I came across this photo on the kansascity.com website of Chris Dwyer on the mound this spring training. I see the dreaded "inverted W" that I believe has been blamed for pitchers needing Tommy John surgery. The key is that both elbows are above the shoulders.

via media.kansascity.com

Compare to the deliveries of CJ Wilson and Steven Strasburg, both of whom are coming off Tommy John surgery:

via cdn.theatlantic.com

via media.nj.com

Could Chris Dwyer be another future Tommy John surgery casualty similar to John Lamb for the Royals?

According to the KC Star, Bubba Starling has been rated with a "75" in the Baseball America Handbook:

Baseball America, in its Prospect Handbook, recently graded Starling at 75 on the 20-80 scouting scale, which projects his potential to be in the company of "franchise players and No. 1 starters such as Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Roy Halladay."

Continue reading this post »

If you haven't looked at Danny Duffy's performance today, go now:

Video of each of the strikeouts, along with interviews of Yost, Perez, and Duffy

3/9/2012 KC Royals Boxscore

Continue reading this post »

1. Jonathan Sanchez got rocked.

2. Three Chicago Cubs stole a base on Salvador Perez, a catcher we were told was about as good as Pudge Rodriguez in discouraging the running game and throwing out would-be basestealers. Also, Perez is now 0 for the spring at the bat.

3. Mike Moustakas made two errors at 3rd base.

Continue reading this post »

...how do the Royals compete in the AL Central in 2012?

Tigers xFIP
Verlander 3.12
Scherzer 3.70
Porcello 4.02
Penny 4.77
Fister 2.75
Total: 18.36

Indians xFIP
Masterson 3.64
Tomlin 4.03
Carmona 4.17
Ubaldo 3.81
Carrasco 4.07
Total: 19.72

White Sox xFIP
Buehrle 3.98
Floyd 3.81
Danks 3.82
Peavy 3.52
Sale 3.00
Total: 18.13

Royals xFIP
Hochevar 4.05
Chen 4.68
Paulino 3.74
Sanchez 4.36
Crow 3.34
Total: 20.17

Twins xFIP
Pavano 4.14
Duensing 4.05
Blackburn 4.32
Baker 3.61
Liriano 4.52
Total: 20.64

Switch Duffy for Crow, and it gets even worse for the Royals. And it's likely that Aaron Crow's xFIP would be much higher as a starter.  Of course, this is using 2011 xFIPs and thus is a very crude estimation. But it puts the Royals in 4th in the AL Central.

What this says is that the Royals did not improve the starting rotation, which was priority #1 this offseason. Adding Jonathan Sanchez is not enough…in fact, it made our rotation worse from a xFIP perspective (switching Sanchez for Francis).

Continue reading this post »

How about a Joakim Soria for Ricky Romero trade?

Continue reading this post »

Trade #1: Mike Montgomery and Wil Myers for James Shields.

Trade #2: Melky Cabrera and Jake Odorizzi for Matt Cain.

Trade #1 is similar to what Milwaukee did last year in acquiring Zack Grienke, giving up two top prospects in Jake Odorizzi and Lorenzo Cain. It is also similar to what Cleveland did this year in acquiring Ubaldo, giving up top prospects Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, and Joe Gardner. Tampa Bay has Matt Moore coming into the rotation, so everyone moves up a spot and Shields shifts out. Shields is a low WHIP borderline ace.

Trade #2 give the Giants a top CF to replace aging and ineffective Andres Torres, and provides insurance for Carlos Beltran who may or may not remain. In addition, they acquire a top prospect arm in Jake Odorizzi. This obviously leaves a big hole in the Giants rotation, but they clearly need an upgrade in the OF as was evidenced by the acquisition of Beltran for the playoff push. The rotation would be Lincecum, Vogelsong, Bumgarner, Sanchez, and Zito/Surkamp barring any other moves. Cain is another low WHIP borderline ace.

I realize that these trades cost us three of our top prospects, but they net two of the top WHIP #2 starters in the majors. We need to use our highly ranked farm system to net something great while it is still at or near the top. If you don’t think these trades are equitable, please offer suggestions as to whom the Royals could offer instead to net Jame Shields and Matt Cain.

And the top prospects the remain are still impressive: John Lamb, Chris Dwyer, Cheslor Cuthbert, Elier Hernandez, Jorge Bonafacio, Bubba Starling, Will Smith, Christian Colon, Jason Adam, Greg Billo, Yordano Ventura, Robinson Yambati, Kevin Chapman, Brett Eibner, David Lough, Brian Fletcher, Noel Arguelles, Brian Brickhouse, Aldaberto Mondesi, Tim Melville, Michael Antonio, Rey Navarro, Mike Mariot, Cam Gallagher, Patrick Leonard, Kyle Smith, Elisaul Pimentel, Leondy Perez, Manny Pina, Buddy Baumann, Orlando Calixte, Yowill Espinosa, Jeff Bianchi, Humberto Artega, Derrick Robinson, Tyler Sample, Sugar Ray Marimon, Leonel Santiago, Kevin David, Jake Junis, Darwin Castillo, and others.

This sets up the Royals OF in 2012 as follows:
LF: Alex Gordon
CF: Lorenzo Cain
RF: Jeff Franceour
OF: Jarrod Dyson

Dyson is a very valuable asset on the team. He needs to stay up and start once or twice a week. He will be a pinch runner many times late in close games, and he will win them for us.

The 25 man roster will be as follows:

1. Alex Gordon – LF (L)
2. Johnny Giavotella – 2B (R )
3. Eric Hosmer – 1B (L)
4. Billy Butler – DH (R )
5. Jeff Franceour – RF (R )
6. Mike Moustakas – 3B (L)
7. Salvador Perez – C (R )
8. Lorenzo Cain – CF (R )
9. Alcides Escobar – SS (R )
Bench: Jarrod Dyson – OF (R ); Yamaico Navarro – 2B/3B (R ); Clint Robinson – 1B/DH (L); Brayan Pena – C (S)

I think one thing we lacked last year was a potent pinch hitter, especially from the left side. Clint Robinson fits the bill, and he can spot start for Billy Butler and/or Eric Hosmer if necessary. I wish Clint Robinson could play everyday, but Billy Butler is an established very good major league hitter...both may also be part of a trade. Also, I believe Johnny Giovatella and Lorenzo Cain are interchangeable in the 2 and 8 spots in the lineup.

Starting Rotation:
1. James Shields (R )
2. Matt Cain (R )
3. Luke Hochevar (R )
4. Bruce Chen (L)
5. Felipe Paulino (R )
Other options: Danny Duffy, Luis Mendoza, Everett Teaford, Aaron Crow, Nate Adcock, Sean O'Sullivan, Vin Mazzaro

I’m sorry, but Danny Duffy probably needs more time in the minors to figure out how to throw strikes. So does Sean O’Sullivan.

Relievers:
1. Joakim Soria – Closer (R )
2. Greg Holland – Setup (R )
3. Aaron Crow – Setup (R )
4. Kelvin Herrera – Setup (R )
5. Tim Collins – Setup (L)
6. Louis Coleman – Setup (R )
7. Everett Teaford – Setup/Long Relief (L)
Other options: Blake Wood (R); Kevin Chapman (R)

I knew this would happen.  Just announced about an hour ago... Big news for our farm system.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110531&content_id=19845942&vkey=news_kc&c_id=kc

KANSAS CITY -- Royals left-handed pitching prospect John Lamb could be headed for Tommy John surgery.

General manager Dayton Moore said that Lamb has an appointment on Wednesday in Los Angeles with Dr. Lewis Yocum to have his ailing left elbow examined and determine if reconstructive surgery is necessary.

"We've just got to get him fixed and move on, that's part of it," Moore said. "There are a lot of good pitchers that had Tommy John and went on to have great careers. We've got to anticipate that, if that's the case, he'll be one of them."

CBS Sportsline.com is showing Aaron Crow as the starter next week in one of the home games against Minnesota? Has anyone heard anything about this?

I think it would be a great thing, and I know a lot of people have called for it. But I question how he could become a starter without first being stretched out more than one inning in one of his upcoming appearances. I checked on the KC Star website, and I could not find anything about Crow starting.

Looking forward to anyone who can help,

David

How I wish I could ask questions of Ned Yost that the reporters are not willing to ask. Below are some of the questions I would ask him about last night's game.

Were any of you guys wanting to ask these same questions?

Continue reading this post »

Has anyone else noticed that the Royals have faced an almost steady diet of left-handed starters this season?  Since the first two games against whom we faced two right-handers (Weaver and Santana), we have faced, or will in the future face, a steady diet of lefties:

Kazmir (L)

Floyd (R)

Buerhle (L)

Scherzer (R)

Coke (L)

Porcello (R)

Duensing (L)

Liriano (L)

Fister (R)

Bedard (L)

I'll bet our left-handed hitters are getting a little tired of this, huh?  It's a good sign, I think, that Gordon has done so well while we are facing this long stretch of lefties. Will he continue to hit well against right-handed pitchers?

Thoughts?

David

Yeah, they have faced lefties in the last couple games, but we had several chances to run against the Twins Tuesday night, and nothing.  Did anyone else notice this?

The running game gets everyone involved...gets the other team thinking about other than getting guys out...causes chaos for the other team many times.  Hitters feel more obligated to at least make contact when guys are stealing or running (hint...Alex Gordon, who struck out with speedy Cabrera on first base against the Twins tonight).

And of course, we lose the game to the Twins.

According to ESPN, Ed Yost has decided to begin the year with Gordon batting third. The reason why is because it helps his lefties/righties lineup sequence.  I'm struggling to understand how, if Kila is going to bat cleanup.  Or perhaps, it's Gordon third, Butler fourth, Kila fifth?

Also, apparently Matt Treanor is now our starting catcher after having played one game and knowing nothing about our pitching staff, and Brayan Pena is heading to the bench again. This according to ESPN as well.  No matter that Pena's bat has been hot and his homerun today won the game for us.

Any thoughts?

David

Ok, so I read the Royals Review often during the season, laughing at the many jokes made about how Jeff Franceour would be a Royal next year.

Now it has become a reality!  When I first saw it posted on Royals Review, I thought it was another joke.  But then I went to Yahoo Sports Baseball and found out it is no joke...it is true!

How amazingly sad that the Royals management is so predictable that the fans are able to predict the type of sad, sick players the Royals would pick up in the offseason?

Please post your starting lineup, top 5 starters, and closer for the 2012 season.  I'm hoping to see names like Moustakas, Hosmer, Myers, Robinson, Lamb, Crow, Montgomery, Duffy, Collins, and Giavotella.

I'd like to see the Royals model a team around the late 70's/early 80's teams that were so successful.  The key ingredient, other than starting pitching of course, is a Hal McRae type of player.  Someone who gets in your face, who plays dirty, who brings it every day, who has 'moxie'.  The Royals had other guys like that, of course, like Brett, White, Patek, Otis, etc.

How about this lineup?

1.  Derrick Robinson - CF (I put him here above others b/c I'd like to bring back the model team like late 70's 80's with Willie Wilson at leadoff wreaking havoc on the bases)

2.  Eric Hosmer - RF  (High average, high contact rate, low strikeout rate - Seitzer prototype?)

3.  Mike Moustakas -3B  (Think George Brett in the 3-hole for many years?)

4.  Kila Kai'ahue - 1B  (John Mayberry/Steve Balboni/Danny Tartabull)

5.  Billy Butler - DH  (If he's still here...insert Clint Robinson if he isn't)

6.  Wil Myers - C  (May be too optimistic for him to be up in 2012, I'd settle for Brayan Pena at Catcher)

7.  Alex Gordon - LF  (Hopefully will pull it together by this time, although he'll be 28)

8.  Johnny Giavotella - 2B  (Anyone is better than Chris Getz)

9.  Yuniesky Betancourt - SS

Starters

1.  Zack Grienke - RHP

2.  Luke Hochevar - RHP

3.  Dan Duffy - LHP

4.  Aaron Crow - RHP

5.  Mike Montgomery/John Lamb - LHP

Closer

Joakim Soria