Melville Shines in Debut, Trey Hillman Sucks..

I am getting sick and tired of watching Trey Hillman make stupid decision after stupid decision.  George Brett can bitch and moan all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that the media complain about Trey's moves because the media know what the hell they're talking about..

Pulling Gil Meche after 87 pitches when he's got the best stuff he's had all season - mistake

Replacing him with Jamey Wright who's practically already thrown his arm off and it's not even June yet - mistake

Replacing him with Sidney Ponson who obviously sucks.. - mistake

Bunting DDJ over with John Buck in the 6th (I think) inning with 1 out - mistake

You think that it's not a big deal, but when we're 4 games out of the playoffs in September remember nights like tonight, when a competent manager who would bring in a guy like Robinson Tejada with the bases loaded instead of bringing him in to clean up Hooch's mess.. it just doesn't make any sense..  Use your best pitchers in the close games and let them pitch the most innings.  Jamey Wright has had a nice start to the season, but the dude wasn't even on a major league contract before the end of ST.  He's already thrown like 500 innings and his stuff isn't electric.  I know that Joakim is hurt, but jeez, don't act like our bullpen is 05 status.. it's clearly better than that. 

Look at it this way, of the 4 pitchers that pitched tonight, they would rank like this in terms of current ability:

Meche
Tejada

Wright
Ponson

So why don't you let Meche pitch into the 7th and if he has some trouble bring in Tejada to bail him out, we're up 2 runs at that point, shouldn't you use your 2nd best pitcher, remember, as you achieve outs, there are less opportunities for the other team to score and win, so while the outs are more "valuable" in the 9th than in the 1st (think of it like the clock ticks faster after the 2 minute warning than before in football) it's also more difficult to come back because you have less chances to screw up.  Use your better pitchers while you have the lead, don't let your worse pitchers come in and screw it up.  Jamey Wright got screwed on a HBP call but that doesn't make it ok to bring in an even worse pitcher in Sidney Ponson, who is 1-5 now, btw.  It frustrates me to no end, and I really want Trey fired.  Seriously.

Whatever.

Hitter of the Game

I guess Jose Guillen.  Jose was 2-4 with a walk, 2 k's 2 RBI and a run scored.  One of his hits was a double.

Pitcher of the Game

Gil threw 87 pitches, 55 were for strikes.  His line ended up looking like this: 6 ip, 6 h, 2 er, 1 bb, 2 k.. the k's are lower than you'd like, but he wasn't bad at all.. a lot of ground ball outs and not many hard hit balls..

Tomorrow

The Don pitches tomorrow.  He'll face off against Carl Pavano in an epic battle (just kidding I hope) in an afternoon game.  First pitch is at 1:10.  If you CAN go, then you SHOULD go.

Minor League Notables

Derrick Robinson had another 2 hit night, going 2-5 with a run scored and 2 more stolen bases.

Mike Moustakas was 3-5 with a double, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.

Johnny Giavotella got on base 3 times as he was 1-3 with a triple, an RBI, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored.

Danny Duffy earned the win tonight as he went 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits 2 walks while striking out 5.  He is now 5-1 with a 3.43 ERA.. I'll take it.

Nick Van Stratten was 4-4 tonight with a double, a triple, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI and a walk and a  stolen base.  Alright!

Tim Melville made his 2009 debut tonight, he pitched 6 innings, allowing just one run on 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 2.  He earned the win.

Thanks for reading!

I keep waiting for them to lose.. still waiting..

Wow..

I missed the game live, but I watched it after I got home, and I can hardly believe me eyes.  This team is on fire right now.  Period.  I know that it was Carlos Silva that we hit hard, but still..

The offense was great again, working 4 walks against 2 strikeouts.  The pitching, meanwhile, struck out just 3, but walked just 1.

Our record is 17-11 now, and we're still alone atop the Central.. Nice..

Hitter of the Game

Mark Teahen earns the award with his 3-5 with a HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs, no strikeouts or walks.  Teahen is now hitting .307/.397/.485 on the season.

Pitcher of the Game

Mr. 1 Strikeout, Sidney Ponson earns the award.  Sidney threw 7.1 innings of 1 run ball, giving up 8 hits while walking 1 and striking out 1.  Of his 8 hits, 3 went for extra bases (all were doubles).

Tomorrow

Banny faces off against Jarrod Washburn tomorrow at 1:10 central time.

Thanks for reading, Minor League Notables is taking a day off, but will be back tomorrow!

Royals are streaking at the top of the Central..

Wow.  Another great game.  I can't remember a streak of such great games in a row in a long time.  The Royals again eek one out in extra innings, 8-7 over the ChiSox.  Davies had another bad start, which is troubling, but what is encouraging is that the Royals fought back and won after being down by 4 runs twice and 3 runs once.

Callaspo continues to pound the ball, is leading the league in doubles, has 2 hr, and is leading the team in IBB.  IF he continues to hit like this he HAS to hit third in our lineup at some point.

Zack Greinke's ERA+ came out today.  It's at 1,173.  Dallas Braden is 2nd in the AL with a 212 ERA+.  Thoughts?

On that note, Greinke won the AL pitcher of the month award for April.  Duh.

The offense was sick tonight, drawing 11 walks against 8 strikeouts.  The pitchers dished out just 5 walks against 11 strikeouts.  I love these numbers!

Hitter of the Game

Mike Jacobs.  It could go to any number of players, Crisp, Buck, Callaspo, Butler all were very important, but I'm going to go with the guy who turned a 5-1 blowout into a 5-4 ball game with the longest HR in Kauffman that I have ever seen.  Mike was just 1-5 with 2 strikeouts and a walk, 3 rbi and a run scored.  He is hitting .241 on the season, but his presence in the clubhouse has been tremendous.

Pitcher of the Game

Jamey Wright earns this award tonight.  Jamey threw 3 awesome innings and pitched around some shaky defense, too.  He gave up 3 hits and struck out 3 over those 3 innings, and walked no one.  His ERA on the season is a nice 1.45.

Tomorrow

The Royals and Sidney Ponson take on the M's and Carlos Silva in a matchup of two ERAs over 7.  Should be an interesting game, probably not a 1-0 score.

Minor League Notables

Brandon Duckworth threw 7 innings of 1 run ball today.  He gave up 6 hits, 1 bb, and struck out 3.

AA Northwest Arkansas was rained out AGAIN.

High A Wilmington got rain shortened to 7 innings and was 2 hit by Potomac.

Derrick Robinson and Paulo Orlando had the only 2 hits.

A Burlington got 3 hit in a full game by Wisconsin.

Kyle Martin had 2 hits and Nicholas Francis had the other hit.

Thanks for reading.

Ponson Experiment Over?

I must stress I have no exclusive knowledge as to what Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman are thinking.  I just know that when you have a team that is 12-11 and a starting pitcher that is 0-4 with an ERA above 7, it is unlikely that said pitcher will be in the rotation for long.

Needless to say Ponson was awful tonight.  disclaimer: I did not actually watch the game.  I did look at the box score, though, which lists Ponson as: 4.1 IP 9 H 7 ER 1 BB 1 K 1 HR.  Awful.  10 baserunners in 4.1 innings is way too much, especially when 5 of those baserunners reached base with extra base hits.  Even if Hoch isn't ready yet, there is no doubt in my mind that the Royals would be better off with Duckworth, Matt Wright, Heath Phillips, Lenny DiNardo, hell, maybe even Bruce Chen.  Ponson had his shot, and he has failed.  Time to move on.

Speaking of moving on..

The Royals drew 0 walks tonight and struck out 8 times.  I know we're facing the Twins.. but Really?

Really?

Ugh! So frustrating..

Hitter of the Game

HoG goes to David DeJesus.  Jose Guillen had more hits, but DDJ contributed to more runs.  On the night David was 2-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored.  He did not strike out or walk.  One of his hits was a double, his third of the season.

Pitcher of the Game

Wow.  Horacio Ramirez earned the PoG award tonight.  He needed just 13 pitches to get 5 outs, including a strikeout.  He did not give up a walk, hit, or run.  With this impressive outing, he dropped his ERA to 9.00.  Nice.

Tomorrow

Brian Bannister takes on Glen Perkins in Minnesota tomorrow night.  First pitch is at 6:05, Banny will go for his 3rd win of the season.

Minor League Notables

AAA Omaha and AA Northwest Arkansas were both rained out tonight

Derrick Robinson was 1-4 with 3 Ks and a run scored.  He did steal his 12th base of the season, however.

Jeff Bianchi was 2-3 with a double and a run scored, he was caught stealing for the 2nd time this season.

Eric Hosmer scored the only run in a 1-0 Burlington Bees win.  He was 1-2 with a walk and a double.  He is batting .231/.354/.308 in 65 at bats this season.

Thanks as always for reading!

Playing Catch Up

I missed posting on the last three games due to so much homework and studying, but I do have updates for the award winners.

Hitter of the Game

David DeJesus - David was 2-4 with the only RBI Tuesday.  He had a double and did not walk or strike out

Billy Butler - Billy had the second best game of the season for a hitter (I count Teahen's 5 hit showing as #1) when he was 4-5 with a double and two home runs on Wednesday.  Butler scored 4 runs and drove in 4 runs, he did not strike out or walk.

John Buck - John had an awesome game today, driving in 5 of the Royals 8 runs.  John was 3-3 with two triples and a double and a sacrifice fly.  Interestingly enough, John did not score a run.  He did not strike out or walk.

Pitcher of the Game

Robinson Tejada - Tejada pitched 2.1 scoreless innings Tuesday after Meche left with a sore back.  Tejada gave up 2 hits including a double, walked 1 and struck out two.

Zack Greinke - Zack had his worst start of the year and still earns pitcher of the game award for Wednesday.  He allowed 2 runs in 7 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks.  Greinke struck out 8, and he still leads the AL in the triple crown.

Juan Cruz - While Davies wasn't bad, (3 runs in 5.2 innings) I'll go with Juan Cruz, who proved the Royals would be OK if Joakim had to miss an extended amount of time.  Juan earned his first save of the season (and the 2nd of his career) as he pitched a 1-2-3 scoreless ninth, striking out one hitter.

Tomorrow - Sidney Ponson will take on Kevin Slowey tomorrow night at the Metrodome.  First pitch is at 7:10, normal posts should resume tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Ponson OK as offense falters..

I guess we should be proud of Sidney Ponson for not sucking.  But while Greinke is 4-0, Sidney is 0-3.  Hey I know he pitched 8 effective innings today, and was a hanging breaking ball away from 8 great innings, but he's still 0-3, and his job is to win ball games.

That being said, the offense didn't help him out any.

Hitter of the Game

This might be the only time this year that I pick a hitter who went hitless for the hitter of the game award.  But Coco Crisp scored the first run and took 2 walks so he is going to get the award for today.  Coco did get thrown out trying to steal 2nd, but it took a perfect throw to nail him. Coco did not strike out

Pitcher of the Game

I guess Ponson will get it.  He pitched 8 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, he walked 0 batters and struck out 7.  His biggest mistake was a 2 run hr from Brandon Inge in the 2nd inning

Tomorrow

I'll be going to the game tomorrow and I'll witness Brian Bannister's 2nd start.  He'll pitch against the Blue Jays who will send David Purcey to the mound.  The Royals will try to get back above .500 again.

Minor League Notables

Jeff Bianchi had a 2 hit game, going 2-4 with a double, a hr, 3 rbi, a run scored, and a strikeout.

Mike Moustakas had a 2 hit game as well, going 2-4 with a double, a run scored, and a strikeout.

Danny Duffy had his worst start of the season, earning his first loss in a 5 inning outing, allowing 6 runs on 8 hits including 3 home runs.  Duffy struck out 1 and walked 3.

Dan Cortes pitched for AA Northwest Arkansas, and had an OK outing.  He walked 4 and struck out 2 in 5.2 innings but gave up just 2 runs on 3 hits.  His ERA is 6.23 this season.

Thanks as always for reading.  I may snap some pictures for my post tomorrow.

Royals DFA the wrong Pena.

Well, a depressing game today.  Especially considering we were facing Zach Miner.  Ugh.. oh well.  Obviously Kyle didn't have it today.  We'll have to see how he bounces back next time out.  I'm (obviously) not ready to give up on him yet.

Hitter of the Game

Coco Crisp scored the only run, so I'll give him the award, but make no mistake, the offense was awful all around today.  Coco was 1-3 with 1 run, 0 rbi, 0 k and a walk.

Pitcher of the Game

Ron Mahay gets it today.  He came in and struck out the side on 16 pitches.  Enough said.  He gave up no hits and walked no one.

Tomorrow

The Royals will finish up the Tigers series tomorrow as Sidney Ponson takes on Armando Gallaraga.  I expect another massacre.  Ugh.

DFA'd

Brayan Pena was DFAd today and all I have to say is why..  Tony Pena Jr. should have not even made this team, let alone still be hanging on.  By all accounts Brayan is a very useful player who is well.. a lot better than TPJ.  Oh well.  DFA Fail.

Minor League Notables

Derrick Robinson had a nice game, going 3-6 with 3 runs, 2 rbi, and a double.  He did not walk or strike out.  He also stole 2 bases, bring his season total to 11.

Mike Moustakas was 2-5 with a double and a home run.  Mike scored 2 runs and drove 2 in.  He did not walk or strike out.

Antonio Jimenez was 3-4 with a double and a RBI.  He also stole a base, he did not strike out or walk.

Thanks as always for reading!

Halfway There..

Well, Ponson proved he is awful yet again, but at least Horacio is out of the rotation..

Bannister will start tonight as he was recalled from Omaha yesterday and Doug Waechter was placed on the DL (Forearm Strain.. uh oh).  Sure, a lot of things went the Indians way yesterday (6 double plays by the Tribe for instance) but the sooner Ponson is out of the Rotation the better.

This is why the Royals are halfway to having their ideal rotation.

Hitter of the Game

I guess I'll go with David DeJesus, who was 2-5 with a home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.  David's HR came in the 9th with 2 outs to make the game a 1 run game once again.  The Royals never led after the 1st inning yesterday.

Pitcher of the Game

Robinson Tejada came in and struck out the side without allowing a hit.  He did walk 2, but oh well.  All of the pitching sucked yesterday and I feel like Tejada was the most dominant.

Tomorrow

The Royals face off against the Indians at 6:05 again tomorrow.  Bannister vs. Cliff Lee.

Thanks for reading.

Just one of those games..

Well I think today was just one of those games.  The pitching was decent, the hitting was okay, there weren't really any defensive mishaps, but due to few lucky situations on both sides the Royals came out the losers.  It was one of those games where I wasn't terribly upset after the loss, I did question a few of Hillman's moves, but who cares, he's already proved himself a moron, so nothing really surprised me today.

As I stated yesterday, I figured a pitcher like Laffey would come in and just slice and dice our lineup, and he basically did.  We got to their bullpen for 2 runs, but their offense just came surging back anyway.  Kyle Farnsworth is the boob of the season so far, and he reminds me of Ambiroix Burgos, or at least his fastball does.  Sure, it's 94-96, but when it's that straight, it's supremely hittable.

Trey wasn't afraid to pinch hit players late in the game, which was reassuring, and while no one wants to see TPJ and Bloomquist together in the game, at least Hillman understands that Ponson is a groundball pitcher and the defense behind him is important.

Some might be upset at Teahen for getting thrown out by Choo trying to turn the single into the double.  Personally, I think it was a good aggressive base running decision however.  The Royals were down by 2 at that point and a leadoff double in the 8th would have increased the chances of winning the game.  Although Choo is left handed and he was ranging to his right, making it more of a difficult throw, he does have one of the better arms in the game and gunned down Teahen.  Did it cost the Royals the game?  Maybe.  Am I upset by Teahen's running?  Not at all.

Hitter of the Game

I was teetering between Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp and I think I'm going to go with Mike Jacobs.  Crisp did walk twice (almost 3 times, you know what I mean if you saw the game) and hit a triple and scored 2 runs, but Jacobs took a walk to load the bases as well as hitting a solo HR after Mark Teahen got thrown out trying to take the extra base.  Overall a good game for both, but I'll stick with Jacobs who pinch hit for Butler in the 6th.

Pitcher of the Game

I'm gonna stick with Sir Sidney here.  I was very distraught when I heard he was making the club, but he really has been impressive.  His fastball has good movement to it, and if he could figure out his control just a little more he could really step in and be one of the better #4 pitchers in the AL central.  I'm not saying he's there yet, I'm just saying I do see some potential.

Tomorrow 

The Royals are off Thursday.

Royals pitching is leading the league in Ks.. nice..

What a game.  Tonight reminds me of games the Royals have been in in the past, except that it is usually the Royals who lose.  While the approach with Pavano on the hill wasn't great, they still managed 8 hits off of him in 6 innings, which isn't an awful number.  The strikeouts have got to go down and the walks have to go up, which did happen once we got to their bullpen (4 bb, 0 k).  There was a consistent approach to drive the ball up the middle and also to shorten the swings with 2 strikes, which is reassuring.

On the other hand, the pitching was good.  5.2 innings 3 runs is probably somewhere very near where Kyle will end up this season, I imagine, probably slightly better.  The 5 K's is nice, and the pitching staff as a whole has been absolutely awesome this year, as we lead the entire league in strikeouts.  John Buck was the man tonight, and I really hope he gets to start a few games in a row and see if he can put it together.  Kelly Shoppach finally broke through last year after showing flashes in the past in his age 28 season, which is how old Buck will be for the majority of this season.  Another positive about Buck's performance was the fact that Joakim the Dream didn't have to pitch in three consecutive outings, though I do like the fact that Trey isn't afraid of bringing him in three straight games.

Hitter of the Game

John Buck.  2-4 with 2 runs scored and 5 RBI on 2 home runs including  a grand slam.  He also threw out Josh Barfield.  Well, he didn't really throw out Josh Barfield, but we got the call anyway.  There's that Buck-Karma for you.  Buckarma.. interesting..

Pitcher of the Game

Juan Cruz recorded his 2nd hold of the season with 2 scoreless innings pitched tonight.  Cruz gave up just a single as he struck out 3 batters and walked none.  Cruz has yet to allow a run this season.

Tomorrow 

Sir Sidney takes on Jeremy Sowers tomorrow in a 1:10 start.  Interesting pitching matchup, definitely.   Sowers is the type of lefty who could slice and dice our lineup, especially in a day game after a night game, I think.  We'll have to make sure we focus at the plate and work the count.

No comments from yesterday's post, so I'll ask again.  What would you like to see me write about as far as minor leagues go?  Focus on a certain team, a certain player, rotate through?  All ideas are welcome.  Thanks for reading.

Kyle Davies, Boy Wonder..

wow.. just wow.

I totally did not see this game coming today.  Maybe it was the fact that I've read too many scouting reports on John Danks entitled "future ace" or maybe it was the fact that a player with one extra base hit was starting in RF for us today, reminiscent of the bad ol' days.  But none of that matters when Kyle Davies goes out and pitches like he did today.  And honestly, Danks was almost as good.  Today's game was one of the best pitching duels I think I've ever seen the Royals been involved in.  In fact, this whole series was one of the lowest scoring series I can remember the Royals being a part of.  Then again, last year's opening series the Royals allowed just 5 runs in 3 games to the Detroit Tigers.  While the Tigers did not end up the beast many of us thought they would be, everyone was very excited about Meche, Bannister, and Greinke's games then too.

I'm not saying that the performances of the last three days should be discounted, as strikeouts have been up and walks and hits have been down, I'm just saying let's keep a level head before anointing the Royals the proverbial AL Central "crown".

Something that impressed me was that even though Joakim gave up a run to make it 2-1 and clearly didn't have his best command, he still fought through and closed it out for a Royals victory.  Impressive.

Coco Crisp will be the hitter of the game today, as it's hard to find a more important batter.  Coco was 2-3 with 2 walks, a double, a two run game winning home run and no strikeouts.  He drove in 2 and scored 1 run.  Impressive.

Kyle Davies is the pitcher of the game today, obviously.  Davies had electric stuff, and to my recollection didn't even throw his curveball until the 4th inning, and it seemed to me his curve was one of his best pitches today.

Some beef I have with Trey is that Coco was once again trying to bunt over Mike Aviles.  Look, I realize the game is close and a few runs will probably win it, but stats prove that trading an out for moving up a base almost NEVER increase your chance of scoring one run or multiple runs.  The fact of the matter is, you should basically never sac bunt in the AL.  Especially when the bunter is one of your better hitters, and the runner (Callaspo) is slow enough that he wouldn't automatically score on any hit from 2nd base even with 2 outs.

Please, no more bunting!

The Royals and Ponson take on the Yankees tomorrow, while I'm excited to see how the Royals do against Pettite, as they tore up lefties pretty well last year, I'm anything but excited to see Tex and the boys tee off on Sucky Ponson.. ugh!

Thanks for reading.

Royals name their crappy rotation, as well as finalize their 11 man pitching staff..

The Royals beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 today, as they fought through another attempted blown save by Joakim the Dream (I think he's been spending way too much time around Sidney and Horacio lately).  

Meche made his final start of the preseason today as he pitched 4 shaky innings.  Although he only gave up 1 run, he did walk 4 colorado hitters while striking out just 2.  Meche did give up just 3 hits, so while he didn't have his best control (probably not even his "better" control) he still wasn't very hittable.  Definitely a good sign.  The pitchers en masse were not awful, though Soria had his second bad outing in a row.  The pitchers allowed 5 runs on 9 hits while striking out 6 while walking 5.  The hitters were better, but still not great.  They did score 6 runs on 11 hits, but drew just 3 walks against 7 strikeouts, numbers I'd still like to see them improve upon.  They did have 7 extra base hits, and 6 were for home runs, which is nice.

Hitter of the Game

Mark Teahen once again earns the hitter of the game award, although it could have gone to any number of home run hitters, Teahen was the best of them all today, I think.  Mark was 2-4 with 1 RBI, 1 run scored and 1 home run.  After today's game, and with one remaining, Teahen is tied for 3rd in the nation in home runs (7) and is first in slugging percentage (1.000).  Not bad for a second baseman.

Pitcher of the Game

Doug Waechter will be the pitcher of the game for today.  He bounced back from his previous poor outings with 2 perfect innings, striking out one Rockie (Rocky?).  Doug apparently has pitched well enough this spring to make the final cut as the 11 pitchers the Royals are going to start the season with have been named, but more on that later.

Tomorrow

The Royals have the last game of their Cactus League pre-season tomorrow.  They will face the Texas Rangers as Hosucky Ramirez will face Scott Feldman.  The Royals will then travel to Texas to play the Rangers two more times, once on Friday and then again on Saturday in Arlington.

Well, it looks like the rotation is set.  Not only that, but the entire pitching staff is set as well.  All signs point towards the Royals opening the season with 11 pitchers, which has been their standard procedure for the last few seasons.  It looks like the pitching staff will look like the following, at least for the first few weeks or so:

Rotation:

Gil Meche

Zack Greinke

Kyle Davies

Sucky Ponson

Hosucky Ramirez

'Pen:

Doug Waechter

Robinson Tejada

Ron Mahay

Kyle Farnsworth

Juan Cruz

Joakim the Dream

Overall, I'm quite frustrated, and I have been ever since learning that Hosucky and Sucky Ponson are both going to be in the rotation.  Not only that, but Sucky Ponson even gets to start the Home Opener against the Yankees, so the first game in the "New" Kauffman Stadium will be a 20-5 shellacking.  Awesome.

Look, I understand the reasoning for Hochevar and Banny to get sent down, and I'm not wholly opposed to those moves.  But DM, you've been here 3 freaking years and the Royals are still sending out pitchers who don't deserve to be the 25th man on a roster, let alone starting the home opener for your ball club.  I mean honestly, I'd rather see Matt Wright in the rotation than Hosucky or Sucky Ponson.  At least you might catch lightning in a bottle with him.  Ponson and Ramirez are both retreads who haven't seen success in half a decade.  It's pathetic and frustrating, and frankly, I don't care to write about it anymore.

Thanks for reading.

Sir Sidney Certainly Sucks..

Okay, all alliteration aside, (oops, I did it again), I'm not joking.

Sidney Ponson had another awful showing today, as he pitched 5 innings allowing 7 runs (7 earned) on 7 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.  He did give up just one extra base hit, a triple to Travis Buck, but was obviously not 4th starter quality today.  (Unless we're using the 2005 Royals as the measuring stick, in which he was probably #2 starter quality).  While spring training games are not a promise of things to come, this late in the game they are sure a good indicator, and all indications point to me wanting to vomit as I see DM penciling in "Ponson, S." in the 4th starter's slot below Kyle Davies.  

edit: I forgot to even write about my frustrations about how our 2nd best starter this spring, Sir Luke Hochevar was sent down yesterday, but needless to say, the move frustrates me!  I'm frustrated!  Frustrated..

Horacio Ramirez was bad enough, I felt like he was a waste of space, too old to have potential and too much of a bad track history to trust any potential he was given anyway.  But at least he was a lefty.  At least DM could argue that he was something he felt we needed.  Sure, I disagree, I don't see any point in saying that it's more important to have a lesser pitcher in your rotation because he uses the wrong arm to throw a baseball.  But the whole Sidney Ponson thing is really turning into a sour apple for me.  Now while it's true, one sour apple might not necessarily spoil the bunch, (at least I'm trying to not let it spoil the bunch), it is one more thing to add to my list of grievances with Dayton Moore.

Sure, DM has added countless depth to the organization, but is that more of a function of his eye for talent or his ability to make David Glass open his checkbook more often?  I believe the argument could swing either way.  I'm not ready to write off DM yet, as I haven't been in the past.  But I really could use some reinforcement from him that he is committed in the ways he says he is.  Please do not let Tony Pena be on this team, please do not let Ponson or Ramirez be in the rotation.  Please stop trying to make the Royals be something they are not.  They are a youthful team that is building in the right direction, stop trying to add pieces that are unnecessary and a waste of money.  This money could be spent in Latin America!

Take for instance Horacio Ramirez, Ross Gload and Willie Bloomquist.  All three are superfluous parts on this ball club, in my opinion, because they could easily be replaced by AAA or players who are released.  Let's look at just how much money these players are set to make in 2009, assuming they spend the entire year with the Royals.

Ross Gload - 1.9 million

Horacio Ramirez - 1.8 million

Willie Bloomquist - 1.4 million

2009 total - 5.1 million dollars

5.1 million dollars is a ton of money.  Let's take a look at something that 5.1 million dollars could buy the Royals in Latin America instead of these three wasted roster spots.

Last season, the Oakland A's set a record for the highest international signing bonus in franchise history when they inked then 16 year old RHP Michael Inoa to a contract with a bonus of 4.25 million dollars.  Inoa is already rated as the A's 3rd best prospect as a 17 year old by Baseball America.  Keep in mind that the A's have the 3rd best system in MLB according to the same source.  That is to say, we could trade Gload, Ramirez, and Bloomquist for an A caliber prospect, and possibly add wins that very season as well.

While this all sounds promising, keep in mind that just having money to spend isn't the same as signing this caliber of prospect.  And that player is just a prospect, not a proven commodity.  However, all of these things in the open, I think that 7/10 Royals fans would prefer the prospect over the ML trash.. (oops I mean "players").  

My point isn't that we should cut these players and sign the next prospect we find to a monster deal, my point is just that in baseball, especially in this economic environment (dang it, I promised myself I wouldn't bring that up..), it's ultra important to watch spending, and most importantly, spend wisely.  Sure, there's no guarantee that Inoa pitches even 1 effective ML inning, but I'd rather build my team with players of his caliber than overspend for players who have already proved they are not super stars.. (see: Guillen, Jose).

Anyway, let's take a break from this rant and take a look at the game.  The Royals lost to the A's 7-2 today in front of 3,183.  Obviously Ponson was bad, but the rest of the pitching was good, as the pitching outside of Ponson struck out 4 batters and walked none in 4 innings.  The offense on the other hand was abysmal.  The hitters struck out 8 times and walked just once, which is really frustrating this close to the season.  

Let's take a look at the HoG and the PoG.. By the way, as the season gets rolling I'm going to be adding a box to the sidebar on the main page listing which players have won the POG and HOG and how many times they have won it.  Should make for an interesting experiment as far as who I think has carried the team the most.

Hitter of the Game

Tony Pena had two hits including the only extra base hit (a double), but since he's Tony Pena I'm going to choose someone else.  That's why John Buck will be the hitter of the game for today.  John was the lone Royal to draw a walk.  Sad, but true.  John was 1-2 with 1 run scored.  John took the one walk and did not strike out.  His spring average sits at .390.

Pitcher of the Game

Robinson Tejada will nab the pitcher of the game award, and it wasn't just because he was Ponson's first replacement.  Tejada pitched a perfect 6th inning with 2 strikeouts, proving that even fringe-replacement level pitchers could succeed against the A's today.  I guess that makes Ponson below replacement level.. hmm..

Tomorrow

Gil Meche will face off against Aaron Cook and the Rockies as each pitcher will get their last look before the regular season tomorrow.  First pitch is at 3:05 central time.  Tomorrow's game will be the second to last game in Arizona, as the Royals will travel to and play in Texas Friday and Saturday.

If Mark Teahen strikes out 4 times but hits a home run, is it a good or a bad game for him..?

If Mark Teahen hits a home run (his 6th of the spring) but strikes out 4 times, is it a good game or a bad game for him?

Thats exactly what happened today, and it's kind of as confusing as the tie the Royals had, their 932nd this spring.. (not really).. 

The Royals tied the Cubbies 8-8 in 10 innings as Davies labored through 5.2 innings but wasn't terrible overall.  Former Notre Dame wideout Jeff Smardzija ate up the Royals in his 1.1 innings with 3 strikeouts, although he did give up an unearned run.  Overall, a bad game for the offense, who drew just 2 walks while striking out 13 times.  The pitching dished out 4 walks against 6 strikeouts, so unacceptable numbers all around.  The pitching gave up 14 hits while the offense had 10 hits.

Hitter of the Game

Alex Gordon's two home run performance makes him the hitter of the game today.  Alex was 2-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBI while striking out once and not walking today.  Both of Alex's HR's came off of Rich Harden, Alex's batting average sits at .323 this spring.

Pitcher of the Game

Kyle Farnsworth gets the pitcher of the game award today as he pitched a perfect 8th inning striking out 2 cubs.  Kyle's ERA stands at 5.40 on the spring.

Tomorrow

Sidney Ponson (ugh) will start against the Oakland Athletics tomorrow at 3:05 at Phoenix Stadium.  Josh Outman will get the nod for the A's.

Ponson debuts in minor league game as Royals cruise in Tucson

Sir Sidney Ponson made his debut today, pitching 5 solid innings.  Ponson allowed just one run on a solo homer, struck out three and walked none.  Ponson needed just 49 pitches to get through those 5 innings as he did not pitch more than 4 pitches to any one batter.  Time will tell us if Ponson really has anything left in the tank, but for now, you couldn't ask for a much better debut from the veteran sinkerballer.

At the same time Sir Sidney was debuting, the Royals were off in Tucson facing the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Meche lasted just 3 2/3 innings, wasting 82 pitches in the process.  Vintage Gil Meche, one might say.  The good news was that 8 players had multi-hit games, as the Royals banged out 22 hits as a team.  those 22 hits were good for 13 runs as they beat the d-backs 13-6.

The offense was easily the better side of the team today, as 7 of the 22 hits went for extra bases.  Butler and Maier led the XBH charge as Butler had a home run and a double and Maier had two doubles.  The hitters struck out 6 times and managed just 3 walks, however.  Fairly disappointing numbers for such an offensive game.  Teahen, Colon, and Tommy Murphy all made errors as well.  Teahen did manage three hits today, however, driving his spring line up to .484/.543/1.065 with 5 home runs.

As a whole, the pitching wasn't THAT bad.  The pitchers allowed 6 runs on 13 hits, with half of those runs being allowed by Gil Meche.  Gil also allowed 8 hits in his 3 2/3 innings.  The pitchers did strike out 9 and walk just 4, an encouraging sign.  In fact, only the three runs allowed by Gil were earned, as the other three (one by Jamey Wright, two by Yaushiko Yabuta) were unearned.  

Hitter of the Game

Lots of good options here today, but I'm going to go with Billy Butler.  Billy the kid was 2 for 6 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI.  Billy did not draw a walk or strike out.  His two hits were a double and a home run.  The double was off of Travis Blackley and the home run was off of Evan MacLane.  Billy's spring line sits at .341/.408/.614.

Pitcher of the Game

Pitcher of the game today will be Roman Colon.  Roman earned his first hold of the season as he pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th innings today.  Roman gave up just one hit, a double to Chris Young.  Colon did not walk any and struck out one.  Roman's spring ERA sits at a breezy 0.93. 

Tomorrow

The Royals will host the LA Angels of Anaheim at the Surprise complex tomorrow.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 central time.  Horacio Ramirez will get the nod for the Royals.  He will face off against John Lackey.  Also scheduled to pitch are Robinson Tejada and Lenny DiNardo.

Sidney Ponson and Mac Suzuki say what?!

Well apparently the Royals have signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal and are close on a deal with pitcher Mac Suzuki.  Interesting, but hopefully we won't see either of them in the majors next year.

To recap the game, the Royals tied the Rockies 9-9 today after 10 innings.  It was easily Kyle Davies worst start of the spring as he allowed 5 runs in 3 innings on 6 hits and 3 walks.  Davies wasn't as bad as the Rox starter however, as Jimenez allowed 8 runs in 4.2 innings on 6 hits and 3 walks.

The offense banged out 9 hits and drew 4 walks against 5 strikeouts and 4 of those 9 hits went for extra bases.  The pitching on the other hand coughed up 13 hits, 7 of which went for extra bases.  The pitchers struck out 8 Rockies but walked 7.  

Hitter of the game

Miguel Olivo will be the hitter of the game for today, as he went 2-4 with a home run and a double.  Olivo drew a walk and did not strike out.  He scored 2 runs and drove in 4.  His spring average sits at .353.

Pitcher of the game

I'll make Devin Lowery the pitcher of the game for today.  Devin pitched a perfect 10th inning, striking out one batter.  Devin has yet to allow a run this spring.

Tomorrow

The Royals have their first night game of the spring as they host the Seattle Mariners tomorrow for an 8:05 Central time start.  It will be one of two televised games this spring on FSN.  Zack Greinke gets the nod for the Royals against Jarrod Washburn of the M's.  Tune in around 7:30 (I imagine) for pregame.

What do Ponson and Suzuki mean?

Very little, in my opinion.  When I was first thinking of a post today I was considering writing about how I thought they were bad signings because the money could have been spent elsewhere.  But clearer thinking prevailed and I realized that the money probably amounts to nothing, and who knows if the contracts are even guaranteed.  After all, Ponson did pitch pretty well in the WBC, posting a 4 ERA in 9 innings with just a 1.22 WHIP.  Overall, the Ponson signing really doesn't matter much, and I think it is clearly just a safety move in case our pitching falls apart or gets injured.  Having pitchers like Ponson and Duckworth stashed in AAA can ONLY be a good thing come the dog days of summer.

Having said that, they're not really moves I'm excited about, but I'm not disappointed either.  Come July, we might not even remember this contract at all.

Only time will tell.

Thanks again for reading.