Royals Notes

I've been gone for a few days. Unfortunately, in my absence the Royals have lost three games in a row and fell back into the cellar in the AL Central. We've got lots of news to catch up on: 

Mark Teahen may be headed for the DL. He hyperextended his left elbow in Oakland the other night and he's going to undergo tests today to see how bad the injury is. This will presumably give Emil Brown more playing time, which might not be a bad thing if the guy actually played the game the right way. His lack of hustle makes it hard for me to get behind the guy, even though he does hit the occasional home run.

Odalis Perez is walking with a limp and he may miss the rest of the season with a strained knee ligament. I'm not sure that our rotation will take much of a hit by losing a guy who is 8-11 with a 5.57 ERA, but he has pitched well enough to earn two straight victories as of late. Zack Greinke is going to move into the rotation after putting up solid numbers in relief this season (4-1, 3.54 ERA, and a .226 BAA in 38 games). I hope that this Greinke experiment doesn't turn into another Jeremy Affeldt-type situation where we never leave him in one position long enough to excel. 

Sounds like Bell is planning to go with a six-man rotation in September. He'll probably have both Brandon Duckworth and Jorge De La Rosa back by the time September call ups occur.

Mark Grudzielanek and the Royals mutually agreed on his option for next season for $4.5 million. Some may disagree, but I like this signing. Grud is one of the best fielding second basemen in the game, he handles the bat well, and he's a much needed veteran in the clubhouse.

Mike Sweeney is headed to Omaha tomorrow for a rehab assignment and may be back with the Royals by next week.

This afternoon in Chicago, the Royals will try to avoid the sweep by sending Brian Bannister (9-7, 3.31) to the mound against Jose Contreras (6-15, 6.18). Bannister is 1-0 against the White Sox in his career with a 3.38 ERA. Contreras is 7-3 against the Royals with a 3.42 ERA.