Royals on the Verge of History!!
09/01/2011
As the page of the calender was flipped to September, the Royals are on the verge of closing out this dream season. Considering where this team was when
GM Chris Torres took it over before the 2004 season, it has to especially be sweet for him.
Heading into this final stretch of games the Royals are currently at 88-42 and hold an astonishing 22.5 game lead over the Chicago White Sox(65-64) for the Central Division Crown. And with their magic number being only 11, it will only be a matter of time before they celebrate in Kansas City.
They also hold the best record in baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates owning the best record in the National League with an 81-47 mark. More importantly to the Royals will be winning their 90th game on the season. The highest win total under this management team is 89 in the 2009 season.
"When we started on this project seven years ago, we knew it would take time and hard work from everyone in the organization. It took a few years longer than I would have liked, but this is our third year of winning baseball and our first year with the possibility of the playoffs." gleamed GM Torres.
And with all this excitement, the Royals will be getting even better with the return of
1B Melvin Colmenares tomorrow. The prior First Round Draft Pick in 2008 and Two-Time All-Star has been sidelined for the past three months with a fractured cheekbone.
"I am chomping at the bit to get back out there. I have not enjoyed this time on the DL at all considering how great we are doing this year but I just want to get back into the swing of things for some possible October baseball." said Colmenares last night.
For the year, Colmenares has played in 69 games, averaged .300, had an OBP of .421, hit 18 HR's and drove in 51 runs. Getting this deadly bat back in the middle of the lineup will only make the Royals that more dangerous.
On top of getting back Melvin tomorrow, the Royals also have
SS Rudolph Shaeffer hitting on all cylinders. On top of winning two Player of the Week Awards in August, he was just named the Player of the Month in the American League. For the month he hit .360, hitting 9 home runs, scoring 28 times and driving in 30 runs. Certainly a Hall of Fame type month. For the year Shaeffer is batting .333 with 28 home runs, 100 RBI's and 85 runs scored.
But the player that is probably most deserving of the team MVP Award in 2011, is
SP Joe Blanton. The prized free-agent in the off-season has certainly lived up to his billing as a past Cy Young Award winner.
For the season he is currently 15-1 and with an American League leading 2.30 ERA. Even more remarkable is the fact that the Royals have only lost four times when he has pitched this year.
Pitching coach Murray Turner had two words to describe Blanton, "jaw dropping."
And if this season will be remembered for one thing, it will be the assault on the Kansas City Record Book by
C Gene Marquez and
Joe Blanton. Here is a list of the records that they would have been broken and by how much if the season ended yesterday.
Average - Gene Marquez .347(+.07)
OBP - Gene Marquez .464(+.49)
Slugging - Gene Marquez .585(+.22)
OPS - Gene Marquez 1.050(+.72)
VORP - Gene Marquez 72.6(+18.5)
ERA - Joe Blanton 2.30(-.16)
Winning Percentage - Joe Blanton .938(+.176)
Strikeouts per 9 IP - Joe Blanton 10.0(+.1)
OOPS - Joe Blanton .560(-.125)
VORP - Joe Blanton 59.7(+16.1)
And these are the team records that should fall by the end of the season.
Stolen Bases - Santiago Rao 67(needs 3)
Walks - Gene Marquez 94(needs 17)
Saves - Brian Meadows 30(needs 4)
Strikeouts - Joe Blanton 200(needs 30)
So needless to say, the Royals Record Book keeper will be busy as the season comes to an end here in a few weeks.
"Overall I couldn't be happier with my team. I knew we had a good ball club coming out of Spring Training but that never means anything when the games are for real." said
Manager António DeLeón. "I am just trying to keep them focused this last month and trying to stress to them that nothing is won yet and all can be lost with a terrible September."
DeLeón and his
Bench Coach Orlando Gómez are in their "contract" year and should be getting a nice extension any day now. "I will be back next year." Gómez said with authority, trying to squash rumors of him wanting out after the season.
"I can tell you now, we will do whatever we can to bring back António and Orlando. We have already had good discussions with both sides this past week and I predict both will be signed to lucrative contracts before the season ends." said GM Chris Torres. Lets go Royals!!!