On To Detroit...!

After the Royals split the Series in Minnesota at one game a piece, due to a rain out, in a best of three game home stand for the Twins. Kansas City will ride into Detroit on a one game slide. With hopes for first place still at hands distance of a cookie Jar on the counter. 5 games out of contention with the first place Indians, who were in last place 2 weeks ago, and look to improve on the season.

Tonight the Royals will go up against Tigers left-hander Duane Below, who hasn't allowed a run over 12 innings this season, but he'll be taking on a whole new role Monday against the Royals. After he made his first five appearances out of the bullpen, Below will make his first start of the 2012 season -- and third of his career. He will be taking on Luke Hochevar, who is 2-1 on the season, with an ERA 4.98 and one no decision. I expect this game to be close and possibly physical, I say physical cause this is a rivalry and if anyone gets hit the benches may clear, so look forward to a good game tonight.


Tomorrow, May 1, 2012,will be the second game of the series. As Rick Porcello for  the Tigers, who is 1-2  with a 6.45 ERA on the season. Porcello has hit a rough patch in his last 2 starts as he has 13 earned runs on 17 hits in just 7 2/3 innings. He looks to take on Jonathan Sanchez, who is 1-1 on the season with a 6.75 ERA. Sanchez is having troubles of his own this season, Struggling with his command thus far into the season, especially in the loss on Tuesday at Cleveland, where he threw 56 of 115 pitches for strikes while walking seven and allowing 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings. look for another close game on Tuesday as each team looks to stay in contention in the division.


On Wednesday May 2, 2012, The Royals and the Tigers will wrap up the best of three series as Detroit`s Justin Verlander will host The Royals Luis Mendoza. Verlander is 2-1 on the season with a 2.41 ERA and is looking to stay undefeated against the Royals this season, on the other side of the mound, Mendoza is 1-2 and looking for that second win on the young season and possibly keep his momentum running as he notched his first victory last Thursday at Cleveland, dispite being pulled after 5 1/3 innings and allowing just 2 runs, Mendoza hasn't been terrible this season. He just lacks run support and gets fatigued early on in the game. so expect a decent game on Wednesday as well.


Overall I say the Royals go 2-1 in this series, as they play host to the Yankees at Kauffman this weekend in a best of 4 series. followed by a three game stint vs the Red Sox. Good luck boys. 

Royals Win Again!

Yes, Make that a two game winning streak and their first series win since the opening series against Los Angeles. Over the past two games, the Royals have out scored their opponents 12-4, while hitting 4 home runs and batting .300 overall. It was an exciting time for this young Royals team as they take over 4th in the AL Central and are now only 5 games out of first place. Crazy, I know, but It`s just a weird year in sports.

Now the Royals head off to Minnesota to take on the Twins in a best of 3 series. Tonight`s pitchers are Everett Teaford, for the Royals, and Carl Pavano for the Twins. Teaford with no wins and a 3.86 ERA, he is also replacing an Injured Danny Duffy, who is just taking Precaution and isn't seriously injured. As for Pavano, he is 1-2 and has an ERA of 4.73 so far this season.

As for Saturday you have Bruce Chen, who is 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA, looking to take on Jason Marquis, who is 1-0 with an ERA of 7.15. Look for Chen to get his first win here If, yes If He can get run support and Relief from the pen.

Then wrapping up the Series you have Jonathan Sanchez, with a 1-1 record and an ERA of 6.75, Taking on Nick Blackburn, who is 0-2 with an ERA of 7.53. Look for Sanchez to pick up his second win of the year If the Royals hot hitting form the Boys continues and Solid pitching form the Pen in the late innings.

I expect a great series and close games for the most part this weekend. It`s the last place Twins hosting the 4th place Royals in the Battle of the Bottom feeders.

Tribal Beat Down Part 2!

The Royals Finally pulled together last night against the Cleveland Indians, as they Dominated the Tribe 8-2. It was an all around Group effort as the royals had 36 at bats, 11 hits, and 4 went for homers. you got 2 home runs from Billy Butler, 1 from Eric Hosmer, and 1 from Alex Gordon. The Royals played some great ball last night, they looked like a team. Hoch pitched 6 and 1/3 innings only allowing 2 earned runs, the Relievers came in and did their jobs allowing no earned runs and striking out 4. They finally looked like they were having fun last night, as Coach Yost was quoted saying this, "I'm just glad we did it, "I didn't care how we did it. That's a big monkey to get off our backs, and now we can focus on our day to day. We don't have to worry about the streak anymore.

"It's over."

And right after Yost had stated that, Eric Hosmer said this,"This lineup is really starting to heat up, Guys are starting to hit well. ... This offense has been hitting, we just haven't gotten many balls falling our way."

All in all, it took a collective effort at the plate and a stellar pitching performance to break the hex. No matter the method employed to reverse the club's fortunes. 

Look for the Royals to start winning again, and possibly make a run back into 2nd place in the AL central, as they are just a 1/2 game behind minnesota for 4th place in the division. 

First Home Stand Sweep Ever?

Sadly the Royals have not won one home game this season, they have lost 10 of 10 at home and now their 11th in a row as the Blue Jays walk out of kauffman stadium with a 4 game sweep........ The Royals put up the Runs, but when the opposing teams would come back the Royals just lost all momentum. Its like no one even cared until last night when the team finally held their heads down to the ground. they looked like a bunch of, well, losers. No one was happy, including manager Ned host who said this,"It was a horrible homestand. We didn't win any games, but they played their tails off," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We didn't play well. I'm not going to cover up the fact that we didn't play well. But it's a group I believe in." Well duh Coach Yost, no doubt it was a horrible home stand, thats obvious, but sadly I still believe in this team too, I think this can jump start us, but if I am proven wrong again after this next week and pick up no wins. I`m done believing for the season. Yes, I am a dedicated Royals fan, there on Opening day, and the day after opening day, and the I was there Last friday for Buck night. 3 games and 3 losses, never happened to me before. If the pitching can't get comfortable, call up your farm team or make an attempt at Roy O to get your bullpen join, let him prove he's good and have trade offers for him. get a really good hitter or good almost ready to go young pitchers. good news for the Royals, in 1899 the Cleveland Spiders lost 24 in a row and went 20-134. they had lost 10 at home and never won for 2 more weeks, and finally pulled out a 3 game win streak sweeping the yankees. strangely the Royals play the yankees 9 days from today, hopefully winning some games before they return home. A lot is to be done, but they need to take it one game at a time. I keep getting the question, are you worried yet? I always say nope, but my answer will soon change if we don't get clicking. the Royals head off to cleveland looking for some revenge against the Indians tonight. This will be the start of a 9 game road trip for the Royals, who are 3-3 on the Road this season. Good luck to the boys in blue and just remember fans, we are only 3 games out of 4th place in our division.

Will The Royals Make A Cardinal Move?

Well, with two straight sweeps at home now, one form the Indians and one from the Tigers, The Royals look to finish up their home stand starting tomorrow vs Toronto. They will play a best of 3 series against the BlueJays As the Royals are currently on a 7 game slide and look to win their first game at home this weekend and possibly their second series of the season. Kyle Drabek comes into Kc @ 2-0 and has an ERA of 1.24, he will face Luke Hochevar who is 1-1 on the season and has an ERA of 7.24 and is also recovering from a hit to the Shin during last Fridays home opener vs Cleveland. On Saturday it will be Luis Mendoza, who is 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA, will be taking on a pitcher who is to be announced the day of the game for Toronto, and for the Final game of the home stand you have Pitcher Ricky Romero, who is 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA, taking on the Royals Danny Duffy, who is 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA. If I play my cards correctly I say the royals win out the series 2 games to 1. As I have Hochevar winning tomorrow as the young and hungry Royals hope to break the momentum of the Jay`s Pitching staff. then I have mendoza losing and then the Royals bouncing back on Sunday and Duffy Recording his 2nd win this season. that is my quick summary of the rest of the home stand. Now lets sit back relax and see what goes down. because If I remember correctly, last season the Cardinals had a pretty decent slump, and look what happened to them? Yeah, they won the world series. So Keep your hopes up Royals fans, its not over yet. and we still have Cain to return, Perez, and some possible pitching changes to happen. It`s Our Time!

Tribal Beat Down!

The Indians Came through Kansas City this weekend and Laid the smack down on the Royals. Sweeping the Royals right out of 3rd place in the AL Central. When I arrived at the K on opening day all hopes were high. Kc was at 3-3 and Cleveland was at 1-5. As the stadium was full and there was barely a place to stand. It was a breath taking site. As I watched the first go for a strike, the game would go down hill, as the Royals allowed 7 runs in the first and it never got better, they went on to lose 8-1, day two royals went down 5-0 early, but a couple brawls later, It got the young royals rallied up as they came back in the 9th to tie it up 9 all. then a Failed stolen base by Lorenzo Cain's replacement Jarrod Dyson, who didn't do to hot in the field but had a few good strides at the plate, the Royals just didn't seem to want to woo the crowd. Fans went insane as zoo as Choo got a 2 RBI double. As the wound up winning 11-9. Same story on sunday as the tribe Just dominated the plate again. The Royals had a super tough time at home, at some points they looked great, but again this is a young team wanting to impress the home crowd. Nerves, anxiety, and a few errors are expected. Also its just opening week, don't let it get to you yet. We still have a full season ahead, yes you want them to be good early, but its a lot of pressure on their shoulders. Look at the bright side, Cain will be back in 11 days, the Royals pen will have more determination now that they know they have the fan support, perez will be back after the break and their are some minor leaguers on the prospect list to come around. So sit back relax and Just watch the season unfold. Let the players get into a groove. I say if the Royals aren't clicking by next month, then we have some worrying to do.they take on Justin Verlander today, who is 0-1 with a 2.20 ERA and has 14 strike out thus far in the season. He goes up against Danny Duffy who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and has 8 strike outs him self. Verlander is 13-2 lifetime against the Royals and hasn't lost to them since 2009.

He is 8-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 12 games at Kauffman Stadium. Verlander hasn't lost back-to-back starts since April 11 and 16 of last year, and he hasn't had back-to-back outings without a quality start since June 22 and 27, 2010. 

Duffy, Verlander's mound opponent Monday, faced Detroit three times last season as a rookie and was 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA. Both losses were at Kauffman Stadium, on July 7 and Aug. 6. He looks to capitalize this season as they face them tonight at the K. The Rest of the Series you have Smyly vs Chen, and Scherzer vs undecided as of now. Again Lets see if the young Royals can do some damage early and take down the moral of the Tigers staff. Royals tigers tonight at 7:10 pm ct.

It`s Duffy Time!

Last night, against the A`s, Danny Duffy go his first start of the 2012 season and man did he look good. Duffy went 6 full innings recording 8 strikeouts, allowing 1 run and had no earned runs. Overall I was very surprised by his performance, but to be honest the Royals pitching is looking great so far. in fact this is the best pitching in Kc since 2003 when the bullpen went 83-79, and had an average ERA of 3.80. Right now Kc`s bullpen is ranked 10th in the Young season and none of the Starters have given up more than 2 runs. The only player in the Pen to give up more than 2 runs thus far was Greg Holland. Right now the Royals pen has gone 41 innings in 5 games, allowing 37 hits, 12 earned runs, and have 38 Strike outs. Not to bad at all, I mean their Combined ERA as of now 2.68. Yeah, better than 2003 and it shows. they are 3-2, 1 game above .500 and on the road. This is a team first since 2007 when they got off to a hot start and crashed 2 weeks later. Hopefully the team can stay healthy and produce late in the season which can keep them in contention for the AL wild card race. Maybe even 1st in the Central hoping to crash the tigers hot start. We are Currently in second place,Only a game and a half back at the moment. Look for a tight race after the All-Star break. It`s Our Time

Royal Rumble!

After a weekend series with the Angels, the Royals head to Oakland to take on the A`s today. This will be their last series on a quick road trip before they head home for their Opener this Friday. Today Royals Pitcher Luis Mendoza, who lead the league in wins and was 2nd in Earned runs with a 1.74 ERA, will take on Tom Milone and The A`s. Both teams will enter a 3 game series tonight at 9:05 ct. as the Royals are look to stay in contention with Detroit, who is 3-0 thus far into the season. The A`s are 1-2 on the young season, looking to upset the hot hitting Royals, who have put up 13 runs in the past two days. So if Mendoza gets the W tonight, the Royals could be in for a great season, not to mention it would be their best start since the 2003 season. Mendoza vs Milone tonight at 7:05pm pt or 9:05pm ct.

2nd is best!

Yes, your first week/weekend of baseball is in the Book folks. Your Royals are in second Place by one and a half games, and only one game out of first. So lets get to the facts. Game 1, Bruce Chen had a scoreless game going into the 7th inning and Yost yanked him out of the game giving Crow the opportunity to take control. Well he did striking out the side. 8th inning came along and Crow ran out of Juice. with bases loaded and 1 out Holland came in, then things got ugly and he allowed all 5 of the Angels Runs. Royals lose the opener, but the next day they bounced right back. Scoring 2 in the first they never looked back winning 6-3 Giving Hochevar win number 1 on the year. Finally to wrap up the series Sanchez got a win in his debut. he went 5 innings with 4 strike outs, and 2 earned runs on 4 hits. So overall it was a great weekend for the Royals as Hosmer has 2 homers in 3 games while Butler and Mouse got their firsts of the year. Then Hochevar and Sanchez both Recorded their first win, and Broxton nabbed his first save. Not to mention The machine, Albert Pujols, was held to no homers and 4 hits in 10 at bats. Pretty good indeed. If the Royals can hold up like this till the All-Star break, you could see some upsets happening toward the end of this season.

Good Friday...

Indeed It is good Friday today, and I couldn't be any happier that. My life was spared by Jesus over two-thousand years ago today, but today is also Opening day for the Kansas City Royals and The Los Angeles Angels. Yes, this is the Debute of Pujols in L.A. and the first Opening day start For Bruce Chen in his Career. First baseman Albert Pujols is Just 3-8, with two home runs and a double, against the veteran Kansas City left-hander Bruce Chen, not to mention the other Angels players who have fared well against the Lefty like Howie Kendrick who has gone 3-7, with two homers; then you have Bobby Abreu who is hitting .409 at the moment, he has gone 9 for 22 thus far in the spring; up next left fielder Vernon Wells who is 6-19, with three homers, and then Shortstop Erick Aybar who is 3 for 6


On The Angles side you have pitcher Jared Weaver, who will face the hot hitting Royals tonight Betancourt, Gordon, Butler, and Gets are the only royals on the current roster to have faced Weaver. They are all hitting above .200 against weaver and have combined for 84 plate appearances and connected on 22 of them. which leaves hope for Hosmer, Moustakas, Cain, and Bourgeois who have yet to hit against Weaver. Well Hosmer, Mous, and Cain will all get their shots at him for the first time today.


Starting Line Up`s for today are as follows.

Los Angeles,

1. Erick Aybar, SS
2. Howie Kendrick, 2B
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Torii Hunter, RF
5. Vernon Wells, LF  
6. Kendrys Morales, DH
7. Mark Trumbo, 3B
8. Hank Conger, C
 9. Peter Bourjos, CF

Kansas City,

1. Lorenzo Cain, CF
2. Alcides Escobar, SS
3. Eric Hosmer, 1B
4. Jeff Francoeur, RF
5. Mike Moustakas, 3B
6. Yuniesky Betancourt, 2B
7. Billy Butler, DH
8. Jason Bourgeois, LF
9.Humbero Quintero, C


Line Up`s may change come to game time, but as for now these are your current line up`s as of April 2nd.
Game time is at 9:05 P.M. central, and 7:05 P.M. west coast time. times may change due to weather.

Breaking News in Kc!

This just in from Joel Goldberg this morning, Players to watch out for this season are Jake Odorizzi, and Salvador Perez. Honestly, I`m not to stunned by this. Jake Odorizzi, who came to the Royals in the Greinke trade with the Brewers, is showing great potential in double A ball with the Naturals and will probably be with Triple A Omaha a month or 2 into the season. If he does well there, the Royals could be looking at a new starter by the All-Star break, Right now Odorizzi just came off a 10-7 record and an ERA of 3.75 in 147 innings pitched. Thats not bad at all. This youngster, at 21 years old, has Great control of the ball, and a very smooth pitching motion. If he stays consistent, you may see him in a Royals uniform sometime after the All-Star break.

Now to Perez. Yes, he is injured right now, but If you thing Yadi Molina is good? Psh, think again, Perez has A rocket arm wit great accuracy and not to mention his reaction time after catching the pitch is .8 seconds. Yes, after the pitch is in his glove, it only takes him .8 seconds to get up and be in throwing position. that is a great Acquisition for a catcher, which is why the Royals were very high on him. That and the fact he bats over .300. Then when he got injured, the catcher Position was in danger. they went out and got Quintero to complement Pena. So they royals are looking forward to having him back after the All-Star break as well. 

So when all is said and done, if the Royals can stay contenders with great offense and good fielding. they could possibly stay in contention for the Playoffs this season and they will be ready for the return of Perez. Opening day is tomorrow. I can't wait. Go Royals!

Around The League Opening Day!

I don't do this often, but since its Opening day/night, The Defending World Champion Cardinals are going to take on the New Look Florida Marlins in Florida tonight. As Kyle Lohse takes on Josh Johnson. First  pitch is set to be thrown at 6:05 central time. TMy prediction for tonights match up is Florida 4 St.Louis 3. Yes, I have the defending champs losing and the Marlins starting their season off 1-0. Lohse is a great pitcher don't get me wrong, but I think Reyes, Bonifacio, Ramirez, and a DETERMINED John Buck, will overcome the Cards. And again the Cards have Beltran, Holliday, Berkman, Molina, and Freese, but I call the shocker, and go against the Cards and go with the Underdogs. We shall see. So lets go ahead and look around the league at the rest of the Opening day match ups. 


Thursday April 5, 2012

Away	Home	Time (ET)	Away Probable	Home Probable	MLB.TV	Tickets
Red Sox	Tigers	1:05pm	Lester (0-0)	Verlander (0-0)		Buy
Braves	Mets	1:10pm	Hanson (0-0)	Santana (0-0)		Buy
Phillies	Pirates	1:35pm	Halladay (0-0)	Bedard (0-0)		Buy
Nationals	Cubs	2:20pm	Strasburg (0-0)	Dempster (0-0)		Buy
Blue Jays	Indians	3:05pm	Romero (0-0)	Masterson (0-0)		Buy
Marlins	Reds	4:05pm	Buehrle (0-0)	Cueto (0-0)		Buy
Dodgers	Padres	7:05pm	Kershaw (0-0)	Volquez (0-0)		Buy

Predictions,

I have the Tigers beating the Redsox, Mets over the Braves, Phillies ousting the Pirates, The Cubbies surprising the Nat`s, the Blue Jays tweeting past the tribe, Marlins floating by the Reds, and the Padres Dodging by L.A.

Friday April 6, 2012

Away	Home	Time (ET)	Away Probable	Home Probable	MLB.TV	Tickets
White Sox	Rangers	2:05pm	Danks (0-0)	Lewis (0-0)		Buy
Twins	Orioles	3:05pm	Pavano (0-0)	Arrieta (0-0)		Buy
Yankees	Rays	3:10pm	Sabathia (0-0)	Shields (0-0)		Buy
Cardinals	Brewers	4:10pm	Garcia (0-0)	Gallardo (0-0)		Buy
Rockies	Astros	7:05pm	Guthrie (0-0)	Rodriguez (0-0)		Buy
Giants	D-backs	7:10pm	Lincecum (0-0)	Kennedy (0-0)		Buy
Royals	Angels	10:05pm	Chen (0-0)	TBD		Buy
Dodgers	Padres	10:05pm	Billingsley (0-0)	Luebke (0-0)		Buy
Mariners	Athletics	10:05pm	Vargas (0-0)	McCarthy (0-0)		Buy

Predictions,

Rangers Pullin up the sox, Twins over the Orioles, Yankees stingin the Rays, Cards squeakin by the Brewers, The Rockies freezin out the Astros, Giants Steppin on the D-Backs, Royals squeezin through the Halo`s, dodgers over the Padres, and the A`s over the Mariners.

Those are my Predictions. Good luck to all and let the season begin.

Schedules provided from MLB.com