Gload's Gone but HoSucky Still Sucks!

No More Gload

Well, the Ross Gload era officially ended yesterday, as the Royals sent him and 1.5 of his 1.9 million dollar salary to the Florida Marlins for a PTBNL.  Checking out the blogs I frequent, I was somewhat surprised to see so many intelligent people sad to see him gone.  Ross Gload was awful, he was pegged as a defensive player but had many lapses where he would not pay attention at all on defense.  (An attempted pickoff from Gil Meche (I think) where Gload was asleep and almost got nailed in the face comes to mind.  He was a "high average" hitter who never hit above .288 as a Royal.  And he was left handed.  While that is good, or at least is usually good as a hitter, it severly limits the positions you can play, and as a bench player, limits your usefulness.  Ross Gload was pegged as a decent outfielder, but I personally cringed every time I saw his name penciled in to play there.  Sure, we may get nothing good back, (I was hoping for Robert Andino before I saw he had been traded for Hayden Penn already), but either way, hopefully DM learned that it isn't good to give a player a multimillion dollar extension when he A. is not yet free agent eligible and B. sucks.

I imagine Mitch Maier will make the club out of spring training in Ross's spot, and then will get sent down when the Royals bump up their pitching to 12 players.

The Game

Horacio Ramirez sucks.  Period.  While following this game I almost wanted to throw up.  I surely don't want to write about his performance, so I wont.  Horacio is practically as bad as Joe Mays, Scott Elarton, Fatelvys Hernandez, DJ Carrasco, Brian Anderson, and all the other trash pitchers we've rolled out since 2004.  Awful.  Not any improvement.  Pathetic.  Frustrating.

I can't even type in real sentences anymore!

Anyway - the hitters had 7 hits and 3 runs, but more importantly they finally walked more than they struck out.  (4 walks to 2 strikeouts).  However, I'd prefer more walks, with more strikeouts being acceptable as long as there are more walks (like.. 6 a game would be nice! haha).  Well, regardless, the offense wasn't good enough to overcome Horacio's suckiness (kind of light trying to escape from a black hole..) and the Royals lost to the Rangers 9-3 in front of a crowd of 3,204.  The pitching was bad, giving up 9 runs on 13 hits, though they did strikeout 6 and walk 3. 

Hitter of the Game

The HoG award goes to Shane Costa, the only hitter with 2 hits on the day.  Shane was 2-2 with an RBI and no walks or strikeouts.  Shane is hitting .484 this spring, but likely faces a demotion to AAA Omaha before Sunday's 2 p.m. deadline.

Pitcher of the Game

Kyle Farnsworth once again wins the pitcher of the game award.  Kyle has been excellent since his first few apperances, as he pitched a scoreless 8th inning, walking one and striking out one, while allowing no hits.

Tomorrow 

The Royals will again take on the Texas Rangers tomorrow, but the location will be outside Arizona for the first time this year.  The game is scheduled for 7:05 Central Time and will take place in "Dr. Pepper Ballpark" which is the Rangers' AA affilatie's stadium in Frisco, Texas.  Zack Greinke will take on Vicente Padilla as each of them gears up for the regular season.

Expect my final "breakout candidate of the year" (relievers) post on Saturday and my "official predictions" post on Sunday.

As always, thanks for checking it out.

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.

Bert "Reynolds" Callaspo's 4 hit day leads the Royals past the M's..

Haha.  Royals.com has a story entitled "Soria now one of Majors elite closers".  It's like.. really? NOW he's one of the majors elite closers?  After a season and a half of being a stud closer he becomes one of the majors elite closers near the end of spring training?  Apparently the 22 runs and 17 hits today by our offense wasn't enough of a story, the writers had to go and write some silly story about how Soria is NOW one of the elite closers.  I understand the fact that a lot of people around the nation have yet to realize just how great he is.  But really, to anoint him a phenom NOW seems kind of pointless and mistimed, at best.

Oh, and did anyone catch the fact that ESPN the Magazine brought up in its newest edition about David DeJesus.  Apparently David has a better WARP than Adam Dunn in left field last season.. Interesting..  Just goes to show why the Royals should have signed Dunn to DH!

Anyway, on to the slugfest!

Zack Greinke was pretty bad as he only made it through 2 innings allowing 8 runs, but the Royals used their 9 run seventh inning to power back and beat the Seattle Mariners today in front of a Seattle crowd of 7,271 in Peoria.

The Royals offense really impressed me today, not only because of all the runs and hits, but because they finally walked more times than they struck out.  The offense drew 6 walks against 5 strikeouts.  The pitchers on the other hand walked just one batter while striking out 8, so it was great on both sides.

Hitter of the Game

Tough, but I'll go with the guy who banged out 4 hits and scored 3 runs while driving in 2 himself.  I'm talking about Bert "Reynolds" Callaspo, of course.  Callaspo was 4-6 and did not walk while striking out once.  His average sits at .262 on the Spring, a little below Teahen's .500.

Pitcher of the Game

Brandon Duckworth.. Ew.  I really don't even care to explain it, but he pitched two scoreless innings giving up just one single.  He didn't strike out or walk anyone.

Tomorrow

The Royals host the Chicago Cubs and Rich Harden tomorrow in a game set to start at 3:05 Central Time.  Kyle Davies gets the nod for the Royals, also scheduled to pitch is Joakim the Dream.

Oh and as a side note, Kevin Gregg will be the Cubs closer, at least at the beginning of the season..  Interesting.

Mark Teahen's line is .500/.553/1.000 .. impressive..

The Royals took the early lead but blew it in the 9th inning when Roman Colon gave up 3 runs.  The Royals and Rangers both banged out 10 hits, but the Rangers turned those into 8 runs while the Royals stranded 7 as a team and only managed 5 runs.  The hitters drew just 3 walks against 10 strikeouts as they continued their streak of poor pitch selection.  On the other hand the Pitchers only issued 2 walks but struck out just 5.  

Horacio Ramirez continued on his path to AAA as he allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits in 5 innings.  HoRam stuck out just 1 and walked no one.

Hitter of the Game

It has to be Mark Teahen again.  I feel like a homer but Teahen really has been awesome as of late.  Mark was 2-3 today with no walks and 1 strikeout, all while playing second base.  Mark scored 2 runs and drove in another.  One of Mark's hits was a triple off of Feldman.  Mark's line on the spring is .500/.553/1.000.. not too bad for a second baseman, eh?

Pitcher of the Game

Doug Waechter pitched a perfect 6th inning, striking out one batter.  Waechter has seen a lot of action recently as the Royals are really working him to see if he has a place on the regular season roster.  After today's outing Waechter's ERA sits at an even 21.00 (no, the decimal's not in the wrong place)..  We'll see how he does in the near future.

Tomorrow

Zack Greinke and the boys in blue will face off against Jarrod Washburn and the Mariners in Peoria at 3:05 tomorrow.  Greinke will look to build off of his impressive performance last time out.

Royals ride Gil's Gem past Dodgers..

After 35 straight days of blog posting, I needed a few days off, so excuse my short sabbatical.  Anyway, I'm back and ready to hit my stride right as spring training finishes up and the boys in blue pack up and come back home to KC.  The Royals were in action today against the Dodgers, and won handily, 4-1, behind a strong start by Gil Meche.

In fact, all of the pitching was very good today, as the pitchers allowed just one run on 5 hits while striking out 9 and walking just three.  No extra base hits were allowed.

The offense was not bad, either, banging out 10 hits for 4 runs.  2 of the ten hits went for extra bases, both being doubles smacked by John Buck and Jose Guillen.  The offense continues their struggles as of late as far as drawing walks however, as they drew just 1 while striking out 8 times.

Hitter of the Game

Mike Aviles, back in the three hole, continued his torrid pace at the plate today.  Mike was 2-3 with one walk and one RBI.  Aviles is hitting .407/.469/.704 in 27 spring at bats.  

Pitcher of the Game

Gil Meche, no ifs ands or buts.  Gil had the kind of outing that will hopefully quiet critics who had been speaking quite loudly as of late.  Gil pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 singles.  Gil also struck out 6 batters while walking just one.  Remember, this was a Dodgers lineup that started 7 of its 8 projected starters, including Manny, as only Casey Blake was missing.  Overall a VERY impressive start from Gil, it sounds like his back is just fine.

Tomorrow

Horacio Ramirez will get ANOTHER start tomorrow as the Royals take on the Rangers tomorrow at Surprise Stadium.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 central time.  Getting the nod for the Rangers will be Scott Feldman.

Mike Aviles Grand Slam caps off 8-3 win as Greinke K's 8..

Recap

The Royals only scored in two innings today, 4 runs each to be exact, and that would be all they needed to beat the Oakland A's in front of a crowd of 5,359.  Josh Outman struggled to get through his 3.1 innings, including giving up a grand slam to SS Mike Aviles before recording any outs in the second inning.  He managed to bounce back and not allow any more runs after that home run, but the damage was done.

Zack Greinke was solid, striking out 8 over his 5 innings of work, although he did face some command issues as he walked two and hit a batter.  The A's managed to get to Zack for 3 runs in the 2nd inning but only 2 were earned after an Alberto Callaspo throwing error ruined a double play that should have ended the inning.  I'm beginning to wonder if Teahen is any worse defensively at 2nd base than Callaspo.

Oh, by the way Teahen hit another HR today, albeit in an intrasquad game.

Hitter of the Game

Mike Aviles and his grand slam garner him the hitter of the game award for today.  Aviles drove in 5 runs total and scored one himself on a 2-3 day at the plate.  Mike did not strike out or walk.  He is hitting .333 this spring.

Pitcher of the Game

Although he gave up the only runs of the game, Zack Greinke will be the pitcher of the game today.  Zack allowed 3 runs (2 earned) over his 5 innings of work today.  He gave up 4 hits, one of which went for extra bases (a Daric Barton triple).  Greinke walked two batters but struck out a total of 8.  Not bad.

Tomorrow

The Royals have another off day on Wednesday and will resume play on Thursday afternoon.

Joel Peralta asked to pitch home run derby..

Okay, Joel Peralta wasn't ACTUALLY asked to be the pitcher of the home run derby, but he probably should be.  I remember a few years ago when Joel was actually good.  Of course, that was back when the Royals were really bad, and I'd much rather have good Royals and bad Joel than the alternative.

Of course I'm talking about Joel Peralta allowing Chase Headley to take him deep for a 3 run walk off home run today as the Padres fought back against the Royals and won 9-7.  Headley's home run was the only one of the game, but it was enough to bring the Padres back after Kyle Davies had held them to 1 run over his 5.1 innings.  The offense pumped out enough runs to win, but between Waechter and Peralta the pitching just couldn't hold off the offensive juggernaut that the Padres ran out there.  (Adrian Gonzalez and Brian Giles didn't even play today).  Ouch.

Hitter of the Game

Mark Teahen will grab the hitter of the game award today, as he continues on his torrid pace as of late.  Mark was 3-4 with a double and two singles.  Teahen drove in 3 runs and did not strike out or walk.  He also stole second and third base in the first inning after his RBI single.  Teahen is batting .514/.564/1.057 and leads all of the MLB in slugging counting players with at least 10 at bats.

Pitcher of the Game

The Mexicutioner.  Enough said.  Joakim the dream pitched 2 scoreless innings giving up just one single.  Joakim struck out two and walked none.  Soria has yet to allow a run this spring.

Tomorrow

Zack Greinke and the Royals will host Sean Gallagher and the Oakland A's tomorrow night in Surprise.  First pitch will be at 8:05 Central Time.

Editorial on Teahen

There has beena  lot of debate recently on what Teahen's stellar spring numbers actually mean.  While I am impressed by his performance, it is not an indicator of how he will do this season.  That being said, I don't think it matters if Trey and Dayton make him a starter or not because of his spring numbers.  The fact of the matter is Mark Teahen will get his at bats this summer, starting or otherwise.  If he continues to hit even half as well as he has this spring, then Bloomquist, Gload, TPJ, hell, even Mario Mendoza himself couldn't keep Teahen out of the lineup.

My point is, don't worry.  If he Teahen is named a starter out of spring training, fine.  If he isn't named a starter, fine.  Point is, if he performs, I have no doubt that Trey will get him at bats.

Thanks for reading.

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.

Lowery and Ka'aihue reassigned as Lubanski goes yard..

The big news of the day (for me, anyway) is that Devin Lowery and Kila Ka'aihue were both optioned down to AAA.  This leaves the Royals with 48 players left in major league camp, players like JR House, Tommy Murphy, Heath Phillips and Corey Smith, all who are virtual locks to get cut eventually.  Before everyone gets out of hand over the young players getting cut before the players who are locks to get cut later you must understand the reasoning for the moves.  That is; to get those players more at bats.  

Ka'aihue had 17 at bats this spring, good for 21st on the squad.  In those at bats he posted a line of .235/.409/.235.  Devin Lowery on the other hand had pitched in 4.2 innings, good for 17th most this spring.  Devin had given up just 1 hit and no runs so far this spring.  Both of these players figure to spend at least some time in Kansas City this summer, regardless of injuries to the ML squad.

Well the 2nd and final TV game for the spring has come and gone, this one being much better than the first, in my opinion.  The Royals beat the Dodgers 9-4, as Brandon Duckworth managed to get the win.  10 Royals hitters had 1 hit each none better than Chris Lubanski's 2 run shot in the 6th innings.  The Royals managed 6 runs in the 5th innings when the Dodgers booted the ball around defensively.

Hochevar was solid, after a shaky start and poor command I was concerned.  However, he managed to fight through it and produced 4 solid innings, striking out just one but allowing just 3 runs.  

Hitter of the game

The hitter of the game has to be Chris Lubanski, who drove in himself and Coco Crisp in the 6th inning with a good shot to straight away center.  Chris is hitting .304/.322/.504 in 23 at bats this spring, including 3 home runs.

Pitcher of the game

Overall the pitching today was quite solid, but I like Joakim Soria for the pitcher of the game.  It was good to see Joakim in a Royals uni today, as he's fresh back from the WBC.  Joakim pitched the 7th inning, allowing just one single and striking out 2 batters.  Vintage Joakim, one might say.  Joakim has yet to allow a run this spring.

Tomorrow

The Royals once again travel to Tucson to take on the D-backs tomorrow.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 Central time.  Gil Meche gets the nod for the Royals against AZ ace Brandon Webb.  Jamey Wright, Roman Colon, and Yasuhiko Yabuta are also scheduled to pitch tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, once again.

Jimmy Gobbles no more.. (at least not for the Royals)

Well the news came out yesterday that Jimmy Gobble was released.  I'm not quite sure how to take this news to tell you the truth.  It's worth mentioning that Jimmy was the most tenured Royals player.  It's also worth mentioning that he really only had one good season in the majors, which was 2007 when he had a 3.02 ERA in 74 games.  

Jimmy came up as a good prospect, and many thought he and Jeremy Affeldt would be the two left handed starters to anchor our rotation for years.  It didn't work out that way as Affeldt bounced around the bullpen after having a fingernail removed and Gobble has a 5.36 ERA and a 115-77 K to BB ratio as a starter.  As Gobble was converted from more important roles to less important roles he found a small niche of success as a LOOGY, but due to misuse and ineffectiveness he posted 8.81 ERA last season in 31.2 innings.

Does Jimmy still have the chance to be effective in the majors?  Probably.  But I for one was surprised looking back at his numbers just how bad he was.  I guess in 05 and 06 I remember him as being good just because of the other pitchers around him, which were absolutely awful.  Once the pitching around him improved and Jimmy reached arbitration years it became obvious that this was the best move for the Royals.  I'm sure that Jimmy will stick on another roster, probably in a minor league contract at least for this year. 

The most important thing now is to find out who will claim Jimmy's spot on the 40 man roster.  As of tonight, to my knowledge, the Royals haven't added anyone to their 40 man to take over his spot.  We'll see where the Royals go from here though, in order to truly judge the situation.

Thanks for reading. 

Teahen goes yardski..

Well the Royals went down today, and went down hard.  I know it's just spring training but it's never fun to see your pitching get demolished like that.  

Overall the pitchers gave up 9 runs on 17 hits, 8 of which went for extra bases.  The pitching did manage 9 strikeouts against 4 walks, not too bad.  The hitters scored just 3 runs on 11 hits and struck out 9 times while drawing just 2 walks.  

Hitter of the game

Mark Teahen grabs the hitter of the game award tonight.  Teahen was 2-4 with a solo home run and no strikeouts or walks.  He drove in one run and scored one run.

Pitcher of the game

Tim Hamulack will be the pitcher of the game for tonight.  I had never seen Tim pitch before and he was fairly impressive I thought.  Tim pitched a scoreless 8th inning, striking out 2 batters and allowing 2 hits.

Overall thoughts..

I felt like overall I was impressed with our hitters approach at the plate.  While it didn't amount to a lot of walks tonight, there were very few first pitch outs, which is encouraging as that is one of the most frustrating things in baseball for me.  (That and leadoff walks, of course).  

Tony Pena Jr. looked awful in the field, while I felt Mark Teahen didn't look half bad.  IF Teahen can continue his torrid hitting (and that is a big IF) then I feel like there will be almost no option but to start him at 2nd base.  (Hey, if Skip Schumaker can do it...).  Greinke's stuff was there, but I felt like he was kind of just toying around a lot, so I'm not too worried about his line for the night.

On another note, Joel Goldberg is as obnoxious and annoying as ever and Frank White continues to underwhelm me.

Tomorrow

The Royals are off on Thursday

Thanks as always for reading, look for me to continue my "breakout candidate of the year" series tomorrow on the Royals day off.

Teahen Tees off Twice..

The Royals lit up Barry Zito today for 6 runs in 5 innings on 10 hits, beating the Giants 11 to 3 today.  As bad as the Royals were yesterday is as good as they were today.  The offense managed 17 hits including 6 extra base hits and scored 11 runs.  The hitters drew 6 walks against just 4 strikeouts, a trend that has been continuing as of late (drawing more walks than strikeouts).  The pitching was stellar as well, although they gave up 12 hits, they only allowed 3 runs.  The pitchers did only walk one batter however, which is awesome, and did strike out 6 giants.  Overall, a very good game for the boys in blue.

Hitter of the game

Mark Teahen gets the award for hitter of the game today, as he went 3-4 while drawing a walk and not striking out.  Teahen scored 4 runs and drove in 2 runs as well.  Mark's three hits were a double and 2 home runs.  His spring batting average sits at .400.

Pitcher of the game

Luke Hochevar will be the pitcher of the game today, as he went 4.1 innings, allowing just 1 run.  Luke did give up 6 hits, including a double and a triple, however he only walked one batter, while striking out two.  Luke's spring ERA sits at 2.92.

Tomorrow

The Royals will travel to Camelback Ranch for a 3:05 game against the Chi Sox tomorrow afternoon.  Gil Meche gets the nod for the good guys, he will face Bartolo Colon.

A couple of hitting prospects to keep your eye on this summer

I figured I would let you in on a couple of prospects that I am going to keep my eye on this summer.  They're not really unheard of, but they don't get a lot of press either.  Adrian Ortiz and Paulo Orlando are both centerfielders that intrigue me because of their abilities.  Both Orlando and Ortiz will probably start the year in Wilmington.  Neither of them may every amount to more than Joey Gathright, but I think that both of these young players have a lot of potential.

Thanks as always for reading.

John Buck is slugging 1.053? Nice..

The Royals split their split squad series today.  (Say that 5 times fast).  They Beat the Rangers 4-1 but lost to the Brewers 5-1.  Instead of recapping both games I'll just name the HoG and PoG for each game.

Hitter(s) of the Game(s)

JR House will be the hitter of the game for the Brewers game.  He didn't get a hit (only four players managed one single each) but he drew the lone walk and didn't strike out (as a team the Royals struck out 12 times) so basically House earns the award for not sucking as much as everyone else.

Buck will earn the hitter of the game award for the Rangers game.  Buck was 1 for 3 with 2 RBI, a run and a strikeout.  Buck's hit was a 2 run home run against Frank Francisco.  John Buck is hitting .421/.522/1.053 this spring.  (No joke).  Oh, by the way, Olivo is hitting .400/.400/.800 in 10 at bats.  How about that for some slugging catchers.

Pitcher(s) of the Game(s)

Kyle Farnsworth earns the pitcher of the game award for the Brewers game.  After a disappointing debut, Farnsworth bounced back for two scoreless innings Friday.  Kyle gave up 2 hits and walked none while striking out 2 batters.  Kyle's ERA sits at 9.0 on the spring.

Robinson Tejada earns the pitcher of the game award for the Rangers game.  Tejada pitched 4 solid innings, giving up just one run on 4 hits.  Tejada walked 3 but struck out 7.  Tejada's ERA this spring rests at 1.74 in 10.1 innings.

Tomorrow

The Royals will play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jon Garland on Saturday.  Brian Bannister gets the nod for the Royals, and he will be followed by Brandon Duckworth (ew), Juan Cruz (woo), and Yasuhiko Yabuta (boo).  First pitch will be at 3:05 central time.  (I think).

Thanks for reading.  Check in tomorrow for an article on a hitting prospect to watch this summer.

Don't call it a comeback.. Why Coco might carry the Royals in '09..

The Royals continued their good play of late as they beat the Chi-Sox 9-3 in front of 4,645 fans.  

The hitters managed 6 extra base hits and 6 singles for a total of 12 hits.  The hitters had 4 walks and 4 strikeouts as well.  The pitchers gave up 7 hits (2 of them for extra bases) and 3 runs.  The hitters struck out just four and walked 2 batters.

Hitter of the Game

I'm going to go a different route in naming today's hitter of the game.  While he didn't score or drive a run in, he did continue his AWESOME spring.  Coco Crisp will be today's hitter of the game.  Coco was 1-1 with two walks and no strikeouts.  Coco's spring line sits at .391/.545/.609.  Not too shabby for a defense-first centerfielder.

Pitcher of the Game

Kyle Davies continued his impressive spring as he went 4 scoreless innings giving up just one single while striking out 2 and walking 1.  Kyle's spring ERA sits at a measly 0.71.  He earned a save as he went the final three innings.

Tomorrow

The Royals will have 2 games tomorrow, their only split squad games of the spring.  Robinson Tejada will take on Vicente Padilla when the Royals host the Rangers.  Zack Greinke will take on Yovani Gallardo as the Royals will play visitors to the Brew Crew.  First pitch for both games is scheduled for 3:05 Central Time.

Covelli Loyce Crisp

Much has been discussed about Coco's background already.  I'm sure you've heard the tale.  Coco's Dad was a boxer, his Mom was a sprinter, and the rest of his family was also connected to athletics somehow.  While I love all of this background information and the fact that Coco is the type of player that plays his heart out no matter the situation, it is not why I believe Coco Crisp might be the biggest surprise on the Royals this year.  It is not why he is my breakout (again) candidate of the year amongst our outfielders. 

There will be a lot of articles written this spring telling you that Coco is finally healthy again.  There will be some explaining that he never got comfortable in Boston and that the CF job was handed to Jacoby Ellsbury and stripped from him unjustly.  I believe in all of these things, (well except for the last one), but most importantly, I believe in Coco Crisp.

Coco has a skill set very similar to David DeJesus.  David has hit for a higher average in his career (and had a better OBP), but their power numbers are similar, and Coco is much better at stealing bases and by all accounts plays much better defensively.  Coco is basically a true "centerfielder" version of the tweener that David DeJesus is.

But this isn't a comparison of the two players, no sirree.  It is an argument as to why I think Coco might just win comeback player of the year.  

While I usually don't put much emphasis on spring numbers, Coco has really impressed me so far.  Coco has drawn 9 walks against just 3 strikeouts, and has a line of .391/.545/.609.  Another encouraging sign is that most of these numbers have come against pitchers vying for the rotation of their perspective squads, as Coco has started in centerfield in each of his 11 appearances.  In fact, Coco is 2nd in walks this spring, trailing Albert Pujols by 1.  No other player has at least 8 walks.

But sure, it's just spring, and it's early spring at that.  Coco could go on to strikeout in every remaining at bat he has, right?  Not so fast.  I'm a big believer in carryover from the 2nd half of the previous season.  I feel like baseball is a game of trends, and the numbers from a player's second half are a much better indicator of the next season than the entire numbers from the previous season.  Well, how did Coco do in the 2nd half of last season?  I'm glad you asked.

Last season, in 175 plate appearances after the all star break, Coco hit .315/.392/.403 with 20 walks against 26 strike outs.  This line was good for a 794 OPS.  

By comparison, our four starting outfielders for the last 2 months of the season (DeJesus, Maier, Guillen, Teahen) posted 792, 634, 752, and 692 OPS respectively.

So, basically, if Coco Crisp had been a Royal last season and if he had posted the same stat line (a lot of ifs, I know) then he would have been the Royals best offensive and defensive outfielder.  Interesting.

If I don't have you sold yet, then take a look at this.  Before Crisp went to Boston, before he was injured and pressured and criticized and put under the microscope of the Boston media, Coco was one of, if not the best young centerfield prospects in the game.

I'm talking about Coco's 2004 and 2005 seasons in Cleveland, of course.

Let's take a quick gander at Coco's numbers from 2004 and 2005 in comparison to the Royal's primary centerfielders during those years, Mr. Carlos Beltran and Mr. David DeJesus.

2004:

Coco - .297/.344/.446

Beltran - .267/.367/.548

DeJesus - .287/.360/.402

2005: 

Coco - .300/.345/.465

Beltran - .266/.330/.414

DeJesus - .293/.359/.445

At first glance, you might notice Beltran's awesome year in 2004, but if you look closer, you might realize that Coco easily outplayed him in 2005.  I'm as big a fan of OBP as anyone I know, but the 51 points of SLG that Coco holds over Carlos is easily worth the 15 points of OBP he gives up.  

So what is the point I'm trying to make?  The point is that in 2005, Coco Crisp was essentially a better outfielder than Carlos Beltran.  Oh, and Carlos Beltran is almost 3 years older than Coco.  Sure, they're completely different players, Coco is a player who hits for a high average, and has to in order to maintain his value while Beltran is a power and OBP guy.  But in the end, if Coco can end up being 3/4 the player that Carlos is (while earning 1/4 of Beltran's yearly salary) then I think the Royals will be very well off.

So do I have a prediction for Coco's line this year?  Sure I do.  But I'm not sure I'm ready to divulge it yet and embarrass myself.  I do, however, believe in Covelli Loyce Crisp.

And I think that you should too.

Mitch Maier hits an inside the park home run as the Royals trounce the Mariners..

The Royals beat the Mariners 9-2 today in Surprise.  The Royals were down early as Seattle scored one run each in the 2nd and 3rd, but roared back to take the lead for good when they scored 6th in the 4th.  They capped the 9 run day off with 3 more in the bottom of the 8th.

The Offense

The Royals managed 11 hits and 9 runs in 8 innings of work today.  2 of the hits were XBH, both were HRs (Butler, Maier).  The hitters today walked 5 times against 4 strikeouts, getting back to the habit they had earlier this spring of walking more than striking out, an awesome accomplishment as a team.  Brayan Pena was thrown out trying to steal second and Chris Lubanski was picked off of first base.  Mitch Maier made the only error.  

The Pitching

The pitching today gave up 2 runs on 10 hits.  Chris Shelton and Jeff Clement had the lone extra base hits, both doubles.  The pitchers gave up just 2 walks while striking out 13, easily their best numbers in those two categories of the spring.  One note is that Mike Sweeney got the start at DH batting 4th against his old team, Mike went 2-3 with a run and a strikeout.

Hitter of the Game

The hitter of the game award goes to Billy Butler, who smacked a 3 run homerun.  Billy was 1-3 with 1 run and 3 rbi.  Billy's average this spring sits at an even .300.  Other notables were Mitch Maier who had an inside-the-park-homer and David DeJesus who was 2-3 with a run.

Pitcher of the Game

The pitcher of the game award goes to Heath Phillips.  Heath pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing just one single while striking out 3.  Heath's ERA for the spring sits at 1.13 in 8 innings.  Juan Cruz also made his debut today pitching a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Tomorrow

The Royals will host the Chicago White Sox in Surprise tomorrow at 3:05 Central Time tomorrow.  The Sox will start Clayton Richard.  Horacio Ramirez gets the nod for the Royals.  Following the lefty will be Kyle Davies.

Thanks as always for reading.  Expect my candidate for the "breakout candidate of the year" in the outfield tomorrow. 

Why you should give Hoochie Mama another chance..

The Royals only needed one inning of offense to win yesterday.  Today, again, they only got one inning of offense, however they only managed one run in that inning (the third), and fell to the Cubs 9-1 in front of a crowd of 8,987 today. 

Pitching

Brian Bannister was roughed up for 4 runs on 5 hits in 3 innings.  Banny managed just 1 strikeout and walked 2.  Banny gave up 2 XBH, a double to Derrek Lee and a big fly to Alfonso Soriano.  As a team the Royals pitchers struck out 5 and walked just three, but allowed 12 hits, 6 of them going for extra bases.  Every Royals pitcher gave up at least one run, and Kyle Farnsworth's ERA sits at a nice round 15.00.  Yes, the decimal point is in the right place.. 15.00

Offense

Offensively, the Royals managed just 4 hits as Maier, Jacobs, Gload and Butler all singled.  Mitch Maier also had a stolen base.  Jamey Wright had the lone error in the game on an errant pick off attempt.  Despite their recent success, the Royals didn't walk a single time today and struck out 6 times.  Their offense was completely shut down today in what was easily their worst showing so far this spring.

Hitter of the Game

The hitter of the game today was Mitch Maier, who led off and played centerfield today.  Mitch was 1 for 3 with the lone RBI, driving in Ross Gload on a 3rd inning single.  Mitch also stole 2nd base.  Mitch did not walk or strike out and his average this spring is .304 after today's game.

Pitcher of the Game

The pitcher of the game today was Luke Hochevar.  Luke pitched 3 solid innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits.  Both of those hits did go for extra bases, however.  Luke struck out 2 and walked 1 and after today his spring ERA sits at 3.38.

Tomorrow

The Royals have Tuesday March 10th off, litearlly.  The players have been told to stay away from camp and take the day easy.  Interesting take after an absymal performance.  We'll have to see how it plays out.

No more Estey

In other news, Esteban German was granted free agency today.  As you may recall, German was DFA'd when Juan Cruz was signed and added to the 40 man roster.

Hoochie Mama

When Luke Hochevar was taken with the 40th overall pick in the 2005 draft by the LA Dodgers, it was clear that he had fallen so low because of his price.  When he was selected first overall the very next year, many people believed it was also because he would sign for a little bit less money since he had sat out a year (playing independent baseball).  Luke ended up signing for 5.3 million with the opportunity to make 7 million in his first 3 years.

Still New

Despite being in the Royals system for the last three season, Luke still feels like a very new player to me.  I say that because until last season, he had never started more than 16 games at any one level.  However, last season Luke started 22 for the Royals, posting a 5.51 ERA and a 6-12 record, both very underwhelming.  

Rushed

Looking at Luke's career numbers makes me wonder why he was rushed so much.  Aside from 15 innings of A ball in 2006, Luke has never been dominant, or even good, at any level.  Sure, he started in AAA last season and had a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings, but this was after he competed hard for a rotation spot in spring training and was likely far ahead of his AAA competition.  

Give him another chance

While Luke had an awful season last year, including an injury that kept him out of all but 6 starts in the second half of the season, I really feel like he took a step forward.  I think that one of the most important things for a good prospect to do is fail.  And by all accounts, Luke is/was a good prospect, including being the #63 'spect in MLB last season and #32 'spect in MLB in '07.  I don't mean that it is important for a prospect to fail at each level, though I think there is some value in that as well.  But it is very important for a prospect to fail at the big league level, because it teaches them that the work that they have done in the past won't cut it in the big leagues.  Luke must work harder, study harder, try harder than he has ever had to work, study, and try in his life.  

It is this reason that I think Luke has the chance to succeed.  I've poured over the numbers and there really isn't anything there to prove that he will do well at the major league level, other than the fact that he is young and was a great prospect and has great stuff.  This is one time that I will go on my pitching coach instincts and look past the numbers.  I don't have proof that Luke will succeed, except for what I see.  Luke routinely works his sinker around the strike zone, and when his sinker is working, he has the ability to pitch as well as anyone.  He is just inconsistent with his control, much like any young pitcher needing more experience.

Doc Who?

While I'm not sure that Luke will have a breakout season in 2009, I do feel like he has the chance to be very successful in the near future.  If I had to write a line for him, I imagine it would have him going 12-11 with a 4.49 ERA in 29 starts, which is very acceptable.  I feel like Luke's "stuff" is very underrated, however, and I think that maybe in 2 or 3 years, once he gets more experience, he will have the chance to really dominate, maybe similar to another sinkerballer from Denver, Doc Halladay.

Okay, maybe the Roy Halladay comparison is a bit extreme, (okay probably too extreme).  Okay, the Roy Halladay is definitely not fair, but I do have a lot of faith in Luke.  I think people forget that he only has 207 minor league innings of practice, so he might take a while to reach his full potential since he is essentially learning in the big leagues.

Thanks for reading!  Don't forget to vote for who you think will win the WBC in the top left corner!

Royals plate 7 in the first..

The Royals had one good offensive inning against the Brewers today, however, that would be all that they would need.  They would ride strong pitching performances by Zack Greinke, Jimmy Gobble, and Robinson Tejada to a 7-1 win in Surprise, AZ today.  The Brew Crew were held off the scoreboard completely until Brandon Duckworth surrendered a solo home run to Brad Nelson in the top of the 9th inning.

The Game

The hitters had 7 hits, all singles, and plated 7 runs, all in the first inning.  The hitters drew 5 walks against just 3 strikeouts (is it just me, or are these numbers improving, game-to-game?)  The pitchers allowed 1 run on 6 hits.  The pitchers walked 4 while striking out 6.  

Hitter of the Game

The hitter of the game award will go to Bert Callaspo, as he was the only hitter with more than one hit.  Bert was 2-4 with 1 run.  

Pitcher of the Game

The pitcher of the game award will go to Zack Greinke.  Greinke pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits (2 singles and 1 double).  Greinke struck out 1 and walked 2 batters.  

Tomorrow

Tomorrow the Royals will take on the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, AZ.  First pitch will be at 3:05 central time.  Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar will both pitch for the Royals.  Chad Gaudin will get the nod for the Cubs.

Super Mario wins it in the bottom of the 9th..

Really short post tonight as I have to be up at 4:45 in the morning tomorrow.. urg..

Game

The Royals battled back and forth with the Texas Rangers, eventually scoring the 8th and winning run in the bottom of the 9th off a Mario Lisson bases loaded single.  Also, Gil Meche pitched well in his "B" game start.

Hitter of the Game

It's hard to look past Mario Lisson as the hitter of the game.  Lisson was 2-2 with 2 RBI and a run.  Lisson also knocked in the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a bases loaded single.  Also notable: Coco Crisp, who went 0-0 with 2 walks and a sacrifice fly.  (keep taking those walks, Coco!)

Pitcher of the Game

Heath Phillips had an excellent start, throwing three scoreless innings with 1 strikeout and 1 walk, giving up just 1 hit.  However, I'm going to give the pitcher of the game award to Joel Peralta who struck out the side in the 8th inning.

Overview

The offense drew 7 walks against 7 strikeouts (finally), and managed 8 runs off of 11 hits.  The offense managed 4 XBH, 3 doubles (Gordon, Corey Smith, Mitch Maier), and one home run (Mike Jacobs).  Matt Wright made the only error.  The pitchers walked 6 while striking out 10.  The pitchers allowed 7 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits including 2 home runs.

Tomorrow

The Indians will host the Royals tomorrow.  First pitch will be at 2:05 Central time.  Kyle Davies gets the nod for the Royals, and Horacio Ramirez will also see some innings.

Sorry for the short posts lately, I should be able to get back into doing some good write-ups next week.  Thanks as always for reading.

No more Neal - Musser signs with 'Stros

No game today, so it'll be just a short post.

No More Neal

I noticed this little nugget on MLBTR today.  

If you recall, when the Royals claimed INF Timothy "Tug" Hulett off of waivers a few weeks ago, they subsequently DFA'd LRP Neal Musser.  Well, I hadn't heard any news on Musser's status until today.  Apparently the Houston Astros signed Musser today to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, and he reported to the 'Stros camp today.  

*note*

I just checked Royals.com and Neal Musser cleared waivers and was released on the 27th of February.

The Impact.. at least according to me

While it is unfortunate to lose a player like Musser in the sense that it's always good to have extra lefties stashed away in AAA, it's also a very positive sign of where the Royals are headed.  While Musser might not make the Astros out of ST, I think it's only a positive sign that the guys that we get rid of are being picked up by other big league teams.  There was a time when the players that we DFA'd would have to go to an independent league or to Japan, because there were no teams lower than the Royals to pick up our scraps.

Sure, it may not be a big deal, as it surely is just a small sign.  But it's important to keep everything in perspective.  While it definitely takes a long time to turn such an awful franchise as KC around, this is one more sign that we're on the right track.

DFA's in '05 and '06

All of the crappy players we designated for assignment in 2005 and 2006:  RHP Ryan Jensen 6/4/05, Eli Marrero 5/31/05, Calvin Pickering 9/6/05, Kyle Snyder and Devon Lowery 1/6/06, Chip Ambres 3/28/06, Joe Nelson 4/26/06, Steve Andrade 4/1/06, Aaron Guiel 6/30/06, Kerry Robinson 6/21/06, Kyle Snyder 6/11/06, Steve Andrade 6/11/06, Chris Booker 7/9/06, Donnie Murphy and Juan Cedeno 11/20/06, Scott Dohmann 12/8/06, Brandon Duckworth 12/11/06, Paul Phillips 12/15/06

It's proof positive that we're getting better because Neal Musser is better (and at least has a better combination of youth and usefulness (being a lefty) than just about all of those players.  Sure, you can make an argument for some, but I hope you get my point.

Tomorrow

The Royals will take on the Texas Rangers once again, with Heath Phillips, Ron Mahay and Kyle Farnsworth scheduled to pitch.  No official word on the starter, but I imagine it's Heath.  Also, the Royals have a B game against the Rangers in the morning on the side field, getting the start will be Gil Meche.

Thanks again for reading!