SB Nation User Blog: cmkeller

Radical idea to help Royals

cmkeller — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:53:40 -0000

I haven't seen this idea floated yet, but I think it would have some merit:

Can we get Mark Grudzielanek back? It was a nice idea of Dayton Moore's to not re-sign him in order to try and snag an extra draft pick (and make up for the one we lost signing Juan Cruz), but clearly no one else seems to want to sign him and give us the pick, so...let's take him back. Unless it can be proven that his skills have declined, he's definitely both better on both defense and on offense than any middle infielder currently on our roster.

What do the rest of you think?

Another former Royal gets a managerial job

cmkeller — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:04:34 -0000

Another former Royal gets a managerial job

A. J. Hinch has replaced Doug Melvin as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He was playing for us as a rookie in what, 2001? Now he's managing? I feel old.

Can we Boycott Farnsworth?

cmkeller — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:13:38 -0000

Is there any way, by internet and word-of-mouth, to get noticeable masses of Royals fans to exit the K whenever Kyle Farnsworth enters a game? Trey and Dayton can't possibly be stubborn enough to keep pitching the guy in the face of a full fan revolt, can they?

It's a shame that Dayton has committed 9 million dollars to this man, but enough's enough. He needs to be forced to admit he made a mistake and not make the fan base suffer for it any further.

An optimist's perspective on yesterday's game

cmkeller — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:06:22 -0000

OK, I'm no happier with yesterday's blown game, with Hillman, with Farnsworth, maybe with Moore (remember, he's also responsible for Meche, so he might deserve more credit for yesterday's game than blame). But here's a way to look at things to cheer us up:

After yesterday, the Royals have the same record as the Yankees, and the White Sox have the same record as the Orioles.

If we can say that again at the end of the season, I think we'll all be a bunch of happy campers.

Tom Verducci gives the 2009 Royals some love

cmkeller — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:19:29 -0000

Tom Verducci gives the 2009 Royals some love

This probably falls into the category of "damning with faint praise", but any "damning" of the Royals that does not include the word "hapless" is a step up for our Boys in Blue. Some relevant quotes:

"Outside of a handful of teams (Pirates, Padres, Nationals, Orioles, Mariners), every team has a right to be dreaming of October." (Note which team is not amongst the exceptions!!)

"Other surprise candidates: the Indians, chock full of players hitting their prime years; the Rangers, who can accelerate their 2010 arrival if they integrate some young pitching; the Braves, who should be way better than their 90 losses of last season; and even the Royals, who may be one starting pitcher away from contending. The gap between the eight playoff teams and the next eight teams that don't make the playoffs is so small now that many of the spots become interchangeable." (implication: the Royals are somewhere within the top 16 teams this season!)

OT: Kansas City Islanders?

cmkeller — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:38:34 -0000

OT: Kansas City Islanders?

KC has been teased by the Penguins recently, but the Islanders definitely have less of a local fan base, and a worse bureaucracy to deal with getting any new construction done than the Penguins did. Wang is getting impatient.

Of course, there's no island anywhere near KC. Scouts? Blades? A new name entirely?

Who could the Mets blow us away with?

cmkeller — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:32:41 -0000

In today's Newsday, one of the sports columnists discusses the Mets' need for a closer, and suggests Joakim Soria as a possible trade target. We all know it would take a heck of a lot to get Soria from the Royals. Do the Mets have it? I'd think they're depleted after trading for Johan Santana, but who knows...maybe they have something great the Royals would be willing to trade even the Mexicutioner for?

ESPN: Soria is top "silver lining"

cmkeller — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:39:35 -0000

ESPN: Soria is top "silver lining"

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com lists the top 9 "silver lining" players for teams that are not in playoff contention, and our favorite Mexicutioner is the first man on his list.

My day at the K, 6/25/2008

cmkeller — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:13:29 -0000

Well, I reported backin February that I had a big trip planned, and I bought my tickets to the Royals vs Rockies game on June 25 as soon as they came available. I'm back from the trip now, and it was ultra-fantastic! The Royals-specific highlights:

The Royals continue to have a perfect record (2-0, now) when I'm in attendance, beating the Rox 4-2. The game was pretty messy, with the Rockies taking an early lead and the Royals coming back mainly by taking advantage of errors, but hey, a win's a win!
Luke Hochevar recovered impressively from a rocky (pun semi-intended) first two innings
Every time Ross Gload came to bat, I yelled, "Gload will explode!!" and hoped I'd see someone turn around in recognition. No one did, but it was still fun, especially since he did - two doubles.
The roar of the crowd when Joakim Soria came in to close the game was an awesome thing to behold. Also, I saw him referred to as the "Mexecutioner" in the following day's KC Star, so I guess that's now an official nickname for him - did we originate that here?
My wife, who is far more awesome than I deserve, had the Royals put "Welcome Mattis Keller, our most loyal fan" (no offense, loyal2) on the scoreboard.
Even more amazing than that, I actually appeared (with my 10-year-old son and my 5-month-old baby daughter) on the scoreboard during one of the random "fan-cam shots" around the 4th inning. (The rest of my family was either sitting out of range or was on a bathroom break.) Just the thing to make the evening perfect - the image in my mind kept me energetic for the whole drive to Branson that night.
The Royals drove us from the stadium entrance back to our van in one of their courtesy golf carts. I think this was the highlight of the evening for my children who are not yet capable of truly appreciating baseball.

Only two things I'd criticize: I was quite disappointed at the long line to claim my "will-call" tickets, and I'm pretty sure it's because that was also a ticket SALES line, I don't think there was a dedicated line for picking up already-purchased tickets. I expected that pre-buying my tickets would guarantee speedy entry to the stadium. Instead, I was still on line when the national anthem was sung, and I was practically in a panic that after having driven 25 hours to get to the K, I was going to miss some of the game (fortunately, I didn't, just barely). Also, the general parking is a HUGE walk from the stadium. I'm sure I passed at least two completely empty lots on my way from where we were directed to park to the stadium (though the aforementioned golf-cart ride later made up for this.

All in all, it was great to be there in the flesh again! Now, I'm back in New York, rooting from afar - go Royals!

Tony Pena is not our hitting problem

cmkeller — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:21:28 -0000

With the Royals having so much trouble getting runs on the board, one of the things I hear most is "sit Pena in favor of Callaspo." True, TPJ can't hit well, and who wants a black hole in their lineup? But the Royals' recent woes can't be pinned on him. Check out the difference in these Royals hitter before and after the west coast trip that had started on April 14:

April 13 and earlier:

Royals W/L: 7-5

Mark Grudzeilanek: .308/.333/.386

Mark Teahen: .286/.452/.400

Alex Gordon: .333/.604/.360

Billy Butler: .386/.477/.449

Tony Pena: .033/.033/.064

After April 13:

Royals W/L: 7-13

Mark Grudzeilanek: .241/.310/.379

Mark Teahen: .236/.306/.304

Alex Gordon: .246/.287/.337

Billy Butler: .222/.292/.291

Tony Pena: .220/.254/.233

The Royals were not expecting major offense out of Tony Pena. He is what he is, a light-hitting shortstop with great defensive skill. As it is, his hitting during the team's down period is light-years better than it was when the team was doing well, so how could he be held responsible for the problems the Royals have had lately?

The problems here are Gordon, Butler and Teahen, and to a lesser extent (only because he's not big in the future plans), Grudz. And of course, Guillen, but he was bad in both the before and after periods. What could have caused these guys to collapse like this? It's not just regression to a mean from an early small sample size, it's an en masse slump. If the guys we're really counting on as hitters don't hit, what can we possibly do? Callaspo replacing Pena is a band-aid, not a cure.