Royals News

"Should Royals fans be concerned about Mike Moustakas? The short answer to that question is no. Or maybe heck no. I get a lot of e-mail from Royals fans wondering about minor-league prospects. This is heartening, because when fans are following a team with that degree of detail, it speaks well of their emotional investment in the team. But lately, there seems to be a premature rush to label Moustakas a bust."

"The rush by big-league teams in recent months to lock in their young core players for long term appears poised to add another name. Florida has reached a general agreement on a six-year extension with shortstop Hanley Ramirez that could be worth as much as $70 million. If that deal goes down, Ramirez would become the 23rd player since Jan. 1 to reach a multiyear extension when at least two years shy of free-agent eligibility. None of them are Royals."

"Unlike in previous seasons, the Royals have maintained a stable starting rotation through the early part of the season. They’ve used six starters so far — the Royals used eight through May 12 last season and 13 starters overall in 2007 — and the current five starters have allowed fewer than five runs in seven of their last 10 outings. “I’m really comfortable with the five guys and their accountability and their ability to go out and win ballgames,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said."

"One of the many encouraging signs the Royals showed in their 4-0 victory Sunday afternoon over Baltimore was the way Billy Butler stung the ball in a couple of at-bats. Butler’s average was sliding into the .270s. But he ended Saturday night’s game with a ringing double off the left-center-field wall. In his first at-bat Sunday, he followed Jose Guillen’s leadoff single in the second with a solid single to left. The Royals wound up scoring a run. Butler added a walk in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh for the Royals’ final run."

"A small mechanical change, that’s all Brian Bannister said he did. One little adjustment he didn’t specify, and, boom, just like that the Royals’ three-game losing streak is gone. Bannister used his classic mix of breaking balls and deceiving fastballs, dominating the Orioles over eight scoreless innings of a 4-0 Royals victory Sunday in front of a Mother’s Day crowd of 18,635 at Kauffman Stadium."

"If the Orioles had been shut out in the first game of the series here, as they were in yesterday's finale, a 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals, there might have been reason for concern. Certainly, there would have been questions as to whether their scuffling offense was the primary factor in the two-hit, eight-inning masterpiece thrown by Royals right-hander Brian Bannister."

"When the Baltimore Orioles arrived in town late Wednesday night, they were in the midst of a season-long five-game losing streak, a skid that pushed them under the .500 mark and threatened to derail what's been a surprising start. But even with a 4-0 loss in the series finale with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday -- when Baltimore crumpled under the weight of Brian Bannister's eight-inning gem -- the Orioles won three of four games to stop the losing streak and salvage a three-city, 10-day road trip that at one point had all the makings of a disaster."

"On the road, the Royals are doing exactly what a team that hopes to make the playoffs is supposed to do. They are 9-9 away from Kauffman Stadium. Since winning their first two home games, the Royals have struggled in Kansas City. After Saturday’s loss, the Royals are 6-12. The good news is it is still early enough in the season to reverse the trend. “I think it has got to be coincidence,” Royals outfielder Mark Teahen said of the better road record. “You assume you play better in front of a crowd that supports you. “For whatever reason, we have played better on the road. It’s a long season. Before it is all said and done, hopefully we will play our best ball here.”"

"It’s becoming an art form — all right, an excruciating art form — the way the Royals keep finding ways to come up short against the Baltimore Orioles. Saturday’s 6-5 loss extended the streak to 12 in a row and included a rain delay of 1 hour, 52 minutes in the first inning after the Royals had already worked themselves into a 3-0 hole."

"Not even 25 mph winds, whipping rain and an empty bench could end the Orioles' inexplicable dominance of the Kansas City Royals. On a night when heavy rain caused a delay of nearly two hours after the top of the first inning, the Orioles ran their winning streak against the Royals to 12 games with a 6-5 victory."

"It wasn’t a total loss Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. “American Idol” finalist David Cook did a star turn in the seventh-inning stretch. Throw in some nonrainy weather, finally, and the usual Friday postgame fireworks. All very nice. The Royals, though … hoo-boy. Another loss to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4 this time."

"Baltimore Orioles right-hander Steve Trachsel entered his start against the Kansas City Royals on Friday with an 11.05 ERA in his last four assignments, lasting more than three innings just once. Not surprisingly, the Orioles lost all four games... With the stakes seemingly high, Trachsel delivered a trend-breaking performance while allowing just two runs in 5 1/3 innings to help the Orioles to a 7-4 victory against the Royals in front of 21,873 at Kauffman Stadium."

"Three hits Wednesday could have signaled a resurgence for slump-ridden outfielder José Guillen. Instead, his season took another disappointing turn because of a pain in the neck. Guillen wasn’t in the starting lineup Thursday when the Royals opened a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles because of a sore neck — what manager Trey Hillman termed an electric shock; and what is commonly referred to as a stinger."

"What is it about the Baltimore Orioles in general, and Daniel Cabrera in particular, that brings out the worst in the Royals? It happened again Thursday night when Baltimore slapped down the Royals 4-1 in the first of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. In doing so, the Orioles broke a five-game skid and beat the Royals for the 10th straight time. That’s right, 10 in a row."

"In the up-down elevator of a career that has defined Orioles enigmatic right-hander Daniel Cabrera, there have been few consistent successes. One has been his dominance against the Kansas City Royals. That trend continued tonight, and so did Cabrera's career-long streak of quality starts as he picked up his fifth career complete game and helped the Orioles break a five-game skid with a 4-1 win before an announced 11,781 at Kauffman Stadium."

"Orioles manager Dave Trembley called it the best he has ever seen Daniel Cabrera pitch. Statistically, Cabrera's complete-game, three-hitter against the Kansas City Royals last night -- which gave the Orioles a 4-1 win and ended their five-game losing streak -- was on par with Cabrera's memorable one-hitter at Yankee Stadium in 2006."

"After Kansas City's Billy Butler struck out, Baltimore Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera spun his body and pumped his fist. He couldn't help but rejoice -- he'd just notched his first complete-game victory since one-hitting the New York Yankees in 2006... The strikeout punctuated the right-hander's fifth career complete game, which lifted Baltimore to a 4-1 victory Thursday night that ended the team's season-long five-game losing streak."

"So this is what it looks like when just about everything clicks for the Royals. They matched a season high in hits. They matched a season high in runs. And they got another solid performance by Zack Greinke. It all combined for a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels that enabled the Royals to avoid a three-game sweep Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium."

"J oakim Soria can do the splits. Did you know that? Unofficially, they’re calling him the only Royals player who can do the splits, and that’s just the beginning of how he’s unique. He rocks braces and an Abraham Lincoln beard, plus usually a smile — and why not? He was the primary setup man in his second big-league game, the closer in his fourth, and now, into his second season, looks capable of becoming one of the game’s best. Numbers don’t always do it justice, but here goes: a perfect eight-for-eight on saves, zero runs surrendered in 13 one-inning appearances, a .071 batting average-against, one walk and 15 strikeouts."

"It’s far too early to call Luke Hochevar, the 2006 overall No. 1 pick, a Royals stopper. That title currently belongs to Zack Greinke. But since Hochevar was called up April 20, he has two of the four victories by Kansas City starters. Hochevar will take a personal two-game winning streak into tonight’s game against Baltimore with the same mentality as his previous starts."

"Not even the Kansas City Royals' 8,900-square foot, $8.3 million, 17-people-to-operate, see-it-from-space, high-definition scoreboard could make Jered Weaver's pitching look good Wednesday. Weaver was bounced around by one of the worst offensive teams in the majors, giving up as many hits (10) as he retired batters in his worst start of the season, a 9-4 loss to the Royals. "

"The forecast called for rain, heavy at times, throughout the Kansas City area Wednesday. Aside from a pregame drizzle, however, the rains never came. Which was unfortunate for the Angels and pitcher Jered Weaver, who clearly would have preferred a washout to the 9-4 blowout the Royals handed them at Kauffman Stadium."

"Well, this was different. No better, but different. The Royals goosed their run-starved attack for an early lead Tuesday night before Brian Bannister gave it all back and more in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. It came down to this: Bannister couldn’t retire Garret Anderson in RBI situations. Anderson hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and delivered two-out RBI singles in the fifth and seventh."

"Billy Butler admitted before Tuesday’s game that he’s not locked in like he was earlier in the season. His average has dipped below .300, and he only had one extra-base hit since he hit a home run on April 14. Butler, though, is taking a reasoned approach. “I think I’m having good at-bats; I’m just missing the pitch I’m going after,” Butler said. “(Monday night) aside, I don’t think there is anything I could have done. That’s how good (Ervin) Santana was."

"Thirty-five games into the season, the Angels are shorthanded, riddled with injuries and have key players in slumps. And cruising. Garret Anderson broke out of his slump to drive in all five runs as the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3, Tuesday night. Their season-high fourth consecutive victory gives the Angels a 22-13 record, tied with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in the American League. That includes a 12-5 record on the road, the best in the majors. And they are one win away from matching the best starts in franchise history (23-12 in 2004 and 1970). "

"Say what you want about the benefits of home cooking, but the Angels apparently prefer room service. Because be it ever so humble, there seems to be no place like the road for the team this season. "Maybe it's because these guys got families. Everybody gets their sleep on the road," said reliever Darren Oliver, searching for an explanation. "Who knows? It works for me." And for his teammates too, who rode a five-RBI night from Garret Anderson and a gutsy five-out performance from Oliver to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, running the Angels' road record to a baseball-best 12-5 and extending their season-best winning streak to four."

"To Royals fans, it was the type of television glitch that simply should never happen. During the late moments of the Royals’ dramatic 4-2 win on Saturday night, FSN Kansas City’s coverage of the game on local cable systems was abruptly switched to “Aussie Millions,” a show on poker. The switch came at 10 p.m. and lasted about seven minutes at a time the Royals were desperately trying to preserve the win. It was an embarrassing moment for FSN Kansas City, which is in its first year of a long-term deal as the Royals’ television rights holder."

"Pitching and defense are the twin pillars on which the Dayton Moore Royals are being constructed. Five weeks into the 2008 season, one of these areas has been strong for KC. The other has not. Can you guess which is which? If you said pitching, congratulations. You are now entitled to one official Stat Guy abacus. (Not really.) The Royals have committed the fewest errors in the American League (12). Their .989 fielding percentage is tied with the LA Angels for tops in the circuit. And, yet, the Royals have given up 4.43 runs per game, better than only three other AL teams. So if the defense is so good, then the problem is obviously the pitchers."

"Good pitching only takes you so far. The Royals wasted Brett Tomko’s seven shutout innings Monday night in a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. The bullpen coughed up all four runs in the ninth inning. That was a problem, of course. But the bigger concern is this was another punchless effort. Another night of wondering why this team can’t score. And another night with no answers."

"Royals left-hander John Bale made his toughest appearance so far this season on Monday. Nearly three hours before the Royals faced the Angels, a remorseful Bale stood in front of his locker and talked about how he let the team down. Bale broke a bone in his pitching hand Friday night when he hit a hotel door. “This is tough,” Bale said quietly as he addressed reporters. “I would like to apologize first of all to the Royals organization, teammates and my coaching staff for my actions. It was uncalled for. It was a moment of frustration. I wish I could do anything to take it back, but I can’t.”"

"I'm pretty sure that if you got yourself a big federal grant and did a study, you'd find that professional athletes are not - on average - any less intelligent than the general population, but you'd never know that by the headlines. On almost any given day, somebody in sports is proving the timeless wisdom of fictional philosopher Forrest Gump, who was fond of pointing out that "stupid is as stupid does." Case in point: Former Orioles pitcher John Bale, who fractured his hand punching a door Friday in Cleveland."

"Saunders and Santana - and maybe rain manana? It has the alliteration if not the catchiness of the famous Spahn-and-Sain couplet. But, this dynamic duo has been as reliable as the Southern California weather this season. Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana remain historically unbeaten after Santana upped the ante with the best performance yet in his season of rebirth, holding the Kansas City Royals to four hits in a complete-game shutout and waiting for the Angels to rally in the ninth inning for a 4-0 victory Monday night. "

"Royals left-hander John Bale won’t be returning to active duty any time soon after breaking his pitching hand Friday night by punching a door at the team’s downtown hotel. Bale apparently was frustrated by his slow recovery from a fatigued left shoulder. He returned early Sunday to Kansas City and is scheduled to undergo further examination Monday by club physicians."

"Here it was, finally, the Royals hope, that dominant, shutdown performance that kicks Gil Meche into gear. Maybe the Royals, too, for that matter. Meche pitched seven shutout innings Sunday afternoon — and needed to be that good for Kansas City to eke out a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians that completed a two-game sweep of their rain-shortened series."

"Royals left-hander John Bale won’t be returning to active duty anytime soon after breaking his pitching hand Friday night by punching a door at the team’s downtown hotel. Bale’s act, apparently, was one of frustration stemming from his slow recovery from a fatigued left shoulder. He returned early Sunday to Kansas City and is scheduled to undergo further examination today by club physicians."

" Because of rain last Friday and an off-day today, Indians left-hander Aaron Laffey's turn in the rotation could have been skipped. Laffey made the bosses glad they stayed with him Sunday. Laffey, in his second major-league start this season, pitched splendidly against the Royals. He gave up one unearned run in seven innings, but the Tribe's offensive offense and one bad defensive play saddled him with a 2-0 loss at Progressive Field. "

"Maybe Eric Wedge should rephrase his stated objective to the Indians' befuddled batsmen, who obviously have misunderstood the manager's intent. He has emphasized consistency, and his pupils have obliged, but not as Wedge intended. The hitters have been consistently dismal; in 15 out of 30 games, the attack has scored three or fewer runs, including Saturday night, when the Royals rallied for a 4-2 win at Progressive Field."

"The Kansas City Royals scored four runs off C.C. Sabathia in the seventh inning Saturday night and never scored again. That one inning was enough to beat the impotent Indians, 4-2."

"Shortstop Tony Peña remains a fixture, for now, in the Royals’ lineup because of his defense. But even manager Trey Hillman admits the clock is ticking as Peña’s average hovers in sub-arctic depths below the Mendoza line. “Defense is so important,” Hillman said. “I think that if we don’t catch it — and I’m not saying AC can’t catch it, but he can’t do some of the things that Tony does. “I will probably stick with Peña at least as long as I have already. I’ll probably stick with him for another month to try to get it going.”"

"So who saw this coming? Here it was Saturday night and the Royals, as has been their nature this season, were going down meekly. Cleveland starter C.C. Sabathia, the reigning Cy Young winner, carried a two-run lead into the seventh inning. And what happens? The Royals roused themselves for four runs, knocked out Sabathia, batted around, took the lead and held on for a 4-2 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field."

"Manager Trey Hillman opened some eyes last Sunday when he kept Gil Meche on the mound for a career-high 129 pitches in a 5-2 loss to Toronto at Kauffman Stadium. Meche’s total was also the highest by any starter this season and the most by a Royals starter since Chad Durbin threw 137 pitches on July 28, 2001. It was the most by anyone since Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang threw 135 on July 8, 2006. The obvious question: Has Hillman, after managing the last five years in Japan, imported that culture’s disdain for pitch counts? A little, it seems."

"The Royals believe it’s just a matter of time before Alex Gordon develops into a consistently productive No. 3 hitter. That’s why Gordon returned to that spot in the lineup Friday, before the postponement, after spending the two previous games at No. 7. “I think he has a tendency to put a little pressure on himself (when batting third),” manager Trey Hillman said, “whether he realizes it or not. When he puts a little pressure on himself, his swing gets a little longer."

"Yasuhiko Yabuta’s hold on a bullpen job appears in jeopardy as lefty John Bale moves closer to returning from the disabled list. Royals manager Trey Hillman shows no inclination to disrupt his rotation, which suggests Bale will return to duty as a reliever. If so, someone in the bullpen has to go. That points to Yabuta, who has yielded 12 runs, 19 hits and nine walks in 13 innings over nine appearances. The other possibility is Joel Peralta, who has options, but Hillman left little doubt as to his preference."

"The Royals had the entire flight Thursday evening to Cleveland to ponder what, exactly, was the worst part of Thursday’s 2-1 loss the Texas Rangers. There was simply losing to the Rangers, of course. Texas entered the day with baseball’s worst record and in crisis mode with rumors continuing to circulate that manager Ron Washington is about to be fired."

"Sidney Ponson talks about as quickly as he pitches. And he hit the fast-forward button Thursday. Ponson wasted little time, recording nine strikeouts and 12 ground-ball outs while pitching eight innings in a 2-1 victory against Kansas City and starter Zach Grienke. The game lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes, the shortest game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington since May 29, 2006."

"Brian Bannister warned about this during earlier starts when he seemed to dominate opposing hitters with ease. He was a streaky pitcher who pitched to contact and, on occasion, the randomness attached to balls in play was going to jump up and bite him. Throw in a stiff 30-mph wind and, well, Bannister knew it was going to be ugly Wednesday night at Rangers Ballpark. And, boy, was it. Bannister surrendered three homers and seven runs in the first two innings as the Royals fell 11-9 to the Texas Rangers."

"David DeJesus got his chance Wednesday night to provide the Royals with some punch from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. “I think he’s swinging the bat as well as anybody we’ve got right now,” manager Trey Hillman said. “I think you want your most productive guy in the three slot.” That pointed Hillman toward DeJesus, who carried a .341 average into Wednesday’s game. Further, his nine RBIs ranked fourth on the club despite serving primarily as the leadoff hitter — and missing 14 games because of various injuries."

"The Rockies took a step toward answering the question about their starting pitcher for Saturday night against the Dodgers. They acquired left-hander Jorge de la Rosa and cash to offset his $1 million salary from the Royals on Wednesday afternoon as the player to be named later in the deal that sent right-hander Ramon Ramirez to the Royals in late spring training. The Royals also will receive a player to be determined, who is tied to how de la Rosa pitches with the Rockies."

"Before today's series finale in San Francisco, manager Clint Hurdle wouldn't elaborate on Saturday's starter. He knew who it would be, but also that the pitcher wasn't yet on the roster — or in the organization for that matter. He is now. The Rockies officially acquired Kansas City left-hander Jorge de la Rosa today, according to a source close to the pitcher. De la Rosa becomes the player to be named later in the Ramon Ramirez deal dating to spring training."

"Winds approaching 30 mph gusted through Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Wednesday night, leaving behind a swirling mess of hot dog wrappers and unused All-Star ballots. The Rangers can only hope it was as successful at blowing away the team's April troubles as it was at blowing out one home run after another. On the way to an 11-9 win over Kansas City to finish the month, the Rangers scored all of their runs on five homers. "