2008 Royals - Spring Training

[newshock1234]

any body know what our pitching rotation is gonna look like

Here's my guess.

- All male.
- Between 5'8" and 6'6".
- Will be either right or left handed.
- All over the age of 21.
- Each will start approximately every 5th game.
- They will throw the ball really fast (between 85 and 99 MPH).
- Each will wear a hat.

woww thanks for the info

[RoyalShock]

Ok, I had my fun. But seriously . . .

Gil Meche
Zach Greinke
Brian Bannister
Brett Tomko
Mike Maroth

Barring injury, the first three are probably set. Others vying for the other two spots are:

Jorge De La Rosa
Luke Hudson
Hideo Nomo
Brian Lawrence
Kyle Davies
John Bale

[RoyalShock]

any body know what our pitching rotation is gonna look like

Here's my guess.

- All male.
- Between 5'8" and 6'6".
- Will be either right or left handed.
- All over the age of 21.
- Each will start approximately every 5th game.
- They will throw the ball really fast (between 85 and 99 MPH).
- Each will wear a hat.

woww thanks for the info

Can you blame me for not being able to resist that one?

[newshock1234]

Ok, I had my fun. But seriously . . .

Gil Meche
Zach Greinke
Brian Bannister
Brett Tomko
Mike Maroth

Barring injury, the first three are probably set. Others vying for the other two spots are:

Jorge De La Rosa
Luke Hudson
Hideo Nomo
Brian Lawrence
Kyle Davies
John Bale

our top 3 look very solid, im a little worried about our 4-5 guys

[SekShocker]

I think Tomko is pretty solid as a 4/5 guy, he not a front of the rotation guy, but matched up against another teams #4 or 5 he should be fairly solid and if he stays healthy an innnigs eater. I could see him winning 8-10 games with an ERA around 4.

[RoyalShock]

A few other notes:

- Pitching coach Bob McClure found a problem with Maroth's mechanics after throwing just three pitches. Maroth is pleased with the adjustment. He could have a good year and eat a lot of innings. I'd be happy with a #5 starter that can maintain an ERA around 5.

- We have so many guys we could put there that at least two of them are bound to be able to collectively hold down those spots over a season.

- Hochevar could slide in at some point mid-season.

I'm actually more concerned with Meche and Bannister coming back down to earth.

I'm expecting Greinke to have a very good year.

[RoyalShock]

I think Tomko is pretty solid as a 4/5 guy, he not a front of the rotation guy, but matched up against another teams #4 or 5 he should be fairly solid and if he stays healthy an innnigs eater. I could see him winning 8-10 games with an ERA around 4.

Historically, a starter with an ERA "around 4" would be a top-of-the-rotation (1 or 2) on this team.

In trying to combine what I think will happen and what would please me, here are my guesses for ERAs this year:

Meche - 4.0 to 4.3
Geinke - 3.5 to 3.8
Bannister - 4.2 to 4.5
#4 - 4.5 - 5.0
#5 - 5.0 to 5.5

[BA2929]

Did anybody else here Rob Neyer on 810 the other day? He said Butler has the potential to be a Frank Thomas or Edgar Martinez type bat. I think all Royals fans would be pleased with that, but I too am hoping he can make it as a first baseman and not be relegated to just the DH role, but if he rakes like the Big Hurt or Edgar I guess I could live with that.

You may or may not have realized this, but before The Big Hurt and Edgar became DHs, they were both very solid fielders. I believe the Royals will throw Butler in at 1st at the beginning of the season, but if he struggles mightily after the first month, then they'll start sliding in Teahen, Shealy and Gload more and more, moving BB to DH in more games. This will be his 3rd new position since he got drafted, so I wouldn't expect much this year from him at 1st.

[BA2929]

I'm worried about all of our starters. Meche is easily our best pitcher, but Bannister has only had 1 decent year and Grienke hasn't been able to last an entire season without stinking or completely falling apart. Nearly all of the guys competing for our 4/5 spots are outcasts from other teams. Here is what I see from all of the potential 4/5 guys:

Tomko has never had an ERA under 4 and most recently he's been up near 4.5 or 5 with a very high WHIP. He's disappointed nearly every team he's been with and I don't expect him to last in our rotation for the entire season. However, he'll start the season in the rotation because he "must pitch his way out of the" rotation according to the Royals. But, then again, he might do just that.

Maroth was absolutely terrible last season with an ERA of nearly 7 and a WHIP of almost 2. He's lost 20 games in a season (granted that was for a terrible Detroit team) and has only had a record of over .500 one year, and he was 5-2 that season. He'll be an innings eater at best.

Nomo has about a 10% chance of making the roster, imo. He's coming off of elbow surgery and is 39 years old. I think we just signed him to have bodies for competition at spring training. If he makes the team, I'll be completely surprised.

Lawrence throws 81mph. He'll never succeed in the AL and he'll never amount to anything over a complete season. I see him getting cut quickly.

Bale is expecting to be moved to starter. I could see him being our 5 guy, but I wont expect more than about 5 innings a start with a 5.5 ERA.

Hudson has one of the best chances to start - if his arm holds up. He may start the season out in AAA just to get some innings under his belt due to having shoulder surgery in June. I expect him to get a chance at some point in the season.

Davies has probably the best shot to be our #5 guy due to the fact that he's 24 and Dayton Moore loves him. If anything, he'll make the team as a reliever that gets the occasional spot start.

Overall, I think our 5th starter will be determined during the season. One of the crew of JDLR, Bale, Davies and Hudson will come out of Spring Training as the 5th starter, but I have a feeling that it wont be set in stone and a misstep or 2 will result in a "5th starter by committee" until someone shows they can handle the load.

[SekShocker]

Did anybody else here Rob Neyer on 810 the other day? He said Butler has the potential to be a Frank Thomas or Edgar Martinez type bat. I think all Royals fans would be pleased with that, but I too am hoping he can make it as a first baseman and not be relegated to just the DH role, but if he rakes like the Big Hurt or Edgar I guess I could live with that.

You may or may not have realized this, but before The Big Hurt and Edgar became DHs, they were both very solid fielders. I believe the Royals will throw Butler in at 1st at the beginning of the season, but if he struggles mightily after the first month, then they'll start sliding in Teahen, Shealy and Gload more and more, moving BB to DH in more games. This will be his 3rd new position since he got drafted, so I wouldn't expect much this year from him at 1st.

I was aware, the Big Hurt as a first baseman and Edgar as a third baseman, and I wouldn't call Edgar a solid fielder he did make 27 errors one year at third base and had a lifetime fielding percentage of .952. Hopefully Billy can make the transition and not hurt the team on defense.

[BA2929]

Did anybody else here Rob Neyer on 810 the other day? He said Butler has the potential to be a Frank Thomas or Edgar Martinez type bat. I think all Royals fans would be pleased with that, but I too am hoping he can make it as a first baseman and not be relegated to just the DH role, but if he rakes like the Big Hurt or Edgar I guess I could live with that.

You may or may not have realized this, but before The Big Hurt and Edgar became DHs, they were both very solid fielders. I believe the Royals will throw Butler in at 1st at the beginning of the season, but if he struggles mightily after the first month, then they'll start sliding in Teahen, Shealy and Gload more and more, moving BB to DH in more games. This will be his 3rd new position since he got drafted, so I wouldn't expect much this year from him at 1st.

I was aware, the Big Hurt as a first baseman and Edgar as a third baseman, and I wouldn't call Edgar a solid fielder he did make 27 errors one year at third base and had a lifetime fielding percentage of .952. Hopefully Billy can make the transition and not hurt the team on defense.

Yes, Edgar wasn't the greatest 3rd baseman, but when he did play 1st (which wasn't often) he was solid. Fielding at a .987 clip. That gives me hope that a semi-decent 3rd baseman can move to 1st and be successful. Something BB is trying to do.

[SubGod22]

Overlooked Joel

Peralta

Hochevar in the pen?

Bullpen?

Shealy's Last Chance

Last Chance

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Peralta is overlooked ALOT

however he's not that great but he doesnt suck either.

Im glad he's with us.

[BA2929]

Manager Trey Hillman revealed to Miguel Olivo in a meeting Monday that John Buck is the Royals' starting catcher.
Olivo was apparently under the impression that he'd be battling Buck for the starting job when he signed on as a free agent. "I want competition, but we're going into this camp with John Buck as our starting catcher for a very simple reason," Hillman said. "We believe he has the ability to be a front-line, All-Star-type catcher and an impact bat in the lineup."

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/495433.html

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Olivo suspended