Royals Take First Game Of The Season

What an exciting start to the season! I won't lie, the first thought that went through my head early in the game was "Gil Never receives any run sport." Then Alex Gordon comes to the rescue. Batter by batter, the Royals chipped away timely hits and ended up winning 5-4 in the 11th inning.

Royals Stud of the Game: Leo Nunez (2IP, W, 3K, 1BB, 0.00 ERA)

Royals Bum of the Game: Jose Guillen (0-5, 2K)

Many people will argue that Gordon deserves to be the player of the game (and maybe he does?), but I was very happy the way Nunez was able to shut down the Tigers offense when he the Royals couldn't afford any goof-ups. I always get nervous watching the Royals in extra innings, but Nunez did a great job.

2008 Predictions Are Here!

Well the time has finally come for me to post my pre-season predictions for this 2008 season.

Royals
HR Leader: Alex Gordon (23 HR)
AVG Leader: Billy Butler (.312)
RBI Leader: Billy Butler (97 RBI)
SB Leader: Alex Gordon (17 SB)
Runs Leader: David DeJesus (96 R)

ERA Leader: Zach Greinke (3.94 ERA)
Wins Leader: Zach Greinke (13 W)
Strikeout Leader: Gil Meche (142 K)
Saves Leader: Joakim Soria (31 SV)

Biggest Disapointment: Brian Bannister
Biggest Surprise: Joey Gathright

Best Off-Season Move: Jose Guillen
Worst Off-Season Move: Brett Tomko (is he worth 4 million dollars?)

Team MVP: Alex Gordon
2008 All-Star: Zach Greinke

AL Central Standings
1)Detroit Tigers
2)Cleveland Indians
3)Chicago White Sox
4)Kansas City Royals
5)Minnesota Twins

Royals record: 78-84

Hey I know they aren't the numbers you would like to see, but I'm trying to prevent my love of Royals baseball from influencing my predictions. Even though Guillen isn't listed in any offensive category, I think he will still have solid offensive numbers. Thoughts?

Emil Brown Has Decent Start To Season

As most of you already know, the MLB season started early this morning in Japan. Emil Brown, the former Royal, had an OK debut with the A's. He was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI and a walk. His lone hit was a double. Emil also batted 5th in the lineup.

Over the weekend, the Royals decided that Hochevar was going to start the season in AAA. This kinda surprises me, but according to the KC Star on Monday, he needs a little more "seasoning." While I am not completely surprised by this move, I felt he would have been a better option then the other pitchers trying to make the starting rotation. It now appears Bale will win out the #4 position. I'm not even going to speculate about the #5 spot.

Image Reference: http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2007/09/23/riy8S3LO.jpg

George Brett Impressed With Gathright

If anybody has checked out the KC Star, you would have found an interesting article by Jeffrey Flanagan. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jeffrey_flanagan/story/540511.html Apparently, Out of all the players Brett has seen this spring, he has been most impressed with Joey Gathright. Even Paul Splittorff has noticed a big change this spring. Splittorff claims this is the fastest he has ever seen Joey run. This will only fuel speculation that maybe the Royals should move Teahen to 1st base in order to put Gathright in the lineup daily. George Brett also said that Joey Gathright is the best bunter on the team. I'm sure we'll see lots of Gathright whilte Guillen is serving his suspension.

Next week I'll be posting my predictions for the upcoming season. I'll be gone until Monday, so have a good Easter weekend for those who celebrate it.

What's The Deal With Callaspo?

I just can't seem to figure this guy out. Is he for real, or is he just having a good spring? I took a look at his stats from the past 2 years, and they are not impressive at all (please note that he only played 79 games during that span). But considering he is just 24 years old, maybe he has turned a corner and is ready to take his game to a whole new level? I just don't know? Kansas City already has a decent utililty player in German, so where would Callaspo fit in if he makes the team?

Image reference: kcroyals.com

Nomore Nomo

Nomo is officially out of the running for making the rotation: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/534283.html

Fight Club

With Spring Training nearing an end, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top for the #4 and #5 spot in the rotation. Let's look at possible candidates:

Nomo: 11 IP, 5.73 ERA, 11K, 2BB, 1 HR

I think Nomo has impressed most fans with his quick start, but his momentum has slowed his last few outings. His strikeout to walk ratio is very good. My prediction: Not making rotation

Tomko: 10.2 IP, 10.13 ERA, 7K, 3BB, 2 HR

I WAS actually excited thinking Tomko WOULD be a good candidate for our last rotation spot...yikes!!! My prediction: Not making rotation

Bale: 9 IP, 4.00 ERA, 7K, 1BB, 1 HR

Has looked very solid this spring. I would consider him to be a finalist, but I still don't see him cracking the starting rotation. My prediction: Close but no cigar (i personally think he deserves a spot, but will be a good long relief pitcher instead).

Davies: 9 IP, 4.00 ERA, 5K, 2 BB, 2 HR

Like Bale, I've been happy with his performance. I still think he was a good pickup last season, and feel he will be in the rotation at some point this season...just not to start. My prediction: Eventually cracking rotation

De La Rosa: 8.1 IP, 7.56 ERA, 5K, 6 BB, 1 HR

I would have expected him to be the #4 starter to start spring training...but not very good numbers. I believe his past experience will give him the edge over other deserving candidates for the #5 spot. My prediction: #5 starter...but not for long

Hochevar: 8.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 3K, 1BB, 0 HR

Strong spring, good numbers, deserving of spot. My prediction: #4 starter for the season

Well there you have it, just my thoughts on how things would stand as of today.

Image reference: kcroyals.com