I think we have all come to the conclusion that the Royals are seemingly always hot or cold. Here is some data to show just how streaky the Royals have been this year.
March 31st-April 9th: 6-2
April 10th-April 24th: 3-11 (including a 7 game losing streak)
April 25th-May 4th: 5-3
May 5th-May 10th: 1-5
May 11th-May 18th: 6-1
May 19th-June 11th: 4-19 (including a 12 game losing streak)
June 12th-June 27th: 12-2 (including a a 5 and 6 game winning streak)
June 28th-July 9th: 3-9
July 10th-July 20th: 5-2
July 21-July 26th: 1-5
July 27th-Aug 4th: 7-1
Aug 5th-Aug 12th: 1-5
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Should the Royals look to trade Greinke?
Ken Rosenthal in his latest Full Count video blog thinks that the Royals might entertain offers for Zack Greinke. That might come as a shock to most Royals fans who are anxiously waiting for Moore and Glass to sign Greinke to a long-term extension, but Rosenthal does make some sense.
The Royals, while not exactly out of the race, find themselves struggling to play .400 ball. The good news, I suppose, is that the division is really down this year and despite the horrid play of late the Royals are still only 7.5 games behind the White Sox. The problem is this team lacks offense in a big way and there isn't much (if any) help in Omaha or Arkansas.
First lets look at the sorry state of the Royals AAA and AA teams and see what is going on that would require such a drastic move. Starting in Omaha most of the teams offense is coming from Royals retreads, such as Shane Costa, Angel Berroa, Jason Smith, and Ryan Shealy; that group accounts for 60% of the teams home runs and 48% of the teams RBI (not counting Aviles' numbers who is now on the Royals roster).
Also sitting in Omaha are former 1st round picks Mitch Maier, Chris Lubanski, and newly demoted Billy Butler. Butler will rejoin the Royals soon and Maier could be a useful bench player; as for Lubanski the jury is still out, he certainly isn't knocking down the door for a call-up.
Things in Arkansas are even worse as there are perhaps only two players who might be considered prospects at this point. Kila Kaaihue has been solid and Brian McFall is holding his own. This duo accounts for exactly 50% of the teams total home runs and the team is in the bottom third in AVG/OBP/SLG.
Without much coming up from the pipeline it then becomes a possibility that trading Greinke could be good for the future of this team. The question then becomes what could the Royals hope to get in return for their ace. As comparison I'm going to look at what teams got for their front of the line starters the past couple of years and see if that sort of return could be expected.
Johan Santana to the Mets
Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to the Twins.
-The Mets gave up their 3-6th best prospects to land perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Is Greinke comparable to Santana? He is this year and he is younger and far cheaper.
Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to the Rays
Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie to the Twins
-Matt Garza certainly isn't the pitcher Greinke is but he did net the Twins a former 1st overall pick back in Young.
Dan Haran and Conner Robertson to the Diamondbacks
Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland ,Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
-Eveland and Smith are in the rotation and pitching well and Gonzalez, Carter, Cunningham and Anderson are in the A's top 10 prospects list.
Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox
Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Marlins.
-This trade worked well for both teams, Ramirez is perhaps the best shortstop in baseball and Sanchez has already tossed a no-hitter.
As you can see there is some incentive for a rebuilding (yes,I said it) team to trade away a star pitcher for prospects but it isn't without danger, after all they are just prospects. Dayton Moore would have to find a team that is in win mode now and would be willing to part with several of their top prospects, so which teams are candidates?
New York Yankees: The Yankees are 20th in baseball in team ERA and find themselves in 4th place in the East. Brian Cashman has put more emphasis on keeping the farm system together, does Hank Steinbrenner step in and push for a trade?
Top Prospects:
The Royals, while not exactly out of the race, find themselves struggling to play .400 ball. The good news, I suppose, is that the division is really down this year and despite the horrid play of late the Royals are still only 7.5 games behind the White Sox. The problem is this team lacks offense in a big way and there isn't much (if any) help in Omaha or Arkansas.
First lets look at the sorry state of the Royals AAA and AA teams and see what is going on that would require such a drastic move. Starting in Omaha most of the teams offense is coming from Royals retreads, such as Shane Costa, Angel Berroa, Jason Smith, and Ryan Shealy; that group accounts for 60% of the teams home runs and 48% of the teams RBI (not counting Aviles' numbers who is now on the Royals roster).
Also sitting in Omaha are former 1st round picks Mitch Maier, Chris Lubanski, and newly demoted Billy Butler. Butler will rejoin the Royals soon and Maier could be a useful bench player; as for Lubanski the jury is still out, he certainly isn't knocking down the door for a call-up.
Things in Arkansas are even worse as there are perhaps only two players who might be considered prospects at this point. Kila Kaaihue has been solid and Brian McFall is holding his own. This duo accounts for exactly 50% of the teams total home runs and the team is in the bottom third in AVG/OBP/SLG.
Without much coming up from the pipeline it then becomes a possibility that trading Greinke could be good for the future of this team. The question then becomes what could the Royals hope to get in return for their ace. As comparison I'm going to look at what teams got for their front of the line starters the past couple of years and see if that sort of return could be expected.
Johan Santana to the Mets
Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to the Twins.
-The Mets gave up their 3-6th best prospects to land perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Is Greinke comparable to Santana? He is this year and he is younger and far cheaper.
Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to the Rays
Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie to the Twins
-Matt Garza certainly isn't the pitcher Greinke is but he did net the Twins a former 1st overall pick back in Young.
Dan Haran and Conner Robertson to the Diamondbacks
Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland ,Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
-Eveland and Smith are in the rotation and pitching well and Gonzalez, Carter, Cunningham and Anderson are in the A's top 10 prospects list.
Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox
Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Marlins.
-This trade worked well for both teams, Ramirez is perhaps the best shortstop in baseball and Sanchez has already tossed a no-hitter.
As you can see there is some incentive for a rebuilding (yes,I said it) team to trade away a star pitcher for prospects but it isn't without danger, after all they are just prospects. Dayton Moore would have to find a team that is in win mode now and would be willing to part with several of their top prospects, so which teams are candidates?
New York Yankees: The Yankees are 20th in baseball in team ERA and find themselves in 4th place in the East. Brian Cashman has put more emphasis on keeping the farm system together, does Hank Steinbrenner step in and push for a trade?
Top Prospects:
1.Joba Chamberlain, rhp
2.Austin Jackson, of
3.Jose Tabata, of
4.Ian Kennedy, rhp
5.Alan Horne, rhp
6.Jesus Montero, c
7.Jeff Marquez, rhp
8.Brett Gardner, of
9.Ross Ohlendorf, rhp
10.Andrew Brackman, rhp
Texas Rangers: The Rangers have stockpiled talent over the past couple of years and now find themselves only 5 games back of the division leading Angels. Do they make a trade to bolster their 28th ranked pitching?
Top Prospects:
1.Elvis Andruz, ss
2.Chris Davis, 3b
3.Eric Hurley, rhp
4.Taylor Teagarden, c
5.Neftali Feliz, rhp
6.Michael Main, rhp
7.Kasey Kiker, lhp
8.Blake Beavan, rhp
9.Julio Borbon, of
10.Engel Beltre, of
Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are in a distant 4th in the NL Central but have the talent to compete with some help to their 23rd ranked pitching. Problem for the reds is Dunn is a free agent and their best talent is very young. Do they try to win now or continue to build through the system?
Top Prospects:
1.Jay Bruce, of
2.Homer Bailey, rhp
3.Joey Votto, 1b/of
4.Johnny Cueto, rhp
5.Drew Stubbs, of
6.Devin Mesoraco, c
7.Todd Frazier, ss
8.Juan Francisco, 3b
9.Josh Roenicke, rhp
10.Matt Maloney, lhp
Friday, May 30, 2008
Look at the '08 draft
With the Royals in an 11-game loosing streak, and find themselves an ugly 9.5 games out of first, I figure it would probably be healthy to look at something other than the Royals box score.
The draft is a tough thing to predict, nobody really knows who is going where, and teams are throwing out names to throw other teams off their guy. There is however, a general consensus on who the top guys are.
Buster Posey:
Position: Catcher
School: Junior at Florida State University
Birthdate: 03/27/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Posey is considered to be a gap-to-gap guy with occasional power to left field. He has good knowledge of the strike-zone and isn't afraid to take a walk. Posey is a versatile defender, only recently moving to catcher which means he has some work to do back there. He has an average to below average arm. He is projected to remain as a catcher at the Major League level which raises his stock.
Tim Beckham:
Position: Shortstop
School: Senior at Griffin High School
Birthdate: 01-27-1990
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Beckham is projected to have average power, but he has some flaws in his swing and could take awhile to develop fully. Beckham has good speed and is projected to have the tools to remain at shortstop. Labeled as a five-tool player Beckham will be hard to pass on but he does have a lot of work to do, particularly at the plate.
Pedro Alvarez:
Position: Third base
School: Junior at Vanderbilt University
Birthdate: 07/18/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 225
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Alvarez is considered a safe bet to be a productive hitter at the Major League level, he should hit for a solid average with average power to develop. It is somewhat a question mark on whether or not he can play third in the bigs as he has limited range and average arm; could be a future first baseman. Alvarez is a high energy guy that should move through any system quickly.
Justin Smoak:
Position: First Base
School: Junior at the University of South Carolina
Birthdate: 12/05/1986
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
Smoak is a big guy with a good bat, he is projected to be a 30-40 home run guy in the Majors and will also hit for a good average. Smoak is very limited defensively and is slow on the base paths. Smoak will either be a below average first baseman or a DH at the big league level but his bat will carry him.
Eric Hosmer:
Position: First Base
School: Senior at American Heritage High School
Birthdate: 10/24/1989
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hosmer is a big left-handed bat who projects to hit for good average and plenty of power. Hosmer is good defensively and has a good throwing arm at first, but lacks speed on the base paths. Hosmer is considered to be the best high school bat in the draft and should move fairly quickly through the minors for a high school kid.
Aaron Crow:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of Missouri
Birthdate: 11/11/1986
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Crow is a big right hander who has three plus pitches; a fastball that reaches 96, a hard slider, and a change-up. He has good command, especially with the fastball, and maintains his velocity well. Crow is aggressive and is perhaps the best college arm in the draft.
Brian Matusz:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of San Diego
Birthdate: 02/11/1987
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Matusz has four pitches, all at least average. He throws a fastball in the low 90's, a slider, a plus change up, and his out pitch is a big curve. It has been noted that he doesn't work off his fastball as much as needed but he has good command and will throw any pitch at anytime. Matusz is argueably the top rated pitcher in the draft.
The draft is a tough thing to predict, nobody really knows who is going where, and teams are throwing out names to throw other teams off their guy. There is however, a general consensus on who the top guys are.
Buster Posey:
Position: Catcher
School: Junior at Florida State University
Birthdate: 03/27/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Posey is considered to be a gap-to-gap guy with occasional power to left field. He has good knowledge of the strike-zone and isn't afraid to take a walk. Posey is a versatile defender, only recently moving to catcher which means he has some work to do back there. He has an average to below average arm. He is projected to remain as a catcher at the Major League level which raises his stock.
Tim Beckham:
Position: Shortstop
School: Senior at Griffin High School
Birthdate: 01-27-1990
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Beckham is projected to have average power, but he has some flaws in his swing and could take awhile to develop fully. Beckham has good speed and is projected to have the tools to remain at shortstop. Labeled as a five-tool player Beckham will be hard to pass on but he does have a lot of work to do, particularly at the plate.
Pedro Alvarez:
Position: Third base
School: Junior at Vanderbilt University
Birthdate: 07/18/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 225
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Alvarez is considered a safe bet to be a productive hitter at the Major League level, he should hit for a solid average with average power to develop. It is somewhat a question mark on whether or not he can play third in the bigs as he has limited range and average arm; could be a future first baseman. Alvarez is a high energy guy that should move through any system quickly.
Justin Smoak:
Position: First Base
School: Junior at the University of South Carolina
Birthdate: 12/05/1986
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
Smoak is a big guy with a good bat, he is projected to be a 30-40 home run guy in the Majors and will also hit for a good average. Smoak is very limited defensively and is slow on the base paths. Smoak will either be a below average first baseman or a DH at the big league level but his bat will carry him.
Eric Hosmer:
Position: First Base
School: Senior at American Heritage High School
Birthdate: 10/24/1989
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hosmer is a big left-handed bat who projects to hit for good average and plenty of power. Hosmer is good defensively and has a good throwing arm at first, but lacks speed on the base paths. Hosmer is considered to be the best high school bat in the draft and should move fairly quickly through the minors for a high school kid.
Aaron Crow:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of Missouri
Birthdate: 11/11/1986
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Crow is a big right hander who has three plus pitches; a fastball that reaches 96, a hard slider, and a change-up. He has good command, especially with the fastball, and maintains his velocity well. Crow is aggressive and is perhaps the best college arm in the draft.
Brian Matusz:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of San Diego
Birthdate: 02/11/1987
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Matusz has four pitches, all at least average. He throws a fastball in the low 90's, a slider, a plus change up, and his out pitch is a big curve. It has been noted that he doesn't work off his fastball as much as needed but he has good command and will throw any pitch at anytime. Matusz is argueably the top rated pitcher in the draft.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Unbelievable
Last night's game was a new low, even for the Royals. In fact I had to wait to even post about it to avoid an expletive laden post, luckily Guillen provided the expletives after the game...more later.
So if you missed the game (good for you), but let me fill you in. Livan Hernandez, already 2-0 against the Royals was making his third start against our boys. The Royals loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first-then Guillen hit into a double play and then Olivo popped out. Perfect I thought, 3 hits and 1 run...sounds about right for this club.
As it turned out that 1 run was just the start for the offense tonight, they really poured it on against Hernandez, in 6+ innings the Royals scored 8 runs off 13 hits. Greinke also showed up tonight, he pitched 8 innings giving up only 3 runs.
So this is the set-up: Top of 9 and the Royals are up 8-3. In comes dependable Ramon Ramirez and his 2.14 ERA to close the door. Ramirez quickly strikes out Cuddyer, then Kubel singles, but Ramirez comes back and strikes out Young-two outs, up 5 runs...good bye losing streak. Then Ramirez throws a wild pitch, lamb then singles...then Harris...then Gomez. Out comes Hillman, obviously Rarmirez doesn't have it tonight-time to bring in Sor..er wait, Peralta!?!?
Peralta vs Monroe, 2 outs,2 on with the score 8-5...no sweat right? Couldn't be more wrong, Monroe homers to tie the score. 8-8, oh...my...god. Top of 10 and Peralta comes back out and quickly gives up the game winning home run to Morneau. The Royals lose 9-8 in 10 innings.
This loss has to fall on Hillman's shoulders, sure Soria pitched in back to back games but you need to bring in your closer in situations like this to put a streak to an end. Hillman, in the postgame, said that "I’m not willing to possibly jeopardize the rest of the season with one of the biggest strengths on our club", in reference to not bringing in Soria.
That wasn't the only curious decision Hillman made, DeJesus was pulled because of "hives" and he was replaced in right field by Gload. Why not put Gload at first and put Teahen in right field...he is the right fielder. That decision is curious because Gload failed to make a play on a fairly easy play in shallow right field which could of easily been the third out.
So on to Guillen, he had a few comments after the game, and I think they were much needed. “Too many babies in here,” Guillen fumed afterward in an otherwise hushed clubhouse. “They don’t know how to play the game and how to win games. That’s the problem here.
“Now I know why this organization has been losing for a while. Now I know. It doesn’t have anything to do with our manager. He cares more than anyone.”
It will be interesting to see how the Royals react to Guillens comments. It could fire them up and lead to some guys stepping up or it could alienate Guillen from all the "babies" in the clubhouse. I hope the players take these words to heart and step up because Guillen is absolutely right. These guys don't know how to win.
So if you missed the game (good for you), but let me fill you in. Livan Hernandez, already 2-0 against the Royals was making his third start against our boys. The Royals loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first-then Guillen hit into a double play and then Olivo popped out. Perfect I thought, 3 hits and 1 run...sounds about right for this club.
As it turned out that 1 run was just the start for the offense tonight, they really poured it on against Hernandez, in 6+ innings the Royals scored 8 runs off 13 hits. Greinke also showed up tonight, he pitched 8 innings giving up only 3 runs.
So this is the set-up: Top of 9 and the Royals are up 8-3. In comes dependable Ramon Ramirez and his 2.14 ERA to close the door. Ramirez quickly strikes out Cuddyer, then Kubel singles, but Ramirez comes back and strikes out Young-two outs, up 5 runs...good bye losing streak. Then Ramirez throws a wild pitch, lamb then singles...then Harris...then Gomez. Out comes Hillman, obviously Rarmirez doesn't have it tonight-time to bring in Sor..er wait, Peralta!?!?
Peralta vs Monroe, 2 outs,2 on with the score 8-5...no sweat right? Couldn't be more wrong, Monroe homers to tie the score. 8-8, oh...my...god. Top of 10 and Peralta comes back out and quickly gives up the game winning home run to Morneau. The Royals lose 9-8 in 10 innings.
This loss has to fall on Hillman's shoulders, sure Soria pitched in back to back games but you need to bring in your closer in situations like this to put a streak to an end. Hillman, in the postgame, said that "I’m not willing to possibly jeopardize the rest of the season with one of the biggest strengths on our club", in reference to not bringing in Soria.
That wasn't the only curious decision Hillman made, DeJesus was pulled because of "hives" and he was replaced in right field by Gload. Why not put Gload at first and put Teahen in right field...he is the right fielder. That decision is curious because Gload failed to make a play on a fairly easy play in shallow right field which could of easily been the third out.
So on to Guillen, he had a few comments after the game, and I think they were much needed. “Too many babies in here,” Guillen fumed afterward in an otherwise hushed clubhouse. “They don’t know how to play the game and how to win games. That’s the problem here.
“Now I know why this organization has been losing for a while. Now I know. It doesn’t have anything to do with our manager. He cares more than anyone.”
It will be interesting to see how the Royals react to Guillens comments. It could fire them up and lead to some guys stepping up or it could alienate Guillen from all the "babies" in the clubhouse. I hope the players take these words to heart and step up because Guillen is absolutely right. These guys don't know how to win.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Who's to blame for the losing streak?
First let me start off by saying that I have nothing groundbreaking to say here, I don't know why the Royals are playing like third graders and I don't know how to fix it-I'm just here to vent. So here is my list of people to blame for the streak.
1. Mark Teahen: 2-20 with 0 extra base hits, 1 RBI, and 7 walks. Teahen is a big guy (6'3" and 210 pounds) yet he has only 10 Extra base hits in 173 at bats. The Royals can not get that kind of production from a corner outfielder and get away with it.
2. Tony Pena jr: 3-21 with 0 extra base hits, 0 RBI, and 0 walks. I love the guys defense like everybody else but his production offensively is a real problem for this team.
3. Billy Butler: 4-26 with 0 extra base hits, 0 RBI, and 0 walks. The league has made their adjustments now it's up to Butler to counter. The kid is just to big to not drive the ball.
4. Mike Barnett: The Royals hitting instructor has to take some of the blame for the terrible production. The Royals are last in runs scored, home runs, and RBI. 26th in OBP and 29th in SLG.
5. Brian Bannister: He has had only 1 start during this streak but he has been pretty bad since the middle of April going 1-6, allowing 5 or more runs in 4 of those games.
6. Trey Hillman: Can you really blame the manager for a bad streak? As a fan, you bet I can. Hillman needs to instill some of his toughness on this team. Tony Musers' statement about a cookies and milk team has never fit any better. Marcum hit 3 batters Monday, nobody seemed to take offense.
7. Brett Tomko: Tomko has shown flashes of being decent this year but you wont find any evidence of that in his last 2 starts. 0-2, 10.1 IP allowing 11 ER.
8. Ross Gload: 1-11 with 0 extra-bats hits, 0 RBI, and 3 SO. So he hasn't played much but when he has he has been awful. "IchiGload" still hasn't seen a pitch he won't swing at.
9. Dayton Moore: Moore has gotten a lot of passes from fans and media but he needs to make a few roster moves to shake things up. If you aren't going to play like a Major Leaguer then you don't deserve to be on the 25-man roster.
10. Luke Hochaver: 0-2 in 12 innings, he has allowed 12 runs (8 earned) on 11 hits and 10 walks. Hochaver has pitched well, his only glaring problem is his walks. He allows far to many men on base and some bad defense has allowed those men to score.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Forbes: Business of Baseball
Today Forbes released it's annual "Business of Baseball" report and to nobodies surprise the #1 franchise is the game (in terms of worth) is the Yankees at 1.306 billion dollars; the Florida Marlins rank #30th at 256 million dollars. So where do the Royals stand?
The Royals come in at #27 in league with an estimated worth of 301 million dollars, that's a 7% increase from last year when they were worth an estimated 282 million. Not a bad investment for David Glass who paid 96 million for the team in 2000. A breakdown of a few other numbers:
Revenue- 131 million (123 million in '07)
Operating Income- 7.4 million (8.4 million in '07)
Player Expense- 74 million (66 million in '07)
Gate Receipts- 24 million (19 million)
The Royals come in at #27 in league with an estimated worth of 301 million dollars, that's a 7% increase from last year when they were worth an estimated 282 million. Not a bad investment for David Glass who paid 96 million for the team in 2000. A breakdown of a few other numbers:
Revenue- 131 million (123 million in '07)
Operating Income- 7.4 million (8.4 million in '07)
Player Expense- 74 million (66 million in '07)
Gate Receipts- 24 million (19 million)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
2008 Preview
Well today was the official start of the 2008 season when the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland A's 6-5 in 10 innings but I'm not going to let a little thing like that hamper my blogging plans.
Over the next couple of days I'm going to gather as many 2008 preview/prediction articles as I can find and post them here for our enjoyment now and at the end of the season. So let's get it started.
Sports Illustrated had the most complete, enjoyable, and objective preview I could find so they go first. Where do they place the Royals? 73-89, 17 games back of the first place Tigers.
ESPN has an annoying video preview and don't even mention the Royals but the graphic they show at the end has the Royals in dead last.
Fox also has video preview but it's a little more enjoyable, Ken Rosenthal is a good baseball guy.
The guys at Baseball Analysts put together a round table with a few local notables and the consensus seems to be a third place finish for the Royals.
I've never even heard of these guys before but the Associated Content's William Cohen has the most laughable prediction I have found. He takes every jab he can at the Royals and essentially has no clue about the team.
Armchair GM has the Royals at 64-98 (I'm not making this up)
207 Prospectus is an ok read despite the page being really hard to read...oh yeah, another last place finish for the Royals.
To save you from work Royal Impressions has a 78-84 prediction for the Royals
Over the next couple of days I'm going to gather as many 2008 preview/prediction articles as I can find and post them here for our enjoyment now and at the end of the season. So let's get it started.
Sports Illustrated had the most complete, enjoyable, and objective preview I could find so they go first. Where do they place the Royals? 73-89, 17 games back of the first place Tigers.
ESPN has an annoying video preview and don't even mention the Royals but the graphic they show at the end has the Royals in dead last.
Fox also has video preview but it's a little more enjoyable, Ken Rosenthal is a good baseball guy.
The guys at Baseball Analysts put together a round table with a few local notables and the consensus seems to be a third place finish for the Royals.
I've never even heard of these guys before but the Associated Content's William Cohen has the most laughable prediction I have found. He takes every jab he can at the Royals and essentially has no clue about the team.
Armchair GM has the Royals at 64-98 (I'm not making this up)
207 Prospectus is an ok read despite the page being really hard to read...oh yeah, another last place finish for the Royals.
To save you from work Royal Impressions has a 78-84 prediction for the Royals
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Are the Royals a .500 team?
Optimism abounds this time of year and everyone is excited about this teams future but in 2008 I say they come a few wins short of .500. The AL Central boasts two of the best teams in all of baseball in the Tigers and the Indians whom the Royals will play 18 times each and I don't expect the Twins and White Sox to roll over either.
Looking back at last years squad and the Royals had some ugly numbers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Here is a look at a few of them:
Runs 706 (27 /30)
Batting Average .261 (22/30)
Home Runs 102 (30/30)
Those are some ugly numbers. The Royals brought in Jose Guillen (.290/23/99) and Miguel Olivo (.237/16/60) to help lift this offense. In addition most expect Alex Gordon and Billy Butler to have better numbers in their sophomore season, and Dayton Moore is on record as saying David DeJesus is capable of reaching 200 hits. The Royals also seem high on Alberto Callaspo who they got from Arizona in an off season trade and his numbers thus far in spring are positive (.356/.408/.556).
On the pitching side the Rotation seems to be fairly strong one through three with Meche, Bannister and Greinke; as for the fourth and fifth spot I think you'll see Bale and Tomko. The bullpen which was so successful last year has been revamped, gone are Riske, Dotel, and Greinke, in are Mahey, Yabuta, and a handful yet to be named. Peralta, Gobble and Soria all locks while Nunez and De La Rosa seem likely.
Put this all together and the Royals for the first time in a decade have a core of young players on both sides of the ball who have big league talent. Royals fans have a legitimate reason to be excited about this year and the future.
My prediction is 78-84, a nine game improvement and good for 3rd in the division.
Looking back at last years squad and the Royals had some ugly numbers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Here is a look at a few of them:
Runs 706 (27 /30)
Batting Average .261 (22/30)
Home Runs 102 (30/30)
Those are some ugly numbers. The Royals brought in Jose Guillen (.290/23/99) and Miguel Olivo (.237/16/60) to help lift this offense. In addition most expect Alex Gordon and Billy Butler to have better numbers in their sophomore season, and Dayton Moore is on record as saying David DeJesus is capable of reaching 200 hits. The Royals also seem high on Alberto Callaspo who they got from Arizona in an off season trade and his numbers thus far in spring are positive (.356/.408/.556).
On the pitching side the Rotation seems to be fairly strong one through three with Meche, Bannister and Greinke; as for the fourth and fifth spot I think you'll see Bale and Tomko. The bullpen which was so successful last year has been revamped, gone are Riske, Dotel, and Greinke, in are Mahey, Yabuta, and a handful yet to be named. Peralta, Gobble and Soria all locks while Nunez and De La Rosa seem likely.
Put this all together and the Royals for the first time in a decade have a core of young players on both sides of the ball who have big league talent. Royals fans have a legitimate reason to be excited about this year and the future.
My prediction is 78-84, a nine game improvement and good for 3rd in the division.
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