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Mr. Sam Mellinger says the Royals should sign Raphel Furcal this winter (among other things). To this I say: Well duh. But it isn't going to happen. With the troubles the Dodgers already have at SS with Furcal (oh, yeah, he's hurt - there's a plus) I don't see how they would let him go. And I bet he will be tremendously expensive (in Royals terms).

While it would be nice to have the guy I don't see it happening. The one thing we do have going for us is that he is a former Brave. Yipee.

http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/161

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This is why I'm considering getting rid of my season tickets. What the hell are the Chiefs thinking? You think this is a bad time to implement such a rule? This has put me in a tremendously bad mood. And now, I have to come up with 15 more words so that this deal will be published, so forgive my random combination of words that don't make sense.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Fans-are-asked-to-treat-Chiefs-games-like-bowlin?urn=nfl,91291

A completely unfair comparison (sort of) of the backup catcher from 2007 and backup catcher from 2008.

Jason LaRue (2007): .148/.240/.272, 13 XBH (4 HR, 9 2B), 33 OPS+ in 195 plate appearances.
Salary: $5.2 million (B-R.com – Note: Reds picked up a lot of that contract.)

Miguel Olivo (2008): .261/.302/.494, 24 XBH (9 HR, 15 2B), 100 OPS+ in 189 plate appearances.
Salary: $2.15 million (Cots Baseball Contracts)

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At what point to do we quit on Chris Lubanski? Chris is hitting .258/.335/.473, which isn’t bad, but not good either. Lubanski is only 23 and can still become a productive player on some level. Then again, we didn’t even protect him in the Rule 5 Draft (and then no one took him either). Clearly, at this point, Lubanski is no longer a major (or minor) piece in the puzzle, but he is a former fifth overall pick. So what should our expectations be of Lubanski moving forward?

(I have no idea, which is why I'm asking the question.)

Mike Sweeney is out four to six weeks due to knee surgery. Wow, didn't see that one coming.

Angel Berroa began in LA where he left off in KC going 0-3 with two strikeouts. Still chases that slider down and away. I even think I heard some "boos" from the crowed while watching the game on ESPN. It is refreshing to see some things in life don't change.

The following is a short, yet surprisingly long, list of pitcher who threw a complete game no-hitter - and lost.

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Holy poop the Royals did something smart!

Saturday, the Royals signed the best young closer in the game (and a possible excellent starting pitcher) Joakim Soria to a three-year deal with three team options years. The contract could be worth as much as $32 million if all three option years are picked up.

The best part is Dayton Moore may not be done. While he refused to comment on any other contract negotiations, he clearly is thinking about possible deals for his other young players (Alex Gordon? Billy Butler? Zack Greinke? Brian Bannister?).

Anyway, this got me thinking – what if the Royals had done this in 2000 when the likes of Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran, Johnny Damon and Mike Sweeney were all emerging stars? It has been reported Damon would have signed for four years, $36 million if he knew the Royals had a plan to sign some combination of Sweeney, Dye or Beltran. Obviously, that did not happen and who knows if its true. Still, its something to think about.

Anyway, here are some deals I’d like to see the Royals do by the end of the season.

Zack Greinke: four years, $36 million extension, with team options in 2013-2015

There are two risks with Greinke. One, he doesn’t want to play baseball anymore and, two, he cannot handle a full big league season as a starter. Risk one is taken care of because, if he quits, he doesn’t get paid, so, while losing his arm would suck, we would still keep all the money. The second risk two has a couple of safety nets in that Greinke would be a dominate closer or backend guy in the bullpen (as he proved last year) and Soria could be his replacement in the rotation.

I based the Greinke deal on the three-year, $28.5 million deal signed by Kazmir. There is an option year (2012) also involved. Kazmir, who is the same age as Greinke, has more of a history of success than Greinke and has not left baseball for a year. A four year deal would take Greinke through the rest of arbitration and two years of free agency. A three year deal with an option would also work for me, but I’d like to see the Royals lock him up through his 20s.

Brian Bannister: three years, $25 million with option in 2012

Bannister is arbitration eligible after this season and should get a decent haul. The problem with Bannister is he is 27 years old this season and is a guy who pitches to contact. Yes, the guy is smart and talented, but he is a bit of a risk. This proposal would get him through age 30 at least with the option for the next season.

Alex Gordon: six years, $25 million, three team option years totaling $30 million

This is, essentially, the Evan Longoria contract plus an extra eight million. Gordon is not eligible until after the ’09 season, but it would be good to not risk it. Alex appears to becoming more comfortable at the big league level and is starting to settle into the number three spot in the order. A six year deal would lock him up through his age 30 season and the team would have three option years.

Billy Butler: six years, $25 million, three team option years totaling $30 million

This is the same contract as Gordon, only the first six years would get him through age 28. The Royals would still have the three options years to get him through age 31 if they wanted.

Total, this is a $116 million commitment from the Royals, with several million in team options, so the would be totally unheard of from the Royals. The obvious upside is the Royals could be paying a mere $4.2 million to Billy Butler in 2012 while he’s accumulating stats the Red Sox are paying $20 million for in Manny Ramirez. Then again, Billy Butler could suck. You never really know.

If this were to happen, the Royals would owe $25.5 million to the quartet of Butler, Gordon, Greinke and Bannister next season. In relation, they will owe Meche and Guillen a combined $23 million next year. Take that for what its worth.

I estimate that about $13.5 million opening up in expiring contracts whom the Royals will not resign (Grudzielanek, Tomko, Berroa and Duckworth) plus money from buying out Perez. Signing Soria, plus my proposals, will add about $25.2 to the payroll assuming the contracts are not front or back loaded. This leaves the payroll at round $69.2 million. Throw free agency, arbitration for Buck and a few others and the payroll is around $70-75 million. My guess, however, is that these contracts will be back loaded, leaving more room for next season and leaving the revenue from the renovated stadium to pay for the contracts in 2010. After 2010, Guillen’s contract will end, opening up $12 million and top prospect Mike Moustakas, who has been raking lately, may be ready for the big leagues. Meche’s contract ends after 2011, opening $11 million. By then Cortes should be more than ready along with a few other prospects, giving the Royals a possible 2012 rotation of Greinke, Hochevar, Bannister, Davies and Cortes. Soria could be in the mix as well.

It is time to trade Grudzielanek. I don’t care what we get for him, but it is time for him to move on. While I understand he is a veteran presence in the clubhouse, he is getting in the way of the success of this organization.  

There are three guys right now who ought to be getting at-bats: Alberto Callaspo, Mike Aviles and Esteban German.

Callaspo is not getting at-bats because it is felt he is not a full-time shortstop.  But, at the moment, he leads the team on OBP (.400 in 50 PA) and has two fewer hits than Pena in 52 fewer at-bats.

Aviles is hitting .355 (.364 in last 10 games), 6 HR, 29 RBI, 16 doubles, 6 triples and an OBP of .388. Aviles is not on the 40-man roster, which means some maneuvering would be necessary (like trading Grudz for a prospect).  

I understand that when German played almost every day last season, he only hit .264. What is ignored is that he was tied for second on the team in OBP (.351 in 405 PA). The guy gets on base, which is critical in scoring runs. German has 22 scattered plate appearances this season. 

Callaspo and Aviles are the future of this team and the 2008 version of the Royals are not going anywhere this season. Why not find out what you have in these two guys so that we know what we have? Maybe we find out we have a surplus and we can trade something for pitching? Maybe we find out we have nothing so we can look to add depth? Maybe we’ll find out that when people are on base, it is easier to score runs? I don’t know what the loss is in this situation. It’s time for Grudz to go now.

Good News: Mike Moustakas looks like he’s starting to get into a grove. After starting the season with a .181 BA (16 for 88), 1 HR and 4 runs batted in and no doubles. But since May 3, Moustakas is batting .360 (9 for 25), 3 HR, 5 RBI, two doubles and stolen two bases. It’s obviously not a large sample size, but it is a hell of a lot better than what he was doing. Here’s to his continued success.

The Royals are 9-10 in 19 games this season. To put this in perspective in comparison to other Royals teams, here is how long it took for the Royals to get to 10 wins since 2000 (Overall April Record in Parenthesis):

2003: 11 games (16-7)

2000: 22 games (12-13)

2001: 25 games (10-15)

2007: 29 games (8-18)

2004: 31 games (7-14)

2002 & 2006: 32 games (8-16 & 5-17)

2005: 37 games (6-18)

When you consider the Royals have played 19 games and have a chance at having their second fastest start since 1997 and things look a little different. The Royals have been historically bad in April so we should take advantage of this “around .500” start. Heck, with eight games left we still have a shot of having a winning record in April, which, for this franchise, is an accomplishment in and of itself.

At some point, Guillen will start to hit, Collaspo will take over for Pena, Meche will rebound, Hochevar will get comfortable (he didn’t look bad Sunday) and pansy bloop hits for the other team will start being caught instead of dropping.  Don’t fall too far off the cliff Royals fans. This team is improving even if the record isn’t as exciting as it was a few days ago. So cheer up. It could be a lot worse.

By BOB DUTTON

The Kansas City Star

DETROIT _ It seems manager Trey Hillman has junked those early thoughts of having Alex Gordon bat seventh. Instead, Gordon will bat third on Hillman’s first big-league lineup card when the Royals open the season Monday against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

That isn’t the only adjustment from the early days in camp.

Hillman also has Billy Butler hitting fifth, behind José Guillen, instead of following an earlier preference of left-right-left-right cadence throughout the lineup.

The batting order: CF David DeJesus, 2B Mark Grudzielanek, 3B Gordon, RF Guillen, DH Butler, LF Mark Teahen, 1B Ross Gload, C John Buck and SS Tony Peña.

The case for Butler batting fifth was simple.

“He’s squaring up more balls than anyone right now,” Hillman said. “So that’s the best coverage for (Guillen) right now; that helps (Guillen) to see (better) pitches.”

Having Gordon bat third is no surprise, either, despite the heavy attention Hillman received early in camp for pondering him as the No. 7 hitter. Gordon batted third in his last 14 spring starts.

“I’m not going to make the statement that he’s going to hit there every time he’s in the lineup,” Hillman said, “because I want to be open-minded about it.

“But I like what he’s done there. I like his use of the 4-3 hole with runners on base, and I like the adjustability in his swing.” Gordon batted .310 in 22 spring games but had only five extra-base hits and nine RBIs in 71 plate appearances. Nonetheless, Hillman is convinced Gordon will provide sufficient punch to bat third.

“As the season plays on,” Hillman said, “I think he’s going to be a guy you want up in the first inning. Because he’s a guy who can go boom right off the bat.”

http://www.kansascity.com/385/story/553080.html

From the KC Star:

The Royals set their opening day roster following their 5-2 loss to the Brewers in their exhibition finale in Milwaukee.

The 25-man roster is as follows:

Eleven pitchers — left-handers John Bale, Jimmy Gobble and Ron Mahay; and right-handers Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Leo Nuñez, Ramon Ramirez, Joakim Soria, Brett Tomko and Yasuhiko Yabuta.

Seven infielders — Billy Butler, Alberto Callaspo, Esteban German, Ross Gload, Alex Gordon, Mark Grudzielanek and Tony Peña.

Four outfielders — David DeJesus, Joey Gathright, Jose Guillen and Mark Teahen.

Three catchers — John Buck, Miguel Olivo and Matt Tupman. The Royals will start the season Monday in Detroit with 24 active players while Olivo serves a four-game suspension.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/552172.html