Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Hello fellow Bruins. This will be my first fanshot, and my second overall post here, so excuse me if this post is too long, too forward, or too ill-constructed. I've been reading Bruins Nation for awhile now, and just joined several days ago. I'm a fifth year student graduating this winter. Now you know about me. So I'm going to try and just attack every problem with student attendance-football and basketball-how I see fit. I've been kicking around a lot of ideas and drinking way too many beers this weekend but I'm gonna give this a shot. I made a big 4 page outline for this, and I don't even do that for actual graded papers, so take that for what its worth. So as I should be studying, I give you this.

Anyways, just to break this up, I will have a section with thoughts about football and thoughts about basketball. Now far be it from me to actually be correct about this stuff, but these are just based off some of the experiences I have had and some of the frustrations that go with it, as well as some general opinion mixed in.

Continue reading this post »

Getting the new shersey, (for those not in the know, shersey is the brilliant portmanteau of shirt and jersey) is an important part of every fan's life. Its t-shirt nature allows us to wear it anytime and any place: to class, to bed, at home, to dinner, to the game. Its jersey side allows to suavely advertise our support for a team, and more importantly a specific player.

Recently in my life, I have decided that for the most part jerseys just don't look that good anywhere except the ballpark, and even then most of the time they look awkward on  average bejerseyed male. (this revelation came at the expense of a bunch of Cubs fans while attending a Dodgers game in the last year)

This is why for me, the shersey has become vitally more important in my fan life. They are considerably less expensive, so I can get one for players I am a big fan of, or that are on my fantasy team, without having to sink a huge amount of money on it. I don't know about anywhere else, but having lived in A's territory for 15 years, sherseys are all the rage and many fans collect as many as possible.

So this is where  I come to the great people of RR, it is time for me to get my first royals shersey. I already own Chase Utley and Jake Peavy sherseys (heros of my fantasy baseball team), so it's time to see what the consensus is.

Lets go to a list of the contenders with a breakdown:

via lp.imageg.net

This is mostly a gag, as before I wrote this, I was perusing all of the Hillman related diaries. I didn't actually believe they would make a manager shersey, but lo and behold! I have never seen anyone in a manager's shersey, and I could do this to set precedent and become the first dude to rock a Hillman shersey.

Bonus Points: Excellent look when rocking a huge facial hair collection.
Minus Points: No one in LA, or basically anywhere outside of KC would really know who it is, and the joke would be lost on 99.9% of people. Someday if im rich I may get one and wear it around and give $500 dollars to the first person that approaches me about it.

via lp.imageg.net

The Soria shersey extolls badassness. Arguably one of the most talented players on the team, and equally effective. It would seemingly send mixed messages. It might cause people to believe that I believe that Soria has the special ability to pitch 9th innings that no one else has. I don't want to lose points among the sabermetrically inclined, but is it my fault he's stuck as a closer?

via lp.imageg.net

The Greinke seems to be the leader in the clubhouse for me at the moment. It is incredibly awesome, Greinke is the ace of the staff and has been extended, and it has that great edge that only a Greinke could provide. I would have no qualms about spending the thirty or so dollars for one of these badboys.

via lp.imageg.net

This one had a lot more potential last week before Gordon was set to miss a good chunk of this season. It still has some long term potential, but I think it would be better off to take a wait and see approach with the Gordon shersey. Now if sherseys were like investments and one could buy low at say 12 dollars that might change my mind, but MLB just doesn't wanna be like that. Oh well.

via lp.imageg.net

I like this shersey a lot, but I feel like it would be very underappreciated. If I lived near KC it would be good because most Royals fans understand how good Meche is, but I think out among the masses, most people wouldn't really know much about Meche other than he got "overpaid" by a "shitty" team. Meche is still pretty badass, but he's probably second in line to Greinke on the Royals KC SP shersey depth chart.

via lp.imageg.net

Another uncertain shersey because its more for future investment than for now. If he never truly pans out, it might suck to have gotten one of these instead of a legitimate Greinke or Meche. The only thing that might save it is if I got it in a XXXL and wore it around to poke fun at Butler. But again, seeing as thats an average joke at best, its most likely to be lost even on Royals fans.


THE BEST OF THE REST:
The only other shersey I might seriously consider would be Dejesus. It would be pretty cool to have as a backup shersey, or maybe if they had more than one design scheme. Otherwise, I think DDJ is just a hair under shersey quality as a player. His other problem is we don't have enough really good guys to create the mediocre guy shersey backlash. This situation is where everyone gets sherseys of all the good players, but so many people have them that its lame to wear the David Oritz or Papelbon shersey. Therefore to remain hip and on the cutting edge, you invest in more fringe and prospect sherseys. Thats how some Red Sox fans might end up with a Lugo or Brandon Moss shersey, or the aforementioned A's fans with a Jack Hanahan or Joey Devine shersey.

Coco Crisp could potentially sneak in as a shersey contender if he sticks around for a few years. Kyle Davies could as well if he blossoms this year. Mark Teahn possibly if you respect his value to our club relative to every other team in baseball.

Or if you are particularly cruel, you could play a prank on your buddy by getting him one of the quadumvirate of Farnsworth, Olivo,Ho-Ram, or TPJ. There are no occasions where these look cool, and I'm not sure that anyone has actually ever ordered one of these. For the sake of baseball, don't ever buy one of these.



NOW TO THE POLLS!

After reading some postgame stuff about today's win, I read some comment about our pitching depth. Not sure who it was by, but it got me to thinking about Hochevar being in AAA. We can obviously most likely cancel this discussion if Kyle Davies is only a borderline #4 pitcher, but for the rest of this, we're going to assume Davies is going to be a legit #3 or better.

We have an incredible 1-2 punch, add in the Davies assumption and we have a 1-2-3 that is in the top third of all baseball, and most likely better. If Ponson can be just a fringe 4/serviceable 5, we have a little more depth to work with.

Our current pitching depth leads me to considering trading Hochevar now. I am not advocating it, just exploring potential options. I fully understand that pitching depth can go at any moment and that our pitching won't be THIS good, but I think it would be at least something to look into. This might especially enticing if we are in the thick of a playoff race and a bat could put us over the top.

We need hitting, badly. We need someone that can get on base with regularity. We need someone with power. Getting proven guys with insane costs won't work for our club. We need to utilize some of our trade chips to try and acquire some elite hitting talent before it gets a proven tag. Pitching is the currency of baseball after all. All we've burned so far have been fungible relievers, which can easily be replaced by investing millions into. Hochevar just HAS to be sitting there burning a hole in Dayton's pocket.

What I would explore would be trying to trade Hochevar for a MLB ready hitting prospect or one with a little bit of experience. Hochevar had a decent season with the peripherals, enough so to inspire confidence in his future, so I don't believe he has lost a ton of value, but he isn't going to be valued like a #1 pick anymore.

I like his potential, but I don't love it.  I think he has definite value to clubs because he has #2 starter ceiling and most likely #4 floor.

Who would we trade him for though?

-Max Ramirez would be a great bat at C and i've heard defensive concerns are overblown.
-Chase Headley or Kyle Blanks. It's hard to evaluate prospects that hit half the time in PETCO, but you have to like the power potential to go along with an OBP that projects to be slightly above average. Blanks would alleviate a future logjam at 1st for them. He isn't an OF.
-Reid Brignac- may not be a superstar, but a young SS with some power would be excellent. Would be hampered by Rays depth at pitching. Maybe we could swing a 3 way.
-Austin Jackson could be another target if the Yanks sweetened the pot with Ian Kennedy. At least i'd never have to read another Ian Kennedy for other teams top prospect garbage trade proposal.


Anyways, these are just a few. I'll toss in more, maybe other people have ideas of what we could snag.

Like I said, if Davies is not for real then all bets are off, but it seems like it would be worth just putting some feelers out to see what the market is like for Hochevar.

I've just been doing some reading around lately and something that  really annoys me is the amount of arguments that revolve around the same few comparisons. Its not something that is unique to a few team's prospects either. It seems to be that almost every team has a battle with some other team's prospect that is A) pointless and B)extremely repetitive. I think it kind of thwarts some meaning ful discussion of prospects.

Now what I wanna do, and you don't have to be on board with this, is create a list of prospect comparisons that should just be plain illegal to bring up. I think by doing this we can get more interesting comparisons, more in depth discussion about non-elite level prospects, and less pointless bickering. Its ok to discuss these prospects merit, Im just asking that we do it in ways that may lend new perspective to a less heralded prospect.

Im gonna throw a couple out there that I've heard way too much from this year and years past that come up too much.

Chamberlain v Buccholz
Holland v Anderson
Weiters v Price (kinda iffy but still its like flipping a coin to win $99 or $100, you'll still be happy with the result)
Gordon vs Young (oldie but goodie)


This is just to get us started. Pitch in if you feel like it. Ignore if you think its stupid. Or tell me its stupid if you think its stupid.

yes we can!

Hey all,

As I was looking at the Royals main website, I noticed the 2007 team stat leaders. It had the leaders in all basic categories from the past season. What I want to do for fun, is just have people guess as to who will be leading those categories and with what number.

So for this year we have:

AVG: M. Grudzielanek, .302
HR: J. Buck, 18
RBI: E. Brown, 62

W: B. Bannister, 12
SV: J. Soria, 17
K: G. Meche, 156

For 2008 I predict:

AVG: B. Butler .322
HR: A. Gordon 31
RBI: A. Gordon 112

W: G. Meche 16
SV: J. Soria 37
K: Z Greinke 187

Lets see yours.

This is just god awful. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are now officially the Tampa Bay Rays.

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tb

These things look like minor league uniforms. They are bland and boring. Are the Rays not even supposed to be sea creatures. From that sunny thing in the middle of the uniform and logo it looks like a sun. Wow, how imposing. The Tampa Solar Flares. Just give up Tampa. Ugh.

Also good job on the TB hats. Its always good to have your hat also be sort of an acronym for a well known disease. Go Tuberculosis Rays.

Whatever. Whatever.

Hey all, I am beating around the bush with some HW right now so I figured I could distract myself more doing this.

Basically, I've seen a couple diaries lately that had pieces of what I've been wanting to post about, but they didn't have the complete goal I had in mind. What I want to do is to rank a relevant portion of the 2007 draft, with fantasy purposes in mind. I think its very interesting to look at because our perspective changes a lot when looking at almost every player. Please don't blast me for posting a "fantasy" diary. I think this can inspire discussion just as much as anything.

I just want to see people rank their top 20 (or more if you feel like it) with a fantasy focus. Do you prefer long-term projects or someone closer to the majors? (ie lincecum vs kershaw last year). How important is position? Is Daniel Moskos going to be the lights out middle reliever the Pirates so desperately needed at #4 and will he set the all time holds stat record?

I'll go ahead and rank mine in a second. The stuff part of the title has to do with our offseason top prospects list. The WS is over and I am ready to go. I am ready to have at it with you all over our lists.

So here is how I think fantasy value shakes out with regards to the mlb draft.

1.Matt Weiters
2.David Price
3.Matt Laporta
4.Mike Moustaks
5.Rick Porcello
6.Ross Detweiler
7.Jarrod Parker
8.Beau Mills
9.Jason Heyward
10.Madison Bumgarner
11.Nick Schmidt
12.Josh Vitters
13.Matt Dominguez
14.Phil Aumont
15.Devin Mesoraco
16.Joe Savery
17.Blake Beaven
18.Kevin Ahrens (just a guess putting him here)
19.Wendell Fairley
20.James Simmons

What do we think? A top 15 probably would have been better but whatever.

First off, I want to say to all hardcore RR readers that I feel bad for not being able to contribute all that much here in the last two weeks. I am moving down to LA on Friday, and I've never come close to moving out so it has been hectic around the house. I was hoping for a day game tomorrow so I could watch and then accomplish all the things I need to get done later but I will have to wait until Thursday to really get some time and watch a game.

The main point of this basically to bring up a lot of what we know and expound on it a little more. After taking steaming, heaping, piles of crap from every sportswriter and blog jockey outside of the KC area, and even the laughably sardonic jabs from another GM (it's made even more funny by the fact that he's probably on a short leash starting pretty soon), we have some piece of validation. One of the best and most irrefutable points against the Meche signing was his consistency, his ability to last over a full season, or to put in a benchmark, 200 innings pitched. In his first 6 seasons with the Mariners he didn't achieve this feat once. I'll give him the fact a couple of seasons he probably didn't have the opportunity to reach the milestone, but when he did he didn't.

Today, Mr. Meche reached that 200 IP plateau, and he has started to transform his potential into actualized performance. Just looking at his stats also tell you how much he has developed. He has allowed less HR (three) in nearly 30 more IP, and has walked 25 less batters over those same amount of innings. One could also explain his decrease in K/9 as learning to pitch to contact better, and the rest of his numbers don't really dispute that kind of claim.

So officially, Gil Meche has turned himself legitimate big league starter, and he has most definitely earned his money this year, in my opinion. I think GMDM deserves a ton of credit for winning big with Meche. It's exciting to finally have a couple good pitchers after witnessing the sheer horror of the Royals rotation and in the early 00's.

Of course, you may already know and agree with this, but I am excited and very much satisfied with Gil.

Other things, down at UCLA, welcome week starts on sunday with a concert by none other than T.I. himself, and I look forward to going, probably hammered, and seeing what its like. I also would also like to implore the readers of RR what I should do and if they have any experience in the matter. After the concert there is a dance til 3am, and I probably would be hammered or more there. Are college dances fun? Esp ones in the actual basketball arena? I remember HS dances were pretty cool, but does the chance to be housed make it more or less fun. The other option would be to go to a large outdoor screening of the movie "The Kingdom" a full 5 days before it comes out. It looks pretty cool, but is there anyone out there who is especially excited for it or anything? I'm not really pumped for the movie but I would go just to say I've seen a movie before it comes out, and also if its good then even better.

Finally, any thoughts on frats? I am initially against them for a good set of reasons, but I could see some situations where they could be beneficial.

GO ROYALS!

Hey all, I don't normally post this but I decided to take some initiative when I noticed that Jeff Clement is apparently making his ML debut tonight against KC. I hadn't heard or seen anything noting it and I would imagine it is because of the whole Hargrove resigning overshadowing effect.

So yeah, I haven't checked any Minor League boxes yet but that is seemingly significant enought to kickstart this thread.

Thanks for stopping by. And you stay classy. But thanks for stopping by.

Well, after an anxious few months leading into the draft, and speculation having us take guys from Porcello(who I like much less knowing its pronounced Por-Chello), Weiters, Vitters, among many others, but now we finally have our guy in Mike Moustakas.

Did I think we would draft him last week? Hell no.

Did I know who he was last month? Hell no.

Am I happy with who we got? Hell yea.

Our first pick, out of Chatsworth HS, (known as the Chancellors, http://www.chatsworthhs.org), Michael Moustakas, appears to be a very astute selection, and becomes 100x more wise if he can actually play a big league SS. At 6'0" 200, hes a big kid, but I still think he can play the SS relatively well. I'm just gonna glance at some weight/height listings and list them, obviously ignoring differences in ability, body type, quickness etc.

Stephen Drew 6'1 185
Miguel Tejada 5'9 213
Bobby Crosby 6'3 217
Yunieski Betancourt 5'10 190
Orlando Cabrera 5'9 185
Brendan Harris 6'1 200
Rafael Furcal 5'8 196
Derek Jeter 6'3 195
TPJ 6'2 180
Michael Young 6'1 200
Carlos Guillen 6'1 213

Point being, just by looking at this list we can see his size and weight don't really look out of place. I do think he could still fill out though which could be a problem, but for purposes of this we'll ignore that.

So here we are, looking at a potential lineup in the 2009-2010 seasons based on development ascent to the bigs. Lets take a look at the lineup we could possibly field, and contrary to how BB assembles his lineup we will do it permutatively(making up words, always a good sign,  I just mean in a specific order) and hopefully it could be a lineup we could lean on for years to come.

1. CF David Dejesus- Good leadoff hitter, good centerfielder, his latest slump is pissing me off though, possible trade bait to places like Atlanta or Florida, where he could be extremely valuable to both. FLA overvalues pitching and would try and screw us. Wondering if Gathright is for real he would be a dominating leadoff guy.
   
2. LF Chris Lubanski- One of my personal favorites. Very hard worker.I don't see why he cant be a solid two hole hitter that puts up a ton of XBH. If he does what hes doing right now in Omaha at .280/.350/.480 he would be an awesome asset.
   
3. 3B Mark Teahen- Ideal three hole hitter, good power, good eye, I think he could go .290/.380/.480 at least with a good lineup around him as he progresses, or a slightly less powerful JD Drew.
   
4. Alex Gordon- I really don't care about getting a L/R/L/R split in the lineup, but Gordon will be our best all around hitter and all we do now is wait.
   
5. 1B/DH Billy Butler- Supposed to be the best hitter, and batting fifth should give him a ton of chances to get runners in. I imagine he will split time between first and DH while he is young with a guy like Gload, or even Huber,and maybe DH on daygame after a nighter.
   
6. SS Mike Moustakas-The hardest to project, but this is a dream lineup, so I'm putting him 6th at short. Really have no clue as to what he could do, but a 30 HR guy at short sounds like a perennial MVP candidate. If he can be a good OBP guy, also might consider the two spot.
   
7. C John Buck- Offensive breakout this year, and just by watching his approach you get the feeling he is for real. Don't see too much flailing and outside pitches, he has been able to get his pitch and hit it hard even with TPJ, well usually just TPJ batting behind him. 20+ HR power is exciting.
   
8. DH Justin Huber- I don't see Shealy being a long term option, (funny what 6 months time does), which may actually actually put the ostracized Mr. Huber back into contention for a semi prominent spot on this team. He was basically terrible for the first 6 weeks, but has been destroying the ball lately, and hopefully can earn his way into the future picture. This could also possibly be a FA that may split time at 1B or could be a rotating thing with Mitch Maier in the mix.
   
9. 2B Esteban German- This is really a tough choice because its so hard to project. I think its 50/50 that German will be around in two or three years. He will be 31 in 2009, and I think his value would be maximized through a trade. Given that, I still have to go with him basically because I have no clue what guys like Maddox or Bianchi might wind up doing. Both of them could be options here, or hell, even Tony Pena possibly, but someone will have to step up to win the 2B job if German goes.

So yeah, someday this offense could be really good. Just throw a pitching staff around it and you have a really good team. It will make George Brett proud. I can't wait!

WHY?!?!?! This weekend just keeps on getting worse. UGH.

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals added some infield depth and promoted a familiar face Sunday. Kansas City recalled shortstop Angel Berroa from Triple-A Omaha and placed Ross Gload (strained quadriceps) on the disabled list.

Berroa, the 2003 American League Rookie of the Year, will see time at multiple infield positions, including shortstop and third base. He was supposed to be the starting shortstop, but was demoted to the Minors on March 24 after hitting .263 with 14 strikeouts and no walks in 38 at-bats during Spring Training.

Berroa will backup Tony Pena at shortstop and Alex Gordon at third. With Ryan Shealy (hamstring) and Gload on the disabled list, Mike Sweeney and Gordon become the primary first baseman. Bell recently said Billy Butler could also see some time at first base.

The move could also help resurrect Berroa's career, a career that has gone downhill after a 2003 season that yielded a .287 average with 17 homers and 73 RBI. Since then, Berroa's average, on-base percentage and slugging average have fallen every year, bottoming out at .234/259/333 in 2006. The on-base and slugging percentages ranked as the worst in baseball among players who qualified for the batting title.

Berroa worked out in Kansas City in the offseason to improve his hitting and range in the field, but struggled throughout the spring. Bell still wanted Berroa to be in the Opening Day lineup on March 15, saying "We expect him to be our shortstop," but little consistency forced the trade for Pena. Bell said he wished Berroa would improve, improvement that came with a promotion after six weeks with Omaha.

"If he's doing great, we're going to see him with us or with somebody else. If he is doing well, I'd have no problem at all putting him in the lineup again," Bell said on March 24.

Berroa was hitting .303 with a .336 on-base percentage and a .369 slugging average with four walks and 17 strikeouts for Triple-A Omaha before the call-up.

Gload, the team's primary first baseman against right-handed batters after Shealy hurt his hamstring, also tweaked his quadriceps earlier this season and hurt it again Sunday. Gload was batting .284 and was tied with Mike Sweeney for the team lead in RBI (17).

After winning 11-1 over the White Sox on Sunday afternoon, the Royals begin a four-game trip against the Athletics on Monday night in Oakland.

Nice post by thedude... Happy birthday loyal2-RR

Hey everyone

I'm just making this thread for the 24 party that is May 1st. So much is happening that I just felt we need to consolidate it into 1 single thread. Today is a busy day for billions, and as mentioned in the past, a day for two extremely important American holidays.

Just a rundown of what will be going on today 05/01/07....
-Rush Will Release Their 18th Studio Album entitled Snakes And Arrows
-Bart Colon, America's least favorite Cy Young Award Winner, and he of 5'10" 250lb Stature, squares off against, everyone's favorite headcase Zack Greinke, on what will be exactly three weeks and three years to the day of his MLB debut, which I witness against the Oakland A's.
-The Golden State Warriors will try and close out the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games in Dallas. Town biz is what it is. The Town will be going dummy dumb retarded all night if they can actually finish off the vaunted #1 seed.
Going Dumb in the Bay

Historically May 1 has been a bland day, there are some important events for almost every war, but there is something from just about every damn war for every day. It will, however, mark the anniversary of the following events:

-Actually its the 300th anniversary of the Union Act which brought England and Scotland together as Great Britain. Cool
-The U2 Crisis involving Gary Francis Powers
-The George Bush Mission Accomplished(I'll use the RR article staple with the strikethrough here) declaration of success defining debacle.
-Law Day and Loyalty Day: I think all fines and jail sentences doubled today just like automobile violations driving through a contruction zone. But also take some time to reaffirm your loyalties, be it to dog, country, baseball team, or even significant other.

There aren't too many significant birthdays, and deaths have to be real important to be significant (ie assassination or something):
-The dad from Orange County Choppers-58
-Tim McGraw-hes 40
-D'Arcy-shes 39
-Curtis Martin-34
-Anyone born today in 1987 is celebrating the completion of their second full decade of life as they move onto their third. Shahar Pe'er is our winner, the Israeli tennis player celebrates 20 years old. Lets congratulate her. 20 is a great birthday and her b-day is the crux of this thread. It's really good to see someone my age have that special day. I happy for Shahar.
-We also send out our condolences to BIG HAWK, the famous Houston rapper, died a year ago today.

We also would like to wish the following people a pleasant day:
-National Love Day int he Czech Republic (sounds good to me)
-May Day, International Workers Day, Labour Day, whichever you call it, have fun sitting on your ass drinking and cooking whatever indigenous food is comparable to our own Labor Day meals)
-Lei Day in Hawaii (make sure you get lei'd, haha what a classic joke)

Anyway so that about covers everything about this May 1 day. I really can't think of anything else to say here, but if I missed anything let me know.   If you want to fact check or find something I missed just know I'm pulling this all straight for Wikipedia, which should by now be everyone's ultimate source for everything.

So in conclusion, remember, celebrate, cherish, declare loyalty toward, obey, love, drink, eat, fornicate, lei, watch the Royals, watch the warriors, listen to Rush, whichever you do, just make sure you do it.

Oh yeah, one last thing, I remember someone had a birthday here, I think it might might be Marbotty, or maybe it was stook. Yeah i think it was Stook. So definitely have a good one man.

But seriously, have a happy birthday loyal2.

It's been almost a year since we've felt that heartwarming buzz around the ballpark. That oh so familiar hum in the background of every baseball game in America is creeping back into our lives. Yes, All Star balloting has arrived for the great annual debate. For 25 home games, and through millions of untrackable E-ballots, there will be an election process that brings together an entire country, nay, an entire world to focus on one game. Last year, we were represented by the ever so memorable Mark Redman, who will live on for years as the All Star for our Kansas City Royals. Just Ask RoyalsReview, and he will regale you with fascinating tales of Redmans feats, and reminisce about the ballgames won and lost, but most of all. how we all grew as people every time he took the hill to prove us that one man CAN make a difference.

Now, I know we've been battered by the poor stats of many of our hitters, but as per MLB rules we MUST have an All Star! So now, we can do a quick glance at who just might don the noble All Star Jersey, right here in San Francisco.

Players on the Ballot for KC:
C-John Buck
1B-Ryan Shealy
2B-Mark Grudzielanek
3B-Alex Gordon
SS-Tony Pena Jr.
OF-Mark Teahen
OF-Emil Brown
OF-David DeJesus

Given that we can't vote for pitchers, the following are candidates from the Pen and Rotation.

Gil Meche
Zack Greinke
Ryan Braun
Joakim Soria

I'm only going to look at hitters and pitchers that actually have a chance to win the award right now barring a hot streak.

So as far as hitters we have John Buck and David DeJesus and pitchers I think Meche and Greinke are the only ones with a legit chance, unless they stiff us Lance Carter Style.(http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/07/Rays/Carter_surprise_All_S.shtml)

A look at the stats:
DeJesus- .339/.406/.581/.987 3 HR 7RBI - David has been tremendous in the leadoff spot everyday, if he just gets on base at a 40% rate, hes one of the best leadoff men in the game. David has been on fire since day one, and has been the go to guy on offense over guys that should be right now. Probably should be our All Star.

John Buck- .440/.517./960/1.477- Buddy's decision to split Buck's time right now with LaRue has looked foolish, because all Buck has done is hit the hell out of the ball. In 25 AB he's tied with DeJesus with 3 HR, as well as doubling 4 times. He has stated his case to be the starting Catcher, and hopefully his GW HR the other night will be enough to convince Buddy that the Offensive Force known as John Buck is here to stay.

Gil Meche-2.22 ERA 6.75 K/9 2.25 BB/9 1.21 WHIP- Gil has been worth every penny of his 55 million through his first four  starts. He has looked more like Carpenter/Schmidt minus the injury, than the whatever the negative comparison was for him. At 1-1, hes going to have to win a couple games to get some love on the roster, because wins are everything. Gil has been great so far, and with a couple nice wins, he could garner some All Star love.

Zack Greinke- I dont feel like listing his stats, because he probably won't get enough mainstream love, but Zack has been fantastic so far this year. The blow up in Detroit wasn't really his fault. It was insanely windy, batters kept improbably fouling off good pitches to stay in the inning, the ump wouldn't give him a call on anything that wasn't over the middle, and Pudge's slam was NOT well hit at all, it looked like a pop that should have landed 40-50 feet from the wall, but the wind carried the ball out. In every other start, Greinke has been fantastic. He's looking more like an ace, and less like he was in 2005.

Well, based on this, there are 4 legit choices right now for our All Star rep, but you know what, I think Leyland will show us some love and not only pick up DeJesus, but I think Meche will also be our SECOND all star. That would be amazing!

This is news to me! I thought this joker was sent packing to AAA. What the hell. And its no surprise that he got rocked either. I really thought he was not on the team because of Braun, and this just really makes me mad. Hopefully Moore's justification was along the lines of Dwight and his cholesterol.

"I can raise and lower the cholesterol levels in my body"

"Why would you want to raise your cholesterol"

"So I can lower it"

I hope Moore is using the logic that he can have standridge up just to send him down.

Oh well. We lose 9-1 with our worst pitcher on the mound. And with standridge, probably our second worst. Nice showings from Braun, Gobble, and Welle, but especially Braun. Hopefully Greinke can be our stopper tomorrow night. And hopefully we can trade Sanders to Baltimore and get an RP and send standridge back to Omaha for some more innings there.

OK PEOPLE JERE IS THE DEAL,off caps, so basically, you arent; excited for the new sesason, them you should get basieball viagra, cauzse you are having baseball dysfunction.

Im not the only one, and you aren;t either who is excited beyond excited for MR super human ALEX GORDON. i have been shaking in my boots all winter here in california, and I am ready to feel the tremendous quake he brings. I dont thin it is coincidence that i have mlbtv and will get o soe all the royals games for the first time. i used rto watch 4-5 games a year, now, 100+ at least is my prosmes. That is the promise for royals fans,. And BILLY BUITLER is my brother, i swear, its crazy ive had at least three dreams with him promniently involved. Its beyond wild. I am so excited for monday when mechey is nails and fatso schilling forgets its 2007 and not 2002 and marky mark takes him YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD. but seriously, i am really excited for this season, and even though we may still get last place, there is a feeling of hope and optimism abound, and its so much different from ST 2006, and ST 2005, when we were praying for just a luck filled season where crappy players played like studs etc.

But anyways, if u cant tell now, ive had my share of drinks tonight in celebration, for I have been granted admission to UCSB!! haha they even send your first injection of hep B in the packet. lol jk, but sersiously we will see where this thread goes in the morning. I love you all, RR NHZ Marbotty loyals2 and loyal2dad and grudz and slayor and greggangehof and rockchalk and rossgload, and jq, and dyefam amd everypome else. OTS A<AZOMGA<A o ,eam ITS AMAZING!

so apparently we got this guy from the Brewers. I know nothing about him and I can't say I know anything about the guy we gave up.

Cool. I guess.

From ESPN.Com

"Kansas City Royals: Right-hander Ben Hendrickson was traded from the Brewers to the Royals on Tuesday for minor league catcher Maxim St. Pierre.

Hendrickson went 1-10 with a 7.41 ERA in 12 starts and two relief appearances in the majors in 2004 and 2006.

St. Pierre played 10 seasons in the minor leagues for Detroit before joining the Royals as a minor league free agent in January. He was assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

The Associated Press contributed to this report."

MLB.COM reporting here that we have traded for Braves SS Tony Pena Jr. for P Eric Cordier.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070323&content_id=1856137&vkey=spt2007news&fex t=.jsp

Does this officially spell an end to the Angel Berroa era in Kansas City?

Considering we get a guy who is not Angel Berroa, and I hope is at least good with the glove, is this trade a steal? I thought Cordier went under the knife for TJ surgery in the offseason so it wasnt like he was going to force his way to KC anytime soon.

Do we all get blindingly drunk in celebration?

What happens now with the Berroa-Silverio Silverio's daugther triangle? How can a team function with its ex starting shortstop being wed to its Third Base Coach's daughter? The drama, the intensity!

March 23, 2007 will be a day to be remembered in not just Kansas City baseball, but the entire game worldwide.

THOUGHTS PEOPLE ON THIS MOMENTOUS DEAL

Just an FYI, this isn't a fantasy question in the least, I just happened to stumble upon his minor league numbers while I was bored in the last couple of weeks.

He is a big, but not huge by anymeans, 23 year old lefty for the D-backs, but has played in the Brewers system since his being drafted in 2003. He has posted an ERA under 3 at every stop every year.

What I am curious about is, what is his status and what do people think of him as a prospect and as a pitcher. Just going by numbers, he still looks like he has rookie eligibilty, but he could be a guy that breaks the active service number so I can't say for sure.

In both of his stints with the brewers in 05 and 06 he got beat up pretty bad relieving and starting. His minor league numbers though have bee n really good though, so it is kind of confusing to me to see this guy with a succesful minor league track record at AA and AAA and very little positive major league experience and he seems to have ignored to the general population.

Looking at his 2006 in AAA, he made 19 starts, pitched 105 and had rates of 6.08 H/9, 3.51 BB/9, and 9.42 K/9 as well as a .34 HR/9 rate. Thats a pretty damn good line for anyone. But he is a 23 year old left with basically no fanfare at all.

I dont have any scouting info, or knowledge of what his pitches are, but is this a guy who could be a legitamate starter someday, or is his stuff deceptive enough to get minor leaguers out, but guys in the bigs are able to rip his stuff? I wouldn't give up on anyone that is that young yet, so I have to believe hes kinda just gone under the radar.

Basically, I am asking people to fill me with more knowledge and insight on what is the deal with this kid? Is it just he hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself yet?

Thoughts on this puzzling prospect? And anyone who you feel is in a similar situation as Eveland.

Thanks a lot.

From the Royals Notes on the official website.

According to the most recent update, Mike Sweeney went on an offseason trip to Rome. It talks about seeing sights, such a wonderful trip, being religous, etc. But at the end, it says Sweeney was blessed by the Pope. Is anyone else thinking that being blessed by the Pope will pay huge dividends for Mike this season? Screw weight training and special exercises to keep his back straight, pope blessings do not come easily. So you heard it hear first, if Sweeney hits .330 with 40 HR and 130 RBI, we can all thank the Pope. I can't decide if this or signing Gil Meche was the biggest moment of the offseason. Hopefully GMDM is aware of this.

here is the whole story.
" Thrill of a lifetime: Designated hitter Mike Sweeney spent 10 days of his offseason with a family vacation in Rome and it turned out to be a special journey.

"It the was highlight of my life," he said. "Growing up as an Irish Catholic, the second-oldest of eight kids, it always has been a dream to go to Rome. I was from a middle-class family and never thought I would have the means to do it."

But the means met the ends last November when the deeply religious Sweeney took his wife and two children, along with his parents and in-laws.

"It was awesome to get a chance to see the history of our church," he said. "Here we are, talking about this on Ash Wednesday, and I was able to see one of the nails that went through one of Christ's hands.

"The highlight of the trip was getting blessed and kissed by Pope Benedict XVI."

Hey everyone, I've got kind of a question, like the title says, about Stephen Drew.

My interest in "prospecting" is rather new compared to many (>1 year) other people who have been following the process of prospect growth for years. This kind of limits for me the knowledge I have about prospects from previous years, as it can be hard to gather information on former prospects, especially without any major subscriptions to sites like BA or the like. The most I can usually find on prospects from years previous are lists like BA's top 100 all time, and maybe if I remember someone on the radio or television or on ESPN talking about them.

This brings me to Stephen Drew. From what I can see, Drew was the #5 prospect heading into last year which would mean he was/is held in very high esteem. My question is, what do people think that his ceiling can/will be this year and in the future?  How did people feel about him last year and the year before when he was in the Minors? Obviously looking at his stats from last year in 209 AB's, a .316/.357/.517 line is tremendously encouraging but what could he do over a full season? Or several full seasons? I ask this because I don't hear as much talk about Drew as I do other guys that are ranked high on BA's 06 list like Young, Wood, Verlander, Milledge, Fielder, Zimmerman, Billinglsy and even to an extent Hermida.

Thanks a lot for any possible input!

Wow, so this is basically awesome. (sarcasm). The front banner at minorleaguebaseball.com has a picture of Runelvys Hernandez. Why in Gods name would it have that?

Thats what I really wanted to know, so clicking on the link gave me the sweet pleasure of knowing that a Runelvys Hernandez Burlington Bees Jersey is up for auction. Of course it is most likely for charity, but it still begs the question, who the hell wants one of those?

What will the winner of the auction do with it? Frame it? Burn It? Resell it? I can't imagine it fitting any normal to large sized human being due to the fact that the jersey is probably an dectuple X-Large size. Any thoughts on this random random auction?

Link....http://auction.milb.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=77324015&prmenbr=54879494& aunbr=77670725

Hey

I usually try and keep the diary postings that I make to the point, as well as making the focus on the prospect or situation and not how it could affect my fantasy team. But this time, I do have a more explicit question in that regard. I have the #2 pick in our league minor league draft and have basically narrowed down my choices to Clayton Kershaw and Timmy Lincecum. I like them both alot but I basically have to choose one or the other at this point.

I'll add my feelings here in an attempt to facilitate a productive discussion that is beyond a poll to tell me what I should do.

I like Timmy a lot, his numbers in A ball are amazing, 16k/9 among other outstandind numbers, but in 32 innings you have to take it with a grain of salt and admit that it is a small sample size. Other things that stand against him, his size, and whether I or anyone else likes it or not, the burden is on him to remain healthy at size that is very much smaller than normal. Another thing that scares me, is that the Giants convert him to an RP. He would probably dominate, and I could see the Giants bringing him up in July to fill the closer spot, but right now, I am looking to SP.

As for Kershaw, I think he has the ability to become one of the better lefthanders in the game within 5 years. First, his name sounds "ace-like" which means nothing and is totally irrelevant. That said, I think his numbers from Rookie ball are awesome. 1.47 w/9, 12.56 k/9 and 0 HR in 43 innings. Sample size is an issue, but the walks and homers are quite encouraging.

I've said what I have to say, and now hopefully everyone else can shed some light on these two guys. Thanks!

Hey all,

Since the Hirsh trade went down (it was too much of a boning to be called the Jennings deal, and I have a thing for 6"8 250lb righties with a rocket,laser arm) I have not heard much in the way of analysis about what will happen with Hirsh. Most of what I have heard is how bad the deal is if Jennings doesnt sign an extension (which is true) and how upset ignorant rock fans are about getting Taveras for Jennings. What I want to know is how everyone thinks Hirsh will perform next year. He got lit up a couple times in a tester this year, but I think that if he starts in the COL rotation he has a legit chance at the NL ROY. It's no question hes gonna be pitching for a powerful offense that is much more likely to give him run support than in Houston.

IMO, he is one of the top 3 young arms that combines pure ability and readiness to contribute this coming season. But what does everyone else foresee for Mr.Hirsh and how will pitching in Colorado affect him?

Thanks

Hey all.

I'm just wondering if someone can fill me in on the finer side of using BABIP to evaluate prospects and major leaguers. I understand its use for both batters and pitchers, but it still confuses me slightly.

Going on the  def from Minorleaguesplits "BABIP: Batting Average on Balls In Play. This is calculated as follows: (H-HR)/(AB-K-HR). It is often used as a measure of luckiness, especially for pitchers. Most BABIPs eventually settle in the .280 - .310 range, so a batter with a BABIP much above that may be getting lucky, while a pitcher with a BABIP above that may be very unlucky."

However, it seems that more often than not better prospects and players have higher BABIPS. For example, an extreme case seems to be Cameron Maybin (BABIP .415). Coupled with his high strikeout rate, is this indicative of someone who swings out of his shoes and when he does make contact, the ball moves hard?

Same for pitchers, Phil Hughes BABIP is .254, so are hitters are most likely on average are making poorer contact when the ball is in play?

Essentially, does BABIP mean that better players are going to either hit the ball harder, or are more adept at hitting at defensive holes? And for pitchers, that a better pitcher will probably induce more poorly hit balls? If so, I don't entirely see the correlation of "luck" involvedd in BABIP as much as direct effect of a players given talent or skill.

One would imagine if it were luck, there would be a greater regression to the mean for say the top 20 prospects, but this perhaps may exist because they are the top 20.

Help me out here. Thanks.

Now according to the human interest story we have two Angel Berroas. Both living in the KC area. God help us all.

KANSAS CITY -- The most unnerving moment of Angel Berroa's year wasn't a late-biting slider from Johan Santana or a deep-hole grounder by Derek Jeter.

No, it came last Wednesday morning at a Kansas City hospital where he was helping his wife, Jennifer, get through the birth of their first child. At the right moment, the doctors told Berroa to step to their side of the delivery table to take the photos he wanted.

"When I saw the head, my legs were like Jell-O," Berroa said.

Angel Luis Berroa emerged in all of his 22-inch, 9 1/2-pound glory.

"I told myself I better get with it," Berroa recalled. "I want to take a picture of my baby."

Within hours, a more stable Berroa had his cellphone sending photos to teammates like Mark Teahen and John Buck.

Little Angel's big size had attending nurses saying he looked like a football player.

Earlier, when a doctor viewed a sonogram, he said, "These hands are so big -- he's going to be a pianist."

Papa Berroa could only flash his signature wide smile at such predictions. His son already has a glove, a bat, a ball and a Royals uniform with No. 4 on it.

"A shortstop," Berroa has decided.

Berroa reflected on all this as family and friends gathered in Jennifer's room just hours after the birth to "Ooh" and "Aah" at their little guy. The baby's middle name, Luis, pays respect to Berroa's father-in-law, Royals third-base coach Luis Silverio.

In the baby's honor, Berroa has a tattoo on his arm with an infant foot drawn between the names "Angel" and "Luis."

These are good times for Berroa. This week, he'll mark his first Thanksgiving as a resident of Kansas City. He's become one of the few Royals in recent years to live in K.C.

When the Silverios bought a house here, the Berroas decided to do the same instead of returning to the Dominican Republic.

"It's good to raise the baby in Kansas City," Berroa said.

Berroa is determined, too, to raise his game in Kansas City. He's working out four days a week at Kauffman Stadium with strength coach Ty Hill. In fact, Berroa didn't take a break after the season ended, working with a personal trainer all through October.

Last season was his poorest since winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2003. He hit just .234 and really scuffled in the second half. Though he had a career-low 18 errors, his concentration level sometimes seemed to lapse.

Berroa, on a team that lost 100 games, became the fans' favorite whipping boy.

"Everybody has to have a target," Silverio said. "Like A-Rod in New York."

The boos rumbled at Berroa.

"It bothered me a little bit because I'm a player," he said. "I don't like to lose games. When I go out there, I try for victories. I try to do my job."

Silverio remembered those long drives home with Berroa after losses last season.

"He let it affect him," Silverio said. "He took it way too hard."

During September, manager Buddy Bell decided to sit Berroa in favor of Andres Blanco. Bell wanted Berroa to relax, do some thinking and work out a program to improve his agility.

That plan was short-circuited when Blanco was injured, but Berroa wasted no time getting with the program after the final game.

"He's coming along pretty well," Silverio said. "He's really focused on the agility that he felt he lost. He felt a little heavy and knew he was going to have to be in better shape. He has to have the body agility that he had in the past."

That's his goal. That's what takes him to Kauffman Stadium most days and to a health club most nights. And now, he's got fresh motivation named Angel Luis Berroa.

The boo-birds, he vows, will be silenced.

"I'm going to show those people that the Angel Berroa from 2003 is back next year," the new papa said.

I was just perusing the full list of votes for the AL Rookie of the year, and I fully expected him to not be top 5 or anything, but there was absolutely no love shown to Chris Ray.

He quietly had a pretty studly rookie year as the closer for the Orioles.

4 W 4 L 66 IP 2.72 ERA 1.09 WHIP 51 K's 33 saves

Granted he walked 27 in those 66 innings, but he only gave up 45 hits. I would think if guys like Kinsler or Markakis get some votes, then Ray would get a few too.

Thoughts?

Thanks to our wonderful man on the inside Rich Dick Kaegel. He answers the tough questions, and he is not afraid to deliver the answer straight, no candyass bs.

In response to the completely insane, and most likely comatose since early 2004 Jacob from Lamar Mo. asked "Angel Berroa is my favorite player, so I was wondering if you think he will play a lot this year."

Of course, Captain Kaegel was tickeled royal blue by this question and was very happy to respond with

"Berroa is already working hard at Kauffman Stadium this offseason to tone up his body and quicken his footwork. The Royals also want the shortstop to improve his level of concentration in the field. Berroa is capable of spectacular plays but sometimes slips on the routine grounders.

At bat, he's a free swinger and that's not likely to change very much, but he's a strong guy with power potential when he connects. Berroa had his poorest offensive year (.234) but the fewest errors (18) of his career.

Fans always seem to pick a favorite target on a losing team and, in 2006, Berroa was it. Although Berroa didn't complain, that surely took a toll because he gets down on himself a lot anyway. Manager Buddy Bell limited his playing time late in the season to give him a chance to clear his mind. Bell is a big Berroa fan and believes he can get much better. Up-and-coming Andres Blanco had shoulder surgery last September and will get a late start next season. So Berroa figures to be an everyday player in 2007. "

To summarize, Angel Berroa is lazy on defense, sucks at hitting, and for some reason he draws the ire of all the fans. Don't think for a second being the unconditionally worst American League hitter has anything to do with that though. He of course is a favorite of Buddy Bell, meaning he is not Justin Huber. And because we can't admit to our mistake of giving him an extension several years ago, we look to start him everyday in 07.

This has been a golden excerpt from the mailbag of your KANSAS CITY ROYALS. Special thanks go to kcroyals.com, half-man half-god Dick Kaegel, and the STARTING SHORTSTOP FOR YOUR 2007 KANSAS CITY ROYAALLLLSS! ANGEL BERROA!

I want to actually see how many of the current Tiger players "suffered" through the 119 loss season of 03 that are currently playing. Lists players from 2003 that still play for this world series teams.  Basic stats are from 03 season to show how often they were on the field to contribute to the awfulness.

Brandon Inge 104 Games, 330 AB's .203 BA
Craig Monroe 128 G 425 AB .240 BA
Omar Infante 69 G 221 AB .222 BA

Jeremy Bonderman 6W 19L 162IP 5.56 ERA
Wilfredo Ledezma 3W 7L 84IP 5.79 ERA
Nate Robertson 1W 2L 44.2IP 5.44 ERA
Jamie Walker 4W 3L 65IP 3.32 ERA

I didn't count Mike Maroth because his contribution to the team was minimal this season, and because the only value he might have had was telling 2003 horror stories. They make good pep talks and inspirational stories. Im going to assume however he did use these to motivate his teammates because his stats were so miserable, and he didnt want to remind anyone he lost 21 games that year.

I also didnt include Ramon Santiago both to futher my own point and because he had two years of salvation in Seattle that probably wiped away any memories of Detroit circa 2003.

So to summarize, from 2003 you have 2 bench players from 03, one of which (Inge) is now a starter. Three bullpen guys from 03 in Robertson, Ledezma and Walker, one is now a starter and then one starter from then to now(bonderman). What does this mean? You have two guys that could have been "leaders" on the 03 team that are now playing for the 06 team. Basically, the 2003 Tigers have very little influence or collective memory to imprint upon the players for the current team. Any media references to the 2003 team should be instantly discredited and most likely be fired.

A good analogy for this, its like the JV or freshman football team when they finally become seniors. You look back at the varsity team when you played as a fresh/soph and maybe remember a couple of names, a couple of games, and the fact that they sucked, hell, even a couple guys that were outstanding players as underclassmen may still play, but for the most part, its a totally different team. Maybe some parents or fans make a more sentimental connection between the teams, but probably not the players.

Kansas City Royals in 2007, BELL for MOY, GORDON for ROY, TEAHEN for MVP, REDMAN for CY. SWEENEY for CBPOY.

Just thought you all would like to know.

Today this morning on KNBR-680, the greta Eric Byrnes was filling in for the great Gary Radnich. His premier guess was none other than Barry Zito. Byrnesy promised to ask the tough questions and that he did. When asked what his criteria when looking at teams this offseason the two given were talent off the field, as in talent at the minor league level, and hotness of women.

Furthermore, Byrnes asked for a top three from Zito, and he responded with the Cubs and Padres. Third, he gave us all a sleeper, and I knew that it was coming. The Kansas City Royals, rank very high on his list of teams!!!

We have a ton of off the field talent, and as I recall  from an old Zito interview on Late Night with Todd Wright, he actually listed Kansas City as his favorite place to visit because "I got laid  there."

Wouldn't that be great?! If we could get zito at 5 and 55? Come on Dayton, work that magic. And Loyal 2, you need to do your best to help out this cause as well. This is something I think we can help.

A bring Barry Z to KC Campaign?

Dont tell me you wouldnt think the front office would see it and realize how it could help. And If we got Barry to see it he would be totally enamored. Especially if we could get KC area women to sign up and send him a letter with kc women blowing kisses that says come to Kansas City!

Anyways, this has gone on to long. But thoughts please!