakas?”  I think of his game ending defensive play on a dying ground ball against the Yankees at Kauffman on May 3, running in to make a smooth bare-handed grab and rifling a throw across the diamond to nail Alex Rodriguez to finish off the boys in pinstripes.

Now, if I say “Eric Hosmer”, what do you think of? ……….. Ummm, uhhhh, well… Nothing really comes to mind.  Nothing positive anyway.  That’s what happens when you’re just playing out the string at the end of a lost season.

In 2012, we've had a front row seat to one of the worst sophomore slumps in recent memory - Eric Hosmer (Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE)

This year we’ve had a front row seat to one of the most disappointing sophomore slumps I can remember.  We’re talking about the player who was 3^rd in the Rookie of the Year ballot in 2011 when he hit 19 home runs in just a little over ¾ of a season and had the baseball world thinking he could be the next “It” guy.  Women swooned over him, analysts drooled at his potential, and I even wasted $25 on a Royals t-shirt with Hosmer’s name printed on the back.  Did he have all of us fooled?

Last March at the beginning of Spring Training, I downloaded a ZiPS projections spreadsheet that I dusted off a few moments ago to review again.  Would you like to know what the experts predicted for our First baseman in 2012?  They said he would hit .304 with 20 home runs.  Do you remember that Eric Hosmer, the one we all thought capable of carrying the team on his back toward respectability?  With 6 weeks left in the season Hosmer now has half that number of home runs, and you know his batting average right?  His average is obscene, and this is a family web site, so I’m not going to reprint it here.

Hosmer’s performance in 2012 is about on par with Humberto Quintero and Yuniesky Betancourt (remember them?) and a little worse than Jeff Francoeur who I believe should be summarily dropped from the roster so the Royals can bring Wil Myers up to begin his big league career.  Not exactly the type of comparisons we projected for Eric.

It’s been interesting for me to observe how nonchalant everyone seems to be with Hosmer’s performance.  No matter how many pitches located 2 feet out of the strike zone he flails at, no matter how much defensive immaturity he displays with his sweeping grabs at first, now matter how many weak ground balls he big-hops to an opposing infielder – nobody seems to be worried.  All the coaches and fans hold hands together with Eric, we sing a couple verses of “Kum ba Yah,” and everything will be fine in the morning.  Well, I’m beginning to have my doubts about this strategy.

During all the recent discussions regarding whether Alex Gordon should bat leadoff or somewhere lower in the order, Yost proclaimed that Eric Hosmer is still his projected #3 hitter. This leaves me to wonder, what would Hosmer need to do to cause the team to lose faith in him?  Based on Yost’s apparently unqualified statement, my guess is that there is nothing he could do this year that would force the Royals to rethink his future with the organization.

There are many schools of thought for how to treat a struggling prospect.  Sometimes, as with Johnny Giavotella, the team will send him back to the minors to work on his defense.  And then no matter how frequently he destroys minor league pitching, they wait until their weak hitting big league second baseman breaks his thumb while making another ill advised bunt attempt (you can’t make this stuff up) before recalling him to the majors.

Other times, you leave a struggling prospect like Kyle Davies with the parent club and just hope and pray he works his way through his problems.  (And then hope and pray some more.)  We all know how that plan worked out with Davies, the worst pitcher in the history of the major leagues.

With Eric Hosmer, the Royals have chosen the latter approach, hoping and praying that he’ll find his mojo and return to the form that garnered so many accolades just one year ago.  Maybe Hosmer simply isn’t as good as we hoped he would be.  Maybe it’s just a sophomore slump, possibly the worst in memory.  But nevertheless, maybe it’s just a long, tedious, mind-numbing, protracted, maddening, implausible slump.  Whatever you call it, in my opinion it’s a completely lost season for Eric Hosmer, and for the Royals.

Selman is listed at 6’3″ and 190 lbs. from Austin, Texas.  He sports a fastball that ranges from 90-95 mph and also offers a slider and change up that both need some polishing up.  He certainly has the potential to be a power arm from the left side for the Royals in a few years.  It’s important for him to continue his development and throw more innings as he refines his delivery to one that is a bit more consistent.  One of his down falls throughout his collegiate career was the lack of consistency in his delivery and the walks that would follow.  It would seem as if he may have found a remedy as he has allowed only 16 walks through his first 47.1 professional innings pitched.

It’s still to be determined how fast Selman could rise through the minors, but he’s definitely pushing for his next promotion right now.  Selman is completely dominating the Pioneer League this summer.  His last 5 starts he has thrown 27 innings and tallied up 46 strikeouts while only allowing 11 walks and 13 hits.  These are some astonishing numbers and have to delight Royals fans who are constantly looking for promising young pitchers to someday grace the mound at Kauffman Stadium.

I already like the pick of the young Austin, Texas native.  In my opinion, drafting Selman was well worth it.  He shows tremendous upside and only has a few tweaks to make to his game, the most important being the consistency of his delivery.  While, like most pitchers, his secondary pitches need a little work, they are still very formidable for the lower minor leagues.  However, to hold up in the upper minors and in the big leagues, he will need his slider to be sharper and his changeup to fade.  This should come with more seasoning in the minors and more repetition.

I’m hoping to give Selman the praise he deserves so far, as well as bring his name to light to other Royals fans.  I’m very excited we had the opportunity to take this kid, and I’d love to see him turn into a great number 2 or 3 starter for us down the line.  Realistically, I think that will be his calling as he continues to develop into a very promising young hurler.  Also feel free to give Sam a follow on his twitter page @crazylegsselman