SB Nation User Blog: royalsreview

Game 79 Open Thread - White Sox (41-38) at Royals (33-45)

royalsreview — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:25:05 -0000

I'd love to see Zack do something magical tonight.

White Sox vs Royals coverage, South Side Sox

Lee Warren on Alex Gordon in Omaha

royalsreview — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:42:27 -0000

Lee Warren on Alex Gordon in Omaha

"My legs aren’t really under me yet. I’m just trying to get the strength back. The best thing is the pain is gone. I’m not playing with pain so that’s the most important thing."

Includes video of AG taking BP

Royals Links: Post Rany Jazayerli Ban Edition

royalsreview — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:46:27 -0000

I'm hoping Mellinger finds enough background info to write something about the Rany Jazayerli Ban. Nothing so far however. Meanwhile, in Omaha, Alex Gordon mania rages.

OT: Vacation Ideas & Help

royalsreview — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:13:35 -0000

I really want to go to Canada this summer/early fall. I've never been north of the border, and for practical purposes I think that probably only Atlantic Canada/Quebec/Ontario is in the mix. I'm thinking a long weekend type of trip here, relatively cheap.

Anyone have thoughts on Toronto versus Montreal, for example? Other cool places to visit? I like obscure places, and have been trying to see if there's a cheap way to get to Newfoundland, but it doesn't look like it. I guess I could get to New Brunswick somewhat easily...

Withering Away: Limpid Royals Waste More Good Pitching, Lose Again

royalsreview — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:39:54 -0000

More photos » by ED ZURGA - AP

1 day ago: Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Bruce Chen throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Browse more photos »

It's all just a quirk of sports, I guess. A quirk of baseball.

5 singles, a double, no walks. Party like it's 2005.
Willie Bloomquist -- he just plays the game the right way -- and Mark Teahen were thrown out at first base from the outfield.
The shame of it was, the Royals got a perfectly acceptable start from Bruce Chen. Chen's start won't be immortalized in stone, but he went 6 innings, scattering 5 hits and a walk against 5 strikeouts. And so, we can now say it, Bruce Chen has provided depth this season. One more OK start, and the minor league contract he received has fully worked out. The difference between Chen and guys like Ho-Ram and Ponson? I don't know.
Less than 18,000 tonight at the K for this game. The Royals are currently averaging 23,700 per game, good for 23rd best in the game. I wonder how attendance will do as the season continues.

Game 78 Open Thread - White Sox (40-38) at Royals (33-44)

royalsreview — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:52:53 -0000

Damn it's been a weird day. Apparently, the games will go on, however.

Bruce Chen versus Mark the Unspellable. Love it.

Be sure to check out the latest Royals Prospect Pulse by nwroyal in case you missed it. It's actually baseball-related.

Potentially the Most Insanely Paranoid Aspect of the Rany Jazayerli Ban

royalsreview — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:29:45 -0000

From Rany's blog:

Just to be clear here, since I think everyone's taking my words a little too literally: I don't think I've been "banned" in the sense that they're going to have security guards outside the stadium making sure that I don't buy a ticket. It does mean that the Royals have cut off any access I may have from the team for my radio show, and - this is critical - have intimated that any other radio show which has me on as a guest faces the same penalty.

I see this as the equivalent of having my media credentials taken away, except of course that I don't have media credentials, and the Royals have made it clear they don't give media credentials to bloggers.)

This is Stalinesque. Rany is an unperson now. We do not discuss unpersons.

Not only is Rany not allowed to speak with players or team officials, but if anyone else in the media, or at least on the radio, talks to him about his inability to talk, then they are also banned.

These -- what should we call them, second-degree bans -- are fun to think about potentially. On Twitter I've already seen jokes about Rany being a perfect guest for the Trey Hillman Show. However, imagine being in the position of the working KC media, losing your press credentials (formally or informally) and access to conduct interviews would be quite serious.

I wonder what might happen if multiple shows at both local radio stations and a few guys from the Star interviewed Rany. They can't ban everyone, can they?

Ed. note: And... the ban has apparently been lifted. Perhaps sanity has prevailed. Stay tuned...

A Note on My Criticism of Posnanski

royalsreview — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:51:39 -0000

Here on media relations day in the Royals blogosphere...

Last night, I characterized Joe's blog post on the Royals offense as "cowardly". In particular, I took issue with the post's conclusion/non-conclusion:

And it all comes back to the beginning: The Royals execs are smart people. But the more they do to this offense, the worse this offense gets. The more they hope for things to work out, the less likely it seems that things DO work out. It’s a quirk of baseball — a quirk of sports. I remember talking to an executive once who told me that if you get a left fielder who is a little better than the one you have, a centerfielder who is a little better, a right fielder who is a little better, and so on, you should be a better team. Well … maybe and maybe not. Two plus two does not always equal four in team sports. Sometimes, it equals P4. Sometimes it equals 4-6-3. And sometimes, it just equals another lost year.

Multiple readers have suggested that Joe wasn't being cowardly, but that this was in fact gentle criticism or possibly some kind of ironic handling on his part or a deft way of begging the question. As such, he wasn't being cowardly, he was being clever. If you hold this reading, then my little mini-shot at the illustrious Joe wasn't just wrong and inaccurate, it was itself ironically backwards. He was really giving it to 'em!

Um, I don't quite see it. Just read it again, and still don't see it. The line about team sports, "two plus two does not always equal four in team sports," doesn't seem to fit with the overall thrust of some misty and unseen criticism of Moore. No, it simply reinforces the bizarre gnosticism of the piece, which I still see as the overall purpose: Gee, ain't sports quirky sometimes? We just can't figure it out.

As such, I'm not sure what to say. I feel half-dumb and half-a-jerk. I don't want to be unnecessarily critical of someone for not being critical, when they are in fact being critical. I don't want to be the one guy left not getting the joke, but I don't see the joke! Joe knows 100x more about baseball and baseball writing than I do I, suppose.

In any case, since the post in question was published, Joe P. has been appropriately harsh, which is really all that matters. The next step in all this, for all of us, is to stop fixating on Hillman. Hillman is not the issue, he is a symptom.

Rany Has Been Banned By the Royals

royalsreview — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:22:28 -0000

Rany Has Been Banned By the Royals

The BP Event at the K is part of the collateral damage.

Media-Meta Royals Links - Gil Meche Honors Mike Aviles in a Special Way Edition

royalsreview — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:02:44 -0000

Don't worry about the dead arm concerns or the pitch count, suggests Dutton's game story. Everything will be fine, he's "quelled concerns" and is back to his "old self". As a bonus, there's also a nice number of quotes from St. Willie about the offense's struggles.
Bad, bad, bad offense | Mellinger's Blog on the Royals and Baseball (TPJ content)
A commenter on Mellinger's blog calls out the KC Media: Trey, one more time | Mellinger's Blog on the Royals
For years you guys have avoided criticizing a franchise run horribly wrong. You keep finding ways to apologize and excuse Hillman and you can't really identify anything he's doing right.
Oh, and what a coincidence. Here's a long Poz/JoePo post talking about how the offense has declined the last three seasons (funny, I've heard someone else say something about that FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS) only Poz concludes by just saying, "well isn't that funny" or something to that effect. Well, and he also says how smart Dayton Moore is about six times. The quote below might be one of the most cowardly things I've ever read, and I'm someone who reads a pretty wimpy reading list:

The Royals execs are smart people. But the more they do to this offense, the worse this offense gets. The more they hope for things to work out, the less likely it seems that things DO work out. It’s a quirk of baseball — a quirk of sports.

Yes, yes, it's just a funny little quirk.

Many more links, including the always relevant Braves/Frenchy updates after the jump: