Is this the year for the Royals?

[CRTsports.com]

As the days near to the start of the 2010 season, many people are still thinking back to last year and what could have been. The Kansas City Royals were sitting 11.5 games up over the Detroit Tigers in the middle of August and many people were talking about their first Divisional Crown in years.

But true to Royals fashion they went on a twelve game losing streak which ended their streak at the top of the Central Division. It was a spot that they had held since Opening Day. The Tigers and Royals had a dogfight the rest of the season for the division lead but the Tigers were able to win the division by one game. But that was last year and this is now.

The Royals have just arrived back from Spring Training and their lineup looks even more potent than last year. 2009 was a year when they led in the top four categories, batting average, OPS, runs scores and homeruns. It was a year for the Royals Record Books. Their main weakness last year was their pitching but they have added a front line starter via a trade and a few key bullpen pitchers.

OFF SEASON MOVES

The Royals first big move was shipping 2B Brandon Phillips and his remaining $100 million contract to the Yankees for SP Brandon Hawksworth. As many fans remember Phillips was signed in the 08 off-season to a five year $125 million dollar contract but it just didn't work out. He spent over half the year on the DL and just didn't fit in well here in Kansas City. Hawksworth brings a career 3.92 ERA and 42-34 record to Kauffman stadium. He also comes a little more than $85 million dollars cheaper than Phillips and will fit in nicely in KC.

Just yesterday the Royals were approached by the San Francisco Giants about a potential trade for AAA players James Kier and Paul Gayle. In return the Giants sent them a MR in Kyle Lohse and SP Oscar Mariscal. Lohse will be a nice addition to the bullpen and Mariscal will try his luck in the Royals farm system.

CURRENT TOP PLAYERS

The Amateur Draft has been very kind to the Royals the past five years and they have capitalized on that. The Royals top player and top rated Center Fielder in the league is Santiago Rao. Rao was the Rookie of the Year in 2007 and has not let down the organization yet. His best year so far was last year where he hit .301/.356/.522 with 94 RBI's, 107 runs scored and 68 stolen bases. He did suffer a few injuries last year and only played in 139 games but he has promised to play in every game this year.

First Baseman Melvin "Butterball" Colmenares is a player that comes around once every ten or so years for an organization and you just have to watch him play to understand his greatness. He finished his first full year of pro ball last year and batted .315/.415/.522 with 103 RBI's and had 82 walks compared to 61 strike outs. He also led the league last year with 17 intentional walks. He only hit 23 homeruns last year in 132 games but he could easily be a 35+ homerun threat.

And last years Rookie of the Year RF William Quattlebaum will be looking to duplicate his rookie season in 2010. In 110 games he hit .334/.408/.554 with 76 RBI's and 53 walks compared to 40 strikeouts. He also has speed and stole 40 bases last year. Quattlebaum was a second round draft pick in 2007 and progressed very fast thru the minors and plans to spend many more years here in Kansas City.

Starting pitcher Bobby Brownlie is a pitcher that has been here thru the bad times and the good times. Brownlie was the ace of the staff last year with a 15-7 record and 3.33 ERA. He rebounded nicely from a torn tricep muscle that ended his 2008 season in mid July. Brownlie was able to stay off of the DL in 2009 which has many in the organization excited about his future. But his one weakness will have to be his endurance. He did have two complete games in 09 but he rarely works past the sixth inning, which is something you need from one of your top pitchers.

And as mentioned above SP Blake Hawksworth will be a key addition to the roster as Zack Grienke recovers from a fractured elbow in 2008. Grienke is due back in June or July but who knows if he will be able to recover his past form as the number three starter in KC.

TOP PROSPECTS

The Royals top propect this year is catcher Gene "Boom Boom" Marquez. He made the team out of the Spring Training after just racking it down South and will start on Opening Day. Marquez replaces catcher Rodney Seagraves(1st round, 2006) as the Royals top catcher and will be backed up by veteran Ramon Hernandez in 2010. Hernandez was brought in last year to bridge the gap between Seagraves but he just hasn't developed like the front office had hoped. Boom Boom is only twenty years old and many hope he can add another Rookie of the Year trophy to the KC front office.

PAYROLL/BUDGET

The Royals have benefited very nicely in the past five years of having young cheap talent at the major league level. But they had a record fifteen guys hit arbitration after 2009 with Rao making the most at $5.94 million this year. He is followed closely by DH Walter Young(4.736M), SS Rudolph Shaeffer(4.32M) and Brownlie at 3.414M.

If the Royals want to contend and in the future and keep the same nucleus together they will have to spend. Their current payroll is at roughly $44 million and the ownership group has given them roughly a $65 million dollar budget. Their key signings this year will have to be SP Bobby Brownlie(41-40 3.85ERA) and DH Walter Young(.272AVG and 134HR's in 667 games.) Both Brownlie and Young have one more year left of arbitration before they hit the open market after the 2011 season.

LOOKING AHEAD

The 2010 Royals have a lot of fans very excited about the impending season and the ownership has made it clear, they feel this is a playoff club. GM Christopher Torres has been here since 2004 and has completely rebuilt this team to a contending team. And the fans have showed their appreciation by having a one million fan increase from 2008 to 2009.

So on the eve of the 2010 season we can only hope for another stellar season with a few more wins to get the Royals over the hump and into October. Lets play ball!

[CRTsports.com]

The Royals started off the 2010 season right where they left off in 2009, with a win! They defeated the Baltimore Orioles today by a score of 5-3 in nine innings.

For the Royals, Blake Hawksworth(0-0 4.77) got the Opening Day start and struggled a bit but that was somewhat expected. He gave up 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings and two earned runs. He also struck out two and walked two today.

He was opposed today by Joel Pineiro(0-0 5.79) who happened to catch the injury bug in the middle of the game. In the middle of the fifth inning Pineiro left the game favoring his back and early reports show he has a herniated disk and is expected to be out five to six weeks.

But the main star of the night was rookie catcher Gene "Boom Boom" Marquez. In his first career at bat he laced a single and finished the game 2-4, had an RBI and scored a run. He also reached base on an error in the top of the 8th inning. Marquez had this to say after the game, "I was extremely nervous going into the game but after the first pitch I calmed down a bit. I had a bit of luck out there tonight but I couldn't ask for more in my first major league game."

The Royals will play two more here in Baltimore before heading home to Kauffman stadium for their Opening Day in Kansas City.

NOTES
2009 Rookie of the Year William Quattlebaum of the Royals went 3-5 in the lead off spot with one RBI...Eddie "Chappy" Pena lead the Orioles today by going 2-3, 2RBI, R and a BB...Brian Bannister(1-0 0.00) picked up the win for the Royals and Julio Farina(0-1 4.50) the loss for the Orioles.

[CRTsports.com]

Wade Miller Done For Season

When Wade Miller was signed this past off season, many Kansas City fans were excited to finally have an experienced pitcher in the pen. Miller had been a starter until last year and he was penciled in as a mop up guy and sixth starter when a starter needed a rest. The 33 year old Miller signed a $490,000 one year contract and the fans can only wonder what if now.

Miller entered yesterday's game in the sixth inning after starter Dwayne Renwick allowed five runs in five innings against the Tigers. The first batter he faced was Josh Bard and he promptly walked him. Then immediately after that he walked Joe Borchard to put two on with no outs.

He was successful in getting Aramis Ramirez to ground into the 6-3 double play. Up next was Brent Cleven. He was able to get Cleven out on three pitches but the third pitch is when Miller hit the deck holding his back.

Miller was helped out of the field by the medical staff and early reports showed it was nothing serious. But after getting all the x-rays and medical tests done this morning, the doctor's confirmed the Royals worst fears. Miller will miss the next twelve months with back spasms. Effectively ending his run with the Royals.

Miller had this to say from the hospital, "I felt good yesterday when I was stretching in the pen and had no inclination this would happen. I trained really hard in the off season and for this to happen, is just crushing. I hope to start rehab really soon and make it back to an MLB team in 2011."

We can only wish him the best with his recovery and here are his final 2010 stats.

2 Games - 1.1 IP - 2 BB - K - 0.00 ERA

[CRTsports.com]

What is wrong with the Royals?

Sixteen games into the season and the Royals fans did not see this coming. So far the Royals have limped out of the starting gates and are sitting at 8-8, 2.5 games back from the White Sox for the Central lead. We all know they could be a lot worse but they sure don't look like a playoff contender.

Their most glaring weakness this year has been their hitting. Last year they led the league in average but so far this year they are dead last in the AL with a paltry .225 average. The only category they lead in is home runs and they are tied for first with 17 so far.

Their pitching isn't much better either with a 4.60 team ERA which is 13th in the AL. Bobby Brownlie is the only pitcher with a sub three ERA, 2.95 and a perfect 2-0 record. Number two starter Ian Oquendo and fourth starter Vince Perkins are both carrying era's over seven. Definitely not a sign of a playoff team.

Today we will take an in-depth look at the starting lineup.

Catcher
Highly touted prospect Gene Marquez has struggled since Spring Training. He is currently hitting .160 and has a .250 OBP. Along with that .160 average is just one RBI and ten strikeouts so far. Veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez who has two pinch hit home runs this year might get the starting job back here soon.

First Base
Melvin Colmenares is another one that is struggling for the Royals. Butterball hit .315 last year but he currently sits at .182 with five RBI's in 55 at bats so far. He is currently nursing a swollen right eye and should be good to go in a few days. We all know he can hit we are just hoping for sooner than later.

Second Base
The second base spot has been split so far between Robinson Cano and Joey Ros. Ros was called up from AAA but he might be headed back very soon. Ros has started the past seven games and is hitting .111. Cano is doing a little better at .238 with one home run but is well below his career .261 average. All signs point to Cano starting again and letting Ros pitch hit when necessary.

Third Base
Edwin Encarnacion is trying his hardest to duplicate his 2008 season when he hit .325 with 198 hits but it appears that might have been a fluke. In 2009 he hit .259 and so far in 2010 he is hitting .207. Edwin has had zero competition at this spot over the past four years but with David Adam making some noise in AAA the past two years it might be time to put up or shut up for Edwin.

Shortstop
By far one of the few bright spots so far this season. Rudolph Shaeffer is currently hitting .304 with three home runs and ten RBI's so far. As long as he can keep that bat going the Royals might be asking him to help turn this ship around.

Left Field
The other bright spot on this team would have to be Larry Bigbie. He has been hitting the ball hard and it all directions. He leads the Royals with four home runs and is hitting .310. And to think Bigbie was re-signed last year to be a fourth outfielder. We don't even want to think where we would be if he was not in the lineup every day.

Center Field
If there is one guy on the team that you think should be able to hit, it would be Santiago Rao. The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year has rarely struggled in his short MLB career. But this year is different. His current average is a tiny .180 with two home runs and twelve RBI's. Not the kind of average you expect out of your clean up hitter.

Right Field
Reigning 2009 AL Rookie of the Year William Quattlebaum started off really hot this year but has cooled off in the past week. He currently has a .222 average with three triples and only three runs batted in. William is a very streaky hitter and hopefully one of those streaks is around the corner.

We all know the season is early and there are a ton of games to play but how many more days of this can we just put off as its early in the season. One thing is guaranteed though, we will 50 games and lose 50 games, its the other 62 that matter.

The Royals open up a nine game home stand over the next eleven days and lets all hope some good ole home cooking and Kauffman Stadium help the Royals break out of this slump.

[CRTsports.com]

Paul Valtierra electric in MLB Debut

With the Royals off to a rough start this year they were looking for anything that will give them a spark. Hopefully today's performance is what is needed to get the Royals on a roll.

Twenty-one year old starting pitcher Paul Valtierra was called up from AAA on May 7th and is currently listed as the 26th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Management has been gushing about this guy for a long time tonight and boy did he deliver on that promise tonight.

The product of Madawaska, Maine started off the game with two straight strikeouts and didn't look back. He pitched eight scoreless innings and only gave up three hits against the Texas Rangers. His third hit surrendered was in the top of the ninth so he basically gave up two hits over eight innings. And to make the performance even better, it was on the road in Texas.

Valtierra had this to say while icing his shoulder down, "I wasn't too nervous today, no I lie, I was shaking early on but the first two strikeouts calmed me down a lot. It clicked after that, that this is the same game as AAA, just on a bigger stage. I hope to pitch well this year and end up in the starting rotation by the end of the year." Paul is currently the sixth starter for now and mainly penciled in for mop up work.

And to top off this great pitching performance the Royals bats also showed up today. The Royals destroyed the Athletics 8-0 and had 15 hits. They were lead today by rookie catcher phenom Gene "Boom Boom" Marquez who went 4-5 with 4 RBI's. By far Boom Boom's best ever game in his ever so short career. The Royals have two more games in Texas before returning home to face off against the Seattle Mariners.

Notes: First baseman Melvin Colmenares has finally started hitting the ball and went 3-5 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored tonight which raised his average to .255 for the year. Veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez who has lost his starting job to Marquez has found a home at the DH spot and he went 3-5 with an RBI and run scored tonight.

[CRTsports.com]

Royals Bats come alive vs the Mariners!!

If you came to the ballpark today expecting a pitching duel you were sadly dissapointed. But in the end you were shown a hitting display and the power of the Kansas City bats.

The Royals crushed the Seattle Mariners today 17-6 in Kauffman Stadium on 22 hits.

The star of the show today was CF Santiago Rao who went deep two times for the first time in his career and had five RBI's in the game. Rao who had been struggling most of the year finally was able to find his rhythm today. "It feels good to stroke a few out of the park today. All year I had been hitting the ball hard but right at the defense. Today was special and I hope to have many more days like this."

The Royals starting pitcher Vince Perkins(0-3, 6.83) once again struggled this year. He went 4 1/3 innings and gave up five hits that resulted in six runs, four being earned. He also walked three and struck out seven.

For the year he has pitched 27 2/3 innings with 15 walks and 24 strikeouts. Not the numbers you want when you have young pitchers behind you but hopefully Perkins can regain the form that won him 14 games last year.

But on a positive note the Royals swept the Mariners in this series and currently sit at 18-16 and are in third place in the Central Division. The Tigers remain the hottest team in baseball by virtue of their 13 game win streak and sit at the top of the division at 22-11, 4.5 game ahead of the Royals.

Notes: RF William Quattlebaum had the most hits of any Royals today by going 4-6 with 4 RBI's and 3 Runs...1B Melvin Colmenares seems to be back to mid season form going 1-3 with 3 BB and 2 Runs...MR Brian Bannister picked up his second win of the season by going 2 2/3 innings and not allowing a hit for the Royals, lowering his ERA to 3.93...Matt Morris(0-4) took the loss for the Mariners by allowing 12 hits and 7 ER in 5 1/3 innings.

[LFC1892]

Good read CRT...will be following.

[CRTsports.com]

Brownlie keeps trucking along!!!

The buzz around Kauffman Stadium is how long can Starting Pitcher Bobby Brownlie stay undefeated. Among starting pitchers with more than six starts so far this year, he is the lone undefeated starter. Brownlie currently sits at 6-0 in nine starts and has a 3.18 ERA. The Baltimore Orioles Javier Vazquez is currently 3-0 in six starts but is no where near Brownlie.

Bobby started off the year strong with two straight wins against the Baltimore Orioles but struggled in his next few starts. In his next three starts the Royals went 1-2 but Brownlie was able to escape with three straight no decisions. But in both losses the Royals have had to come from behind to tie the game or lost late which has kept his undefeated streak alive.

But after that stretch of games, Brownlie has showed how dominate he can be in the American League. In four games he has pitched seven innings three times and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of the games. In his past two games he has only allowed two earned runs in 13.0 innings.



"I am very pleased with my performance so far this year but without my teammates playing strong when I wasn't on my game, means even more. I was only a pitch or two away from losing any of those three games. Any to stay undefeated you have to have a great pen and my guys are pitching well and I only see great things happening the rest of the year." Those were Brownlie's comments at last nights press conference.

The Royals are currently on the road in Cleveland for a three game set but will return home on May 30th against the Toronto Blue Jays. Brownlie is scheduled to pitch again on May 31st and will be looking to improve his record to 7-0. Lets go Royals!!

Below you will find Brownlie's career stats.

[RoyalsBlue]

Excellent read, CRT. Go Royals!

[CRTsports.com]

2010 Season, Two Months Down.

As it stands at the moment its June 1 and the Royals are dealing with a mixed bag of marbles. Some of them are really good ones and some of them are just awful. Not even your sister would want them. But in all seriousness it has been a trying two months for the Royals.

Coming into the season most analysts had the Royals winning the Central division outright but they have not lived up to those expectations yet. They are currently 26-22 and in fourth place in the division while the Detroit Tigers lead the way at 31-17. It will certainly be a long road ahead if the Royals want to claim their first ever Central Crown under GM Christopher Torres.

But even in these times their have been some bright spots on the team along with some low spots on the team. First we will take a look at the pitching staff.

Winners
- SP Bobby Brownlie - There is not much else to say about Bobby other than perfection. He currently sits at 7-0 with a 3.25 ERA. He won his seventh game of the season last night against the Blue Jays. He would have a sub three ERA but a late sixth inning two run homerun off David Eckstein guaranteed that number would be above three.

Overall in the NABL, Brownlie is tied for fifth in wins and is tied for second in the American League. And when it comes to his ranks among fellow AL pitchers here is how he breaks down. Sixth in BB/9 with 1.70, sixth in K/9 with 4.42, fifth in WHIP with 1.13 and fifth with only 10.33 baserunners per 9.

- CL Ramon Hernandez - So far Hernandez has been lights out when he has come into the game. He currently has 12 saves in 13 opportunities and the lone blown save. His ERA is quite high at 5.40 but that is because of his last outing where he earned his blown save and gave up three earned runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Losers
- SP Vince Perkins - Coming off his 14 win season last year many people had high expectations this year. Perkins has been anything but good so far this year. He lost his starting spot to rookie pitcher Paul Valtierra and has been assigned mop out duty for the rest of the year. He did pitch well in last nights blow out win against the Jays by going two innings with four strikeouts and one hit. It will take more relief outings like that for him to earn him a start again. Perkins currently sits at 0-4 with an 7.92 ERA.

The Kansas City Offense is the one that has been the most inconsistent. For the first few weeks of the season this was the worst ranked offense in the American League. And considering this was the top ranked offense in 2009, it was hard to understand what was going wrong.

They have righted the ship for the most part so far going into June but they are still a bit off. The Royals offense is ranked fourth in the AL with a .280 clip, second in OBP with .778, sixth in runs scored with 240 and are tied for third in home runs with 50. By no means bad numbers but they need some work.

While we cant pinpoint the exact reason why the bats are off all signs point to CF Santiago Rao's sub par performance this year and the fact that Walter Young lost his 30 home run swing and is currently in A ball making $4 million this year.

Rao's average is currently at .253, down from .301 last year and has seven home runs and 33 RBI's this season. Rao is still young at 23 years old but this is his fourth year in pro ball and a past Rookie of the Year winner in 2007. All bets are that Rao will come back and be the clean up hitter we all expect but hopefully its sooner than later.

Winners
- CF Larry Bigbie - Wow is all you can say really. When he was re-signed in the 2009 it was to be a fourth outfielder and pinch hitter. Neither Bigbie or the organization expected him to start. But man has he turned heads so far this year.

He is currently hitting .326 in 45 games with .377 OBP and .528 slugging percentage. He has also clubbed eight homeruns and knocked in thirty runs so far. He is on pace for 27 home runs and 101 RBI's in 2010. He is on pace for career numbers in almost every category this year and considering he was signed for a total of $5($1.6/$1.7/$1.7) million over three years, you can definitely say the Royals got a huge steal in Bigbie.

- LF Robert McElroy - McElroy has been a player than has bounced around the Royals organization since 2006 but was never able to stick. He stayed on the active roster most of the time until last year with the emergence of outfielder William Quattlebaum. So he was sent down to AAA to finish out the 09 season and just killed pitchers there.

He started this season back on the active roster and didn't know what to expect. But when Walter Young was sent down, the Royals moved Quattlebaum to the DH spot and McElroy to right field. And he hasn't shown much rust as of yet. He is currently hitting .333/.414/.573 in 22 games so far and has four home runs and 14 RBI's. McElroy has been hitting down in the order so not many RBI chances but his chances will come.

Losers

- DH Walter Young - As it stands now Young will be gracing the cover on the yearly "Where Are You Now" Sports Illustrated issue. From 2006-2009 Young clubbed 128 homeruns and was cemented in the DH spot for the Royals. Yes he struck out a lot but his homeruns and RBI's warranted his playing time.

But this Spring Training all hell broke lose. Young lost his swing and has not been the same. In 27 games this year with the Royals he hit .189 with three home runs and ten RBI's. But in the 27 games he racked up 28 strike outs and the result of that is he lost his confidence. Shortly after Young was designated for assignment and placed on waivers. He went unclaimed and the front office placed him in A ball hoping he can work his way back. But he is making $4 million plus this year so you can expect him to be cut if he does not regain his past form.

So as the sun rises on this day, June 1, 2010 we can only hope that when this month ends the Royals are making a run at the division crown and Brownlie is still undefeated!!!! Let's go Royals!!!!

[CRTsports.com]

2010 Draft Complete!

The future is now and as of a few minutes ago the 2010 Amateur Draft was completed. The draft was very pitcher heavy as seven of the first ten picks were starting pitchers. The other three picks were two first baseman and a right fielder.

The first player selected in the draft was Starting Pitcher Salvador "Bootleg" Felix with potential ratings of 81/72/72 by the Philadelphia Phillies. A sure stud if he stays on the right course.

Your Kansas City Royals had the 21st pick in the draft and their first round selection was 3B Luis Mora. Third base was the Royals number one priority in this years draft and they seemed to have answered their need.

The 21 year old Mora hailes from Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic. He stands at six feet even and just a shade under 200 lbs. His natural position is first base but he likes playing third base more.

GM Christopher Torres had this to say after their selection of Mora, "We are excited to get our hands on Mora and get him playing in our organization. We see great things from him in the near future and all the fans will be wearing his jersey in a few year."

The scouting report on Mora reads like this, "Mora is a dominant offensive player who could anchor any lineup for years to come. It's possible he could be Hall of Fame material. His aggressive approach could result in a .270/.310/.510 season. Not many teams have a young hitter with these skills."

Mora is on his way tonight to Ansonia Boll Weevils for some Rookie Ball experience.

Here is a look at all 25 selections that the Royals made today. Potential in parenthesis.

1. 3B Luis Mora(60/79/73/61/45)
--21 year old future starting third baseman.
2. LF Derrick Hall(60/75/47/42/44)
--18 year old with a lot of growing room.
3. RF Mike Faulker(63/72/76/48/37)
--17 year old projected as future starter at least.
4. SP Alex Wilson(75/60/67)
--21 year old projected middle of the rotation starter.
5. MR Rich Schneider(74/77/54)
--17 year old with huge arm and closer mentality.
6. SP Salvador Gonzales(55/57/67)
--21 year old with bottom of the rotation potential.
7. SP Floyd O'Neil(40/75/73)
--18 year old with potential to start or solid middle reliever.
8. SP Phillip McGreusich(46/67/62)
--18 year old has the make up but have to wait to see.
9. LF Emilio Chapa(68/91/27/52/34)
--18 year old has potential to maybe start or platoon.
10. MR Roberto Galvan(72/65/68)
--21 year old has a nice arm and will anchor a bullpen one day.
11. 1B Miguel Blanca
12. SP Lorenzo Fernandez
13. SP Felix Alvarez
14. SP Jake Butler
15. C Wei Jue
16. MR Enrique Gonzales
17. C Michael White
18. SP Carl Parker
19. MR Corbin Turner
20. MR Jamie Reyes
21. SP Cole Martin
22. MR Francisco Guzman
23. MR German Lopez
24. CL Dave Hale
25. MR Sam Dobson

[Cole]

Nice dynasty, good read..

But .. why do you not have logos in the game?

Just seeing those ugly generic circle logos kind of tugged at my senses a bit, especially for a dynasty that has been around for several seasons ...

[CRTsports.com]

Originally Posted by ripwalk

Nice dynasty, good read..

But .. why do you not have logos in the game?

Just seeing those ugly generic circle logos kind of tugged at my senses a bit, especially for a dynasty that has been around for several seasons ...

Thanks for the comments! If there is anything you would like me to add or report about just let me know!

As far as logo's I just realized a few weeks ago that I have to manually edit the logos. I downloaded logo's and ballparks and couldn't for the life of me figure out why they didn't work. But now I have them up and running!

[CRTsports.com]

Royals get crucial sweep of White Sox!!

When we look back at season's end this just might be the series that turned things around for the Royals. Coming into July the Royals were sitting at 39-35 and in fourth place in the division. They were playing winning ball but not playing it that well. More or less mediocre play to say the least.

The Royals came into this series desperately needing wins and they did just that. The White Sox were 41-34 coming into the series and held a huge 6-1 series lead over the Royals so far in 2010. But all good things come to an end and it did this week at Kauffman Stadium.

Before game one, manager Antonio De Leon moved short stop Rudolph Shaeffer up to third in the lineup from the fifth spot and moved Melvin Colmenares and Gene Marquez back one spot. And boy did it pay off.

In this three game set Shaeffer went 7/12 with 6 RBI's. He also scored four runs. "We moved Rudolph up in the lineup to take advantage of his OBP and to have two high walk guys in Colmenares and Marquez behind him for McElroy to bring home. With McElroy hitting .350 plus this year we couldn't pass up that opportunity and it has worked out just fine so far," said Manager De Leon after last nights game.

Also leading the charge was outfielder Larry Bigbie who went 5/13 with a homerun and 7 RBI's. Bigbie just recently came off the disabled list and has picked up right where he left off. William Quattlebaum also chipped in the third game by going yard twice and picking up three walks.

And all of this was accomplished without the services of top outfielder Santiago Rao. Rao has been on the DL for the past two plus weeks with back spasms but he was actived off of the DL after tonights game and will be ready for tomorrow's game in San Francisco. The Royals last inter-league series.

Along with all the good hitting the Royals starting pitchers also helped out tremendously. In the series Antonio De Leon started two rookie pitchers in Robert "Stinky" Shelor and Paul Valtierra. It was Shelor's first start of the season after being called up from Omaha a few days ago and Valtierra has pitched nicely all year considering his lack of experience.

In the first game, "Stinky" went seven innings, gave up eight hits and four earned runs. Not exactly awesome pitching but just enough to get the Royals the win. Closer Chris Hernandez came on in that game to get his American League Leading 20th save of the year.

Paul Valtierra also went seven innings in game two, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. It was Valtierra's fifth win of the season and he currently sits at 5-4 with a 4.52 ERA.

And in the last game, starting pitcher Brandon Hawksworth finally pitched like a number one. The fans were wearing thin of his lack of production but hopefully this outing turns around his season. He went seven innings strong with seven hits surrendered and one earned run. He also struck out five White Sox batters.

Needless to say this was a fantastic series and with Royals heading on a ten game road trip tonight, this will make the fans turn on the television this upcoming week and watch the games. And with this past series performance, the Royals improved to 42-35 and moved into third place in the division. Lets go Royals!!

[CRTsports.com]

Seagraves sent to Los Angeles

We all knew one of them had to go but now we know it will be 22 year old catcher Rodney "The Survivor" Seagraves. The other player mentioned in trade rumors was 21 year old catcher Gene "Boom Boom" Marquez.

Both catchers and both ranked in the top ten for NABL prospects. Certainly a situation a GM won't deny hating but having to pick one is always the toughest decision. But when only one can play at a time, someone has to be sent packing.

Seagraves had been in the Kansas City organization a few more years but lost out on the starting job in Spring Training to Marquez. "Rodney has just taken a few more years to develop compared to Gene. Boom Boom came right in after just one year in the minors and has showcased his skills immediately." stated GM Christopher Torres at the press conference last night.

Rodney has been playing in AAA Omaha this year but it was clear he deserved his chance in the bigs and hopefully he will have a long and productive career in Los Angeles.

But more importantly, in return for Seagraves, the Royals were able to obtain two solid young pitchers. One being a starter in Tommy Bingaman and the other being a middle reliever with closer potential in Eddie Valtierra. The last name of Valtierra should ring a bell. His younger brother is Paul Valtierra.

"We can't wait to have Paul start a game and have Eddie close it in a few years." said Manager Antonio De Leon. "Paul came along a little quicker but I have no doubt with some hard work, Eddie can make it to Kansas City."

Starting Pitcher Tommy Bingaman was the key piece of the trade. Without him included the Royals told the LA Front Office no deal. It took a few days but finally LA agreed to the trade.

Tommy had this to say when he arrived in KC, "I welcome a change and can't wait to start at Kauffman Stadium in the near future. We will be a perennial playoff team." Pretty strong words coming from such a young player but Bingaman is known for his vocal leadership.

Bingaman will make his first start in AA in a few days and Valtierra will relieve in AAA for the time being. Tommy is only in AA for a few outings and as long as all goes well he will be in Omaha by the end of the month. Lets go Royals!!

[CRTsports.com]

Hawksworth pitches a gem!!

When Blake Hawksworth came to the Royals in the off season, the expectations were great. The Royals gave up a lot for him and so far this season he had not been living up to those expectations. But he has finally showed his dominance in the past two games.

Last night against the best team in the NABL and the AL Central leader Detroit Tigers(56-28), Hawksworth was lights out. He pitched his first complete game of the year and only surrendered four hits which resulted in one run. And to top it off the Royals were in Detroit facing off against their number one in Sidney Ponson(10-4, 3.02).

For much of the game the Royals fans thought this effort would result in a loss for Brandon. Going into the top of the ninth inning they were down 1-0 and only had struggled to get their four hits in the game. Ponson was also on his game and had locked them down. But luck turned their way.

Edwin Encarnacion was the first batter of the inning and after a fly ball out, Ponson was removed from the game after throwing 107 pitches. The Tigers All-Star Closer Chris Mears(20SV, 1.59) was brought in to close the game. Good theory but bad results. We will let the rest of the game log speak for itself!

Needless to say, William Quattlebaum ended his recent struggles with his biggest hit of the season. "I just got a good pitch to hit off of Mears and I connected. We got very few pitches to hit earlier in the game against Sidney so when I got a chance I swung for the fences. And it paid off handsomely. I am stoked!" exclaimed Quattlebaum after the game. William finished the game 2-4 with 2 RBI's.

Now, back to Hawksworth and his recent success. In his last two outings he has pitched sixteen innings, given up eleven hits and only two earned runs. He has also lowered his ERA by almost a full point to 3.76. And most importantly these outings came against two strong division rivals when big games are needed the most.

"When I woke up this morning I felt a lot better than I have in the past month or so. It has been a rough year so far but the last two outings give me a lot of hope for a quick turn around and to end the season on a high note." stated Hawksworth. For the season Brandon is 4-5 with a 3.76 ERA.

The Royals have three more games in Detroit before the All-Star Game Break and are currently 4-3 on this ten game road trip. Lets hope the Royals can win this series and make some much needed ground up on the Tigers. Lets go Royals!!

[CRTsports.com]

Win costly for Royals

With the Royals currently sitting at 52-45 and in third place in the Central division, the team will need a lot of good luck to end the season on a high note. At the moment they are 13.0 games behind baseball's best team Detroit Tigers(65-32) and 5.5 games back from the Wild Card spot that is held by the White Sox.

The Royals have been able to squash the injury bug most of the season but they stung twice this past evening. The first player to go down with an injury was starting left fielder Larry Bigbie. Bigbie made a spectacular diving catch on a Dave Kelton fly ball at the warning track but it was costly. He sat up in obvious pain and was taken out. Its not that serious of an injury but the strained rib cage should keep Bigbie on the bench the next few days.

Bigbie has struggled a bit here of late with his power but for the year he sits at .297/.341/.448 with nine home runs and 48 RBI's. Maybe this small break Bigbie will be able to get some rest and get his swing back in order. The Royals really need his power at the bottom of the lineup to return. His last home run was on July 2 against the White Sox.

And unfortunately the second player to be lost to an injury was starting pitcher Paul Valtierra. After getting the Twins J.J. Davis to pop up to first base, he grabbed his arm and called over the training staff. They tried to keep him out there, but he was removed after going 5 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and having one earned run.

Valtierra's injury came back a little more serious than Bigbie's did. The Royals will be out of his services for the next two weeks while he recovers from a strained bicep muscle. Valtierra has pitched well in his rookie season and currently sits at 7-5 with a 3.91 ERA. Hopefully he will only miss two starts but there is a small chance he might miss three.

So with the injury bug in full effect in the Royal's clubhouse, lets just hope they can avoid anymore injuries and make a serious run for the playoffs. We all know the fans want it! And with the trading deadline coming in four days, it appears the Royals will be sitting tight but we will just have to wait and see. Lets go Royals!!

[Loeffle]

This looks great, especially the screenshots add some "spice"

[CRTsports.com]

Royals thankful its August

Talk about a punch in the gut. When the clock struck midnight on July 29th, the Royals were enjoying a nice four game win streak which included two wins against the Twins and two wins against the White Sox. Going into the last game with the White Sox in Chicago the Royals could have narrowed the Wild Card deficit to two games and headed home on a high note. But the baseball god's had a different idea.

Rookie pitcher Robert "Stinky" Shelor was on the mound for the Royals and he had a 2-1 record with a 6.81 ERA. Stinky had struggled so far this year adjusting to big league hitters but had managed to win a few games. This wouldn't be one of them.

In four innings of work he allowed 11 hits and seven runs, five being earned. "Clearly not my best performance and I let the team down. They depend on me to pitch well and help the club win but I just didn't get it done tonight. Its tough to look ahead but I can't wait for my next outing to redeem myself," stated Shelor after tonight's sub par outing.

And on top of that performance the bullpen was just as bad if not worse. The White Sox amazingly scored in every inning and even rattled reliever Joel Uriate who had been lights out this year. A recent free agent signing he had pitched nine and a third innings and only allowed one earned run but gave up four earned in two thirds of an inning last night. The White Sox went on to win the game 16-6 behind Samuel Ucelay's 5-5, 4 RBI game.

So after that deflating lose the Royals headed back to their friendly confines in Kansas City looking to rebound against the lowly Twins. Minnesota is the worst team in the league this year with a 32-67 record. It should have been an easy game for the Royals who are an impressive 30-19 at home in 2010.

With an already exhausted bullpen from last nights game, the Royals were in desperate need of a long outing from starter Vince Perkins. Perkins(1-5, 6.99) has been anything but lights out but they had hope coming off last nights loss. It couldn't happen again could it.

Perkins struggled out of the gates and upon facing Thomas Weaver in the top of the third he had already surrendered six hits and four earned runs. The Royals were down 4-1 at the moment. That's when things got entertaining. Perkins preceded to hit Weaver with a fastball and Weaver, none to happy about it, charged the mound. It resulted in a bench clearing brawl for both teams. The second such brawl for the Royals this year.

Weaver and Perkins were promptly ejected from the game after the dust settled. After that it was just downhill for the Royals. Their pen was already exhausted and it showed the rest of the game. They even had to use tomorrow's starter, Cleo Garrido, in the ninth inning. Cleo had just been called up from AAA Omaha for tomorrow's game and just got shelled.

With the Royals down 14-7 at the top of the ninth, Garrido was unfortunately brought in and gave up seven earned runs to the Twins. Royals manager Antonio DeLeon had this to say after the game, "Cleo's performance tonight was all my fault. It was either him or Brownlie and I went with him. He was not ready to pitch tonight and it showed but I had no one else to go to. Cleo is a smart pitcher and will rebound from this in his next start." Garrido currently sits at 0-0 for the year and has an absurd 63.00 ERA.

So its now August 1 and the Royals will be looking to put the last two games behind them. They still managed to have their best month of the season in July at 16-12. At the moment they are 12.5 games back of the Central leading Tigers and five games back from the Wild Card spot held by the White Sox. The Royals can certainly catch the White Sox but it will take a good last two months of the season.

NOTES: SP Vince Perkins learned after the game he will be suspended 10 games for the brawl. If he wouldn't have cold cocked Weaver he would have received a shorter suspension.....The Royals are in town for another nine games. Three versus the Twins(33-67), three against the Texas Rangers(40-60) and then a final three against the Devil Rays(59-42).

[CRTsports.com]

Cleo and Varga shine, Rao injured

Coming into tonight's game against the Rangers,(41-63) the Royals(58-48) had rookie pitcher Cleo Garrido on the mound and didn't know what to expect. Just a few days ago he was brought in to finish up a blow out loss and ended up allowing seven runs in one inning. A less than impressive 63.00 ERA followed that performance.

But just like that, Cleo flipped the switch and showed how good he could be in the correct situation. Garrido pitched a solid eight innings tonight and scattered around six hits in those eight innings.

Two runs did cross the plate courtesy of a John Holle home run in the third inning. "That was my one bad pitch of the game. I left a slider up and Holle crushed it. He is one of the top players in the league and he showed it there. I just wish I could have had that pitch back but hey we still won which slightly erases my first outing this year." stated Cleo after the game. Garrido is now 1-0 for the year with a 9.00 ERA.

Also earning a lot of praise from the Kansas City front office is rookie first baseman Ernesto Varga. The 22 year old from the Dominican Republic has played in two games so far and delivered in both. His natural position is first base but played third in tonight's game but looked confused at times.

"We tried Varga at third and other than his first inning error he played nicely but just didn't look comfortable. He was out of position a lot of times and maybe that's just nerves but we will see." said manager DeLeon when reached on his cell phone. The Royals have a weakness at third and they would be delighted to have him play the hot corner but only time will tell.

So far, Varga is 4-9 in two games with 3 RBI's and a run scored. "I love it here in Kansas City. I was able to play in one game last year and it was my goal after that to make it back this year and stick. I don't want to go back to Omaha!" exclaimed Varga tonight.

And along with this good news you just know there has to be some bad news. And this times it concerns oft injured center fielder Santiago Rao. Rao is a player that people pay to come see but he just cant seem to stay healthy these past two years.

The 23 year old former Rookie of the Year who is entering his fourth year in the NABL has seen his games played drop each year. In his rookie year he played in 156 games, in 2008 144 games, 2009 139 games and he on pace for only 120 games this year.

"I just don't know what I did to deserve this. Everytime I get rolling something like this pops up. Its just a big downer. I want to be out there but my body wont let me." said a dejected Rao after the game.

While not having his greatest year in 2010, he still batted over .300 in the last two months and was appearing to have this season turned around. He will be out for the next two to three weeks with a stained MCL. Hopefully he can rebound when he comes back and below you will see a list of his injuries since the 2009 season.

The Royals will put their three game win streak on the line tomorrow against the Rangers with Bobby Brownlie taking the mound hoping to move that streak to four games. Lets go Royals!