2012 K.C. Royals just swept the Texas Rangers thread.

Darin

Official theme from Royals commercials appears to be, "This is our time". Maybe you should have saved the commercials until after you're a successful team.
You think, Yost, Butler, Gordon, Hosmer et al. ?

Here's what the everyday lineup should look like.


LF- Alex Gordon(Gold glove last year, .303 avg. with over 100 runs.)
CF- Lorenzo Cain(hit well over .400 in spring training with power)
1B- Eric Hosmer (will be the best 1st baseman in baseball in 2012)
DH- Billy Butler (needs to hit more homeruns because of his slow speed on the bases)
RF- Jeff Franceour( good year last year, needs to do the same this year. Great arm in right field)
3B- Mike Moustakas( got off to slow start last year, then hit .375 for the last 36 games)
2B- Chris Getz and Yuni Betancourt( These two will platoon as Giovetalla got sent to triple A to improve his defense . May hit second in the order.)
C - Bryan Pena and Humberto Quintero (Huge blow when Salvador Perez was injured in spring training and will miss half the season)
SS- Alcides Escobar( Excellent defensive shortstop with great range, would like to see him hit .270)

Starting pitchers- Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Luis Mendoza, Danny Duffy, Jonathan Sanchez. (What happened Mike Montgomery?? you were supposed to be an ace)
Key reserves- Mitch Maier and Jason Bourgeois

JustinsShoebox

I wish the Royals luck this year.

They have come a long way, but I also believe they have a long way to go.

Gordon and Hosmer will certainly provide some strong offense and if Kansas is smart, they will lock these two up in Royal blue for a very long time. Since Gordon signed an extension, they need to get Hosmer to agree. I think Hosmer will look for decent money, though. I also think Moustakas will surprise people this year.

KC needs a good rotation. I don't see much with what they have, unfortunately.

I know spring training is no crystal ball, but one plus - they finished at .500 and did better than the Rangers.

Justin

Darin

Justin, thanks for the reply. Most people probably still think of the Royals as losers, but they are turning things around.
Hosmer and Moustakas are the kind of players you can build a team around. About all Hosmer talks about in interviews is helping the Royals win.
He's got a great attitude and I think he'll be a team leader even though he is young.
They should be able to score a lot of runs, but like you said the pitching is suspect. Hochevar needs to step up and have a great year. Mendoza was almost unhittable in spring training.

Can't wait until Friday when they play their first game. Good luck to your Angels this season!

57loaded

it would be sweet to see them start contending and maybe get to postseason.

cwazzy

I'm actually really excited to see them play this year. I'm a Cardinal fan at heart but I've always rooted for the Royals as well. Now that I'm living in KC and see the team they've managed to put together this year I'm really excited for them. Hopefully their pitching holds up and can give their bats a chance to win the division.

Treetop

Royals will put up a lot of runs, but the question is, well the defense and especially the pitching give up more?.....Yes!

JustinsShoebox

OH that's right! Completely forgot that the Angels played the Royals for Opening Day.

I'm actually going to that game tomorrow night, may be a tough start for KC for sure.

Good luck to them, though! Will be a pleasure to watch Gordon and Hosmer while enjoying a Halo victory.

Justin

JustinsShoebox

I thought the Royals played very well tonight. It was tough all the way to the last bit of play. Bruce Chen pitched extremely well, but not much run production from the Royals hitters.

Great game!

Justin

Darin

<< <i>I thought the Royals played very well tonight. It was tough all the way to the last bit of play. Bruce Chen pitched extremely well, but not much run production from the Royals hitters.

Great game!

Justin >>



I can't believe what Francouer did. The Royals could hardly touch Weaver, so I think it was the 7th inning Francouer hits a one out double, then promptly gets picked off second by Weaver. The score is 0-0, base runners are few and far between, and Frenchy gets picked off! That was just stupid.
That could have actually turned into a big inning because there was a base hit that could have scored him. There's just no excuse to get picked off in that big of a situation.

fiveniner

I am a believer in the Royals position players but their pitching staff is shaky at best.I wish them luck.Hope they come in 2nd as I am a lifetime Tiger Fan.

Treetop

<< <i>well the defense and especially the pitching give up more?.....Yes! >>



and base running!

RoarIn84

While I don't think KC has what it needs to win the division, they are the only team I dread playing in our division. KC simply needs more starting pitching. Getting rid of Greinke was a mistake, especially if Cain doesn't work out. They basically gave up Greinke AND (eventually) Cabrera for Cain!! That lineup can put runs on the board with the best of them, but if the pitching is giving them right back then......

Yankees001

Royals will will out of the playoffs by the all star break.

Sorry, but selig killed everything the all star game ment.

Dave

Treetop

Looks like KC brought out there can of whoop-ass today!

JustinsShoebox

For some reason Dan Haren thought this was still a spring training game.

Justin

Darin

<< <i>While I don't think KC has what it needs to win the division, they are the only team I dread playing in our division. KC simply needs more starting pitching. Getting rid of Greinke was a mistake, especially if Cain doesn't work out. They basically gave up Greinke AND (eventually) Cabrera for Cain!! That lineup can put runs on the board with the best of them, but if the pitching is giving them right back then...... >>



Whoa, I think you're a little off on the details of that trade. It was Greinke and Betancourt for Alcides Escobar(who is our starting shortstop and is one of the best defeinsively), Lorenzo Cain(starting in centerfield), Jake Odorizzi, (a top starting pitching prospect) and Jeremy Jeffress ( I don't know where KC assigned him this year).

It should work out fine for the Royals.

Darin

Well, the Royals took two of three from the Angels and did get good pitching, along with some timely hitting the last two games.
Nice to win a series on the road to start the season.

RoarIn84

Pretty impressive series!! I'm sure Texas is thanking KC right about now!!

JustinsShoebox

Angels have no excuse for that poor performance this weekend. Trumbo has 3 fielding errors at 3rd in 3 games. Haren and Santana had not so good outings. And maybe I'm being over critical but 12 left on with the bats in that lineup?!?! Come on...

I do commend KC for the run production consisitancy.

Justin

RoarIn84

<< <i>

<< <i>While I don't think KC has what it needs to win the division, they are the only team I dread playing in our division. KC simply needs more starting pitching. Getting rid of Greinke was a mistake, especially if Cain doesn't work out. They basically gave up Greinke AND (eventually) Cabrera for Cain!! That lineup can put runs on the board with the best of them, but if the pitching is giving them right back then...... >>



Whoa, I think you're a little off on the details of that trade. It was Greinke and Betancourt for Alcides Escobar(who is our starting shortstop and is one of the best defeinsively), Lorenzo Cain(starting in centerfield), Jake Odorizzi, (a top starting pitching prospect) and Jeremy Jeffress ( I don't know where KC assigned him this year).

It should work out fine for the Royals. >>



I'm familiar with the trade, but they let Cabrera go to make room for Cain. That's why I lumped him in there....

Darin

Way to go Royals, you're off to a 3-6 start and Cleveland just slaughtered you 3 games in a row at home.

JustinsShoebox

Yikes! Looks like you've got some company from the Halos at least... No...excuse...

Justin

Darin

<< <i>Yikes! Looks like you've got some company from the Halos at least... No...excuse...

Justin >>



The worst part is, I watched Cleveland score 6 runs after there were two outs and nobody on base. Then when the Royals finally get out of the inning I have to sit through one of the Royals stupid, 'This is our time' commercials. Seems like almost every player made one and thats the catchphrase.

Its one thing for a fan like me to hype them but when they hype themselves and then play lousy baseball it just doesn't sit well with me. Even one of the Cleveland players was making fun of the Royals 'This is our time' catchphrase on twitter.

RoarIn84

Just like last week when Verlander was rolling thru 8 scoreless innings of 1 hit ball, we see a commercial of him telling about how 'focused' he is.... then he promptly gives up 4 runs the next inning to lose the game. Yr not alone, my friend! Should be a hot series between our teams this week. We always play each other strong. I hate Chen, just like you probably hate Verlander....with respect

Darin

<< <i>Just like last week when Verlander was rolling thru 8 scoreless innings of 1 hit ball, we see a commercial of him telling about how 'focused' he is.... then he promptly gives up 4 runs the next inning to lose the game. Yr not alone, my friend! Should be a hot series between our teams this week. We always play each other strong. I hate Chen, just like you probably hate Verlander....with respect >>



Good luck, the Tigers should do well this series. The Indians weren't hitting well at all before the K.C. series, then they just clobbered Royals pitching. I'm going to hate to see the hits and runs the Tigers should be able to put up.

royalbrett

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but until the Royals get a billionaire owner who doesn't care about money, or there is a salary cap in MLB, it is highly unlikely they will ever see the postseason.

KeepItWarm

"Plump" Fielder even swiped a base last night. I almost choked on my popcorn I was laughing so hard....

Darin

Way to go Royals! 0-9 Homestand. You're in mid season form. So, 'Our time' is over already?
Man, those sure were the glory days when it was 'our time'. Went 2-1 against the Angels to start the season and now 'our time' is history.

You guys and your manager sure were using your heads when you made those commercials.

Darin

In retrospect, this thread did have a high probability of going south very quickly.

PowderedH2O

Well, things could be worse. The NBA's Charlotte Bobcats have more than doubled your 9 game losing streak.

ddfamf

"Our Time" slogan was a bit premature by the 'ole Glass Wal-Mart marketing team.

The best one I've heard is "Wasting Our Time".

RoarIn84

Just to be real, Boston only has 1 more win than KC. Who do you think is more frustrated? KC has the bullpen, they just need another quality starter to make something happen. They bunt, run and field with the best of them.... That Tigers series could have gone either way!

ddfamf

The streak ends at 12 games!!! Had to have been the Cleveland slumpbusters!

Darin

I thought for sure they'd lose today with Verlander pitching. They didn't beat Verlander, but they did beat the Tigers. Nice win.

ddfamf

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Darin

They should just release Hochevar. Enough is enough. Put him out of his misery and tell him he chose the wrong profession.

ddfamf

They attempted to trade him today, but it fell through.

The "Spoils" wanted a keg of Budweiser but the best they could do was Schaffers.....no trade.

Sell the team Glass.....sell the team.

Darin

<< <i>They attempted to trade him today, but it fell through.

The "Spoils" wanted a keg of Budweiser but the best they could do was Schaffers.....no trade.

Sell the team Glass.....sell the team. >>





I would trade him for one lukewarm can of Shaffers at this point.

Barndog

Boston's Clay Buccholz, aka Succholz, is at 9.09

Not a "fan favorite"

Darin

Had to change the title of the thread. Hochevar just pitched seven scoreless innings so I have to give him a break.
Time for Hosmer to start hitting now. Bad luck that he seems to hit a lot of line drives right at fielders', but .180 is not cutting it.

royalbrett

I usually have two goals for the Royals at the beginning of each season.
1. Lose less than 100 games
2. Try not to end up in the basement


Minnesota has been a big help lately with the second goal.

Darin

<< <i>I usually have two goals for the Royals at the beginning of each season.
1. Lose less than 100 games
2. Try not to end up in the basement


Minnesota has been a big help lately with the second goal. >>



They can contend this year if nobody runs away with it, and so far nobody has. Even with a 12 game losing streak, the Royals are only 4.5 games back.
Great game last night, the Rangers had just shelled Jerod Weaver for 8 runs in 3 innings. But Bruce Chen and the relievers held them to 1 run the whole game.
So the Royals at least get a split with Texas, since its only a two game series.
Terrible news though, looks like Danny Duffy is out for the season.

digicat

So, what do you guys think about Jonathan Sanchez?


Melky's working out pretty good for us in SF. He's one of the 3 healthy major league position players we have.

ddfamf

Sanchez was a gamble.....so far it doesn't look good....there was mixed feelings about losing Melky anyways.

Darin

I think the jury is still out on Sanchez. A couple good outings but not going very deep into the games. I think he's on the 15 day disabled list right now.

I hope Melky stays consistent all year for you like he did last year for KC.

Darin

Completed the sweep of the Rangers. Amazing! Tim Collins was throwing some nasty curveballs at them. Texas found out KC has a pretty good bullpen.

digicat

I like Sanchez. I hope he figures it out and pitches to his potential. However, he's infuriating to watch when he gets out of whack and starts pouting. The pouting leads to bad pitches, and then the game goes south.

JustinsShoebox

Darin,

You have no idea how full of joy I was to see KC sweep the Rangers! Thanks for the division help!

Sincerely,

The Los Angeles Angels

Dboneesq

<< <i>Thanks for the division help! Sincerely, The Los Angeles Angels >>



Whoever would have thought that in games 33 thru 37 Pujols would go:

05/12/2012....TEX....1 for 3
05/13/2012....TEX....1 for 5
05/14/2012....OAK...1 for 4
05/15/2012....OAK...3 for 4
05/16/2012....CWS..1 for 4

And RAISED his batting average EVERY game!

JustinsShoebox

<< <i>

<< <i>Thanks for the division help! Sincerely, The Los Angeles Angels >>



Whoever would have thought that in games 33 thru 37 Pujols would go:

05/12/2012....TEX....1 for 3
05/13/2012....TEX....1 for 5
05/14/2012....OAK...1 for 4
05/15/2012....OAK...3 for 4
05/16/2012....CWS..1 for 4

And RAISED his batting average EVERY game! >>



Ha! Guess you can only go up once you hit rock bottom?

He'll come out of it, though, I have faith!

In other news, Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout (since being called up), both batting over .330 - both having really great success!

Justin

digicat

Royals need to work a trade with the Giants to get catcher Eli Whiteside. Whiteside was Jonathan Sanchez' personal catcher when he was in SF. Sanchez looks totally lost right now.