Omaha is currently in their All-Star break, as the Triple-A All-Star Game will be held in Buffalo on Wednesday night. It will be broadcast live on MLB Network at 7pm ET. Representing the Storm Chasers are starting outfielder Wil Myers, pitchers Ryan Verdugo and Tommy Hottovy, and first baseman/DH Clint Robinson.

August 05, 2011; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Manny Pina (28) makes a throw to second during a game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

NW Arkansas‘ losing streak has reached eight games, as they lost another to San Antonio, 7-6. The Naturals finish up their series tomorrow with the Missions before taking Wednesday off. The Missions took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Nathan Freiman‘s three-run homerun off Naturals starter Chris Dwyer.

The Naturals collected 16 hits (and out-hit the Missions 16-12), but went 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Every starter except Paulo Orlando collected at least one hit and seven had multi-hit games. Michael Liberto, who rarely played in Wilmington, went 2-for-4.

Catcher Manny Pina continued his rehab, as he went 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs. He caught all nine innings.

Wilmington road a great pitching performance from  three pitchers en route to their 6-2 victory over Myrtle Beach. The Blue Rocks have off tomorrow before starting a four-game home series, this time against Potomac.

Reliever Matt Ridings got the start and only allowed one hit and a walk over 5.2 innings. He allowed both runs (though only one was earned) while striking out five. Antonio Cruz picked up the victory with 1.1 perfect innings of relief. Sam Runion closed out the game with two scoreless innings (he only allowed one hit).

The Blue Rocks surprisingly used the homerun ball. Lane Adams hit a solo homerun and Whit Merrifield hit a two-run homerun with two outs in the 8th inning to give them some insurance.

Andy Ferguson has been promoted from Idaho Falls and will be in uniform for the Blue Rocks on Wednesday night (he most likely will be taking the spot of Yordano Ventura, who was promoted to Double-A).

Kane County finished up their road series at Wisconsin with a 6-4 loss. They have off tomorrow before returning home for a six-game homestand.

The Cougars collected ten hits, but went just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Julio Aparicio and Tim Ferguson each hit solo homeruns while collecting four of the team’s hits.

Bubba Watch: Burlington’s game was suspended in the first inning and will be completed as part of a doubleheader on August 10th. The Royals were losing 1-0, but had runners at the corners with Bubba Starling coming to the plate.

Chris Getz and Lorenzo Cain continue their rehab with the Storm Chasers. Getz led off, played second base the whole game, and went 0-for-4 with a run scored. Cain batted third, played centerfield the whole game, and went 1-for-2 with a double.

Omaha stole five bases, but none of them resulted in a run.

NW Arkansas lost to Corpus Christi, 7-3. The Naturals had their chance in the 9th inning with the tying run at the plate in three straight at-bats, but two of those hitters struck out. They have now lost six in a row.

After the Naturals took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Corpus Christi came back with seven runs from the 6th inning on. In that 3rd inning for the Naturals, Yem Prades hit a three-run homerun. Reliever Nick Rogers once again struggled with his command in the 9th inning and recorded just one out (while allowing two runs on two walks, a hit batter, and a single).

Catcher Manny Pina continued his rehab with the Naturals as the DH. He went 1-for-4 while batting cleanup.

Blue Rocks pitcher Elisaul Pimentel

Wilmington lost 8-3 to visiting Myrtle Beach to begin their homestand. Elisaul Pimentel went toe-to-toe with Pelicans starter (and All-Star) Kyle Hendricks. Both allowed two runs over six innings of work and neither factored into the decision.

The Pelicans scored six runs over the final two innings of the game against Blue Rocks reliever Andrew Stueve. The Blue Rocks two runs came in the 4th inning when Cheslor Cuthbert and Matt Fields hit back-to-back solo homeruns. As a team, they only collected five hits in the loss.

Kane County won their first game of their road trip in Wisconsin, 5-1. Angel Baez continues to dominate for the Cougars, as he allowed one run on four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five and the lone run came via a solo homerun in the 4th inning. 2012 draft pick Andrew Triggs continues to dominate since beginning his professional debut. He pitched two perfect innings of relief.

Alex Llanos hit his first homerun for the Cougars, a two-run shot, in the 6th inning. Jack Lopez went 4-for-5.

Bubba Watch: Bubba Starling went 0-for-3 in Burlington’s 3-2 walk-off victory.

David Lough hit a solo homerun in the 2nd inning (one of his two hits). Johnny Giavotella drove in two runs in the 7th inning with a two out RBI single.

August 05, 2011; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Manny Pina (28) makes a throw to second during a game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

The NW Arkansas Naturals have now lost four in a row, as they lost their series opener at home against Corpus Christi, 10-2. The Naturals collected 11 hits, but went just 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and hit into three double plays.

Brian Fletcher went 2-for-4 for the second straight game. Alex McClure went 3-for-4 with an RBI (where is all this offense coming with McClure?).

Catcher Manny Pina began his rehab from knee surgery with an 0-for-3 day. He also threw a runner out trying to steal second base. He caught seven innings.

Wilmington lost the slugfest in Lynchburg, 10-9. The Hillcats gave Yordano Ventura his worst start of the season right before his appearance in Sunday’s Futures Game. Ventura, who supposedly was ON in the first inning, fell apart in the second inning. The Hillcats scored five runs and he lasted just 2.2 innings.

The Blue Rocks actually came back to take a 9-8 lead in the top of the 7th inning with a six-spot. Matt Fields hit a homerun and Brett Eibner followed two batters later with a two-run homerun in that inning (he fell a triple short of the cycle). The Hillcats came right back with two runs in the bottom of the 7th inning against loser Nick Graffeo.

Kane County used a six-run bottom of the 5th inning to beat Quad Cities, 9-2. This came after the River Bandits tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the inning. In that 5th inning, Michael Antonio hit a two-run homerun (one of his two hits).

All of that offense made a winner of Aaron Brooks, who allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out six.

Every Cougars starter (except Yowill Espinal) collected at least one hit.

Bubba Watch: Bubba Starling went 0-for-3 with his second error of the season in Burlington’s 8-7 walk-off win.

With my ideal lineup the Royals I feel would put up more runs than they currently do . Photo Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Wednesday night against the Red Sox we saw a line-up that had everyone a buzzed given how it looked after it was publically revealed. Fans seemed to be surprised at Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas getting midweek rest and Billy Butler time at first. Results being what they are that lineup is 1-0 this season.

With the off day taking place I started thinking about what I’d do if given the chance to set a lineup. Here is my ideal lineup.

1. Jarrod Dyson, CF – Currently hitting .283 overall at the moment, in the 13 games he’s played in KC he’s led off 12 of them. In those 12-games he is hitting .286, 2-of-3 on the base paths with a .662 OPS and 17 total bases. His speed when he reaches has given the opposition fits moving around on the bases which flustered Matt Albers.

2. Johnny Giavotella, 2B – Here is the guy I’d like to hit second even though I also like Alex Gordon in this spot. The numbers I’m drawing upon are from 2011 and aren’t that glossy because Ned only hit Johnny second five times. Still he was 6-of-21 for a .286 average with a homerun, three doubles and a triple. Johnny just seems to make something happen each at-bat to get on base.

3. Billy Butler, DH – Country Breakfast has batted in this spot 17 of 30 games played during the 2012 season the difference is his batting average hitting third is .254 to as opposed to .353. In this spot he’s hit four HR’s with 14 RBIs compared to two and 9 when batting fourth. Interesting to note Billy has been plunked three times when batting in this spot.

4. Eric Hosmer, 1B – This is in good faith as I need not remind anyone that Hos hasn’t hit at all this season thus far. Nonetheless don’t let what’s happened the first 30 games make you think Hosmer won’t hit his projected numbers.

5. Mike Moustakas, 3B – The fifth spot really gave me pause because it’s a spot that I liked Alex or Moose at over Frenchy. To me in I’ve liked the small sample size I went with the long-term thought here of Moustakas. It was only one game that we saw Mike hit fifth but and he went 1-for3 this spot is where I’d like him to be while wearing a Royals uniform.

6. Alex Gordon, LF – Gordon in the sixth spot? With a deep lineup, Gordo just got pushed down in my lineup but could easily get flopped with Moose depending on the match-up.

7. Jeff Francoeur, RF –Francoeur hitting seventh is something most actually want to see with how slow he’s started. Like Gordon, Francoeur hasn’t hit in this spot since 2010 and actually had success. In 165 plate appearances he belted six HR’s plus driving in 30.

8. Brayan Pena/Humberto Quintero, C – I’d rather Salvador Perez here but nothing we can do about that  until he and Manny Pina come back. If we could combine Pena’s bat with Quintero defense I’d take that.

9. Alcides Escobar, SS – Has better numbers hitting eighth than in the ninth spot but I really like him here with the ability to turn over the lineup. While only hitting .260 in 77 plate appearances he does have 20 hits. In the ninth position is where 8 of his 10 doubles are in addition to his lone homer and triple. Batting ninth has been good for Esky’s as 10 of his 12 extra base hits have come in this spot. So far in 2012 his slugging percentage risen up to .410 from last season’s .343 average.

This arrangement leaves Chris Getz, Irving Falu, and Mitch Maier plus whatever catcher who isn’t playing on the bench. The Royals are averaging 3.9 runs but let’s make that four by rounding up and I think that this lineup could surpass that.

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I was actually sitting in the stands in Surprise on the day when Joakim Soria blew out his elbow.  I didn’t know for sure what was happening before the trainer went to the mound, but after watching him pitch to a couple batters I tweeted to @Ethan_Bryan,  “I can see Soria’s mojo slipping away before my eyes.”

Royals fans are looking forward to having Salvador Perez behind home plate again. (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

One of the darkest days of this young year actually occurred before the season began.  Last March 13 during Spring Training, Salvador Perez got his cleats stuck in the dirt and twisted his knee while warming up starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez.  An MRI revealed Perez had torn his lateral meniscus which required surgery to repair.  It is likely he’ll be out of the lineup until sometime around the All-Star game break.

You may also remember that prior to Salvador Perez’s stint on the DL, Manny Pina suffered a similar injury that has prevented him from getting any playing time this year.  This left the Royals with Brayan Pena as the only healthy major league caliber (stretching the definition of “ML caliber” just a little) catcher in their system.

We heard rumors that the Royals considered several temporary options to fill Salvador’s position, including Ivan Rodriguez who decided to retire last week, but settled on a trade with Houston that has Astros fans feeling pretty good and Royals fans a little uneasy.

To obtain catcher Humberto Quintero, and backup outfielder Jason Bourgeois from Houston (yes, the same Jason Bourgeois that was recently demoted in favor of “one-tool” Jarrod Dyson), the Royals packaged Minor League pitcher Kevin Chapman and the dreaded “player to be named later.”  (PTBNL)  On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a terrible deal for either team, except for the unknown piece of the agreement.  The Astro’s gave up two guys who weren’t going to make their team, in exchange for a decent minor league pitcher from the Royals with potential to eventually become a respectable reliever, plus the ominous PBTNL.

Even the specter of the PBTNL wouldn’t be too worrisome, except for this comment which was Tweeted by Alyson Footer, MLB’s beat reporter and Sr. Director of Social Media for the Astro’s – “I’m getting impression that Chapman is projected to be 7th/8th inn reliever and that the ptbnl is a good one, not just throw-in.”

Humberto Quintero is filling in for Salvador Perez and may become his permanent backup. (Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE)

And then during the announcement of the trade, Jeff Luhnow, General Manager of the Astros, stated that the player to be named later would be the key component of the trade.

What are Royals fans supposed to think about this?  While our farm system may still be loaded with talent even after the promotions of Hosmer, Moustakas, Perez, Duffy, and Cain; few of us believe that we have extra pieces to simply give away in exchange for a temporary player that could be virtually useless in a few weeks – unless he becomes Perez’s permanent backup.  (Cue the ominous movie background music.)

Because Quintero (or “Q” as many call him) has played part-time in the National League, few of us knew much about him upon his arrival in KC.  Dayton Moore told us “Humberto Quintero is a guy we like as a solid catch-and-throw guy and has a lot of experience at the Major League level and gives us the depth that we need at this point.”  You remember DM calling Q a “solid catch-and-throw guy,” right?  So what did you expect when you heard this?  Did you expect the 3^rd most stolen bases allowed? Did you also expect him to be among the leaders in passed balls?  I doubt it.  Considering Q is only a part-time player, these results are not encouraging.

Quintero is batting a semi-respectable .283/.366/.429 (before Tuesday’s game), with zero HR’s, but he has never hit higher than .250 over the past 9 seasons (except 2006 when he only played in 11 games) so I’m certain we can expect to see his numbers regress dramatically soon.  Brayan Pena is hitting just as well as Q right now in nearly every category and no doubt will continue to produce offensively at a higher level than Humberto over the remainder of the season.

Brayan Pena rides the bench most nights while Humberto Quintero starts (Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE)

I haven’t been a fan of Pena’s defense ever since he failed to block home plate at least twice last year on critical plays, but stats suggest his defense has been just as good as Quintero’s so far this year.  Quintero’s WAR is 0.2, Pena’s is 0.3.   Pena earns $875,000 and Quintero earns $1M.  But more importantly, Quintero cost us a PTBNL.  (I know, I’m harping on the PTBNL thing, but it bothers me so I can’t help it.)

I just don’t understand why we needed Quintero?  Couldn’t we have just picked up almost any journeyman free agent catcher off the street to backup Pena while waiting for Salvador Perez to recover, rather than trade away an unknown PTBNL?

Maybe I’m worried over nothing, but what if the PTBNL is based on playing time?  Quintero is getting the majority of the starts this year (for reasons unknown) and it’s possible that the more games he plays, or more plate appearances he receives will result in us forfeiting a higher caliber prospect.  Why wouldn’t the Royals have announced the terms of the PTBNL?  I’ve always said – if someone purposefully won’t tell you something, it’s because they don’t want you to know.  And why don’t the Royals want us to know?  My guess is that if it was something we’d be happy to hear, they’d tell us.

In my opinion, the Royals didn’t make a good move here.  We gave up prospects to get Quintero which tells me they projected him to be Perez’s permanent backup.  It tells me they believed Quintero is a stronger player than Pena.  It also tells me that once again, they don’t always know what they’re doing.

I don’t need to tell anyone who was born prior to 1985 about how being a Royals fan is special because it’s not like being a fan of the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs or Cardinals. Growing up in Omaha and going to college in Kearney, Nebraska, it’s normal to see Royals gear.  Spending the last three years in Melbourne, Florida and Corpus Christi, Texas makes people ask why.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez might be out but Royals fans are used to setbacks. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

It’s simple.  The winning has been few and far between and I was two years old the last time October was achieved. I feel being a fan of Kansas City sports has allowed me to develop a sense of humor that you don’t get with your team winning every single year like postseason perennials such as New York, Boston and St. Louis.

Setbacks are common in life and sports.  It just happens that Royals village (a term I started a few years ago since we’re not big enough to be a nation) are used to them. Draft busts and bad free agent signings have been our story in past years. It’s hard to say how 2012 is going to turn out and to avoid fans saying, “here we go again,” with the events previously described.

Optimism was at an all-time high last September and lasted until early March I’d say, which is pretty good compared to the usual length of time. Am I ready for opening day? Hell yeah!  It may have something to do with missing the last three opening days at Kauffman Stadium in person (I will be there unless something unforeseen happens) after a string of 18 straight was snapped.

Will there be points of negativity and banging heads against walls? It happens during times of success and failure for every team.  We’ve just had more of it in Kansas City over the last 27 years.  At least we’re not the Cubs, right?

The clock says “Our Time,” but that doesn’t mean it’s our year.  Take it as a pronouncement that others are on notice as the Royals championship window opens over the course of the next handful of years hopefully. Don’t take that as me bailing on this season. For fans I think we should be excited if the Royals are competitive for half the year with the hope it lasts all season leading to the ultimate glory.

This year, next year or the one after things will be better and the ride will be much better than it has been recently. I don’t have to warn anyone about this being a bumpy ride because I don’t need to insult anyone’s intelligence who regularly follows the organization.

We’re resilient because we’re Royals fans and can laugh at ourselves because of previous failure in close to every aspect of this organization since reaching the summit. We’ve taken multiple approaches at climbing the mountain failing more times than (insert favorite joke here) we all would have liked. Opening day is approaching and I cannot wait to start talking about that.  Buckle up for what could be a potentially bumpy, but exciting, ride.

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With Salvador Perez and Manny Pina going down with injuries during spring training general manager Dayton Moore made a trade to bring in a catcher on Tuesday. Kansas City acquired catcher Humberto Quintero and outfielder Jason Bourgeois for minor league pitcher Kevin Chapman plus a player to be named later.

Humberto Quintero and Jason Bourgeois on Tuesday. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

 Quintero, 32, spent his time in Houston primarily served as a back-up, last season he appeared in 79 games hitting two homeruns and drove in 25. During his career which started with San Diego and the last seven with the Astros his numbers are in 379 games, 15 homers and 94 RBIs.

Bourgeois, 30, was drafted in 2000 by the Texas Rangers played with the White Sox in 2008, 2009 in Milwaukee before spending the last two with Houston. Last year he played in 93 games hitting .293 with six stolen bases. During his four year MLB career his numbers in 192 games played he has a batting average of .262, two homeruns and 22 RBIs. During his 12-year minor league career he’s swiped 256 bases.

Kansas City send minor league pitcher Chapman, 24, spent 2011 in Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas by the end of the season. The Royals drafted him in 2010 out of the University of Florida. KC moved Perez and Pina to the 60-day DL to get both new players on the 40-man roster.

What are your thoughts on this trade that was made today to pick up another catcher plus an outfielder?

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What are NL teams known for?

Royals second baseman Chris Getz is one of the members of the bench who'll be counted on in 2012 Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Having stronger benches.  Granted it’s for various reasons like the pitcher bats meaning changes late in the game need to be made. This topic got me to thinking about the 2012 Kansas City Royals non-starters.  The starters are set with Alex Gordon in left, Lorenzo Cain in center, Jeff Francoeur in right, Mike Moustakas at third, Alcides Escobar at short, Johnny Giavotella at second, Eric Hosmer at first and Salvador Perez behind the plate plus Billy Butler as designated hitter.

To be honest, the signing of Yuniesky Betancourt really spurred this, which has led to looking at available free agents who are versatile. We’ve been told that Betancourt will back-up Escobar in addition to play some third base if need be. Chris Getz is the next guy off the bench who will get playing time when Giavotella needs a day off or heaven forbid starts slow and Ned Yost benches.

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37 – Sean O’Sullivan- Yes it’s his number but how will Sully be used this year? He spent time in Omaha last year plus came out of the bullpen at times in Kansas City. Many fans are still waiting on him to do something productive for the organization since he was acquired.

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Sal is congratulated on his first major league homer. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)

I’m not fluent in Spanish. Far from it, in fact. However, I couldn’t help but look up what “salvador” means in Spanish. What is it?

Savior.

Right now, that’s fitting. A bit strong, perhaps, but Salvador Perez is giving the Royals something we have been wanting for a long while: strong, young talent at catcher. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s hitting right now. He’s supposed to be great at handling pitchers, but is that the case? And where does he stand among rookie catchers all-time?

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On July 27, Perez was promoted from Northwest Arkansas to Omaha.  Now, after 49 plate appearances, he’s stepping in after a series of events leave the Royals thin at catcher. He should make his big league debut tomorrow in Tampa.

Matt Treanor was concussed* and placed on the 7-day DL after a collision with Matt LaPorta.  Manny Pina was called up to fill his place.

This time, Brayan Pena‘s wife in Miami is having labor induced and he’ll be there to join her.**

*I like that word too.  **The Royals are using two new MLB roster exemptions – the 7-day DL and paternity leave list – on both of their opening day catchers. 

Perez, 21, was signed out of Venezuela at 16 years old and has steadily worked his way up the ladder.  In Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, he has a combined .769 OPS with 10 homers and 53 RBI.  He’s thrown out 46% of attempted base-stealers across both levels this year and has a career minor league rate of 42%.

If he even approaches either of those marks the rest of this year, he’ll be well on his way.  Perez was our #20 prospect going into 2011.

What it means for the Royals when Treanor is recovered and Pena is done attending to his wife, I don’t know. It’s speculated that Manny Pina will be optioned to Omaha and Treanor will be activated from the DL.  Pena has been told to “take as long as it takes”.  If Perez is coming up, one would think it’s to get a long look at him, but perhaps he’ll return to Omaha and Pina will shuffle back to Double A.

We’ll see.

To make room for Perez on the 40-man roster, Jesse Chavez was designated for assignment.

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They should play one game a year in suits. (vertilcalar.com)

I was in Baltimore for a conference this past weekend and beginning of the week, which left me with almost no internet access, so I’ve been trying to catch up with all of the Royals stories. There’s a surprisingly large number of them for this time of year, but one this morning caught my eye.

The Royals are interested in acquiring a young catcher.

Now, maybe this isn’t all that surprising. Many thought the Royals might sign another elderly catcher over the offseason to fill Jason Kendall‘s spot until he returned. I originally bought into this, but it soon seemed like that wasn’t the plan. With Brayan Pena, Luke May, and Manny Pina all either at the major league level or close enough to play, it didn’t seem that bringing in another catcher would be necessary. Still, here we are.

I was left shaking my head and asking “Why?” when I read the story.
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2) What would be a reasonable return?

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One of the films they would show with regularity was Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills (later of The Parent Trap and Saved By The Bell fame). If you don’t know the story, it goes like this: Pollyanna moves to an embittered town after becoming orphaned. Her aunt is a spinster, and the town is full of general grumpiness and discontent. Until Pollyanna comes along. She refuses to see anything in a negative light, always looking for the bright side. Why, she even makes Rany look like a Grinch. One of her favorite techniques was to play “The Glad Game” – coming up with anything and everything that made her glad.

Well, the Royals are 11-17, they’ve only won one series all year. They just came out of a series at Tampa where they scored only 8 runs. Their pitchers have walked more than any other team. The bullpen has fallen apart multiple times.

I think we could use some Gladness in Kansas City.  Here’s what I’m glad about:
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