As bad as a situation like this may be, what would you think about this individual if he had made almost the same exact mistake previously, and learned absolutely nothing from the experience?  You might say he was a mad lunatic, hell-bent on self destruction.  You might think he was a subversive implant on a mission to destroy.  You might say his name is Dayton Moore.

Let me take you back a few years to explain how we got to Dayton Moore’s last stand.  No doubt you are aware that Dayton Moore spent the first several years of his administrative baseball career with the Atlanta Braves.  After becoming the Royals General Manager in 2006, he made three trades with his former organization within about a year, sending a couple of guys you never heard of plus Octavio Dotel to the Braves in exchange for another guy you never heard of plus Tony Pena, Jr. and “dum, dum, DUMMMM!” (that’s my weak attempt at ominous movie mood music), Kyle Davies.

You remember Kyle Davies, right?  He’s the guy that many believe is possibly the worst starting pitcher in the history of the major leagues, by a long shot.  And what normally happens when a team brings up a pitcher who goes down in flames on the mound?  If he’s had success in the minors, as Davies did, they’ll probably give him a few chances, several more starts to get accustomed to the speed and talent level in the majors.  If he still isn’t successful, the player will soon be demoted back to AAA or released.  But that’s not what happened with Kyle.

In 2007, Davies came to the Royals in mid-season, pitched 50 innings and posted a 6.66 era.  Let that soak in for a moment – a 6.66 era.  To put that in perspective, the Royals current embarrassing group of starting pitchers all have era’s of 5.50 or less.

What do you think was the result of Davies near historically poor performance in 2007?  Was he chased out of Kauffman and demoted to Omaha?  Was he placed on the waiver wire?  No, he was shockingly rewarded with another season in the Royals rotation.  And another.  And another.  And another, until July 2011 when the Royals finally gave Kyle and his 5.59 lifetime era his walking papers.  And by the way, Luke Hochevar’s lifetime era is 5.29 – don’t get me started.  That will need to be the subject of a future story.

Do you remember how Dayton Moore was mercilessly vilified for his decision to keep running Kyle Davies out to the mound year, after year, after year?  Kyle had only one somewhat promising season in 2008 when he threw for a 4.06 era, and Dayton rode that train of possibility all the way to the end of the line and beyond.  There really is no explanation for the blinders DM wore when reviewing Davies unless you believe he simply could not admit he had made a mistake.  He was like the man who keeps doubling down at the roulette wheel thinking the odds have to land in his favor eventually.

Dayton Moore will need to make a decision soon about Jeff Francoeur (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

History appears to be repeating itself with Jeff Francoeur.  If you don’t know this already, Frenchy is another product of the Atlanta Braves system that DM is so fond of.  I think Moore believes so strongly that the Braves talent evaluation process is infallible that he refuses to give up on any product of their system until his reluctance to do the right thing drives the Royals fan base to the brink of insanity.

Jeff Francoeur was a first round pick of the Braves in 2002.  He was relatively successful in the minor leagues, although he never lit the world on fire anywhere he went.  He eventually received a call-up to the majors in 2005, as all first round picks eventually do, whether they deserve it or not.

Francoeur has shown flashes of promise, particularly in his 2007 season when he batted .293 with 105 RBIs.   However, “flash” is a particularly accurate description of Frenchy’s talent.  For example, during a couple of his full seasons in the majors, he has batted .239 in 2008, .249 in 2010, and he strikes out a whopping 118 times per year.  Aside from the fact that he may have the greatest outfield arm of our generation, there is very little to like about Francoeur’s performance.  Yes he has a great attitude, yes he is a clubhouse leader, yes he purchases pizza for the fans in the bleachers, yes he had one respectable recent season in a Royals uniform, yada, yada, yada…  But you know what?  That simply isn’t good enough.

Wil Myers will eventually be the Royals right fielder. Well, someday, right? (Credit: Mindy Haas)

I am sick and dang tired of the Royals settling for mediocrity.  If a player isn’t cutting it, then trade him, demote him, or DFA him – I don’t care what you do and I don’t care how much money you’re paying him, just get him off the field.  Particularly when he’s blocking the path of a young stud like Wil Myers.  I know Wil has struggled since the All Star break, but you might struggle too if you had put up super-human numbers, led the minor leagues in home runs and done everything expected of you to receive your call-up, and then the promotion never came because Dayton Moore’s favorite son inexplicably continues to play every day.

Once upon a time, Dayton Moore made a stand with Kyle Davies.  I don’t think any of us truly understand why he did it, or why he didn’t learn anything from the experience.  It appears that he is making another stand now with Jeff Francoeur.  Except this time, based on the teams’ underwhelming performance and lack of any real direction or focus, it could be Dayton Moore’s last stand.

Today, I’ll try to do the same thing, but with those players the Royals have acquired over the years at the deadline. In some ways, it’s a difficult thing to do, as the Royals didn’t execute many trades at the deadline when they were in their heyday, usually haven’t been buyers at the deadline and the players they’ve traded away weren’t always the kind to inspire a blockbuster.

So the disclaimer on this one is that things could get ugly.

Another reminder that the trade deadline was originally June 15 up until 1986 when it was moved to the end of July. That rule applies in a couple of these situations.

C – Lucas May (2010)

On July 28, 2010, the Royals turned Scott Podsednik into a couple of intriguing prospects. Podsednik was having a surprising resurgence at the top of the Royals batting order. The Dodgers were in the hunt and looking for outfield help.

May was joined with Elisaul Pimentel in the deal. A converted shortstop, May was one of the top catching prospects in the Dodgers system and was hitting well in Triple A at the time. May ended up playing in 12 games for the Royals at the big league level but was mostly in Omaha after the deal. He was sold to Arizona for cash after the season and is currently in the Mets system.

1B – Ryan Shealy (2006)

At the deadline in 2006, the Royals and Rockies met up on a classic “change of scenery” deal. Shealy came over with pitcher Scott Dohmann on July 31 that year in exchange for lefty Jeremy Affeldt and right-hander Denny Bautista. Affeldt had been bounced around in various roles as part of the Royals pitching staff and nothing seemed to click for him. He also battled a persistent blister problem on his throwing hand  that always resurfaced. Bautista looked like a pitcher with promise but never developed any command to realize it.

Similarly, Shealy had been a slugger in the Rockies minor leagues but was already 26 and closing in on 27 without a real spot on the Rockies (think of him as a 2006 Clint Robinson). In two months with the Royals that year, he hit seven homers and a .280/.338/.451 line. It looked good going into 2007 and the Royals figured he’d be the everyday first baseman. He struggled and was demoted to Omaha at the end of June. He didn’t resurface until September 2008 and was on his way out of the Royals organization.

2B – Cookie Rojas (1970)

After those first two, it’s nice to have the chance to highlight a very good pickup at the deadline. On June 13, 1970, the Royals sent Fred Rico to the Cardinals and got Rojas in return.

Rico played in 12 games for the inaugural Royals team in 1969. It was the only major league experience he ever had.

Rojas only made four All-Star teams as a Royal and was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1987.

SS – Neifi Perez (2001)

It’s bad enough that the Royals traded for Perez. That’s a big problem to start with – he was Yuniesky Betancourt before Yuni was Yuni. And he didn’t have any of the pop. He was positive defensively, but with an OPS+ of 64 for his career, his defensive ability only made him a replacement level player at best.

The Royals traded Jermaine Dye for him on July 25.

Ouch. (I wanted to put Jeff Keppinger here, but honestly, Neifi’s a better story.)

3B – Dean Palmer (1997)

We covered the other half of this deal, as the Royals sent the speedy Tom Goodwin to Texas for Palmer on July 25.

Palmer fit into the Royals lineup as a power hitter, and he hit nine  homers in the 49 games he spent with the Royals during the rest of the 1997 season. He was even better in 1998, hitting 34 homers in his only full season with the Royals. Palmer is one of very few Royals hitters who’ve hit 30 homers in a season and the third most in team history. He left for Detroit after becoming a free agent and played parts of five seasons with them.

OF – Gregor Blanco (2010)

When the Royals traded Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel on July 31, they got Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez as well as Blanco.

During the remainder of the 2010 season, Blanco hit 203 plate appearances and played mostly in center, adding good contact, defense and strike zone judgment to the team. There was some talk that he might end up the opening day center fielder in 2011, but the Royals signed Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera while also having Mitch Maier and Jarrod Dyson in the mix. Then they acquired Lorenzo Cain. Blanco was traded to Washington for cash but didn’t get back to the majors until this season, where he’s been a solid reserve for the Giants.

Also, he did this:

OF – Chip Ambres (2005)

Ambres was acquired with Juan Cedeno from Boston on July 19, 2005 for infielder Tony Graffanino. He was almost a league average outfielder that season and had 12 extra base hits. He only played 80 career games in the big leagues, including 53 for the Royals.

OF – Abraham Nunez (2004)

The Royals haven’t acquired many good outfielders at the deadline, have they? Nunez was acquired on the last day of July in 2004 for Rudy Seanez. He didn’t play in the majors after 2004 as a Royal. He and Jeff D’Amico hold the distinction of not being THAT Abraham Nunez (former Pirate, Cardinal and Phillie from 1997-2008) and not being THAT Jeff D’Amico (former Brewer, Pirate, Met and Indian from 1996-2004; the other D’Amico was part of the Kevin Appier trade in 1999).

SP – Charlie Leibrandt (1983)

The Royals sent Bob Tufts to the Reds on June 7, 1983 and got Leibrandt back. Tufts had thrown 26.2 innings for the Royals when he was traded. He never pitched for the Reds.

Leibrandt only went on to finish fifth in Cy Young voting in 1985 and threw 1257 innings from 1984 to 1989 with Kansas City. He was the starting pitcher in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, and held the Cardinals to one run in 7.2 innings to keep the Royals in position to make the historic comeback. He also had a solid start that fell apart in Game 2 but ate up 8.2 innings in that one.

RP – Stan Belinda (1993)

Belinda was an average arm in the Pirates bullpen and with the Royals in second place and four games behind on July 31, 1993, made a nice target at the deadline. In return the Pirates got Jon Lieber and Dan Miceli, both of whom went on to long careers in the big leagues. Miceli appeared in 631 games. Lieber fit the bill of a league average, middle of the rotation starter for years, making 327 starts, most with the Pirates and Cubs.

Belinda had an 8.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 1993 for the Royals down the stretch, though they never made up the ground to take the division. He wasn’t nearly as good in 1994 for the Royals though, and bounced around until 2000.

Other Notable Royals Trade Deadline Acquisitions:

• Jeff Keppinger (2006)
• Odalis Perez (2006)
• Kyle Davies (2007)
• Justin Huber (2004)
• Graeme Lloyd (2003)
• Jorge De La Rosa (2006)
• Will Smith (2010)
• Tim Collins (2010)
• Curt Leskanic (2003)
• Jason Grimsley (1997)
• Luis Aquino (1987)

May 07, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (57) is relieved by manager Ned Yost (3) in the fourth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Today, I realized I can no longer do this.  I can’t be hopelessly optimistic about someone who has given me little in return to back up my optimism.  I was never a fan of the Luke Hochevar pick in the 2006 draft, but I sucked it up and tried to find a reason to like the pick and give my support for Hochevar.  First, let me state that Hochevar should have never been the 1st overall pick and because of his selection there, he is going to be the most scrutinized player from that draft.  It’s also hard to swallow that Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, and Tim Lincecum were all top ten picks that year as well, and were passed on.

While Hochevar hasn’t been bad every time out, what makes him so frustrating to watch, is the fact he is one of the most inconsistent pitchers in the game.  He’s had days of complete game shutouts and then he’ll turn around and have an outing like the home opener onslaught that a sold out crowd witnessed earlier this year at Kauffman Stadium.  A starter needs to be consistent, something Hochevar is not.  Yeah, Bruce Chen won’t dominate a line up but you can expect 6 innings and 2-3 runs every time he toes the rubber.  There’s peace of mind knowing what to expect from your starter on any given day.

That being said it really is time to at least scan around for other options to start in place of Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez.  I’m not sure how much longer their leash is, but it can’t be too long.  Sanchez and Hochevar combined have went past 5 innings only twice thus far this season.  Hochevar is now the 6th worst pitcher in MLB history according to ERA that includes pitchers with over 100 starts.  That’s an interesting piece of information that can be found here* along with the rest of the top, or should I say bottom, ten.  I tend to get a sick feeling in my stomach every time it’s Sanchez’s turn in the rotation.  I know 5 walks and 3 innings is very likely.  These two make watching the Royals a nauseating task.  Normally, I’m not this down on the Royals, but I hate seeing the starting pitching give these types of performances.

*It’s interesting to note Kyle Davies is right in front of Hochevar on this list.

Therefore, there may come a time relatively soon where a change has to be made.  Ryan Verdugo, Nate Adcock, and Everett Teaford are all guys I truly believe can give us a quality start just about every time out.  The most important things a starter can do is keep the team in the game and go deep in the game to preserve the bullpen arms throughout the season.  Jake Odorizzi is also an intriguing name that I’d love to see in Kansas City at some point during the season.

I really don’t like giving up on a player, but it appears as though Hochevar is not capable of overcoming his blow up inning more times than not.  I believe there is a lack of focus there, even though no one will come out and say that.  I’m sure he prepares himself very well and puts in the time and effort, but there is something with the mental side of his game that is just not adding up.  A guy with the repertoire of pitches that Hochevar sports should not be nearly this inconsistent and should be a top of the rotation starter.  It’s just very frustrating to continue to watch him and anticipate his blow up inning.

All I’m hoping for is this doesn’t continue.  Whether Hochevar and Sanchez figure out a few things and can pitch deeper into a game or Ned Yost finally makes a move and replaces one or both of them with a few candidates I mentioned earlier, something will need to change.  The starting pitching is the weak spot of the team but that doesn’t mean you can’t make changes to try and produce different outcomes.  These two are certainly not cutting it.

Thanks for visiting Kings of Kauffman. 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.  You can also send your questions to our mailbag at KoKMailbag@gmail.com and follow Jordan McLaughlin on Twitterto be notified each time he posts a story.

Back when White first started helping out as a voice for the telecast, I wasn’t too sure of his ability to handle being a television commentator. As the year progressed, however, I found myself kind of enjoying his take on different aspects of the Royals. I certainly don’t consider him the “Gus Johnson/Jim Nantz/Insert favorite commentator here” of T.V. personalities, but I thought him somewhat insightful and a refreshing contrast to Ryan Lefebvre. (more…)

It’s just the way life works. It’s the same with religion or politics or science or whatever you want. There are always certain folks that either can’t wrap their minds around a new concept or don’t want to accept that what they’ve believed all this time has been wrong. So, they reject the new information.

I’m not one to tell people what to think. Or, at least I try not to do so. Instead, I want to talk about how to discuss the current Royals with these folks. How do you get across the improvements the team is making and the abilities of some of the players on the field without using newer stats? Well, I gave it a shot…

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For Teaford, his win is a good sign, as he gets a jumpstart in what should be a crowded battle for a rotation spot next year.

And while success is good, it’s no guarantee, if history tells us anything.

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When the Royals acquired Felipe Paulino from the Rockies for cash way back in May, my response was this: meh. I didn’t really know much about him and wasn’t too impressed by what I saw statistically. For me, I didn’t see a reason to be upset or excited because, well, he was just another stripped cog in a busted gear system. Of course, he then had to prove me wrong.

After Paulino found himself with a bloated 7.36 ERA as a late-innings reliever after 18 games in 2011, it was fair for the Rockies to designate him for assignment. Perhaps trading Clint Barmes for Paulino was a bad idea for the Rockies, as their second basemen have subsequently been, well, Chris Getz or worse. But their heart was in the right place, as Paulino came to the Royals and has started 14 games, relieved in one, and has arguably been the best starter on the staff.

How is he pitching to accomplish this and what could he mean for the Royals down the line? Well, that’s what I wanted to know.

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The Royalman Report, LIVE Sundays at 7 pm CST

In the lastest Royalman Report from Sunday, we had to cover the release of Kyle Davies and subsequent news of his arrest in Florida.

We called up Craig Brown of Royals Authority to talk about Davies and the legacy of the “worst starting pitcher in history“.

Then, with the draft pick signing deadline coming approaching minute by minute, we talked about the options in front of Bubba Starling and past decisions by Royals draft picks.

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

If you happen to be a musician and would like to have your music featured on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email info@royalmanreport.com.  Similarly, if you would like your business to be mentioned on the air to our listeners, contact the show at the same number.

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

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On Wednesday, Davies was released to make room for Salvador Perez on the 40 man roster.

The Royals insist that the release was connected more towards poor performance and the fact that Davies shoulder issues would not be resolved by the end of the year.

It’s a sad set of circumstances for everyone, really.

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Shut down by shoulder troubles for the second time this season, Davies was released by the Royals in order to add Salvador Perez to the 40 man roster.  Davies was playing on a one year arbitration deal and wasn’t likely to see his health improve by the end of the year.

As a Royal, Davies had a 5.34 ERA in 99 starts over 531 innings.  The Royals acquired the former Braves prospect in 2007 for Octavio Dotel (a move that ushered in Joakim Soria into the closer’s spot).

The move ends the six man rotation experiment.  If Danny Duffy is shut down in September (which is 99% likely), it should mean any of Vin Mazzaro, Sean O’Sullivan, or Robinson Tejeda could join the club as a starter in Duffy’s place.

For what it’s worth, Davies did always have pretty good stuff.  He never put it together though, and now he’s on the market (while collecting the remainder of his $3.2 million salary for 2011.)

The guys on “The Border Patrol” had Dayton Moore on their show a few weeks ago and naturally they asked him the question that currently plagues the minds of most Kansas City Royals fans: (more…)

5.13

Through 519.1 innings, that’s the cumulative ERA of Royals starters this season.  That includes such immaculate performances as Kyle Davies‘s 7.74 ERA, Sean O’Sullivan‘s 6.57 ERA and a steaming pile of Luke Hochevar Blowup Innings (patent pending).

With hitting prospects rising up the professional ladder, the Royals have hope for the future, but as a pitching staff goes, so goes the team.  A pitching staff may not need to be the Braves of the early ’90s, but they have to be at least competent.

This group is not that – and it has to change for that hope to be realized.

(more…)

Among Royals topics, we talked about a few trades, All-Star Game selections, the Alex Gordon visit to All Star Pizza in Kansas City, marketing, prospect development, starting pitching – basically anything and everything Royals.  We also checked into the chat room and got some updates on the All-Star Futures game where Wil Myers and Kelvin Herrera made appearances.

We were also privileged to showcase the music of Rebecca Loebe who’s been seen on NBC’s “The Voice”.  You can find her new album “Mystery Prize” on her website at RebeccaLoebe.com and she, too, is on Twitter at @RebeccaLoebe.

If you happen to be a musician and would like to have your music featured on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email info@royalmanreport.com.

Click the embedded player below to listen or you can download the mp3 here.

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“What?” – you may ask – “Kyle Davies (and his 7.77 ERA) gets to stick around and Duffy has to go back to Triple A?  What about the six-man rotation?”

Fear not, as it’s merely a way to get Duffy work on a regular schedule over the All-Star break.

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I, as all Royals fans do, pride myself on having the heart and time-tested stamina/patience to weather all horrible baseball that is played by the Boys in Blue at different points throughout the season. The key is to try and find the small things that can keep you positive even as your team nestles down into the familiar comfort of last in the A.L. Central, happily mutters “I’m home,” all while planning its eventual takeover of last place in all of baseball.*

*Yes…that was a little dark and hopeless, but I feel like I’m entitled to an outburst now and then because I try to stay positive for the most part. We all know how hard that can be around this time of the season. (more…)

Instead, the Royals will make it work, going with a six man rotation.

At least for now.

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Royalman was finally back in the Royalman Report studio after a couple weeks of family and other commitments and we were glad to have Kevin Scobee call in to discuss his article from last week on Billy Butler being miscast in the Royals lineup:

Clipped from: kingsofkauffman.com (share this clip)

The discussion was going so well that we kept Kevin around for the final two segments as well where we discussed such things as:

• Potential roster moves as interleague play approaches and pitchers get healthy
• Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas‘s California bromance – and their potential career paths
• Mike Aviles vs. Chris Getz vs. Johnny Giavotella – with a run in by Jeff Bianchi

And much more!

Listening and downloading information is available below:

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A good run at home and the Royals could gain some confidence and, more importantly, some standing in the AL Central.  Instead, most of the week was consumed with chaos, and the Royals came away with just two wins – though it was close in a couple of instances.

Right away, the Royals lost 19-1 against Cleveland in a game that saw both Kyle Davies leave with a shoulder injury after four batters and Vin Mazzaro get shelled in relief.  Needless to say, things needed to change.

Baserunning was an issue as well.  The Royals got picked off repeatedly, thrown out taking the extra base a few times, and were caught stealing multiple times.

When the dust settled, Davies was on the DL, Mazzaro was sent to Omaha.  Jeremy Jeffress and Jarrod Dyson joined him later in the week after Jeffress struggled with control and Dyson was picked off as a pinch runner (without any production at the plate to redeem himself).  Coming up to replace them were Danny Duffy, who made his major league debut, Greg Holland, Everett Teaford and Robinson Tejeda, who was activated from the DL.

That’s a lot of turnover in seven days.

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The Indians beat our Royals.

It’s done and we can all move on because the ordeal is over.

19-1 losses don’t happen often; heck, 10-1 losses don’t happen often.  This wasn’t so much a game as a trial.  A test.

How does a team come back from something like that?

Let’s accentuate the positive:

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Neither were the case on Tuesday.

The Royals mustered just one run on a fourth inning Melky Cabrera homer and otherwise did very little against Freddy Garcia and the Yankees bullpen.  In the last three innings, the Royals struck out five times, including two consecutive caught looking by Cabrera and Alex Gordon to lead off the eighth inning.

Despite that, opportunities were there.

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They’ll probably omit the attempt to go from first to third by Aviles on a Mark Reynolds error that cost the Royals an out.

The barren wasteland of Royals offense from innings three through seven might be overlooked too.  Jake Arrieta ran up his pitch count to 45 after two innings and still managed seven innings.  He shut down the Royals in order in five of those innings (facing the minimum in the sixth on a Billy Butler double play after Alex Gordon singled).

And while the Royals didn’t get a break to go their way when Aviles’s shot to the gap lodged under the padding on the left field wall for a ground-rule double, it’s not the reason they lost tonight.

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Madness.  Cats and dogs living together.

So they went 3-3 on the week, scoring 33 runs and allowing 32.  Considering how they started the week, I’d have never guessed that would be the result.  The Royals got good performances by a few hitters and good enough performances from their starters in the process.  How good?  Check out the numbers below:

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The offensive onslaught included back to back homers in the bottom of the fifth inning.

It was more than enough offense for Omaha as four pitchers shut out Iowa, limiting them to three hits.  Danny Duffy led the way with six innings pitched, striking out eight in the process.  He allowed one hit, a shot off the glove of Johnny Giavotella.

Okay.

Fine.

I’ll talk about the Indians game.

Coming in, the Royals had lost five straight since leaving Kansas City with a 12-7 record.  The skid threatened to put them under .500 since being 0-1 after opening day.

Just like in the last two games in Cleveland, the Royals stumbled out of the gate.

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It was a bit of a different story this week.

In two series, the Royals went 2-5, including their first series loss, a three game sweep at the hands of the Rangers.

Some of the breaks the Royals got in the first two weeks weren’t happening this week, but it wasn’t all bad.  Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur extended hitting streaks, Mike Aviles and Kila Ka’aihue woke up (a bit) after early struggles.  And Kyle Davies – dare I say it – looked like a real major league starter.

But 2-5 is still 2-5 and excepting a walk-off win on Thursday, they could have come away with just one win.  We’ll see why after looking at the numbers:

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Davies followed up a seven strikeout, no walk night last Monday by scattering four hits over six innings and shut the last ten Rangers batters he faced.  Over the last two games, he’s walked just one and struck out ten in 12 innings and deserved a win both times.

Tonight, it was a rough third inning that did him in.

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He’s still sitting on an ugly 5-32 start, but he showed better at bats on Tuesday night, working a sacrifice fly and drawing a walk.  Baby steps.  Chris Getz and Wilson Betemit continued to produce, so Aviles may still have to scrap for at bats, but Kila Ka’aihue‘s struggles against lefties might mean more DH starts for Betemit or Aviles.  Today, he was a big part to their 10-5 win over the Twins.

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The Royals look to take another series in this young season, traveling to Target Field to take on the despised Minnesota Twins.  Is it me, or are the Twins kind of like the haughty, arrogant characters often played by Greg Kinnear or Ted McGinley (who, coincidentally played a pompous manager of the same Twins in Major League: Back to the Minors) in almost every film or television role they get?  They walk in with their pitchers who don’t walk people and hitters who move runners over and solid defense.

Pssh.  Twins.  I say bring ‘em on!

To be honest, I’m mildly terrified of this starting rotation.  I feel like it might fall apart at any moment, and a Twins series is usually when these things happen.  Hopefully, Jeff Francis can keep his momentum going and Kyle Davies can figure something out.

The Royals should have opportunities – Brian Duensing isn’t exactly a world-beater, and Francisco Liriano is having command issues.  The newfound approach at the plate could net the Royals more walks than they usually seem to get against the Twins and more baserunners means more scoring chances.  It’s just up to the Royals to come through.

Some solid pitching wouldn’t hurt either.

In the spirit of providing a balanced preview of the series, so my second-place-Royals-homerism doesn’t run rampant, Wally Fish, Senior Editor at Puckett’s Pond and I are collaborating on this preview.  He was my predecessor here at Kings of Kauffman, so he’s one of the good Twins fans.  (He grew up in Minnesota – let’s cut him a bit of slack.  But just a bit.)

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This, is the Sounds of Royals’ Spring.

The Sounds of Spring usually means the poetic nonsense that announcers and lazy writers use to explain baseball and the wonderful grandness of it all. But the Sounds of Spring in Royals camp inevitably means there is always some rebuilding-his-career veteran trying to make his way back to prominence that somehow gives this team hope for competing. This March, has been no different. (more…)

The next time out, it’s another two innings, with two runs surrendered and yes, a walk.  But just the one and after four early innings, you’re looking at a four-to-one K/BB ratio.  The two runs are bad, but overall it’s a 4.50 ERA, which isn’t terrible.

Oh, but then you get the fun outing.  Three scoreless, three more strikeouts.

Out of nowhere, Kyle Davies is sitting there with a 2.57 ERA, seven strikeouts and just two walks over seven innings.

Finally.

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That isn’t to say there won’t be exciting things on the field. It’s not that there aren’t prospects emerging from the abyss known popularly as “The Process.” I’ve already written that there will be interesting things afoot, especially as the season progresses. Many other Royals bloggers have done the same.

However, even with these bubbling storylines, the problem remains that the Royals will not be a good team. There’s always the chance that they surprise us, but I wouldn’t bet the snowblower on it. They just don’t seem to have the firepower to have any success this year.

As for the most-cited reason for the bad team? Pitching.
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So, when the Royals began increasing their payroll starting in 2007, it looked like their small market standards might begin including random free agent signings. In one year, the payroll increased from around $47 million to $67 million. Part of that resulted from the Gil Meche and Octavio Dotel signings in the previous offseason. Things kept rolling after that year, as the Royals signed Jose Guillen. The payrolls in the next few years were $58, $70, and $75 million.

Well, unfortunately, money doesn’t directly translate to wins. From 2007-2010, the Royals averaged 69 wins. While better than the three-year stretch before that, it’s not as productive as you would hope. From 2007-2009, the Twins had a comparable or lower payroll and won an average of 85 games. Basically, while the payroll didn’t create as bad of a situation as the Cubs’ did, it was still pretty frustrating.
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Kyle Davies and the Royals agreed to a contract for 2011 that pays the right-hander $3.2 million, a huge raise from his $1.8 million salary in 2010.  This comes after Davies allowed the fourth most runs in the American League in 2010, surrendered the ninth most hits and gave up the fifth most walks in the league on his way to a 5.34 ERA over 183.2 innings.

So no, it’s not really a great deal.

Davies figures to be somewhere in the middle of the Royals 2011 rotation.  Maybe this is the year his stuff translates into results.

That leaves Billy Butler, all alone, without a contract.  He should end up agreeing to terms before the arbitration hearing period – Dayton Moore has never went to a hearing with a player and the Royals seemingly are done on the free agent market, so Butler can be the focal point the rest of the month.  He’s due a raise, and perhaps a greater one that before in light of Davies’s new contract.  I originally estimated about a $3.75 million deal for Butler when all is said and done.

They were not, however, able to come to an agreement on 2011 salaries with Billy Butler, Robinson  Tejeda and Kyle Davies.  If there isn’t a deal reached with any of the three players by Monday, the team and player will exchange salary figures.  Arbitration hearings start February first and run through the 18th.  At any time before the arbitration figures are judged by a panel, the team and player can come to an agreement.

There’s a strong chance that the Royals can get all three to agree to a salary before it gets to that step.  Davies made $1.8 million in 2010 and after a season where he finished with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.557 WHIP and had an ERA+ of 78, he’s not in much of a position to ask for more.  Tejeda made $950,000 in 2010 and has pitched pretty well – well enough for a raise – but I don’t see how he’d win a hearing after missing chunks of the last two seasons with tendinitis issues.  Those two seem like quick signings…

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After putting together a deal with Luke Hochevar on Wednesday, the Royals are left with Billy Butler, Robinson  Tejeda and Kyle Davies as their only unsigned players on the major league roster. (more…)

Luke Hochevar, doin' his thing

By now its fairly well known that our starting rotation next year isn’t going to be very good.

We’re staring down a rotation where Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies, Sean O’Sullivan and Vin Mazzaro are locks and the fifth starter is still up in the air.

As for our set in stone guys, Hochevar’s likely the best out of all of them and our Opening Day starter. “The Hoch” like many Royals, is big on potential. He was, of course, a star at Tennesee and the number one pick in the 2006 draft and he’s been bred for a high rotation spot since then. However, his career is pockmarked with injuries and underachievement. Hochevar only mustered 17 starts last year while dealing with an injury in his throwing shoulder. Otherwise, his performance and numbers have been shaky at best. In four years, he’s averaged a beyond mediocre 5.60 ERA and a far below average 78 ERA+, but not all of his stats are terrible.

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Josh Fields, part of the Mark Teahen trade last year, was not tendered a contract and becomes a free agent.

No big surprises, but there is some reading of the tea leaves in the development.
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Inevitably, I’d buy something.  Great for entertainment and enjoyment, but man, it adds up.

I can tune out the siren song better with that case against the wall, but with every new shipment of books we receive, I can’t help but peek at the sports sorting shelf to see if there’s another new gem I must have.

One of the newer acquisitions in my possession is the Bill James Handbook for 2011 and there were some interesting nuggets of information in here I’d like to share.
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So I guess it stands to reason the the Royals would be interested in former Brave, Phillie, Indian, Ranger and Oriole Kevin Millwood (so sayeth MLB Trade Rumors).  In 2011, it’s pretty likely the Royals will still be a losing team, though making the first strides towards changing that while acclimating younger players in the organization to playing in the big leagues.

And to look at the projected Royals rotation next season, they could probably use a guy like Millwood, who has started 25 games or more in 12 of his 14 major league seasons.

Really though, would he be worth it?
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Some of those players are eligible for arbitration and will be non-tendered during the winter.  Gage checked in to discuss some of those options yesterday.  Bruce Chen is officially a free agent, so he’s included in that number because the Royals do have an exclusive window in which to negotiate an extension or new contract for him, but he’s unlikely to sign anything in the near future so that trims a spot.

Jason Kendall and David DeJesus are both currently on the 60 day disabled list and thus don’t count against the 40 man roster during the season, though they do have to be reinstated to the roster, so two spots will have to be cleared.

We’ll start breaking down the 40 man roster by first looking at the pitchers.
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Kila is free.

And he’s on a rampage.
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As all fans do, I have some preferences for who we should keep on the big league roster, and who we should jettison as we look toward next season: (more…)

You can check out the post right here.

For my contribution, I put on my GM hat and thought about where the Royals are now and where they could be next year and beyond.  Obviously we’re sellers and we have pieces I think we should move.  Some of those pieces may even give us a modest return.

I won’t spoil the article, as you’ll be interested in the outlook of other AL Central team sites, but I looked mostly at Jose Guillen, Scott Podsednik and David DeJesus.  I could have discussed Kyle Farnsworth or Kyle Davies/Brian Bannister, but I don’t see the Royals trading much pitching right now while Luke Hochevar and Gil Meche are still on the DL (and there’s no solid starter in Triple A to step up – especially with Anthony Lerew likely to miss his next start).

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Talk about mood swings…
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The Royals are playing near .500 ball with Ned Yost at the helm (20-21 since taking over for Trey Hillman), so they’ve had a lot of these 3-3 weeks. Nobody expects this team to contend – yet – so hanging around .500 is fine, though also disappointing. Think of those “Lowered Expectations” parody ads on Mad TV. It’s kind of like that.
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The Royals had some winnable games in Atlanta, but didn’t come through in key moments and it cost them two games.  Somehow, despite a 2-4 record, the Royals were plus 3 in run differential, scoring 35 (fourth most all week) against 32 runs surrendered (eighth most).
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David DeJesus returned to his leadoff spot and Mike Aviles made a rightful jump to second in the order. The rest fell in line just as one would expect. So did this new lineup generate some runs? Well, yes and no…
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Kansas City struck first, turning three singles by Scott Podsednik, David DeJesus and Billy Butler into the first run of the game. The Astros countered with a one out RBI double by Pedro Feliz that scored Hunter Pence.
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