Our old friend, devil_fin... Matt, compares the two seasons and fans reactions to those two seasons. Interesting stuff.

Out: Devon Lowery, Doug Waechter, Tug Hulett and Julio Pimentel

In: Jeff Bianchi, Jarrod Dyson, Jordan Parraz, Manuel Pina and Blake Wood.

Good news that we protected Bianchi and Parraz... but I guess we still kept Luis Hernandez... why, again?

Here are a few of the money quotes:

On the Callaspo trade:
"Callaspo, mistakenly linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors, might be a keeper because the .300 hitter also fits into the Royals' budget for next year."

On Gordon shifting to 1b
GMDM says "It's not something we've discussed." and "I'm quite confident that Alex is going to be an above-average defensive player wherever he ends up playing. But right now he's our third baseman."

Ahhh sh*t. Kaegel just re-raised Dutton pre-flop. The pot is getting bigger and the off-season has barely begun!

Dick Kaegel sets us straight. But I think I trust Dutton more than the mouthpiece.

... to a minor league deal. Prognosticators speculate perhaps Betemit can maybe fill in (cheaply) for Teahen.

Remember that guy who writes really awesome blog posts about the Royals? He's back.

Rany gives us his thoughts on all the happenings since he said "I'm done", including the Teahen trade, GMDM's coveting of players with low service-time and the training staff. It's a great (long) read. Savor it b/c he might not write again for a while.

The Alex Gordon conversation carries on, Posnanski style. devil_fingers is mentioned as I ask Joe about WAR and Alex Gordon's attitude in Omaha.

Maybe he's just going to sulk away the rest of his career, but Alex Gordon is primed for something in 2010.

What will he say? What will he not say? Will he talk down to the fans as if they are 3rd graders? Will he continue to "not understand" stats? Will any Royals Review bloggers get their questions answered?

Tune in on Sept 8th to find out.