Wednesday

11 and counting...

When will this end? The Royals tonight jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Kenny Rogers and the Tigers with the help of home runs by Mark Grudzielanek and Reggie Sanders, but the bullpen again faltered as the Royals dropped their 11th straight game, 8-5. Runelvys Hernandez looked pretty sharp through the first five innings, but he was unable to escape the sixth. On the night, he surrendered two earned runs and eight hits in 5.1 IP, both runs scoring on a two-run blast by Carlos Guillen.


Mark Grudzielanek belted his first two home runs of the season on Tuesday night.

Ambiorix Burgos relieved Hernandez in the sixth and coaxed an inning-ending double play, and he pitched fairly well for 2.1 innings. He allowed a run in the seventh on a Curtis Granderson double, and he struck out the first two batters in the eighth inning before issuing a two-out walk to Craig Monroe. Buddy Bell then summoned Elmer Dessens from the bullpen, and disaster ensued. Dessens surrendered four consecutive base hits as the Tigers hung four runs on the scoreboard in the inning, jumping out to a decisive 7-5 lead. The Royals were unable to mount a comeback, and their record fell to an unimaginable 10-33.

  • After Tuesday's game, the Royals announced that Mark Redman will be unable to make his scheduled start on Wednesday vs. Jeremy Bonderman, due to soreness in his left forearm. There was no word on who will make the start in his place tomorrow, but the Royals' website is predicting that it might be Jimmy Gobble. Gobble last pitched on Sunday, when he threw an inning against the Cardinals, so he should be good for a few innings if they need him.

    However, we also noticed that Omaha's scheduled starter on Tuesday night, Adam Bernero, did not make his start as planned. RC wouldn't be surprised if he's actually the one who gets the call tomorrow. Of course, that would require the Royals to make a roster move, assuming they don't put Redman on the DL. We'll just have to wait and see what unfolds. Bernero is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in nine games, including five starts.


  • Since there will be no Daily Prospect Update tonight, there were a couple of events around the minors on Tuesday that are worthy of discussion here. First, Alex Gordon left Wichita's game in the third inning after being hit by a pitch in the back during his first at bat. Word is that he might not play in Wednesday afternoon's game either, but that it's strictly a precautionary measure. He should be back quickly, so there's probably nothing to worry about.


    Mark Teahen isn't going down without a fight.

    Also, it would be silly not to mention what Mark Teahen has been doing over the last week. On Tuesday night, Teahen went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs and his second triple of the season. His batting average in Omaha is now up to .392, and nobody in the Pacific Coast League has been hotter for the past week. Over the last eight games, Teahen is 18-for-28 (.643) with five doubles, two triples, and nine RBIs. RC hopes he keeps it up, because it's far too soon to give up on him.

  • 12 Comments:

    At 5/24/2006 8:46 AM, Blogger Marc said...

    I watched the game last night and I can't help but feel bad for Royals fans. Believe me, Tiger fans know what you're going through - we had 2003.

    It sucks. Hang in there. things are bound to get better.

     
    At 5/24/2006 10:52 AM, Blogger ASMR Review said...

    I don't know if you saw Dave, it wasn't updated in your last report, but Brady Everett was activated for Burlington.

     
    At 5/24/2006 12:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    ... and through 3 games is hitting 462/500/462/962. I like Everett.

     
    At 5/24/2006 5:29 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    Yeah, I got a couple of e-mails from people about Everett. I'm surprised I had missed that.

    And supposedly Thibault is on the 7-day DL after being cleated at second base.

    I watched Everett take some BP at Spring Training, and he looked pretty good while hitting several balls out. He'll be an interesting player to watch this year.

     
    At 5/24/2006 5:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I was surprised Bell pulled Burgos. He was throwing really well and looked to be shutting the Tigers down.

    As a Detroit fan, I feel for you guys. We remember exactly what you're going through. I'm glad you've got a couple bright spots in the farm and I hope you have a successful draft.

     
    At 5/24/2006 8:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Matt Tupman (a fellow UMass alum) has been playing extremely well in witchita, Currently has a 10/1 ab/k rate, draws walks, and has hit the ball very solid. Has anyone heard any reviews on his defense? Potential solution to the lack off offensive production from the catcher position.

    With Tupman,Gordon,Butler,Maier,and Lubanski how is witchita below .500???? Is out future pitching that bad? Lets hope Miller is the answer!

     
    At 5/25/2006 11:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Teahan is doing well at Omaha? I wonder if the culture of losing that permiates the clibhouse in KC was keeping him down.

    Young guys need confidence......losing streaks of 10+ on multiple occasions don't breed confidence.


    I say get all the good players we have, put them in Omaha together for the ret of the season. Let the trash finish out the season in KC and start all over next year with a whole new crew!

    Bob
    Camp Lejeune, NC

     
    At 5/25/2006 11:09 AM, Blogger ASMR Review said...

    KC Star reports the Royals have been granted permission to talk to Braves Director of Scouting Dayton Moore.

    Supposedly they have already talked to Braves assistant GM Frank Wren.

     
    At 5/25/2006 2:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    RC,

    What do you think about this? By all accounts, University of North Carolina lefthander Andrew Miller is once again the heavy favorite to go No. 1 overall, but it's still anything but carved in stone. Miller's performance in yesterday's ACC tournament opener, in which he gave up seven runs in six innings, didn't exactly help things, either. Rumors of the Royals going cheap and selecting University of Washington righty Tim Lincecum or even University of Houston righthander Brad Lincoln remain...

    ...and then there is this. Straight from the X-Files, and directed by Oliver Stone, it's the latest tidbit of gossip in the world of draft discussion: Luke Hochevar to the Royals with the first pick in the draft. It almost begins to makes sense if you think about it too long because of the spin-job that allows for both sides to sell this as a win-win situation. Assuming the Royals and Hochevar's agent, Scott Boras, could bang out the basics of a deal before the Royals selected (with the numbers being mentioned as around four million), here's how it works. For Kansas City, it means a seven-figure savings from what it would take to sign Miller. In addition the Royals would say that they selected the best pitcher from last year's draft, which is a much stronger class than the current one. Not only would being the top pick benefit Hochevar, but it would be a bit of redemption for Boras, who was highly criticized for his handling of the Tennessee star last year, but now would be able to boast that he turned his protégé into the No. 1 pick in the draft and signed him for far more than the $2.98 million bonus Hochevar agreed to with the Dodgers while temporarily advised by Matt Sosnick. Will this happen? Probably not. But in late May, talking about these scenarios is half the fun. Some people have the National Enquirer, we have the draft.

     
    At 5/25/2006 3:01 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    It's definitely interesting, but there are a couple of problems that could pop up with this. First, Boras is going to demand a Major League contract, and Glass has a firm stance against giving ML contracts to draftees. Word is that Miller might demand the same, so I don't know where that leaves us.

    Also, the other thing that sucks about signing a Boras client is that there is absolutely no doubt that the player will leave after six years. I don't know if that's a big factor, or even if it should be, but it's definitely something to consider.

    Anyway, if Hochevar is indeed the best pitcher available in the draft, I'd be pretty pleased if we got him. But I have my doubts that anything about that rumor is true. More than likely, the Royals sent a senior guy in the Baseball Operations dept, like Luis Medina, to see Hochevar, and the rumor mill started churning. We'll see.

     
    At 5/25/2006 3:39 PM, Blogger DL said...

    The Hochevar stuff is purely in the mind of Kevin Goldstein at BP. I actually emailed him about the possiblity of drafting Hochevar and he responded that it wouldn't be a bad idea, so perhaps I helped plant the seed... ;-)

     
    At 5/25/2006 6:31 PM, Blogger Dave said...

    Incredible! Will we ever win again? Probably not this weekend, although if we get a decent start from Affeldt, Hernandez, or Elarton, we might have a chance, since neither Wang or Wright really scares me that much.

    I think I'll have a post tonight, which will include a little background on the Royals' newest addition, Bob Keppel. Keppel actually looked pretty good today...too bad the bullpen blew his shot at a win.

     

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