I didn't get a chance to catch the game on the MLB audio feed so this is a pre-stat 'in the dark' review.  The Rockies didn't break through till the 5th inning but that was with 2 homeruns off of Tankersley so it can be surmised that Wood was dominant again.  If this is the case then he has thrown 10-2/3 Innings and only allowed 1 run, 0 HR, with an impressive K:BB ratio.  Other than his velocity there has been one knock on Wood..ugh.. Mike is believed to be a strong pitcher two times through the order but scouts believe that he gets hit hard his third time through.  This isn't entirely uncommon for guys who rely on off-speed stuff and breaking balls as their primary arsenal.  If you believe the scouts, then Mike Wood should be a very effective long reliever.  I'd like to see Wood given a chance in the 5th starter spot in the rotation instead.

In addition to Denny Bautista's strikeout parade towards the rotation, Jimmy Gobble has been mentioned as in the running.  Why?  Gobble has pitched 6-2/3 IP this spring.. with 2 K's.  I think Gobble could be a very solid starter if he could just strike out 5.5 guys per 9 IP.  But if he doesn't do that then he better learn a knuckleball.

I already mentioned Dennis "NASA" Tankersley's attempts to put baseballs into space today.  His numbers and performance have been awful this spring and its safety to say that one of my sleepers for the season never got off the launching pad.

D.J. Carrasco was optioned to AAA yesterday.  I'm tempted to send Cerda along with him due to those BB rates but he continues to K hitters and post a low ERA.  Cerda may be one of those relievers that has so funky a delivery that he succeeds no matter what.

Denny Bautista didn't quite close the door on the 5th starter role today.  3IP 1run.. 3BB, 3H, 1K doesn't really do it for me.  BUT! He was pitching with blisters on his ring and index finger..whew.. so his control is still..(AFFELDT II) I hope this doesn't become the freaking circus that it was with Affeldt.  Bautista did get a lot of groundballs today so that was a plus.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/artic le.jsp?ymd=20050317&" title="http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/artic le.jsp?ymd=20050317&" target="_blank"http://kansascity.royals.mlb....;content_id=970374&vk ey=spt2005news&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Graffanino might have crippled himself.  Our stopgaps are dropping like flies. The Grim Reaper of Free Agency may be dialing up the clock on Teahen and Gotay this season.  But at least the team will be more fun to watch.

Sisco also got roughed up a little.  But he struck out 2 guys in his inning of work and I'll forgive just about anything if you get me those sweet K's... mmmm.

If you read that first article then you also realize that Jose Lima is our opening day starter.. (Breath in....Release) I'm all for pleasing veterans but this tactic really did wonders with Brian Anderson last season.  I don't have to mention the subtle digs I'll be reading on rotoworld and BTF until opening day. 

"Misplaced staff ace Jose Lima takes the mound for the Royals on opening day."

"Jose Lima is the number one starter for the Oma-are you freaking kidding me- K.C. Royals."

"Apparently they have already given up resigning Zack Greinke when he hits free agency."

Yes!.. I actually went to my two classes today.. I don't know why either.

Why do I have to watch Pitt play?  I picked them to go to the Sweet 16 and I respect their defense and gritty half-court game.. but man I hate to watch it.  I have Southern Illinois, Niagara, and New Mexico in the sweet 16... Am I on crack?

I'll be listening to MLB radio to see if Bautista locks up the 5th spot in the rotation today.  I feel bad for a guy like Gobble, not because I think he deserves a spot over Bautista, but because a handful of ST innings probably isn't a solid justification for a starting role.

As long as we are on the subject I might as well rip off Aaron Gleeman and list my NCAA pix.

1st round: Illinois, Nevada, Wisc-Milwaukee, B.C., LSU, Utah St., Southern Ill., OSU, Wash, Pitt, Ga. Tech, Louisville, Texas Tech, Gonzaga, WF, UNC, Iowa St., New Mexico, UF, Wisconsin, KU, N.C. St., UCONN, Duke, Miss. St, Old Dominion, Syracuse, Utah, Niagara, Iowa, UK.

Go Heels

Electric arm Denny Bautista will take the mound in his first start of the spring on Thursday against the 'Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim' or Laaa. Bautista has been unstoppable this spring with 11k's in 7-2/3 IP against only 3BB.  He is already the frontrunner for the 5th starter spot.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/artic le.jsp?ymd=20050309&" title="http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/artic le.jsp?ymd=20050309&" target="_blank"http://kansascity.royals.mlb....;content_id=963210&vk ey=spt2005news&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Bautista is 24 years old so he is passing through the exit out of the injury nexus.  He threw 170 innings last year so the risk of dead arm after a full season in the 5th starter role is negligible.  The one caveat would be that Bautista has never spent a day in AAA.  A problem that has seemed to plague another pitching prospect: Jimmy Gobble.  The difference is that Gobble throws 90-91 and makes a living on his leftiness while Bautista throws 98 mph with filthy breaking stuff.  Oh and Gobble can't strike out hitters to save his life while I'd be willing to bet money that Denny leads the staff in K's this year if he throws 120 innings.  Bautista can live off his arm.  If he can keep his pitches in the zone and limit the walks then he will thrive. 

One caveat from eternal optimist Dr. Rany Jazayerli of Baseball Prospectus 2005 and Rob & Rany on the Royals, " It would be a mistake if he's in the rotation come Opening Day."  Rany was basing this on a poor ERA in the winter leagues.  Bautista had a bad ERA but he flashed some of his best control and continued to strike out hitters at a prodigious rate.  His DIPS ERA was vastly superior to his actual one.  His stuff has been fantastic from all accounts down in Arizona so he's showing no signs of fatigue.  His control has been the best its been in his career which is a clear indicator of good health.

If Bautista dominates on thursday then he's in.  And I'd appreciate if someone would tell me because I will be blitzed on St. Patty's Day.

  Sorry for the massive intervals between posts.  As the season heats up my reports will be more frequent.  I just got back from Spring Break in AZ and caught two Royals games in person while I was there. 

The first game consisted of the Cubs absolutely dominating the Royals 4-0.. on Tuesday.  Those of you who are familiar with my stuff would probably consider me a stathead.  For this week I had to delve into scoutspeak.

Player Reports:

1. Runelvys Hernandez:  The first thing that caught my eye was Elvis new fro, the second was his velocity.  Hernandez was throwing most of his stuff in the low-nineties.  He hit 91 on the radar gun once and probably hit 92-93 once or twice(the radar guns at AZ only clock maybe 1/3 of the pitches)  His control of his fastball was very stout and he looked about ready to go.  If he can control his slider a bit better before opening day then he should show very little of the lingering effects of TJSurgery.

2. Brian Bass- flashed a nice curve.. but definitely nowhere near ready for MLB

3. Byron Embry- Good velocity- mid 90's with everything along with a fairly good breaking pitch.  More on him in the second game.

4. Affeldt- Where are the K's?

5. OF Matt Diaz- Alright folks.  I was lukewarm on the crusade to pick this guy up because of plate discipline.. and I stand by it.  Diaz is Mark Quinn II.  If the pitch is in the zone he will hit the ball with authority but he swings at some awful pitches.

Game 2: Royals 9 A's 8: Zack's impression of Macdougal..

1. Zack Greinke- 4 walks in less than 2 innings.. Well as I was watching I was thinking of the web denizens ripping their hair out over the failure of yet another royals pitching prospect.  Relax folks.  None of Grienke's stuff missed by that much and if you want my honest opinion.. He's screwing around with borderline pitches to try and see how far off the zone he can get.  I saw Grienke walk a guy on 4 pitches.. He threw the same downward plane fastball in the same spot.. 4 times.  I've read some of the verbal sparring between Hansen, Pena, and Zack over his somewhat lackluster efforts this spring.  I have the utmost respect for Hansen as a pitching instructor but Greinke is one of the most intelligent pitchers ever.  Leave him alone.  Greinke is trying to get more groundballs and more K's.  To do that he has to throw more borderline strikes down and on the corners.  During his outing against the A's...Oakland could not get the ball in the air at all.. And Zack would have been fine.. as would the Royals if Teahen's defense wasn't so awful.

2. Mark Teahen- He's made noise with his bat this spring but his reputation has been built on solid defense.  Sample Size.. I know.. But Teahen was awful in this game.  He threw a relatively easy DP grounder into left field  that basically would have killed an inning.. instead it left 1st and 3rd covered with no one out.  He also booted a grounder later in the game that could have been a DP that resulted in 1st and 2nd and no one out.

3. John Buck- 25 homers this season.. And a .260 average.  He did a nice job throwing out a baserunner on a fastball near the dirt too.  He hit an absolute bomb to centerfield in the game I was at.

4. Ruben Gotay- His range is spotty.  His bat is nuts.  This guy gets it.  The Royals have had this weird philosophical cross section in the organization.  Veteran hackers have tried to take to plate discipline (Harvey and Berroa). So they take the first pitch no matter what.. and then swing at everything afterwards.  Working the count is only a side effect of plate discipline... The true goal is finding the best pitch to hit in every AB, no matter which pitch that is.  Gotay has more power than I thought.  I saw him hit a homerun that went the same distance as Buck's on a 3-1 pitch..  If Gotay goes to AAA fine, slow that service clock.  If he starts now, fine, this guy is a monster.( He has now hit 4 homers this spring)

5. Cal Pickering- Free Cal Pickering has done wonders.  Harvey's fluke all-star appearance is being discredited and even Pena has been forced to say nice things about Cal.  Unfortunately Cal is stinking up the joint with his play. His defense isn't very good and he isn't swinging the bat particularly well either.  The grass roots movement has gotten him this opportunity.. he has to make the most of it.

6. Andy Sisco- The "Tower of Power" pitched in this game.. and man do I like this guy.  After watching Sisco throw an inning I wanted to punch Jeremy Affeldt.  Sisco doesn't have his velocity, his experience, or anywhere near his breaking stuff.  Sisco challenges hitters and uses his long arms and Unitesque arm slot to pound the zone with his fastball and overpower hitters.  If Jeremy Affeldt pitched like Andy Sisco then he'd be a pretty good starter instead of whatever the heck he has become.  Sisco should be a middle reliever for this team.. He's gonna be something else.

7. Mike Wood- Wood is a sleeper of mine now.  He's got a very good minor league track record and if you compare his rookie year to a groundball guy like Mark Mulder.. well.. Wood actually did better.  He looked good when I saw him flashing some K ability while still getting screwed by our defense on softly hit groundballs.

8. Mike Macdougal- I've heard of his struggles in other games but his mechanics were sound and his control was good today.  I don't know if it will last but he looked well put together for one inning.

9. Byron Embry- Can we dump Carrasco and put this guy in the pen.  Good, good fastball.  Good breaking stuff.  Aggressive pitcher who strikes guys out and pounds the zone.  I'd like to see him make the team.

Other general notes: Terrence Long's bat looks slow.  Aaron Guiel should start.