KC Royals - July

[SubGod22]

More trade talk...2011 Royals Value Depth Chart

As the trade deadline approaches now is a great time to take a peak at who the most valuable tradeable players are in the organization. While a few of these have very small trade chances or in Billy’s case don’t have a lot of open trade possibilities to them GMDM would be foolish to not explore options on most of these players in the right deals.

[SubGod22]

Kendall out for year, career in jeopardy

KANSAS CITY -- Catcher Jason Kendall won't be playing for the Royals this season or next, and his career might be in jeopardy.

Royals manager Ned Yost announced on Thursday that Kendall would have to undergo another surgery on his right shoulder. The surgery by Dr. Neal ElAttrache will be Wednesday in Los Angeles.

"It takes him out of the picture for this year and for next year, and it's more a quality-of-life surgery so he can at least have function in his shoulder," Yost said.

I'm not sad that he may never play as a Royal again. I do hope his arm is taken care of with this next surgery and he'll be able to get use out of it in the long run. He's had a solid career but has no place on the Royals roster in the future. I hope he enjoys retirement.

[SubGod22]

Duffy, Royals come up short against Tigers

KANSAS CITY -- Danny Duffy lost but he pitched a fine game for the Royals on Wednesday night. So why was he optioned to Omaha after the 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers?

"All-Star break," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

If Duffy had stayed in his regular turn in Kansas City's six-man rotation, he wouldn't have pitched for the Royals for 12 days because of next week's three-day break. Under this plan, Duffy will be sent to the Triple-A club, pitch next Thursday against New Orleans and then return to Kansas City on July 19 and pitch against Chicago.

"He's really making progress, making gains every time he starts and we don't want him sitting around for 12 days," Yost said. "We want him to continue to strive to improve like he's been doing."

Duffy, a rookie left-hander, was fine with the plan which brings left-handed reliever Everett Teaford back as his roster replacement.

"I'm excited to get down there and do what I've got to do and get the heck back up here," Duffy said.

He pitched a very good game and continues to make progress. When I first read that he was being sent to Omaha I thought WTH?????? It makes some sense now. Too bad he couldn't get any run support.

Duffy sent to Omaha; Teaford recalled

KANSAS CITY -- Left-handed reliever Everett Teaford gets his second chance with the Royals, called up on Thursday night to replace the temporarily demoted Danny Duffy.

Duffy was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after Thursday night's 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers and will make one start for the Storm Chasers, then return to the Royals and face Chicago on July 19.

"It's what's best for the team, man," Duffy said. "We get another arm in the bullpen and I don't fret over that. I'll go down to Omaha and do what I have to do in that start, work out a couple days, and come back and do it against the White Sox on the 19th."

[RoyalShock]

I thought if someone was optioned to the minors they had to stay down for something like 20 days before getting recalled.

This is also puzzling because one of the reasons given for going to a 6-man rotation was to limit Duffy's innings. He could still throw a bullpen session or something to stay in rhythm.

[SubGod22]

I thought if someone was optioned to the minors they had to stay down for something like 20 days before getting recalled.

This is also puzzling because one of the reasons given for going to a 6-man rotation was to limit Duffy's innings. He could still throw a bullpen session or something to stay in rhythm.

Hadn't thought about that. Maybe they're seeing if they can knock a few days off of his service time and avoid a Super 2 with him?

[RoyalShock]

I thought if someone was optioned to the minors they had to stay down for something like 20 days before getting recalled.

This is also puzzling because one of the reasons given for going to a 6-man rotation was to limit Duffy's innings. He could still throw a bullpen session or something to stay in rhythm.

Hadn't thought about that. Maybe they're seeing if they can knock a few days off of his service time and avoid a Super 2 with him?

That would make sense. You're probably right.

[SubGod22]

So much for the service time thinking. Maybe it is just to keep him regular. Duffy Down, Kendall Done

A couple of quick Royals notes before the weekend hits… By the way, when I’m elected commissioner of baseball, I’ll work with Congress to make every week a four day work week. And more daytime baseball.

– Following Thursday’s game, the Royals optioned Danny Duffy to Omaha.

That sounds strange, given he threw six solid innings against the Tigers. But something else is going on… The Royals say they are keeping him on his schedule, but I have to be honest… I thought they were gaming his service clock.

Duffy isn’t going to pitch in the majors until the 19th. That’s 12 days away. But in order for Duffy to lose major league service time, he has to stay in the minors for 20 consecutive days. (Thanks to Jeff Euston at Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reminding me.) We went through a similar scenario a couple of years ago with Alex Gordon. As long as Duffy is back by the 27th – he’s going to continue to compile major league service time.

[SubGod22]

Water cooler talk- Soria to the Yankees ( deja vu)

Well, it is that time of the year again where the water cooler conversations heat up .The first one we will do for the summer of 2011 will feel like deja vu because of this article from last year.

As most of you know I have never backed down from my belief that Soria should be traded. The difference is this season the Royals actually have some capable young arms that could possibly take over the closer role in Aaron Crow and Greg Holland. Plus, do not forget power arms at AA in Kelvin Herrera and Kevin Chapman.

One month ago when Soria was struggling it looked like the window had closed on getting anything for Jack and now the window has opened again. I hope the Royals do not, once again, take too long to move a player and get less than a solid return on their players.

The NY Post reported on Wednesday that the Royals have scouts watching several Yankees catching prospects. Let’s take a look at that list of Yankee backstops and also take a look at other pieces that could be involved.

[newshock1234]

Davies is sooo awesome!!!!! :roll:

[SubGod22]

Hard to get handle on Hochevar's struggles

KANSAS CITY -- Royals manager Ned Yost believes that his struggling starter, Luke Hochevar, might simply be trying too hard at difficult points in a game.

"It's about getting into the crunch time of the game and not pitching -- just rarin' back and throwing," Yost said.

That's not the way to go about it, in Yost's view.

Verlander flying Crow to All-Star Game

Crow, the Royals' rookie setup man, is making his first All-Star appearance and is Kansas City's lone representative. With the Tigers playing in Kansas City right before the break, Verlander extended the offer of a ride to Crow, which he accepted.

"Tides turn and I'm able to take care of some guys now, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to do it," Verlander said. "I've never forgotten those times -- the first time being on a private plane going to the All-Star Game is an experience. Just to make some guys happy is something nice to be able to do."

I have to say that this is pretty cool. Hope Crow enjoys the experience.

[SubGod22]

Out With the Old, In With the New

Welcome to the All-Star Break, Royals fans, where we find Kansas City back home in the cellar of the American League Central and sporting the third worst record in baseball. Seems all too familiar, doesn’t it?

Now, almost without question, the 2011 Kansas City Royals are a better, more hopeful group than in past years. The rookie dominated bullpen is very good, the defense is light years ahead of past squads and the offense, while not great, is solid with a real possibility of becoming good. There is hope…..just not this year.

To their credit, Dayton Moore and company have or are on their way to accomplishing some of the logicial steps that will/should/might lead this organization back to respectability. They have:

Committed to young arms in the bullpen, giving Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Tim Collins and Aaron Crow (Blake Wood and Everett Teaford, too) valuable experience so that they can be a formidable unit on a contending team.

Promoted both Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, service time be damned, so that each will have 400 plate appearances under their belts when 2012 Opening Day rolls around.

Brought up Danny Duffy and are in the process (unless there is some sinister motive to not bring him back up after the break) of getting him 15 to 20 starts in 2011.

If you were willing to ignore the service issues and arbitration awards that might become a problem in the 2016-2018 range and focus on being a legitimate playoff contender from 2013 to 2015, then all of the above were exciting and correct moves to make. Frankly, they were also the easy moves to make. It gets hard from here on out for Dayton Moore.

I do pretty much see the same lineup next year that he lists in the piece and agree with much of what he said. There are a couple of guys in Omaha who should be called up soon to get experience and/or see if they can indeed be the future.

[RoyalShock]

I don't see Perez's bat being ready to start the season, unless he pours it on from this point, gets a promotion to Omaha and doesn't suck. Otherwise, I foresee him as a mid-season call-up.

I'm still concerned with Moose. He wasn't exactly impressive in AAA and is in a pretty serious slump: 1-23 in his last six games, bringing his line down to .228/.294/.283. That's downright awful at any position that isn't C or SS. I think he'll turn it around but I'm still not convinced he'll fulfill expectations.

[SubGod22]

The thing with Moose that doesn't worry me is he's been a little slow to start each time he's been promoted. So I'm not worried that he'll get it going. As far as Perez, if he can show a little bit of a bat the rest of the year and has a good spring, I could see them going with him. That may mean the end of Pena and they do keep Treanor around to mentor the kid. But he should be up no later than the All Star break next year for sure.

[SubGod22]

Royals getting ready for 2012 All-Star Game

KANSAS CITY -- Two things stuck out among the items laid out on Kevin Uhlich's desk last week. One was the bevy of spreadsheets and packets of data. The other was a bulging two-inch-thick, three-ring binder, whose cover read, "All-Star Game."

Uhlich, the Royals' vice president of business operations, is one of the point men for the organization, which is readying to host the 2012 All-Star Game, even as this year's event is underway in Phoenix.

Anyone turned off by the thought of watching a Home Run Derby under the roof at Chase Field, take heart -- the fountains of Kauffman Stadium are just a year away.

I can't wait to see it. The K looks great on TV and 100 times better in person. It'll be a nice showcase of the city and will be the first All Star game I've watched in I don't know how long. I'm excited.

[SubGod22]

Royals mid-season offensive breakdown by position

We’re beyond the half-way point in the Major League Baseball season, but the All-Star break is a great time to take a breather and see where the Royals stand. What I’ve done is take a look at the Royals wOBA position-by-position and compared it to their American League Central opponents and the rest of the AL. I’m using wOBA because it’s a simple and powerful offensive measuring tool. If you’d like to take a look at the nuts and bolts of the metric you can check out FanGraphs, but all you really need to know is that a higher number is a better number.

It’s valuable to measure the Royals against the AL Central because in reality that is their only competition. To be in the playoffs, the Royals don’t have to be better than the Yankees, Red Sox or Rangers, they just have to be better than the Twins, White Sox, Tigers and Indians.

The first chart is a list of every American League Central team’s position and it’s sorted by wOBA. So as you can see below the Tigers first-basemen (no surprise) is the most productive offensive position in the division. The colors in the chart sort each column from best (red) to worst (green) so you can get an idea of where some of the outliers are. The numbers are the total of all plate appearances for that position.

Charts and graphs. If you like them, read the whole thing.