Dayton Moore Offered the Job

In a continuing story, the Star is reporting that David Glass has offered the GM job to Braves assistant Dayton Moore. But Moore wants complete control of personnel. Smart man. He knows what's been going on in the Royal organization for too long and if he's going to come into a mess like this with any hopes of turning things around, he needs to know that he can choose his own players.

Glass has apparently set a deadline (this weekend sometime) for the deal to be struck, otherwise he's ready to offer the position to somebody else.

Two other names that surfaced in the article is former Phillies GM Ed Wade and former Tigers and Padres GM Randy Smith.

I still find it incredibly odd, and a tad bit unprofessional of David Glass to be so open about the search for a new GM when he hasn't even fired the current one. But, at this point, why would we expect Glass to do something conventionally?

More as the story develops.

Down Go the Evil Yankees

All sorts of firsts happened last night in New York. The Royals won for the first time in New York since August 6, 2002. The Royals won for the first time in 14 games dating back to May 12^th. The Royals won for the first time this seaon against an opponent outside of the AL Central. Angel Berroa walked for the first time this century (okay that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much). Scott Elarton got his first win of the season. Jimmy Gobble got his first hold of the season. So did Joe Nelson. And Andrew Sisco picked up his first career save.

But you had to wonder if the Royals would really be able to hold on to their lead when the rains came and they were up 7-5 after eight and a half innings. The bullpen was shot. The guys on the radio didn't seem to have any idea how would pitch the ninth inning. And whoever it was, you just had to be thinking-so how are we going to blow this one? Who are we going to walk to set up the home run? Who's going to boot a ball to allow the tying or winning run to score?

Joe Nelson started the inning and promptly gave up a single to former Royal Terrance Long. Nelson got Damon to fly out. But then he walked Derek Jeter. Gary Sheffield hit a ball to center that Esteban German couldn't come up with on a diving attempt and all of a sudden the score was 7-6 and Jeter was on third with one out. Bell brought in Sisco to face Giambi and thankfully Giambi is slower than a tree. Sisco got him to hit into a game-ending double play and finally the Royals could celebrate a win. And how sweet it is since it came against the evil Yankees.

The Royals will try to make it two in a row when they face the evil Yankees at 3:05 this afternoon. Jeremy Affeldt (2-4, 6.51) goes against Chien-Ming Wang (4-2, 4.43).

Berroa Walk Watch (the quest for double-digits): 2 walks in 44 games.

Worst Team in History?

An AP article running in various newspapers around the country says this about the Royals 13-game losing streak:

"The 13-game losing streak is the second longest ever for Kansas City, which lost 19 in a row last season. The Royals are a major league-worst 10-35 and drawing comparisons to some of the most terrible teams in history.

"Only Boston in 1932, Baltimore in 1988, and Washington in 1904 had worse records (9-36) after 45 games."

Inge Remembers 2003

Brandon Inge knows what it feels like to be on a bad baseball team. The Tigers lost 119 games in 2003. Inge made the following remark about the Royals in a Detroit Free Press article entitled "TIGERS CORNER: Amid his joy, Inge shares Royals' pain" that ran this morning:

"These guys make me think about '03 more, because they're going through a rough time right now, and I feel for them," Inge said. "It's not fun going through something like that. You start to question yourself as a person and as a player."

13 Straight

"It's pretty much the same thing every night." –Buddy Bell, after the Royals blew yet another game yesterday

Hard to argue with him.  

However, I do have a bone to pick with him about Denny Bautista. After the Royals handed Bautista a 6-run lead in the first inning, Omar Infante walked with one out in the second inning. Then Craig Monroe singled. Then Marcus Thames walked (noticing a pattern here?). Then Berroa booted a ball off Brandon Inge's bat (another pattern). Curtis Granderson singled. Then Bautista hit Placido Polanco with a pitch. I know our bullpen is overworked right now. And I know it seems ridiculous to take a starter out in the second inning with that big a lead, but come on. Between all the free passes and hits, didn't Bell have a clue that Bautista wasn't going to be able to get the job done? Maybe he just realized that we don't really have anybody who can get the Tigers out. And if that was his thought process, I'd probably let him off the hook.

Our pitching staff has issued 188 walks this season—sixth worst in baseball. Our WHIP is an embarrassing 1.64—worst in baseball, by far. Our ERA isn't all that hot either—6.11, which is, you guessed it, worst in baseball—by more than a half a run. Teams are hitting .289 against our staff—second worst in baseball. So, obviously, we don't have a good pitching staff. But I can't stand seeing our pitchers walk so many guys. Why not at least give hitters a chance to get themselves out rather than just issuing so many walks?

Back to the game.

The Tigers scored three runs in the second inning to make it 6-3 Royals. But the Tigers got another rally going in the fourth inning and knocked Bautista from the game—scoring two more runs in the process. We picked up another run in the bottom half of the fourth to increase our lead to 7-5. And then we got another insurance run in the sixth inning to make it 8-5. Surely, four home runs (from Graffanino, Berroa, Mientkiewicz, and German), fourteen hits, and eight runs is enough to win any game, right?

Wrong.

The Tigers scored eight runs in the eighth and ninth innings and the Royals lost 13-8, making it their thirteen straight loss. Keppel gave up one. Burgos gave up two (and now has a 7.23 ERA). Dessens got rocked and gave up four. And Sisco gave up another run (to see his ERA climb to 7.50). Our bullpen was once thought to be our one shining asset. Now it's in shambles with no real clear cut closer, and with two set up guys who can't get anybody out. With the exception of our long relief guys, Mike Wood (3-0, 3.64) and Jimmy Gobble (0-1, 4.68), our options are extremely limited during a tight game. Right now, I guess you have to give the ball to Joe Nelson who hasn't given up a run in 5.2 innings.

Well, what I feared has happened. We got swept by Detroit at home and now we are about to embark upon a ten-game road trip. This losing streak could go on for a long, long time. Let's hope that we can figure out a way to win one in New York this weekend.

Tonight, Scott Elarton (0-5, 4.71) goes against Mike Mussina (6-1, 2.57).

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 43 games.

Keppel Up; Nunez Down

The Royals are playing musical relief pitchers. They optioned Leo Nunez to Omaha today and purchased the contract of Bobby Keppel from Omaha. Keppel was the New York Mets' first round draft choice in 2000. The Royals signed him in August 2005.

Keppel, 23, was 4-5 with a 5.00 ERA in Omaha in 54 innings of work over nine starts. He pitched for Norfolk in Triple-A in 2005 and was 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA in five starts.

Glass Interviews GM Candidates

With the draft less than two weeks away, the Star is reporting that David Glass is just getting around to interviewing candidates to replace Allard Baird (who, for the record, hasn't even been fired yet). Yesterday Glass interviewed Dayton Moore, 39, in Atlanta. Moore "is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Braves' scouting and player development in his role as the assistant general manager for baseball operations." According to the article, Moore interviewed for the GM position in Boston last season. Sounds like Glass also interviewed Frank Wren, 47, the Braves' vice president and assistant GM for player personnel.

What took so long? Why wait until this close to the draft to begin interviewing candidates? How can we possibly expect a new GM to step in this late in the game and draft successfully? Even though I'm sure that both of these, and any other candidates who may exist, are already combing our system and attempting to put together a strategy if they are offered the job, surely they don't have complete access to all of the information they need. And given their current positions, I'm guessing they don't have enough time to do so even if they had access.

Allard Baird has made mistakes with this organization. From bad trades, to bad free agent signings, to a relatively dry farm system, but given the way Glass has handled Baird in recent weeks, it's making me believe that the real problem lies at the feet of the owner and not the GM. As much as I think a shake up is necessary, this is almost the worst possible time to do it since we're so close to draft day. And the odd thing is—it's not like the draft just magically appeared on the calendar one day. Glass knew when it was, and yet he waited.

Strange.

A Dozen Straight

With the 6-3 loss to Detroit last night, the losing streak reached a dozen. And everywhere you turn, from talk radio, to the blogosphere, the Royals are the punch line for many a joke. How about this one from Deadspin: "How bad are the Kansas City Royals? Classically bad. They are bad for the ages. A hundred years from now, children will sing rhymes about the ineptitude of the Royals."

If the streak doesn't end with Denny Bautista on the mound this afternoon, it could go on for a while. I just can't see us winning in New York over the weekend.

Sounds like Jimmy Gobble has earned himself another start after throwing 59 pitches in four innings and only giving up one run yesterday. Four innings? If a spot starter can only go four innings, he's not starter material. But in our rotation—where starters are only averaging five innings per start—I guess he fits as good as anybody else.

Grudzielanek, Brown, and Bako (hey, that sounds like a law firm) each had two hits and Stairs hit a three-run home run. Joe Nelson pitched another scoreless inning in relief.

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 42 games.

Nunez Called Up

The Royals placed Mark Redman on the Bereavement List today and recalled Leo Nunez from Wichita. Nunez didn't have impressive stats in Double-A (1-2, 4.29 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 12 BB in 21 IP), but I'm guessing that the Royals are counting on his experience at the major league level to help an already overworked bullpen. But when you look at the experience Nunez has, I'm not all that sure he'll be able to help us at this level right now. He's appeared in 41 major league games last season and had a 7.55 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP.

You might find this blurb about Nunez on the Rotowire.com website to be comical: "Nunez had no business pitching in the majors in 2005 after coming over from Pittsburgh in a deal for Benito Santiago."

I'm wondering if he has any business pitching in the majors in 2006.

Teahen Heats Up in Omaha

Mark Teahen is heating up for Omaha. He's hit in his last seven games (he was 3-for-4 last night in Fresno) and he has his average up to .392. In this article in the Omaha World Herald today, Teahen says that he's not looking over his shoulder to see how Alex Gordon is performing in Wichita.

"I don't worry about that," Teahen said in the article. "I didn't start out swinging the bat the way I needed, and I just have to make the adjustments to get back to that level. I think the Royals will have a spot for both of us if we both show we deserve to be there."

The article says the two of them got along well in spring training this year and it quotes Teahen as saying that Gordon "seems like a good guy."

Check out the whole article if you get a chance.

The O-Royals Report

If you live in the Omaha area, you'll soon be able to watch a new 30-minute television show called "The O-Royals Report" on Cox Cable, channel 23, every Thursday at 4:00 PM. According to this article on the Omaha Royals website, it sounds like the majority of each show is going to be dedicated to one-on-one interviews with players and/or the coaching staff.

Byron Gettis

If you've wondered whatever happened to Byron Gettis, check out this post over at Sports Law Blog.

Personnel Updates

David DeJesus is said to be making progress, and Bell hopes to have him back in the next 10 days. And then we've got to figure out a way to keep the guy healthy.

Zack Greinke threw 40 pitches in Arizona on Monday. He'll throw again tomorrow in game conditions. Bell said that Greinke could join the Royals in June.

Mike Sweeney is still feeling stiff. That doesn't sound good. He just started doing cardio exercises on Monday. I wonder if we'll even see him back (no pun intended) this season.

Mike MacDougal is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday in New York. We could sure a healthy MacDougal right now, but he's almost never healthy, so I'm not holding my breath. Bell said that he could be back by the "end of June or the first part of July."

Kerry Robinson cleared waivers and was sent to Omaha.

Royals Can't Hold Lead

Couldn't you just feel it coming when the Tigers trimmed the Royals 4-0 lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning—especially when Hernandez couldn't get out of the inning? With our already overworked bullpen, and with guys like Sisco, Burgos, and now Dessens struggling, we seemed destined to lose this one in the end. We did. And it wasn't really even close. The Tigers poured it on against our bullpen and won 8-5. The losing streak now stands at 11 and I really can't see an end in sight.

Mark Redman, who was scheduled to start tonight, is going to miss a start due to tightness in his left forearm. Gobble will get the spot start in Redman's place. He's pitched well at times this season, but he still has a 5.14 ERA. Mike Wood is probably more deserving of the spot start (3-0, 3.21)—especially since both are fairly equally rested. But at this point, I guess it doesn't really matter who we run out there. Whoever it is will have a hard time putting up worse numbers than our current rotation:

1. Scott Elarton (0-5, 4.71)
   
2. Runelvys Hernandez (1-3, 6.19)
   
3. Mark Redman (0-4, 6.88)
   
4. Denny Bautista (0-2, 3.75)
   
5. Jeremy Affeldt (2-4, 6.51)
   

On the positive side (yeah, I'm still looking for one, but it gets more illusive by the day), we did hit four home runs—two of which came off the bat of Mark Grudzielanek. Sanders and Brown hit the other two. And John Buck picked up two more hits to bring his average up to .255. Doesn't seem like much, but he's never ended a season with an average that high before, so maybe he's finally getting comfortable at the plate.

Tonight, the Royals send the aforementioned Jimmy Gobble (0-0, 5.14) against Jeremy Bonderman (4-3, 4.66).

Verlander Breezes Past Royals

Okay, okay…we get it. Justin Verlander has great stuff. The 23 year-old chopped our lineup down last night as if they were the Single-A and Double-A hitters he dominated a year ago in the Tigers farm system (he posted a combined 11-2 record with a 1.29 ERA with 20 starts in Lakeland and Erie). He threw his first career major league shutout last night, breezing to an 8-0 win, and improving to 6-3 on the season with a 2.70 ERA.

Doug Mientkiewicz said afterward that Verlander "had as good a stuff as I've seen in the big leagues." Bell said "that was as good a stuff as I've seen in a long time…" And while I'm sure they were telling the truth, it seems like we've said similar things about six or eight other guys who've mowed us down this season.

Jeremy Affeldt on the other hand struggled most of the night—giving up 8 ER in 6 IP. They jumped all over him for five runs in the second inning and they tacked on three more in the fifth. But let's be honest, we had little chance to win this game anyway. We only had five hits—two of which came in the ninth inning after Verlander started to get tired. The only positive I could see was the Bell sat Berroa again and let Blanco play short. Unfortunately, Bell said that he's planning to play Berroa for the next three games.

The losing streak now stands at ten games. And look at the next three pitching match ups of the series:

Runelvys Hernandez (1-3, 6.75) vs. Kenny Rogers (7-2, 2.91)
Mark Redman (0-4, 6.88) vs. Jeremy Bonderman (4-3, 4.66)
Denny Bautista (0-2, 3.75) vs. LHP Mike Maroth (5-2, 2.45)

I don't like any of those match ups. Bautista has the best chance, but who's going to bet against Mike Maroth right now? We might be headed into New York with a 13-game losing streak. We've lost 14 in a row in New York, so we could easily take a 16-game losing streak into Oakland. We're already 0-2 against them this season. If we got swept there, we'd be taking the daunted 19-game losing streak into Seattle.

How pathetic has the season turned out to be when we're simply hoping that we won't lose 19 in a row again?