Royals nemesis Justin Verlander gets the ball Wednesday at Comerica Park in game two of the series against the Royals. Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Series Preview –

This will be Kansas City’s first trip to the Motor City and third series against the AL Central during the 2013 season. It also kicks off a string of seven straight divisional games as KC hosts Cleveland after completing this road trip. Last season Detroit dominated the Royals with a 13-5 record.

Probable Pitching Matchups –

Tuesday, April 23 (6:05 pm): Wade Davis (2-0, 2.25) v. Max Scherzer (1-0, 2.84)
- After a season opening no decision in Philadelphia, Davis has wins over Minnesota and at Atlanta
- In his last outing he helped end the Braves 10 game winning streak being on the right side of a 1-0 decision

Wednesday, April 24 (6:05 pm): Luis Mendoza (0-1, 6.17) v. Justin Verlander (2-2, 2.13)
- When last we saw the Dozer he was on the wrong side of a 6-4 decision against Toronto
- Mendoza was skipped his last time in the rotation due to the amount of Royals off days last week

Thursday, April (12:05 pm): James Shields (1-2, 3.00) v. Anibal Sanchez (2-1, 1.75)
- While not factoring in the decision Saturday in Boston, Big Game James again provided another quality start going six innings allowing just one run
- Shields is looking to reverse his road record as he’s 0-1 with a no decision which game in his last start at Fenway

2012 Results –

Last season KC was 5-13 against Detroit as the Tigers outscored the Royals 76-51 in the eighteen games played. The 51 runs were the fewest runs scored against central division foe in 2012.

TV/Radio –

Tuesday and Wednesday games are on Fox Sports Kansas City with no TV on Thursday afternoon. 610 Sports Radio will have you covered for all three games if you’re not by a television.

2013 Schedule v. Tigers –

April 23-25, Comerica Park
June 10-12, Kauffman Stadium
July 19-21, Kauffman Stadium
August 15-18, Comerica Park
September 6-8, Kauffman Stadium
September 13-15, Comerica Park

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).

First, there are 4 players in the Detroit line-up that could end up as liabilities:

Andy Dirks just turned 27 and has only two partial years in the majors.  Last year he looked good in the 344 plate appearances he received.  Two things jump out at me though.  A BABIP of .365 is probably not sustainable, but more importantly how he has been used.  Of those plate appearances 261 came against righties and 83 against lefties.  They plan to platoon him due to his splits, but the other side of the platoon is uncertain.   Also, his power is limited with a career high of 15 homers between AA and AAA in 2010 and he rates out negatively defensively as well.

Torii Hunter had an incredibly lucky year at the plate last year with a BABIP of .389, and he is now 37 years old.  His aging has been showing slowly with power ticking down over time.  His average is likely to drop back to the .260s or 70s and 15 HRs is likely the max.  His walk rates and K rates got significantly worse last year.  He was always a defensive stud, but his legs aren’t what they used to be although he rated out very well last year by UZR for the first time in a number of years.

Victor Martinez is now 34 and just sat out a whole year.  His power looked diminished two years ago even though he put up a stellar batting average.  Projections see him taking a big step back overall this year.  He will probably still be useful as a hitter, but not a significant piece you want in the middle of your line-up.

Jhonny Peralta hit .239/.305/.384 last year.  He used to hit for power, but those years seem behind him.  His average will probably come back a little, but the rest of what he offers is pretty mediocre.

Based on these the Royals are obviously better than Detroit at Left Field, DH, and Short Stop.  Jeff Francoeur is still worse than a diminished Torii Hunter.  It would not surprise me if Second Base was similar for both teams as Omar Infante is nothing special, and Salvador Perez should be significantly better than Alex Avilatoo.  Those six positions will need to be decidedly in the favor of the Royals for run production between the two teams to be similar because the other three positions are solidly in Detroit’s favor.

February 22, 2013; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) at bat against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at Disney Wide World of Sports complex, Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In the last nine seasons Miguel Cabrera has been very, very good.  Good enough that he is heading toward certain Hall of Fame territory and that Triple Crown is quite a feat.  Prince Fielder is pretty good too in case no one had noticed.  Austin Jackson is not in that rarefied air, but he is better than Lorenzo Cain unless Cain takes a large step forward.  Still, a big year out of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, which is not out of the question, could make the offensive difference between the Royals and Tigers negligible.  Just to clarify though, this means the Royals would need to close up a 50 run gap from last year, which means the Royals need to take a big step forward (as they should) and the Tigers take a small step back.

On to the second problem for the Tigers, defense:

Over the years I have gone from loving the new defensive metrics, to looking at them askance, to checking multiple sources hoping to find a consensus.  The Tigers corner infielders are Miggy and Prince, and their defense last year, and every year, has been bad.  For some reason though, UZR has like Jhonny Peralta the last two years at short after making him look terrible for most of his career.  At the same time UZR hates Alcides Escobar in 2012.  I have no idea how to process Jhonny Peralta being two WAR better than Escobar based on defense.  Baseball Reference had them closer to the same last year, but I am starting to believe Jeff Zimmerman’s  theory on shifting helping out Moose and hurting Alcides in the advanced stats.  Everything I see tells me Omar Infante is the only decent defender in the infield for Detroit.  In the outfield, Dirks had negatives last year, for what it’s worth, and Hunter is not what he used to be due to age, so center is the only place with a plus defender.  Avila seems to be a decent catcher, but catcher fielding is even harder to quantify than the others, so I won’t try and give a sweeping pronouncement.  Here I think the Royals have a significant advantage in LF, 3B, SS, 1B, and Catcher.

The third problem for the Tigers is the bullpen:

Let’s get the good out of the way first.  Joaquin Benoit and Brayan Vilarreal are probably pretty good.  I only say probably because Vilarreal only has 54 2/3 innings of quality relief to his name in the bigs.  Even last year, when Vilarreal established himself, his xFIP was 3.96, so he may not actually be good.  Benoit, on the other hand, has been good for the last three years and is their best relief pitcher.  After those two you have a lot of questions.  Bruce Rondon is supposed to be the closer, but he has major control problems and is probably not going to be taking care of the 9^th inning this year if his spring continues as at began.  Phil Coke and Darin Downs are not impressive in any way along with Octavio Dotel who is 49 and has been consistently middle of the road.  Maybe Al Alburquerque is a stud, but he still hasn’t done it over a whole season.  This is a bullpen that would be lucky to have three really solid guys.  The Royals have Greg Holland, Aaron Crow, Tim Collins, and Kelvin Herrera at the back end, and this is a huge advantage.

Now for Detroit’s huge advantage:

The rotation for the Tigers is much, much better than the Royals.  In fact, it is better at each of the five rotation spots.  Justin Verlander is better than pretty much everyone, Royal or not, and James Shields is not in that stratosphere.  Then Detroit has three somewhat indistinguishable guys in Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Anibal Sanchez.  Scherzer is probably the riskiest since he has been inconsistent.  Fister has had solid seasons the last two years.  He is likely to be good again, but without the upside of Scherzer.  Anibal Sanchez has put up sub-4 ERAs in the past three seasons, four seasons if you include a partial season in 2009.  Sanchez puts people on base at too high of a rate to be dominant, but he has been consistently good.  I think the Royals could match these three with Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana, and Wade Davis, but that will take some luck and on an expectation basis the Tigers are well ahead.  If I were ranking these six I would probably go Fister, Sanchez, Guthrie, Scherzer, Santana, and Davis.  The first three are the most solid, and the other three have the highest upside.  Finally, the fifth spot.  The Royals are bound and determined to make Luke Hochevar fifth, while Detroit has Drew Smyly and Rick Porcello.  I will be honest. I hate Porcello, and always have.  In my opinion he is only marginally better than Hochevar, so I hope that’s who gets the job.  He cannot strike anyone out, and is not a great control pitcher either.  Drew Smyly on the other hand is a giant ball of potential.  He blew through the minors and struck out everyone on the way.  There are still some control issues, but nearly a K per inning can make up for some walks.  He is a question mark due to the limited time at the major league level, but he is likely better than anything the Royals can put in the 5^thspot.

September 26, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luis Mendoza (39) pitches during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It is unlikely that the Kansas City rotation will find a way to outperform Detroit’s.  The main hope will be trying to match their starters and hope to take advantage of the other weaknesses.  For that to happen, Ervin Santana will need to be like his last couple of months last year rather than the atrocious start.  Hopefully being in Kauffman will help him keep the home runs down a bit.  On the bright side it is unlikely he will have an 18.9% HR/FB rate again…unless he is done as a major league pitcher.  KC will also need Davis to smoothly transfer back to the rotation and post an ERA near or below four.  Those are both possible, and coupled with Shields being what he has been and Guthrie doing the same, minus the Coors Field Experience, that would be a decent front four.  The fifth spot being Luis Mendoza would make me feel like this is an average rotation with some upside.  Instead we will likely see Hochevar, and that makes this a slightly below average rotation, so any of the other pieces breaking down could lead to a lot of problems, at least until Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino get back.  Those two make me very optimistic about next year’s rotation.

Overall the Tigers are the favorite due to their top end talent, which is second to none.  There are enough questions on this Detroit team though, that I don’t think they will go out and win 100 games and run away with the division  That means the Royals have a shot, but they will need to have a few things go their way with the rotation, and have the hitting disappointments of last year turn into positives.

I came to this conclusion the other day when, in a particularly strong bout of optimism, I thought maybe the Royals can find a way to do it this year. If they keep it close into September, maybe they can take this division with 90 wins after a late season run. *eye twinkle*

This led to an unfounded belief that maybe the Tigers aren’t as good as people think. So, I dug into the numbers, and was crushed by the reality that the Tigers are freaking incredible on paper. It’s kind of hard to look at.

October 02, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman Tony Abreu (34) gets the out on Detroit Tigers second baseman Danny Worth (29) at second base and throws to first in the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Start with their pitching staff, third in the AL in ERA (3.75) last year, and that was with a suspect bullpen. They were second in starters’ ERA at 3.76, which is fantastic. Their top four starters had ERAs under 3.74; Justin Verlander led the group with a 2.64. The only starter in their top six in starts with an ERA over four was Rick Porcello, and I could see him losing his spot in the rotation to Drew Smyly. Every one of these pitchers other than Porcello had a K/9 rate of at least 7.64, and each of them had a BB/9 rate under three.

On the offensive side, the picture doesn’t get much prettier (that is if you’re hoping for the Royals to compete; if you’re hoping for the Tigers to win 95 games, things are looking great). The Tigers’ team slash line was .268/.335/.422. They were fourth in the AL in OPS at .757 behind New York, Texas, and Los Angeles. Of course, that was without their starting DH, Victor Martinez, who was out the whole year with a torn ACL. He’ll be back this year because clearly they need more help hitting bombs off Luke Hochevar.

The most terrifying aspects of this lineup are not Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. They’re incredible; they’re going to hit. Everyone knows it. It’s guys like Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks who really stand out. Jackson hit .300/.377/.479 last season. He was worth 5.5 WAR (according to fangraphs), which was more than Prince Fielder. Dirks, in only 344 PA, hit .322/.370/.487 and was worth 1.6 WAR, a number dragged down by his poor fielding.

To help with all this, noted Royal killer and ageless wonder Torii Hunter has joined the Tigers. YAY!

That’s not to say that the Tigers are without flaws. Jackson and Dirks’ numbers were inflated by very high BABIPs—but so are Alex Gordon’s. There’s no telling where Martinez will be after ACL surgery, a year away from baseball, and being another year older. He’s 34 years old. In fact, this team, while not old, has plenty of miles on it and plenty of padding around the waistline. I wonder sometimes how Cabrera and Fielder hold up as well as they do with all the weight they carry, and essentially, this is the Royals’ only hope: that the Tigers get hit by the injury bug.

Of course, there are other deficiencies in their game that might make an AL Central race more interesting. The Tigers’ added bulk makes them pretty useless running the bases. They’re a one-base-at-a-time kind of team. It also makes them a below-average fielding team. Jackson is good in center field, Jhonny Peralta is decent at shortstop, and Omar Infante is pretty good at second base, but that’s about it. Everyone else actively hurts them on defense, especially Cabrera and Fielder, with the possible exception of Hunter in right field, though most of his value last year came from his arm, and we’ll see if that holds up.

Oct 24, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Valverde (46) walks back to the dugout after being relieved by manager Jim Leyland (middle) in the seventh inning during game one of the 2012 World Series against the San Francisco Giants at AT

The great question is if the Tigers are so great, how come they only won 88 games last year? Well, the defense and base running are a part of it. But the real answer? The bullpen. It was 10^th in the AL in ERA and blew 16 saves last season, which doesn’t include games it blew before a save opportunity was in place. The Tigers lost 23 games via a relief pitcher, which means 23 times last year, the rotation handed a game over to the bullpen either tied or in the lead and lost that game. The Royals only lost 21 games in relief, and their bullpen pitched over 100 innings more than the Tigers’. To put it in greater perspective, the Texas Rangers bullpen pitched roughly the same number of innings as the Tigers’ and lost only 14 games.

And really, there isn’t much to indicate that the bullpen will be a lot better, but bullpens are finicky. Meaning it’s tough to count on their bullpen being bad again. More likely, their bullpen will be average, and won’t lose them so many games next season.

In a way, though, I’m glad the Tigers are as good as they are on paper. It makes the notion of the Royals chasing them a little more exciting. James Shields in interviews compares the 2013 Royals to the 2008 Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I’m not sure it’s a fitting comparison, but the Devil Rays had two mammoth teams in their division to compete against and were better for it. Yes, the Tigers are great on paper. They are most certainly the favorites in the division, but sometimes something special happens.

And I’m back to unfounded optimism.

The Royals host the Tigers in their final series of 2012 at Kauffman Stadium Monday-Wednesday. Photo Credit: Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports via US PRESSWIRE

We took a couple minutes to catch-up with Matt Snyder who is the co-editor over at Motor City Bengals.

Kings of Kauffman – With how everything has played out this season how does it feel knowing Detroit could be the first AL team to clinch a playoff spot?

Matt Snyder – That is a crazy thought, considering the roller coaster ride this team took us on, but I think it says more about the state of the American League Central than it does about the Tigers. In any other division, the Tigers’ playoff hopes would be dashed by now. But as we’ve seen in the past, all a team needs to do is get in the playoffs, and then anything can happen.

KOK – In your opinion what has it been for the Tigers to claw back and finally grab hold of a division many thought they’d have an easier time with?

MS – The first half of the season (primarily the month of May) didn’t go as the Tigers had planned, but they’ve played some pretty good baseball since then (they have a .574 win percentage since June 1). The defense has been shoddy, and the offense hasn’t been quite as potent as predicted, but their rotation has been dominant and the big fellas (Fielder and Cabrera) have provided enough pop to get the job done. I think the main difference between our expectations and what played out was the surprising resurgence of the Chicago White Sox. I don’t think anyone quite expected Jake Peavy, Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and AJ Pierzynski to bounce back the way they did this season, and consequently no one really predicted them to make a serious run at the division. They were a big pain in the neck.

KOK – Kansas City did an alright job with Miguel Cabrera last week in Detroit but do you think he does what is needed to win the Triple Crown and is he the AL MVP (bias aside)?

MS – He has as good of a chance to win the Triple Crown as anyone could hope, though Joe Mauer is breathing down his neck for the batting title, and Josh Hamilton is tied with him on the home run leader board. I’m obviously pulling for him to win the Triple Crown for historical reasons, but I don’t think he should win the MVP even if he accomplishes that feat. Cabrera has had a fantastic year — and he’s probably second in the AL if I had a vote — but I don’t think he holds a candle to what Mike Trout was able to do in Los Angeles if we consider all facets of the game.

KOK – Any concerns with this three-game series given that the Tigers were swept the last time they played the Royals at the K and that the teams have played several 1-2 run games?

MS – No concerns really. Although visions of 2006 still dance through the heads of many fans, the Tigers are in a great position. All it will take at this point is one win or one Chicago loss to clinch the division, so chances are strong the job will be done before the final day rolls around. Kansas City is one of those pesky teams that Detroit fans fear. We would like to take them to be automatic wins, but in reality the Royals seem to be a big thorn in the side, especially when it matters most.

Probable Starters this week (All Times Central) –

Monday 7:10 pm, Rick Porcello (9-12, 4.68) v. Bruce Chen (11-13, 5.13)

Tuesday 7:10 pm, Doug Fister (10-9, 3.38) v. Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 3.18)*

Wednesday 7:10 pm, Max Scherzer (16-7, 3.82) v. Luis Mendoza (8-9, 4.36)

* = Since joining the Royals

Kansas City will be making their final trip to Comerica Park this season taking on triple crown hopeful Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers. Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

When Last We Saw …

August 28-30 was the last time these teams faced one another which was a Kansas City sweep at the K. The Royals won three one-run games against Detroit by scores of 9-8, 1-0 and 2-1, before that series KC was 1-7 against the Tigers. Aaron Crow, Bruce Chen and Jeremy Guthrie picked up decisions over the sweep.

Season Series …

Following last month’s sweep the season series is now 7-4 in favor of Detroit and over the final two weeks the teams meet seven more times. Kansas City could play an important role in who wins the AL Central crown.

In the series opener of the last series Justin Verlander faced Luis Mendoza in a high scoring contest. The Royals touched Verlander for eight runs on 12-hits over 5.2 innings of work. Detroit fought back to tie the game up but in the bottom of the eighth inning Mike Moustakas doubled in Lorenzo Cain for a 9-8 victory.

Game two was a match-up between Anibal Sanchez and Bruce Chen who both went seven plus innings each with a quality starts. Chen held the Tigers scoreless over eight innings allowing just four hits and striking out four. Eric Hosmer drove in the only run in the fourth on a pop fly that brought in Moustakas.

Rick Porcello went up against Jeremy Guthrie in the finale which wound up being another pitcher’s duel. The Royals chased out Porcello after five innings scoring two-runs on eight hits, Guthrie went 7.1 innings allowing one run while scattering 10 hits.

Johnny Giavotella drove in the first run and Alex Gordon scored the second on his 10^th home run of the season. Worth noting Greg Holland saved the first two games of this series with Kelvin Herrera notching the save in game three.

4/16 – Tigers 3 @ Royals 2
4/17 – Tigers 3 @ Royals 1
4/18 – Tigers 4 @ Royals 3
4/30 – PPD
5/1 – Royals 3 @ Tigers 9
5/2 – Royals 3 @ Tigers 2
7/6 – Royals 2 @ Tigers 4
7/7 – Royals 7 @ Tigers 8
7/8 – Royals 1 @ Tigers 7
8/28 – Tigers 8 @ Royals 9
8/29 – Tigers 0 @ Royals 1
8/30 – Tigers 1 @ Royals 2

Probable Pitching Match-Ups (All Times Central):

Monday, 6:05 pm – Luke Hochevar (8-14, 5.40) v. Justin Verlander (15-8, 2.74)
- Against Detroit Hochevar is 0-1 this season losing 9-3 on May 1st
- Tonight Luke will tie his career high making his 31^st start of the season which he also did in 2011
- Verlander is 1-0 with a no-decision against KC this season
Tuesday, 6:05 pm – Bruce Chen (11-12, 5.22) v. Anibal Sanchez (3-6, 4.55*)
- Chen is 1-2 versus the Tigers in 2012
- This will be his third start at Comerica Park where he’s 0-2 with 3-1 and 8-7 defeats this year
- Sanchez is making his third start against KC since being acquired from Miami, he’s 1-1 against the Royals
Wednesday, 6:05 pm – Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 3.00*) v. Rick Porcello (9-12, 4.57)
- This is a rematch of Aug 30 when Guthrie outduel Porcello 2-1 at the K
- Guthrie is coming off a no-decision against the White Sox on Thursday which the Royals won on a walkoff hit by Hosmer. He went six innings allowing one-run on eight hits.
- Porcello is 1-1 this season against KC
Thursday, 12:05 pm – Luis Mendoza (8-9, 4.44) v. Doug Fister (10-9, 3.43)
- Mendoza is coming off a 6-3 win Friday night against the Indians
- This will be the Dozer’s first start in Detroit
- Fister got the decision on July 7 against Chen in the Tigers 8-7 win

* – Stats since joining the Royals/Tigers

Danny Duffy had his second consecutive solid start. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

After a tough start to the homestand, the Royals got to face Justin Verlander.

Nothing like giving up 32 runs in your first three games at home, then facing last year’s Cy Young winner and MVP.

The results aren’t surprising, as Verlander held the Royals to two runs in a complete game win. The Royals scored on him in the first inning to even the score after Austin Jackson had led off with a homer for the Tigers and the Royals didn’t score again until the ninth inning.

The disappointing 3-2 loss was punctuated by a called third strike with the bases loaded and Alex Gordon at the plate. After Billy Butler ripped a single to left to lead off the inning, Jason Bourgeois pinch ran and moved to third after two groundouts. He scored on a shot to right by Humberto Quintero, then Verlander walked Mitch Maier and hit Alcides Escobar to load the bases for Gordon.

The strikeout was Gordon’s third of the game and second looking. Verlander struck out nine Royals. It took 131 pitches for him to get past the Royals.

The loss spoiled a good start from Danny Duffy, who went 6.2 innings on 105 pitches. For the second straight start, he struck out more batters than innings pitched. Against Oakland, he struck out eight in six innings and struck out seven tonight. Even better, he walked just one, though he made a couple of mistakes, getting the ball up on Jackson on his leadoff homer and later to Brandon Inge who homered to center. Jhonny Peralta had three solid hits against him too, but the rest of the lineup didn’t hit him very well. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder went a combined 0-5 against Duffy.

One of Duffy’s goals this year was to get deeper into games. He made it through six innings on 103 pitches in his first start and through 6.2 in 106 pitches tonight. The Tigers fouled off numerous pitches against him, prolonging counts and adding to his pitch counts. Duffy had strong stuff late into the start, and his fastball was missing bats, while his curveball improved as the game went on.

Fun fact: by my count, the Royals fouled off five pitches with two strikes off of Verlander. The Tigers, by comparison, fouled off 12 pitches with two strikes against Duffy. My gut suggests that that is a testament to Verlander’s dominance (and he was the best pitcher in the game last year, so it’s not really embarrassing) and the Tigers patience.

Interestingly enough, the only Tiger to reach base after fouling off those pitches was Jhonny Peralta who doubled twice with two strikes after fighting off pitches. Alex Avila was the only other batter to get a hit with two strikes off of Duffy and that was the last batter he faced.

Yeah, this loss is disappointing, but Duffy did what he needed to do. He came out and gave the team quality innings and left the bullpen mostly untouched. After a series where the Royals had to bring Mitch Maier in and call up Louis Coleman to be their eighth reliever, that day off for most of the staff could get the team balanced out. He went pitch for pitch with Verlander and if not for a couple of mistakes could have had a shot at a win.

That, if nothing else, is encouraging.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

We'll Always Have 1985 but what about other teams?

Fans of the Kansas City Royals know that it’s been 26 years since the franchise last played in the postseason (something that always seems to come up when we play the St. Louis Cardinals), which did result in a world championship. Granted I was only a toddler at the time, but at least I can say that the baseball team I root for has won a title.

Yes, there have been a couple other seasons-1994 strike shorten season and the 2003 Tony Pena overachievers-but it has been few and far between. While we’re loyal to the cause and the coming seasons that will hopefully end the drought, let’s look at teams who have it worse than the Royals.

First let’s assess the franchises that have longer title droughts than Kansas City in major league baseball. Of course it’s the Chicago Cubs who bear (see what I did) the weight of a 103 years and counting drought which for non-fans can be annoying or maybe that’s just me. Sure they are eternal optimists on the North side of Chicago, but with all the advantages of being a big market team should have figured out how to win a title during this period of time.

Next up are the Cleveland Indians who haven’t won a title in 63 seasons, but with the success they enjoyed last year, they may make the postseason sooner than later. Getting into the playoffs means anything can happen.  If the Indians can make the postseason, look out, because they will be a team KC competes with.

The great state of Texas has had recent brushes with a trophy with the Rangers representing the American League the last two seasons and the Astros representing the National League in 2005. Neither team could seal the deal and it appears the only title the Astros will be competing for over the next few years will be for the worst record in Major League Baseball.

Next we have club 43 of the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. The Brew Crew made the World Series in 1982 and if you haven’t noticed suffered several losses after last year’s postseason run. San Diego lost to the Yankees in 1998 and are in a holding pattern in my opinion from ending that drought. Washington seems to be building closer and closer to being a playoff team, but they have yet to reach a World Series.

The Seattle Mariners, who like the Nationals, have not made the World Series at all and have a 35-year drought they started off post-Kingdome life with some success early in their tenure at Safeco Field. The Pittsburgh Pirates are on year 32 of not winning a championship which must be rough with the Penguins and Steelers successes.

Baltimore Orioles are on year 28 and the Detroit Tigers haven’t celebrated in 27 years.  These are polar opposites with the O’s in the AL East and the Tigers spending money plus living in the AL Central as you all know. At least the Cubs, Indians, Pirates, Orioles and Tigers have championships to celebrate unlike the fan bases of the Rangers, Astros, Brewers, Padres, Mariners and Nationals (I don’t doubt they are still waiting in Montreal).

I hate to continue to bring up the Nationals but they haven’t made the postseason in 30 years which is the longest drought in MLB. At least both Washington and Kansas City have hope in the coming years to end their futility, because again, once you get into the playoffs anything can happen. It’s not known if commissioner Bud Selig will add wildcards which would help both the Royals and Nationals. We are closer to the start of the season and seeing if any of the mentioned teams can end these droughts that they and their fans don’t like having constant reminders of.

Thanks for visiting Kings of Kauffman.

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed and follow Mike Vamosi on Twitter to be notified each time he posts a story.

I know Fielder is a great hitter. I watched him frequently destroy the Cubs with massive home runs over he last five years or so. His career slash line is pretty good: .282/.390/.540. But will he make the Tigers’ offense that much better than it was last year? And will that offense necessarily make up for what is sure to be one of the worst infields, defensively, in all of baseball with Fielder at first and Miguel Cabrera at third? I don’t think so. I think the Tigers will be about as good as they were last year (record wise). Here’s why. (more…)

(more…)

The Day: July 21st (more…)

Because of that, I like to see how other teams’ fans see the Royals in relation to what they know about their team.

In short, I like to know that they’re scared. I hope fans in Detroit and Cleveland look at the schedule and say “I hope Eric Hosmer’s slumping that week when we have to play them.” How often do we get that reaction from other teams? Not for a long, long time.

For that reason, I wanted to pass along a link from Motor City Bengals - FanSided’s Detroit Tigers site. It’s easy for Royals fans to look with blue-colored glasses, so an outsider’s opinion is always interesting:

Clipped from: motorcitybengals.com (share this clip)

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

In this case, the voting bloggers of the Kansas City Chapter of the BBA agreed with FanSided writers and named Justin Verlander the best pitcher in the American League.

Jered Weaver of Los Angeles and James Shields of Tampa Bay tied for second in the voting, and others receiving votes included C.C. Sabathia, Jose Valverde and Doug Fister. Not a bad showing by the Tigers.

The final voting results will be announced October 20.

Baseball Bloggers Alliance – Kansas City Chapter

Ballpark Thinking | Twitter
Broken Bat Single | Twitter | Facebook
i70 Baseball | Twitter | Facebook
Kings of Kauffman | Twitter | Facebook
Royalscentricity | Twitter | Facebook
Royals Kingdom | Twitter | Facebook
Royals On Radio Etc. | Facebook

Michael Engel is the president of the KC Chapter of the BBA. You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed. 

Kimbrel beat Milwaukee’s John Axford by 13 points in the votes submitted by the National League voters of the Alliance, accumulating 78 points and garnering 12 first place votes.  Axford, on the other hand, received 65 points on the strength of seven first place selections.  Kimbrel’s bullpen teammate Johnny Venters was a very distant third with nine total points.

The race in the American League was a little more anti-climatic as Detroit closer Jose Valverde gained 13 first place votes on his way to a league-leading 74 point total.  Two New York Yankees followed him in the voting, with Mariano Rivera receiving four first place votes and 56 total points while David Robertson gained 39 points for third.

The complete voting results are as follows (first place votes in parenthesis):

(more…)

Verlander had a 24-5 record with a 2.40 ERA in 251 innings. He allowed less than one baserunner per inning and added a no-hitter for good measure.

The Royals were particularly aware of Verlander’s dominance. He pitched 22.2 innings over three starts against Kansas City, compiling a 1.59 ERA in the process. He’s the heavy favorite for the Cy Young Award this year.

You can see the full voting results over on Call to the Pen:

Clipped from: calltothepen.com (share this clip)

The Royalman Report, LIVE Sundays at 7 pm CST

With the season officially over for the Royals, this week’s Royalman Report looked a lot at what lay ahead.

After a necessary recap of the Royals year and discussion of if they were better than their record indicated (and I’d like to thank Royally Speaking and KC Longball for putting the idea in my head – a lot of the numbers came from them), we talked about coaching changes and a potential shift in the direction of the team.

Then we were joined with Corey Ettinger from AL Central in Focus, who gave his opinion on the outlook for 2012 and the Royals timeline for success.  We also touched on the impact of Twitter and blogging on sports media and how teams in the AL Central approach the topic.

Check out his blog AL Central in Focus and follow him on Twitter at @CoreyEttinger.

Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3 here.

If you want your business featured during breaks on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email royalmanreport@gmail.com.  

Kelly's in Westport - official sponsor of the Royalman Report

If you’re the type that prefers to see the in-studio video stream…check it out below:

(more…)

It’s not terribly uncommon for a high-level prospect such as Moustakas to come up to the major leagues and immediately struggle. In fact, it is quite normal. There are far more Matt Wieters out there than Evan Longorias, or to relate it to the Royals, there are far more Alex Gordons than Eric Hosmers. Highly touted prospects don’t always catch on right away for a variety of reasons. Managers and general managers know there is a learning curve that young players have to go through and most reasonable fans understand this—if you’re a Royals fan, you’ve come to expect it.

However, it’s not Moustakas hitting .198/.262/.252 entering Wednesday night’s contest that bothers me. It’s the fact that he has been able to accumulate those abysmal stats in yet another lost season, while the Royals best trade-bait, Wilson Betemit, had his rear end firmly planted on the bench.

**The Royals traded Betemit before Wednesday night’s game against the White Sox to the Detroit Tigers for two guys who, by early expert accounts, have slim chances of making it to the big leagues—otherwise known as left-handed pitcher Antonio Cruz and catcher, Julio Rodriguez. ESPN’s scouting expert, Keith Law, referred to their value as “Two warm bodies.” That tells you all you need to know.**

(more…)

Regardless, with the All-Star Break quickly approaching, now seems as good a time as any to check on how things are shaping up in the A.L. Central and see the progress that could be made or lost in the next few weeks. (more…)

It’s not entirely their fault, though.  Just ask the Blue Jays.  Justin Verlander is unhittable right now.

(more…)

Well here on the FanSided Network, the AL Central writers have teamed up to provide a weekly review of the goings on in the division.  Wally at Puckett’s Pond hosts the column this week, and it’ll rotate from there.

I was happy to contribute my thoughts to the Royals side of things and you can read the full rundown on Puckett’s Pond:

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Writers from every site in the network will choose the best players at every position in their respective division.  Then each division will select an All-Division team, first selecting batters, then selecting a pitching staff.

The All-AL Central team will go up against the teams compiled by the AL East and AL West bloggers.  The winning team by fan vote will take on a similarly vetted team from the National League side of things.

It’s gonna be a lot of fun and a cool way to check out some other sites in the network – so don’t be shy if you’re a hardcore Royals fan and check out our divisional cohorts and partners in combat (for a brief time, at least):

• Southside Showdown
• Deep Left Field
• Motor City Bengals
• Puckett’s Pond

More updates when we’ve created our team.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Okay, so maybe it’s not the return of Greinke…or anything like Greinke for that matter. Nonetheless, the Royals signed ex-Detroit Tiger Zach Miner, a right-handed pitcher, to a minor-league deal today. It’s not a hugely notable deal, but it could have an impact down the line. So, I want to run over a few things about Miner.

The first thing to note about this is that Miner is a 28-year-old pitcher with four years of major league experience. He missed all of 2010 and underwent Tommy John surgery, so it’s hard to know what we’ll get from him. If you’re wondering why Dayton may have targeted Miner, he was a draft pick of the Braves in the 2000 Draft. So, there’s that. And if you remember our old buddy Roman Colon, well, he and Miner were traded from the Braves to the Tigers in 2006 for another old friend – Kyle Farnsworth. It’s funny how these things work out, isn’t it?
(more…)

Well let’s just go take a look-see, eh?
(more…)

I’m still waiting on the “Catch a Foul Ball” part, but there’s time.

The reason I bring it up is because this Saturday, June 5th, I get to check off something I hadn’t figured I’d have a chance to ever do. Thanks to Sunflower Broadband in Lawrence, who held a “#1 Royals fan” contest, I’ll be throwing out the first pitch before the Tigers/Royals game.

It’s also Bret Saberhagen bobblehead night.

So if anyone wants to see a blogger embarrass themselves in front of 15-20 thousand, this is a good time to do it. I’m hoping like hell I don’t bury that thing.

Like that.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Needless to say, the move was a win for Dayton Moore. Let’s look deeper:
(more…)

All told, the Royals went 3-3 which, considering some of the performances of certain pitchers, is a small miracle. So it could be worse. But it could be a lot better. If it doesn’t improve, more people may be following Roman Colon out of Kansas City.

(more…)

(more…)