Royals sweep Turd Birds

That was a very satisfying three days of baseball. Royals 4, Cardinals 1.

Royals have now won five in a row if you're scoring at home.

Game MVP awards to Lawnmower Man and Teahen. Link.

Zack, offense destroys Angels

Zack Greinke improved to 4-1 on the year by going Public Enemy on the California Angels last night. Gordo and DJ both homered and Grud and Guillen each had three hits. Box.

Baltimore tonight. Hochevar v. Cabrera.

Royals have a blogger on staff

I can't for the life of me remember where I first heard about Mike Maroth's blog but this morning when he was being interviewed on 610 Sports the lightbulb turned on and for once I remembered to check it out once I got to the office. Maroth is a veteran lefty who is competing for a spot in the Royals rotation this season. He was the guy who took the most bullets for Detroit in that awful 2003 season, losing over 20 games by himself. His career began to show promise before elbow injuries sidelined him in 2006. Maroth spent the last half of 2007 in St. Louis and struggled big time. He's hoping a change back to the American League will help get him back on track.

As for his blog it appears to be pretty well written and insightful. I'm looking forward to following this thing through Spring Training and into the season. Mike needs to get some Royals pics on there and get rid of the Tiger stuff. He doesn't have any Cardinal photos on the front page (understandable after he struggled there the second half of last season), but when you click on read more the header changes from "Mike Maroth, Kansas City Royals pitcher" to "Mike Maroth, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher". Yuck! Gotta get that changed a.s.a.p. Other than that, good blog. Hope he keeps writing it.

So now by my unofficial count we have Zack "The Lawnmower Man" Greinke, Billy Butler, and Mike Maroth with their own sites. Am I missing anyone?

Maroth Baseball.

Greinke, Teahen sign

Everyone's accounted for. The Royals signed the remaining two arbitration eligible players, Zack Greinke and Mark Teahen, on Thursday. Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in Surprise, Az., on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

Seven Royals still face arbitration

After yesterday's signing of Luke Hudson to a $500,000 contract the Royals still have a number of players, including The Lawnmower Man, facing arbitration. Link.

HEADLINES

CHIEFS: It's only the preseason, folks. Still, I'm starting to get a little worried. So is Whitlock.

TIGERS: Mizzou football is eight days from kick-off after Thursday's final scrimmage. (Thanks to Power Mizzou for the pic above of Chase Daniel and Tony Temple). Link.

ROYALS: Zack's on the hill tonight against CC Sabbathia (see yesterday's headlines below).

HEADLINES

ROYALS: Planet Zack is back in the starting rotation tomorrow against the Tribe. Preview.

TIGERS: Kick-off countdown nine days. Click here for the latest news.

CHIEFS: The number one runner is back in camp and ready to go. Link.

HEADLINES

ROYALS: "Noonie" got a boo-boo on his hand but it all worked out in the end. "Lawnmower Man", "Mexican Tough" and others shut down the Rangers. Check out In Dayton We Trust's wrap-up here.

TIGERS: T-Ruck is ready for a big year. More.

CHIEFS: Brodie (above) must have been watching his huntin' DVD's during the first quarter, because he came in and led a great drive for a touchdown. His fade pass off his back foot into the endzone that came up 10 yards short is one he'd like to forget, though. Story.

Michael Bennett: Lawnmower Man 2?

KC win overshadowed by bridge collapse

Banny (below), Lawnmower Man & Mexican Tough handled the pitching chores and Alex "Smirky" Gordon hit a two-run bomb in the top of the 10th inning as the Royals defeated the Twins, 5-3 Wednesday night at the Metrodome. Wrap.

The win, while nice for KC, was overshadowed by a massive bridge collapse in which at least seven people died near the Metrodome. Thursday afternoon's game has been postponed and will be made up at a later date.

Baseball Story.

Fox News Story.

With Dotel gone, what's left in the pen?

It's time to give a tip of the cap and one last thank-you for being a professional and helping stabalize our bullpen to Octavio Dotel, who was traded today to Atlanta for Hiram Kyle Davies. With Davies likely to pitch out of the starting rotation, it leaves us asking the question, 'What happens now to the bullpen'?

I've posted a few early thoughts below, complete with pictures. As always, click on the images for a larger view.

We begin with big lefty John Bale, who joined the Royals in the off-season after some time in Asia. We inked him to a two-year deal, and allegedly beat out the Yankees for his services. Still, I don't know a single freaking thing about him. He is to Kansas City fans what Jason Bourne is to himself: a complete unknown.

Just check out his Royals player page. It's the last day in July, and there's not a single piece of information in his biography or a single entry under his highlights.

The only thing I remember about this guy is that he gave up six walks in one inning last week, and only surrendered one run. I suppose he figures to get some long-inning relief down the stretch. We'll see.

Durable do-everything reliever Joel Peralta is a 190-pound Dominican who's been pretty steady for KC. You may recall that Joel missed some time during spring training this year when he came down with food poisoning. While hospitalized for two days Peralta's temperature reached 105.9 degrees.

"At one point, when I got to the hospital, I didn't know where I was," Peralta said. "There's a little bit I can't remember. It was very scary. I never felt that way before. I've never had that kind of experience. I hope it doesn't happen again."

What could Peralta have eaten that caused him to become so ill?

"Cow tail," he said.

I think the caption below says "I want cow tail", but really I have no idea.
Next is David Riske. The parallel may be obvious. His name is Riske, it's pronounced Risky, being a relief pitcher is "risky", whatever.

Dude's a good pitcher for us and he's going to take on a larger role now that Dotel is out.

And oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Tom Cruise is weird.

Leo "The Kid" Nunez. Noonie has thrown 10 innings and only surrendered one run in two starts since the All-Star break. The 175-pound pitcher now figures to shift to the bullpen. He's earned a shot at the big leagues. He's one of my favorite players, and I hope he sticks around for awhile.

And he's not really young. He just looks it. "Noonie" turns 24 on Aug. 14.

Manager Buddy Bell so famously said of our next reliever, in one of 810's favorite drop-ins, "He's Mexican tough..... which is really tough."

Joakim Soria, the Monclova, Mexico, native and newlywed, has been nothing short of remarkable. Stats.

He has to rank up there as one of the great Rule 5 draftees of all time, and he could move into the starting rotation as early as next season. Picking up this kid was one of Dayton Moore's many great moves. Maybe his best move so far.

Jimmy Gobble. The converted starter is the team's situational lefty in the pen. On any given night he could throw three innings or one pitch. I believe Gobble has found a home in the bullpen and will go on to have a 20-30 year career, a la Jesse Orosco and the other lefties with a pulse who played forever. Glad Jimmy found a niche. Nice kid, last name is the sound a turkey makes.

Last but not least, one of my favorite players on the team, "Planet Zack". Zack "The Lawnmower Man" Greinke's been on quite a journey to get to this point. But it's been such a fun ride for us as fans, if not for him. Greinke is a former top-10 pick, former Royals' rookie (and pitcher) of the year, and former baseball drop-out.

He's put all that behind him and has become a fan favorite coming out of the bullpen. In fact, he's the odds-on favorite to become the next closer. As for the nickname "Lawnmower Man". Well, not only does he mow down hitters, but when asked what he would do if he never came back to baseball Zack replied that he would buy a couple lawn mowers and start a landscaping service. He's a different bird, that's for sure. That mentality might make him a perfect closer.


There you have it, the Royals' bullpen as of July 31, 2007.

Royals win third in a row

Lots of good stuff in the sports world for R,T, & C fans.

We begin with baseball, where Odalis Perez (above) posted a 'quality start', turned it over to the bullpen trio of Riske, Greinke and Dotel, and the offense did just enough to turn Steve Busby bobble-head night into a winner for the Royals, 6-5 over the Texas Rangers. Box Score.

Emil "Shooter" Brown had three hits and two runs scored one night after capping Karen Kornacki in the face with a toy pellet gun.

Tony Jr. had two hits, two RBI and a run scored and is hitting .284, defying all naysayers with his walks be damned approach.

"Boom Boom" added another two hits and the Killer G's, Gload and Gordon each scored a run.

KC goes for the sweep today at 1:10 p.m. Leo Nunez, one of my favorite players as you may recall, is on the hill.

Good win, fun win. Dotel made it a little to close for comfort in the ninth, but hey, that's what closer do, right?

De La Rosa shows some De La Soul

"Georgie" (above) shut down the Yankees for five plus innings, Zack "Lawnmower Man" Greinke pitched two and two-thirds scoreless, and Joakim "Mexican Tough" Soria slammed the door in the ninth in the Royals' 7-0 win over the Yankees on Thursday. Box Score.

Oh, yeah, the offense was pretty good, too. Alex Gordon (below) hit a double, triple and a home-run and earned the ultimate sign of respect from manager Buddy Bell, who called him "Gordie" after the game.
Brian Bannister is on the hill tonight in the opener of a three-game homestand against Texas.

Butler, Gil bust The Gambler; Royals win big

Billy Butler (below) continued his torrid hitting with four hits and four RBIs and Gil Meche worked seven impressive innings, giving up no walks and just five hits, in the Royals' 10-2 victory. Box Score.


Mark Grudzielanek also had four hits. Planet Zack pitched a scoreless eighth and Canadian Ryan Braun pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. The Royals will be seeking their first win on the season in throwback jerseys, as Detroit will be honoring the Negro Leagues.

Trade rumors everywhere you look

One day closer to the July 31 MLB trade deadline with no activity yet. Like the great Tom Petty sings: "The waiting is the hardest part".

There are no shortage of rumors though. Planet Zack to the Cubs? Reggie Sanders to the Red Sox? Octavio Dotel to just about everyone. The buzz is out there for each of these potential deals.

This time of year must be fun for GM Dayton Moore, as long as he forgets this disaster.

Royals blow out Boston 9-3

Rookie Leo Nunez, or "Noonie", as manager Buddy Bell called him in the pregame chat with Fred White, pitched a respectable four plus innings, and the Royals blew the game wide open with a five-run seventh. Box Score.

Gobble and Planet Zack (above) picked up Noonie and closed out the fifth inning, surrenduring just one run.

Billy Butler (below) continues to rake, starting the Royals off with a two-run RBI double in the fourth inning. Tony Jr. drove in a run with a double in the fifth.

Mark Teahen (below) played a stellar right field, making two nice catches and recording an outfield assist, his 12th of the season, in the first three innings.

Pena and Alex Gordon both had three hits.

The finale of the series is tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. on RSTN. Then its on to Detroit to battle the first-place Tigers after an off-day Thursday.

Planet Zack finds home in bullpen

The All-Star game is tonight. And more than perhaps any player on the Royals, pitcher Zack Greinke has the natural talent to make it to the mid-summer classic someday. He dazzles Royals fans with his talent, but for years he's been frustratingly inconsistent. As the Associated Press' Doug Tucker examines in this feature, the move to the bullpen might be just the thing that ties it all together for Planet Zack.