A farewell.

As my final post here I was hoping that the Royals would give me a weekend of joy to write about. Sadly they provided us with a disastrous weekend instead. The Cardinals came in and out hit us, out pitched us, and outplayed us.

• Jonathan Sanchez must go now. He has no control and when he pitches this team seems destined to lose no matter what. Coming in we were all hoping for the guy who would get into trouble but his ability to strike guys at nearly 10 per 9 innings. Unfortunately they got a guy who walks 7 per 9 and only strikes out 6 per 9. Dayton Moore can't keep trotting him on the field hoping he changes. He needs to have the guts to admit that missed on the trade and cut his losses. Sadly they may not happen  for awhile.
• Wil Myers needs to be here now. I keep saying it, but I'm beginning to think we won't see him for a month or so, if that's true Dayton Moore is making a huge mistake. 
• The Bullpen has been great, but its starting to look like those guys are tiring. If we don't fix the starting pitching they may fade quite a bit in the second half which is unfortunate. 

Not a lot to say because truthfully this weekend hurt deeply. However look forward to me writing posts now for pinetarpress.com. Until then Let's Go Royals.

What A Weekend

There is something about the St. Louis Cardinals that I really hate. Partly its because their fans call themselves "the best fans in baseball", a little because they have had success where the Royals have not, and mostly because my crazy psycho ex-girlfriend was a Cardinals fan. Because of all that this weekend was oh sweet as the Royals took 2 out of 3 from the hated red birds in three very entertaining games.

• Vin Mazzaro has been everything we hoped for when we traded for him. With a 3-1 record and a 2.57 E.R.A, he has given the Royals rotation a much needed boost. I'm not ready to say that Mazzaro is as good as these early stats, but I am ready to say that he gets the rest of the season to show that he is. 
• The Royals are only 5 games back as they head to Houston. Another couple series wins and suddenly they might be real players in this division. If they do get into this division and become buyers, they should be looking at trading for a pitcher who they think they can sign a deal to in the offseason. Don't get rid of prospects unless it gets us a piece for the future. 
• Wil Myers went 4-5 yesterday in Omaha. His only out was an 11-pitch fly out. Seriously there is no reason for him to not be in uniform for the Royals tonight. He is an immediate upgrade over Jarrod Dyson, Mitch Maier, and Jeff Francoeur. He would add a needed pop to this lineup as well as give Ned more options off the bench in these NL games. Sadly the Royals will continue to wait for some unexplained reason.
• Salvador Perez will be back next week and that is probably the best news the Royals have gotten all year. Humberto Quintero has been awful. He has bad defense, bead offense, and makes racist gestures on tv. The dude needs to go as soon as Perez is healthy and back. 
• Luis Mendoza has given us back-to-back good starts, and is surprisingly a very valuable piece for this team. However that value is in the bullpen, and not as a starter. He is great for 5 innings, but after that teams, especially AL teams, really start to hit him. As a long reliever/ spot starter he is in his best position to succeed.
  

With a winnable series in Houston followed by a visit from the hated Cardinals, the Royals are in position to make some noise. Until next time Let's Go Royals. 

Perfect time for a sweep

Last weekend the Royals hit there low point of the season. They had just lost 4 in a row and sat just half a game out of last place. The offense was inept while the pitching was good, but not good enough. Then the Brewers came into town while the offense remained for the most part inept, the Royals got enough offense to go with the fantastic pitching and one three games all in dramatic fashion. Now the Royals go on the road against the Cardinals and Astros with a chance to really get back in the division.

• Luis Mendoza's 6 innings of no-hit ball was quite possibly the best pitching performance we have seen so far from the pitching staff. His sinker was working and he really had the Brewers confused and hitting everything weakly. I truly expected the Brewers to light him up, so I was elated when he was shutting them down. I really don't expect Luis to stay in the rotation for long, but if somehow he can maintain it the Royals may have that Gem that Dayton Moore desired. 
• A thought that crossed my mind while Mendoza was doing his thing, could the Royals somehow get anything for him. I think a NL team could maybe find some value in Mendoza's flexibility. If Dayton can get anything for him he really should try.
• On Wednesday we saw something from Jonathan Sanchez, he actually struck some guys out. What has made Sanchez such a bad pitcher so far this year, was his inability to get the strikeout. He got 5 in his last start. If he can build upon that maybe he can turn this season around. 
• Eric Hosmer is almost back. He crushed a 450ft home run last night while taking several walks in the series. It looks like he may finally be seeing the ball better. If he can get hot this offense may truly wake up. 
• I'm not ready to say Hochevar has turned it around. I know he had a great start last night, but I really think he is destined to become a bullpen arm. However if he can pitch like last night consistently for 10+ starts, then maybe just maybe we might get something out of him in the future.
• Wil Myers needs to be here! I say it every time, but after another home run he really needs to be here to help this pedestrian offense.

If the Royal can take 2 from the Cardinals them suddenly they are real players in the central. I hate the Cardinals so much, so I really hope we sweep them. Until net time Let's Go Royals.

What...is...happening?

Think about this season with me for a second:

The Royals lose their closer, center fielder, catcher and fan-favorite young arm all in two months.

A 12-game (10 at home) losing streak ends all buzz about #OurTime before it really gets off the ground.

Eric Hosmer has the most unlucky streak among major league players (extremely low BABIP).

All that and the Royals were only 6 games back of .500 last week.  But then a golden opportunity is wasted by losing 5 of 6 to Minnesota and Pittsburgh.

If the Royals could've won 4 of 6 they'd be tied with Detroit.  And then there's a good chance that:

Wil Myers is called up.

Jake Odorizzi at least gets a look to come up.

The Royals are in the race, only back five games of Chicago.

This was THE most critical stage of the Royals' season, and they failed miserably.  The rotation is in shambles, the offense is inept, and there is really no reason to start the service clocks of prize prospects until it's Our Time in 2013.  This has just been a confusing, sad, embarrassing moment in Royals' history.

The Royals: Experts in futility and hope

Another series in the books, and another pathetic showing from the Kansas City Royals. This time to the Royals were beaten down by the offensively challenged Pirates. Now to be fair the Pirates are a decent team in a playoff race, but we should be able to win a game against their offense. Sadly the Royals could only muster 7 measly runs in losing all 3 games. The pitching was actually pretty good, but the offense we thought would be near the top is letting us down.

• The offensive struggles can be contributed to regression from Hosmer, Gordon, Franceur, and even Butler. Or the injuries the injuries to Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez. Whatever the reason the Royals need to shake things up a little to get out of this offensive funk.
• The most obvious move is to get Wil Myers in KC. I can't believe I'm still having to say this. What more does the guy have to do to get the call up? He is killing AAA pitching and looks prepared to become a force in this lineup. It's not like Franceur, Dyson, Maier, or even Gordon are playing at such a high level that he wouldn't see the field. You can let him play all the outfield positions giving every one a day off or two, it doesn't matter, just get him in the majors now. 
• Another Shake-up would be to fire Ned Yost. I am definitely not a fan of Mr. Yost, in fact I kinda think he is an idiot. Still his over-managing consistently gets in the way of the offense having any chance to break out. Sure the players still have to perform, but if they had new leadership maybe they would be put in a better position to succeed. 
• We get a visit from a old friend on Tuesday, as Zack Greinke returns to the K as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. From a fans perspective it would be really cool if the Royals called up Jake Odorrizi for this start. Odorizzi as you recall was a piece in the Grienke trade, and if he got his major league debut  against Greinke that would be must see TV.
• From a baseball side I actually like the idea of Odorizzi making a spot start. He doesn't have to stay in the majors if they don't want. Because starting anyone over Mendoza is a huge improvement

While this weekend was bad there is a lot of good still going on in the organization. Many of the prospects had big games, and there is a future. It is just really hard to see right now. Hopefully next time I will be talking about how we beat Greinke, until then Let's Go Royals!

Major Announcements and Wil Myer

The Royals opened the day by saying they had a Major Announcement to make. Twitter was a buzz with everything from Wil Myers promotion, to Luke Hochevar being Dfa'd. It was obviously the signing of first round pick Kyle Zimmer. The fact that he is signed 3 days after being drafted is huge for the team. As said Zimmer should be a quick mover in the system, getting him signed means right now we can hope to see him in a Royals uniform by early 2014.

• Royals saved 500k on the signing of Zimmer which they used to ensure they got 3rd round pick Colin Rodgers signed. Getting these picks signed and playing is huge for this team going forward.
• Bubba Starling will finally be assigned to Burlington. It will be nice to see him play in a game. I have high hopes for him in the future, but it will take a while before we see him in a Royals uniform. 
• Salvador Perez had his first rehab start tonight in Omaha. That is probably the best thing I've heard all year. When Perez went down, it was the largest blow to this teams success. Having him return healthy will not only make this offense, but also the pitching staff. 
• Speaking of the offense, the Royals offense has really sucked lately. I think this offense can be really good when healthy, but right now with Hosmer and Gordon struggling, Jarod Dyson and Quintero in the everyday lineup, and Yuni making want to pull my hair out, this offense will be mediocre at best. 
• An answer that will solve the Royals offense is, CALL WIL MYERS UP. Right now nobody is showing power like Myers in the minors. If he could be put into the bottom part of this lineup initially, suddenly this lineup will have some power that it needs.
  
  Interleague play  resumes tomorrow and hopefully the Royals can get back to owning the national league. Until next time Lets Go Royals.

Draft and Bunts

Last night the MLB draft overshadowed the Royals game. With their first pick the Royals selected Kyle Zimmer out of San Francisco. Truthfully I haven't really seen him pitch, but I have done a lot of research on him. From what I can gather he will be a quick mover that can strikeout guys. I liked him going into draft day, and love that the Royals grabbed him.

• A lot of people were mad that the Royals didn't grab Mark Appel who had fallen and was available. While I think Appel could turn out to be a really good pitcher, he reminds me too much of Luke Hochevar. Dealing with one Hochevar is enough for this lifetime.
• In the actual baseball game last night, Ned Yost proved yet again he is clueless. In the 4th inning the Royals were trailing the twins 4-1. After a couple hits and a couple errors from the twins, the game was tied at 4. Runners were on at 1st and 3rd and no out with Alcides Escobar at the plate.  What does Ned do? He bunts giving a free out to a struggling pitcher who then strikes out the bottom two in the Royals order. Killing not only that inning, but really the Royals for the rest of the game. Ned has to go, I have said it before and I will continue to say it.
• Also last night Will Smith got his 3rd start. I am a believer in him, but after last night he should go back down to AAA for the rest of the season. He still needs a little time learning how to consistently get guys out. 
• That being said I am very glad the Royals called him up and let him pitch. This experience can only make him better. I wish they would now do the same with guys like Mike Montgomery and Ryan Verdugo. Letting those guys see what its like to consistently get Major Leaguers out will help them contribute on this competing team in the future.

The Royals need to take the next two games from the twins, so until next time. Lets Go Royals.