Meet the Kansas City Royals

Jesse — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:40:32 -0000

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3 game series vs Royals @ Metrodome

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What's New In KC?

Royals General Manager Dayton Moore had two main goals over the winter, judging from what he accomplished. First, he was to bring in a couple of free agents to flesh out the roster and to ensure his team was competetive. Second, whoever was brought in couldn't be paid at the expense of blocking a potential prospect. For the most part, Moore succeeded. Coco Crisp came on board to provide reliable defense in center field, and Mike Jacobs now hits home runs wearing Royal Blue. In the pitching department, Kyle Farnsworth, Doug Waechter and Juan Cruz are all parts of the revamped bullpen that was put together to lock down wins earned by top three starters Zack Greinke, Brian Bannister and Gil Meche.

Greinke, Bannister and Meche are joined in the rotation by Kyle Davies, Sidney Ponson. It's certainly not a great rotation, but it's a good front three, so if they can get league average performances from Davies as the number four guy and Mullet Ponson as the number five, there could be some surprises out of Royal country this summer.

Swing by Royals Review to check out their very active site, it's one of the bigger ones for the division.

Probable Pitchers

Sidney Ponson: I expect the Twins to thoroughly man-handle Ponson (is there any other way he'd like to be handled?), but I expect any team to hit him around. He doesn't always fall into my happy pigeon hole, which is why it says this about him in MLB.com's scouting report for tomorrow:

The Royals are still trying to cautiously figure out what they have in starter Sidney Ponson.

Minnesota was asking themselves the same question two years ago. The answer is simple: a veteran who can eat innings if you ask him to, and might have one good start a month, but generally will be ineffective at best. So far as a Royal, Ponson has alternated a poor start with a good one. By that precedent, he's ready for another bad one.

Brian Bannister: In two starts he's been wildly successful. Pun intended. Four hits and two walks in six innings during his 2009 debut; six hits and one walk in seven innings his last time out. In spite of the baserunners, Bannister sports a 0.69 ERA, which is in stark contrast to his 4.56 FIP. I said this about Aaron Laffey of the Indians last week, but if the Twins are patient with Bannister and wait for their pitch, they'll have their chances to score runs.

Gil Meche: Currently slated to start the Sunday afternoon game, Meche's back may keep him out, in with case Horatio Ramirez may step in. If Meche does pitch he's likely to be feeling himself out a bit, which is usually an advantage for the hitter. Should he be healthy however, this is a guy who can be as effective as anyone when he's on his game. Finally, after ten years in the league Meche is finally 30. He'll turn 31 in September.

Hot and Cold

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Zack Greinke	5-0	5	5	2	1	0	0	36.0	24	3	2	0	8	44	0.50	.89

First pitcher in baseball to five wins in 2009. It's been one hell of a start for the 25-year old.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Mark Teahen	21	75	10	24	6	0	3	9	8	10	1	0	.320	.414	.520

These numbers are down slightly after today's game with the Blue Jays, but this is still a line Royals fans have been praying for from Teahen.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Coco Crisp	21	77	16	19	6	3	2	9	15	11	2	2	.247	.370	.481

Not much for a batting average, but if he can keep that .370 OBP nobody should care.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Alberto Callaspo	19	64	8	24	7	0	1	6	5	3	0	0	.375	.414	.531

Any player in baseball would be happy with this line. Callaspo has played a large role in KC's successes early on.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - David DeJesus	20	74	6	16	2	1	2	9	4	12	0	1	.216	.272	.351

Do you ever wonder what kind of career or notoriety DeJesus would have if he didn't play for the Royals? I do. Anyway, he's off to a miserable start to 2009.

Data for this widget is not currently available

(Yes, Alex Gordon's year has been so sad that SB Nation refuses to update his widget. See Alex? This is what happens when you don't live up to expectations. Take note, Delmon!)

Poll

Is this the year the Royals finally show marked improvement in the win column?

Yes!

182 votes

Nope, sorry.

27 votes

209 votes | Poll has closed

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:45:38 -0000

Some things to read while trying out the marshmallow fluff diet.

So, on the biggest front, there's not much to report. The Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera deal is still under discussion. Melky Cabrera is still below average at pretty much everything he does. Chuckie Hacks, Between the Green Pillars and Tyler Maas of Bugs and Cranks all have reservations about it. Buster Olney is already working on a eulogy for the 2009 Brewers. And somehow, inexplicably, 64% of JS readers (poll is in the Tom H. blog linked above) think the trade is a good idea.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin is preaching patience. I spent almost an hour on the phone yesterday with my dad clarifying a point on my frustration, so maybe I should clarify it here too:

I'm having no problem being patient this offseason. I understand that working out a deal and improving a pitching staff takes time. I understand that making a trade like the Cameron move to cut payroll could make it easier to sign someone. If the Brewers need to trade Cameron to make room to improve somewhere else, I understand that.

But, and this is the important part, Mike Cameron, big contract and all, is ridiculously more valuable than Melky Cabrera. Cameron would have been a Type B free agent and the best center fielder on the market if the Brewers hadn't exercised his option. He's making $10 million this season, which really isn't that much to pay for a consistently above average center fielder. Melky Cabrera was a below average player both offensively and defensively as a rookie three years ago, and has gotten progressively worse every season since. Better players than Melky Cabrera will get non-tendered today and given away for nothing. So if the Brewers have to trade Mike Cameron, there should be a better deal out there. And if the Brewers really are trading Cameron for a bad center fielder and a low-level pitching prospect (anyone but Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy), then maybe we should have a conversation about goals.

Speaking of non-tenders, Jayson Stark has a list of players that could get non-tendered today, including Gabe Gross. The Official Site is reporting that Chris Capuano is the only Brewer in danger of being non-tendered.

Maybe Doug Melvin is asking us to be patient because the pitchers he's shopping for walk slowly now that they're getting older. The Brewers are reportedly talking to Jamie Moyer, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Randy Wolf. If you're scoring at home, Wolf is the only pitcher on that list under 40. All joking aside, though, I'd welcome a Moyer signing, and agree with Jeff's assessment that Moyer is probably more likely to pitch 180 quality innings in 2008 than A.J. Burnett.

Not that there was a hot rumor out there or anything, but Giants GM Brian Sabean says he didn't discuss any Brewers at the winter meetings.

So I liked having CC Sabathia as a Brewer, and odds are you did too. But did you enjoy his half season of work enough to consider retiring his number? I couldn't find any other source to back up that report.

On the Hot Stove:

Angels: Could still be in the hunt for Jake Peavy.
Blue Jays: Signed Matt Clement to a minor league deal.
Cubs: Acquired David Patton, who the Reds had chosen in the Rule 5 draft, for cash considerations.
Padres: May continue their youth movement by signing 41-year-old Omar Vizquel to replace Khalil Greene.
Phillies: Signed Raul Ibanez to a three year deal.
Pirates: Are reportedly close to a deal with Ramon Vazquez.
Reds: Have reportedly signed Arthur Rhodes.
Royals: In addition to signing Horacio Ramirez and Kyle Farnsworth, they also signed Doug Waechter.
Twins: Re-signed Nick Punto for two years, $8.5 million.
White Sox: Signed Wilson Betemit to a one year, $1.3 million deal.

Two economic notes to close the Mug today: The Diamondbacks, who recently let some office staff go, aren't filling unfilled positions either. And, less than a few weeks after the death of their owner and the layoffs of much of their sales staff, the Blue Jays may be going up for sale.

Drink up.

SB Nation - Doug Waechter