Oh, and i should say...use YukiJersey for your purchase. Picked me up a sweet Brett "authentic" for $35 a couple of years ago.

Glass-half-full post of the day:

Continuing on some discussions from the other board, if you really look at it, Detroit's defense could be historically bad. Up the middle (except catcher) they will be average to above average. Everywhere else, they will be somewhere between "below average" and "hilarious". On offense, they will be frightening up to the #4 hitter, but after that, 5 through 9? Not so much.

The Tigers easily have us on pitching. We easily have them on defense. On offense, their stars are brighter (unless Hosmer/Moose/Gordon/Butler all just really explode, hey it could happen), but we wont really have a hole top to bottom, except maybe 2B.

You put the right shade of blue in your tinted glasses, look at a few things, ignore a few inconvenient truths... hell, we could beat 'em. I wont bet $1,000 on it, but it can happen.

LMAO ya got me. Forgot to mention the Grenkie jersey I bought the year before he got shipped out (although he won the Cy Young the year I got it...).

The Dye thing could have been avoided if I hadn't been a dumbass 6th grader & had an internet connection. And it's not like Gordon lit the world on fire during his rookie season.

Anyway, I'll probably scout it out for a bit before I do anything, especially with how expensive jerseys are. Although those wholesale sites are intriguing...



Oh, and **** the Twins. This thread needs more Twins (and White Sux) hate.

That's true... anything can happen over a long season.

The only thing I might disagree with is Detroit being frightening 1-4 because as in the article I posted earlier Austin Jackson is over-rated at #1... but they'll be good no doubt.

Also like I said earlier (not trying to point myself out... ugh) I really think we as Royals fans need to look at this season with realistic expectations of such a young team against more seasoned competition. Let's make a nice stride this year and keep moving forward.

I've got us at 85 wins on paper.

I'll take it. Should be good for second place unless someone else over-achieves. Cleveland over-achieved the first half last year and I never count the Twins out until they prove they're out. Oh and the Sox. yeah I hate the Sox. May they die in a fire.

If they don't finish at .500 or above this year. I will consider that a major disappointment

Really? .500 would be a 20 game improvement. That's more than significant.

Pictures won't come up on my files :((((((((
It'll be around 10 before I get to find them prolly. I might just have to remake em alike. Crap.

I think thats an attainable goal this year

.500 would be AMAZING for this team

I hope you're right.

I'd be happy with .500. Honestly, nothing that happens this year will really surprise me. They're young, so there's a chance they'll struggle (but **** that, we've struggled enough lately). They're talented, so competing for the division wouldn't surprise me. And anything in between wouldn't surprise me.

I just want some damn Royals baseball.

Anyone?

I think I'm on the record at 83 and 2nd place

Allllllll this

it's okay, bud. i can wait forever for the sig youre working on for me!!!!!:clap:

Apparently Roman Colon couldn't find a job. We re-signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, but he's not making our bullpen unless some crazy disaster happens.

Oh well, we can look forward to seeing him rack up a 4.5-5 ERA in Omaha.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/index.jsp

Cool list here O's got 2 in the top 10.

First place. No excuses.

In all seriousness, it's absolutely inexcusable for this team NOT to be competitive this season. Anything less than contention, even bullshit mathematical contention, come September should be viewed as a total failure.

It's time for this organization to take the diaper off.

I think .500 is the goal. This franchise has had to climb a mountain just to get to that point. But I didn't think some of these guys would perform as well as they did. Still, some guys will regress this year... possibly even guys who will be good like Hosmer. Beltran hit .247 with 7 HRs his second year. What you're looking for is a 3-4 year window here in a couple years once these guys really reach their potential. That's what I'm excited about... getting Hosmer and Moose and Gordon all going full blast... then you bring in guys like Myers and Starling to take it to the next level.

But... if you can get a couple of these pitchers to truly wake up, like Hochevar or Paulino... then it's game on.

I understand that .500 would be tremendous improvement overall. But damn I'm tired of treating the Royals with kid gloves.

Win some ****ing games already. We need to stop looking for more excuses. Oh, they're young! Oh, the Tigers spend money! Oh, the park is big! Oh, we had one less T-shirt Tuesday!

Win. Just ****ing win, douches.

I'm with Deeez. Time for the Royals to compete for the division.

Inexcusable.

No one cares about the Orioles, dude. This is a Royals thread.

ROFL

Four Royals in the top 50. Not bad, but not what it was a year ago. Graduation ...

I still covet Bundy(and Bauer) pretty hard. Wish Jack Z had stuck to the mocks and taken Lindor or Starling, so one of those two would have fallen to the Royals.

I like Bubba a lot, and I love that they're stockpiling so many young, toolsy OFs (Bubba, Bonificio, Hernandez, etc) that have superstar potential. But Bundy is sick.

I will have to satisfy my Trevor Bauer boner by getting him on as many fantasy teams as I can...

There's no kid gloves to it. People making macho declarations won't make a difference either. It is what it is at this point. We don't even know if we have a true #1 pitcher yet. There's a chance to be a decent team... but the starting pitching has to start like they finished last year.
Posted via Mobile Device

I don't know what will happen, but if they suck. I will be prepares for 100 posts of "same old Royals" by dickbags, and hearing John Q Dickhead saying "WE NEED PITCHING!" by the water cooler

All I'm saying is that it's past due for the organization to be held accountable for its win-loss record, something that has largely received a pass for well over a decade now.

.500 should be viewed as a what it is, mediocre.

Agreed that .500 is mediocre and its time to start seeing results on the field.

But it's about more than just the record. If we see a lot of progression from young players and end up .500 or right around that, and it shows light for 2013 and beyond, that can be viewed as successful season.

For example... let's say Jonathan Sanchez, Paulino and Chen all bomb in the first half and the Royals fall into a big hole despite expected performances from the offense and bullpen. However, Hochevar keeps up what he started in the second half of 2011, and Duffy makes big strides. Montgomery comes up at the ASB and is really good, and Lamb makes a full recovery and zooms to Omaha before season end.

In that case, I'd say a .500 overall record would be a positive.

Excellent post. You're right that I should avoid constructing a false dichotomy.

Hopefully my example is a nonissue, and we see the Royals win like 85 games while the whole team meets or exceeds expectations.

I think you are 1 year early. Given that the Royals organization was a smoking ruin needing a long rebuild when DM took over, he needed a long grace period. Significant progress after several years earned him an extension on that grace period vs having to get someone else who knew how to draft and develop players if it wasn't working.

They are almost up, and by next season we ought to have had enough of our minor league pitching come up and get experience to the point where the training wheels come off.

In 2013, especially in this division, .500 should be viewed the same as an 8-8 year in football. We can re-evaluate after 2018 depending on who stayed, who left, and if we need a new rebuilding period, but from 2013-18 we should be expecting wins and be upset at 90 losses.

Yeah, just wait till 2018. We should be good then!

Oh, sorry.....softer, gentler Blowfish.

Drinking Blue Kool-Aid.....yummy!

FYP

I'm sorry, I don't see any more Tony Pena Jrs, Kyle Davies, or other complete jokes not worth a roster spot on this team. I think you just enjoy bashing on the franchise.

Yeah, I just really love those 20 plus years of 90 loss (or more) seasons.

Get hip, dip.

I want the Royals to win more than anybody. Just need to see some results. You can only get hit in the face with a frying pan so many times before you learn to duck.

False. There are actually several of us misguided souls here. If we were to pool our resources smartly we'd have a solid chance to become an annoyance.

I like guided input of all teams exept for the Cards in his thread, unless another DUI was handed out.

AllStar invoices have arrived. Field Plaza tickets $620 per w/ parking.

Ouch.

Okay, whatever. Still has no business in a Royals thread.

I do like reading tidbits of interesting info on other teams, but minor league prospects from a likely 5th-place AL East team is a little below the "no one here cares" line, unless we are trying to dream up a trade with the Royals.

This. since 1985.

I wish I could figure out how to put apic from my phone to chiefs planet. I have an awesome miller light bar light that says kc royals 1985 world champions. Still works.

My wife has it on facebook but I aint ****ing posting it from there.
Posted via Mobile Device

Tim Brown, Yahoo Sports —

Royals in Haiku:
Prospects are coming
So goes the annual cry
Cry now, so is Prince

Are you selling it?

Or just mentioning that you have an awesome sign?

Tim Brown should pay attention, many of the prospects are here.

So Lidge just signed with the Nationals for $1 million.

That's a flyer contract, and a pretty damn nice one at that. Would you rather have Lidge at $1 million than Broxton at $4 million?

Seems like the Royals jumped the market a little bit.

These pricks better play 90+ win ball this summer, seeing as how the Chiefs look like they may be headed for a nosedive of an epic magnitude.

AMEN!

We have been playoff dry for 26 years and counting. That's ****ing bullshit. Just ****ing win already. Please!

Maybe, but that's the world they live in. Until they start winning games, it will be difficult to draw free agents.

From MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential:

Which reliever allowed the lowest percentage of inherited baserunners to score in 2011? (minimum 30 baserunners)

ANSWER: Greg Holland 6.1%

There's a very large age difference. Lidge should be just about done with baseball, so he's not worth the money Broxton could expect to get.

Its possible that we may have overpaid Broxton a little bit though, but DM prefers to fill needs early, taking the risk that maybe the market was softer than you'd expect than see all the free agents get signed and left with no good option.

He's a nice security blanket to have if Soria doesn't turn back into the old Soria.

Just bragging a little lol
Posted via Mobile Device

Holland and Coleman were both awesome last year

cool, short, random feel-good story to get you through the winter.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/bl...f-another-kind

I think Frenchy is the kind of ballplayer we all would like to think we would have been like if we were given the chance

:clap:

That is ****ing awesome!

Yeah, Greg Holland whips ass.

The Royals have invited the following minor leaguers to the major league camp for spring training:

LHP: Montgomery, Dwyer, Smith, Bueno, Hottovy

RHP: Odorizzi, Miner

C: Clark, Ramirez, Rodriguez

INF: Kouzmanoff, Falu, Abreu

OF: Myers, Orlando, Golson

Interesting and kind of cool imo that DM and the Royals were even considered being included in this article... at the end.

Bud Selig bullish on more playoffs in '12


NEW YORK -- Commissioner Bud Selig expects baseball to expand its playoffs this season.

Players and owners have already agreed to add an additional wild-card team in each league but are still deciding whether it would take effect this year or in 2013. Selig said there are scheduling issues to be worked out -- once they are, the new 10-team format would begin with a one-game playoff.

"I really believe we'll have the wild card for 2012, this year," Selig said Friday night in Chicago at a White Sox fan festival. "Clubs really want it. I don't think I've ever seen an issue that the clubs want more than to have the extra wild card this year.

"We're working on dates right now. That'll all take place. It looks to me like we'll have it because I've told everybody we have to have it. It'll be exciting. One-game playoff, it will start the playoffs in a very exciting manner," he said.

A little more than two months before Opening Day, Major League Baseball hoped to put an end to uncertainty.

Add a bat or an arm to compete for that extra wild card? No telling whether that makes any sense.

"That's the last thing on my mind," Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta said this week. "I'm trying to win my division and I can't be concerned about that stuff. But the more the merrier.

"It gives us and everybody else a better chance to make the playoffs. But it's not on my mind because you don't build a system or build a team counting on the commissioner is going to change the playoff format," he said.

MLB and the players' association have reached a consensus that ties for division titles will be broken on the field under the new playoff format, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal hadn't been finalized.

Since 1995, head-to-head record has been used to determine first place if both teams are going to the postseason. But with the start of a one-game, winner-take-all wild-card round, the sides agreed that the difference between first place and a wild-card berth is too important to decide with a formula, and a tiebreaker game would be played.

Negotiators plan to talk again next week and decide by March 1 on whether the extra round will begin this year.

"I think most clubs at this point no matter who you are are focused on trying to win a division," Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "If that doesn't work, then you make your adjustments."

Under the new format, whenever it begins, the non-division winners in each league with the two best records will be the wild cards, meaning a third-place team could for the first time win the World Series.

Being able to finish third and still go to the postseason could create more of an opportunity in the American League East for teams other than the rich New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, or in the AL West, where the two-time champion Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels have spent big bucks to improve.

In the AL Central, Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore watched Dombrowski add Prince Fielder to his already formidable batting order this week.

"We're focused on putting the best team on the field we can to compete to win the Central. That's the first goal," Moore said. "If that appears to be unattainable, we'll evaluate what we need to do to improve the team to continue to strive for that goal. If it becomes apparent that's not going to happen, you begin to focus on the wild card. You want to get in the playoffs any way you can and take your chances there."

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

Supposedly the Cardinals are close to signing Oswalt.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...cardinals-soon

That's why they win championships.

Cool story. Hard not to like that guy.

We're back with more divisional position rankings for 2012. You can scream, you can holler, you can protest and call me names. But just because I rated your player lower than you think he deserves doesn't mean I hate your team.

(Here are the NL East and NL West rankings.)

Catcher
1. Alex Avila, Tigers
2. Joe Mauer, Twins
3. Carlos Santana, Indians
4. Salvador Perez, Royals
5. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox

The AL Central might not be baseball's glamor division, but it may have three of the top five catchers in the game if Mauer bounces back from his injury-plagued campaign. Since we're not certain of his health, I'm going to give top billing to Avila, who had the best hitting numbers of any catcher outside of Mike Napoli and plays solid defense. I wouldn't be surprised if Santana explodes; with his power-and-walks combo, all he has to do is raise his average 30 points and he'll be one of the most valuable players in the game. Considering that his average on balls in play was .263, there is a good chance of that happening. Perez hit .331 in 39 games; OK, he won't do that again, but he doesn't turn 22 until May and puts the ball in play. There's no shame in being fifth in this group but that's where I have to place Pierzynski, who keeps rolling along and is now 36th on the all-time list for games caught.

First base
1. Prince Fielder, Tigers
2. Paul Konerko, White Sox
3. Eric Hosmer, Royals
4. Justin Morneau, Twins
5. Matt LaPorta, Indians

In 2009, when Morneau played 135 games, he hit .274 AVG/.363 OBP/.516 SLG. Even if he replicates that line, he may rank only fourth. Konerko has hit a combined .306 with 70 home runs the past two seasons. He's 104 home runs from 500 but turns 36 in March, so he's probably four seasons away; not sure he'll hang on that long, but who knew he'd be this good at this age. If Hosmer improves his walk rate and defense and Konerko declines, Hosmer could climb past him. If it doesn't happen this year, it will happen next. The most similar batter to him at age 21: Eddie Murray.

Second base
1. Jason Kipnis, Indians
2. Gordon Beckham, White Sox
3. Johnny Giavotella, Royals
4. Alexi Casilla, Twins
5. Ramon Santiago, Tigers

Well, this isn't exactly a Robinson Cano/Dustin Pedroia/Ben Zobrist debate, is it? Kipnis' bat is a sure thing, as evidenced by his excellent play after his call-up (.272 average and .507 slugging in 36 games). His glove was once a question mark but now appears solid enough that he looks like a future All-Star to me. Can anybody explain what has happened to Beckham? He's second mostly by default; he's gone downhill since his superb rookie season in 2009 but is only 25, so there's hope that he'll find those skills again. Giavotella has some potential with the bat (.338/.390/.481 at Triple-A), which is more than you can say for Casilla and Santiago.

Third base
1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2. Mike Moustakas, Royals
3. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians
4. Danny Valencia, Twins
5. Brent Morel, White Sox

We'll go with the idea that Cabrera is Detroit's starting third baseman, although I predict he'll end up starting more games at designated hitter. Manager Jim Leyland will end up doing a lot of mixing of his lineups, but for this little exercise we have to choose a starter. Moustakas didn't tear up the league as a rookie and I worry about his ability to hit lefties (.191, homerless in 89 at-bats), but he showed more than fellow rookies Chisenhall and Morel. Valencia doesn't get on base enough and he rated poorly on defense in 2011. I hope he's at least good in the clubhouse. Morel was terrible all season and then exploded for eight of his 10 home runs in September and drew 15 walks after drawing just seven the previous five months. Maybe something clicked.

Shortstop
1. Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians
2. Alexei Ramirez, White Sox
3. Jhonny Peralta, Tigers
4. Alcides Escobar, Royals
5. Jamey Carroll, Twins

Peralta had the best 2011 season, but he's a difficult guy to project. He had an .804 OPS in 2008 but dropped to .691 in 2009. He had a .703 OPS in 2010 and then .823 in 2011. I just don't see a repeat season, at the plate or in the field. Cabrera didn't rate well on the defensive metrics, and after a strong start he wore down in the second half. Ramirez has turned into a nice player, with a good glove and some power, and he even draws a few walks now. Escobar is a true magician with the glove. Carroll is actually a useful player who gets on base (.356 career OBP), but he's pushed as an everyday shortstop and he'll be 38. He'll be issued the honorary Nick Punto locker in the Twins' clubhouse.

Left field
1. Alex Gordon, Royals
2. Alejandro De Aza, White Sox
3. Ben Revere, Twins
4. Michael Brantley/Shelley Duncan, Indians
5. Ryan Raburn/Don Kelly, Tigers

I'm not sure what to do here. After Gordon, I just get a headache. We'll pretend to believe in De Aza after his impressive stint in the majors (171 plate appearances, .329/.400/.920). He's hit in Triple-A for three seasons now, and while he's not going to post a .400 OBP again, he should be adequate. Revere is one of the fastest players in the majors, but he's all speed and defense; he hopes to grow up to be Brett Gardner, which isn't a bad thing, but he'll have to learn to get on base at a better clip. Brantley doesn't have one outstanding skill so he'll have to hit better than .266 to be anything more than a fourth outfielder; Duncan provides some right-handed pop as a platoon guy. The Tigers have Delmon Young, but I'll slot him at DH. That leaves supposed lefty masher Raburn and utility man Kelly to soak up at-bats; both had an OBP below .300 in 2011, although Raburn has hit better in the past.

Center field
1. Austin Jackson, Tigers
2. Denard Span, Twins
3. Grady Sizemore, Indians
4. Lorenzo Cain, Royals
5. Alex Rios, White Sox

I can't rate Sizemore any higher since he's played just 104 games over the past two seasons, and he hasn't had a big year since 2008. Rios was terrible in '09, OK in '10 and worse than terrible in '11. I'm not betting on him.

Right field
1. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
2. Brennan Boesch, Tigers
3. Jeff Francoeur, Royals
4. Josh Willingham, Twins
5. Dayan Viciedo, White Sox

Choo would like to forget 2011, but there's no reason he shouldn't bounce back and play like he did in 2009 and 2010, when he was one of the 10 best position players in the AL. I don't expect Francoeur to deliver 71 extra-base hits again, but maybe he'll surprise us. Viciedo is apparently nicknamed "The Tank," which makes me wonder how much ground he can cover. He did improve his walk rate last season in the minors and turns 23 in March, so there's still room for more growth.

Designated hitter
1. Billy Butler, Royals
2. Travis Hafner, Indians
3. Ryan Doumit, Twins
4. Delmon Young, Tigers
5. Adam Dunn, White Sox

Has there been a bigger prospect disappointment than Young in the past decade? I mean, yes, there were complete busts like Brandon Wood and Andy Marte, but those guys had obvious holes in their games, while Young was viewed as a sure thing, a consensus No. 1 overall prospect. But his bat has never lived up to its billing. Other than one decent year in Minnesota, he has low OBPs and he clearly lacked range in the outfield. His career WAR on Baseball-Reference is minus-0.2 (1.6 on FanGraphs), meaning he's been worse than replacement level. He's just not that good, Tigers fans.

No. 1 starter
1. Justin Verlander, Tigers
2. John Danks, White Sox
3. Justin Masterson, Indians
4. Luke Hochevar, Royals
5. Carl Pavano, Twins

Masterson was better than Danks in 2011, and I do believe his improvement was real. He absolutely crushes right-handers -- they slugged an anemic .259 off him. Danks had two bad months but has the longer track record of success. Even in his "off year" he had a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate than Masterson. If you want to argue about Hochevar versus Pavano, be my guest.

No. 2 starter
1. Doug Fister, Tigers
2. Ubaldo Jimenez, Indians
3. Gavin Floyd, White Sox
4. Francisco Liriano, Twins
5. Jonathan Sanchez, Royals

Yes, sign me up for the Doug Fister bandwagon club. Jimenez's fastball velocity was down a couple miles per hour last season but the positives are that his strikeout and walk rates were identical to 2010; he'll be better. Floyd isn't flashy but he's now made 30-plus starts four years in a row, and he'll become a very rich man when he becomes a free agent after this season. Sanchez won't have the luxury of pitching in San Francisco (and to eight-man NL lineups).

No. 3 starter
1. Max Scherzer, Tigers
2. Scott Baker, Twins
3. Philip Humber, White Sox
4. Bruce Chen, Royals
5. Josh Tomlin, Indians

I could be underrating Baker, who was excellent last season, but only once in his career has he made 30 starts in a season. Tomlin's fans will disagree with this ranking, but he's a finesse guy who relies on the best control in baseball (21 walks in 26 starts). He's the kind of guy you root for, but the league seemed to figure him out as the season progressed.

No. 4 starter
1. Felipe Paulino, Royals
2. Rick Porcello, Tigers
3. Jake Peavy, White Sox
4. Derek Lowe, Indians
5. Nick Blackburn, Twins

Scouts still love Porcello's arm and I know he's just 23, but he's made 89 big league starts and shown no signs of getting better. His WHIP has increased each season and his strikeout rate remains one of the lowest in baseball. Paulino has an electric arm -- he averaged 95 mph on his fastball -- and is getting better. How could the Rockies give up on him after just 14 innings? How could the Astros trade him for Clint Barmes? Anyway, kudos to the Royals for buying low on the guy who may turn into their best starter. Peavy can't stay healthy. Lowe has led his league in starts three out of the past four seasons, but I'm not sure that's a good thing anymore. Blackburn is a poor man's Lowe, and I don't mean that in a good way.

No. 5 starter
1. Chris Sale, White Sox
2. Jacob Turner, Tigers
3. Aaron Crow/Danny Duffy, Royals
4. Fausto Carmona/David Huff/Jeanmar Gomez, Indians
5. Brian Duensing/Jason Marquis, Twins

Welcome to the AL Central crapshoot. Turner and Sale have the most upside, but one is a rookie and the other is converting from relief. Crow will also be given a shot at the rotation, but his difficulties against left-handed batters (.311 average allowed) don't bode well for that transition. Even if the artist formerly known as Carmona gets a visa, what do you have? A guy with a 5.01 ERA over the past four seasons. Duensing is another typical Twins pitcher, which means he at least throws strikes. His first full season in the rotation didn't go well, so of course the Twins brought in Marquis, yet another guy who doesn't strike anybody out.

Closer
1. Jose Valverde, Tigers
2. Joakim Soria, Royals
3. Matt Thornton, White Sox
4. Chris Perez, Indians
5. Matt Capps, Twins

Four good relievers plus Matt Capps. I do admit I'm a little perplexed by Perez, however. In 2009, he struck out 10.7 batters per nine innings. In 2010, that figure fell to 8.7 but he posted a pretty 1.71 ERA. In 2011, it was all the way down to 5.9, but without much improvement in his control. Perez blew only four saves but he did lose seven games. He survived thanks to a low .240 average on balls in play. He's an extreme fly-ball pitcher but didn't serve up many home runs. Bottom line: I'd be nervous.

Bullpen
1. Indians -- Vinnie Pestano, Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp, Joe Smith, Nick Hagadone
2. Royals -- Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Tim Collins, Jose Mijares
3. Tigers -- Joaquin Benoit, Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth, Al Alburquerque
4. White Sox -- Jesse Crain, Jason Frasor, Will Ohman, Addison Reed, Dylan Axelrod
5. Twins -- Glen Perkins, Alex Burnett, Anthony Swarzak, Kyle Waldrop, Lester Oliveros

If you're starting to think I'm not high on the Twins for this season, you would be correct.

Intangibles
1. Royals
2. Indians
3. Tigers
4. White Sox
5. Twins

I like the youthful exuberance of the Royals, plus the likelihood of improvement from the young players and the possibility of some midseason reinforcements from the minors. The depth of the bullpen will help bolster a shaky rotation, and this just feels like an organization that is finally starting to believe in itself. The Indians are riding last year's positive results and enter the season knowing they might get better production from Choo and Sizemore and full seasons from Kipnis and Chisenhall. I'm not knocking the Tigers here, but they do lack depth in the pitching staff and the pressure is on them.

The final tally
1. Tigers, 65 points
2. Royals, 55 points
3. Indians, 54 points
4. White Sox, 46 points
5. Twins, 35 points

No surprise here: The Tigers will be heavy favorites to win the division with a lineup that should score a ton of runs. I don't think it's a lock that they'll win -- Verlander, Avila, Peralta and Valverde will all be hard-pressed to repeat their 2011 campaigns, for example. But the Royals and Indians appear to have too many questions in the rotations, the White Sox have serious lineup issues, and the Twins have a beautiful ballpark to play their games in.



http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/po...ition-rankings

Screaming and hollaring.

Damn lew for a minute I thought maybe you wrote all that until I saw the link at the bottom. Was ready to give you kudos for your acumen.

I ain't got time for that shit! Just thought the rankings were a bit interesting and I didn't see it posted. Although it is hard to keep up with this thread during the work week, but I hope it wasn't posted already.

I know what you mean about time... and don't think it's been posted. If so, so what.

My take above.

Thanks for your take Duncan. You guys have watched a ton more baseball than me, so getting your opinions is nice.

Found this little nugget from Buster Olney on Twitter...

:thumb:

Then Hosmer dropped this one a few minutes ago

He's going all Alex Gordon on us now. I doubt anyone will laugh at him though.

According to Dayton in an article in the Star today, we're probably done for the winter (except hopefully extending Gordon, obviously). If we're in a division race at the All-Star break, he may make a move.

Dang.. I have two dugout seats, have not got my invoice yet.. They said I was in the second batch.. Guessing around 800 then..

Prudence might well prove to be the right move at this point in time, but damn if it's still not a little frustrating.

Yep, was really hoping for that ace. If we got Oswalt, I wouldn't care if he got injured. I'd still admire Dayton for showing some guts.

It's not about baseball but I found it interesting



Solar panels to help power Kauffman Stadium


By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com | 01/31/12 3:23 PM EST

KANSAS CITY -- It might not make a difference in their home run totals or the speed of their pitches, but the Royals are going to be powered by the sun this year at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals and Kansas City Power & Light on Tuesday announced a solar energy partnership and unveiled what they called the largest in-stadium solar array in Major League Baseball.

A string of 120 solar panels, 60 on each of side of the CrownVision board, have been installed atop the canopy of Kauffman Stadium's Outfield Experience. They will provide part of the electrical energy required to operate the stadium.


"The Royals are committed to making Kauffman Stadium one of the most environmentally-friendly facilities in sports," said Kevin Uhlich, the Royals' senior vice president-business operations. He noted that this partnership meshes with MLB's initiatives on renewable energy.

The solar panels, while unobtrusive in the appearance of the renovated stadium, can be seen from every seat and will be on display internationally during the All-Star Game on July 10 at Kauffman.

"It's a great national platform, not only for the Royals, but for KCP&L to show how we're kind of leading the way in managing these green initiatives," Uhlich said.

"This is a great time to put our region on display for the world and there are things that people may not know about the Kansas City region," said Chuck Caisley, KCP&L vice president of marketing and public affairs "and that is we're actually a growing epicenter nationally of advanced energy."

The solar panels face south and toward home plate, but KCP&L officials assured the Royals there would be no glare that might affect the players.

Fans at games this year at Kauffman can learn more about the panels at an educational kiosk, which will be installed in the Outfield Experience in time for the April 13 home opener against the Cleveland Indians.

"There'll be an interactive display to show the power that's going to be generated from it, so it's going to be educational for the fans as well," Uhlich said. "Baseball has a lot of green initiatives, and the other one we're doing this season is paperless ticketing -- we're offering that right now to our season-ticket holders."

The Royals also have been active in recycling at the stadium.

At this point, the solar panels will provide just part of the stadium's needed electrical power.

"They are actually hooked into the stadium and we're working now to quantify exactly how much. We're thinking at this point it'll probably be enough to power the refrigeration for all the beverages in the stadium," Caisley said. "We're working with [concessionaire] Aramark to confirm that, but about [what is needed for] four to six residential houses or 36,000 kilowatt hours a year is what it'll produce."

Caisley smiled as he had a thought that should hit home with the fans.

"So your beer is going to be cooled by the sun," he said.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.