Monday, August 04, 2008
The Royals won Sunday 14-3 over the Chicago White Sox. For the second day in a row the Royals offense pounded out 19 hits vs the Sox pitchers. The Royals took two of three from the Sox losing Friday night 2-4, winning Saturday 9-7 and yesterday 14-3. I have a feeling the Chicago players did not like the high temps in KC. Both days the games were day games with temps in the high 90's and a "feel like" temp over 105. For instance Mark Buehrle a very fine starting pitcher gave up 14 hits and 8 earned runs in only 4 1/3 innings Saturday. Buehrle has a career 17-7 against the Royals. Or perhaps the Royals are just playing better than the Sox.
In Sunday's game a brawl erupted when former Royal pitcher DJ Carrasco hit Royals catcher Miguel Olivo on the wrist. Any player can be hit at any time but in this case I believe Olivo had a right to be upset. The pitch he was hit with was the third in a row in the same location high and inside. In fact on the second attempt the ball hit Olivo's bat right on the knob of the bat. It was amazing he was not hit then. So it looks like they were attempting to hit him. Olivo hit a homer Saturday vs the Sox and earlier this year was hit by Chicago relief pitcher Octavio Dotel. Carrasco, Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen and Royals catcher Olivo were were thrown out of the game.
Zack Greinke retaliated in the sixth hitting Sox player Nick Swisher in the leg. Greinke was then ejected along with Royals Manager Trey Hillman. Greinke had a fine game going 6 1/3 allowing with 6 K's and allowing six hits, 2 earned runs. It looked like he was tiring and decided that was time for revenge.
The Royals are 9-6 since the All-Star break and 52-60 overall, 10 1/2 behind the first place Twins, 3/12 behind third place Detroit and 3 games AHEAD of last place Cleveland.
Next up the Boston Red Sox are in town.
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In Sunday's game a brawl erupted when former Royal pitcher DJ Carrasco hit Royals catcher Miguel Olivo on the wrist. Any player can be hit at any time but in this case I believe Olivo had a right to be upset. The pitch he was hit with was the third in a row in the same location high and inside. In fact on the second attempt the ball hit Olivo's bat right on the knob of the bat. It was amazing he was not hit then. So it looks like they were attempting to hit him. Olivo hit a homer Saturday vs the Sox and earlier this year was hit by Chicago relief pitcher Octavio Dotel. Carrasco, Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen and Royals catcher Olivo were were thrown out of the game.
Zack Greinke retaliated in the sixth hitting Sox player Nick Swisher in the leg. Greinke was then ejected along with Royals Manager Trey Hillman. Greinke had a fine game going 6 1/3 allowing with 6 K's and allowing six hits, 2 earned runs. It looked like he was tiring and decided that was time for revenge.
The Royals are 9-6 since the All-Star break and 52-60 overall, 10 1/2 behind the first place Twins, 3/12 behind third place Detroit and 3 games AHEAD of last place Cleveland.
Next up the Boston Red Sox are in town.
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Aviles Named Co-Player of the Week
Mike Aviles and the Yankees Xavier Nady were named American League Co-Players of the Week . Last week Aviles hit .577 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs. He also posted a 1.000 slugging percentage and .593 on-base percentage.
Aviles gets his hits in bunches. He has 21 multi-hit games in 52 games this year and is hitting .340 for the year with 31 RBI, OBP .365, SLG .550 and a .916 OPS.
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Aviles gets his hits in bunches. He has 21 multi-hit games in 52 games this year and is hitting .340 for the year with 31 RBI, OBP .365, SLG .550 and a .916 OPS.
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Guillen Denies He Wants Out
Jose Guillen late today denied that he wanted out of Kansas City immediately. In an article by Bob Dutton of the KC Star Guillen expressed surprise at an earlier report on ESPNdeportes.com that said his relationship with Royals Manager Trey Hillman "are not on speaking terms, they don't talk." The source used by the article was an anonymous one not Guillen himself.
The Dutton article quotes Guileen saying "This is completely catching me by surprise. This isn’t coming from me. Trey and I are fine right now, and I’ve never said I wanted out of Kansas City."
He also said in the article “This is the team that is paying me a lot of money, and this is where I want to be. I don’t know where all of this stuff is coming from. I hate to be put in this situation, and now I look like a bad guy again.”
So this looks like a case of bad reporting by an ESPN writer using only an anonymous source and not checking with the subject (in this case Guillen) on the story. It is amazing sometimes how articles like that can be published and the author is never held accountable. You have to wonder if there is a motive to it or just a case of sloppy journalism. In this case I am guessing it is the latter. Just once I would like a guy to say he was wrong with the facts and did not do his homework. We all know that we will not happen, the story will quietly fade away and I presume all will be forgiven by the author's superiors. On to the next story....
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The Dutton article quotes Guileen saying "This is completely catching me by surprise. This isn’t coming from me. Trey and I are fine right now, and I’ve never said I wanted out of Kansas City."
He also said in the article “This is the team that is paying me a lot of money, and this is where I want to be. I don’t know where all of this stuff is coming from. I hate to be put in this situation, and now I look like a bad guy again.”
So this looks like a case of bad reporting by an ESPN writer using only an anonymous source and not checking with the subject (in this case Guillen) on the story. It is amazing sometimes how articles like that can be published and the author is never held accountable. You have to wonder if there is a motive to it or just a case of sloppy journalism. In this case I am guessing it is the latter. Just once I would like a guy to say he was wrong with the facts and did not do his homework. We all know that we will not happen, the story will quietly fade away and I presume all will be forgiven by the author's superiors. On to the next story....
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Guillen Wants Out
Jose Guillen the controversial troubled outfielder of the Royals wants out of KC according to ESPNdeportes.com . Guillen leads the team with 14 HRS and 69 RBI. The 69 RBI are already more than any Royal had last year. He is hitting .260 with a OBP .287 SLG.446 and a OPS .733. For the month of July he has a line of .154.191,.200 and .391. He has been hampered by a groin injury for quite some time. The Royals signed Jose Guillen to a three year contract during the off season. He is making $12 million this year. According to a source in the ESPN article Guillen was "ready to defer his salary for 2009 and 2010 if it helps increase his value on the trading block". Sounds like he wants out bad but it did not stop him from hitting a home run in last night's game against the A's in Oakland. The two run homer gave the Royals a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the game.
Guillen has had several incidents already this year during post game interviews in which he has criticized his fellow teammates and fans. These comments usually were about the Royals playing the game the right way or about Guillen's efforts on the field. There have been many instances were he has not ran to first, dogged it in the outfield and sometimes look uninterested in the field. The other side of the story is that he is battling a bad hip and will only go all out when he thinks he can. If that is indeed the case then perhaps he should not be playing at all. All of this comes out the day before the trading deadline which is Thursday. Also there is no real confirmation that any of this true. Will have to listen to the pregame tonight for any comments by the Royals.
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Guillen has had several incidents already this year during post game interviews in which he has criticized his fellow teammates and fans. These comments usually were about the Royals playing the game the right way or about Guillen's efforts on the field. There have been many instances were he has not ran to first, dogged it in the outfield and sometimes look uninterested in the field. The other side of the story is that he is battling a bad hip and will only go all out when he thinks he can. If that is indeed the case then perhaps he should not be playing at all. All of this comes out the day before the trading deadline which is Thursday. Also there is no real confirmation that any of this true. Will have to listen to the pregame tonight for any comments by the Royals.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Gathright to DL, Maier Called Up
From a Royals Press Release:
The Kansas City Royals have placed outfielder Joey Gathright on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise in his right shoulder and recalled outfielder Mitch Maier from Triple-A Omaha.
Maier is in the lineup tonight batting 9th and playing centerfield. Maier is 26 years old and hitting .316 with Omaha.
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The Kansas City Royals have placed outfielder Joey Gathright on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise in his right shoulder and recalled outfielder Mitch Maier from Triple-A Omaha.
Maier is in the lineup tonight batting 9th and playing centerfield. Maier is 26 years old and hitting .316 with Omaha.
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25 Years Later
Today is the Silver Anniversary of the famous Pine Tar Game. The Game involved two heated rivals at that time the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. The Royals had confronted the Yankees in four fiercely playoff appearances in the previous decade. The first three playoffs ended with the Yankees beating the Royals. In 1980 that all changed when George Brett hit a tremendous three run homer of Goose Gossage in the 7th inning of Game Three of the AL Playoffs to give the Royals a 4-2 lead. The victory lead to the Royals first World Series appearance against the Phillies.
Three years later and the rivalry was still intense. The place was Yankee Stadium, the date was July 24th 1983. The Royals were losing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th with two out and UL Washington on first base. Goose Gossage was on the mound and George Brett was at the plate, just like 1980. In an eerie replay of 1980 Brett connected off Gossage yet again giving the Royals a 5-4 lead.
Billy Martin the Yankee Manager approached home plate umpire Tim McClelland and requested that Brett's bat be examined. Martin convinced McClelland to examine Brett's bat for a pine tar violation. There was a rule that said that pine tar more that 18 up the length of the bat was illegal. McClelland agreed the bat was illegal and called Brett out. Brett was furious and jettisoned out of the dugout like a man possessed to confront McClelland. Numerous Royals players and Manager Dick Howser had to hold Brett back from McClelland. Since Brett was called out the home run was not allowed and the Yankees won the game. The Royals protested the game and AL President Lee MacPhail sided with the Royals saying that the bat was in violation but it did not vilolate the spirit of the rules or make the ball go farther in distance. He ordered that the game be re-started at the point of Brett's home run (2 outs in the 9th Royals ahead 5-4). Brett was ejected from the game because of his outburst. The re-started game took place on August 18th 1983. Billy Martin in protest used pitcher Ron Guidry in center field and first baseman Don Mattingly at second base. In another strategy to deny a Royals victory Billy Martin challenged the fact that Brett even hit a home run saying George did not touch all the bases. The game was being played with a different umpiring crew so they did not actually see George touch the bases. But the league was prepared for that Martin ruse by having sworn affidavits by the previous umpiring crew saying that George did touch all the bases. Martin was thrown out after seeing the affidavits. Hal McRae k'd to end the Royals ninth and Quisenberry continued from where he left off the previous game retiring the Yanks 1,2,3 for the win.
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Three years later and the rivalry was still intense. The place was Yankee Stadium, the date was July 24th 1983. The Royals were losing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th with two out and UL Washington on first base. Goose Gossage was on the mound and George Brett was at the plate, just like 1980. In an eerie replay of 1980 Brett connected off Gossage yet again giving the Royals a 5-4 lead.
Billy Martin the Yankee Manager approached home plate umpire Tim McClelland and requested that Brett's bat be examined. Martin convinced McClelland to examine Brett's bat for a pine tar violation. There was a rule that said that pine tar more that 18 up the length of the bat was illegal. McClelland agreed the bat was illegal and called Brett out. Brett was furious and jettisoned out of the dugout like a man possessed to confront McClelland. Numerous Royals players and Manager Dick Howser had to hold Brett back from McClelland. Since Brett was called out the home run was not allowed and the Yankees won the game. The Royals protested the game and AL President Lee MacPhail sided with the Royals saying that the bat was in violation but it did not vilolate the spirit of the rules or make the ball go farther in distance. He ordered that the game be re-started at the point of Brett's home run (2 outs in the 9th Royals ahead 5-4). Brett was ejected from the game because of his outburst. The re-started game took place on August 18th 1983. Billy Martin in protest used pitcher Ron Guidry in center field and first baseman Don Mattingly at second base. In another strategy to deny a Royals victory Billy Martin challenged the fact that Brett even hit a home run saying George did not touch all the bases. The game was being played with a different umpiring crew so they did not actually see George touch the bases. But the league was prepared for that Martin ruse by having sworn affidavits by the previous umpiring crew saying that George did touch all the bases. Martin was thrown out after seeing the affidavits. Hal McRae k'd to end the Royals ninth and Quisenberry continued from where he left off the previous game retiring the Yanks 1,2,3 for the win.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Gobble Placed On DL, Peralta Called UP
The Royals placed Jimmy Gobble on the 15 day DL list today and recalled Joel Peralta. Gobble was placed on the DL supposedly because of a strained lower back. This move comes after a disastarous outing by Gobble last against versus the Tigers. The Royals were already losing 9-0 to the Tigers in the 8th. Gobble first came in in the 7th walking Ivan Rodriquez to force in a run that was charged to Tejeda. He then retired Renteria on a groundout. In the 8th the wheels fell off for Gobble. In 2/3 of a inning he gave up 7 hits, 4 walks, 10 runs. Jimmy has had a terrible year, his ERA is now over 11 with last night's game in the books. I place a lot of this blame on the manager Trey Hillman. The fact is Gobble is a lefty specialist and that is all. Putting him in against righties is asking for a lot of pain. I dont know why Hillman insists on using Jimmy in those situations but he does. I suppose with the team losing 9-0 already he was hoping Jimmy could save some other arms for another day. In other words Gobble is the new mop up man playing only when a game is out of hand. That did not work out last night and now Jimmy is on the DL. Frankly I dont believe Gobble is hurt and I doubt if he will be on the game again. Fact is we really dont need him and should use the spot for someone more versatile.
Edit: In the pre-game today Hillman says he thinks Gobble may have been pitching with his sore back last night and expects Jimmy to return to the team. Hillman said if he thought Jimmy was hurt he certainly would not have left him in the game for that length of time, if at all. He also said he will try to limit his outings to the lefty specialist role in the future.
Tony Pena JR of all people, finished the game pitching a 1,2,3 9th which included a K of Ivan Rodriquez.
Kyle Davies vs Kenny Rogers tonight.
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Edit: In the pre-game today Hillman says he thinks Gobble may have been pitching with his sore back last night and expects Jimmy to return to the team. Hillman said if he thought Jimmy was hurt he certainly would not have left him in the game for that length of time, if at all. He also said he will try to limit his outings to the lefty specialist role in the future.
Tony Pena JR of all people, finished the game pitching a 1,2,3 9th which included a K of Ivan Rodriquez.
Kyle Davies vs Kenny Rogers tonight.
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Time to revive the ole blog. The Royals won two of three against the White Sox this last weekend. This was the first time the Royals won a series against the Sox in Chicago since 2003. Now the Royals begin a three week stretch where 16 of the 19 games are at home. This would be a good time to improve on the team's 45-54 won loss record. Right now the Royals are in 4th place, 11 games out of first, 41/2 behind Detroit for third, and one game ahead of fifth place Cleveland. Yes Cleveland is in last place, hard to believe but it's true. Cleveland is playing the Angels in a three game series starting tonight so the Royals could increase there margin over the Indians. This stretch of games kicks off tonight with a three game series against the Detroit Tigers. Luke Hochevar goes against Zach Miner. The Royals are 6-0 against Detroit this year. The Tigers have rebounded from there miserable 2-10 start to a 49-49 record and would like some revenge on the Royals for putting them in a hole in the season opening series when the Royals swept the Tigers 3-0. Leo Nunez will return to the team tonight. He has been out since May 28th with a strained leg muscle. Joel Peralta was optioned to Omaha to make room for Nunez. Mike Aviles has a career high 10 game hitting streak going on.
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Friday, April 18, 2008
John Bale Goes on DL
John Bale was placed on the 15 day DL after complaining of a dead arm after the game Tuesday against Seattle. Pitchers usually go through a dead arm period at some point in spring training and that could be what is going on here. Bale lost twenty five pounds in the off season in preparation of being a starting pitcher. Before this season his last major league start was in 2003.
Joe Peralta was recalled from Omaha but his stay might be short term. The question now is who is going to replace Bale in the rotation? The prime candidate would be Luke Hochevar the #1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. Luke almost made the team in spring training but DM wanted him to gain a bit more work in the minors before calling him up. Other candidates include Jorge De La Rosa or perhaps a combinations of relief pitchers. If De La Rosa is called up then someone would need to be cut on the 40 man roster to make room for him.
Here are a couple of stories related to the Royals circling the web. The first is another story on Brian Bannister by Brad Evans of Yahoo sports.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN has Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister listed in the top five of his Young starters trying to make the long-term leap list.
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Joe Peralta was recalled from Omaha but his stay might be short term. The question now is who is going to replace Bale in the rotation? The prime candidate would be Luke Hochevar the #1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. Luke almost made the team in spring training but DM wanted him to gain a bit more work in the minors before calling him up. Other candidates include Jorge De La Rosa or perhaps a combinations of relief pitchers. If De La Rosa is called up then someone would need to be cut on the 40 man roster to make room for him.
Here are a couple of stories related to the Royals circling the web. The first is another story on Brian Bannister by Brad Evans of Yahoo sports.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN has Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister listed in the top five of his Young starters trying to make the long-term leap list.
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
Game 12 Royals 5, Twins 1
Brian Bannister's superb pitching and the reawakening of KC's slumbering offense propelled the Royals to a 5-1 victory over the Twins. The victory broke a three game losing streak for the Royals. Today Bannister pitched a complete game, allowing only three hits, 1 walk and had three K's on 111 pitches. Here are Banny's latest numbers after the game today:
W-L 3-0
ERA .86
WHIP .71
BAA .141
The 26 inning scoring drought ended in the first inning when Gathright singled, German sacrificed, Gathright to second and Billy Butler singled him home tying the game 1-1. The Twins had scored in the top of the first when Justin Moreau singled in Harris. Harris had reached second on a error by Jose Guillen when a fly ball went of his glove. That was it for the Twins. The Royals took the lead in the second when Gordon walked Olivo doubled him in. The Royals added three more runs during the game including a solo homer by Gordon in the 8th. It was Gordon's third of the year.
Billy Butler has a twelve game hitting streak and is hitting .386 for the season.
The Royals next go on a seven game road trip with two games in Seattle,two in LA and three in Oakland.
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W-L 3-0
ERA .86
WHIP .71
BAA .141
The 26 inning scoring drought ended in the first inning when Gathright singled, German sacrificed, Gathright to second and Billy Butler singled him home tying the game 1-1. The Twins had scored in the top of the first when Justin Moreau singled in Harris. Harris had reached second on a error by Jose Guillen when a fly ball went of his glove. That was it for the Twins. The Royals took the lead in the second when Gordon walked Olivo doubled him in. The Royals added three more runs during the game including a solo homer by Gordon in the 8th. It was Gordon's third of the year.
Billy Butler has a twelve game hitting streak and is hitting .386 for the season.
The Royals next go on a seven game road trip with two games in Seattle,two in LA and three in Oakland.
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