Royals Lose a Slugfest

Game Date: March 21, 2007
A’s 11, Royals 10 / Box Score
Royals Spring Training Record: 9-12

If you get the ball up in the zone, major league hitters are going to make you pay. That’s what happened to Brian Bannister last night. In three innings, he gave up 7 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, and four home runs (three of which came in succession). With an ERA over 10.00 now, his chances of winning a spot in the rotation suddenly look much less likely.

Joakim Soria had much the same problem with location. He threw hard and his pitches had a lot of movement on them, but he didn’t locate well. He gave up two runs in three innings. But he did strike out six guys. Todd Wellemeyer and Joel Peralta both pitched a scoreless inning apiece.

Several Royals had big nights at the plate. Esteban German was 2-for-4. Ross Gload was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (he’s hitting .459 now). Alex Gordon was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. And Angel Berroa was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Speaking of Berroa, the Royals have apparently seen enough this spring to realize that he’s the same old Berroa. Bob Dutton’s article in the Star this morning says, “Club officials are believed to have put together of list of 20 or more trade candidates for evaluation and discussion purposes.” And he says that other team officials are saying that the Royals want to make a move before the season begins.

So, Moore must not be convinced that Blanco or Gonzalez are good candidates to start at short. And perhaps Angel Sanchez is a year or two away from being ready. But he has over 2,000 minor league at bats, so maybe he doesn’t figure into the Royals long term plans either.

And here’s one more bit of defensive news…Bell is thinking about keeping Mark Teahen in center field and moving David DeJesus when he comes back. Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.