Winning Each Series is the Key

This might seem like one of those no-brainer statements that make you utter, "Well, duh" to yourself, but the focus of the Kansas City Royals heading into each series this season simply needs to be on winning that series.

The more times the Royals are able to take two-of-three, or three-of-four, the better. Obviously, winning at a .667 (or .750) clip will keep Kansas City at or near the top of the American League Central standings all season long.

By losing, 4-3, to the Minnesota Twins last night at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, though, they've made that a difficult task to accomplish in only their second series of the year. The Royals hope to get their foot out of the bucket today when right-hander Gil Meche takes the bump at 1:10 p.m.

Meche (0-0) pitched a decent game in Detroit during Monday's Opening Day. It certainly wasn't his "A" game, but it was good enough to give the Royals a chance to eventually rally against the Tigers and win the game, 5-4, on a bloop single to center by Tony Pena. Meche went six innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs, while striking out five and walking four.

The Twins counter with their newly-acquired ace, Livan Hernandez (1-0), who helped Minnesota post a 3-2 victory against the Angels on Opening Day at the Dome. It sure makes for a good pitching matchup, which unfortunately won't be on TV (at least not in the Twin Cities). So I talked my wife into letting me head out to the game today, and I'll be there tomorrow, as well.

I'm hoping Meche and the Royals can put themselves back in position to win this series with a strong outing today, and I'm also hoping to see a few lineup changes. Catcher Miguel Olivo is back from his four-game suspension to start the season, and will make his first appearance in a Royals uniform this afternoon. I'd also like to see Alberto Callaspo get an opportunity to play shortstop, as Pena has struggled out the gates to an .067/.067/.067 line.

We'll see what happens, but today's game is crucial. To be 4-1 after today would seem so much better than to fall back to 3-2. After beginning the year with such promise by sweeping Detroit, it would be a real disappointment to lose this series against the Twins.

Let's go, Royals!

Bannister Baffles Tigers, KC Improves to 2-0

If Wednesday's game against Detroit was a test for Brian Bannister, he wrecked the bell curve for the rest of the class.

Bannister (1-0) passed his first test of the season by completely mastering the Tigers' powerful lineup to help the Kansas City Royals improve to 2-0 on the young season with a 4-0 shutout victory at Comerica Park. The second-year right-hander pitched seven innings, yielding just two singles to Edgar Renteria, while striking out four and walking none.

Kansas City also was struggling offensively against Tigers' starter Kenny Rogers, but a series of doubles by Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Guillen, and Billy Butler plated two runs in the sixth to stake the Royals to a 2-0 lead. Butler's double would have been a home run in most ballparks, as he drove the ball more than 410 feet to center field.

In the eighth, the Royals stretched the lead to 4-0. Joey Gathright led off the inning by doubling down the left field line, followed by a walk issued to Grudzielanek. Gathright then scored on an infield single by Butler, and Grudzielanek scampered home to score on an RBI single to center by Mark Teahen.

Gathright and Butler each went 2-for-4 with a double, with Butler driving in a pair of runs, and Grudzielanek scoring twice for the Royals, who are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2003.

Leo Nunez took over for Bannister and surrendered a one-out walk, before getting out of the frame by getting Ivan Rodriguez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

Joakim Soria struck out the side in the ninth to close out the victory for KC, which will attempt to sweep Detroit on Thursday when right-hander Zack Greinke makes his first start of the season by facing Tigers' righty Jeremy Bonderman. First pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. Central.

Brian Bannister Photo Credit: Tony Dejak/AP

And That, Folks, is Why You Play the Game

I don't have a clue what the Las Vegas odds were that Kansas City would go into a sold-out Comerica Park on Opening Day, and pull out a victory when facing Tigers' ace Justin Verlander and a lineup stacked with talent top to bottom, but I'm sure they were long odds.

Nevertheless, the feisty Royals cost quite a few gamblers some money on Monday after they fought their way back from a 3-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win in 11 innings against Detroit in Trey Hillman's Major League Baseball managerial debut.

With two outs in the top of the 11th, Tony Pena blooped a single into shallow center field, which scored catcher John Buck with the winning run. It was Pena's lone hit in five at bats, and helped to make up for his three strikeouts at the plate.

The Royals were held in check through five innings by Verlander, who struck out six and allowed just four hits. But in the sixth inning, Royals third baseman Alex Gordon crushed a one-out offering from Verlander for a 394-foot two-run blast to cut the lead to 3-2. One inning later, Kansas City scored twice again to knock Verlander out of the game and take a 4-3 lead.

The Tigers' Carlos Guillen tied the game by hammering a solo home run to right field off of Brett Tomko in the bottom of the eighth. But right-hander Leo Nunez (1-0) looked very impressive by working two hitless innings and fanning three to earn the victory. It was the Royals' second-straight Opening Day win after topping Boston 7-1 last year.

Joakim Soria allowed a leadoff double in the bottom of the 11th, and had to work around a runner on third base with one out. But he got a huge strikeout of Edgar Renteria, and then was helped by some great glovework by Gordon on Placido Polanco's hard-hit grounder to third to earn his first save.

I like the Royals' fighting spirit, which is something the Detroit announcers kept bringing up. This team showed no signs of surrendering, which would have been easy to do against one of the top teams in baseball and being down 3-0.

But that, folks, is why you play the game, and the Royals are off to a good start to their 2008 season. Many bettors, however, aren't feeling so giddy about this Royals' win.

Note: Craig Brown of Royals Authority does such a great job with his coverage of Kansas City baseball, and if you haven't seen it yet, he took the time to compile the results of feedback to several questions about the 2008 season, which was provided by fans and bloggers alike, including yours truly. To check out his post, entitled Your Shot Has Been Called, click here. Thanks for the work, Craig.

Tony Pena Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

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

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.

Hochevar Impresses in 6-1 Loss to Rangers

Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in the Cactus League opener for both teams wasn't exactly the kind of result most Royals fans were hoping for. In fact, Kansas City's offense looked an awful lot like last year's version -- little punch, and a lack of runs, which included stranding guys in scoring position.

But it might be exactly what Trey Hillman needed to help get across his message that the Royals need to work diligently on fundamentals in order to manufacture runs. And, before people start complaining about this or that, let's remind ourselves that this was the first game of Spring Training, for crying out loud. These games truly mean nothing, so here is a look at some of the bright spots.

Without a doubt, the most positive thing to come out of this game was the sparkling performance of right-handed pitcher Luke Hochevar. The top overall pick in the 2006 draft, Hochevar is coming off a 2007 season in which his Minor League numbers weren't overly impressive. He was a combined 4-9 with a 4.86 ERA for Wichita and Omaha last year, but those results might be skewed because of the fact that he was working on strengthening his weaknesses.

Hochevar enters this spring with an outside chance at earning a spot in Kansas City's rotation, but is probably more likely to start the year as a starting pitcher in Omaha. He's also been talked about, though, as a possibility in the Royals' bullpen, where he could be eased into a rotation slot -- sort of like Kansas City did with Zack Greinke last year.

Against the Rangers, the 6-foot-5, 24-year old former University of Tennessee standout threw two perfect innings, facing six batters and not allowing a ball out of the infield, yielding four ground balls, one line-drive, and a pop-up.

It's far too early to be raving about anything, especially after the first Cactus League game of the year, but Royals fans have been hoping that Hochevar will start to display some of the dominance that led him to be drafted not once, but twice, by the Dodgers. He turned down both chances to sign with Los Angeles, before the Royals took him with their first selection in 2006.

Offensively, six Kansas City players had one hit apiece, including a promising ground-rule double for left fielder Justin Huber, and an RBI single for shortstop Tony Pena. Third baseman Alex Gordon and first baseman Billy Butler also collected singles.

Butler, who's attempting to earn the starting first base job, played flawless defense before being replaced in the lineup. Ryan Shealy, Butler's primary competition at first base, was 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.

So, it's one game down, and way too many to go. But seeing Hochevar throw the way he did makes this loss almost feel like a win.

Are Royals on Verge of Next Winning Era?

Today, I was looking back at past Royals seasons on Baseball Reference -- an incredible site for any stat-heads out there like myself. So, I was doing some research about the point where Kansas City's success of the 1970s and 1980s began, and I found my eyes drawn to a pair of seasons -- 1974 and 1975.

Now, this is not to say that I think the Royals' good fortune between 1975 and 1985 was definitively kick-started in 1974. I'm sure there will be someone who takes the time to write me to point out that it all actually began in 1973, or 1972, with the acquisition of such-and-such a player. That's not my point. What's interesting, though, is that Kansas City's losing season in 1974 seems to have some similarities to last year's losing campaign.

In 1974, the Royals had, by all accounts, a disappointing year. The team went 8-11 in April, before heating up over the next several months to the point it was 10 games over .500 on August 25. But then Kansas City took a nosedive in the standings by losing 27 of its final 36 games to finish in fifth place in the American League Western Division at 77-85.

Last year's team also got off to a slow start, and stood at 19-35 at the end of May. But the Royals responded by going a combined 41-39 in June, July, and August to improve to 60-74 heading into the final month of the season. However, just like in 1974, the team struggled mightily in September by going 9-19 to end the year in fifth place in the A.L. Central at 69-93.

Offensively, believe it or not, the 2007 Royals had better numbers in many statistical categories than their 1974 counterparts. Here is a comparison of some key team stats (1974's total vs. 2007's total): at bats (5,582 vs. 5,534), runs scored (667 vs. 706), hits (1,448 vs. 1,447), batting average (.259 vs. .261), doubles (232 vs. 300), triples (42 vs. 46), home runs (89 vs. 102), and runs batted in (623 vs. 660). Strikingly similar numbers, wouldn't you agree?

The key differences were that the 1974 team struck out 301 fewer times, while drawing 122 more walks, and stealing almost twice as many bases (146 to 78).

And then there was the pitching, where the 1974 staff of Steve Busby (22-14, 3.39), Paul Splittorff (13-19, 4.10), Al Fitzmorris (13-6, 2.79), Bruce Dal Canton (8-10, 3.13), and Nelson Briles (5-7, 4.02) was much deeper than the 2007 staff. Beyond Gil Meche (9-13, 3.67) and Brian Bannister (12-9, 3.87), last year's starting pitching was a crazy mix of washed up veterans and unproven youngsters -- that is, until Zack Greinke rejoined the rotation late in the year.

Of course, today's game is much different than it was in 1974, but stay with me here. The 1975 season, in which the Royals rebounded to go 91-71 and finish second in the A.L. West, was the start of an incredible 11-year stretch where Kansas City was a combined 179 games above .500 in regular season play. And I think the 2008 Royals could be on the brink of making a similar leap back to playing winning baseball.

With a young and talented team, whose average age was about 28 years old -- just like the 2008 Royals -- Kansas City made a drastic turnaround in 1975 under the guidance of new manager Whitey Herzog, who took over for Jack McKeon after a 50-46 start. Herzog led the Royals to a 41-26 record to reach that final mark of 91-71.

So, the $64,000 question is, can new manager Trey Hillman also guide the 2008 Royals to a winning record, and begin another successful chapter in Kansas City's baseball history?

Here's a look at the Royals' 1975 Opening Day starting lineup versus the Royals' projected 2008 starting lineup* (with the players' previous year stats in parenthesis):

1. Freddie Patek, SS, 30 years old/entering 8th MLB season
(.225/.324/.298, 72 R, 121 H, 18 2B/6 3B/3 HR, 38 RBI, 33-48 SB, 77 BB, 69 SO, 77 OPS+)
1. David DeJesus, CF, 28 years old/entering 5th MLB season
(.260/.351/.372, 101 R, 157 H, 29 2B, 9 3B, 7 HR, 58 RBI, 10-14 SB, 64 BB, 83 SO, 89 OPS+)

2. Amos Otis, CF, 27 years old/entering 7th MLB season
(.284/.348/.438, 87 R, 157 H, 31 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 73 RBI, 18-23 SB, 58 BB, 67 SO, 121 OPS+)
2. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B, 37 years old/entering 14th MLB season
(.302/.346/.426, 70 R, 137 H, 32 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 1-3 SB, 23 BB, 60 SO, 100 OPS+)

3. John Mayberry, 1B, 26 years old/entering 6th MLB season
(.234/.358/.424, 63 R, 100 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 22 HR, 69 RBI, 4-6 SB, 77 BB, 72 SO, 120 OPS+)
3. Mark Teahen, LF, 26 years old/entering 4th MLB season
(.285/.353/.410, 78 R, 155 H, 31 2B, 8 3B, 7 HR, 60 RBI, 13-18 SB, 55 BB, 127 SO, 98 OPS+)

4. Hal McRae, LF, 29 years old/entering 6th MLB season
(.310/.375/.475, 71 R, 167 H, 36 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 88 RBI, 11-19 SB, 54 BB, 68 SO, 139 OPS+)
4. Jose Guillen, RF, 31 years old/entering 12th MLB season
(.290/.353/.460, 84 R, 172 H, 28 2B, 2 3B, 23 HR, 99 RBI, 5-6 SB, 41 BB, 118 SO, 116 OPS+)

5. Harmon Killebrew, DH, 38 years old/entering 21st and final MLB season
(.222/.312/.360, 28 R, 74 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 13 HR, 54 RBI, 0-0 SB, 45 BB, 61 SO, 90 OPS+)
5. Alex Gordon, 3B, 24 years old/entering 2nd MLB season
(.247/.314/.411, 60 R, 134 H, 36 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 14-18 SB, 41 BB, 137 SO, 87 OPS+)

6. George Brett, 3B, 21 years old/entering 2nd MLB season
(.282/.313/.363, 49 R, 129 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 47 RBI, 8-13 SB, 21 BB, 38 SO, 91 OPS+)
6. Billy Butler, 1B or DH, 21 years old/entering 2nd MLB season
(.292/.347/.447, 38 R, 96 H, 23 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 52 RBI, 0-0 SB, 27 BB, 55 SO, 105 OPS+)

7. Vada Pinson, RF, 36 years old/entering 18th and final MLB season
(.276/.312/.374, 46 R, 112 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 21-26 SB, 21 BB, 45 SO, 93 OPS+)
7. Ryan Shealy, DH or 1B, 28 years old/entering 3rd MLB season
(.267/.332/.402, 53 R, 105 H, 21 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 62 RBI, 0-1 SB, 35 BB, 109 SO, 88 OPS+) **

8. Cookie Rojas, 2B, 36 years old/entering 14th MLB season
(.271/.309/.339, 52 R, 147 H, 17 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 60 RBI, 8-12 SB, 30 BB, 43 SO, 83 OPS+)
8. John Buck, C, 27 years old/entering 5th MLB season
(.222/.308/.429, 41 R, 77 H, 18 2B, 0 3B, 18 HR, 48 RBI, 0-1 SB, 36 BB, 92 SO, 90 OPS+)

9. Fran Healy, C, 28 years old/entering 5th MLB season
(.252/.343/.375, 59 R, 112 H, 24 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 53 RBI, 16-24 SB, 62 BB, 73 SO, 103 OPS+)
9. Tony Pena, SS, 27 years old/entering 2nd MLB season
(.267/.284/.356, 58 R, 136 H, 25 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 47 RBI, 5-11 SB, 10 BB, 78 SO, 66 OPS+)

SP: Steve Busby, RHP, 25 years old/entering 3rd MLB season
(22-14/3.39/198 SO, 38 GS, 20 CG, 3 SHO, 292.3 IP, 284 H, 118 R, 110 ER, 92 BB, 112 ERA+)
SP: Gil Meche, RHP, 29 years old/entering 8th MLB season
(9-13/3.67/156 SO, 34 GS, 1 CG, 0 SHO, 216.0 IP, 218 H, 98 R, 88 ER, 62 BB, 128 ERA+)
*2008 projected lineup does not factor Jose Guillen's pending 15-day suspension
**Ryan Shealy's 2007 numbers are projections for a 120-game season

Granted, it's very difficult to compare and contrast two teams that are more than 30 years apart. But looking at the lineups for both teams, and factoring in the energetic and motivational managing style of Hillman, it's easy to wonder whether Kansas City is about to put an end to the frustration and turmoil that has surrounded the organization for the past decade-plus.

It could turn out that 2008 is actually this era's 1974. But it never hurts to dream, and anything is possible.

Gordon Looks for Big Year at Hot Corner

This is the second installment of a position-by-position look at the 2008 Kansas City Royals.

If there is a player who seems to be virtually unchallenged at his position heading into the 2008 season, it's second-year third baseman Alex Gordon. Sure, there are other players on the Royals' roster who are pretty much assured, barring injury, to be the starter on Opening Day. But Gordon will certainly be a fixture at the hot corner for Kansas City this season.

In his rookie campaign, Gordon was often used as a first baseman. Those days seem to be over, as the Royals have a plethora of candidates for playing time at first base. I'm guessing that new manager Trey Hillman's intent will be to allow Gordon to settle into regular duty at third base in order to create a better comfort level for the 24-year old.

Translation: No more Buddy Bell experiments with Alex Gordon.

The hope is that Gordon can get off to a better start than he did as a rookie, when he batted .173/.285/.281 through June 6. Gordon has the mental maturity to be able to withstand the everyday pressures associated with being one of the Royals' brightest stars, but it was tested in his initial campaign wearing the Blue.

The proverbial light illuminated for Gordon on June 7, when he broke out by going 4-for-4 in a loss at Cleveland. He proceeded to bat .327/.383/.500 in June to kick start a second half that raised his final numbers to .247/.314/.411. He led the team with 36 doubles, 14 stolen bases, and 55 extra-base hits, while ranking second with 15 home runs and 60 runs batted in.

Behind Gordon on the depth chart are newly-acquired infielder Alberto Callaspo, who came over in a trade with Arizona in exchange for pitcher Billy Buckner, and veteran utility man Esteban German.
Callaspo is a 24-year old switch-hitter, who was named the Diamondbacks' 2006 Minor League Player of the Year. He's projected by most to be Mark Grudzielanek's eventual replacement at second base, but is versatile enough to play several positions. His numbers at the MLB level with Arizona didn't meet expectations, but in six Minor League seasons, he batted an impressive .317/.370/.437.

The 30-year old German's numbers dropped significantly in 2007, as some felt he was exposed too often in a career-high 348 at bats. German batted .264/.351/.376 last year, following a very solid 2006 campaign in which he went .326/.422/.459 in 279 at bats. He did manage to finish fourth on the team with six triples and 11 stolen bases -- impressive feats considering his lack of playing time.

But there is no question that third base is Alex Gordon's for the taking in 2008. It's as big a no-brainer as you can have, and if he continues to make strides offensively and increase his power numbers, his name will be etched in that spot on Royals' lineup cards for years to come.

Adjusting to Life's Curveballs

Sometimes, life throws you a curveball when you're not really expecting it.

My son, Eric, is closing in on his fourth birthday. He's a wonderful boy, a parent's dream, full of energy and very mischievous, but well-behaved, sleeps like a rock for about 12 hours a night -- and has since he was a couple months old. He can say his alphabet and count to 250 or beyond, loves to watch The Little Einsteins on Playhouse Disney, adores both sets of grandparents and his cousins, too, and is cute as can be.

I've always dreamed of having a son who I can teach the game of baseball to. I've envisioned afternoons of playing catch in the backyard or going to the batting cages, just the two of us, or maybe playing whiffleball like I did as a kid, and pretending that the roof of the neighbor's house is the "upper deck seats."

My dad coached college football for 26 years, and is Director of Athletics at a nearby college, so of course, sports have always been an integral part of the fabric of my life. I spent more than 10 years as Director of Sports Information at several colleges, and even served as the official statistician at the NCAA College World Series in Omaha for a couple summers.

Baseball has always been important to me. I love the sport, played Little League, Babe Ruth, and high school baseball, have coached kids' teams, and have had a love affair with the Kansas City Royals since 1980. Even though I currently live in Minnesota, and have had to put up with my son occasionally wearing a Twins shirt that he's been given, I have secretly hoped that my love for the Royals will wear off on him, and I'll have another KC fan in the house to celebrate, or commiserate, with.

But that's where life's curveball comes into play. Within the past year, we've learned that Eric is Autistic.

Just like one of those slow-breaking Zack Greinke curveballs, I had seen this coming for quite some time, as I've had suspicions that autism might be a possibility for a year or two. I recognized signs in his behavior at a very early age -- staring at ceiling fans, slow development both physically and verbally, flapping his hands when he was excited -- but it still takes awhile to absorb the news that your suspicions were on the mark, and to think about what type of impact it might have on our lives.

Today was one of those days, as I was thinking about the start of Spring Training for the Royals in Surprise, AZ, and then realized that those days of playing catch with Eric might no longer be a possibility.

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe. (Source: Autism Speaks)

Many people's image of autism is of an individual like Raymond Babbitt, portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the 1988 movie Rain Man.

Fortunately, Eric seems to be on the mild end of the spectrum. He communicates very well, despite getting his pronouns confused, and is for the most part, a very normal child. We take him to private speech and occupational therapy sessions every week, and he attends a class four afternoons per week to work on various skill sets. Early intervention can have a very positive outcome on a child's long-term prognosis, so we do everything that we can to try to help him, as any parent should.

For Christmas this year, his grandma and grandpa gave him his first baseball glove. It really brought a smile to all of our faces, as we watched Eric try to figure out how to use it. We put it on his hand, and then laughed as he took the ball, put it in the glove, and tried to throw with the glove hand -- who knows, maybe he's a natural lefty. But I suppose that's common for any young kid who might get his first baseball glove at the age of three, and I love that he seems interested in sports, even if it's unlikely that he'll play them competitively at an advanced level.

But just like a hitter who has to adjust to a curveball or a changeup, I simply need to adjust to the pitch that life has thrown me, and to be content with whatever it is that makes Eric happy in life. Maybe that will be baseball, maybe it won't. Maybe his love of numbers will lead him to become a statistician, just like his dad. And, maybe, he'll choose to be a Twins fan, just like grandpa. Or maybe he'll find that he really enjoys things other than sports, and that's just fine.

Of course, that would be a hard curveball for me to take, but then again, you never know what life will throw your way. And, it could be worse -- he could end up being a Cardinals fan like his uncle Matt.

Prospect of Baseball Warms a Winter Day

Hello, and welcome to anyone who might happen upon this, my initial post of what I hope will be an ongoing blog for fans of the Kansas City Royals, or just baseball in general. I live in Minnesota, and today's weather is miserably cold. I think the forecasted high temperature for the Twin Cities was 8 degrees. I try to stay inside. It's depressing thinking about six more weeks of winter that was predicted by Punxsutawney Phil. If you're not skiing, or snowboarding, or ice fishing, days like this can put you in quite a sour mood.

But, even with the freezing weather outside, there's reason to be optimistic, as the start of the 2008 baseball season is a little more than a month away. Yesterday, pitchers and catchers had their first official workout -- even though new Royals manager Trey Hillman convinced his players to show up and start working more than a week ago. So, in a sense, spring abounds despite the fact that I've had to shovel my driveway a couple times this week.

Now, you might be thinking that optimism and Kansas City Royals baseball haven't exactly gone hand-in-hand in recent years. I really can't argue with that. Other than the Royals' 2003 season, when they challenged for the American League Central title before finishing third with a record of 83-79, fans of Kansas City's Major League Baseball franchise have had little to cheer about. After all, this is an organization that has failed to reach the playoffs since claiming the 1985 World Series crown.

But things are changing for the better, and true fans of the Royals can sense the stirrings of a franchise resurrection in the works. Following 12 years managing in the New York Yankees' farm system, and the past five years guiding Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters, Hillman is like a breath of fresh air for a franchise that's been trapped in a smoky bar for years. His enthusiasm is contagious. And he led the Fighters to back-to-back Japan Series -- winning the title in 2006 -- by proving his ability to adapt to the hand he was dealt. His 2007 team advanced to the finals despite having one of Japan's most anemic offenses.

In the front office, Dayton Moore continues to work his magic. Moore, named Senior Vice President and General Manager for Baseball Operations on May 30, 2006, is considered one of the brightest minds in professional baseball. In 2005, while working in the Atlanta Braves' front office, Moore was named by Baseball America as one of MLB's Top 10 Up-and-Coming Power Brokers, while the same publication regarded him as the top general manager candidate in a 2004 issue.

Since he began his duties with the Royals, Moore has focused on stockpiling the organization's farm system with talented young pitchers; has convinced Royals' ownership to add a seventh minor league affiliate -- the Burlington Royals -- joining the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets as one of just three franchises with seven teams in its farm system; and he's spearheaded an effort to rank among the "top quarter in baseball" when it comes to money spent in Latin America.

But the Royals aren't just making investments in order to have success three to five years down the road. Kansas City owner David Glass, often criticized for an unwillingness to spend money to retain or attract talented players, has allowed Moore the liberty to open the checkbook in order to attract proven free agents to the City of Fountains. Moore's signing ability has resulted in the addition of players such as pitchers Gil Meche and Jose Guillen, while being able to retain stars like 2006 Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. The Royals also made competitive offers for free agents Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, and Hiroki Kuroda during the offseason.

So, yes, there is reason for die-hard Royals fans like myself to be optimistic about the fortunes of the franchise. Moore, whose mentor in Atlanta was former Royals GM John Schuerholz, is working to restore the pride that once eminated from an organization that finished no lower than third in the seven-team* American League West every year between 1975 and 1989 (except the strike year of 1981, when they were fourth).

That renewed hope is enough to brighten an otherwise gloomy and very cold day here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

*The AL West had six teams in both 1975 and 1976.

(Blogger's Note: This is an edited version of a post I wrote previously on another blog, which I have since aborted.)