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**SubGod22** · October 4, 2011, 10:11 AM

Gordon nets Aaron nomination in breakout 2011

KANSAS CITY -- This was the kind of year Alex Gordon was expecting.

The second-overall pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft seemed lost after struggling with injuries and being demoted to Triple-A last year. But thanks to some health and hard work, those early comparisons to former Royals great George Brett don't seem quite as outlandish anymore.

Following his breakout 2011 season, Gordon is the Royals' nominee for the Hank Aaron Award, given to the top offensive performer in both the American League and National League.

There's no doubt he had one hell of a break out season.

Cadahia brings experience to Royals' bench

Cadahia also takes on the responsibility of coaching catchers Salvador Perez, Brayan Pena and Manny Pina.

"They're very good," Cadahia said. "I coached Brayan in Atlanta when he was real young, and he's always been one of my favorite players. I got to meet Salvador and Manny here, and they're outstanding individuals to begin with, and very talented as catchers."

Working this year as a special assistant to player development, Cadahia spent a lot of time with Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where both Perez and Pina played.

Perez, who made a big impression in 39 late-season games, played like a veteran on defense and also unexpectedly hit .331.

"Salvador, no matter how good he is, he's still 21 years old, so he's got a lot to learn," Cadahia said. "He'll figure some things out, and hopefully I can help along the way. The main thing is not to mess him up at all."

He's known Pena since Brayan signed with the Braves in 2000.

"I don't know that you're ever going to find anybody that will out-work Brayan Pena. I know I haven't since I met him," Cadahia said.

In the small world department, Benny Cadahia, Chino's brother, coached Perez a few years ago when he was working for the Royals. Perez said recently that Benny Cadahia helped him tremendously.

**SubGod22** · October 4, 2011, 10:34 AM

Some things that happened this season

I wanted to finish my piece for my ongoing series about making the Royals a contender, but I just couldn’t polish it off in time. You’ll have to wait another week for it. In the meantime, I wanted to put a cap on 2011 with some bullets (the easy way out) and facts about the season.

A few of them I found interesting

Jeff Francoeur led the team with 47 doubles. That’s the third best season in Royals history behind Billy Butler in 2009 and Hal McRae in 1977.

Butler has also made his way to 16th place in hits with 764 in his career. This season he passed guys like Mike Macfarlane, Lou Piniella, Mark Teahen and John Wathan. He also jumped up to 9th place in career doubles.

Felipe Paulino posted the 6th best single season strikeout rate for a starting pitcher at 8.59. Zack Greinke and Kevin Appier each had only one season better than that.

Royals Awards

I know that I said that I was going to take an MLB-centric approach to this week with the playoffs going on and everything, but I thought I’d try and and get my Royals awards in before things get too interesting around baseball over the next few days. So far the playoffs have been a little bland, which I thought might happen after the treat of Wednesday night. Of course, for bland playoffs, there’s only one series where a team has won both games in their series, so that’s something to look forward to over the next few days as well. And the one team with a commanding series lead is the Zack Greinke-led Brewers. It is kind of odd to see former Royals all over the place in the playoffs, but I have a feeling that in a season coming soon there will be seven teams with former Royals on them and then the current Royals. They’ll probably be led by a lot of the people you’ll read about below.

Not a lot of surprises.

**SubGod22** · October 5, 2011, 12:20 PM

For Want Of A Pitcher

For the first time since 2003, if not since 1994, I didn’t want the Royals’ season to end. The Royals went 15-10 in September, and the Lineup of the Future was absolutely raking in the present: the Royals as a team hit .306 and slugged .472 in September. The last time the Royals had a batting or slugging average that high in a calendar month was July, 1999, when they hit .315 and slugged .503 in the heart of the high-offense era. (The Royals still went 11-16 that month, because while they scored 167 runs in 26 games, they allowed 197.)

Other than that month, the last time the Royals had a higher monthly batting average was nearly 30 years ago – May, 1982, when they hit .311. (In July, 1980, the Royals batted .332. Good luck breaking that record, boys. George Brett hit .494 that month and didn’t even lead the team in hits – Willie Wilson batted .441.)

Based on my expectations for 2011 – and my expectations were significantly higher than the national consensus – this season has to be considered a success. I predicted the Royals to go 69-93; the conventional wisdom among mainstream sportswriters was that the Royals would be lucky to avoid losing 100 games.

My rationale for projecting a 69-93 record was that I figured the Royals would, in fact, be on close to a 100-loss pace for the first half of the season – but that as the team’s best prospects found their way to Kauffman Stadium during the season, the roster quality would improve to the point where the Royals would be close to a .500 team by mid-season.

I point this out only because this logic was actually borne true to an unusual degree. The Royals won 71 games, and their season was indeed a tale of two halves. Despite starting the season 10-4, the Royals had fallen to 37-54 mark by the All-Star Break – on pace for a 66-win season. But after the Break, the Royals were 34-37. This understates their improvement, because the Royals played the bulk of their home games in the first half: they played 51 home games and 40 road games during the season’s first half, but after the Break, the Royals only played 30 of 71 games at home.

And in reality, the Royals had a much better season than their 71-91 record would suggest. The Royals were actually outscored by only 32 runs all season – based on their runs scored and runs allowed, they should have won 77 or 78 games. Despite finishing in fourth place in the AL Central, the Royals actually had the second-best run differential in the division.

By comparison, the 2003 Royals were outscored by 31 runs. If Ned Yost doesn’t leave Vinny Mazzaro out there like a tuna sandwich in the sun, the Royals would have had their best run differential since 1994. That’s an indictment of the organization, obviously, but it also tells you that this year’s Royals were almost a .500 team on paper. They only won 71 games in part because of bad luck, and in part because Joakim Soria had some uncharacteristic struggles. (The Royals lost four games this year that they were leading after eight innings. They had lost three such games over the last three years combined.)

Put these two facts together – the Royals played better in the second half, and they played better than their record suggests – and you come up with a single sentence that sums up why I absolutely think the Royals can contend next season:

Playing 40 of their 71 games on the road, the Royals outscored their opponents after the All-Star Break, 328-313.

Mind you, it’s easy to splice data to make your team look better – just find their best stretch of the season and extrapolate from there. But in this case, I think it’s legitimate to look at the team’s performance in the second half, because the team went through so much turnover from Opening Day until August. Let’s draw the line on August 10th, when Salvador Perez’s promotion closed the lineup; from that point on, the Royals were 22-24, and outscored their opponents by 18 runs, 225 to 207. Using the Pythagorean Theorem to predict the Royals’ record from their runs scored and runs allowed, we come up with a .542 winning percentage from August 10th on. Over a full season, that’s the equivalent of an 88-74 record.

So yes, I believe this team can contend in 2012. But they need a starting pitcher. Actually, two. Possibly even three. And what they do to address this need between now and next April is the single biggest determinant of whether the Royals will, in fact, contend next season.

**SubGod22** · October 5, 2011, 12:57 PM

Hosmer, Hochevar voted top September Royals

KANSAS CITY -- First baseman Eric Hosmer was named the Royals Player of the Month of September and right-hander Luke Hochevar was named Pitcher of the Month in a vote of Kansas City media.

Hosmer's big month included a .349 average with a team-high 37 hits that included five home runs, seven doubles and 21 runs. He also led the team with 19 RBIs and was named the American League Rookie of the Month.

Hochevar had a 2-1 record in three starts with a 2.18 ERA and held opponents to a .182 average. He had 20 strikeouts and just six walks in 20 2/3 innings.

Post Season Hardware

This is the worst time of year to blog about a perennial also-ran. October baseball means another post season spent on the sidelines and it also means front office inertia. I don’t mean that the Royals brain trust has shut down for the month… Just, there’s not much happening that is actually newsworthy.

– The Royals announced their player of the month for September and gave it to Eric Hosmer. Interesting choice if only because there was an actual plethora of excellent candidates from which to choose. When was the last time we could say that? Check some of these numbers.

Mike Moustakas – .352/.380/.580, .227 ISO
Sal Perez – .375/.400/.513, 14 runs
Eric Hosmer – .349/.360/.557, 5 HR, 21 RBI
Jeff Francoeur – .329/.345/.600, 5 HR, .271 ISO

And we can’t forget Billy Butler who hit 10 doubles, or Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar who both had identical .367 OBPs. I cannot remember a month like this where seemingly everyone in the lineup was a difficult out. (Except when Yost was playing for one run and sac bunting. Small Ball!)

What a month for the hitters.

**SubGod22** · October 6, 2011, 11:40 AM

The Future, Now and Then

I don’t quite have the final installment in my ‘Making the Leap’ series done and frankly, am flat out lazy today (or really, really busy – if my partners happen to be reading this!). Long ago, back in the dark days of 2005, I started writing a blog about the Royals: a massive media juggernaut called the Royals Op-Ed Page that,at times, would reach into triple digits in daily hits.

For fun, I took a look back at one of the early posts and found this chilling post entitled ‘The Future Should Be Now”, that read as follows:

A chilling read to be sure...

**SubGod22** · October 7, 2011, 01:33 PM

From Rany.... For Want Of A Pitcher, Part 2

For Want Of A Pitcher, Part 2.
Kevin Goldstein, as many of you know, is the prospect expert for Baseball Prospectus and is as well-connected as anyone in the industry, despite living in the mighty metropolis of DeKalb, Illinois. As it happens, I have an office in Sycamore, Illinois, about 10 minutes from Kevin’s house, so every month or two we get together for lunch and to talk politics and the Middle East – and, yes, baseball.

We had lunch on Thursday, and we actually got into a spirited discussion about whether the Royals can upgrade their rotation in time for next season. Kevin is skeptical – he thinks that people are underrating just how difficult it is to acquire starting pitching, given that almost every team in baseball is trying to do the same thing. If the Royals are going to trade for a starter, in his opinion, it’s more likely to be for someone like Derek Lowe than for someone like James Shields.

I’m willing to bet that the Royals acquire an established, league-average or better starting pitcher this off-season anyway, and told Kevin that. But he’s certainly right that if the Royals want to trade for a starter of that caliber, they’ll have to pay through the nose in terms of prospects and cash. Fortunately, the Royals have plenty of both. But if they can sign a free-agent pitcher and keep the prospects, so much the better.

The problem is, well, take a look for yourself.

**SubGod22** · October 7, 2011, 03:22 PM

I can't really argue with this outlook. 2012 opening day line up OFFENSE

**SubGod22** · October 12, 2011, 02:08 PM

I'm a little behind. Reliever Tejeda becomes free agent

KANSAS CITY -- Right-hander Robinson Tejeda, once an integral piece of the Royals' bullpen, has elected to become a free agent, the club announced on Friday.

Tejeda, 29, began the 2011 season as the primary setup man to closer Joakim Soria but struggled and lost velocity on his fastball, which had been his most effective pitch. He went on the disabled list on April 13 with an inflamed right shoulder after seven outings.

Tejeda returned on May 19, but a week later he was designated for assignment. In a total of nine games for the Royals, he had a 6.14 ERA, one loss and opponents hit .387 against him. The most telling statistic was he had just two strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

I'm not surprised. When healthy, he definitely wasn't bad, but the Royals really need to clear up a few spots on the 40 man before the Rule 5.
Coveted prospect Cain waits for his chance

The outfield picture for the Royals was uncertain at the beginning of the 2011 season.

Alex Gordon was in his first full season as an outfielder. Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur were signed to one-year deals, and in all likelihood were going to be stopgaps until someone like Lorenzo Cain got his call back to the Majors.

Acquired from Milwaukee in the Zack Greinke trade last December, Cain looked like he would be the future in center field for the Brewers. He played in 43 games in 2010 with the Brewers, and hit .306 with a .348 on-base percentage.

Royals claim Laffey off waivers from Yankees

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals claimed reliever Aaron Laffey off outright waivers from the Yankees on Tuesday.

Right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez was designated for assignment in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Laffey.

Laffey appeared in 11 games for the Yankees in late August and September, posting a 2-1 record and 3.38 ERA. He was not on New York's postseason roster. The left-hander began the season with the Mariners and pitched in 36 games for Seattle, recording a 4.01 ERA over 42 2/3 innings

**Awesome Sauce Malone** · October 12, 2011, 03:35 PM

Aaron Laffey was a pretty decent prospect.

Good look for the bullpen especially if they try and convert Holland to the starters role.

**SubGod22** · October 13, 2011, 10:57 AM

Royals Report Card: The Rotation

A lot of people say that it’s an easy way out for a blogger to do a report card post after the season. I’d agree with those people, and I don’t really care because they’re fun to write and I usually enjoy reading them when other people do them. The reason for that is that everything is subjective when it comes to grading baseball players. Unlike a real teacher, I can’t tell you that Felipe Paulino got 7 out of 10 right for a 70%, but I can tell you how I think he did in my mind. So it sparks a nice debate, which is always fun, especially in the offseason when there’s not a whole lot going on. I decided to start with the starters because I feel like whenever I do these things I start with the hitters. No more of those shenanigans. It’s the rotation’s day to shine because I think we all know they didn’t shine much during the season.

The way I grade is hard to describe because it’s mostly on a whim. I’m sort of kidding. A player’s grade, to me, is based on how well they performed and how well they performed based on their expectations. So let’s dream for a minute and say the Royals acquired Felix Hernandez for next season and he goes 15-9 with a 3.63 ERA. I’d probably give him a B. Those numbers are solid, so it’s tough to go lower than a B, but for a guy like that I’d expect more out of him. Now, if Luke Hochevar puts up those numbers, I’d have no choice but to give him an A. That would be easily the best season of his career. Get it? Got it? Good. Let’s get going.

**SubGod22** · October 13, 2011, 06:09 PM

Young Royals setting sights high for 2012

KANSAS CITY -- Talk to any of the Royals about the 2012 season and you'll likely get an answer containing an "E" word.

Everyone talks about experience -- the Royals' roster had the youngest average age in baseball -- and how much simply playing so many rookies in 2011 will build a foundation for success in 2012 and beyond.

Excitement is another word being thrown around: Excitement for Spring Training, even in October; excitement over breakout seasons by Alex Gordon and Melky Cabrera; excitement over young talent like Eric Hosmer and Greg Holland.

I'm excited!!!

**SubGod22** · October 13, 2011, 06:22 PM

Royals Report Card: The Bullpen

Before I get into the Royals’ bullpen and the grades I’ve decided on for them, I want to talk briefly about the Rangers/Tigers series that is on the verge of ending with a Rangers repeat trip to the fall classic. Yes, I know Verlander is pitching today and he’s awesome and all that, but it’s pretty clear that the Tigers will not beat the Rangers in three straight games, especially with how injury riddled they are at this time. What I really wanted to discuss was Nelson Cruz. The man can hit and they might as well just go ahead and give him the MVP right now. I mean, come on! He hit a walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning of game one and then hit a three run homer in the 11th inning of game four. Oh yeah, he also hit the game tying homer in game one that made it possible for it to go to the 11th inning. Man I can’t wait for that kind of good drama in Kansas City.

Onto the grades. For these I’ll start from the very back of the bullpen to the front. When I say back, I mean the closer and when I say front, I mean Nate Adcock. Yesterday I talked about how players are graded differently based on their expectations and you’ll definitely see that today. In fact, you’ll see it right now…

I do like the options in the pen. And a few more nice looking candidates in the minors just in case.

**SubGod22** · October 14, 2011, 11:39 AM

Bold Flavors

A few quick notes…

– The Royals made their first move of the off season this week when they claimed reliever Aaron Laffey off waivers from the New York Yankees and designated Jesse Chavez for assignment.

Hey, it’s a waiver claim. What did you expect? Dayton Moore can’t make a trade until after the last out of the World Series.

There are a few things wrong with Laffey. First, he doesn’t miss bats. According to FanGraphs, just over five percent of his strikes were on swings and misses, way below league average. Second, he lacks command. A 4.5 BB/9? Yuck. And third, he doesn’t get enough ground balls to offset his first two deficiencies.

Here’s what’s right with Laffey… He’s better than Jesse Chavez.

Laffey is surplus. A guy to add depth to the challenge of spring training. If he lasts on the 40-man roster that long. The most interesting thing about this signing is, he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career. He’s not going to break the bank or anything, but still… It’s possible they will exchange numbers, but that doesn’t mean he has to make the team.

– It appears Dave Eiland interviewed for the vacant Royals pitching coach position. He was the Yankees pitching coach for three years from 2008 to 2010. Evaluating a pitching coach on past performance is difficult, but when it’s the Yankees and their bloated payroll, it’s even more impossible.

Eiland comes shrouded with a bit of mystery. He left the Yankees for a leave of absence due to personal reasons in June of his final season with the team. The leave was open-ended and lasted 25 days. No reason was given.

**wsushox1** · October 14, 2011, 02:27 PM

Future's Bright!

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