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2012 MLB Team Preview: Kansas City Royals

Posted by on 10 March 2012, 4:15 pm

Kansas City Royals Logo

Last season the Kansas City Royals finished with a 71-91 record, but regardless of what that record suggests, the team looked a lot better than anyone could have anticipated.

Still, Royals fans are frustrated. They are sick of hearing how excited they should be about the future and want to see some results now.

Will Royals Nation finally get the season they have waited well over a decade for in 2012?

Let’s take a look….

THE POSITIVES:

Offensively the Royals have some young, and promising talent in Alex Gordon, Jeff Francoeur, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Billy Butler, and Alcides Escobar. And now that now they all have a season under their belt together looked for a marked improvement in 2012, and for seasons to come.

Heading into this season the team’s bolstered the strength of their bullpen, but they are banking on a bigger and better year out of closer Joakim Soria and newly acquired Jonathan Broxton who they inked to a one-year at $4 million deal. The ex-Dodger has struggled on the mound since his dominant 2010 season, but if Braxton can get close to being that guy again, the Royals bullpen will be a shutdown one.

THE NEGATIVES: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: Kansas City Royals’ »

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New York Yankees: Sloppy Play Leads To Second Place

Posted by on 13 May 2011, 7:00 am

This is going to be a short post, as last nights 11-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals was hard enough to watch and I still am unwinding from it.

Why so much distress?

It is more like frustration because my tennis coach taught me there were two ways to lose.

The first way is when you get out played and the winner beats you.

The other way, also deemed unacceptable was to lose on your own errors. That he said was why he made me run so much.

I never understood at the time why half or more of practice was spent running with my racket in hand and always pointing up towards the sky. That was because he believed that when the racquet head was cocked to the sky, it sent a subconscious negative message.

Regardless, the New York Yankees were sloppy. Not the best way to start a series against the Boston Red Sox, a 13-game stretch and to realize that just yesterday they were the best team in the AL East.

Hopefully the Yankees will realize with a win tonight could erase all of this tomorrow.

Look, I am not some neurotic freak about losing a game, a series or dropping a spot in the rankings.

Until I look at the Yankees schedule, which gets significantly tougher with a trip out West followed by inter-league play against he Reds, Brewers, Rockies and Cubs.

So, losing games that they should win get much harder to swallow, and unlike other teams (Rangers, Twins, Giants) the Yankees don’t get thrown a bone by the media, fans or their opponants.

Losing streaks are funny.  If you lose at the beginning, you get off to a bad start.  If you lose in the middle of the season, you’re in a slump.  If you lose at the end, you’re choking.  ~Gene Mauch

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New York Yankees: Stranding Runners Not The Only Reason They Lost To Royals

Posted by on 12 May 2011, 3:58 am

TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW:

When any major, minor or little-league baseball team loses a game or a few in a row the same old rationalization is given by the media, as if they had enlightened both players and fans to something we didn’t know already.

This phrase gets used in many different ways, but it is almost a cop-out because it always applies to the losers in baseball.

You must already know what I am referring too?

It’s the notorious cause allotted to losing… leaving too many runners in scoring position.

This is not some revelation that the media is giving us night after night.

Clearly when a team loses it is because they could not score more runs than the opposing team.

It doesn’t take Einstein to realize that the losing team’s hitters either are left out to dry or didn’t make it on base at all.

No one is denying that stranding runners on base isn’t always a legitimate excuse, but it doesn’t mean the losing team necessarily hit worse than their opponents… correct? Maybe?

For example:

Team B beat Team A with a final score of 3-2.

Team A got on base 13 out of 15 times, but only two of the 13 baserunners actually crossed home plate.

Team B reached base successfully three out of 11 hits, but the third hit was a 3 run home run as the other two players who reached base happen to be on at that time.

Even thought Team A got the loss, the stats prove they hit better than Team B throughout the game. Most likely Team A pitched better too if out of 11 hits only three runners made it to first base safely, which obviously includes the homer too.

My point is many other elements go on during a baseball game that weigh greatly on the results other than the same old and obvious answer that we are guilty of using too much. Hey it is easy and there is always truth behind it, but not always as much as we make it out to be.

YANKEES vs. ROYALS:

A perfect example of the above happened on Wednesday night, when the Royals beat the Yankees 3-2 in the 11th inning. The Yankees did not lose solely due to stranding runners; it was a one run, extra inning affair that could have gone either way in all honesty. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Stranding Runners Not The Only Reason They Lost To Royals’ »

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Yankees Vs. Royals: How Are Things In Kansas City?

Posted by on 10 May 2011, 7:01 am
KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 21: Melky Cabrera #53...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The New York Yankees are back home to host the Kansas City Royals for three games.

Let’s take a look at what Kansas City has been up in 2011 before the series starts:

2011 Kansas City Royals:

The Royals have won six of their last 10 games and are currently in second place in the AL Central with an 18-16 record.

This is not the same Royals team as the past few seasons, that is as long as they are in Kansas City where their 15 home-wins leads the majors. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that they have won just three road games in 2011 and are coming into New York determined to improve on baseball’s worst road record.

The Royals could be two different teams with a 3.51 ERA at home compared to a 5.91 ERA on the road. Skipper Ned Yoast said his Royals had a bad road trip, but when the stats are so severely divided there has to be major concern unless the Royals can turn it around on the road quick.

‘It’s still so early in the season’ excuse has almost run its course for 2011; and for the Royals not winning outside of Kansas City just ain’t going to cut it much longer.

Two Thing Yankee Fans Should Look For:

1) What do the Royals have that Yankee fans miss….Got Melk? The Yankees old pal Melky Cabrera who is off to a hot start posting a .283 batting average, with 21 RBIs, 10 doubles, three home-runs, two triples and five walks so far this season.

The Melk-man would love nothing more to remind the Yankees front office just what they missed out on by not re-signing him this past off-season. Especially since Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez pleaded and begged the Yankee brass but they said no thanks.

My guess is the Melk-man is looking to have a big series against his old team; my fear is that Melk-man might deliver his ninth career walk-off hit this week in the Bronx. Expect loud cheers for Melky from the New York crowd when he steps to the plate, as he was a big part of the 2009 Championship team.

2) Royals have the best farm system in baseball (watch SUGAR on HBO on-demand) and Yankee fans should get a glimpse at two future stars. The first is 1B Eric Hosmer, who just got to the bigs on May 5th and ranks in the top 10 prospects in baseball. The other is middle reliever Aaron Crow, who has a slider that almost touches 90 mph and the Yankees will try to avoid having to face him at all costs.

Overall, the Royals are just out matched in this series, but they should put up a good fight and it will be a fun series to watch.

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Baseball Movie You Must See

Posted by on 7 May 2011, 1:26 pm

When we watch professional baseball players on TV or at the ballpark, none of us really understand what most had to go through to get to the top.

Getting there is even harder for the non-American players, who are in a totally unfamiliar place, without family and don’t have the words to communicate more than through actions on the field.

The movie SUGAR portrays a pitcher; Miguel Santos from the Dominican Republic drafted at age 16 by the Kansas City Royals and follows his steps through the minor leagues.  Santos’ nickname is ‘Sugar’ for his knuckle curveball was that sweet.

This movie will engross any baseball fan, as you fathom from the vast pressure put on someone so young to go all the way. From family you never knew to the realization that if this doesn’t work out that you are unequivocally uneducated to get anymore than a remedial job, if that.

SUGAR shows the little details of the everyday emotions and struggles faced in the minor leagues everyday. Not only is the baseball aspect fascinating, but also as an American you get to see how the country looks threw a young man’s raw viewpoint, which makes this movie all the powerful.

Trust me go and watch SUGAR. I can promise that you will walk away feeling like you really learned something about the sport of baseball that we tend to overlook or just never really understood in the first place.

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Lady Knows Best: Predicting 2011 MLB Season Winners And Losers

Posted by on 30 March 2011, 4:02 am

With baseball fans counting down the hours till Opening Day, it is time to predict how the 2011 MLB Season will look when it’s all said and done.

Predictions divided per the six divisions, listed in order of finish and the eight postseason teams (including the wildcards) will be highlighted.

If only I were a psychic….here is this lady’s prognosis:

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

East:

*New York Yankees 97-65
*Boston Red Sox 97-65
Tampa Bay Rays 89-73
Baltimore Orioles 84-78
Toronto Blue Jays 83-79

Central:

Chicago White Sox 90-72
Detroit Tigers 89-73
Minnesota Twins 87-75
Kansas City Royals 74-88
Cleveland Indians 64-98

West:

Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim 87-75
Oakland A’s 82-80
Texas Rangers 80-82
Seattle Mariners 64-98

*NYY wins tiebreaker in Boston 5-3

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

East:

Philadelphia Phillies 95-67
Atlanta Braves 90-72
Washington Nationals 80-82
Florida Marlins 79-83
New York Mets 78-84 Continue reading ‘Lady Knows Best: Predicting 2011 MLB Season Winners And Losers’ »

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A Story That Makes You Hate The New York Yankees A Little Less

Posted by on 6 March 2011, 11:36 pm

On Friday night the New York Yankees hosted rivals Boston Red Sox down in Tampa, FL at Steinbrenner Field.

The game’s results are meaningless, but the Red Sox won the game 5-3.

Even as everyone continued to drool over the second stand out performance by Yankee pitching prospect Manny Banuelos, there was a story told about something off the field that captivated anyone who was listening. The fact that this was kept quiet makes it all the more meaningful.

It is well worth reading and knowing, as it made me proud not only to be a Yankees fan but a baseball fan. Here is the story PART OF ONE BIG FAMILY written by Daniel Barbarsi of the Wall Street Journal:

TAMPA—Hours before a game last September, word went around the Yankee clubhouse that hitting coach Kevin Long wanted to gather the entire team for a rare meeting.

Soon, the players were huddled up, and Long told them about Bridget, an 11-year-old girl they had never met, the daughter of Ron Johnson, the first base coach for the Red Sox.

Bridget, Long said, had been in an accident. She was riding a horse alongside the road in August, near the Johnsons’ Tennessee home. A driver came around the corner a little too fast and plowed into Bridget’s horse, severing the young girl’s leg above the knee.

Bridget survived, and doctors re-attached the leg—but her body rejected it, and it had to be removed. She would need a prosthetic leg, and although the Red Sox had been financially generous to Johnson, money was still a problem, Long told the roomful of Yankee players.

Johnson had been Long’s minor-league manager in the mid-1990s. When Long’s playing career was winding down, Johnson helped Long get his first coaching job, with the Kansas City Royals—even going to management on Long’s behalf when a promised job offer didn’t materialize. It was a debt Long always wanted to repay.

“Our friendship is deep. It goes way, way back,” Long said. “Friends aren’t just there for the good times, they’re there when things go backwards on you. Anything I could help him with, I wanted to do.”

Bridget’s story touched the Yankees. It didn’t matter one bit that Johnson worked for the rival Red Sox, A.J. Burnett said.

“He came to us, and you could hear it in K-Long’s voice how important it was to him,” Burnett said. “You just wanted to help in any way you can. We’re a huge family here. Whether you’re a Yankee or anybody else, we’re all in it together.” Continue reading ‘A Story That Makes You Hate The New York Yankees A Little Less’ »

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