20-10 whats not to like?

7.2 runs per game. 54 stolen bases. Tons of home runs. Kila has 7. Gordon has 6. I think all the Royals should stay for extended spring training. I last posted when the Royals were 14-6. They were playing well then. Very well. They hit a bit of a hard time right after that post. They righted the ship and came in with a 20-10 record. Yeah, I know spring training records don't matter. YES they do. Now will the great play and a 300 team batting average transfer over to when the games count. I'm betting against that. It is spring. The team played awesome throughout the spring schedule. Good for them. I hope it lasts.
Treanor is signed and he will start opening day. Wow, I'm not against the signing at all. I'm kind of excited because the fact that he will catch the righties and Pena will catch the lefties. Makes sense. Pena caught Chen's shutout last year. Maybe he has a better feel for those guys. Treanor or Pena I don't care. I just don't want Kendall back there. I can't stand that guy and I hope his rehab takes, oh I don't know, forever! Bad signing.
Gordon had a great spring. He started to hit and hit with power. The light isn't all the way gone. I stated that he was padding the numbers against the lower level pitchers. Well, his run extended to the point where those guys were gone. Maybe, just maybe, Seitzer and Alex have figured it out. I see that Yost has moved him to the 3 hole. Here we go. Gordon and Butler as the 3-4 hitters. Good luck Alex. We need you.
The bullpen is going to get taxed. I'm not sure who is going to make it. Tejeda, Soria, O'Sullivan?. O'Sullivan gives me a rash. He is a finesse pitcher and I don't see too many of them having success out of the pen. Texiera has been pretty good. Jeffress has sucked. Collins has been pretty good. I sure hope they put together a semblance of a bull pen. The team won't average 7 runs a game but they will give up 5 plus with a week bullpen.
Getz? Weak bat. Good base runner but a weak hitter. Betemit has been raking here coming down the stretch. If that continues what do they do? Aviles is really bad at second. I'd rather him be in the lineup, though. Betemit is a wildcard in this scenario. He was really good last year for most of last year. Need to second and third set. Not a Frenchy fan, but he has been better, too. Melky has been very outstanding all spring.
Starters will be relied on. Davies had a nice last start. The optimism I have is limited because of this group of starters. They may surprise. If they do pitch well then I truly think the Royals will eclipse 70 wins, easily.
Go Royals.

20 Games into the Spring. What will Spring out?

The Royals continue to roll in the spring. 14-6, don't say the record doesn't matter. It does when you are a Royals fan. Last night was a game that I was hoping to see. Francis goes 5 solid innings. He gives up one run over the 5 innings. The Royals super sonic spring O goes after King Felix and drills him around. I can get excited when Billy owns the King. He has and hopefully he will. Good win. Now the young studs have been sent off to the farm. You know the one, the one with ALL the great young players. The Big League team now will stretch out the starters and the position players get more AB's. Oh I'm excited to watch Frenchy struggle even more. At least he isn't Guillen. You remember that clown. One thing about Jose, he had stretches where he was very productive. I won't hold my breath waiting on that from Francouer. Gordon has started to "hit" again. He went on a long hitting streak. He got his average up. Then he wailed away and struck out three times against Felix. AG is a AAAA player. I have optimism but I'm getting kind of tired. Getz got a few hits. The offense has been better than any other in the Bigs. I would love to see them average about 6 runs per game. Won't happen. That's why this spring is so frustrating. The team is winning, but these wins won't really transfer to the regular season. Davies pitched again today. He wasn't as bad as last time. How many more years of NOT THAT bad pitching can this team take? Chen got bombed, Davies, and Francis did too. Jeff rebounded nicely. Who knows? I'm hoping to see 70 wins. Message board posters are calling for 97-112 losses. That sounds awful. I hope that isn't what springs from this spring.
Go Royals. Great 20 game stretch. Finish the spring strong, then spring into the regular season. 70 wins!

Halfway and hold it!

Title refers to the leg lifts in PE class. I meant Perez for catcher and Escobar as a SS! Spring training for me, too. The Royals off to a great hitting start in ST. Every game they seem to score, score, score. Melky keeps hitting. Maier is hitting like crazy. Zawad looks to be the newest version of Bloomquist. Infield version at least. The Royals like the utility guys. Jeltz comes to mind. Seems getting a good team first, then the utility would be the way to go. Pitching is scary. 10-9, 11-10, and other scores of that ilk aren't a good sign. Rumored that the Royals are searching for a catcher. I'd like to see Perez work with the younger guys and come up with them. Pena, Pina, May will have to do. I keep thinking Kendall will be out for an extended period. I just don't like that move. I shall move on. Trading for a catcher is something I wouldn't be opposed to, but the terms would need to be favorable. I don't think Pena will kill them defensively. I just want the Royals to have the same catcher working with the young pitchers so the transition to the Big Leagues won't require getting used to a new catcher. Don't blow a bunch more money on a catcher. Let Perez grow with the throwers. You see the difference Varitek and other catchers that have been with the pitchers for a long time can make. Start that process now. Build around the battery. Second base? Getz is a good on D. Great. You can't give up a line up spot to D when your pitching isn't all that good. I'm not confident Getz will play much. I envision Aviles at third. He has been hitting great in spring. He was stiff at second so maybe third will be better. Aviles, Escobar, ?, Butler. They really need to fill that spot. 3 positions are solid as far as offense goes. Outfield is a crazy crowded story. Gordon is struggling like always. Maier is killing the ball like he does when he gets consistent AB's. Francouer is juiced in. Melky is killing the ball. Cain, Blanco, Dyson would be an interesting, if powerless OF. The search for Willie Wilson continues. Willie was a football player, not a track guy. I wish Dayton would look at film. He wasn't Dyson. The bat wasn't getting knocked out his hands. Cain reminds me most of the elusive Wilson. Melky doesn't remind me of Willie. He reminds me of the awful blooper reel where the throw he had went sideways. Unfair assessment? Yes, but a gold glove isn't in the cards for the Melkman. If they start Gordon, Melky, Francouer that is a questionable OF. Gordon is an enigma. Probably a AAAA player. Melky and Francouer are gambles. Yikes,guys. An interesting thing would be to give the starting spots to the guys who earned them in the spring. Maier over Gordon. I don't care about options or payroll. I care about trying to win. Alex's time is coming. A trade now might be beneficial.
Halfway through. Good record. Catching, 2b, and outfield issues. Pitching is scary. Halfway and hold it? Naw, lets finish this and put together a 70 win team.
Go Royals.

Spring is springing!

The Royals are off to their customary good start in spring training. I've mentioned before that I can't help but be optimistic at this time of year. Why am I optimistic about a year when only the "farm" will be talked about? I want to be excited. I want to be surprised. I have all of June,July,August,and September to have reality slug me around. I want to be excited now. A weeks worth of games that don't count can't shed too much light on what to expect this season, but here are some out of the box predictions/feelings. I hope/expect Escobar to make the Zack trade more palatable. Again I think Zack quit on the team and I'm glad he is Milwaukee. A hard working, good defensive catcher will be nice to see. Cain and Jeffress will be wait and see deals. Odorizzi will be good but he is a "farm" boy. Francis and Chen have to be good. Mazzaro and Hochevar and O'Sullivan have to surprise and exceed career highs for the team to compete for 70 wins. Starting pitching is a big ?. The bullpen has a chance to be formidable. Collins and now Smith looking for a lefty role. Too early to earmark anyone but the basis seems to be there or at least coming
Escobar, bullpen, optimism. Remember 70 wins is what I'm hoping for. I'll take more but 70 is the goal. Melky, Frenchy, Cain? Gordon hasn't flamed completely out but the light is fading very fast. George Brett comparisons didn't quite work out for him. Too bad for Alex and the Royals. Too bad Kendal has to come back. Unnecessarily mean but catcher and CF need better than Leche and Kendall. Hell Jason is jumping into interviews that Moose is giving. Bad signing, very bad. Guillen bad. Only 2 years but 3 times the cost any team was willing to give the over the hill Kendall. Give Pena/Pina/Martinez the competition and the chance to catch every day.
My optimism is up. The "farm" boys are padding the spring record. I find it strangely satisfying when the Royals win 6 of 8 games, spring or not. See I can't help myself.
Go Royals.