Reliving Zack Greinke’s 2009 season

Zack Greinke made 33 starts for the Royals in 2009 and he made an appearance in the All-Star game. It was a magical year that ended with a Cy Young award for Greinke. Over the next three months, I’m going to do a series in which we relive each start, as well as his All-Star game appearance.

I’ll include quotes from Greinke as they were recorded in various news stories. I’ll include quotes from various Royals bloggers, and maybe quotes from bloggers of the teams Greinke faced. And I plan to dig deep into the Twitter archives for quotes about Greinke from fans and players as the season progressed.

I hope you enjoy it. The series will begin tomorrow.

An update to the Royals Twitter Directory

I've updated the Royals Twitter Directory. I've checked all the links and added a new section for former Royals players. Have I missed anybody? If so, let me know. And if you are a Royals fan who would like to be added in the fan section, leave a comment with your Twitter user name.

You can always find a link to the directory on the right side of the page.

A Royal gift

Somebody knows how to tap into my inner-kid. What a Christmas gift! We might be in the middle of a blizzard, but who says we can't play inside?

From one Brian Anderson to another

So, Dayton Moore has gone and signed Brian Anderson, giving him a one-year deal and putting him on the Major League roster. I’m not sure what the point of signing another light hitting center fielder is, but this isn’t the end of the world. From the various accounts I’ve read, Anderson is far above average defensively and as bad as this team was on defense last season, any defensive help should be welcomed.

I have to tell you though, I still have a certain affinity toward the previous BA—the one who pitched for the Royals from 2003-2005. Of course, the two players have nothing to do with each other. It just gives me a reason to tell you a story about BA #1—well, really it’s about the 2005 season, but it involves BA #1.

In May 2005, a couple of newspapers I write for sent me into the Royals clubhouse to do two features. Ten days or so in advance, I applied for and received my media credentials for the games on May 12-13. The Royals were playing the Rays.

Two days before the series started, Tony Pena (the manager) quit during the series in Toronto and I’m thinking, “Uh oh, this might make it more difficult to get the interviews I need.”

Sure enough, that was true. I wrote about it in a post:

When I made plans to come to Kansas City and interview a couple of players for two newspapers I write for, I had no idea that I'd walk in to such chaos. Allard Baird was in the middle of a press conference yesterday when I got to the ball park. I slipped in and caught the tail end of it . . .

Most of the players weren't in a talking mood before the game yesterday and that was certainly understandable. The media had limited access to the players because the Baird press conference ran a little long and because the Royals kept the clubhouse closed longer than normal. The mood was what you would expect from a team whose eternally optimistic manager quit on them when the going got tough. Guys were a little down.

As I was walking from the clubhouse to the dugout, still hoping to get at least one interview before the game, I saw Ryan Lefebvre talking to Allard Baird. I waited for a minute and asked Baird if he was open to a brief interview. He was, so I hit record. I didn’t want to ask him about his search for a manager. Why would he tell me anything he wouldn’t tell other reporters? So, I asked him if he ever read any Royals blogs. There weren’t that many at the time, but you can read his brief reply here.

The Royals went on to win the rain-shortened game that night 7-5 on an RBI double by Mark Teahen and an RBI single by Ruben Gotay.

Thankfully, the clubhouse was quite a bit loser before the game the next day.

I was able to interview Jeremy Affeldt for one of the features I was writing and while I was waiting to get the other interview, with Tony Graffanino I believe, Brain Anderson (#1) came walking in. His locker was close to Affeldt’s. He plopped down on a stool and began talking to Affeldt. Nobody knew it at the time, but BA had just pitched in the final game of his career. He injured his elbow on May 8 against the Orioles. Later he had to have two Tommy John surgeries.

I don’t know if the seriousness of Anderson’s injury had been discovered or diagnosed yet. I just remember seeing a look of frustration on Anderson’s face as he talked to Affeldt. At one point, Anderson picked up a ball with his left hand and appeared to be showing Affeldt the pain he was feeling in his elbow during certain points of his delivery. Of course, they could have been talking about anything. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the Royals were awful at this point, and I couldn’t help but feel for Anderson.

 

[SCOTTSDALE, AZ - MARCH 8: Pitcher Brian Anderson #19 of the Kansas City Royals delivers against the San Francisco Giants during the Spring Training game at Scottsdale Stadium on March 8, 2004 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Royals won 9-3. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) Content © 2009 Getty Images All rights reserved.]

Tony Pena had just quit on the team. They were 9-26 at this point. The season was basically over and it was just mid-May. They had no idea who their new manager was going to be. And Anderson was injured. In the big scheme of things, Anderson’s injury was not a big deal. But seeing the frustration on his face at that moment caused a shift inside me. I felt like I was looking at frustration personified.

The Royals only won 56 games that season. It was the worst season, winning percentage wise, of any in Royals’ history. Those were not good times for Royals fans or players. But I don’t see that particular losing season in some abstract fashion. Instead, I see the look of frustration on Anderson’s face and it gives me some perspective.

A Royal Reflections update

Life over at Fan Huddle didn't work out for Royal Reflections, so I'm going to resume posting right here. Thanks for sticking with me through the transitions.

As I began to think about new posts I want to write, I came to a realization about the tone of my posts. This blog has gained the reputation for having a positive tone, generally speaking. I like it that way. It suits who I am. On a scale of Ryan Lefebvre to Jason Whitlock, you'll find me sitting right next to Lefebvre.

You already know that though if you've been reading this blog for a while.

Sometimes people will tell me they can't really tell what my opinion is when I write a post here. That's probably because I'm a journalist who enjoys blogging. Having a foot in both worlds can be complicated sometimes. The truth is, I'm not always offering an opinion. Sometimes I'm just recounting a funny or touching baseball story, sometimes I'm just passing along a fact or an observation.

When I have an opinion to share, I share it. But I learned something about myself last season. When Dayton Moore made the deal for Yuniesky Betancourt, in what may turn out to be the turning point of Moore's career as the Royals' GM, I thought it was an awful move (there's an opinion for you). So did many of you. I voiced my opinion as such, but then, as the season wound down I found myself in the position of wanting to be correct in my assessment of Betancourt while at the same time hoping he played well. I didn't like that feeling. It sort of takes the fun out of the equation.

I don't plan to stop offering opinions as a result, but if you read a post that doesn't contain any, it's probably by design.

Royals showing interest in Ivan Rodriguez?

At the end of the 2009 season, John Buck had a certain tone in his voice that seemed resigned to the fact that he probably wouldn’t be back with the Royals next year. They gave Brayan Pena a decent look and Dayton Moore was pretty clear about going in a different direction regarding who the starting catcher would be in 2010.

Now we’re hearing the Royals are showing interest in Ivan Rodriguez. He’s 38 years old. He’s had a great career. But does anybody really think he’d be better than John Buck at this stage of his career? He hit 10 HR and drove in 47 runs while hitting .249 for Texas and Houston last season in 121 games. John Buck hit 8 HR and drove in 36 runs while hitting .247 in just 59 games for the Royals. And Buck is much younger.

Granted, Buck is going to cost the Royal more money, but I agree with Craig Brown at Royals Authority. Buck will only make around $3 million in 2010 and he’s an adequate catcher. What’s wrong with him being the Opening Day catcher? He certainly isn’t the problem with the Royals and bringing in another veteran who is past his prime wouldn’t be the solution if he were.

The Royals make several roster moves

Dayton Moore has been busy making roster moves over the past couple of weeks.

The following players were added to the 40-man winter roster:

Jeff Bianchi (2B-SS): The Royals drafted him 2005, but he’s been bit by the injury bug, with back and shoulder problems. This past season at Wilmington, and then NW Arkansas, he stayed healthy and put up good numbers: 9 HR, 70 RBI with a .308 AVG and .358 OBP in 128 games. He also stole 22 bases. He was named the organization’s defensive player of the year, so he seems to have it all. And at 23, he still has time to develop. You would expect him to start the year in Omaha.

Jarrod Dyson (OF): The Royals drafted him in 2006. Looking at his Minor League numbers, he’s a stolen base threat with no power. In 234 games, he’s stolen 107 bases; he’s been caught 24 times. He has 0 HR, 62 RBI with a career .270 AVG and .343 OBP. He hasn’t played higher than Double-A. He may be another prospect we’ll see begin the season in Omaha.

Jordan Parraz (OF): The Royals acquired him in the Tyler Lumsden trade with the Astros. I had a chance to watch him in Omaha last season and the guy has a cannon of an arm in right field. He played in Idaho Falls, NW Arkansas and Omaha, putting up the following combined numbers in 81 games: 8 HR, 52 RBI, .348 AVG with a .432 OBP. He looked every bit as good as those numbers when I saw him play. He missed the final weeks of the season with an injury, but I’m excited to see him play in 2010 in Omaha, and maybe even Kansas City.

Manuel Pina (C): Pina was part of the trade the Royals made with the Rangers for RHP Danny Gutierrez. The Royals also got Tim Smith (OF) in the deal. Pina’s a 22-year-old catcher who started to show some power at the Double-A level last year; hitting 8 HR and driving in 42 in 321 AB. He is a career .251 hitter with a .308 OBP. Putting him on the roster is a good indication of how thin the Royals are at the catching position.

Blake Wood (RHP): The Royals drafted Wood in 2006 and he’s spent the past four seasons in the Minor League system. He’s posted solid number is rookie ball, but he hasn’t been stellar in Double-A. Last season in NW Arkansas he was 2-8 with a 5.83 ERA in 17 appearances (13 of which were starts). I’m honestly not sure what the Royals see in him that would warrant putting him on the 40-man roster, at least at this stage in his career, but surely they see something or they wouldn’t have made the move.

The following players were dropped from the roster:

Doug Waechter (RHP); opted for free agency.

Devon Lowery (RHP); opted for free agency.

Julio Pimentel (RHP); received an unconditional release.

Tug Hulett (2B); was designated for assignment.

DiNardo opts for free agency; DeJesus doesn’t win Gold Glove

As we anxiously await the news announcing Zack Greinke as the 2009 AL Cy Young award winner, we have some other Royals news to discuss:

Lenny DiNardo and Yasuhiko Yabuta opted for free agency rather than accepting outright assignments to Omaha.

After watching DiNardo in Omaha for most of the 2009 season, I really hate to see him go. He didn’t pitch well for Kansas City after being called up late in the season, but, as I said in a story I wrote for Examiner.com about DiNardo, I wonder if he would have performed better if they had used him as a reliever since that’s where he’s excelled previously in the big leagues. In 102.0 IP as a reliever, he’s 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA. In 155.0 IP as a starter, he’s 9-15 with a 6.27 ERA.

The Royals paid $500,000 to buy out a 2010 option on Yabuta, and justifyably so. They would have been on the hook for $4 million otherwise. I really don’t know why he would opt for free agency though because his numbers at the big league level were awful with the Royals over the past two seasons. In 43 relief appearances, he’s 3-4 with a 7.14 ERA and a 1.819 WHIP. He performed much better in Omaha this season, going 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP in 45.2 IP. He should have been happy to accept an assignment to Omaha.

David DeJesus did not win a Gold Glove in spite of not committing a single error in 2009. No doubt about it, he had a great defensive season—including 13 outfield assists, but he wasn’t one of the three best defensive outfielders in the AL. He had a lot of assists because the league knew he didn’t have a strong arm when he was playing centerfield. For whatever reason, he adapted well to left field and he threw out a bunch of guys who tried to take an extra base on him. But he didn’t always take the best route to the ball. I suspect that will come with time. I hope he settles in to become the everyday leftfielder for years to come because he’s well suited for the position, but he’s not a Gold Glove winner. At least, not yet.

The Royals signed Wilson Betemit to a minor league contract. Looking over his numbers, he looks like a poor man’s Mark Teahen. He can play all four infield positions and he shows a little power at times. Dayton Moore pointed out that he has a .324 career OBP. Considering that the Royals had a .318 OBP as a team last season, I guess Moore thinks Betemit is an improvement. The problem is, the Royals ranked 26th out of 30 teams in that category. So, while Betemit is slightly above the Royals average, he’s nothing to get too excited about. He’s also never played more than 115 games at the big league level for one team in any one season. He’ll just be yet another option in a crowded infield this Spring and it’s always good to have options.

Mark Teahen traded to the White Sox

A few days ago I was sitting in a conference center out in the boonies of New Mexico when I fired up my computer in one of the few places on campus with internet access and read an email saying there was a rumor going around that Mark Teahen had been traded to the White Sox.

I’ve been working 13 hour days and haven’t had much time to follow everything that’s been said since the trade became reality. I’ll leave the evaluation of the statistics of the players involved to others. But from my perspective this trade doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Royals.

Dayton Moore traded a decent everyday player in Mark Teahen for two players who play positions that we presumably have covered. I can see how the trade will help the White Sox. I can’t really see a ton of upside for the Royals, unless both Josh Fields and Chris Getz end up taking over for Alex Gordon and/or Alberto Callaspo. But even if they don’t, I guess they’ll add depth to the roster. And Getz does have options, so the Royals have a little wiggle room if they don’t have a place for him to start the season.

Moore cited eligibility as being an important factor in the trade, saying he wants to get as many zero-to-three guys as he can, which makes sense from an economic standpoint, but in reality, isn’t that just admitting you want to stay in a perpetual rebuilding process?

I’m indifferent about the trade, in a baseball sense. Not so much in the personal sense. I liked the fact that Mark Teahen was part of our ballclub. He never complained about being moved around defensively from one year to the next. He genuinely seemed to like playing for the Royals. He did a ton of work in the community. And, generally speaking, I enjoy cheering for the same group of core players for the long haul.

Mark Teahen has been one of those players.

It’s true that he never quite became the player we thought he might. But I’m still hoping he’ll turn into the player—even though he’ll be playing for another team.

DeJesus continues to make an impact in the community

A few interesting tidbits about the Royals are in the news:

David DeJesus

Imagine traveling to a city you’ve never been to so a loved one can receive treatment for a rare form of cancer and on top of all that stress, you have to figure out how you are going to pay for your living expenses for your extended stay. Royals outfielder David DeJesus wants to do something about that. He wants to build a home near a sarcoma treatment center that will house families with loved ones suffering from the disease. One of his cousins died from the disease.

“Some families don’t have enough money to fly out here and rent hotels and cars. This would be a place where they can stay and where they could also get more information about the disease,” DeJesus is quoted as saying in an article on MLB.com. “It would take away that one stress in their lives and they wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

Very cool David.

Coaching Changes

The Royals have decided to go in a different direction for 2010 regarding their bullpen and first base coaches. John Mizerock, now the former bullpen coach, was not offered a contract by the He’s been with the Royals since 1992. Rusty Kuntz, now the former first base coach, will become a special assistant to Dayton Moore as well as an outfield and baserunning instructor. Eddie Rodriguez will become the new first base coach. The Royals are looking for a replacement for Mizerock.

So John Gibbons, Bob McClure, Dave Owen and Kevin Seitzer will return for 2010. The only one of those coaches I have a real problem with is Dave Owen. He got more guys thrown out at home in one season than should ever be the case.

Personnel Changes

The Royals decided to retain Scott Thorman, who had a nice season in Omaha (19 HR, 63 RBI, .297 AVG in 97 games). Like so many other players in Omaha, Thorman is getting a little long in the tooth to be stuck in the Minor Leagues. He’s 27, but he’ll offer a little depth at first base and the outfield if the Royals get desperate at one of those positions. Unfortunately, when Thorman got a shot with the Braves at the big league level in 2006 and 2007 he hit just .222 with a .260 OBP in 175 games.

The Royals decided not to retain Brandon Duckworth. Justifiably so. He’s 33 and he wasn’t even very impressive in Omaha this season. He was 3-6 with a 5.31 ERA in 20 games there. You have to wonder if this won’t be the end of Duckworth’s career.

Talking Royals baseball with Craig Brown

Craig Brown over at Royals Authority invited me to appear on his radio show on SportsRadioKC.com. He’s a gracious host and I hope you’ll enjoy the show. You can listen tomorrow at 9:00 am (Central). I made a mistake during the interview when I said Yuniesky Betancourt had the worst fielding percentage of all MLB shortstops in 2009. He was actually tied for 17th out of 22.

Soria wins MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award

Joakim Soria has been named the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award winner for September. Soria had 10 saves in September without allowing a single run all month. He is the first closer for the Royals to have back-to-back seasons with 30 or more saves since Jeff Montgomery did it during the early 90s.

Imagine what this team would look like without Joakim Soria. Not only did he save nearly half of their wins this season, but in seven of his 30 saves he pitched more than one inning to get the save. Of course, that begs the question—does it really matter if a team that loses 97 games has a closer? So what if they lose ten more games without him, right? Why not just trade him for prospects?

You’ll get no argument from me about that, but I do know that losing wears on fans and that having Soria takes the edge off—even if just a little—and it gives us something to cheer for in the midst of an otherwise awful season.

The five big surprises of the 2009 Kansas City Royals’ season

I’m not going to include Zack Greinke on this list because we’ve seen glimpses of his greatness over the past couple of seasons. Sure, his 2009 campaign was one of the best we’ve ever seen in a Royals’ uniform, but I don’t think any of us were stunned by it. He has dominant stuff, so it was just a matter of him staying focused on executing his game plan.

On to the list:

Billy Butler’s breakout season. It’s hard to call this a surprise because Billy Butler has hit at every level he’s ever played at, but in the first two years of his Major League career it looked like he may have met his match. Somewhere around the All-Star break, Butler caught fire. He looked more relaxed at the plate than I’ve ever seen him and he became a doubles machine. He hit .363 in October with a .459 OBP—good enough to win the AL Player of the Month for September. He ended up hitting 21 HR with 93 RBI and you have to think he is on the verge of establishing himself as the player we all hoped he would become.

Alberto Callaspo’s offensive numbers. As bad as Callaspo was on defense, he was able to stay in the everyday lineup because he can flat hit. He ended up hitting .300 (second highest on the team, with a .356 OBP (also second highest on the team). He also ended up with 41 doubles. He could be regarded as a mini-Billy Butler. Who would have expected that? Now, if the Royals could just figure out a way to put Callaspo and Frank White together during Spring Training next year to get Callaspo’s glove work figured out, Callaspo could be the long-term answer at second base.

Miguel Olivo had a career year at the age of 31, hitting 23 HR. In his nine previous seasons, he’d never hit more than 16 home runs. Granted, he’d only seen the bulk of the action in three of those nine seasons, but he was a back up for a reason. Toward the end of the 2009 season, he even began to take a few walks. The Royals and Olivo hold a mutual option for 2010 and I’d be surprised if the Royals pulled the trigger on their end. And I certainly don’t see them re-signing both Olivo and John Buck.

Robinson Tejeda’s effectiveness as a starter. He was pushed into the starting rotation late in the season after injuries to Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, and Kyle Davies and he went 3-1 in six starts with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He only averaged a tick over five innings per start, but that’s understandable since he came out of the bullpen. If you look at his career numbers as both a starter and reliever, they look quite similar (as a starter he’s 17-18 with a 4.52 ERA and as a reliever he’s 3-3 a 4.55 ERA), but the Royals would be foolish not to give him a shot at the rotation in the Spring.

The Royals led the American League in triples with 51, which seems pretty unlikely considering their lack of speed and below average ability to run the bases. No other AL team was even close (the Twins were second with 40). David DeJesus had nine triples; Willie Bloomquist had eight; so did Callaspo; Yuniesky Betancourt had six; and the Royals even had nine triples from catchers (Olivo had five and John Buck had four). I don’t know what to think of all the triples other than saying the Royals had a knack for finding the nooks and crannies of the various different AL ballparks.

The five major disappointments of the 2009 Kansas City Royals’ season

The season started with so much promise: a revamped stadium, a 12-10 start in the month of April, a 6-0 start by Zack Greinke and an appearance on cover of SI, and optimism from fans, the likes of which haven’t been felt in a long time. Then, everything seemed to crumble in May. The defense was atrocious, the bats grew silent, and the losing began. So much so, that it looked like the Royals were headed for another 100 loss season. They barely avoided it.

A season that start with so much promise ended in major disappointment. Let’s look back at the five major disappoints of the 2009 season:

The signing of Yuniesky Betancourt. Not only is he one of the worst everyday players in the Major Leagues, he came with a big contract that runs through 2011. The Mariners paid his salary this season. He’ll make $3 million in 2010 ($2 million paid by the Royals, $1 million by the Mariners). And he’ll make $4 million in 2011 ($3 million paid by the Royals, $1 million by the Mariners). You know a player is bad when his former team is willing to pay several million dollars so you won’t put on their uniform any more.

Dayton Moore, for so many reasons. For saying he wants guys who play the game the right way, but then going out and acquiring guys like Yuniesky Betancourt. For saying he wants guys of high character and then going out and acquiring guys like Sidney Ponson, Ryan Freel, and even Jose Guillen for that matter. For not taking defense into consideration when assembling the team. For overpaying for Kyle Farnsworth. For disassembling a good bullpen with the belief that he could easily rebuild it. For being defensive when criticism came. For being arrogant when questions came. And more.

Alex Gordon. Gordon got hurt the first week of the season, and that’s not his fault, but it was still a major disappointment. It moved Mark Teahen from second base to third, which put Alberto Callaspo at second. More about that in a minute. When Gordon was able to come back, he wasn’t good. He didn’t move well defensively and his timing was way off at the plate. He spent several weeks in Omaha before coming back to KC to finish the season. The Royals needed him to have a breakthrough season. Instead, people began to whisper about him being a bust. That’s probably pre-mature, but 2010 is huge for Gordon.

Injuries. Coco Crisp, Mike Aviles, Alex Gordon, Gil Meche—on and on it went. The first three were devastating for the Royals. Crisp was supposed to be the guy who set the table offensively for the Royals. Mike Aviles simply needed to do what he did in 2008. And we’ve already covered Alex Gordon. Meche battled back injuries all season and never really looked like the Meche we’ve grown accustomed to. The Royals had a couple of more injuries to guys like Brian Bannister, but by then, the season was already over. The Royals aren’t deep enough to overcome injuries to key players.

Defense. I don’t want to overstate this or exaggerate, but as I search my memory banks going back to the late 70s when I first became a baseball fan, I cannot remember a worse defensive team than the 2009 Royals. Injuries played a role. Alberto Callaspo wouldn’t have been the everyday second baseman if Alex Gordon hadn’t gotten hurt and we wouldn’t have been subjected to his clueless defensive play. Put the injuries aside for a minute and think objectively about this defensive infield: Billy Butler at first (sub-par to slightly below average), Callaspo at second (one of the worse everyday second baseman ever), Betancourt at short (might be worse than Angel Berroa when it comes to making the routine play), and Alex Gordon at third (who doesn’t look natural at the position). Throw in the missed cut off men from the outfield, catchers who were routinely out of position for plays at the plate and you have one terrible defensive baseball team.

There you have it. In the coming week, we’ll look at some of the surprises (in a good way) of the 2009 season.

It’s almost over

Game Date: September 29, 2009
Kansas City @ New York
Yankees 4, Royals 3 / Box Score
WP: Bruney (5-0), LP: Farnsworth (1-5)
KC Home Runs: None
Royals Record: 64-94 / Record in September 14-13

Bad defense. A blown save. Another good performance by a starting pitcher down the drain. All in a day’s work for the 2009 Kansas City Royals.