With absurd division title hopes fizzling, focus needs to shift to 2012

Entering this weekend, I had a twinkle of hope running through my head. With a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the Royals could find themselves just eight (yes, EIGHT) games out of the division race.

Two 4-3 losses to the Tigers on Friday and Saturday night quickly pissed all over that twinkle of hope in my head.

If there's anything to be gained from these losses, it's the fact that the Royals have played two outstanding games against the old, overpaid cream of the AL Central's crop, the Detroit Tigers. Friday night's game was outstanding. Seeing Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella and Mike Moustakas lead a three-run comeback in the late innings had every Royals fan drooling all over the place at the thought of the same scenario playing out over the next decade. The energy shown by that group of young players on Friday night had me tricked into thinking it was a playoff game. Gio pumping his fist as he drove in Butler to open up the scoring was perhaps the greatest foreshadowing we've seen here since Tony Pena belted out "we believe" after Ken Harvey hit his famous homer in extras in 2003.

The series can be salvaged with a win on Sunday, but a loss puts the final nail in the coffin on a not quite lost 2011 season.

When people look back on the 2011 season in 25 years, they may see yet another 90+ loss season. When I look back on it, I'll view it as a metamorphosis, when the Royals finally cleansed a roster full of castoffs and mistake free players, turning over the leaf to a new era in Royals baseball.

Let's just look at how the roster, especially the lineup, has changed since opening day:

RF- Jeff Francouer (still here, supposed part of the future)
CF- Melky Cabrera (still here, hopefully a stop gap)
LF- Alex Gordon (still here, part of the future)
3B- Wilson Betemit (gone)
SS- Alcides Escobar (still here, part of the future)
2B- Chris Getz (still here, not part of the future)
1B- Kila Ka'aihue (still in the system, not part of KC's future)
DH- Country Breakfast (still here, part of the future)
C- Matt Treanor (still here, not part of the future)

The roster has been cleansed of 1/3 of those guys and now the Royals offensive lineup doesn't have a single player over the age of 27. Giavotella has mercifully replaced Chris Getz, Mike Moustakas is up, Hosmer is up, Duffy is up.

The roster turnover has only just begun in my mind. Soon we'll see the likes of Mike Montgomery, Sal Perez, Lorenzo Cain, David Lough and others grace the green grass of Kauffman Stadium and you'll start to see the team of the future forming in front of your eyes.

So stick out 2011. Stick out the one-run heartbreakers, the blown saves, the swings and misses on low and away sliders and the occasional bobbled ball. I've been telling people to get on the bandwagon for about a year now. All that's left is to take the first step and let your guard down. These guys can play and you can tell they are hungry to restore pride and glory to this downtrodden franchise and its masochistic fan base.

The future is here and it isn't just one player. It's several players. The new generation of Royals baseball to quench the thirst of the lost generation of Royals fans. We are thirsty and soon, we shall drink.

Top 20 Royals Tweeters

Since it's that time of year when most people aren't even paying attention to the Royals, I figured I would compile a list of my favorite Royals' tweeters. No matter how bad the Royals are, people are always going to use the social media platform of Twitter and use it to complain, inform and make one another laugh. This list does not include KC media (one exception). That being said, here is the first ever fluff piece on Royals Kingdom. Be sure to give these guys (and gals) a follow:

20. @Kevin_Agee- Complains about the Royals and does it extremely well. Biggest MO State tweeter out there as well.

19. @RoyallySpeaking (Jeff Parker, Royally Speaking)- One of my first followers on Twitter and a member of the old guard of the Royals' blogosphere...not to say that he's old or anything.

18. @mhays83 (Matt Hays, SB Nation Kansas City)- One of the most reasonable Royals fans on Twitter. Unabashed lover of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

17. @rustindodd (KC Star)- Sam Mellinger's replacement for Ball Star. No pressure.

16. @KCYETI (Kirk Harris)- KC YETI IS TEH AWESOME.

15. @grogg (Greg Layton)- Die hard Royals and Cubs fan. What the hell is wrong with him?

14. @pcbearcat (Ross Martin)- Smart ass Royals fan, he fits in with the rest of us.

13. @TJFsports (Tom Fehr)- Combine Royals tweets with tweets about Game of Thrones, Entourage, Todd Haley and Chipotle, you might have my best friend that I've never met. Add to the equation that he's a die hard KU fan and he's my sworn enemy. I will destroy him someday.

12. @royalsauthority (Craig Brown)- Head blogger over at Royals Authority. Hater of stolen bases and sac bunts.

11. @doublestix (Keith Blackburn)- For a guy who is younger than most Royals' prospects, Keith knows his stuff about the Royals farm system. And he hates the Twins. I mean, he REALLY hates the Twins. What's not to love?

10. @kcscoliny (Clint Scoles, Pine Tar Press)- A fine man from Nebraska on top of everything that is the Royals' farm system. Need some info about a Venezuelan pitcher in rookie ball at 2 am? He's your man.

9.@scobes15 (Kevin Scobee, Kings of Kauffman)- Most underrated (if there is such a thing on Twitter) Royals tweeter out there. Congratulations on recently moving out of your mother's basement and finding a woman willing to microwave your hot pockets. When he's not tweeting about the Royals, he's tweeting about The West Wing or The Wire.

8. @brokenbatsingle (Nick Scott, Royals Authority)- The armchair GM of Twitter. Unpopular thoughts, in-depth discussion, ground breaking tweets about fine ales.

7. @michaelengel- Head writer for Kings of Kauffman. Solid analysis of the Royals and pretty girls in Lawrence.

6. @KCRoyalman- Friend of Royals Kingdom and wearer of capes. Want a look into the mind of the most diehard of the diehards? Follow this man.

5. @Greg_Schaum- By far the most informed person on Twitter when it comes to Royals prospects. Good for the occasional NHL 94 tweet.

4. @royalsreview (Will McDonald)- Snark, snark and more snark. Any night when the Jeff Francouer's and Kyle Farnsworth's of the world are signed by the Royals is a must follow for Will.

3. @BHIndepMO (Brandon H.)- He's funny. He's brash. He's even keeled. This guy is the voice of the down-trodden Royals fan on Twitter. Knows the history of the team and isn't too pessimistic or optimistic. Coined the term #BoomYosted

2. @jazayerli- Rany is the smartest Royals fan out there. Doesn't tweet that much, but when he does, he makes it count.

1. @fakenedyost- This guy has a direct line to my funny bone. You probably already follow him and if you don't, then you should re-evaluate your life.

Honorable mention: @minda33 (And then she moved to Palm Springs and out of our lives)

Fans' choice: @oldmanduggan (After tallying the votes, Josh Duggan is your choice for one of the best Royals fans on Twitter.)

Royals with trade value, the unseen tapes

July 31 is rapidly approaching and it's obvious that the Royals are going to be in sell mode. The MLB trade deadline is when all armchair GM'ing spikes and everyone likes to pretend that they're Billy Beane (the Brad Pitt version of Billy Beane), making the big trade that can put your franchise over the top. But here's the truth for teams like the Royals, when you're in sell mode, these trades are usually just salary dump. So don't expect the Royals to make a blockbuster trade this July. I'll break it down for you right meow...

The guys everyone is talking about

Joakim Soria- Biggest name likely to be made available by the Royals, but with the trade market about to be saturated by relief pitchers, the Royals are going to be asking a lot for Soria, which they should. What the front office can't do, is accept any deal for Soria that is below their perceived value of Soria. Jack hasn't had the best season of his career, but has locked down the ninth inning with authority in the past few weeks and seems to be on the right track. But once again, the market will be watered down, which could work to the Royals advantage, considering Soria will be in the top tier of those relievers. I think Soria's trade value has started to go down, but a strong second half could put his trade value back at it's 2010 offseason value, where the Yankees allegedly offered uber-hitting prospect Jesus Montero for Soria. Any package that doesn't include high end starting pitching for Soria should be avoided. The Royals have the bats in the minors, it's time to stock the arms. Keep your eye on the Phillies, Tigers and Braves (of course) as possible destinations for Soria. Those three all have stockades of readily available young arms that would catch the Royals' eye.

My bet: 10% chance Soria is traded.
Demands: B+ RHP starter prospect, C+ RHP, athletic 2B in high minors

Melky Cabrera- Start the argument for best free agent acquisition by Dayton Moore because Melky has done nothing more than exceed all expectation this season. But he has to go, Lorenzo Cain and David Lough have proven that they are ready to make the jump to the big leagues and Melky is a guy with postseason experience that seems to be moved every single July no matter what kind of year he's having. Shouldn't bring back much, but the Royals can get decent value for him. He is under contract for next season and is still just 26-years-old.

My bet: 60% chance Melky is traded.
Demands: C+ starting pitching prospect/fireballer with command issues in low minors, straight up.

Jeff Francouer- Here's the guy I guarantee that the Royals will be overvaluing at the deadline. Anything more than cash or players to be named later for Francouer will be a steal. Yes, Frenchy has had a good year, but teams know all about Jeff Francouer. The selling points are pretty hollow, but the intangibles that some GMs overvalue might be enough to increase Frenchy's value.

My bet: 75% chance Frenchy is traded.
Demands: Cash or PTBNL.

Wilson Betemit- Stop fooling yourself, he isn't going to bring back diddly. Betemit had an amazing comeback year last year. If you follow the Royals closely, you know the story about Betemit. Former Braves super prospect who somehow got labeled as a bench player. Betemit's value isn't high because he's not an everyday player. There might be a team out there who thinks they can steal Betemit, and if they want to, go ahead and let them. Moustakas is up and Betemit plays once every six days.

My bet: 90% chance Betemit is traded.
Demands: AA pitcher

Jeff Francis- He'll be in pretty high demand by National League teams. The market for starting pitchers is pretty awful and Francis will be one of the better pitchers available in that market. He's the ideal 4-5 starter that teams are looking for this time of year. Might be able to get something better than expected for him, especially if a desperate team comes calling.

My bet: 95% chance Francis is traded.
Demands: AA pitcher

Billy Butler- Let me address this once and for all. Billy Butler should not be traded. Billy Butler is a good, maybe great player. Billy Butler is 25 years old. Billy Butler is a Hall of Fame talent.

My bet: 2% Butler is traded.
Demands: No less than four of the organization's top 10 prospects.

The guys who people aren't really talking about

Alex Gordon- His breakout season has started the trade rumor mill for Gordo. In my mind, the Royals can't afford to trade Alex Gordon. The potential has finally come through AND he's one of the best defensive left fielders in all of baseball. In fact, next to Ryan Braun, Alex Gordon is the best left fielder in all of baseball. I don't want him traded and the Royals would be taking several steps back in the development process. Gordon is a prime example of why you can't be impatient with a rebuild. The project is far from over, but the horizon looks very promising for #4.

My bet: 2% chance Gordon is traded.
Demands: Package Gordon with Giavotella or Dwyer for a PREMIUM starting pitching package that includes 2-3 B level starting prospects and the organization's best OF prospect.


Bruce Chen- For a guy who is quietly having one of the best seasons by a Royals lefty in a long time, Chen's name isn't being thrown around as much as I would expect. I'll be honest, I think Chen was a dynamite pickup by Dayton Moore. He's been our most consistent pitcher and has revived his career here. It isn't uncommon to see lefty pitchers put things together later on in their careers and go on to extend their playing days by a few years. I don't think the Royals will part ways with Chen unless they are offered a very good package for Chen.

My bet: 25% chance Chen is traded.
Demands: A pitcher from the organization's top 20.

Stay tuned, I'll be writing more about the trade deadline as we get closer to July 31.

Rebuttal to Chris Sullentrop's Grantland article

First, read.

Mr. Suellentrop,

First off, what an incredibly well written article. It is obvious that you attended the greatest journalism school on the planet, the University of Missouri.

But what also shines through in this article is the stereotypical douche resin that lingers around in this city after folks like you have left. Doesn't shock me that you're one of those lifelong Kansas fans who committed sports loyalty suicide when you opted to go to a good school like Mizzou, instead of accepting a second-rate, but still acceptable, journalism degree from your beloved Jayhawks. So it doesn't shock me in the least that you threw your hometown under the 20 million pound bus, with Bill Simmons at the wheel.

I'm sure you worship the ground that Bill Simmons walks on. The East Coast bias has probably infiltrated your mind by now. Either that or you've always viewed Kansas City as a second rate, insecure city and have dreamed about the big city while "wasting away" in the Midwest, where great journalists have been born.

Instead of following in the footsteps of Posnanski, Whitlock, Paige and Miklasz, you probably thought the easiest road to notoriety and written-word fame was to hit the bright lights of Broadway and wash away the shame of your "cow town" upbringing, while alienating your home city in the process. So I'm sure Bill Simmons and the good folks at Grantland contacted you because what self-righteous, East Coast trendster doesn't open up the New York Times every morning while drinking their half-caf, triple shot Starbuck's and smelling their own farts? I'm sure it was an easy decision for you.

So you wrote an article pretty much saying that Kansas City was a lonely, desolate place where children play under power lines, multi-million dollar arenas sit empty, women don't shave their legs and the winters last for seven months. Your reasoning in the article is laughable. Sprint Center is one of the country's busiest venues, but since there isn't an NBA team in town, it's a failure of an arena. You could have stopped there, but you didn't. Shot after shot came and by the end of the article, my blood was boiling.

You said you left KC for a bigger stage and a bigger paycheck. Well, you got that. But you have done it at a cost, sir. So have fun living in New York City, paying $1500 a month for 120 square feet and $7 for beer at a bar, living the good life and trying to rub elbows with smart people with smart jobs and smart clothes. I'll be here in Kansas City, loving where I was born and raised, drinking in giant parking lots and eating the best smoked meats in the world. You may have left KC, but I'm not entirely sure you ever truly lived here.

Nice suit.

Melky leading off and the "Magic Eight Ball" bullpen

After last night's atrocious offensive showing by the Royals, despite Alex Gordon nearly hitting for the first cycle by a Royals' player in over 20 years, Ned Yost hinted that lineup changes would come. Needless to say, I was relieved. I had grown awfully tired of seeing Jeff Francouer (who I have developed a man crush on after his fantastic first couple of months) struggle at the plate and turn into the Jeff Francouer of old.

Alex Gordon continued his actual dominance in the leadoff spot, becoming the best left fielder in the Major Leagues (it's true, look it up). He's been the only enjoyable part of this team in the months of May and June. This is awesome. Gordon had been unfairly dumped on by most Royals fans and media for a majority of his career and to see him pull off a season like this has made me incredibly happy and relieved as a fan. Hats off to Alex Gordon. If he isn't our All Star, then they should just let him punch Nick Swisher in the face.

So with a lineup switcheroo, you would think that Gordon would maintain his perch at the top of the Royals' lineup. He IS after all one of the hottest hitters in baseball this year.

Instead, it's Melky Cabrera. Melky has stayed consistent...but he isn't a leadoff hitter. When Gordon was inserted in the leadoff role, I was shocked and actually proud of the Royals for doing something so progressive. Gordon, in my mind, is the next generation of leadoff hitters in baseball. Good on base skills, decent enough speed, power to the gaps, doesn't strikeout...wait, isn't that what managers always say, despite when they put Chris Getz in the leadoff spot?

Frenchy was removed from the cleanup spot and busted all the way down to...fifth. I get it. I like Ned Yost. He's a guy who commands the respect of his team and gets it back in return. He put up with Frenchy in the cleanup spot about a month longer than I would have. I'm just hoping Frenchy didn't have a sit down with Yost and ask him to be removed from the cleanup role like Joakim Soria did when he asked to be removed from the closer's role.

But Yost's bullpen management has been the most frustrating part of the whole equation. With the Royals down by three in the eighth inning and threatening to come back, Yost seemingly drew a name out of a hat and out came Everett Teaford, a LOOGY. Teaford gives up a two-run bomb and the Royals lose. Of course, who knows what may have come if Teaford had gotten out of the inning, but in a three run game, the manager has to treat it like a three-run lead.

So Nick Wright of 610 Sports Radio came up with the "Magic Eight Ball Bullpen" meme the other day on his show and I'm not sure if I've ever heard a more outrageous, yet so dead-on metaphor for Ned's bullpen management.

Ned: Should I put Greg Holland in to face three lefties?
Magic 8 Ball: As I see it, yes.

Ned: Tim Collins can get lefties out, right?
Magic 8 Ball: Outlook good.
Ned: Screw you, I'll put him in anyways.

Ned: Should I have a reliever put one in Yadier Molina's kidney?
Magic 8 Ball: Very doubtful.
Ned: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!

I hope you still have the receipt to Spencer's Gifts...

Annual Royals Kingdom 'Ode to the St. Louis Cardinals (and their fans)'

Another heart stopping series between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals concluded Sunday afternoon in America's Most Dangerous city and the Royals dropped the season series against their pre-fabricated, "Son of Denkinger", pointless rival across I-70. After the final game of the series that saw a few sparks of frustration from the red-clad Best Fans in Baseball's team, Alex Gordon called the Cards a "bunch of babies" for plunking him late in the game as retaliation for what seemed to be two innocent, yet unfortunate plays earlier in the game.

So this of course sparked my disdain for the St. Louis Cardinals. I don't know where it came from, but for the love of bearded Jesus, I really can't stand much of anything about this franchise.

It could stem from the fact that the fans have pretty much branded themselves as the "Best Fans in Baseball". Best at what, exactly? I don't understand what the whole self-appreciation hubbub is about. Hey, guess what? EVERY FREAKING TEAM IN BASEBALL SAYS THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST FANS IN BASEBALL. Here's a quote from John Q. baseball player from an on-field interview after literally every game ever: "I'm just thankful that we get to go out in front of the best fans in the game and I'm glad we won."

So throw a freaking parade for yourselves and dust off that Aaron Miles jersey, man! You've achieved something so very rare that it's only mentioned at every opportune time for any player ever to earn goodie points with the home town folks so your front office will throw a few extra bucks at him once he hits free agency. It's a pretty common practice. I'm sure you believe that Jesus Christ was a bearded white man who spoke English, too.

I've heard people refer to St. Louis as the "Capital of Baseball". Of course, those were people from St. Louis. But THEN I heard from this guy at Charlie Gitto's who says that Abner Doubleday made a trip to the Casino Queen back in 1881, so this is all verified that St. Louis is indeed the Capitol of Baseball and all fans should make pilgrimage to St. Louis and pay homage to the home of baseball...and the Bowling Hall of Fame.

Here's an idea. Instead of referring to yourselves as the "Best fans in baseball", refer to yourself as the "best franchise in baseball". You can certainly get away with that and it would be less absurd than making the notion that your fan base is superior to 29 others. You've won 10 World Series! You have had some of the greatest players to EVER strap on the cleats and play between the lines. Yet the most important thing about the Cardinals is the fans. Hey that's just great. Guess you've earned it after all. You've never gone longer than 25 years without a World Series victory. Hell, you go to the playoffs every year. You have the most prolific slugger of our generation wearing Cardinal red (for now).

My point is that it is EASY to be a Cardinals fan. It's EASY to root for your team. It's EASY to spit on teams like the Royals and Cubs because we've been so terrible and you've been so great. I mean, your worst team in the last 15 years won a World Series for Christ's sake!

Hey, guess what? I've won 20 Super Bowls on Madden. I'm the best player in Madden. Oh, what skill level was I playing on? EASY.

You're on EASY mode, St. Louis. Where you kill the boss on one shot while running around just firing random bullets into the air, hoping one hits.

Over here in KCMO, we're on extreme-devil mode. Where fucking zombies jump out of walls and eat your brains out after you save the princess. Where no matter what, you can't ever kill the boss, despite pumping round after round into his face. Where possibly your greatest pitcher ever demands a trade because he "doesn't like it here". SHIT AIN'T EXACTLY EASY OVER HERE.

Well guess what happens after you play enough times on extreme-devil mode? You get better...and better...and better...and better. You get draft picks. You make changes to your philosophy. You appreciate what you earn and enjoy watching how far you've come.

Guess what? We're getting better. Our owner actually seems to have figured out how to run some semblance of a professional sports franchise. We preserved one of the games iconic ballparks, while you grabbed the cookie cutter after Pittsburgh, Colorado, Texas and Philly were done using it. We've got the up and coming hottie that was just named hottest chick in the history of whatever and showing massive amounts of potential. You've got the 50-year-old divorcee with the bad boob job. Sure, it'll be fun for awhile, but man I can't wait to see that bitch go batshit crazy on your ass.

The next 25 years should be fun.

Handling of Soria points to bigger problem

Sorry about the delay between posts, folks. I've gotten a little lazy lately.

Joakim Soria blew his fifth save of the season on Monday afternoon and dropped the Royals to 23-30 on the season. After this weekend and road trip, it's hard to see the Royals ever getting back to .500 this year. A sad thing to say after such a surprising start to the season.

I've been saying that something is wrong with Joakim Soria since about the second week of the season. After watching most of the Royals' media contingent and some fellow bloggers live in denial about Soria's status, they all finally admitted something was off after Monday's latest catastrophe. Welcome to the conversation.

Ned Yost shows incredible confidence in his players and I greatly admire that. But you have to wonder if that can be a weakness as much as it is a strength (or as Frank White would say, "strinth"). Soria struggled with control more than we've ever seen in his career and barely threw first-pitch strikes, something that makes him who he is and why he is so difficult to hit.

When Yost was hired, the biggest knock on him was his handling of the bullpen in Milwaukee that allegedly led to the Brewers almost blowing a seven-game lead in the NL Central race in 2008. Now here it is, rearing its ugly head in KC.

Soria has earned the right to be given every chance to hold his role as a closer on this team. But when is enough enough? Soria has been off all year, something pointed out by myself, famed Royals' tweeter Brandon Harris (@BHIndepMO) and more recently, 610 radio's Nick Wright. If I saw this as early as April 15, what were the Royals seeing since then and why did it take so long? Why did Joakim Soria ASK to be removed from the closer's role while the Royals idly stood by and did nothing about a guy that is about to enter a three-year option period where he is due over $20 million dollars?

Soria currently holds the most valuable contract on the 25-man roster and arguably is the Royals' biggest trade chip. The Royals stood by and watched as Soria's trade stock plummet after he was being considered one of the hottest trade commodities in Major League Baseball this past offseason.

The Royals' handling of high-priced pitchers has been frustrating. Gil Meche is the latest and most prevalent example of this negligence. Are we about to go down the same path with Soria?

Soria has denied that anything is wrong with his health and I guess I can believe that. Soria has been the weakest link in a bullpen that has become one of the most exciting, young collection of arms in baseball. But Yost continually went to Soria and it has ultimately led to this torrid stretch of baseball that has dropped the Royals all the way to fourth in the division after being a staple in second place for a majority of the season.

More alarmingly, Soria does not have a clean slate of health in his past. He's undergone Tommy John surgery and saw an extended DL stint in 2009 due to a shoulder issue. The Royals simply can't afford to take any chances with Soria, right now.

27-year-old stud closers with impeccable control don't suddenly "lose it". He's been the second best reliever in baseball for the past three years. When he's ready to enter the prime of his career, he can't find the strike zone or miss bats. He's getting bombed and hit hard. That has NEVER HAPPENED IN HIS CAREER. He's not throwing his curveball as much, and when he does, it doesn't have any bite to it. When that happens to a pitcher, it usually means he's hurt.

Something is wrong with Joakim Soria and the Royals would be wise to look deeper into this. The sad part is, they probably won't.