***///--the Official Kansas City Royals Thread--\\\***

[KowboyKoop 0]

Mark Gredzulanek was a great pick upi do think that allen baird does a pretty good job considering the kind of money he can spendi really think the royals need new owners who arent cheap bastards.

No...ALLARD BAIRD...does NOT do a good job........he isn't a bad baseball guy...but he just doesn't do very well in terms of pitching...things are getting better now....but we need a new GM to take us farther....he's a good baseball scout, but just hasn't been a good GM for us. You are right about Grudz though...he's been much better with the bat than I expected so far..and his defense has been nearly flawless. SWEEP!!!!!!!!!Royals win 10-8. Someone please tell me this team sucks now!! Yeah, we struggled early, but we've been better lately despite a ton of injuries.....woohoooooo....05/10/06--Indians 8, Royals 10Winning Pitcher: Burgos (1-0, 3.31)Losing Pitcher: Mota (0-2, 6.14)Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscor...clemlb_kcamlb_1Game Recap: GREAT game for us today, and great series. Elarton started off horribly, giving up 3 runs before getting an out, but then settled down to pitch brilliantly into the 6th, before tiring and allowing two more runs. Despite his numbers, he was GREAT for us today, as our bullpen was BIG time worn out and we desperately needed innings, so Elarton did a great job of gutting it out without his best stuff. After Elarton, Andrade wasn't very good, but he was the only guy available beside Burgos, so we had to go with our weaker guy there, and then Burgos came in and blew the save by allowing the inherited runner to score, but pitched a perfect 9th to close the game out. As for the offense....they put up 10 on Cleveland again..making it 24 runs scored in the series, as opposed to 18 given up. Robinson and German at the top of the lineup, despite only being 1-for-8 officially, had 3 RBI and had a lot of good at-bats and moved runners nicely. Everyone else got contributed, and in the botton of the 8th with the game tied, my man Aaron Guiel hit his 2nd HR of the year (he's only been here 5 games) to put us ahead for good, followed by an Angel Berroa home run. Berroa has been hitting a LITTLE bit better recently and his play in the field has been better...so for now, he has earned his way OFF of my DEAD TO ME list. We've been playing much better lately and hopefully we can keep this up in Baltimore on Friday.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Us Royal's fans have been wondering why backup Paul Bako has gotten so much playing time for us, when Buck is swinging the bat much better this year and has been GREAT behind the plate for us.....well maybe we now have our answer...

[wsox8 10]

ahh I see Berroa is off the dead to you list.. How long will that last? not long?

[KowboyKoop 0]

ahh I see Berroa is off the dead to you list.. How long will that last? not long?

Given his tendency to botch routine grounders and to strikeout on two pitches, I am confident it won't be long....but who knows, maybe this time he finally has figured things out and will improve as a ballplayer and will stay off my DEAD TO ME list.............yeah he'll be back on by Sunday.

[76clubs 0]

Berroa is pretty pathetic defensively.I like how Koop basically has 90% of the posts in this thread.(since i know koop will take this as a literal statement, im going to point out that i am exagerating)

[KowboyKoop 0]

Berroa is pretty pathetic defensively.I like how Koop basically has 90% of the posts in this thread.(since i know koop will take this as a literal statement, im going to point out that i am exagerating)

Berroa has a FANTASTIC arm....one of the strongest in the game at short and is capable of making the spectacular play on a regular basis, but he botches so many routine plays and such that it just doesn't make up for it....so overall, yeah, he just doesn't cut it....and his offense is the same. He is capable of going 4 for 4 with a HR, 2B, and 4 RBI every now and then, but then he'll go 10 games batting .120 with an OBP of .120 and 19 Ks and just flat out suck...and then he'll hit well for 2-3 games and then go back to swinging at every pitch and sucking again......he could be gone by next year though if Andres Blanco plays well enough...so hopefully that happens or Berroa figures something out...And yeah, you're right, I do have probably close to 90% of the posts in this thread..but hey, it's my thread....I like it that way.

[Hobbes 1]

And yeah, you're right, I do have probably close to 90% of the posts in this thread..but hey, it's my thread....I like it that way.

57%. I read this thread, but haven't really been following the Royals, so I have nothing to say right now.

[KowboyKoop 0]

57%. I read this thread, but haven't really been following the Royals, so I have nothing to say right now.

Lol...did you actually go through and calculate??Also, I'd like to dispute that.....as I have made plenty of posts in succession..but they get combined and don't count as seperate posts...RIGGED!! RECOUNT!!! RACISM!!!Oh, sorry, the Jason Whitlock in me came out there for a second.

[Hobbes 1]

Lol...did you actually go through and calculate??Also, I'd like to dispute that.....as I have made plenty of posts in succession..but they get combined and don't count as seperate posts...RIGGED!! RECOUNT!!! RACISM!!!Oh, sorry, the Jason Whitlock in me came out there for a second.

Haha. If you click on the number of replies next to the thread it tells you how many posts each person has made in that thread.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Haha. If you click on the number of replies next to the thread it tells you how many posts each person has made in that thread.

Sweet. I guess ya really do learn something new everyday.

[wsox8 10]

Haha. If you click on the number of replies next to the thread it tells you how many posts each person has made in that thread.

I did not know that..

[timwakefield 68]

Neither did I. Hobbes you are a wealth of knowledge.

[KowboyKoop 0]

05/12/06--Royals 5, Orioles 6Winning Pitcher: Williams (1-0, 2.00)Losing Pitcher: Dessens (2-3, 3.26)Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscor...kcamlb_balmlb_1Game Recap: Didn't get to follow the game, so I can't really provide a good game recap. Dessens got the loss by giving up a run in the 8th. Our starter Hernandez has his second straight poor outing after two straight good outings, so that's not very good, but maybe he can get back on track next time. John Buck continues his improvement at the plate, only going 1 for 3, but raising his OPS to nearly .800. Also, Justin Huber got only his second start and was 1 for 3 with a RBI double...no clue why he isn't getting more playing time....poor managing on Bell's part, as he only starts against lefties during his time with us, despite the fact that A. his development as one of our best hitting prospects is slowed by him sitting on the bench, and B. he has better numbers in his career against righties.....so just stupid there. Hopefully he'll either be sent back down to Omaha to play 1B or will at least become our full time DH...I don't hate Matt Stairs as our DH if Huber is in Omaha, but he shouldn't be forcing Huber to the bench....Buddy Bell's practice of always favoring the veterans is starting to p*ss a lot of Royals fans off......

[KowboyKoop 0]

Apparently, Berroa made a TON of mistakes in the field today and failed to get down a key sac bunt and hit into a big double play.....so...that's it, I'm sick of him. Back to the DEAD TO ME list it is!

[pockets 0]

Is the DEAD TO ME list in order of how much you hate the player, or just in the order you thought of them?

[KowboyKoop 0]

Is the DEAD TO ME list in order of how much you hate the player, or just in the order you thought of them?

Yes. The #1 player on the list is the most hated.

[KowboyKoop 0]

05/13/06--Kansas City Royals (10-23) vs. Baltimore Orioles (16-20); 3:35 CTStarting Pitchers: Mark Redman (0-2, 5.76) vs. Kris Benson (4-3, 4.89)Starting Lineups:Royals CF Kerry Robinson (11 G, .311 BA, .311 OBP, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .711 OPS)2B Mark Grudzielanek (29 G, .304 BA, .346 OBP, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .745 OPS)1B Doug Mientkiewicz (30 G, .242 BA, .319 OBP, 0 HR, 9 RBI, .652 OPS)RF Reggie Sanders (24 G, .256 BA, .277 OBP, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .743 OPS)DH Matt Stairs (18 G, .205 BA, .300 OBP, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .618 OPS)3B Tony Graffanino (21 G, .267 BA, .333 OBP, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .767 OPS)LF Aaron Guiel (7 G, .217 BA, .250 OBP, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .772 OPS)SS DEAD TO ME (33 G, .252 BA, .264 OBP, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .617 OPS)C Paul Bako (14 G, .176 BA, .200 OBP, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .376 OPS)Orioles 2B Brandon Fahey (9 G, .297 BA, .316 OBP, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .613 OPS)3B Melvin Mora (35 G, .294 BA, .369 OBP, 6 HR, 18 RBI, .865 OPS)SS Miguel Tejada (36 G, .352 BA, .385 OBP, 9 HR, 29 RBI, .943 OPS)RF Jay Gibbons (35 G, .281 BA, .313 OBP, 9 HR, 23 RBI, .867 OPS)C Ramon Hernandez (32 G, .310 BA, .377 OBP, 4 HR, 20 RBI, .842 OPS)1B Jeff Conine (28 G, .255 BA, .321 OBP, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .772 OPS) CF Corey Patterson (27 G, .288 BA, .325 OBP, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .804 OPS)DH Javy Lopez (19 G, .221 BA, .284 OBP, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .651 OPS)LF Luis Matos (13 G, .119 BA, .159 OBP, 2 HR, 2 RBI, .445 OPS)

[KowboyKoop 0]

05/14/06--Kansas City Royals (10-24) vs. Baltimore Orioles (17-20); 12:35 CTStarting Pitchers: Denny Bautista (0-1, 4.50) vs. Daniel Cabrera (2-2, 5.30)Starting Lineups:Royals CF Kerry Robinson (12 G, .286 BA, .286 OBP, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .653 OPS)2B Mark Grudzielanek (30 G, .311 BA, .341 OBP, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .753 OPS)1B Doug Mientkiewicz (31 G, .235 BA, .316 OBP, 0 HR, 9 RBI, .640 OPS)DH Matt Stairs (19 G, .229 BA, .315 OBP, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .711 OPS)LF DEAD TO ME (32 G, .231 BA, .298 OBP, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .706 OPS)RF Aaron Guiel (8 G, .200 BA, .259 OBP, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .739 OPS)3B Tony Graffanino (22 G, .254 BA, .319 OBP, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .732 OPS)SS DEAD TO ME (34 G, .246 BA, .258 OBP, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .602 OPS)C John Buck (26 G, .258 BA, .333 OBP, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .788 OPS)Orioles 2B Brandon Fahey (10 G, .293 BA, .326 OBP, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .618 OPS)3B Melvin Mora (36 G, .304 BA, .376 OBP, 7 HR, 20 RBI, .903 OPS)SS Miguel Tejada (37 G, .351 BA, .391 OBP, 10 HR, 31 OBP, .966 OPS)RF Jay Gibbons (36 G, .271 BA, .303 OBP, 9 HR, 23 RBI, .837 OPS)C Ramon Hernandez (33 G, .317 BA, .385 OBP, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .885 OPS)1B Jeff Conine (29 G, .255 BA, .325 OBP, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .778 OPS)CF Corey Patterson (28 G, .289 BA, .333 OBP, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .807 OPS)DH Javy Lopez (20 G, .225 BA, .295 OBP, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .703 OPS)LF Nick Markakis (33 G, .204 BA, .282 OBP, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .604 OPS)

[KowboyKoop 0]

New addition to the DEAD TO ME list...Denny Bautista. Has pretty good stuff, but absolutely refuses to challenge hitters whatsoever. Will under no circumstances throw first pitch strikes. Until he starts going after hitters, he will no longer be mentioned on this thread. Just a complete waste of good stuff.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Complete joke of a game today..just inexcusably stupid by Burgos and Bell. Not worth my time to do a game recap today. Mark my words though, this is the beginning of a long downswing for us. I predict we won't win another game until we are 10-36. Mark it. This team has been playing pretty decent the past 3-4 weeks, but this series ended all that....noone playing hard, the manager seemingly doesn't care about winning enough to sit bad players and try to correct mistakes, and the pitchers are now refusing to challenge hitters whatsoever. Just a complete joke today and yesterday. Hopefully this is what leads to Baird being fired and hopefully Bell will be leaving with him.

[wsox8 10]

Tough tough loss today... I know Sisco has gotten hit hard at times but have they thought about putting him in as closer? Also, do you know when McDougal is expected back?I can see them getting new a new manager etc.. soon

[KowboyKoop 0]

Tough tough loss today... I know Sisco has gotten hit hard at times but have they thought about putting him in as closer? Also, do you know when McDougal is expected back?I can see them getting new a new manager etc.. soon

Sisco is not a closer..he's more of a candidate to be a starter in the future than a closer. MacDougal is anywhere from 1-2 months away....Burgos has done a pretty good job overall as closer..but the past couple times have been bad.A new manager is also badly needed......

[gobears 0]

Commentary from rotowire.com (Jeff Erickson) below - this is from one week ago so not sure if Huber is still sitting on the bench.One topic that's been gnawing at me has been the treatment of prospects once they get called up by their parent clubs, especially when their parent clubs are bottom-half teams. Take the Royals. Yes, I know I beat up on them a lot, and doing so can be as easy as taking candy from a baby (although that turned out to be not so easy), but they are just aching for someone to rip on them. I just have no patience for teams that make mealy-mouthed excuses as to why they can't win, when they consistently make stupid mistakes. The Pirates were the object of my scorn last week, but the Royals are in a universe to themselves in this category. If teams like Minnesota, Oakland, and Florida can have competitive teams at least occasionally, there's no reason for the Royals to have been so consistently awful. Did you know that they took in $60 million in revenue sharing last year? That's just astounding to me - no wonder the likes of George Steinbrenner and John Henry are so upset about the current collective bargaining agreement.A microcosm of their ineptitude has been their handling of Justin Huber. They had Huber fall in their laps in what was actually a really good trade made by GM Allard Baird, after the Pirates insisted upon getting Jose Bautista when moving Kris Benson to the Mets in a trade-deadline deal in 2004. Bautista was a Rule 5 pick originally from the Pirates, who spent 2004 with the Orioles, Devil Rays and then the Royals (who got him for a nominal amount of cash from the Devil Rays). A knee injury helped force Huber to move from catching to playing first base, and he thrived offensively because of the move, slugging over .500 at both Double-A and Triple-A last year, as a 22-year old. In other words, he's a legitimate hitting prospect.Instead of giving Huber the first base job to start the year, they went out and signed Doug Mientkiewicz, citing the need for Huber to work on his defense at Triple-A for at least half the season. They also signed Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders, Joe Mays and Scott Elarton, as part of their "win 70 games with crappy veterans" campaign. While that's heinous enough, that's not even the worst of their transgressions. When Mike Sweeney went on the DL (again) last week, they called up Huber. That seems perfectly sensible - it's a good chance to see what they have in Huber, who already had seven homers in Triple-A at the time of his callup. So in the week that he's been up, over seven games (as of Monday night), how many at-bats does he have? A whopping three, with only one start during that span. Even his token start was strange - with the Royals facing a lefty on the mound, Mientkiewicz was out of the lineup, but Huber was still used as the DH, rather than starting at first base. I wonder how they plan on getting him to work on his defense that way? Instead of playing Huber every day, they've been starting Mientkiewicz at first and 38-year old Matt Stairs as the DH. Even if Stairs does hit better right now, what's the point? How does that help them develop Huber and build a franchise? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

[wsox8 10]

I don't see Sisco as a starter. Doesn't he throw pretty hard? I can't see him being able to go very long.

[KowboyKoop 0]

Commentary from rotowire.com (Jeff Erickson) below - this is from one week ago so not sure if Huber is still sitting on the bench.One topic that's been gnawing at me has been the treatment of prospects once they get called up by their parent clubs, especially when their parent clubs are bottom-half teams. Take the Royals. Yes, I know I beat up on them a lot, and doing so can be as easy as taking candy from a baby (although that turned out to be not so easy), but they are just aching for someone to rip on them. I just have no patience for teams that make mealy-mouthed excuses as to why they can't win, when they consistently make stupid mistakes. The Pirates were the object of my scorn last week, but the Royals are in a universe to themselves in this category. If teams like Minnesota, Oakland, and Florida can have competitive teams at least occasionally, there's no reason for the Royals to have been so consistently awful. Did you know that they took in $60 million in revenue sharing last year? That's just astounding to me - no wonder the likes of George Steinbrenner and John Henry are so upset about the current collective bargaining agreement.A microcosm of their ineptitude has been their handling of Justin Huber. They had Huber fall in their laps in what was actually a really good trade made by GM Allard Baird, after the Pirates insisted upon getting Jose Bautista when moving Kris Benson to the Mets in a trade-deadline deal in 2004. Bautista was a Rule 5 pick originally from the Pirates, who spent 2004 with the Orioles, Devil Rays and then the Royals (who got him for a nominal amount of cash from the Devil Rays). A knee injury helped force Huber to move from catching to playing first base, and he thrived offensively because of the move, slugging over .500 at both Double-A and Triple-A last year, as a 22-year old. In other words, he's a legitimate hitting prospect.Instead of giving Huber the first base job to start the year, they went out and signed Doug Mientkiewicz, citing the need for Huber to work on his defense at Triple-A for at least half the season. They also signed Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders, Joe Mays and Scott Elarton, as part of their "win 70 games with crappy veterans" campaign. While that's heinous enough, that's not even the worst of their transgressions. When Mike Sweeney went on the DL (again) last week, they called up Huber. That seems perfectly sensible - it's a good chance to see what they have in Huber, who already had seven homers in Triple-A at the time of his callup. So in the week that he's been up, over seven games (as of Monday night), how many at-bats does he have? A whopping three, with only one start during that span. Even his token start was strange - with the Royals facing a lefty on the mound, Mientkiewicz was out of the lineup, but Huber was still used as the DH, rather than starting at first base. I wonder how they plan on getting him to work on his defense that way? Instead of playing Huber every day, they've been starting Mientkiewicz at first and 38-year old Matt Stairs as the DH. Even if Stairs does hit better right now, what's the point? How does that help them develop Huber and build a franchise? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Yes.Nothing more for me to say. Baird (our GM) wants him playing, but Bell wants to get veterans all of the playing time. Just retarded. Hopefully with our new GM comes a new manager at some point..and then our youth movement can REALLY start. We have the guys to keep on getting better...but not when our manager is gonna keep throwing out Matt Stairs in the lineup...etc. etc.

I don't see Sisco as a starter. Doesn't he throw pretty hard? I can't see him being able to go very long.

Ehhh..yeah, he throws kinda hard..but nothing too spectacularly hard. And no, he couldn't be a starter NOW, but the general line of thinking with him is that he will either be a lefty setup man for the rest of his career..which is okay, or we can put him back in the minors to build up a lot more arm strength and come back with KC as a starter. He has a good arm and is still really young (23) and was a starter for all of 2003 and 2004 in the minors in the Cubs organization before we got him...so he CAN go longer if we can get him in the minors to get his arm strength up. He throws hard..but not REALLY hard like a closer would...so hopefully at some point in the future we try to make him a starter...as we need as many starting prospects as we can get.