Kaegel's Description of Guillen is Interesting

I was reading the lead story, written by Dick Kaegel of MLB.com, on the Royals' official website this morning. And, just a few paragraphs into it, there was some wording used in reference to Jose Guillen that caught my attention.

Kaegel wrote: "One guy who is expected to hit home runs, though, is Jose Guillen who signed at considerable expense (three years for $36 million) to put juice into what has been a run-parched attack. He's averaged 26-plus homers and almost 94 RBIs in his past four full seasons."

Did you catch it? He said that Guillen would "put juice" into the attack. Now, in all probability, Kaegel didn't even realize that using the word juice to describe what Guillen will add to the Royals lineup was questionable. But isn't that a poor choice of words to employ when describing someone who's facing a possible suspension for allegedly purchasing PEDs? You almost have to wonder whether that was an intentionally subliminal jab taken at Guillen by an old-school writer like Kaegel.

Personally, I enjoy reading Kaegel's stories about the Royals. I think he does a fine job with his writing, and he's probably been crafting stories for as long as I've been alive -- I'm 38 years old, by the way. I think it would be challenging covering a baseball team over the course of a 162-game season, and trying to avoid having your storylines become stale or redundant.

But this description of Guillen was something that I felt needed to be brought to the attention of Royals fans in the blogosphere, to see whether I'm the only one who seemed to have noticed Kaegel's interesting choice of words. Did others feel it's as obvious and direct as it seems to me?

I'd love to have some feedback from readers to see if you agree. Was this simply a slip up, or do you think Kaegel knew full well what he was doing, and snickered, or sat back with a smirk on his face after typing that little statement? Writers who have lasted as long in the business as Kaegel has are clever, and by even wondering if it was intentional, I'm giving him the credit he deserves for being an intelligent and witty wordsmith.

But did this cross the line?

Jose Guillen Photo Credit: Getty Images

Huber is Lightning Rod for Royals Fans

Justin Huber is no longer a member of the Kansas City Royals organization, and many Royals fans are not happy, not happy at all.

In fact, as I'm writing this -- which, by the way, is not a rant about today's decision to part ways with Huber, but rather an examination of the issues behind the anger and frustration -- they're sitting in front of their computers, sipping on a can of Foster's*, and writing red-faced rants about how Dayton Moore is not the great general manager many of us (myself included) believe him to be.

They're angry about how this is yet another example of fizzled trades in which potential Royals stars are shipped off to other teams in exchange for the proverbial PTBNL -- that's Player to be Named Later for all you non-sports types who somehow got lost here, or for those who have had far too much Foster's prior to reading this.

*Huber is Australian, which is why I thought it would be humorous to create the image of angry fans sipping a can of the lager as they compose their rants. But, my brother traveled to the Land Down Under in college, and he reported to me that Australians actually don't drink Foster's at all. It's not even in the bars there, and I know my youngest brother well enough to trust he did an exhaustive study of a majority of the bars on that continent during his one month studying abroad. The company's slogan, "Foster's. Australian for Beer," is simply an American marketing campaign to sell a beer in the United States. Oh, and this is my second-ever Pozterisk.

So, what is it that has caused Justin Huber to be such a lightning rod among Royals fans? There are some very ardent Huber supporters out there, like Jeff of Royally Speaking, who will now be sponsoring the Baseball Reference page of a member of the San Diego Padres until February 28, 2009. In all fairness, Jeff's "rant" about Huber was incredibly under control, which surprised me when I saw that he had sponsored Huber's page.

I expected to check out his blog tonight and see a 5,000-word manifesto about how Dayton Moore sucks. Instead, he simply provided a quote from Moore about why he decided to trade Huber, and then took the liberty to disagree with Moore, calling the quote, "B.S...".

Here's the history. Huber was acquired by the Royals in a trade with the New York Mets on July 30, 2004. Kansas City sent utility player Jose Bautista to the Mets that day, and New York turned around and immediately traded Bautista to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

These days, Bautista is entering his second season as the Pirates' starting third baseman. But he only spent a month with the Royals after having his contract purchased from Tampa Bay, so remarkably, I haven't been able to find many rants about that move. Oh, and Crossing the Clemente, a "Pittsburgh Pirates blog celebrating the heroes of PNC Park," is the sponsor of Bautista's Baseball Reference page.

Back to Huber, who had been a catcher in the Mets organization. However, the day before the trade, he tore cartilage in his left knee. Then-general manager Allard Baird still went through with the trade, but Huber had surgery August 23 to repair the damage, and the Royals converted him to a first baseman in the process. He struggled to play first base, was tried in left field, and didn't fare much better, and the Royals haven't known exactly what to do with him since.

Offensively, Huber has some impressive credentials. He's represented Australia in international play, has been to numerous Minor League all-star games, and has batted .289/.369/.495 with 150 doubles, 12 triples, and 107 home runs during his seven seasons in the minors. The 2005 season was his finest, as he won the Texas League batting title (.343) for Class AA Wichita, and also played in Omaha (AAA), finishing the year with a combined line of .326/.417/.560, with 28 doubles, 23 homers, and 97 RBI.

But he has not been able to carry those numbers over to the Major League level. During that 2005 season, he played in 25 games for the Royals, getting his most extensive opportunity to make an impression. But he batted just .218/.271/.256 in 78 at bats, with only three doubles and 20 strikeouts.

The past two seasons, he's had a mere 20 at bats in a Royals uniform -- one of the biggest points of contention for those angry Foster's drinkers writing the rants -- but he's managed just three hits for a .150 average.

This spring, Huber was out of options, which meant the writing was on the wall. He needed to make the Royals' roster, or it was likely he'd be traded, and he did everything he could to try to make the team. Despite limited playing time, and playing him only in left field, Huber was impressive. He batted .346/.400/.615 in 26 at bats, with six runs scored, five doubles, a triple, and seven runs batted in.

He had finally caught the attention of a team in Major League Baseball, it just happened to be one other than the Kansas City Royals, and he was traded to the Padres for the aforementioned PTBNL.

It's understandable that people are upset with Kansas City for holding up Huber's career. The Royals spent the past few years playing Emil Brown, and giving Huber scant opportunity to make an impression. But I think the Royals' front office looked at Huber's Minor League numbers, versus the numbers he accumulated in his MLB at bats, and just determined that he didn't fit into their future.

It didn't help matters that Huber's defense in left field this spring was butcher-esque -- is that a word? -- perhaps even worse than Emil Brown's horrendous defense, if that's possible. Chalk that up to tough Arizona skies, and windy weather conditions during Spring Training. But I've noticed that the Padres' website has him listed as a first baseman again, which is where he should have been with the Royals if not for the likes of Ryan Shealy, Ross Gload, Billy Butler, and even Mark Teahen standing in his way at that position.

In the end, it just seems like Huber's three-plus years as a member of the Royals organization were wasted, which is where most of the anger stems from. But I trust Dayton Moore, his staff, the scouts, and all the other baseball people around him to make the right decision.

If Huber winds up as one of the top first basemen (or outfielders) in the National League someday, so be it. Dayton Moore isn't going to get every move right over his career. As someone astutely pointed out on a message board tonight, the best GMs are going to make mistakes, but they're going to make far more great decisions, and that's what I fully expect Moore to do.

For now, I think I'll just tip back a Foster's (actually, a Sierra Mist Free), do an "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" cheer in honor of the newest member of the San Diego Padres, and enjoy the fact that the Royals are continuing to move in the right direction, even without Justin Huber.

Justin Huber Photo Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Introducing, Trey's Triggermen

Most of you would have a hard time believing this, but your's truly is about to embark on my very first season -- yes, I said first -- of fantasy baseball. There. I said it, and it feels good. I admitted the fact that I am a complete fantasy baseball virgin. Not even an almost, as in, "I started to play a season, but withdrew before the season ended." No, this is my first-ever foray as a baseball GM.

I'm going to be taking part in a Yahoo! Sports league called Reversible Nines, with 19 other die-hard Kansas City Royals fanatics like myself. My team? Trey's Triggermen, of course, named after the Royals' fearless new manager, Trey Hillman. My team came into being last Thursday night, in a draft that I was so psyched and ready for. I was incredibly anxious to take part in the draft, and to be able to select my players, round-by-round, and put together an unbelievable lineup. My team would be unstoppable.

Then, Java ruined my night.

About 45 minutes before the draft, I started trying to click on the draft application button in order to open the window that would allow me to make my selections, and watch as all the other managers made theirs. I clicked. Nothing appeared but a window with the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball '08 banner, and a few question marks. Click again. Nothing.

So I ran a test to see if my computer needed updated software in order to have the draft application work. The test said I needed the most recent Java Plug-In, and directed me to the Java website. Once there, however, it ran a test to see if I had the correct version, and informed me that I was all set. Great!

So I restarted my computer, and went back to the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball site. I tried again. It failed again. Same blank window. Same message telling me that I need the latest Java Plug-In. Ugh!

I deduced that it must be something with my Firewall and security software, so I temporarily shut off the firewall. Still nothing. This was really starting to irk me. And it's about 10 minutes until the draft is slated to start. The pressure was mounting by the second, and I was stressed out and ready to hurl something at my computer screen.

I shot off a couple frantic messages to Antonio, the league's commissioner, but he really couldn't be expected to help me 10 minutes before the draft, with all the other things he had going on that night. I can't blame him. It was my fault for not having checked out the Yahoo! draft site well before the night of the event.

The only thing that made me feel even remotely comfortable was that I had taken the time to pre-rank my player list, using ESPN.com's fantasy expert recommendations. But I had only done a little over 200 players, and this is a 20-team league with 25-man rosters, meaning the draft would involve 500 players. So, after those initial 200 players were exhausted, who knows what I'd end up with.

To his credit, Antonio updated me through the first few rounds to let me know who I was getting with my selections, but I was just so angry at this snafu, and the fact that I wasn't clever enough to figure it out and join the rest of my new league online for my first-ever fantasy baseball draft.

Well, I bet you're wondering, how did Trey's Triggermen fare? All in all, not too bad for having been on autodraft all night long. I had the second pick, and it was a snake format, so I'd have to wait for it to go all the way down to the 20th pick, and then all the way back to me. But that meant that, every other round, I'd get two picks within four spots of each other. Here is the initial draft for the 2008 Triggermen:

Round 1: (2nd Pick) Hanley Ramirez (FLA), SS; Round 2: (39) C.C. Sabathia (CLE), SP; Round 3: (42) Aramis Ramirez (CHC), 3B; Round 4: (79) Aaron Harang (CIN), SP; Round 5: (82) John Smoltz (ATL), SP; Round 6: (119) Fausto Carmona (CLE), SP; Round 7: (122) Adrian Beltre (SEA), 3B; Round 8: (159) Ryan Garko (CLE), 1B; Round 9: (162) Ian Snell (PIT), SP; Round 10: (199) Jeff Kent (LAD), 2B; Round 11: (202) Zack Greinke (KC), SP, RP; Round 12: (239) Michael Bourn (HOU), CF; Round 13: (242) Ramon Hernandez (BAL), C; Round 14: (279) Greg Maddux (SD), SP; Round 15: (282) Joey Votto (CIN), 1B, OF; Round 16: (319) Moises Alou (NYM), OF; Round 17: (322) Jon Rauch (WAS), RP; Round 18: (359) Juan Cruz (ARI), RP; Round 19: (362) Edinson Volquez (CIN), SP; Round 20: (399) Ryan Doumit (PIT), C, OF; Round 21: (402) Jacque Jones (DET), CF; Round 22: (439) Philip Humber (MIN), P; Round 23: (442) Juan Lara (CLE), RP; Round 24: (479) Brandon Backe (HOU), SP; and Round 25: (482) Marlon Byrd (TEX), CF

I've already made some changes to my roster, which was top-heavy with pitchers. Three players -- Humber, Lara, and Byrd -- are no longer members of the Triggermen, while Carlos Gomez, Marco Scutaro, and Cla Meredith have been added.

I'm also in the process of adding Skip Schumaker, even though he's a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, and that goes against every fundamental bone in my body. However, I was desperate for a corner outfielder with a bit of power, and it came down to Schumaker or Carlos Quentin, and Schumaker's spring numbers -- 21 G, 24-for-64, .375/.412/.563, 15 R, 10 RBI, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, and three stolen bases -- made the decision easy. I'm also working like crazy to swing a trade or two.

I want to be the Dayton Moore of Reversible Nines, scouring the waiver wires and free agent market for undervalued or unnoticed talent that can be a surprise help to my lineup. Scutaro is likely going to have to start the year for me at second base, since Jeff Kent has a bad hamstring that has kept him from playing at all this spring. But Scutaro was a great choice, because he'll start the season in the Blue Jays' starting lineup after Scott Rolen broke his finger.

Yes, this is my first venture into the world of fantasy baseball, but I plan to learn the intricacies of the game quickly, and try to beat other team's managers to the punch. The fact that I'm coming off my first fantasy football championship (in my third year in my league) gives me hope, and confidence. But, just like I'll do with the 2008 Royals, I think I'll try to keep my confidence in check for awhile and see how the start of the season goes.

But come 2010, in my third year in the league (at least, I hope so), I'll be expecting a championship, baby! As long as Java doesn't mess with my draft again.

Check Out Sam Mellinger's Blog

Life can get crazy sometimes. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I do want to apologize for the way this site has been neglected recently. I'm a stay-at-home dad, it was my son's fourth birthday early this month, and my wife is in California for work as I write this, so blogging has unfortunately fallen by the wayside for a bit.

But I promise that, once the season gets started, I'll try to get back into a routine where something new is posted much more frequently. I don't know if I can promise every day, with summer vacations and weekend trips to the lake cabin, but I'll do my best to update this site on a regular basis. I appreciate having readers who regularly return to see what I've written. Thank you.

Today, I figured I needed to log on and write something to generate more views for my friend -- I think I can call him that -- Kansas City Star sportswriter Sam Mellinger, and his blog, Ball Star. In the next three days, Ball Star is going to be featuring a Roundtable series, with Royals-related questions answered by yours truly, as well as five other Kansas City Royals bloggers.

The others are: Craig Brown of Royals Authority, Will McDonald of Royals Review, Dave Sanford of Royals Corner, Anthony Tao of In Dayton We Trust, and Lee Warren of Royal Reflections.

I think it will be an interesting look at the perceptions of various Royals bloggers, with some interesting questions and scenarios being addressed, as well as our spot-on predictions for the 2008 Royals.

Sam Mellinger has been doing a great job with Ball Star, and I check it out daily to get some funny insights into happenings during Spring Training in Surprise, and for the types of stories and interviews you might not see in the newspaper itself. He's had some great interviews with some big names in the blogosphere (Link 1 / Link 2), has traveled to Florida and told us how he thinks that state sucks (I think he was kidding), and he posts daily links to other interesting things taking place in the game we all love -- baseball.

Check out the Roundtable, and leave some comments to let Sam know you appreciate the Star's efforts to give us more than just the typical game recaps and notes. Ball Star, it's worth a look if you haven't found your way there yet.

Shealy and Teahen Displaying Power

Sorry for the lengthy delay since my last post, but it has nothing to do with the rumor that Undying Royalty has lost its loyalty. Yes, an embarrassing 13-1 loss to the Cubs on national TV was ugly, but it's just a Spring Training game, and the Royals' record on March 30 will be 0-0.

Without a doubt, though, one of the best things happening in Surprise, Ariz., this spring is the play of first baseman Ryan Shealy, who hit his third home run in today's 15-6 win against the Giants, and left fielder Mark Teahen, who clubbed his second round-tripper.

Shealy has played in just six games this spring, due to the fact that he was battling the flu bug for at least a week. But he went 1-for-3 in the win against the Giants to raise his average to .286 (4-for-14) with the three homers and five runs batted in.

Teahen, who hit a team-leading 18 home runs in 2006 before dropping to seven last year, also went 1-for-3 against San Francisco, and is batting .269 (7-for-26) with six runs scored and nine runs batted in.

The Royals were last in the American League with 102 home runs in 2007, so the hope is that both Shealy and Teahen can return to their 2006 form. It's still early in Spring Training, but signs are encouraging that they could add some extra punch back to the Royals' lineup.

Grudzielanek Keys Middle Infield for KC

This is the fourth installment of a position-by-position look at the 2008 Kansas City Royals. Previous stories: C, 3B, SS

Mark Grudzielanek is set to play in his first spring game of 2008 during Friday's Cactus League contest against the Colorado Rockies, but no, the veteran second baseman hasn't been injured. Rather, first-year manager Trey Hillman has taken a new approach with Grudzielanek and fellow veteran Jose Guillen, allowing them the freedom to set their own timetable for when they're ready to play.

Hillman's decision pleases Grudzielanek, who earned a Gold Glove for his stellar defensive play in 2006, but was hampered by two knee operations in 2007. He has made comments this spring that hint at the fact that he was pushed to play too soon in the spring under former manager Buddy Bell.

"I love it. I'm glad we're on the same page," he said, in a story written by the Kansas City's Star's Bob Dutton. "We talked, and came up with a plan to make sure I get myself right and feel strong."

Even with the knee surgeries last year, Grudzielanek still managed to bat .302/.346/.426 with 137 hits, 70 runs scored, 32 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 51 runs batted in, and a 100 OPS+. Despite those numbers, and his solid defense, he still seems to draw criticism from many fans, who feel the Royals would be better off with someone other than the 37-year old Grudzielanek.

To give you an idea of the kind of player Grudzielanek has been over the course of his career, here is a comparison of two second basemen's career totals, also when they were 37-years old:

Player A was batting .257/.293/.389 with 1847 hits in 2107 games, 858 runs scored, 371 doubles, 56 triples, 156 home runs, 829 runs batted in, and an 86 OPS+ in 16 seasons.

Player B was batting .281/.335/.358 with 1949 hits in 1769 games, 913 runs scored, 278 doubles, 47 triples, 54 home runs, 550 runs batted in, and a 95 OPS+ in 14 seasons.

So, who are those players? Well, Player A has his number retired and proudly displayed on the base of the Kauffman Stadium scoreboard -- yes, it's Royals Hall of Famer Frank White. Player B is former Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox, and A's second baseman Steve Sax.

Did I fool you by making you think one of those players was Grudz? Well, here are the numbers for the yet-to-be-mentioned Player C -- Mark Grudzielanek. For those critics out there, Grudzielanek has batted .289/.331/.395 with 1911 hits in 1686 games, 900 runs scored, 367 doubles, 36 triples, 87 home runs, 605 runs batted in, and a 90 OPS+ in 13 seasons.

**By the way, Ryan Shealy just hit a game-winning home run against the Diamondbacks as I'm sitting here writing this, and so I couldn't resist joining the new trend, and adding my first-ever Pozterisk.

It's obvious that Grudzielanek is nearing the end of an outstanding career, but it's also still quite obvious that he's a very dependable defensive second baseman, who puts up solid offensive numbers. In my opinion, he should remain the Royals' starter at second base until an injury once again prevents him from playing, he's traded, or his contract expires.

This season, though, Grudzielanek will be challenged by Alberto Callaspo, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade for pitcher Billy Buckner during the offseason. Callaspo was Arizona's Minor League Player of the Year in 2006, and he comes to the Royals with an impressive baseball resume.

In six seasons, Callaspo hit .317/.370/.437 with 151 doubles and 353 RBI. What might be most impressive about Callaspo, though, is the fact that he's very disciplined at the plate, with just 141 strikeouts in 2897 plate appearances.

Callaspo is definitely considered the heir apparent to Grudzielanek at second base, but when that change takes place is still up in the air. Callaspo is batting .222/.222/.444 with a double and a home run in seven spring games so far this spring. But a season spent learning from a player like Grudzielanek certainly can't hurt his development.

Mark Grudzielanek Photo Credit: Ed Zurga/AP

Royals Looking to Run in 2008

In the past four seasons, Kansas City basestealers have been poor at their craft, ranking toward the bottom of the American League in stolen bases.

Last year, the Royals combined for 78 steals to tie with the Chicago White Sox for 10th in the A.L. Third baseman Alex Gordon was Kansas City's top threat to swipe a base, finishing his rookie season with 14 stolen bases in 18 attempts.

As a team, Kansas City's total last year was actually an increase over the previous three seasons. During 2006, the Royals tied for eighth in the A.L. with 65 stolen bases, while the 2005 Royals established a franchise-record low total of only 53, and they had 67 thefts during 2004. So it's been four years since Kansas City has reached triple-digits for stolen bases, something that has been accomplished 32 times in the organization's 39-year history.

First-year Royals manager Trey Hillman isn't going to stand for another meager season running the bases, and if Kansas City's first six Cactus League games are an indication, the Royals will be doing everything they can to become more aggressive on the basepaths once again.

Through those six games, the Royals have stolen 12 bases, with outfielder Joey Gathright leading the way with an MLB-best six steals in six attempts.

Gathright, long considered one of the game's fastest players, has struggled to steal bases at the Major League level. In four seasons with Tampa Bay (2004-06) and Kansas City (2006-present), Gathright has stolen 57 bases in 80 attempts, despite the fact that he was 196-for-256 in six Minor League seasons.

Gathright recently stated that he'd like to steal 30 bases for the Royals in 2008, a goal which seems very attainable if he can continue swiping bases like he has during Spring Training.

Kansas City hasn't had a legitimate threat on the basepaths since Carlos Beltran was traded during the 2004 season. Beltran had just 14 steals for the Royals that season, but he stole a team-leading 41 bases in 2003, when Kansas City finished 3rd in the A.L. with 120 steals.

In addition to Gathright and Gordon, left fielder Mark Teahen (13), infielder Esteban German (11), and center fielder David DeJesus (10) all reached double-digit steal totals in 2007. Teahen is considered one of the Royals' top baserunners, and has the potential to reach 20+ steals.

Due to the Royals' lack of power -- KC ranked last in the A.L. in home runs and slugging percentage in 2007 -- the team is going to have to figure out other ways to manufacture runs in 2008. Hillman would like to see his team be more aggressive running the bases, as well as more adept at advancing runners via sacrifice hits.

With Gathright, Gordon, and Teahen leading the way, an exciting Kansas City team might steal its way into the hearts of Royals fans in 2008.

Joey Gathright Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP