No, not necessarily in your team, but in yourselves. Here's the reason:

Yesterday, in The Hardball Times, Craig Calcaterra of the Shysterball blog wrote the following review of Mariners-Royals:

Royals 3, Mariners 0: When I first typed this I accidentally inverted this score to show the Ms winning it. Quick show of hands: how many of you would have noticed if I had kept it that way? But let's not be totally dismissive here. Kyle Davies was impressive (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8K) and Soria got his 38th save for a team with only 66 wins. It would be even more impressive if Seattle had put together even a AAA-quality lineup for this game.

Ha-ha, let's laugh at the pitiful teams playing out the string, right? Well, here's the game summary for the next day:

Mariners 6, Royals 3: Attendance was listed as over 19,000. The fact that these two teams can draw that many people at this point in the season when Tampa Bay cannot absent a huge influx of Sox fans tells you a lot about the relative maturity and viability of the Tampa Bay market.

How ironic! Shyster makes the same mistake he just mentioned the previous day! Waaaaiit a second . . . I contacted Craig to alert him to the error, and also complain a little - this isn't the first time this year he's done this to a Royals score. But his response to me warmed my midwestern, cholesterol-clogged heart:

Brian,   I did it on purpose.  I actually have a lot of Royals'  fans who read the blog and immediately piped up yesterday to say that they would have noticed.  I wanted to test the assertion.  I am happy to report on behalf of Royals'  fans everywhere, that it was almost immediately noticed by several people.  Royals fans are good fans.  Sharp fans too.   I suppose I do give the Royals too much hell.  I think I've actually been harder on the Giants this year, but you're right: I probably need to moderate that a bit.  It's nothing personal.  Sometimes it's just hard to think of something interesting to say about a game without playoff implications this time of year.   Craig

So, I say to internet Royals fans everywhere, show a little extra pride today. Walk with the head a little higher. Stick out the chin with a little more Gload-ian grit. For we might not be the largest fan base, and we might not root for the best team (Hah! Understatement!), but today we have shown we yet retain our dignity and our self-respect. Let us hope our team can follow in our footsteps.

As Royals fans, we all know our team is capable of some tremendous losing streaks. I mean, we went 19 games just a couple years ago. Plus, the team is playing horribly right now. Only one pitcher is up to snuff, and it doesn't matter because the offense can only muster one run a game. But, maybe the end of the longest road trip of the year will cure things (Hah!). Or maybe this streak will hit the upper teens and cause Royals fans to question everything about Dayton Moore, Trey Hillman and the Royals hopes of ever making the playoffs again (the full Rob Neyer). It's worth betting on. So, in the comments, place your bets on how many more games the losing streak will last. The winner will have the cold comfort of being right as another season goes down the tubes, like a shot of good vodka on the day you were laid off.

Let the dour forecasts begin!

Sometime in the last couple of days, one of the Reviewers suggested the nickname "Greinke and the Brain" for Zack and Bannister. I love that idea, and in honor of the back-to-back wins we just received from them, here is the "Greinke and the Brain" theme song (sung, of course, the the tune of "Pinky and the Brain"):

Gee Brian, what do you want to do tonight?

The same thing we do every night, Greinke: try to take over the AL Central!

They're Greinke and the Brain,
Yes Greinke and the Brain
One loves the SABR,
The other throws flames
They're Royals pitchers, true,
But they're a fearsome du-
Oh, They're Greinke, they're Greinke and
the Brain Brain Brain Brain
Brain Brain Brain Brain
Brain

Before each game concludes,
Their talents are displayed.
They make batters look like fools,
'Til Soria gets the save!

They're Greinke and the Brain
Yes Greinke and the Brain
Their summer campaign
Is easy to explain
To give KC a chance
to the playoffs to advance,
They're Greinke, they're Greinke and the
Brain Brain Brain Brain
Brain Brain Brain Brain
Hooch!

Hey guys, we know by now Bannister and Greinke have the "Who's Got the Lowest ERA?" game going. While that friendly competition may lead to problems like tonight, (where I bet some part of Greinke wanted to complete the game because Bannister did) it also leads to quotes like this [courtesy the KC Star]:

“One thing I noticed when Bannister was pitching,” Greinke said, “is he kept the ball down really well. When he misses over the plate, he doesn’t miss thigh-thigh. He misses at the knees or shins. That’s what I focused on this time.”

I think Greinke paying attention to/getting pitching tips from Bannister can only be a good thing. Can we imagine how Bannister's brain might help ZG pitch better? I can't think of a better pitcher for Zach to emulate in terms of control, efficiency, and game-planning.

I'm also thinking: we know Bannister reads stat blogs and the like. If we can put together some solid stat analysis on him or Greinke, maybe Brian can pass it along for us? I think this could be a really awesome way for us to help the Royals. For example, there's been a lot of debate about pitch counts the last few games. Someone should compile the debate into a succinct form and try to get Brian's attention about it. He could refute it if he wants, offer his take on it, or take it into consideration AND pass the knowledge onto Zach/McClure. At the very least, we would get some interesting takes on the debate from the pitcher himself. What do people think? I think we have the brains around to pull it off, but it is very late and I might be imagining this is possible.

Now if we can only get Hochevar involved somehow . . .

Everyone here with internet access and any love for good sportswriting should check out the KC Star's 2008 Baseball Preview Section, posted here:

http://www.kansascity.com/baseball2008/

The section has multiple fabulous stories about GMDM, Jeeves, Banny and the inside story of our pursuit of Torii Hunter, among others, from Posnanski, Sam Mellinger and Bob Dutton. I know it is cliche among our circles, but I DARE you to find a better written baseball preview anywhere in the country. The KC Star's sports section is amazing, and I am glad to have grown up reading it every day of my life.

From Jeffrey Flanagan in Friday's KC Star, here's Moore's response when asked about Teahen and DeJesus' potential:

""Both of those players really need to emerge, and we fully believe they will," Moore told me. "They both have the potential to be All-Stars.

"David has the most consistent swing on the team. He hangs in there against left-handers. He's an on-base guy. He's a guy we feel could get 200 hits.

"Mark is someone we feel is a 20-homer guy who can score 100 runs in the middle of the lineup. He hit 17 homers in a partial season two years ago. We know he's capable. He also may be the best on the team at getting to his top speed the quickest. He can turn a lot of singles into doubles."

Moore knows that Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are simply too talented not to be great hitters one day. Whether that comes this year or down the road is anyone's guess.

But the time is now for DeJesus and Teahen to have their breakthrough years, which is crucial to the Royals plans.

"I do feel much better about the offense at this time than I did a year ago," Moore said. "We can see the potential for production and scoring if the pieces fall into place.""

So, Royals Reviewers, what do we think? Are Moore's expectations accurate? Optimistic? Which player is more likely to meet them?

Personally, I think his projections are pretty accurate, but I do think Teahen has more potential for any "All-Star" status, simply because I'm not sure how much more time DeJesus has to get better in his prime. But, I'd really like to hear some debate about it.

Well guys, we knew the Royals were going after veteran pitchers - it seems they are in the "invite a bunch of schmoes to spring training and see what sticks" mode. First there was Tsao, then the Bartolo Colon rumors, and now the KC Star reports that Hideo Nomo had signed a minor-league contract with the Royals. Honestly, I think the chances of any of these guys panning out is low, but at least the Royals are casting a wide net.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/430041.html

Looking over SI.com, the KC Star and MLB Trade Rumors, I think I see one way the Hillman hire might pay immediate dividends. The Royals are on the short list for both Fukudome (with the Cubs) and Kuroda (With Mariners, Dodgers and Diamondbacks). Both players are waiting on deciding who to sign with until after personal visits with the teams. Before Hillman, I would bet we would have no chance competing with big-market or West Coast club for a Japanese player who wants a comfort zone. Now? We may have a shot, especially with Fukudome. These players know Hillman, they know he knows how they like to play and how to establish a good atmosphere for them, and they respect him from his time in Japan. We still might lose out, but especially with Fukudome, I think having Hillman puts us in a much better position than we were in before.

Here's the KC Star article I'm getting this from:
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/373114.html

Bob Dutton has an article in the KC Star with the latest Royals Hot Stove news from the GM meetings:
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/353313.html

Points:

* There's definitely interest in DeJesus as a cheaper alternative to Rowand, Hunter, etc. But in Moore's words: "A lot of people are interested in David," Royals general manager Dayton Moore confirmed, "but I just don't see it. We've got to hold on to that guy."

It sounds like it would take a pretty big offer to pry him away - this could be a DM trick to jack the price up.

* The Royals are going to play Buck more, and his backup will be either Tupman or Phillips. Either way, it sounds like he will be getting the big majority of the time.

To which I say: Halelujah!

All of this comes from Joe Posnanski's blog about the Japan World Series. Part of Joe's blog is answering questions readers put to him or Trey Hillman. One of them today discussed Trey's offensive philosophy. I know we have done this to death recently, but I felt this is important to share. From the blog:

"Q: Many of us in Royals Nation are wondering if Hillman will favor small ball or big inning tactics when he manages the Royals. Which is it?

Hillman: "Well, I know this will sound like I'm riding the fence, but I really think it depends on your personnel. I love big innings. I'm all for three-run home runs if you have guys who can hit them. But you have to have those big power guys, and they're not easy to find. If you have offensive deficiencies - like we did this year with the Fighters - then you need to make things happen and score one at a time. I don't have any preconceived notions - our coaches and I will look hard at the Royals, study the statistics, talk to the players and then come up with a game plan.

"I'll tell you this ... overall, I like speed. I think speed is the No. 1 tool in our game because it can help you offensively, defensively and on the bases. More than anything, I think speed creates tension. That's what we've been able to do here in Japan. Create tension. Maybe we'll squeeze. Maybe we'll hit and run. Maybe we'll double steal. Maybe we'll take the extra base. When you have the other team worrying about all that, you can really create a lot of scoring chances. I'm definitely a big fan of using speed.""

Sounds like Gathright will love this guy.

Joe also mentioned that the culture of Japanese baseball values the bunt, scrifice, and generally going for one run over the bigger power hitting. A lot of people here at RR are worried that Hillman will do too much of that when he comes over. But I'm not sure you can tell that from what he does in Japan - there, he is influenced by a culture that values baseball entirely differently than we do. If he says he'll tweak his strategy based on the personnel, I'm not sure we can ask for much more.

A couple of other points:
* Joe mentions that "I think it's clear that the Japanese play better team defense than teams in America. This is, in large part, because they spend a lot more time and energy running defensive drills. They play a lot of catch here, and coaches hit many more fungoes than they do in the states. People ask what Hillman will bring with him from Japan - I would bet the Royals will do a lot more drill work in spring training than they did in years past.""

To that I say hallelujah. We have a lot of players who would benefit from extra fielding drills - cough*Gathright*cough*Huber*cough - and it can only make our pitching better.

* Keith Law had a chat going during game 4 of the World Series on ESPN.com and was asked [paraphrased] "Where will the Royals get more offensive power?" His response? [paraphrased] "They don't need more power, Butler and Gordon will be 30-homer guys. They need more starting pitching."

Isn't it funny that RR holds the exact opposite view of the Royals' needs that many national experts? I wonder who's closer to the truth.

We all probably knew this already, but it looks extremely likely Adam Dunn will be staying in Cincinnati. There's an article up on ESPN.com right now that quotes the owner of the Reds, Bob Castellini, expressing his desire for Dunn to be back. (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3065770)

Quoting the article: "'It's difficult to replace that kind of offense,' Castellini said."
Brother ain't that the truth.
Anyway, we've been doing quite a bit of speculating about the outfield next year, and it looks like you can cut Dunn out of that speculation.

[note: all quotes in this diary are paraphrased]
Rob Neyer was hosting a chat during the Rockies-Dimondbacks game tonight, and someone asked him "Who will win the World Series first, the Pirates or the Royals?"
His answer was "The Pirates before the Royals, but I don't think either of them will ever win it again."
A KC native followed up on this answer, asked him to explain himself, and Neyer said "You're assuming that the Pirates and Royals will exist as long as the MLB does. And I don't believe that's true."

So, basically, one of the smartest baseball writers out there (and a Royals fan) thinks the team will be contracted or moved before they win the Series again. Geez, that's encouraging. Anybody got a bottle I can crawl inside of?  

Because the Royals have totally crapped the bed this month, a lot of the readers here at Royals Review have started looking towards next year and  possible roster changes. So, with the "guess the number of Huber's at-bats" contest drawing to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to start a new contest: Guess the Royals 2008 Opening Day Roster!

Here are the rules: each contestant gets two weeks to turn in an entry of 25 players they think will form the opening day roster next year. Points will be allocated in the following way:
3 points for:
 - correctly placing a player in his primary role on the opening day roster, for the following roles: starting 9 position players, 5 rotation spots, closer, and set-up guy.
2 points for:
 - correctly placing a player in the following roles: back-up position players, relief pitcher
1 point for:
 - correctly naming a player but missing his role, i.e. Butler starts at DH but you have him at 1B.

If a free agent or trade target is correctly identified, the point total doubles. So correctly identifying a pitcher we trade for and his spot in the rotation is worth 6 points.

On opening day, we tally the points and the winner gets some awesome prize (maybe something that rhymes with "she flirts"?) and bragging rights for reading GMDM's mind. For roles that are platooned/not well defined, we will go with the administration's stated intentions. If those are not available, we will go with the player's starting position on opening day. Remember, this is who we WILL have, not who we SHOULD have.

So, what do people think? I'll allow a few days for the rules to be vetted and then we can get this underway!

Buster Olney did an email interivew with Brian Bannister for his blog on ESPN.com, but insider status is required. Does any kind soul paying money to ESPN want to help us gain Banny's wisdom? Hopefully he can have some good starts the rest of the way and get the ROY. And then hopefully avoid what happened to our last ROY.

Right now Rob Neyer has a blog entry up on ESPN.com about Bannister's rookie of the year chances, after seeing that Jeff Passan at Yahoo Spots Rated Bannister the top. Could anyone with ESPN insider post the article here? I would love to see what Neyer has to say about Bannister versus the other AL rookies.

For those of you around at the beginning of the summer, I posted two entries of Royals poetry which were fairly well-received. Since then, my muse and I broke up, and got back together (metaphorically). So here's a potpurri of poetry about the Boys in Blue:

We should call Dayton Moore
"The Hammer."
Because,
In a Royal emergency,
He breaks Glass.

-------------

There once was a lawnmower man,
Who pitched without ever a plan.
He just throws the ball,
He gives it his all,
And the sucker hits it if he can.

Into the ninth inning came Soria
And all the Royals shouted "Gloria!"
He's Mexican tough,
And his filty stuff,
Leaves KC fans feeling euphoria.

-------------

Old wisdom is wrong.
You can throw some weight around
Out of a Glass house.

Victory tastes sweet.
The fans, like starving orphans,
Want a little Moore.

These Moose Tacos have
An interesting flavor.
Tastes like dignity.

--------------

If the press wants its ad men to know
The face of the KC franchise
It's in that near-empty row
With a Royal Blue tint to its eyes.
Its laugh lines allude to past glories
Yet wrinkles are dense on its brow
Remainders of triumphant stories
Followed by depression 'til now.
Eye sockets are deep with the sadness
Of pride that flamed out like the sun.
But look close enough and you'll notice
The gleam of a new morn begun.
If you want the true face of the Royals
Look to the fans who've stuck through.
Because all the joys and the toils
Leave an image no camera can do.

------------------

More coming, I hope.

Hey Will, is there any way to get Rob and Rany to post their conversations on Royals Review, or to let you do it for them? I think it would be a lot more convenient for a lot of Royals fans not having to check Neyer's site every day (although that might be part of the reason Rob keeps it there)

Not that I think anyone likely missed it, but Rob and Rany returned recently with a couple of new posts:

http://www.robneyer.com/robrany.html

This was posted on the KC Star:

By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

The first real bit of news about the Royals' negotiations with No. 2 overall pick Mike Moustakas come in the form of a message to The Kansas City Star from Scott Boras, who is advising Moustakas.

"As far as I understand from the family," Boras said, "he's returning to school."

Moustakas did not immediately return a phone message.

Moustakas previously signed a letter of intent with USC. If nothing is done by 10:59 tonight Kansas City time, the Royals would receive the No. 3 pick in next year's draft as compensation.

On the heels of our series loss to the Yankees at home, I thought I'd check the Royals Home-Road splits, and I found something interesting. The Royals are only 3 games below .500 on the road, but 10 games below at home. The cause is not the batting, because over the course of the season, the Royals have improved at home and on the road. But the pitching? Holy cow. Look at these stats for Royals pitchers this season:

ERA: Home: 5.18 last in AL
        Away: 3.97 2nd (yes, 2nd) in AL
BAA: Home: .291 last in AL
        Away: .267 6th in AL
Earned Runs: Home: 283 last in AL
                    Away: 220 4th in AL

Now, I know as a whole the pitching has gotten better more recently, but that is one serious difference. I mean, it's bigger than the Red Sox, and the K isn't nearly the hitter's park Fenway is, right? Can anyone offer an explanation for this?
All stats from ESPN.com

Now that Sweeney's on the DL, the Royals have called up Billy Butler to take his place as 1B/DH. According to Buddy in the KC Star, he'll pinch-hit for the Brewers series and DH after that, occasionally spelling Shealy at first.

Lots of intriguing things to debate about this call-up: How well will Butler do at first? Well enough to replace Shealy as the everyday guy? What do we do with him after Sweeney is back? Will he hit better because he has less to worry about in the field?

And finally, check out this potential lineup:
DeJesus, CF
German, 2B
Teahen, RF
Butler, DH
Buck, C
Gordon, 3B
Shealy, 1B
Gathright, LF
Pena Jr, SS

Except for Shealy, that's a young lineup I think can compete, if Gordon and Butler come around. Sadly, that kind of lineup will only happen once in a blue moon if Buddy has his way.

By the way, could NHZ or someone give me an opinion on whether Gathright or Pena would make a good lead-off guy? I doubt it, but it would be nice to move DeJesus down a slot.

According to the KC Star, Grudzielanek has to have surgery on his knee and could be out for a while, Duckworth needs to have surgery on a torn muscle in his back.

Ducky's injury is just bad news, especially because he was one of our reliable relievers and this will make it harder to get Greinke into the rotation. But Grudz's surgery may be a blessing in disguise: this will force Bell to play German at second, which can only be good for the offense of the team (although Grudz was not doing poorly). Hopefully German can prove he has good enough defense to stay there full-time. We're still stuck with Shealy though.

Happy news! LaRue is coming off the DL, but according to this KC Star article, http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/123844.html,
Buddy has decided that Buck will get most of the time. Finally! What clued you in, Buddy? The homers? The RBI? Anyway, good news on the heels of a bad loss.

The same article has us 7 games better than last year. Since we lost exactly 100 games last year, that gives us decent hope to lose fewer that 100 games for the first time in years. Heck, if we do a little bit better, we could end up with fewer than 90 losses. THAT, I would cheer for.

Why am I subjecting you all to this? Because you're here, you're loyal baseball fans and I need to get this off my chest. Please stop reading if you are not willing to waste 5 minutes of your time.

There are two newspaper comic strips that I want to share with my kids, when I have any: "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Calvin and Hobbes". Over any others I have read, I felt those two were transcendent comic strips - C&H was art on a newspaper page, Charlie Brown illustrated the human condition. Thus, I was trying to think how I would describe to someone who had not read either, or read them only in collections, what it was like as a kid to read new strips every day from these two. Of course, my first instinct was to relate them to baseball players.

To me, fresh Calvin and Hobbes seemed like Pedro Martinez. Sure, their peaks weren't long, they had some attitude and had a tendency to break down (with either injury or sabbatical), but during their peak run, they blew everything else away. They made you awe at what you were seeing, and ask "Is that even possible?" (especially C&H on Sundays). Utter masterpieces.

Charlie Brown, I'm having more trouble with, because no pitcher I've seen quite matches. I think perhaps Greg Maddux fits best. Both were consistently great for an impossibly long time, but neither really ever left you going "Wow!" Until one day you looked up and realized how excellent they had been for years. They were understated, with great control of their form; they made you appreciate the art, and served as role models for the younger generation. But no pitcher can capture Charlie Brown's ability to make you laugh and hurt at the same time.

Feel free to comment, critique my comparisons, offer more pairings, or whatever. I'm open to all thoughts.

The Rangers lost to the Twins today, which gives the Royals double incentive to win:
Win, and keep pace with the Twins, remaining only 3.5 games back of them.
Win, and pull .5 games ahead of the Rangers, so we are NO longer the worst team in the AL.

I hope our boys can do it. Elarton(1-0, 5.23 ERA) goes up against Cliff Lee(2-0, 4.15) in an epic battle of mediocre pitchers who have gotten lucky run support.

Okay, good news/bad news time. I'll start with the good news:

Wellemeyer DFA!
Yes, that's right, the bullpen's biggest problem is now going to be Omaha's biggest problem.
Now the bad news:
To replace Wellemeyer, the Royals called up one Jason Standridge, the only reliever who was doing WORSE than Wellemeyer early in the season.

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. Everything is based off of this KC Star article.

http://www.kansascity.com/159/story/102656.html