High Mileage

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 6, 2013 -> 01:53 PM) Alex Gordon could've been had pretty easily a few years ago, right? Before they moved him to left? He could have been had, but the price was never rumored to be cheap. QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 6, 2013 -> 04:17 PM) royals pen has looked shaky in this series It's look shaky often this season. I was not in favor of letting Soria go, although I do believe in the 8/9 combo of Herrera/Holland. It's going to be hard for them to be as good as they were last year. QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ May 6, 2013 -> 04:25 PM) THANK GOODNESS NO MORE REX HUDLER I wish I could say the same.

Lots of season left to be played fellas. You just have a few guys not contributing much right now. I'm baffled as to why anybody would walk Getz. He literally brings almost nothing to the plate. Royals 11th comeback win already this season, Alex Gordon has been so clutch, if he keeps it up he'll be an All-Star starter.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 5, 2013 -> 03:01 PM) Not much different? Come on, they added 3 starting pitchers to a team that everyone used to say "their offense is really good, if only they could add starting pitching". They did it, and they're a much more balanced team now. And it all started with picking Jeremy Guthrie off the scrap heap last July, he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball since coming to KC. White Sox saw SIX pitches in the top of the 6th...

Quintana doing his best Bruce Chen impression today. Francoeur is his kryptonite though.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 4, 2013 -> 07:59 PM) Will likely be another first tonight....Guthrie hasn't had a complete game yet this season. First career shutout in 216 starts as well. QUOTE (DirtySox @ May 4, 2013 -> 08:25 PM) I've been wondering what they would add at the deadline if in the running for a playoff spot. They still have some pretty nice prospects in that system. Getz is becoming a problem with his bat. Elliott Johnson has been getting more playing time, but nobody is convinced he's the answer. Semi-prospect Johnny Giavotella is hitting in Triple-A, but he's striking out a ton, his defense sucks, and he's showed very little in KC over three stints. Former top pick Christian Colon isn't hitting well in Triple-A. So yeah, 2nd base is an issue. And of course Francoeur still sucks. He's got a great arm but other than that he's a defensive liability. He's swings at everything, doesn't make a lot if contact, and never walks. Most Royals fans prefer Jarrod Dyson in center with Lorenzo Cain moving to right. Dyson doesn't have any power but makes decent contact, can take a walk, and is one of the fastest players in baseball. He's a defensive upgrade over Cain defensively too. We've still got some nice prospects but the only ones close to the bigs are all pitchers. Guthrie has now pitched 44 innings over 5 starts as a Royal against the White Sox. He's allowed 2 earned runs. He came into the game with a 0.50 ERA against them and managed to lower it to 0.04, wow.

Are we talking about the same guy? Ervin Santana didn't pitch in the '05 World Series. He did pitch in the '05 ALCS against the Sox. He had a terrible outing though: 4.1 innings, 3 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned, 2 homers, 3 walks, 2 K's, and a hit batter. He's definitely been inconsistent over the last few years, the Royals got him for next to nothing, but taking on his $12M salary is and was a huge risk. Guthrie has been great. The Royals dealt Melky Cabrera to San Francisco for Jonathan Sanchez. Cabrera went on to have career year (before being suspended for PEDs) and came back to KC and won All-Star Game MVP on our field. Meanwhile Sanchez was even worse and more disliked in KC than Luke Hochevar. In true Royals fashion, they kept running him out there. He was getting booed mercilessly just walking out to the mound. Somehow the Royals got somebody to take him, and got Guthrie, who was having a terrible season for the Rockies. Considering Melky's suspension and terrible start for the Jays this year, and Sanchez was even worse for the Rockies last year and Pirates this year (he was just released), that Melky-for-Sanchez trade doesn't look too bad. I am a little concerned that they gave then 33-year-old (now 34) Guthrie a 3-year deal for $25M.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2013 -> 12:18 AM) Is Shields teaching his cutter to some of the Royals' pitchers? Supposedly, that was one of the main reasons Maddon wanted him out in TB, along with his increasing salary...and his leadership/veteran status in the clubhouse, he was pretty influential and outspoken. They (the Rays as an organization) felt that the best way to lose velocity quickly was overreliance on the cutter, and Shields is a big proponent of that pitch....whereas the Rays teach their minor leaguers to use a fastball, change and then curve and slider is the least favored option but they live with it. The biggest worry about Santana is his stuff. His K ratio has been way down, along with his velocity. Maybe he's learning how to be a better pitcher (see Jake Peavy) and can no longer rely on blowing people away. However, over time, the more contact you're giving up...the good results tend to even out with those BABIP stats if they're out of whack. I haven't heard anything about Shields teaching his new teammates his cutter, nor anything about issues with Joe Maddon, but it's certainly possible. As far as Santana, I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. This season, his K/9 and K/BB are way up, BB/9 is way down. In 2008 he had the best season of his career, and in the 4 seasons after his K/9, K/BB, and BB/9 were actually really consistent. I have heard his velocity was down last year, as there have been rumors that he's been pitching for a while now with a partial tear, in his elbow I believe. Our TV guys have said his velocity is back up this year, whatever that's worth. Last year his biggest issue was the long ball, he lead the league. Enough of these damn postponements already, I WANT TO WATCH BASEBALL!!!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 2, 2013 -> 03:57 PM) I'm actually am taking them seriously because they've been so successful with those 3 playing as poorly as they have. It's likely that they'll play at least a little better than they have. I don't believe in the rotation either, but we'll see. I don't think they're the best team in the Central, and I don't think they're a top 5 team in the AL, sooo I don't see playoffs for them. I agree with pretty much all of this. Shields is our only starter I'm confident in at this point. Santana looks like he's regained his old form, but still too early in the season. Guthrie continues to pitch well for us, I just hope he can at least be slightly above average and stays healthy to eat up innings. Wade Davis is still working at being a starter again, he's had several outings where he's been hit hard and really labored through a lot of innings, throwing a lot of pitches to get through 5. Luis Mendoza has been a mess, and due to all the postponements, they've been able to skip him in the rotation a few times. He's running out of time, Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino will be back fairly soon. I hope Mendoza pitches well enough until then to keep Chen and Hochevar in the bullpen. Hosmer hasn't hit much, but he's at least been getting on base, and he's showed much improved patience and discipline at the plate. Moustakas has been completely lost pretty much all season. He too has shown better discipline at the plate, as his walks are up and strikeouts are down. He does have a 5-game hitting streak, and has looked a lot better over those 5. Perez has just been swinging at everything, he's collected 1 walk to go with his 19 strikeouts. I won't waste any more than this sentence on Jeff Francoeur. Thankfully other guys have been picking up their slack: Gordon (.321/.351/.495), Alcides Escobar (.291/.333/.437), Lorenzo Cain (.329/.383/.463) and even Billy Butler after a slow start (.278/.414/.430). I'm pretty pumped for this upcoming series, as long as the weather doesn't screw it all up.

Pretty important series this weekend for the White Sox and Royals. Match-ups are Guthrie/Santiago, Davis/Axelrod, and Shields/Quintana. Meanwhile, Detroit goes to Houston for 4 and Minnesota goes to Cleveland for 3. The weather around here has been bulls***. Snow in April, freezing rain in May. It's hot (88), cold, rainy, and snowy all in the last 2-3 weeks...

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 07:37 PM) Luis Mendoza is now relieving? That's a break for the Sox. He's still the #5 starter, they just had so many off days they were able to skip him in the rotation. I guess he's had issues with grip and command in the colder weather. Then Davis had a pretty s***ty outing and Mendoza came on in relief. Ervin Santana throws 7 scoreless against the Indians. It's a small sample size, but since his first start at Chicago, he's been impressive... v. Twins: 8 innings, 8 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts v. Jays: 8 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts @ Red Sox: 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts v. Indians: 7 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts

These damn postponements are getting ridiculous. Indians and Royals rained out Friday, they'll play one on Saturday, and then a doubleheader Sunday. Royals just played 2 in Boston last Sunday...

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 21, 2013 -> 09:19 PM) Royals take two in Boston today. 10-7 record, while hitting 10 homers. They got 3 tonight. It's amazing what real starting pitching can do for a team. 10 wins in 17 games, last year it took them 29 games to get to 10 wins.

Royals 5-1 since leaving Chicago. Wade Davis works out of bases loaded, no out jambs in the 1st and 2nd innings to throw 5 scoreless, then Bruce Chen adds 3 scoreless, Herrera with the save. Royals sweep the Twins. I'm going to my first game of the season Saturday, 2nd row behind the Royals' dugout. James Shields v. R.A. Dickey. I'm pretty pumped!

Very true. It's ridiculous that any of: Hochevar, Chen and Francoeur are still on the roster. Terrible waste of payroll for a small market team. I'll be glad when they come off the books either during or after this season, along with Ervin Santana's $13 million. The team won't be any worse without team, even after the James Shields trade we still have plenty of better, younger options in house. Not to mention Danny Duffy, John Lamb, and Felipe Paulino all returning from TJ.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 10:52 AM) Royals announce Mendoza as their 5th starter. Chen to the bullpen. Sox will face Shields, Santana, and Guthrie. Wade Davis is the 4th starter. Hochevar unfortunately still on the roster, but now in the bullpen at least.

Very interesting read. I am of the opinion that winning in Spring Training has very little to with winning in the regular season. FWIW, the Royals still have the best record in baseball, at 23-6.

I'm sad to see Myers AND Odorizzi go, but overall I'm happy with the trade. 2013 rotation looks like... James Shields Ervin Santana Jeremy Guthrie Wade Davis Luke Hochevar/Luis Mendoza/Bruce Chen/Felipe Paulino*/Danny Duffy* * - will begin season on DL Disappointed that Francoeur will likely be the everyday RF, and that Getz will likely be a starter as well. Extremely disappointed that Hochevar was tendered a contract.

Great to see Sanchez finally gone. Of course it was long overdue, like everything our FO does. Jim Bowden reports the Royals are trying to get the Reds or Mets to take Jeff Francoeur, to make room for Wil Myers. The Mets and Angels have been openly interested in Jonathan Broxton. I'd like to see all of that, and I'd be thrilled if they could give Betancourt away. I'm not holding my breath on any of it. This Royals team will finish in last place.

The Royals have used a franchise record 9 pitchers tonight.

How many innings will we go?

I don't believe KU has Nebraska, Colorado, or Texas A&M on the schedule either. KU's non-con in football is pretty much locked in for the next 2-3 years, and in basketball we have bigger fish to fry. Mizzou chose to leave the conference therefore they ended the rivalry. It's as simple as that. If Mizzou hadn't left, we wouldnt be having this discussion. It's as simple as that. Maybe KU and Self have been adamant they don't plan on scheduling Mizzou, but you can't expect to have it both ways. With Mizzou leaving, more focus will be put on our in-state rivalry with K-State, and I'm all for that. Now, back to the Royals. The hot rumor is that ownership doesn't want to spend much past $70M on payroll. With that kind of limit, we will not be realistic contenders in free agency. This team has a plethora of young talent, but needs big-time veteran pitcher. At least 2 starters.

Sup?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 07:58 AM) 2) It was ultimately his decision to end the Border Showdown. Mizzou wanted to continue it, he didn't. No. QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 05:00 PM) And don't talk about delusion when you're the most delusional poster on this board. KU didn't want to continue the rivalry becase when considering all sports, it's been hilariously one sided recently. Bill Self is 16-4 against Mizzou. Why would he want to stop playing them?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 8, 2012 -> 11:41 AM) One other thing people need to realize is that teams like KC and Pittsburgh have spent big on the draft to quicken their rebuilding efforts, but a good chunk of these over-slot players are Boras clients. So they'll have these guys for six years and then they're likely off to the highest bidders. IMO, the Royals are in big trouble, because by the time they develop a half-way decent pitching staff, a bunch of their position players will be gone. They've got a few pieces under team control for a while... Butler thru 2015 Gordon thru 2016 Crow thru 2016 Holland thru 2016 Collins thru 2016 Escobar thru 2017 Perez thru 2017 Hosmer thru 2017 Moustakas thru 2018 Cain thru 2018 QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Jul 8, 2012 -> 03:59 PM) I'm one of those guys at always thinks the Royals will have a break out year.....well at least the last couple years. It'd be nice for him to be good again, they have good fans that are long overdue for some success. But a lot of times you have to spend money to creat success. And spending all that money for Gil Meche wasn't the right thing to do. That was the most frustrating thing about this off-season. We've finally got a legit core of players, and a hell of a bullpen, but everybody knew the rotation was a joke IF everybody stayed healthy. The FO will go out and give Gil Meche 5-years/$55m or Jose Guillen 3-years/$36m when the team was nowhere near competing, but now they are actually close and wouldn't spend to upgrade the rotation. Pisses me off. QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 02:37 AM) I see David Glass walked out on a 610 radio interview yesterday after the questions turned to him possibly selling the team and asking him about spending money. The natives are really getting restless here. People think of the Midwest as friendly. Tonight the 40,000 at Kauffman Stadium booed Matt Cassel in the celebrity softball game heavily; the Missouri fans there rained boos on Bill Self and even former Royal Mike Sweeney got booed. I mean that is acting like Red Sox fans. Wow! Tonight at the Home Run Derby, Cano will be booed and jeered heavily for not picking Butler to compete. KC is the laughingstock of baseball the past 20 years and people here are really pissed. I mean booing Self and Cassel was embarrassing. And booing Sweeney? My god. What did he ever do??? Matt Cassel is a joke. He gets booed at Chiefs games right next door, so why wouldn't he at a Royals event? I'm a born and raised Jayhawk, but I understand the Mizzou fans booing Self. If a Mizzou coach were ever good enough to be selected to such an event, I'd boo him, and I expect a lot of people around here would. Keep in mind that the crowd isn't a majority of Royals' fans. A lot of Cardinal fans live in/near Kansas City. The Royals are Kansas' team, but with the stadium being located in Missouri, its hard to keep the trash out. I'm kind of surprised that Sweeney got booed that badly. Most people around here think he's a saint. I think he's a joke. He's always quick to point out that he never used steroids, but I think he's full of s***. As soon as he got good, he was hurt all the time. QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 01:19 PM) I think they draft poorly and develop talent even more poorly. Add it up and it equals perennial last place finishes. They could have drafted guys like Longoria, Weiters and Braun but didn't. I'm older than you guys and when I was a kid the Sox were always looking up at KC in the standings, so I say f*** them, stay in the cellar. Before Dayton Moore took over in 2006, we did draft and develop poorly. Since then things have changed a bit... QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 02:05 PM) The bad-news story circulating nationally during the All-Star Game feel-good week involves Frank White and the Royals. If Dayton really said he didn't know why Frank was upset, then he's a complete liar. Frank was booted for being critical of Royals players and coaches on their broadcasts. Only the Royals did it the chickens*** way, they had Fox Sports hire somebody else, Rex Hudler. Neither the Royals or Fox Sports ever even told Frank his contract wasn't being renewed. Frank's calls were not being answered or returned. It's ridiculous that a hometown hero is being treated the way he is by the Royals. QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 02:11 PM) You had to be there. It was a shake your head, what the f*** is going on here atmosphere. They booed Self unmercifully each time at bat. It was stupid and out of place at an event like that. And the booing of Cassel was sickening. Again, just the mention of "Kansas City" should have brought out polite cheers. I blame it on the Internet age. Everybody hates everybody. It was ridiculous booing of the local people involved in the game. And booing Sweeney? WTF? These people are f***ing insane out here. They hate everybody. No. QUOTE (Carter224 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 07:04 PM) What a pathetic crowd in Kansas City, but thats not suprising either.. Yeah, we're the worst.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 7, 2012 -> 06:15 PM) You got tickets to the all-star game? I do not have tickets to the ASG but I will be in attendance for tomorrow's Futures Game. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2012 -> 06:59 PM) The problem is, as soon as guys get good, they leave. KC is in the same death spiral that Oakland is in. Things use to be that way, but now they actually extend guys to get at least 2-3 more years. Greinke, Gordon, Butler, Soria, Perez, and Escobar were all extended by Dayton Moore. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 7, 2012 -> 07:58 PM) How did the Rays get out of it? Or Pittsburgh? They were even worse for even longer. They both annually had higher picks than the Royals. QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jul 7, 2012 -> 09:59 PM) the royals dont have the best bullpen(orioles) and alcides escobar is not the best hitting ss in the a.l. not even close, there are atleast 7 better hitting short stops , with asdrubal leading the way Well the bullpen thing must've recently changed. It may have been early last week but I heard it numerous times on our Fox Sports broadcasts. Escobar has the highest average among AL shortstops. He's third in OBP, second in SLG, second in OPS. Third in total hits, tied for first in doubles. I guess I shouldn't have been so vague.