Kansas City Royals 2008 Preview

The Dayton Moore makeover project continues in Kansas City. This year’s changes include a new manager (Trey Hillman), some much-needed punch for the lineup (free agent signee Jose Guillen) and a remarkably increased willingness to spend money. The Royals made a serious run at outfielder Torii Hunter before he signed with the Angels and posted the top bids in vain efforts to sign outfielder Andruw Jones and Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. So maybe things are looking up after a generation of Heartland malaise. Whether the Royals can avoid finishing last again in the tough American League Central is another issue.

Rotation 
The front three are pretty well set with Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke. Meche posted career highs in most categories last season after signing a five-year, $55 million deal. His 9–13 record resulted primarily from receiving the worst run support among regular AL starters. Bannister was a pleasant surprise after joining the rotation full-time in late May. His stuff isn’t dazzling, though, so there are still plenty of skeptics. In contrast, Greinke has the full package and, with his psychological issues now under control, he showed signs of realizing his immense potential. Club officials would like Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, to earn a starting job, but he will start the season in the minors. Jorge De La Rosa and Kyle Davies are the most likely to earn the fourth and fifth spots.

Statistician
.170	Batting average of Royals’ pinch-hitters after leading the AL in ’06 with a .270 mark.
1	The number of journeyman Jason Smith’s 17 career homers that have been hit in his home ballpark. He hit six last season for the Royals — all in road games.
3.92	The AL-worst average run support that Gil Meche received. The Royals scored 12 runs while Meche was on the mound in his 13 losses.
4.48	The staff ERA, the lowest posted by the Royals since 4.23 in 1994. It was also an immense improvement over the franchise-worst 5.65 in 2006.

Bullpen 
Joakim Soria is the closer after emerging last year as a rare Rule 5 jewel. He spent time as a setup reliever before getting the closer’s role on a full-time basis once the Royals shipped Octavio Dotel to the Braves at the trade deadline. The Royals signed veteran lefty Ron Mahay and Japanese righty Yasuhiko Yabuta to serve as their primary setup men. Jimmy Gobble seems set as the situational lefty, and veteran Hideo Nomo should serve as the longman/swingman. Lefty John Bale seems sure of a job. Everything else is in flux.

Middle Infield 
Rookie Tony Peña meshed well last season with veteran Mark Grudzielanek in providing solid up-the-middle defense. Peña’s 47 RBIs show he offered occasional production, too, but his .284 on-base percentage was troublesome. Grudzielanek batted .302 last season and was picked by the media as the club’s Player of the Year. Even so, he turns 38 in June and is coming off a season in which he underwent two knee surgeries. The Royals began planning for the future by acquiring Alberto Callaspo from Arizona for pitching prospect Billy Buckner.

Corners 
Third baseman Alex Gordon rebounded from a horrific start to display his much-touted promise. He batted .173 through 53 games with three homers and eight RBIs before batting .285 in his final 98 games with 12 homers and 52 RBIs. He needs to become an impact player if the Royals are to shed their doormat status. First base remains a problem. Ryan Shealy regressed terribly after showing promise in 2006. Billy Butler is a hitting machine trying to master first base in his latest attempt to find a position. It’s not going very well, so the starter could again be steady veteran Ross Gload, who lacks pop but possesses a .294 career average. Another option is outfielder Mark Teahen, a former third baseman who spent nine games at first in 2007.

Outfield 
The Royals’ No. 1 offseason priority, after hiring a manager, was to acquire some punch for the middle of their lineup — preferably, a right-handed-hitting corner outfielder. Guillen, 31, fits the profile. He cost $36 million over the next three years and projects, for now, as the starter in right — once he returns from a 15-day suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy. David DeJesus will be back in center after an odd season in which his average dropped 35 points but his on-base percentage remained near his career mark, and he scored a career-high 101 runs. Teahen made a solid defensive transition last season from third base to right field. He’ll move across to left this season to make room for Guillen and his cannon arm in right. His .285 average was fine, but his power decline was alarming. The Royals need him to be a 20-plus home run guy. Speedy Joey Gathright, who batted .307 in part-time duty, could emerge as a regular if Teahen shifts to first.

Catching 
The Royals entered the offseason saying they meant it this time, that this would be a make-or-break year for inconsistent John Buck. The expectation was Buck would return to full-time duty after a frustrating season of platooning with since-departed Jason LaRue. That supposed commitment didn’t even make it into the new year. The Royals hedged their bet in late December by signing veteran free agent Miguel Olivo, a notorious free swinger who spent the last two seasons as Florida’s starter. A platoon seems likely.

DH/Bench 
The departure of Mike Sweeney, after 17 years in the organization, clears the way for Butler to become the regular DH. Butler’s bat is too good to ignore, but his glove is too suspect to merit regular time in the field. Esteban German is the sort of super utilityman that every club craves. His patience at the plate makes him a good pinch-hitter, and he possesses sufficient speed to unclog the bases as a pinch-runner. Gathright made significant strides last year and could serve as trade bait — or as a replacement in center for DeJesus, who regularly draws interest from other clubs. Callaspo figures to log time as a backup this season but seems likely to replace Grudzielanek in 2009 as the starting second baseman.

Statline Most Strikeouts By a Player with Fewer that 8 HRs
1.	Gery Pettis, 1986	132
2.	Ken Hubbs, 1962	129
3t.	Bobby Knoop, 1968	128
3t.	Damian Jackson, 2001	128
5.	Mark Teahen, 2007	127

Management 
Moore gets high marks for shaking the lethargy from an underachieving organization since arriving as general manager in June 2006. He is convinced that Hillman, who spent the last five years as a manager in Japan, will be a long-term solution as Buddy Bell’s replacement. Hillman showed terrific adaptability in achieving success with the Nippon Ham Fighters. He’ll certainly need that quality to do so with the Royals.

Final Analysis 
The Royals are getting better and now have enough parts to make things uncomfortable for even the best teams. They were 51–49 from May 13 through Sept. 3. That suggests the goal of playing .500 for an entire season isn’t entirely unreasonable. The key might be avoiding another dreadful start: 11–26 in 2007, 5–20 in 2006, 8–26 in 2005 and 8–20 in 2004. That won’t be easy with Guillen facing that early suspension and 10 of their first 16 games coming against teams that last year won at least 88 games.

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Difference Maker

Right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke’s battles with clinical depression and social anxiety nearly wrecked a career in which he was once likened to a young Greg Maddux. Greinke was the Royals’ Pitcher of the Year in 2004 but endured a miserable 2005 while battling his demons. He then spent much of 2006 working his way back through the minors following diagnosis and treatment. Last year, he showed signs of reclaiming his potential. Greinke spent three months as a power reliever before returning to the rotation in late August and going 2–2 with a 1.85 ERA in seven starts.

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Beyond the Box Score

Kauffman makeover The Royals are midway through their $250 million renovation at Kauffman Stadium. The most notable change heading into this season is the new crown scoreboard in center field. It’s four times bigger than the previous one and contains the largest high-definition video board in the world.

All-Star Game coming Commissioner Bud Selig has promised to reward Kansas City for financing the stadium renovations by awarding an All-Star Game to Kauffman Stadium. No date has been announced as of early this year, but all signs point to 2011 or 2012.

Guillen suspended Outfielder Jose Guillen, the club’s highest-profile winter signing, was suspended for the first 15 days of the season for violating baseball’s drug policy. Guillen appealed the suspension and denied allegations by the San Francisco Chronicle that he spent about $19,000 on steroids and human growth hormone from May 2002 through June 2005. The story appeared more than a month before the Royals signed Guillen to a three-year contract for $36 million. The suspension was announced just hours after the club confirmed the signing.

Mitchell Report Guillen was the only current Royal cited in the Mitchell Report. The report, released in December, contained 12 former Royals among the 86 players named.

Matthews to the Hall Denny Matthews gained a niche in the Hall of Fame as last year’s recipient of the Ford Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Matthews took part last July at the annual induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y. He has been with the Royals from the start and will enter his 40th year as the club’s play-by-play voice in 2008.

Rookies recognized The Royals saw their youth movement validated when they cornered the market on the AL Rookie of the Month award from June through August. Pitcher Brian Bannister won the award in June and August, DH Billy Butler in July.

Top dollar Guillen’s three-year deal for $36 million makes him the highest-paid player in club history for a single season. He will make $12 million in each of the next three years. Mike Sweeney held the previous record at $11 million per year in a five-year, $55 million deal that concluded last season.

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