Ideal Royals lineup

The following hypothetical lineup is in the event of all players being in good health.

1. Coco Crisp- CF
2. Alberto Callaspo- SS
3. Mark Teahan- 2B
4. Jose Guillen- RF
5. Mike Jacobs- DH
6. Alex Gordon- 3B
7. Billy Butler- 1B
8. David DeJesus- LF
9. John Buck- C (Olivo if Greinke pitches)

Lacking run production

The Royals cannot rely on their pitching forever.

The Royals have given up the least amount of runs in the American League so far this year. What's the problem? The Royals have scored the second fewest runs in the American League. The team that has scored less, the Oakland Athletics, are in last place in the American League Western division with a record of 5-9.

And still the Royals remain tied for first place in the Central division. The pitching staff for the Royals has an earned run average of 3.37. That being third best in Major League Baseball behind Seattle's and Pittsburgh's pitching staffs. The Royals have recorded 3 shutouts as well. The only teams, on paper, pitching better than the Royals this year are Seattle's and Pittsburgh's.

The only teams, on paper, hitting better than the Royals are, mostly every other team. The club as a whole is batting .248.

With Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, and Kyle Davies at the front of the pitching rotation the Royals batters are becoming complacent. This complacency is evident when one of the Royals' bottom two pitchers take the mound.

Seven of the Royals' eight victories have come when either Meche, Greinke, or Davies has started. The eighth victory, acquired Wednesday, was won by recently called up Brian Bannister (from Triple-A Omaha) who threw six scoreless innings. Bannister was followed by two scoreless innings from Jamey Wright. Joakim Soria came in for the save and the Royals won 2-0.

Tonight Zack Greinke looks to extend his scoreless streak past 20 innings. Dating back to last year Greinke has a streak of 34 scoreless innings.

Each of Greinke's three outings have been won by only two runs. One of his wins was a complete game shutout.

The Royals cannot expect or depend on Greinke being perfect. He will eventually give up a run(s) and when he does the Royals hitters need to give him the run support he needs.

This is the first time Greinke and the Royals have faced the Tigers this year. In his career against the Tigers Greinke is 8-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 17 appearances, 14 of them starts.

Greinke has good numbers against Detroit and has been lights out this year. But how long can it last? Hitters such as Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge batting .431 and .315 respectively will not go down without a fight. Cabrera has hit four home runs this year and Inge six, so far.

It only takes one swing of the bat.

The same goes for the Royals hitters.

Bannister gives Royals hope

Brian Bannister gave the Royals their only win against the Inidians this series.

Thursday's loss to the Indians move the Royals' record to 8 wins and 7 losses.

The last time these teams met the Royals took the series, winning two of three games. April 13th Zack Greinke beat the Indians. April 14th Kyle Davies beat them as well. On the 15th of April Sidney Ponson was beaten by the Indians.

This time around the Indians won two of three. On April 21st Ponson pitched and the Royals lost. April 22nd Bannister pitched and the Royals won. Gil Meche pitched the last game of the series on the 23rd and the Royals took a tough loss.

Sidney Ponson pitched once during each series, both times the Royals lost. Ponson pitched in the last game of the previous series and he pitched in the first game of the most recent series.

Brian Bannister was called up from Triple-A Omaha before his start on Wednesday. Bannister pitched in place of Horacio Ramirez. Ramirez has struggled this season: pitching 7.1 innings, posting an earned run average of 8.59, and given up seven earned runs including two home runs.

Bannister's start on the 22nd consisted of: 6 innings pitched, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 2 hits given up.

In 2007 Bannister had a solid rookie season. He racked up 12 wins, 9 losses and posted an earned run average of 3.87. 2008 was a struggle for Bannister; he totaled 9 wins, 15 losses and finished the year with an earned run average of5.76.

During this year's spring training Bannister continued to struggle. He pitched 12.2 innings, did not win a game and lost two. Bannister gave up 12 earned runs and posted a 8.53 ERA.

This year the Royals have been struggling with their fourth and fifth rotation spots. The top three: Meche, Greinke, and Davies have been nearly lights out while Ponson and Horacio Ramirez, the fourth and fifth starters in the rotation have not done well.

Ramirez was moved to the bullpen and Bannister started in the fifth rotation spot Thursday. The question now is whether Bannister can solidify himself in that rotation spot. If able to, the Royals will be given a great gift. Kansas City needs to have pitchers in the fourth and fifth spots that give them a chance to win day in and day out.

Greinke perfect

Zack Greinke pitched the first complete game shutout of his career against the Texas Rangers, Saturday.

At the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Zack Greinke pitched his first complete game shutout of his career beating the Rangers 2-0. Greinke allowed seven hits, gave up no walks and struck out 10. Four of his strikeouts came against Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton (2 each), two of the Rangers top hitters. Chris Davis completed the hat trick by striking out against Greinke three times.

Greinke ran into trouble in the second and third innings but did not seem to be phased. In the second he gave up a lead-off triple to Hank Blalock. Zack then got Marlon Byrd to ground out and then struck out Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis. The third inning was started with a double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He was sacrificed to third by Elvis Andrus. Greinke proceded to strike out Ian Kinsler and ground out Michael Young to end the inning.

It was not until the sixth inning that Greinke got run support. The first run of the game was scored by Coco Crisp. He led off with a walk, advanced to third on two groundballs and scored on a double by Billy Butler.

Miguel Olivo gave Greinke an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Olivo hit his first home run of the year off of Kevin Millwood. Millwood pitched the entire game as well.

Greinke threw 111 pitches. In his last start against Cleveland he needed 104 pitches to get through 5 innings. Saturday night Greinke was extremely efficient.

Greinke is 3-0, winning every start he has had this year. He has an earned run average of 0.00. For Greinke the icing on the cake is his streak of 34 scoreless innings dating back to last year. This year, so far, Greinke has thrown 20 innings without giving up a run.

The Royals should be jumping for joy, since they signed this guy to a four-year extension lasting until 2012.

Congragulations Zack!

Royals pitching outstanding

Solid outings from starters, great bridge work from middle relievers, and a fabulous closer pave a smooth road for the Royals.

Pitching has been the key to success for the Royals this year. Offensively the Royals have snuck by. Five of the Royals' seven victories have been won by one or two runs.

As of April 17th; only three teams have scored fewer runs than the Royals, and the Royals have the lowest team batting average in the American League (.245). Positively, the Royals have given up zero unearned runs this year. Which means the position players are playing good defense.

As of April 17th; the Royals have given up the fewest runs in the Major Leagues, Zack Greinke leads the majors with a 0.00 earned run average, Joakim Soria leads the AL with 4 saves, walked the second fewest batters in MLB and the fewest in the AL, and have the second most strikeouts in MLB and the most in the AL.

These numbers are made possible by the Royals pitching staff. Especially by: Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, Kyle Davies, Joakim Soria, Juan Cruz, Robinson Tejada, and Jamey Wright.

Zack Greinke has not let given up a run dating back to last year. He has a bright future and things look as if they are only going to get better for Zack. Known for his devistatingly slow curveball Greinke's fastball may be overlooked. His fastball is thrown in the low nineties. After seeing a curveball in the seventies his low nineties fastball will look as if it is comin in at around 96 miles per hour.

Joakim Soria is the Royals closer and he does just that. He closes the door on the opposing team and does not look back. Soria has been perfect this year in save oportunities. He has pitched four innings, given up three hits, one earned run, walked one batter, and stuck out seven. Last year Soria accumulated 42 saves and a 1.60 earned run average. Expectations will stay high for Soria this year. So far he has live up to them.

Gil Meche and Sidney Ponson are the veterans of the Royals pitching staff. Ponson made his major league debut in 1998 and Meche, his in 1999. Meche has started well, he is 1-0, has a 2.25 ERA, and has struck out 18 batters in 20 innings of work. Ponson has gotten off to a slow start.

The formula for the Royals is simple. The starter needs to pitch five solid innings. The bullpen can take it from there. The sixth and seventh innings can be eaten up by their middle relievers. The eighth can be handled by either Farnsworth or Cruz and the ninth by Soria. The Royals should view starters going past the seventh inning as a bonus. Not because they'll have a better chance to win, but so they can save the arms in their bullpen from overuse.

Estimating, if the Royals can score 3-4 runs per game they should have no trouble winning a significant amount of baseball games.

Another Royal goes down

Alex Gordon had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip Friday.

On April 10 Jose Guillen, the Royals starting right fielder was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a partially torn hip flexor. Mark Teahen took over for Guillen. Now Alex Gordon was placed on the disbled list Thursday (April 16). Mark Teahen now takes over for Gordon at third base.

In right field Mitch Maier who was called up from Triple-A Omaha and Willie Bloomquist will share time until Jose Guillen is back in the line-up. Jose is due back next Friday.

Alex Gordon had the surgery done in Colorado. The surgeon was Marc Philippon. Philippon recently did a similar procedure on Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said "I expect him to come back and be very productive for us."

This year the Royals had high expectations for Gordon. Alex was drafted second overall in the 2005 draft. Since his drafting he has been expected to be a solid presense in the middle of the line-up. This was the year the Royals believed he would emerge as just that.

Gordon is only 25 years old. Manager Trey Hillman said "We want him to be safe, at the young age of 25." Hillman is looking for long term production from Gordon. Originally Gordon was recommended to play through what was tolerable. When the pain was too discomforting he was shut down.

Gordon will be out for at least 10-12 weeks. That projected time would allow for Alex to come back to play around late July or early June.

The manager Hillman misses having Gordon in the line-up. He said "You just miss penciling that name in there because of what you think the production is going to be." Hillman was postive though about the rest of the team, "But we can still do some productive things with the guys we're going to have in the mix."

Friday night, the Royals first game after the loss of Gordon they won 12-3 at Texas. Mark Teahen, who took over at third for Gordon went 5 for 6 with a home run, three runs scored and one run batted in. The now right fielder Willie Bloomquist went 2 for 3 with one run scored and one run batted in. As Hillman said, the Royals have guys who are able to do some productive things.

Yes, the loss of Gordon is a blow to the team but the Royals are not ready to roll over just yet.

John Buck, backup catcher?

John Buck, the 2009 season, backup catcher for the Royals may not stay the backup for long.

The Royals currently have two catchers getting playing time. One, Miguel Olivo, officially the starting catcher and two, John Buck, officially the backup catcher. Those are their formal roles as of now. However on paper John Buck is looking like he should be the starting catcher for the Kansas City Royals.

During spring training Buck had a batting average well above Miguel Olivo. Buck batted .378 compared to Olivo's .292 and they each had 4 home runs. Miguel Olivo had 2 stolen bases during spring training and Buck had none. Other than stolen bases there was no area of offense in which Olivo performed and Buck didn't or excelled at where Buck struggled. The numbers from the Royals spring training begs the question, why is Miguel Olivo starting in front of John Buck?

What was Trey Hillman (royals manager) thinking not giving John Buck the starting role? There may be a few possible explanations. Hillman may feel more comfortable with Olivo behing the plate. He may enjoy Olivo's potential to steal a base here and there. Or he may be attempting to push Buck to get even better and regain his starting role. No one knows except Trey Hillman and these explanations are only speculation.

Looking further into the past, during the 2008 season Olivo's and Buck's performances were comparable. Both did not have an outstanding season. Olivo batted .255 while Buck batted .224. Their home runs and runs batted in where comparable but Buck well surpassed Olivo in runs scored. However Olivo had 7 stolen bases and Buck had none. When stepping outside of the Buck/Olivo battle royale and comparing their statistics to the rest of the league and what should be expected of a major league catcher, neither one of them did well. They did not play terribly, or they wouldn't be around this year but they were by no means impressive.

Back to the present Buck has started this season ablaze while Olivo has struggled to get by. Buck is batting .400 and Olivo is batting a miniscule .143. In 4 games and 15 at bats John buck has 6 hits, scored 3 runs, hit 3 home runs, driven in 8 runs, and struck out only 3 times. Miguel Olivo so far this season has played in 6 games, had 21 at bats, accumulated 3 hits, and truck out 13 times. These are terrible numbers.

John Buck is leading the team in batting average, tied for the lead with 16 total bases, leading in runs batted in, and homes runs. The eye opening aspect is that he has done this while playing in only 4 of the 9 games so far. To top it all of the Royals have not lost a game when Buck has been in the lineup. The Royals have only won one game with Olivo in the lineup and lost 5.

On Tuesday night against the Indians Buck hit two home runs, one a grand slam and tied a career high with 5 runs batted in in a game. The next day, playing the Indians again, the Royals lost 5-4. Wouldn't you know it Miguel Olivo started that game. The Royals are currently tied for first place in the American League Central Division with a record of 5-4, no thanks to Miguel Olivo.

Hopefully Trey Hillman will wise up and give Buck the starting job. Even if he doesn't hand the starting job back to Buck he at least needs to ride out his hot streak.

Figure it out Trey!

Royals 4, Indians 2

Royals hold off Indians in 4-2 victory.

On Monday the Royals beat the last place Indians 4-2. The Royals are now 4-3 on the season and tied for first place with the Chicago White Sox.

Zack Greinke started for the Royals and pitched five scoreless innings. Greinke finished the day with nine strikouts and 104 pitches thrown. So far Greinke has been perfect this season. He has not given up a run in eleven innings and is 2-0.

The Royals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead against starter Fausto Carmona. It wasn't until Carmona threw 42 pitches he got out of the inning.

In the fourth inning Mike Jacobs hit his first home run as a Royal. Last year he hit 32 home runs with Florida. Jacobs said "Anytime you can get that first one out of the way, it's a good thing, I want to hit home runs here as well."

The Indians left a dozen runners on base and went 4-13 with runners in scoring position. Travis Hafner struck out three times and stranded eight runners and Jhonny Peralta stranded eight as well.

Indians manager Eric Wedge said "We squandered too many opportunities."

After Greinke came out Jamey Wright and Kyle Farnsworth did not allow the Indians to get a hit in three innings. In the ninth Ron Mahay gave up two singles before being replaced by Joakim Soria. Soria allowed two singles to Sizemore and Choo. Choo's base hit scored one, a wild pitch scored another and moved the runners into scoring position.

Soria was faced with runners at second and third and no outs. He then retired the next three batters. He struck out Victor Martinez, got Hafner the hit a dribbler to the mound, and struck Peralta out looking on a 3-2 curveball.

Pertaining to his 3-2 curveball Soria said "I've got confidence in that pitch and I just throw it. They can't hit it."

Royals manager Trey Hillman said "I sure didn't like seeing that tying run get to second base and the meat of their order coming up. But Joakim did what he usually does. He doesn't let his heart rate get up there too much and got a couple of big strikeouts."

The Royals have two more games against the Indians at home on Tuesday and Wednesday.