Pst... Alex, you there?

A fine piece by Allard Baird (er, I mean David Boyce) inthe Kansas City Star todayfeaturing this money "quote" from Chris Lubanski about signing right after the draft:

"If I would have missed that whole summer I could be a level back right now," Lubanski said. "Instead, I got rookie ball out of the way that first summer and started my career. It was definitely the right choice."

I hope Alex Gordon was able to read it.

Chiefs 23, Raiders 17 - No one said it had to be pretty

2-0.

Sounds good, doesn't it Royals fans?

One of the nice things about football is that you get a whole week to enjoy your victories. The intensity on Sundays is much easier to sustain for the game, and no matter how miserable the season is, you'll only have to endure a little more than a dozen games.

Due to a class I am taking on Sundays this winter, this will be the first year I haven't had the DirecTV football package in LA. So, it was nice to catch tonight's game on ESPN.

It would have been nice if they hadn't secretly replaced the regular announcers with a couple of Randy Moss sycophants, though.

Nonethelss, we one the game and I am quite happy with the team this year. The defense is definitely better. As long as Trent Green's leg doesn't fall off, I think we're in good shape for a playoff run.

Being two games up on the Raiders is always nice, as well.

Ahh, football, winning and happiness. Did Jose Lima put on another fireworks display today? I hadn't noticed.

Trade Sweeney? H, E, double hockey sticks, NO!!!

The KC Star's (and I think the country's) best sports columnist has gone fishing for ideas at the website Baseball Think Factory.

Joe did this before the season started as well, and came away with a few good ideas to while away the spring.

Unfortunately, as the Royals tumble towards another 100-loss season, the attitude of the generally intelligent Primer folks has turned nasty and negative. I'm okay with all of the jokes about my favorite team's inept play on the field and in the front office, but I'm getting oh so sick of the following sentiment:

Trade Mike Sweeney.

The answer is NO! I give these three reasons:

1.) The $11 Million paycheck is not the Royals' problem. It's only such a large percentage of their overall budget because the budget is so small. Sweeney is a good deal for the Royals, lest people forget what kind of contracts Jason Giambi and Mo Vaughn were getting on the open market.

2.) Due to his salary and injury history, the Royals will never get a player as good as Sweeney is in return for trading him. Certainly not worth the value if they have to eat some of his salary.

3.) The last thing you need to do when trying to improve the Royals is to get rid of the best hitter on their team. Everybody who keeps telling the Royals to stop drafting and trading by positional need to realize you don't trade Sweeney just because there are a few prospects below him who might, if everything goes right, hit as well as he does.

Royals 7, White Sox 5

That makes two out of three for our Boys in Blue, against the team with the best record in the American League.

Now, while it's true that the Sox have been struggling lately and were never as good as their lofty record indicated, it's still nice to see that our lineup can occasionally put some runs on the board.

Are you ready?

As the Chiefs prepare for their last pre-season game, I will set aside my worry about Trent Green's mystery leg surgery and just point out that Kansas City is a town that REALLY gets behind their football team.

From today's KC Star:

"Chiefs at Rams, 7 tonight; Channels 2,5 and 13; KCFX (101.1 FM)"

Angel grounds out...

Looks like walking Teahen was the right move.

Sigh...

Fear Terrance Long

I'm a big fan of Denny Mathews, but he just said a few things during the bottom of the ninth that made me cringe.

The situation: Royals & Twins, tied at 1, bottom of the ninth with Aaron Guiel on second base and one out.

Terrance Long at the plate. Denny says:

"And they are not going to intentionally walk Terrance Long."

As if T-Long were to be feared in this situation.

Long pops out on the first pitch.

Two out. The Twins elect to walk Emil Brown and pitch to Mark Teahen. Denny says:

"They pitch to the two lefties and walk the righty . . . Gardenhire must be playing a hunch."

Yes, Denny. A hunch that Emil Brown is the only major league hitter in tonight's line up.

Bases are loaded now. Angel Berroa up...

Who needs anouncers?

I'm posting this article for my dad, who hates the idiotic ramble from most sports announcers.

In Canada last weekend, a CFL game was broadcast sans announcers because of a media workers strike. How did the viewing public react to watching football without the inane babbling of sideline reporters and former athletes in the booth?

Turns out 10% more people tuned in than in an average week.

Watch out Al Michaels. We're coming for you next.

17 Down - Mariners 4, Royals 3

Give the boys credit... they are certainly imaginative in finding new ways to lose. From the AP story: "The Royals' losing streak reached 17 games Tuesday night when they lost 4-3 to the Seattle Mariners on Yuniesky Betancourt's go-ahead infield single in the eighth inning."

Stealing third with two outs is one of the cardinal sins of baseball, yet the gods decide to punish us with the infield single.

Sigh.

Fifteen in a Row

Yes, I've been around.

I've had many ideas to write about... who will be the September call-ups, who should be player of the year, how much resistance to a little losing should we have...

It's all bad. Fifteen losses is hard to take. 11 runs in the ninth is unbelievable. Jose Lima pitching a complete-game and allowing one run sounds as if it is from a dream.

Football is starting soon, and I will shift my focus to the Chiefs. That will offer some respite. But for now, I am talking about the Royals.

I am still rooting for the Kansas City Royals. In fact, part of me wants them to keep losing, so that my team becomes the lead on Sports Center every night. So the world will start paying attention. So there is some reason to care.

When this season is over... whether we've 'bested' the Tigers and Mets of yore or not, I will still check the Arizona Fall League stats to see how the younger Royals are doing. I will still imagine trade scenarios and free-agent signings that breathe life into my favorite team.

I will try to design a weight-loss program that works for Calvin Pickering and hunt for a fountain of youth serum for Aaron Guiel. I will dream about shipping Tom Emanski tapes to Billy Butler, Justin Huber and Matt Diaz in the hopes that they all learn how to play a little defense.

I will send Zack Grienke a Tony Robbins video so that he can become motivated enough to make Runelvys's second year after Tommy John surgery a worthwhile one.

I will hold on to 2003 as tightly as a toddler grips his woobie, and I will drive to Arizona for Spring Training in 2006, muttering to myself and anyone who will listen, "if just a few things go our way..."

Hey, Joe. Leave an easy target alone.

In his latest column, Joe Sheehan takes the following dig at the Royals: "Angel Berroa: .299 OBP, 68 K, 11 BB. This is a building block?"

Of course, the Royals are an easy target for analysts of all stripes, but I would like to provide a little bit of context.

At the start of the 2004 season, the Kansas City Royals signed a shortstop who was 25 years old and coming off a rookie campaign in which he'd posted a 287/338/451 line with a VORP of 39.4.

The shortstop had been a highly-touted prospect, and after losing some numbers to knee surgery, looked to be improving on a minor-league career that hinted at power potential.

In 2004, PECOTA predicted a VORP of 21.1 for Berroa.
In 2005, PECOTA predicted a VORP of 15.2 and a line of 265/310/409.

Unfotunately, "Ahn-hell" forgot how to swing for the fences last year, only hitting 8 home runs while walking less and avoiding more pitches.

His lines for '04 and '05 are fairly terrible:
262/308/385 VORP 15.7
260/299/362 VORP 10.0 (Projected)

Berroa is making $500,000 this year, and the Royals are on the hook for another $10 Million through 2008.

Should the downward trend continue, the Royals will look a little silly for paying Berroa $4.75 Million in 2008. However, if he had met his projections for the last two years, continued to improve on his age-25 season as he headed into his peak, and provided the kind of pop he showed as a youngster at a premium position...

Well, then you'd have a very cheap, very valuable building block.

Royals trade Graffanino to Red Sox

The KC Star is reporting that the Royals have traded Tony Graffanino to the Boston Red Sox for prospects.

What we lost:

T-Graf
   Age AVG OBP SLG
 2005 33 0.298 0.377 0.393
 Career  0.263 0.335 0.388

What we got:

Chip Ambres
  Level Age AVG OBP SLG
 A 20 0.231 0.343 0.366
 A 21 0.265 0.36 0.416
 A 22 0.236 0.323 0.365
 AA 23 0.258 0.376 0.439
 AA 24 0.241 0.352 0.449
 AAA 25 0.294 0.401 0.495

Juan Cedeno
 Level Age ERA K/9 WHIP
 Rk 18 4.19 6.7 1.56
 A 19 3.02 7.73 1.29
 A 20 4.64 5.83 1.54
 A 21 5.49 7.98 1.52

T-Graf has had a bit of a resurgence this year, getting a ton of playing time and responding with a career high in OBP. His batting average looks good and he's never been a power guy.

The prospects from Boston appear pretty standard issue to me. A young fireballer in Cedeno who has control issues. A speedy outfielder with low batting average numbers, but a steady improvement in power.

Assuming Graffanino can continue to hit 300/375/390, this should be a pretty good pick up for the Sox. He can replace Bellhorn defensively at second base and provide some decent on-base numbers in front of the power hitters in Boston's line up.

For the Royals, this is more of the same. Trading age and salary away to pick up some hope. Are Ambres's plate discipline and power increases for real? Will Cedeno find enough control to be Mike MacDougal early '03, or Mike MacDougal the rest of the time?

Tony always seemed like a good guy, so I'm happy he'll get to compete in meaningful baseball this season. Ambres and Cedeno can only hope for the chance in the future.

Oh, Elvis... tsk, tsk...

It was nice to see the Royals get a shot at a highlight package in the first half-hour of Sportscenter last night. I wish I could have seen Mike Sweeney's home run, or Mark Teahen's catch, spin and throw play to get Rondell White out.

But alas, one jackass plunking another trumps all.

I'm not going to defend Hernandez here. I did think it was a pretty funny read in the AP story, though:

The Royals led 4-0 when Hernandez (7-9) threw a low and inside pitch that Guillen thought hit him. Guillen argued with plate umpire Marty Foster, and Detroit manager Alan Trammell came out to plead the case. The next pitch hit Guillen in the helmet.

Guillen whined to the umpire about not getting first base when he made no attempt to avoid the previous pitch. That always irks me.

Of course, Elvis is a punk. Has been since the Royals first brought him up. It's part of what makes him an effective pitcher. However, headhunting with a fastball is dangerous and counterproductive.

I think a nice, easy breaking ball to the backside would have been an effective retort to Guillen's whining, but that's just me.

Any suspension for Hernandez won't hurt the Royals this season, and will probably save his arm. So, in the end, nothing will be accomplished.

'Twas some great theater, though.

P.S.- Props to Affeldt for using his leverage to land on top of Farnsworth, effectively faceplanting him into the ground with his own momentum.

Beltran vs. These Other Guys

Baseball Prospectus has a look at the players most prominently involved in the Beltran trade last year, excluding Mike Wood.

Here's a quick breakdown of the current stats for each player involved in the trade, including Baseball Proscpectus's VORP stat (Value Over Replacement Player):

               AVG OBP SLG VORP 
John Buck      227 270 356 0.8 
Mark Teahen    251 302 353 -1.2 
Carlos Beltran 264 319 431 13.2

               K/9  ERA  VORP 
Mike Wood      5.64 3.59 8.9

Currently, Beltran is lapping the trio in value, 13.2 to 8.5.

That three Royal players cannot even equal the value of one other player is another problem all together, but there are two other factors that people keep forgetting to look at when evaluating this trade:

          Beltran  Trio
$/VORP    $876.6k  $112.2k
Age       28       24 (Avg)

As arbitration kicks in for each of these players, the cash advantage will dissipate for the Royals, but the fact is, these guys are always going to be four years younger than Beltran.

Allard Baird traded 4 months (and a monster post-season that would have done us no good) of Carlos Beltran for four years of potential at three critical positions. The plan was never going to bring us wins this year, and probably won't the next, but these guys are all going to be entering their primes when Beltran is exiting his.

I'll take that trade.

Adam Dunn and Looking Past Batting Average

I heard a rumor the other day that the Reds were looking to dump one of their extra outfielders. I mentioned to a friend that the Royals should try to pick Adam Dunn up, but was told that he "strikes out too much."

Since it's the All-Star Break and I've got some time on my hands, I thought I'd try to win this argument with my friend in a forum that allowed him no chance to respond (God, I love the internet).

Plus, it allows me to discuss a core principal of the stat-head movement -- looking beyond batting average.

Name       Age  HR  AVG  OBP  SLG
Adam Dunn  25   23  239  384  550
(as of All-Star Break)

Now, one could look at Mr. Dunn's record-setting strikeout season last year and his lowly batting average of .239 and feel perfectly comfortable writing him off as a player with the same whiff-tastic tendencies of our own Angel Berroa.

Or...

We could take a look at those other two numbers... OBP and SLG.

OBP = On Base Percentage

Somehow, Batting Average become the stat that everybody used to judge whether or not a baseball player could hit. Phrases like "he's not paid to walk" came into vogue and only scrappy little guys were allowed to get on base via the hit-by-pitch.

Of course, grounding out weakly to the second basemen doesn't do much more than get you out. Men on base or no, you now have one less out than you started the game with, and once you've used all 27, they make you go home.

So, let's pretend we don't see Adam Dunn's .239 batting average. Instead, let's look at how often he gets on base, currently at a .384 clip.

That would put him in first place on the current Royals team.

To repeat, Adam Dunn gets on base a higher percentage of the time than any other Royals player.

Fine, you say. Maybe he gets some walks when he's not swinging the bat, but he still misses an awful lot of pitches when he gets the wood off his shoulder. That's true, but when he doesn't miss the ball, he hits it really, really hard.

SLG = Slugging Average

Player A is 1 for 1 with a single.
Player B is 1 for 1 with a home run.

Player A is slugging 1.000.
Player B is slugging 4.000.

Capisce?

Adam Dunn's slugging average of .550 would put him in first place on the Royals.

That means Dunn gets on base more often and hits for more power than anybody on our current roster. He's also only 25 years old.

Now, I don't think the Reds are really dumb enough to trade him, but if Dan O'Brien dials Allard's phone, he'd better take the call.

Matt Stairs for the All Star Game

Well, it's time for the annual discussion over who should be the Royals All Star. Mike Sweeney is no doubt the front runner, but I think there are a few other players who could make us proud in Detroit.

On the pitching side, Andrew Sisco has been quite a feather in Allard Baird's cap. Since Terry Francona needs to load up on pitchers, having a big lefty with a 2.75 ERA would not look out of place. It would also allow the announcers to make endless comparisons between Johan Santana and Sisco as Rule 5 picks who are having success in the big leagues.

On the offensive side, we have these three guys:

Player A 298/335/507
Player B 261/296/364
Player C 263/393/464

One of these guys has represented the boys in blue at the big game four times, one is a journeyman minor-leaguer and one is a journeyman major-leaguer.

Mike Sweeney is the safe (and most-likely) choice, and I've heard Emil Brown get a few props as the feel-good story, but where is the love for Matt Stairs?

Stairs is leading the team in OPS, has never been to the All Star game, and will give the game the kind of international flavor that attracts casual fans.

It's a little late, but I have decided to throw my considerable influence behind Mr. Stairs in his dark horse All-Star bid. He's the only player we have who seems to know how to take a walk, and he's been the most consistent hitter on the team this year.

Plus, he's got that killer 'stache going on. That's gotta be worth something.

Bye-bye, Eli

The Royals traded Eli Marerro the Baltimore Orioles for career minor leaguer Peter Maestrales.

An infielder who has never made it past A Ball, Maestrales did pitch two and a half innings for Newark in the Independent league last year, allowing one unearned run and posting a WHIP of 1.29.

My guess is he'll be our closer by mid-August.

Oh, and one other thing, he was born of the fourth of July. No kidding.

Four in a Row

Well, apparently, Buddy Bell is the messiah.

It's also possible that he could be the anti-christ, but for the moment I just don't care. We swept the Yankees and then won another game.

I, uh... I Beli... Nope. Can't do it yet. But, it's nice to see a few Ws on the board.

Okay, Calm Down...

So, the sky has fallen and brought Buddy Bell with it.

The general consensus is that Allard Baird should be fired, the Glass family run out of town with torches and the Kansas City Royals Baseball Club contracted for the good of all.

I have just come back from a nice vacation in the Land of Oz and I must say that a few days away from the constant barrage of bad news (and, avoiding news in general is frighteningly easy in the middle of Kansas) has been good for my soul as a baseball fan.

I still like the Royals. I refuse to go Chicken Little on this team. I knew they were young and not ready before the season began. There are no surprises about the suckiness of this team.

Of course there are a multitude of areas that need improvement. Shouting and screaming will not make it better.

So, I will stick by the team. I will read up on Buddy Bell, and I will find reasons to care.

Floundering

This current baseball season for the Kansas City Royals has now passed the point of high comedy.

From the KC Star story about yesterday's 12-8 loss to the Orioles:

"So how big does a lead have to be for Royals veteran Jose Lima to get his first victory of the season?"

This is just pain now.

Let me say this: I never chose to be a Kansas City Royals fan.

I was born in Saint Louis and moved to Central Kansas as a five-year old. The Hutchinson News led with the Royals every day. Local television carried the Braves (who sucked back in the day, for you youngsters who don't remember) and the Royals.

So, I paid attention when National League Cy Young Winner Mark Davis was signed to close out games in 1990. I saved the Sports Illustrated cover with David Cone wearing our uniform in 1993. I hoped and prayed for the strike to be avoided in 1994 after my team ran off 14 wins in a row to pull within four games of the White Sox.

Of course, Hal McRae was fired and mediocrity soon followed.

Of course, mediocrity would be a Godsend these days.

This is the time of year that has always been the hardest for me over the last decade as a fan of the Royals. When mathematical elimination is still so far away, but any illusions of contention have been stamped into the cold, hard, unforgiving ground.

Right now, it looks as if the most entertaining story for the rest of the season will be finding out how much tail Tony Pena scored while hanging out in the suburbs.

Alas, this is the team I was given, and so I shall continue to check the box scores every day. I will try not to blink during our brief appearances on ESPN. I will check the records of every managerial candidate that the media throws out there.

Above all, I will try to remain optimistic.

And, I will read about Gunther Cunningham's new spot on the sidelines. Yeah. And the Jayhawks new recruits. Those guys look good. That'll help... yeah, that'll do...