Royals 9, Mariners 2

Surprise, Ari. {Wednesday March 11}

In the fourth inning the Royals scored six runs to seal the deal agains the Mariners. Going into the inning down 2-0. Billy Butler and Mitch Maier contributed by each hitting home runs in the fourth.

Butler hit a three-run home-run over the left field wall. Maier got an inside-the-park home-run.

The Royals were scheduled to face Erik Bedard but he was scratched due to a sore left hip. Chris Jakubaukus started in the place of Bedard and threw three hitless innings.

Once Jakubaukus was removed the Royals had no problem with reliever Justin Thomas. Hits came from Bloomquist, DeJesus, Jacobs, Gordon and Maier. The Royals obtained three insurance runs in the eighth.

It was good news for the Royals when Gil Meche threw 55 pitches and had no complaints of back problems. It was only his second start in the Cactus League after being set back because of back spasms.

David DeJesus

David DeJesus is on the move. Not to another team but to another position and possibly a different spot in the batting order.

His entire career DeJesus has played center field and batted mostly in the lead-off spot. He is now making the adjustment to left field and likely making the adjustment to batting in the three hole.

Why the changes? Coco Crisp. The newly acquired Crisp will be taking over the job in center field and there is a good bet he will be hitting first in the line-up as well.

This is not a demotion for DeJesus it is simply a change. In the outfield, in center, DeJesus has played well for the Royals with good range. Crisp, a bit faster will give the Royals even more coverage out in center.

The decision to bring in Crisp was the idea of general manager Dayton Moore. He wanted to insert speed into the outfield. With the addition of Crisp to the outfield Dejesus said "we solidify the left- and center-field spots."

DeJesus is confident about playing left field and said "Coco [Crisp] doesn't have to worry about my side. He just has to worry about helping Guillen out, so it's good for the team and the pitchers also."

As for the change in the batting order, it seems that it Crisp will be batting lead-off and DeJesus will be hitting third.

Manager Trey Hillman said " He really doesn't have a preference. His approach is going to stay the same. That's music to a manager's ears. It gives me a little flexibility, and it makes it easier to adjust spots when you need to massage the lineup depending on what the run production is."

Moving DeJesus to the three-hole could be a result of more than Coco Crisp coming to the Royals. Last year DeJesus led the Majors with a .419 batting average with runners in scoring position. He has a career batting average of .317 with runners in scoring position.

By batting DeJesus in the three spot he will have more oportunities to put to use those excellent numbers. He is not a power hitter. Last year his 12 home runs were the most of his career. Never the less DeJesus will get it done with singles, doubles, and triples.

The only thing that is important to DeJesus is playing. He said "I'm in the line-up, I want to be playing. That's most important."

Teahen Transitioning To Second

Mark Teahen is experiencing an identity crisis within the Royals organization. Teahen who started the 2006 season at third base, the 2007 season in right field and the 2008 season in left field has now found himself at second base.

Mark Grudzielanek filed for free agency and rejected arbitration this year. With Grudzielanek gone the royals have the second baseb position to fill.

Contesting with Teahen for the second base position is Callaspo and Bloomquist; neither of whom have proven themselves for the Royals.

It seems unlikely that Teahen will regain a starting job at third or in the outfield. Although general manager Trey Hillman says he still wants him to get work in the outfield. The likely starters in the outfield are DeJesus in left, Crisp in center, and Guillen in right. At third Gordon should not have to wory about Teahen snatching away his starting job.

In Teahen's first start at second base in the exhibition opener on February 25 against the Rangers he had two throwing erros in the first two innings.

Teahen knows he has a lot to work on and joked "I gave myself a little room to go up" when talking about his performance. Teahen said he hadn't played second base in seven years since college.

Manager Trey Hillman seems optimistic about Teahen's chances at second base but still want to keep his options open for playing Teahen in the outfield.

Royals Sign Reliever Juan Cruz

Juan Cruz, former Arizona Diamondbacks reliever recently signed with the Kansas City Royals. With the addition of Cruz, the Royals bullpen now has another hard throwing right-hander besides Kyle Farnsworth.

Cruz is a flamethrower. Last year he accumulated 71 strikeouts and 87 the year before.

Cruz's velocity is a surprise to batters. He has a 6ft. 2 in. frame yet only weighs 145 pounds. Cruz is able to generate pitches into the upper 90's.

Cruz is tied to a two year contract along with Kyle Farnsworth.

Ever since coming to the royals Cruz has gotten much praise about his velocity and his improvement on his changeup. The consensus seems to be that Juan Cruz is a solid addition to the Royals bullpen and there are high hopes.