The Latest Moves

Dayton Moore said there were going to be changes this off season. He wasn’t joking.

Kyle Farnsworth

Over the weekend the Royals signed Farnsworth to two-year, $9.25 contract with a club option for 2011. He’ll make $4.25 million in 2009 and $4.5 million in 2010. If the Royals exercise their option in 2011, Farnsworth will make $5.25 million. The Royals have a $500,000 buyout. The contract also includes $750,000 per season in performance bonuses.

I really, really don’t understand this signing. Moore has taken the attitude, right or wrong, that middle relievers are easily replaced. And for the most part, he has a good track record of proving his point. But weeks ago, he dealt away two good relievers who were making far less than Farnsworth, and their career numbers are either comparable or better than Farnsworth’s. Yeah, Moore arguably filled a couple of holes in our roster by dealing Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez, but I’m not convinced that Farnsworth will even perform at the level that Nunez did last year in the setup role.

Farnsworth has a 4.47 career ERA and a 1.404 WHIP. He put up decent numbers with the Yankees last season, but you have to go back to 2005 to find numbers worthy of what the Royals have agreed to pay him in 2009.

Doug Waechter

The Royals signed him to a one-year contract worth $640,000. Last year, in Florida, Waechter spent his first full season in the bullpen and put up solid numbers (3.69 ERA, 1.326 WHIP). Righties hit just .216 against him. This seems like a solid pick up for the Royals and it’ll help replenish the pen after the aforementioned trades Moore made recently.

Horacio Ramirez

The Royals signed the left-handed potential starter to a $1.8 million one-year contract and told him that he’ll have a chance to win a spot in the rotation. Ramirez had a brief stay in Kansas City last season, making 15 appearances out of the bullpen and posting a 2.59 ERA and 0.904 ERA. Things didn’t go so well for him in Chicago. He made 17 appearances for the White Sox and had a 7.62 ERA and 2.462 WHIP. His career numbers are—dare I say it—Farnsworth like (4.59 ERA, 1.471 WHIP).

We may have paid a little too much for him, but if he makes the rotation, then stays there and puts up even decent numbers, he’ll be worth it.

Joey Gathright

Moore decided not to offer Gathright a contract, so he signed a one-year deal with the Cubs for $800,000. Gathright didn’t fit in Kansas City after the Coco Crisp acquisition. With Crisp and David DeJesus, center field is covered. And since it looks like the Royals plan to hold on to both Mark Teahen and Jose Guillen (let’s face it, nobody else wants him—especially at $12 million a year), there was nowhere to play Gathright.

I sort of hate to see him go. Not that he put up great numbers in Kansas City. But more so because I like the way he played the game—all out, all of the time.

John Bale

The re-signing of Bale to a one-year contract obviously isn’t a change, but I’m glad the Royals decided to offer him a contract. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but I’m guessing that he will not be making anywhere near what Farnsworth just signed for even though he has Farnsworth-like career numbers (4.47 ERA and 1.404 WHIP).

Once the Royals moved Bale from the rotation last year (after first having a dead arm and then coming back from a rather embarrassing injury) into the bullpen, he seemed to find his niche. He didn’t come back until September, but once he did he didn’t allow a single earned run in 11 appearances.

Royals 2009 Spring Training Schedule

The Royals have announced their tentative 2009 Spring Training schedule. It includes 36 games. Here’s a link.

Dayton Moore’s Chat Transcript

Dayton Moore’s chat transcript is posted on the Royals website. As usual, he was guarded with his answers, but it’s worth reading.

Grudzielanek Plans to Decline Royals Offer

Sadly, Mark Grudzielanek’s days in Royal blue have probably come to an end. He says that he’s 95-98% sure that he’ll decline the Royals offer of arbitration. He has until Sunday to make his final decision. His reason for declining the offer?

“I’ve played the game a long time and made a lot of money.” Grudzielanek said. “It’s part of it, but I’m at the point in my career where it’s time to be in it in September and make a run at it. I’ve been with teams like that, and that’s what it’s all about. I’d like to go out like that.”

The clear inference from Grudzielanek is that he doesn’t believe the Royals are going to be playoff contenders with the chance to make a run at the World Series in 2009. I don’t think anybody believes the Royals are going to be World Series contenders in 2009. But for two years, we’ve been talking about 2009 and 2010 as the years that we expect to see the team gel.

The likes of Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Mark Teahen, and Zack Greinke are supposed to be settling in by then and producing at a high level. Only Greinke has done so thus far.

But I digress.

Grudzielanek has been nothing but a class act during his three seasons in Kansas City. He’s played hard, he’s played hurt, he’s won a Gold Glove, he’s hit for average, he’s been a presence in the clubhouse, and maybe most importantly he’s taught young guys how to play the game. I wish Grud well in finding a new team and I really hope he gets his shot at the postseason.

The Ramirez for Crisp Trade

Ramon Ramirez had the best season of his brief three-year Major League career in 2008. He was 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 71 appearances, so it wasn’t surprising when a contender came calling about him. What was surprising was that Dayton Moore parted with him in exchange for Coco Crisp—especially given the reports that the Royals are “quietly shopping Guillen.”

If the Royals are shopping Jose Guillen (and oh how I hope they are), then our 2009 outfield might look considerably different. Who knows who we might get in exchange for Guillen, but I doubt that it would be another power hitting outfielder who is ready to step in an play. What would be the point for the other team? Instead, I can see it being more good young pitching. So, if Guillen gets moved, our 2009 outfield might consist of David DeJesus in left, Coco Crisp in center, and Mark Teahen in right (assuming he isn’t dealt away, and it sounds like the Cubs are still interested in him). Given the lack of power that these guys display, wouldn’t such an outfield be contrary to what Moore keeps saying he wants out there?

Crisp only got 361 at bats last year in Boston. Let’s project his numbers from last year based on 518 at bats since that’s how many DeJesus got. Here’s how their numbers from last year would look:

	AB	HR	RBI	BB	SB	AVG	OBP
Crisp	518	10	58	50	28	.283	.344
DeJesus	518	12	73	46	11	.307	.366
Teahen	572	15	59	46	4	.255	.313

Does this look like an outfield that is going to scare anybody? I like the idea of DeJesus hitting in the three hole. If he hit there all year, I think he’d have a career year. He can handle the bat, he can drive the ball occasionally, and he simply finds a way to get on base. He’s not the prototypical three hole hitter, but he would be fine there. Crisp would be fine at the top of the lineup as well. Let’s assume that Jacobs would hit fourth. Who hits after him? Billy Butler? Alex Gordon? Teahen? Butler would probably get the nod, but is he going to be enough protection for Jacobs?

Moore still has work to do this offseason and maybe he has something in the works to account for all of this. But looking at the Crisp trade with the information we have right now, it’s a hard one to understand.

The Nunez for Jacobs Trade

Yeah, I’m late to the party, but I still want to give you my thoughts about the Leo Nunez for Mike Jacobs trade. Feel free to add your own comments.

Do you remember how the Royals initially obtained Leo Nunez? They got him in a trade with the Pirates for Benito Santiago on December 16, 2004. I think we got the better end of that deal, don’t you?

When Nunez first pitched at the Major League level for the Royals in 2005 he was 21 years old, but he looked more like he was 12. He had a great fastball but really struggled to get guys out. He appeared in 41 games in 2005 and was 3-2 with a 7.55 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. The was during the time period when Allard Baird was moving guys through the system way too quickly and feeding them to the lions at the Major League Level.

If you look back at Nunez’s Minor League numbers that season, he had no business being called up to Kansas City. In High Desert he saw action in eight games and had a 9.00 ERA. Somehow that prompted a promotion to Wichita where he pitched 12 games. He did have an impressive 0.69 ERA but the Royals purchased his contract on May 9 of that season. So, he skipped Omaha and was knocked around at the big league level until he was optioned back to Wichita on August 6. He came back with the September call ups.

In 2006, the Royals were a little smarter with Nunez. He started in Wichita (1-2, 4.29 ERA in 15 games) and advanced to Omaha (2-2, 2.13 ERA in 23 games) before getting three brief shots with the Royals at the Major League level, during which he was 0-0 with a 4.73 ERA in seven appearances.

Nunez opened the 2007 season on the 15-day DL with a fractured right wrist. He ended up on the 60-day DL. In late May he began pitching for Wichita (1-0, 0.87 ERA in 6 appearances) and he bounced around between Omaha (1-2, 2.74 ERA in 5 appearances) and Kansas City (2-4, 3.92 ERA in 13 appearances) for the remainder of the season.

Clearly he was improving and in position to have a solid year in 2008, but he had more than a solid year. He went 4-1 in 45 appearances with a 2.98 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. His stuff was electric early in the season and he was sorely missed in late May and all of June when he went down with an injury.

At 25 years old, after having his best year, Dayton Moore decided to trade Nunez when his stock was peaking. Of course, nobody knows where the ceiling is on Nunez, but in Moore’s mind, the Royals needed more power in their lineup and one of the positions in which they have been lacking in power is first base, so he traded Nunez to the Marlins for Mike Jacobs—a left-handed hitting first baseman who definitely has some power. He hit 32 HR and drove in 93 runs in 141 games with the Marlins in 2008. The down side, offensively speaking, is that he hit just .247 and had a .299 OBP, while striking out 119 times. So, he’ll join a Royals team that is already undisciplined at the plate.

I understand Moore’s thinking—adding Jacobs to a lineup that already includes Jose Guillen, and the Royals finally have a couple of legitimate long ball threats. But you have to wonder if anybody will be on base. The Royals had a pitiful .320 team OBP last season, which ranked 12th out of 14 teams in the AL. And they were last in walks (392). Since this trade occurred, Moore has also traded for Coco Crisp who has a career .331 OBP. And presumably, the addition of Crisp spells the end of Mark Teahen’s career with the Royals. Teahen strikes out way too often and hit just .255 last year, so adding Crisp should help the overall OBP, but you have to wonder if it’ll be enough. And you have to consider the fact that Jacobs is not good defensively, so we’ll probably see more of Ross Gload in the eighth and ninth innings.

The question is—is Leo Nunez on the front edge of his peak years, during which he’ll be a good/great relief pitcher for years to come or was 2008 a fluke? Maybe the question should be—are the numbers that Jacobs put up in 2008, at the age of 28, a fluke? They are certainly the best numbers of his four-year Major League career. Of course, nobody can really predict what’s going to happen, but Moore’s job is to evaluate our current roster, determine how best to improve it, and then take the chances he believes in most to make it happen.

None of this takes into account the fact that the Royals already have a boat-load of first baseman. Ryan Shealy, if he could ever stay healthy, is a legitimate Major League first baseman. And what about 24-year-old Kila Ka'aihue? He had 37 HR and 100 RBI between NW Arkansas and Omaha in 2008. Maybe Shealy or Ka'aihue could put a little pressure on Billy Butler at the DH spot. Or maybe the depth will come in handy in case of an injury. Moore has been waiting for Shealy to produce for the past two seasons and Shealy has been injured repeatedly. Ka'aihue has been slowly advancing through the Royals’ system since they drafted him in 2002. Maybe Moore isn’t convinced Ka'aihue is ready. Should make for an interesting Spring Training, shouldn’t it?

Overall, I like the trade that brings Jacobs to the Royals, but it is risky, and I understand where the fans who don’t like the trade are coming from.

2008 Royals Review

What an odd year 2008 was for the Royals. We were 16-14 during Spring Training and then started the regular season with a sweep, on the road, in Detroit and that set the bar quite high, even though Royals fans knew it was probably too high.

The Royals finished the season with a 75-87 record, thanks largely to an explosive September in which they were 18-8 (the best record in the Major Leagues for the month). Before the season I predicted a 77-85 record and I predicted a fourth place finish. Both predictions turned out pretty well, but I also predicted that the Twins would finish behind the Royals and that the Indians would win the division.

David DeJesus missed the first couple of weeks with an injury he sustained in the first game and Joey Gathright took over in center. That fueled a discussion among fans that started in Sprint Training about which player should be the starter in centerfield. I wrote a post comparing the two players in late March and concluded that while Gathright has value, DeJesus should be the every day starter.

The first loss of the season came on April 4 against the Twins. John Bale, who opened the season in the rotation, got the loss. Bale didn't last long in the rotation. By April 15, he was 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA. He complained about a dead arm after his April 15 start and he headed to the DL. Then in early May, he wasn't happy about his progress, so he punched a door and broke his pitching hand. He didn't return until September. Trey Hillman put him in the bullpen and he didn't give up a single run in ten outings.

Brian Bannister got off to a red hot start, winning his first three starts. He headed into Oakland on April 18 with a 3-0 record and a 0.86 ERA. He was hit hard that game and he lost six of his next seven starts. He never really got back on track. At one point, he went from June 23 until September 14 without a win. He did win two of his final three starts though.

Zack Greinke came into his own in 2008. He won his first three starts and he never looked back. He seemed comfortable on the mound and he seemed confident in his stuff. For long stretches of the season, he was the ace of the staff. The only down month he had was August (the month the Royals really struggled as a team), but he finished with a flurry, winning four of his five starts in September and running his record to 13-10 for the season with a 3.47 ERA.

Gil Meche got off to an awful start, winning just one game in April. He struggled through May, and finally found his stride by mid-June when he won his final three starts of the month. From there, he got progressively better. By the end of July he was 9-9 with a 4.22 ERA. By the end of August he was 10-10 with a 4.07 ERA. And he finished with a 14-11 record and a 3.98 ERA. Meche has now turned in two solid seasons in the Royals rotation and thankfully he's still under contract for three more years.

By late May, life was getting difficult for the Royals.

Billy Butler was struggling so bad that he was sent to Omaha at the end of the month. At the time, he was hitting .263 with 1 HR and just 11 RBI. Butler came back in late June and struggled through July (hitting just .221 for the month). He finally got things going in August (he hit .330 for the month) and he went on to put up mediocre numbers for the season: .275 AVG, 11 HR, 55 RBI.

Also by late May we were treated to Jose Guillen’s beautiful disposition as he made his infamous there are “too many babies here” comment about players who, in his opinion didn’t know how to play that game the right way, in spite of the fact that he himself showed a lack of effort on multiple occasions. Later in the season he yelled at fans, talked about not wanting to play at home, knocked a chair over in the locker room in front of a coach after exchanging words with him, and various other things we’ve come to expect. Yeah, he put up the numbers (20 HR and 97 RBI), but by the time the trading deadline came, I was hoping the Royals would trade him—knowing that they wouldn’t.

By the end of May, the Royals put together a monumental losing streak (this time it was 12 games) and even the Kansas City Star was piling on. They ran a pole on their website that asked, “How will the Royals lose tonight?” Kyle Davies finally put an end to the losing streak on May 31, picking up his first win of the season in his first start. He didn’t lose until June 28 and he went on to have a good season at 9-7 with a 4.06 ERA.

As June began, the Royals were 22-34 and they were struggling offensively. So, Hillman decided to try Esteban German at shortstop, even though Mike Aviles was sitting on the bench. After the Royals lost to the White Sox on June 4, Hillman said this when questioned about Aviles’ lack of playing time: “There hasn't been a whole lot of opportunity for Mike Aviles,” Hillman conceded. “He only had one game. I’m accountable for that, but I’m going to go with the guy who gives us the best at-bats.” If only he had known.

Luke Hochevar appeared to turn things around in June with two wins to even his record at 5-5, but he only won one more game the rest of the season, before shutting things down in mid-August with an injury. He ended the season with a 6-12 record and a 5.51 ERA. Obviously, the Royals need more from him in 2009.

By mid-June our once strong bullpen was shaken after Leo Nunez got hurt. Jimmy Gobble’s ERA was over 8.00. Brett Tomko was awful—and eventually released. And Yasuhiko Yabuta had an ERA in the mid fives and was sent to Omaha. He didn’t return until September. But Ramon Ramirez was pitching fairly well and Ron Mahay was solid. And Joakim Soria was putting together the makings of a fantastic season. He went on to have one of the best seasons any closer has ever had in a Royals’ uniform, racking up 42 saves and posting an impressive 1.60 ERA.

Mike Aviles hit his first home run on June 12 against the Rangers. By the end of June he was hitting .330 with an OBP of .361. He also had three home runs and 15 RBI that month and erased any doubt about whether he could play every day at the Major League level. He went on to hit .325 with 10 HR and 51 RBI for the season. And you have to be excited about what Aviles could bring to the Royals line up for years to come.

Mark Teahen finally started driving the ball in mid-June. He ended up with five home runs for the month, but he drove in just 11 runs and he was hitting just .257. Hillman started moving Teahen around defensively and Teahen made errors in back to back games at first base against Texas, costing the Royals both games. Unfortunately, Teahen’s average dipped to .247 by the end of July and .244 by the end of August. He hit .313 in September to bring his season average up to .255. And he finished with 15 HR and 59 RBI—hardly the production numbers you expect from a corner outfielder who gets nearly 600 at bats.

Alex Gordon was really struggling by late June, hitting just .214 for the month. Things didn’t get much better for him in July. He hit just .226. He ended the season with very Teahen-like numbers: .260 AVG, 16 HR, 59 RBI. Again, hardly numbers to get excited about.

In spite of all the struggling in May and June, the Royals found interleague play to their liking and they put together a nice streak in which they won nine of out ten games to put them just 7.5 games out of first place in the AL Central.

By the end of July the Royals were 50-59 and riding high after pulling off a sweep in Oakland for the first time in 20 seasons. On August 1, Mark Grudzielanek suffered a nasty injury and unfortunately it ended his season and his career in Kansas City. He was a classy player for the Royals and let’s hope he lands a job somewhere next season if that’s what he really wants.

On August 4, the Royals defeated the Red Sox and pulled to within seven games of .500 (53-60). But then things got ugly. By August 28 they were 56-77, prompting Jeffrey Flanagan to write, “. . . hope has vanished. This team is a disaster. Again.”

September turned out to be the opposite of August. They started the month with a 57-79 record and ended the season with a 75-87 record, which is the best record they’ve had since 2003.

David DeJesus hit .388 for the month of September and was the one true constant in the lineup all season long. He finished with a .307 average, .366 OBP, 12 HR, and 73 RBI. You get the feeling that DeJesus has arrived and, assuming he isn’t traded, may put up better numbers for years to come now that he will no longer be hitting leading off.

The Royals finished the season by winning two out of three games in Minnesota and a promise from Dayton Moore that changes are coming—some of which have already occurred. I’ll be writing about those in the days to come.

Working

I'm currently working on assignment at the Kansas Speedway, covering a couple of NASCAR races for a publication I write for. That's why my normal posting schedule has come to a halt during this last series of the year. I'm still following the Royals and will post about the final series on Monday or Tuesday. Then I'll write a post about my overall thoughts regarding the 2008 season. So, stop back when you get a chance.

Game 159: Kansas City @ Detroit

Game Date: September 24, 2008
Royals 10, Tigers 4 / Box Score
WP: Bannister (9-16), LP: Robertson (7-11)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 73-86

Ending up in fourth place in the AL Central means more to the Royals than ending up fourth does to most teams. The Royals haven't finished better than last since 2003--which was really the last time Kansas City was excited about the team. Finishing fourth means a small improvement and small improvements are all any of us really expect.

And you get the feeling that if the current group of players gets a boost of confidence, then maybe, just maybe it'll help in the long run. It certainly can't hurt anything as we head into the off season.

Brian Bannister returned to the mound last night that he started the year on in Detroit and the result was the same. He got a win. He pitched six shutout innings last night, giving up seven hits and one walk. Nate Robertson, on the other hand, had a nightmare game. The Royals hit him early and often.

The Royals got on the board first with an RBI single in the second inning by Tony Pena. John Buck drove in the second run in the fourth inning with a single to left. Then in the fifth, the Royals blew the game open with seven runs as they batted around.

After the game, Jim Leyland said the Royals "kicked our fannies."

The only negative in the game was an injury that happened to David DeJesus in the first inning after he swung and missed strike three. He tweaked his right hip flexor. No word on whether he'll be available for the Minnesota series.

The Royals are off tonight. Tomorrow night they will begin the final series of the year in Minnesota and it'll be a playoff-like atmosphere since the Twins are just a half a game out of first place in the Central. Kyle Davies (8-7, 4.21) will go up against Francisco Liriano (6-3, 3.39). Davies is 2-4 against the Twins in his career with a 5.08 ERA in 28.1 IP. Liriano is 2-1 against the Royals with a 3.80 ERA in 21.1 IP.

Game 158: Kansas City @ Detroit

Game Date: September 23, 2008
Royals 5, Tigers 0 / Box Score
WP: Greinke (13-10), LP: Garcia (1-1)
Royal Home Runs: Aviles (9), Shealy (7), Gordon (16)
Royals Record: 72-86

The Royals continue to win and with the victory last night, they slipped past the Tigers into fourth place. Who knows if they'll be able to stay there, but seeing the Royals play good baseball down the stretch has been a rare treat for Royals fans.

Zack Greinke was lights out--giving up just four hits and no runs in seven innings. His performance prompted Jim Leyland to say this after the game:

"When you throw 97-98 [mph] with a good hook and a changeup and locate the ball pretty good, he probably would've shut a lot of teams out tonight, no matter what lineup we had in there," Leyland said. "I thought he pitched very, very well."

When you look at what Greinke and Gil Meche have done this year, and then throw in Kyle Davies, the Royals look to have a solid 1-2-3 punch in their starting rotation for 2009. Throw in a Brian Bannister and a Luke Hochevar--hopefully both of whom will get back on track--and we have the potential to have a legitimate rotation.

Mike Aviles and Ryan Shealy went deep again in this game. And Alex Gordon hit a home run too.

Gordon's overall numbers are still not as good as I was hoping for (in fact, they are comparable to last season with the exception of his OBP was has climbed from .314 to .351 this season), but he's still just 24. I'd like to think he'll improve over the next couple of seasons.

Alberto Callaspo was noticeably absent from the lineup last night. Turns out that he hurt his left thigh a couple of nights ago sliding into home, so he needed a day off. He may be back in the lineup tonight. Whenever he comes back, he'll bring a 16-game hitting streak with him, which is currently tied for the longest streak of the year for the Royals. David DeJesus had one earlier this season.

Leo Nunez was outstanding out of the pen again. He didn't allow any hits or runs over the final two innings.

Tonight, Brian Bannister (8-16, 5.96) will go up against Nate Robertson (7-10, 6.15). Bannister is 3-2 in his career against the Tigers with a 2.48 ERA in 32.2 IP. Robertson is 4-5 against the Royals with a 5.70 ERA in 66.1 IP.

Game 157: Kansas City @ Detroit

Game Date: September 22, 2008
Royals 6, Tigers 2 / Box Score
WP: Meche (13-11), LP: Miner (8-5)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 71-86

The Royals won their fourteenth game of the month last night (against just seven losses) behind the strong efforts of Gil Meche and David DeJesus.

Meche picked up his thirteenth win of the year, and with only one start to go, put himself in a position in which he's guaranteed to end up over .500 for the year. The questions about whether he was worth the $55 million over five seasons are gone. The doubts that he'll ever develop into a good Major League pitcher are gone as well. The questions and doubts have turned to minor praise for a guy who has been able to go 21-24 with a 3.85 ERA over the past two seasons for a Royals club that has been at or near the bottom of most major offensive statistical categories.

David DeJesus was 4-for-4 last night and fell just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. He raised his average to .307 in what has been a breakout season for him. He's twenty points over his lifetime batting average. He has three more home runs than he's ever had in a season. He has fifteen more RBI than he's ever had. He's stolen more basis than ever before. His OBP is higher too. And he just seems to have a presence about him this season that I haven't seen before. He looks like he finally believes that he belongs in the Major Leagues and that he has a major role to play on this team.

Mike Aviles also continues to be impressive. He was 2-for-5 with 2 RBI last night and he raised his average to .319. If Alberto Callaspo can keep up his level of play next season (and if he can stay out of trouble), the middle of the infield looks to be quite solid. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Moore go after another second baseman though--just in case. Or maybe he could land a shortstop and Aviles could move to second, which he seems better suited for.

Ramon Ramirez threw two scoreless innings last night and he picked up his twentieth hold of the season. And John Bale pitched another inning of scoreless ball--that is nine straight appearances in which he hasn't given up a run. The last time he gave up a run was in April, before he punched a door and landed himself of the DL for most of the season.

The Royals are just one game behind Detroit for fourth place in the AL Central. This series could decide who ends up in the basement. Tonight in Detroit, Zack Greinke (12-10, 3.59) will go up against Freddy Garcia (1-0, 0.00). Greinke is 7-4 in his career against the Tigers with a 3.50 ERA in 72.0 IP. Garcia is 8-10 against the Royals with a 6.01 ERA in 127.1 IP.

Game 156: Chicago @ Kansas City

Game Date: September 21, 2008
White Sox 3, Royals 0 / Box Score
WP: Danks (11-8), LP: Duckworth (3-2), SV: Jenks (29)
Royal Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 70-86

Brandon Duckworth wasn't horrible (5 H, 1 BB, 3 ER in 6.0 IP), but John Danks was just better in this one. He shutout the Royals for seven innings.

Unfortunately, this was the final home game of 2008, and you hate to lose that particular game, but we still have six games left. Hopefully we can find a way to win most of them.

The Royals begin a new series tonight in Detroit. Gil Meche (12-11, 4.08) will go up against Zach Miner (8-4, 4.16). Meche is 7-4 in his career against the Tigers with a 3.75 ERA in 105.2 IP. Miner is 3-2 against the Royals with a 3.82 ERA in 33.0 IP.

Game 155: Chicago @ Kansas City

Game Date: September 20, 2008
Royals 5, White Sox 2 / Box Score
WP: Davies (8-7), LP: Floyd (16-8), SV: Soria (41)
Royal Home Runs: Gordon (15), DeJesus (12), Ka'aihue (1)
Royals Record: 70-85

There was a time in August when I didn't think the 70-win mark was attainable for the Royals, but behind a solid effort from Kyle Davies, they've reached it.

Davies won his eighth game of the season and has established himself in the rotation. He described his recent approach after the game:

"It's the tempo and the mindset on the mound that has changed the whole thing," Davies said. "It's not about trying to hit corners. It's about getting my best stuff to home plate and let's see what happens."

So far, good things are happening.

Throw in three home runs and five runs of support and that was plenty for Davies in this one.

John Bale had another good outing, throwing a scoreless inning and lowering his ERA to 4.74. Joakim Soria picked up his 41st save of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.63.

Alex Gordon hit his 15th home run of the season. Most fans probably hoped for more from his this season and their hopes really haven't been fulfilled. Gordon is hitting low in a batting order that doesn't have a lot of punch to begin with and he isn't hitting for average or power. He's hitting just .258 with 55 RBI. And it sounds like he isn't a lock at third next year. The Royals have finally noticed that Mark Teahen may deserve to be playing there instead. Hopefully Hillman will move Gordon to first base next year.

Game 154: Chicago @ Kansas City

Game Date: September 19, 2008
White Sox 9, Royals 4 / Box Score
WP: Buehrle (14-11), LP: Bannister (8-16)
Royal Home Runs: Teahen (15)
Royals Record: 69-85

Well, you knew it had to end sometime. The seven-game winning streak came to a screeching halt last night. The White Sox hit Brian Bannister hard (8 H, 2 BB, 7 ER, 2 HR in 5.0 IP) while Mark Buehrle kept the Royals in check long enough to end the streak.

Mark Teahen hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to cut the White Sox lead to 6-3 but it wasn't enough to combat the four long balls the White Sox hit.

After the game, Trey Hillman said something that I've been saying since Spring Training about Mark Teahen playing third base:

"He has looked very natural over there," Hillman said. "I think he has done a very good job. To me, he seems to be a little bit more comfortable in the infield. That's my perception. But we still want to get Alex [Gordon] out there as well."

I know that we are taking a look at Ryan Shealy and Kila Ka'aihue over at first, and that Billy Butler probably figures into the mix as well, but I'd sure like to see Alex Gordon get a shot at playing first base so that Teahen could stay at third.

Tonight, Kyle Davies (7-7, 4.32) goes up against Gavin Floyd (16-7, 3.73). Davies is 1-2 in his career against the White Sox with a 6.64 ERA in 20.1 IP. Floyd is 1-2 against the Royals with a 2.57 ERA in 21.0 IP.

Game 153: Seattle @ Kansas City

Game Date: September 18, 2008
Royals 12, Mariners 0 / Box Score
WP: Greinke (12-10), LP: Feierabend (1-4)
Royal Home Runs: Aviles (8)
Royals Record: 69-84

The Royals seventh win in a row yesterday afternoon puts them one win away from winning more games this year than last. With nine games to go in the season, let's hope they can continue their winning ways so can reach the mid-70s. Mark Teahen is certainly hoping that this winning streak will be the turning point for the team. Here's what he said after the game:

"We've been saying all year that it's important to take a step in the right direction. Hopefully, this little streak puts us in position to look back on this year as a step in the right direction."

Zack Greinke was nearly unhittable yesterday. He gave up just two hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings. After the game, he talked about why he was successful:

"One thing that hurt them is it looked like they were trying to be patient early in the game, and my goal was to attack them," he said. "And they were taking pitches they should have been swinging at."

While Zack was busy mowing down the opposition, the Royals' offense was busy pounding out twelve runs on thirteen hits. Mike Aviles had the big blow--a three-run home run in the third inning. Mark Teahen was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Alex Gordon was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 BB. And Mitch Maier was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Tonight, life gets a little tougher for the Royals as they begin a three game series at home (the last home stand of the season) against the White Sox. Brian Bannister (8-15, 5.77) will go up against Mark Buehrle (13-11, 3.85). Bannister is 2-2 in his career against the White Sox with a 7.03 ERA in 39.2 IP. Buehrle is 18-8 against the Royals with a 3.45 ERA in 240.0 IP.