Bako to the DL; Phillips Called Up

Paul Bako was placed on the DL today with a slightly torn oblique muscle. Paul Phillips was called up from Omaha to take his spot on the roster.

Royals Pound the Jays

Game Date: July 7, 2006
Game Score: Royals 13, Blue Jays 3 / Box Score
WP: Hudson (2), LP: Burnett (3)
Royal Home Runs: Stairs (8), Teahen (8)
Royals Record: 31-54

By anybody’s definition, the Royals are on fire. Their 13-3 blowout win over the Blue Jays tonight was their thirteenth out of the last eighteen games. It was also their fourth straight win. With Luke Hudson on the mound, I didn’t have high expectations, but he pitched extremely well—giving up only one run on two hits in five innings. And he only threw 72 pitches. I don’t know if he’s the answer for the fifth spot in the rotation over the long haul, but we’ll take the win tonight.

David DeJesus was 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Matt Stairs and Tony Graffanino were 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. I’m wondering if anybody else is enjoying Graffanino’s play at shortstop in recent games as much as I am. He deserves to be in the line up and frankly, I’d rather see him at short than Angel Berroa.

The Royals made more productive outs tonight and they took advantage of three errors by the Blue Jays. At this point, I wish the All-Star break wasn’t so close. I’d like to see how long we could continue playing like this. We’ll start the second half of the season in Detroit, but for now, we need to stay focused on the remaining two games in the Blue Jay series. One more win means that we will have won six of the last seven series.

Tomorrow night, Scott Elarton (3-9, 5.13) goes against Ted Lilly (8-8, 3.82). Elarton is 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA against the Blue Jays in his career and Lilly is 0-1 with a 5.24 ERA against the Royals.

Royals Win Again

Game Date: July 6, 2006
Game Score: Royals 6, Blue Jays 2 / Box Score
WP: Redman (6), LP: Taubenheim (5)
Royal Home Runs: Teahen (7)
Royals Record: 30-54

How fun is it to watch a team in which the starting pitcher throws strikes for eight innings while his defense plays well behind him? The result for such efforts is usually going to be a W and tonight was no exception. Redman threw 111 pitches, and took a one-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up giving up two earned runs, but he dropped his ERA to 5.27 and he hasn’t lost since May 19. His ERA was 6.88 after that particular start. He’s put together an incredible run and as crazy as it seems, he’ll ride it all the way to Pittsburgh for the All-Star game.

The Royals struck first tonight. In the first inning, Doug Mientkiewicz doubled in Tony Graffanino. They scored again in the second when Mark Teahen led off the inning with a home run. Emil Brown had a big two-out single that drove in two runs in the third. And the Royals added two more runs in the fourth inning. They wouldn’t need any more runs on this night. Joel Peralta threw a perfect ninth inning and that was the ballgame.

We’ll see if they can keep it going tomorrow night when Luke Hudson (1-3, 7.24) makes his first start of the season. He’ll go against A.J. Burnett (1-2, 4.30). Burnett is 0-0 with a 6.43 ERA in his career against the Royals.

The Royals have now won 12 of their last 17 games and they are in one of those stretches that is hard to explain. Let’s not even try.

Berroa Walk Watch (the quest for double digits): 8 walks in 78 games.

Guiel Claimed by Yankees

The evil Yankees have claimed Aaron Guiel off waivers. Somehow, the evil Yankees have already found a spot for Guiel to play—he’s going to platoon with Bernie Williams in right field. Torre said that he’d been impressed with Guiel’s hustle when he saw him play in the past and it sounds like Tony Pena had a hand in Guiel’s move to New York as well. You can read more about it here.

I hate to see Guiel play for another team—especially the evil Yankees. He’s patiently waited for his shot with the Royals and for one reason or another, he never got it. As much as I hate the Yankees, I’m hoping that Guiel plays well for them.

Royals Take the Series

Game Date: July 5, 2006
Game Score: Royals 6, Twins 3 / Box Score
WP: Affeldt (4), LP: Crain (5), SV: Burgos (14)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 29-54

Somebody forgot to tell the Royals that the Twins were supposed to leave Kansas City with their winning streak in tact. Or maybe somebody did tell them and it gave the Royals more motivation. With the win last night, the Royals won their five series out of their last six, and they’ve won 11 of their last 16 games.

Early in the season, Doug Mientkiewicz talked about how giddy the Royals were after they won a game (which didn’t happen often) and how their mentality was completely wrong. He said that they should be expected to win series at home, and that the giddiness needed to stop. I don’t know if the players took him up on his challenge, but for the first time in a long time, they are winning a lot of series in a row, and they don’t seem to be getting too high or low after individual wins and loses.

In the rubber game of the Twins series last night, the Royals did a lot of things right. Reggie Sanders hit a sacrifice in the third inning to score Grudzielanek. David DeJesus hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to score Angel Berroa. In several other instances, the Royals made productive outs. And when the Twins made mistakes—like the passed ball in the seventh inning, in which the Royals scored the go-ahead run, followed by a two-run double by John Buck—the Royals took advantage. That’s how teams win.

Brandon Duckworth pitched well enough (3 ER in 6.0 IP) to keep the Royals in the game. He left with the game tied 3-3. The combination of Wellemeyer, Affeldt, Dessens, and Burgos held the Twins scoreless the rest of the way.

Tonight, the Royals begin a four game series with Toronto. The Blue Jays are playing good baseball right now, winning 6 of their last 10, and they are still in contention in the East. But they are just 18-20 on the road. The Royals send Mark Redman (5-4, 5.59) against Ty Taubenheim (1-4, 3.98). Redman is 3-0 lifetime against the Jays with a 2.08 ERA.

Berroa Walk Watch (the quest for double digits): 8 walks in 77 games—Berroa drew an IBB last night.

Greinke Throws Shutout

Zack Greinke is showing signs of life. He threw a complete game two-hit shutout in Wichita on Monday night, striking out 12 guys and walking just one. At one point he retired 16 guys in a row. I love what Dayton Moore said about his performance:

“This was his first dominant outing,” Moore said. “Let him have four or five dominant outings. I’ve always used that as a guideline. If somebody dominates a league four or five straight starts, then you consider moving him.”

In the past, Greinke would have been called up immediately. But in his 7 appearances, he’s 3-1 with a 5.91 ERA. So, he hasn’t shown a pattern of consistency yet that would warrant a call up. And I like the fact that Moore isn’t in a hurry.

Hudson Joins Rotation

Luke Hudson will replace Mike Wood in the rotation. To be honest, I’m not sure what Bell sees in the guy. He’s been awful in relief this season—appearing in 11 games with a 7.24 ERA. He was in Cincinnati’s rotation last season and was equally as bad. He was 6-8 with a 7.20 ERA in 16 starts.

So, for those keeping track, here’s our latest rotation:

1. Scott Elarton (3-9, 5.13 ERA)
2. Mark Redman (5-4, 5.59 ERA)
3. Brandon Duckworth (1-1, 5.57 ERA)
4. Jimmy Gobble (3-1, 3.66 ERA)
5. Luke Hudson (1-3, 7.24 ERA).

Royals Even the Series

With Minnesota playing so well, I suspect that most baseball fans expected the Twins to steamroll the Royals this week. We handed them the game on Monday, but behind a strong outing by Jimmy Gobble, the Royals won 7-2 last night. We’ve evened the series and given ourselves a chance to win a second straight series against a good ball club.

Gobble gave up two runs in 5.0 IP. He only threw 73 pitches and said he felt like he could have gone longer, but Bell took him out—probably because Gobble has already appeared in 32 games this season. I like seeing Gobble in the rotation. We drafted him to be a starter, but he’s pitching so well in long relief this season that it was probably difficult for Bell to move him. But with our rotation in continual need of help, Gobble got the call. Hopefully he’ll settle in there for the remainder of the season. He’s 3-1 now with a 3.66 ERA.

Peralta and Dessens pitched well in relief. Dessens picked up his second save of the season. Thankfully, Bell didn’t turn to Burgos again.

David DeJesus was 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks. He’s doing an incredible job of setting the table for the guys behind him. There’s talk of moving Gathright into the leadoff spot once he’s developed. As quick as he is, I just can’t see the guy ever developing into a leadoff hitter. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of just slapping the ball on the ground to the left side and speeding down the first base line. Maybe that’ll change.

The Royals have won 10 of their last 16 games and they look like a different team since Moore took over. Having DeJesus healthy has certainly helped. How much better would this line up look with a healthy Sweeney. Yeah, I know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but why not dream a little, huh?

Tonight, the Royals send Brandon Duckworth (1-1, 5.57) against Brad Radke (7-7, 5.11).

Berroa Walk Watch (the quest for double digits): 7 walks in 76 games.

Burgos Blows Game

I’m not sure when it’ll happen, but surely one day soon Buddy Bell is going to realize that Ambiorix Burgos is not ready to be a major league closer. Burgos’ two wild pitches in the eighth inning last night cost the Royals another game, and it was his eighth blown save of the year. He has a 6.28 ERA, and a 1.60 WHIP. He seems incapable of throwing anything except his fastball for a strike. His splitter usually ends up about a foot in front of the plate—much like last night. Not good. The Royals took a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning last night, but Burgos gave the game away.

On the positive side, David DeJesus continues his assault on pitching. He was 2-for-4 and raised his average to .325. Angel Berroa picked up 3 RBI. And Joe Nelson pitched a scoreless ninth. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to overcome Burgos’ poor outing. The Twins won 6-5.

Tonight, Jimmy Gobble (2-1, 3.67) goes against Boof Bonser (2-1, 4.68)—no, I’m not making that name up.  

Wood to DL; Nelson to KC

Mike Wood was placed on the DL yesterday with back inflammation. After the way the Cardinals hit him on Sunday, I’m not surprised that something was wrong with him. Joe Nelson was recalled from Omaha where he had a 2.10 ERA and seven saves. He was even more impressive when he was in KC earlier this year. He has a 0.87 ERA in ten appearances.

St. Louis Series Photos

Here are a few photos from the game in St. Louis on Sunday:

Redman Going to All-Star Game

Mark Redman is going to the All-Star game as the Royals’ lone representative. Redman had an awesome month of June, but his April and May were anything but stellar. After 13 starts, he’s 5-4 with a 5.59 ERA. Congrats to Redman for being chosen, but let’s be honest. Nobody on the Royals really deserves to go. And almost everybody is surprised by Redman’s selection.

Personally, I thought that Jimmy Gobble or Reggie Sanders deserved it more than Redman did. I never saw the fascination that people had with Mark Grudzielanek. He’s having an outstanding season defensively, but he’s not hitting much (.279, 3 HR, 24 RBI) and his range at second leaves a little to be desired. Sanders, on the other hand, has 9 HR and 40 RBI with a .248 average. He hasn’t been spectacular in the field, but he’s held his own. Gobble would have been my first choice. In varying roles, he’s 2-1 with a 3.67 ERA. And he’s just earned himself a spot in the rotation.

Comeback Falls Short

I attended the game yesterday in the new Busch Stadium. As I was waiting to get in, I saw Mike Wood and Mike Sweeney walk by completely unnoticed by the St. Louis faithful. Apparently the Royals stayed in a hotel just across the street or at least within walking distance of the stadium. The stadium was packed and I saw a lot more people in Royal blue than I expected—certainly not anything close to the amount of red in Kauffman Stadium a few weeks ago, but at least we had some representation.

The new Busch is spacious, with lots of great amenities. The walk-ways are big, they have lots of tables and places to eat, and the seats are big enough to where you aren’t rubbing elbows and knees with the people on either side of you. I was under an overhang in left field, so a large portion of the scoreboard wasn’t viewable, and they apparently don’t have the entire PA sound system in place yet, so I couldn’t hear the PA announcer at all. But they had a scoreboard on the side of the façade that was easily viewable—although not always accurate. Hopefully they’ll get that figured out soon. They did have a neat sign that keeps a running total of pitches for each pitcher, so you always know his pitch count. Once the fixes are completed, St. Louis will have a nice park to enjoy for many years to come.

As you know by now, Mike Wood wasn’t sharp. The Cardinals got to him the second time through the line up and before he escaped the third inning, he’d given up six runs, to make the score 6-1 St. Louis. As the pitches mounted, I kept waiting for Bell to remove Wood in an attempt to keep us in the game, but it didn’t happen. He didn’t even pinch hit for Wood in the fifth inning even though he’d thrown 86 pitches and obviously didn’t have good stuff. He gave up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth and the Royals were down 8-1. Then Bell removed him from the game. It made no sense whatsoever to let Wood hit and then send him back out to the mound to give up two more runs, but Affeldt did keep us in the game by turning in a good performance.

Then, in the seventh we posted a run to make it 8-2. In the eighth we scored three more times to make it 8-5 and St. Louis fans started to squirm. They’d seen our ability to come back over the previous two games. They scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 9-5, but the Royals still didn’t give up. They scored twice more and had a guy on base when John Buck came to the plate with two outs and a chance to tie it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but you’ve got to feel good about the way the Royals stayed in the game. If Bell had removed Wood when he should have, the Cardinals may not have scored two runs in the fifth and who knows what would have happened.

The Royals open a new series at home tonight against the Twins. Scott Elarton (3-9, 5.13) will need to bring his A-game since he’ll be going against Johan Santana (9-4, 2.59).

Royals Win in 11

It looked like the Cardinals might turn the tables on the Royals last night. The Royals jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Cardinals came all the way back to tie the score. Then the Royals pulled ahead by one run before Jim Edmonds belted a game-typing solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

Mark Teahen led off the 11th inning with the scored tied 7-7 and he worked the count full against Jason Isringhausen. Izzy left a pitch up and out over the plate and Teahen didn’t miss it. He hit a solo home run and the run stood up for an 8-7 Royals victory. The Royals continue to find ways to win, even when they shouldn’t. They’ve raised their winning percentage to .342 (which is one point higher than the Pirates). And while they have a lot of work to do in their quest for mediocrity, they appear to be on the right track.

This afternoon, the Royals send Mike Wood (3-2, 4.87) against Jason Marquis (9-6, 5.82). They’ll be attempting to complete the three-game sweep.

Royals Find a Way

It wasn’t pretty and we appeared to be out of the game several times last night, but we found a way to get it done in extra innings after Mark Teahen drew a lead off walk in the tenth. Emil Brown singled and we had runners at the corners. After Berroa hit into a fielder’s choice, Matt Stairs hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Teahen from third. Then Joey Gathright doubled to score Brown and the Royals were up 7-5. That score held up when Burgos was able to hang on for the save.

This was another ugly game, and another instance where we fell behind, but were able fight back to win. Falling behind as often as the Royals do is not a good thing, but something has happened to this team since they fought their way back in that 16-12 slugfest with Texas a few weeks ago. They don’t panic anymore. And they don’t give up. Guys seem more content to move runners when the situation warrants it, to swing for the fences when a home run is needed, and to work the count when more base runners are needed.

Teahen continue to turn on the ball. Stairs and Graffanino continue to play well off the bench. Mientkiewicz is showing surprising power. Emil Brown is heating up. Reggie Sanders is staying healthy. DeJesus is in the middle of almost every rally. John Buck is hitting. Grudzielanek continues to play error free ball at second base. And besides the rotation, the only other current problem is Angel Berroa who just doesn’t look like he fits in with this team anymore.

The Royals win yesterday brought their June record to 13-14 and that is sure to help build the confidence of the players. I’m currently in St. Louis visiting family, so I watched the game yesterday on Fox Sports Net with St. Louis announcers. They are quick to point out that these aren’t the same Royals who began the season. They say that these Royals don’t quit. They complimented their new vigor since Moore took over and finally the Royals are the butt of every joke.

No let’s hope they can keep it going. Tonight, Mark Redman (5-4, 5.35) goes against Sidney Ponson (4-3, 4.95).