RC scouts some draft prospects...

RC, along with about 20 scouts, saw VCU pitching prospect Harold Mozingo on Friday.

Before the blizzard hit the D.C. area this weekend, RC drove to the tiny community of Farmville, Virginia, to see a pair of Top 100 college players in the country. Virginia Commonwealth University this season boasts two players ranked in the Top 55 by Baseball America, pitcher Harold Mozingo (#55) and second baseman Scott Sizemore (#48). The VCU Rams prevailed in the game 6-0 over Longwood University (Michael Tucker's alma mater), with Mozingo picking up the win after tossing six shutout innings, scattering three hits and no walks while striking out 10. Neither Mozingo or Sizemore figure to be drafted in the first round, but both could potentially be third or fourth round picks. As promised, RC took careful notes while watching both, presented below.

Harold Mozingo

Despite a somewhat rough 2005 season (8-4, 5.17 ERA, 92.1 IP, 101 K), Mozingo entered this year as one of the better pitching prospects in college baseball. Much of his 2005 trouble may be attributable to the tiny ballpark (just 375 ft. to CF) at which VCU last season was forced to play their home games. This season the Rams have moved back to The Diamond in Richmond, home of the AAA Richmond Braves, and the spacious ballpark figures to greatly help out the VCU pitching staff.

Mozingo features three pitches, all of which he used effectively against the overmatched Longwood hitters. He located his fastball very well on both sides of the plate, and it sat in the 89-91 mph range all afternoon. His changeup is perhaps his best pitch, as he's able to repeat his arm angle well while subtracting about 10 mph. It has a nice tailing and slight sinking action, and we saw Mozingo use it effectively at 79-81 mph against both righties and lefties on both sides of the plate. His chief strikeout pitch is his curveball, which has a 10-to-4 break, and he seemed to use it mostly on the outside corner vs. righties and inside corner vs. lefties. He throws his curve at 70-71 mph, and it kept the Longwood batters off balance all afternoon.



One area of concern might be the arm angle on his curve. He doesn't hide the pitch well, and it's often easy to see his arm drop a few degrees when he's throwing his breaking ball (click here for an example of what we're talking about). He doesn't do it all the time, but RC can't help thinking that a better offensive team could exploit that pretty easily. Nevertheless, the pitch has nice movement, and Mozingo locates it quite well.

All told, Mozingo is a pitcher who RC would like to get another look at. Approximately 15-20 scouts were in the stands on Friday watching him pitch, and while we don't know if any were working for the Royals, we think Harold Mozingo is worthy of being on the radar. For more photos of Mozingo, click here, here, here, here, and here.

Scott Sizemore

Scott Sizemore last season put up a line of .364/.464/.673 with 12 HR in 214 ABs, and for his efforts was named a third team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). This year, the NCBWA has named Sizemore a pre-season second team All-American, and many people are expecting big things from him.

RC really isn't sold on him. It's tough to write much of a report after seeing a player only once, but our initial impression is that Sizemore's power last season HAD to largely be the product of aluminum and the short field on which he played home games. He's got a short, quick stroke, but RC didn't see any kind of raw power that figures to translate well to the professional ranks, either in batting practice or the actual game.



He's not a very big guy, and we just didn't see the type of carry on his fly balls that would suggest anything more than average power at second base. He could, however, be a solid line drive hitter. In the game, Sizemore went 1-for-4 with a double (on a well-placed fly ball down the LF line) and a walk.

Defensively, Sizemore does have a nice arm, but only when he's able set up and throw overhand. We saw him practice his double play turns during BP, and he wasn't able to get much on the throw to first base, nor did he look very smooth. He wasn't terrible, and we didn't get a chance to see him do anything during the game (nor did we get any solid idea of his range), but our initial impression is that his defense isn't much of an asset.



Again, this was merely a one-game look, so we could be completely off, especially when you consider that this was VCU's first game of the season. Sizemore does have some traits we like, and we'll keep an eye on what he does this season. For more excellent photos of Sizmore, click here, here, here, and here.

That concludes our first two scouting reports of the season. RC should undergo radical changes in the coming weeks, so we'll hopefully be able to come up with a better format/location for future reports (instead of plopping them front-and-center on the homepage). Up next, RC heads to North Carolina next weekend to see the 2006 debuts of potential first rounders Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard. We promise similar in-depth reports, photos, and video, so stay tuned!

Season in Preview: Corner Infielders

As Opening Day 2006 is right around the corner, it's time to take a look at where the Royals stand heading into this season. With the help of two great player projection systems (Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA and Dan Szymborski's ZiPS), I'll be discussing the state of the organization position-by-position over the next few days. We covered the catchers on Monday, and the corner infielders are up today:

MIKE SWEENEY  1B  AGE: 32              JUSTIN HUBER  1B  AGE: 23  
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .288    .349    .478     PECOTA        .262    .342    .449
ZiPS          .293    .355    .492     ZiPS          .279    .360    .443
==================================     ==================================
AVERAGE       .291    .352    .485     AVERAGE       .271    .351    .446
-
DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ  1B  AGE: 31         MARK TEAHEN  3B  AGE: 24
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .254    .333    .389     PECOTA        .262    .336    .406
ZiPS          .272    .369    .397     ZiPS          .260    .324    .380
==================================     ===================================
AVERAGE       .263    .351    .393     AVERAGE       .261    .330    .393

If you ever need any evidence that the Royals are a snakebitten organization, look no farther than the path Mike Sweeney’s career has taken. If that sounds strange to you, don’t worry, because you aren’t crazy. It’s true that Sweeney has been the one Royals player whose reliability to be "productive" has never really wavered, at least in a non-injury sense. However, take a moment and read Sweeney’s player comment from the 2002 edition of Baseball Prospectus:

It appears he’s settled into autopilot, a mode from which we can expect a .310 EqA for another 4,000 at-bats. Whether Sweeney will accumulate more than 300 of those at-bats as a Royal is unclear. It’s beginning to get tiring watching the Royals make minor efforts to sign their best players while the team has some leverage, then make a self-destructive trade and blame the system for their inability to compete. If you were a supremely talented 28-year-old, would you stay in that environment?

As we now know, the answer to that last question was "yes" as Sweeney signed a five-year, $55 million contract with the team roughly one month after that comment was published and in stores. It was the largest contract in Royals history and meant approximately 33 percent of the team payroll would be tied up in four percent of the 25-man roster, but that didn’t really matter to the Royals, who were sure to be getting one of the most coveted assets in the game: a right-handed bat with power and plate discipline. The next Edgar Martinez, if you will. It sure looked that way at the time, as Sweeney did appear headed towards another seven or eight seasons of .310 EqA (Equivalent Average) production.

In case you’re wondering what EqA is (and I’m sure you are), it’s a metric developed by Prospectus that measures total offensive value per out, with adjustments made for the player’s home park, the level of offense for the league, and things of that nature. The beauty of EqA is that you can think of it in terms of a batting average, where any number below .250 is pretty bad, and every number at or above .300 means the hitter’s really, really productive.

Getting back on point, things haven’t exactly worked out the way the Royals had planned, or Prospectus expected. Sweeney’s still with the team, but his level of production has been severely hampered by a myriad of back injuries that’s caused him to miss 180 games since the start of the 2002 season. In a preceding article, I detailed all the categories in which he’s slipped, but for the purposes of illustrating this commentary, his EqA hasn’t been at .310 since 02, posting figures of .286, .277, and .292 in the last three seasons. It’s production good enough to start at first base, but it isn’t ideal, and probably isn’t "worth" paying $11 million a year for.

In all likelihood but barring further injury, Sweeney has settled into autopilot, only he’s headed for an EqA topping out around .285 before hitting his non back-induced decline phase. When we look back on the 2006 season, I think PECOTA and ZiPS will have nailed Sweeney’s actual season production. He is what he is: a declining high-average hitter with marginal plate discipline and power for a first baseman/designated hitter. The Royals will take that and be happy, but he could’ve been so much more.

The beauty of Sweeney’s presence is that his contract expires after the 2007 season, and that he can respectably hold down the fort at his position until prospect Justin Huber is ready to take over on a full-time basis. Huber, 23, has been compared to a young Sweeney ever since he joined the Royals in one of GM Allard Baird’s greatest heists, a three-team deal in which Baird pilfered him from the Mets for waiver claim Jose Bautista. It’s a comparison worth making, although it should be noted that despite Huber’s solid walk rate in the minor leagues (0.13 per at-bat), his knowledge of the strike zone doesn’t rival that of Sweeney’s at the same age, as Huber is still prone to chasing high fastballs with two strikes.



Furthering the comparison, the Royals moved Huber from catcher to first base so he could focus more on his bat. In 2005 – Huber’s first season playing in the organization – the move worked wonders for the native of Australia, as he battered Double-A pitching to the tune of a .343 average and a 1.002 OPS before, after recovering from a slow start, holding his own in 113 Triple-A at-bats, hitting .274 with a .905 OPS.

Long-term, Huber isn’t nearly the prospect Alex Gordon or Billy Butler is, but he’ll be plenty good anyway. If the average of his PECOTA and ZiPS projection is just a starting point, Royals fans have quite a bit to look forward to from Huber, who’ll head back to Triple-A Omaha to make progress on his defensive footwork and instincts.

The signing of Doug Mientkiewicz made sending Huber back to the minor leagues an easier decision, but that wasn't the only reason behind it. The Royals headed into the offseason hoping to find a defensive-minded first baseman to counter Sweeney’s supposed all-bat, no-glove style. Their intentions were good and sound, but so were David Collard’s when he wrote the cinematic disaster that is Annapolis.

First, I really don’t think that keeping Sweeney as a DH and off the field of play is going to keep his back problems from flaring up. In fact, playing first base and keeping it stretched out and active is probably better than having him sit on the bench for half an hour before coming to the plate and swinging a bat. Second, I’ve never believed Sweeney to be as bad defensively as the media and many, many fans believe. Ever since the days when he was learning on the job, Sweeney’s become at least average at leading the pitcher to the bag and picking low throws out of the dirt, two of the most crucial skills for a defender at first base to have. And from a statistical standpoint, he’s actually been better than Mientkiewicz during the last three seasons:

   Fielding Runs Above Average
=================================
        Sweeney      Mientkiewicz
2003       4               0
2004      –2              -7
2005      –2              –5
=================================
TOTAL      0             -12

The last time Mientkiewicz statistically had a good year defensively was 2002, and that means something despite how fuzzy defensive metrics are right now. Still, if Mientkiewicz’s presence can somehow give Angel Berroa and Mark Teahen extra confidence and, in turn, fewer throwing errors, he’ll have done his job. It’s an unlikely scenario, but one that is certainly within the realm of possibility.

None of which is to say that I don’t like him. Offensively, Mientkiewicz is simply a pest who used to torture Royals fans with clutch hits in his days playing for the Twins. He’s almost a sure bet to draw a good number of walks with limited power, all the while annoying the opposing pitcher by fouling a lot of pitches into the stands. All bias aside, he’s probably capable of hitting his 2006 projection, but his better days are far, far behind him. My expectation falls closer to his PECOTA than ZiPS.

Across the diamond, Teahen is the only third baseman listed on the 40-man roster, which is just one reason why 2006 is a crucial season for the 24-year-old. Imagine being one of the main characters in Moneyball, being the centerpiece in a trade involving Carlos Beltran, giving Royals fans everywhere a sense of hope by hitting the daylights out of the ball in September, only to have your job threatened by Alex Gordon, one of the most incredible hitting talents to come out of college in the past decade. This is the world in which Teahen lives, and I don’t envy him for a second.

However, Teahen was challenged greatly to even make contact for much of his rookie season, but he overcame that obstacle by posting an .851 OPS in September. The improvement he showed was remarkable. Once a hitter whose passive approach at home plate was causing him to fall behind in the count with regularity, Teahen became more selectively aggressive as the season continued, which led to a higher walk rate in the second half and a 50 percent increase in his isolated power from the first half. He also began to hit the ball to his pull field with much more regularity, a trend that included a long grand slam off Cleveland’s Cliff Lee that landed in the right center field fountains.



Defensively, there aren’t many third baseman in baseball whose skills compare to Teahen’s. His 20 errors suggest otherwise, but he has solid range to both sides, an outstanding arm that will get more accurate as his career progresses and incredibly soft hands when it comes to barehanding a dribbling infield grounder up the third base line. In some ways, he reminds me of Scott Rolen who, by the way, made 24 errors in his first full season in Philadelphia.

A good defender in his own right, it’s possible that Gordon may take the hot corner by force, which would mean a move or a trade involving Teahen may happen someday. Regardless, the Royals are hoping that Teahen makes that decision more difficult than it needs to be by continuing to progress offensively and turning his Gold Glove potential into a trophy for his trophy case. If Teahen becomes a left-handed version of Joe Randa this year, the Royals will be thrilled.

World exclusive: RC interview with Chris Lubanski!

On Sunday evening, RC #5 prospect Chris Lubanski was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. Lubanski had a breakout season last year for the High Desert Mavericks, hitting .301 with 28 home runs and 116 RBI. This season he seems destined for AA Wichita, where he will most likely patrol the outfield with Billy Butler and Mitch Maier. This promises to be a pivotal year for Lubanski, and we're ecstatic he agreed to chat with us.

Royals Corner: Thanks for talking to us, Chris. How's your off-season been, and what have you been doing to get ready for the season?

Chris Lubanski: My off-season has been great! I've been hitting a ton to get my swing ready for the season. I've been out in Phoenix, AZ for the past six weeks working out at Athletes Performance Institute, and up at the Surprise Complex. So, I’m feeling really good and prepared for this season.

RC: You started off last season slowly, but you mounted a fantastic turnaround in the second half. For what do you credit the big improvement?

CL: I just started relaxing. I put too much pressure on myself in the beginning, and tried to do too much. I just told myself to go out on the field and have fun, and play the best I can, game-by-game. When I started doing that, my season came together for me.

RC: Are you happy with your progression defensively, and what have you been working on in that area?

CL: I know I have the skills to play CF. I had the most assists last year in my career, and I didn't make too many errors. My problem is sometimes I get too timid and don’t take control. So mostly I just have to take more control out in CF like all the best center fielders do. I've also been working on my first step quickness a lot, so my jumps will be more efficient.

RC: When you were drafted, most baseball people saw you as a speed guy from the same mold as Johnny Damon. However, your power has come along better than anyone expected, and many people now believe power is your best asset. Which type of player do you envision yourself becoming?

CL: My power definitely came along this past year, and I feel after this off-season that I've made some more gains in that department. I also stole 14 bases last year and was only thrown out once. So, I still have the speed I had in high school. I really work hard during the off-seasons on my speed so I can keep it as I grow into my body. So, I’m hoping as I mature to keep hitting for power, but also to be a base-stealing threat.

RC: Chris, if all goes well in Spring Training, you'll likely move up to Wichita next season. What types of challenges do you anticipate at AA, and have you spoken at all with your former teammates, such as Billy Butler and Mitch Maier, about what to expect?

CL: I'm really excited for the opportunity to play in AA. I know that AA will offer many challenges, but I feel that I am really prepared to face all challenges this year. I can't really pinpoint the challenges I'll face because every player goes through different "growing pains". I have talked to a lot of players about AA, and they all have given me great advice – advice which I took into the off-season to focus on those areas.

RC: What are your chief goals for this season? Do you have any statistical accomplishments in mind?

CL: Every ballplayer has stat goals. I'd be lying if I said I don't have any stats I would like to reach. However, I'm going to try and stay away from thinking too much about stats. That's what got me into trouble in the beginning of last season. My main goal this year is to work hard everyday, and leave everything on the field. I know if I do those two things that I'll accomplish everything that I want to.

RC: Chris, do you have a personal timetable for reaching the Major Leagues? Is there anything the Royals have asked you to work on to expedite your arrival in KC?

CL: Getting called up to the Big Leagues is out of my control. That's all up to the Royals and when they think I'm ready. I know I made some really good adjustments to my swing in Instructional League to stay more fluid at the plate, and they want me to keep that type of relaxed swing. Also, they want me to take more control in the OF as a CF.

RC: Changing directions a bit, are there any players you've formed close friendships with in the organization, and can you tell us a bit about some of them?

CL: I've met a lot of great guys playing baseball. Over the past 2 seasons I've roomed with Brian McFall, Mitch Maier, Adam Keim, Mike Gaffney, Adam Donachie, and Angel Sanchez. They're all great guys who've helped me out either with the mental side of the game or the physical aspects of it.

RC: As you may or may not know, Mavs broadcaster Jon Rosen has signed on as a Royals Corner correspondent this season. We were wondering if you could tell us anything embarrassing about Jon?

CL: Hmmm…I honestly can’t think of anything off the top of my head. I know we liked getting on him because all the fans called him the "Voice of the Mavs", which I guess we all thought was funny. He's definitely a really good broadcaster, and he really does a good job for the Mavericks.

RC: Are you a Steelers fan?

CL: Nope, but I wanted them to win because I like their coach, Bill Cowher. Slow first half, but the second half was fun to watch.

RC: Chris, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Congratulations on your great 2005 season, and we wish you the best of luck this year.

CL: Thanks a lot, and thanks for the interview!

Season in Preview: Catchers

As Opening Day 2006 is right around the corner, it's time to take a look at where the Royals stand heading into this season. With the help of two great player projection systems (Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA and Dan Szymborski's ZiPS), I'll be discussing the state of the organization position-by-position over the next few days. First up, catchers:

JOHN BUCK  C  AGE: 25                  PAUL BAKO  C  AGE: 33  
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .258    .303    .420     PECOTA        .238    .322    .327
ZiPS          .257    .309    .407     ZiPS          .203    .284    .275
==================================     ==================================
AVERAGE       .258    .306    .414     AVERAGE       .221    .303    .301
.
PAUL PHILLIPS  C  AGE: 28
==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .246    .277    .340
ZiPS          .254    .291    .362
==================================
AVERAGE       .250    .284    .351

Ever since Mike Macfarlane finished his very underrated career with Kansas City in 1998, the Royals have shuffled through a lot of different starting catchers (21, to be exact), trying to find somebody – anybody – who’d prove himself capable enough to handle the job over the long haul. However, that never materialized, as every candidate was either inept with the bat like Hector Ortiz and Mike Tonis, viewed as unable to handle the defensive responsibilities like Mike Sweeney, or, in the case of Gregg Zaun, just wasn’t appreciated enough by the organization. The only player who stuck for a considerable amount of time was Brent Mayne, who earned more than $6 million and posted roughly a .610 OPS during his second go-around with the club.

The past seven years definitely haven’t been good to Kansas City catchers, so the Royals are hoping that John Buck will place a stranglehold on the position for the foreseeable future. Acquired along with third baseman Mark Teahen and pitcher Mike Wood for Carlos Beltran in 2004, Buck has shown periodic signs that he’s capable of being at least a league-average receiver both offensively and defensively. The Royals have praised his work ethic and prevalent leadership skills, but undoubtedly want to see him take the next step towards becoming a better on-field player and, perhaps, team captain after Sweeney’s playing days are over. Doing so starts with becoming more dependable on a day-to-day basis.

To date, the only dependability Buck’s brought to the table has been his defense and handling of the pitching staff, which is all the Royals initially asked of him after bringing him to the Major Leagues immediately after the trade. In a little over 1550 innings behind the plate, Buck’s committed only six errors and 10 passed balls, testaments to his very fine technique in blocking balls in the dirt. He’s no Mike Matheny, but is very, very good in his own right. Additionally, Buck worked very hard at shortening his release when attempting to throw out a basestealer, and threw out 34.1 percent of those trying to steal against him, a seven percent increase from 2004.



Despite looking like a masher and carrying 220 pounds on a 6-3 frame, it’s been a different story for the 25-year-old offensively, as he’s struck out 173 times and posted an on-base percentage of only .284 in 688 career plate appearances. The strange thing is that in both of his seasons, Buck has put on an incredible show of home run power in September after being nothing more than a very big singles hitter from April to August. Just take a look at his isolated power (ISO), which can be found by subtracting a player's batting average from his slugging percentage:

MONTH     AB     ISO
April     63    .080
May       63    .207
June      78    .103
July     131    .084
August   143    .179
Sept     150    .260

Encouraging? Sure, but only before you take into consideration his strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is actually worse in September (6.33-to-1) than it is from April to August (4-to-1). As a general rule, any time a player’s power spikes, it should be because he’s being more selective at the plate. That definitely doesn’t apply to Buck, whose poor pitch recognition skills haven’t get better as the seasons have worn on. As a result, his liking to late-season hitting is very difficult to explain. All I know is that he won’t keep it up until he can distinguish between a hittable slider and an in-the-dirt slider.

However, improving his plate discipline is only one thing Buck needs to do to become a more consistent and better hitter. While looking at his month-by-month splits, I stumbled upon this, which shows how he performs against one pitcher from at-bat to at-bat during the course of a game. As fantastic as John’s work ethic is, I was surprised to find that he gets appreciably less productive as the game progresses:

vs P     AB     AVG     OBP     SLG     OPS
1st     362    .262    .311    .436    .747
2nd     176    .222    .249    .392    .641
3rd      99    .192    .252    .303    .555

Hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sports, and that’s why those who do it with such great consistency are a pleasure to watch. It’s an art form. In my mind, a hitter understanding how the pitcher is trying to get him out is a prerequisite to long-term success. It’s about making adjustments. Quite simply, pitchers have adjusted their approach towards Buck after the first plate appearance, and John hasn’t adjusted back. If the light ever comes on and he can maintain that .750ish OPS pace after his first time up, he’ll be a more-than-adequate starting catcher.

In the end, it’s time for John Buck to step it up and become more refined in his hitting approach. The strength is there, but it has to be supplemented with better knowledge and understanding of what he’s doing at the plate. If that happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if Buck’s career mirrors Macfarlane’s.

Despite already having a future backup catcher in Paul Phillips on the 40-man roster, Royals GM Allard Baird wanted a veteran to serve as a mentor to Buck in 2006, desiring to achieve something similar to the effect Terry Steinbach had on a young A.J. Pierzynski with Minnesota in 1998 and 1999. According to Baird, the plan of attack would be to have the veteran’s playing time gradually scaled back as the season progresses, presumably easing Buck into a spot where he’s more comfortable playing every day.

Initially, that search looked like it would have a very positive end when Baird had a handshake agreement with free agent Todd Pratt, but that fell through when Pratt reneged on the deal to join the Braves. Pratt’s long been among the best offensive catchers in the game, posting a .753 OPS over parts of 13 seasons. Even at age 39, he’d likely be more productive than the starting backstops for most teams.

After a guy like Pratt is off the board, the free agent market for reserve catchers becomes like a grab bag: every player available is of a “defense-first mindset” and is “good working with young pitchers,” which is code for “None of ‘em can hit.” Baird settled on Paul Bako, a 33-year-old journeyman whose claim to fame is being Greg Maddux’s personal catcher for two seasons, one in Atlanta and one with the Cubs. Beyond that, he really hasn’t done much with the exception of making more than $4 million to get to call himself a baseball player and catch once a week, almost always on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Bako probably won’t hurt the Royals any as long as he doesn’t get many chances to hit. In essence, the Royals are going to pay him $750,000 this year to be a positive example for Buck. With a capable younger guy like Phillips already on the roster, that could easily be considered a questionable use of resources for a small-market club, but the reality is that it just doesn’t matter. He’ll be on the roster for a year and move on to another team in 2007. If Buck is better for taking Bako’s advice, the goal of the acquisition will have been accomplished.

RC brings in baseball season on Super Bowl Sunday...

Folks, sorry about the lack of posts over the last couple weeks. We're in a slow period of baseball news, and it's been incredibly difficult generating the quality content RC readers have come to count on. However, this is all about to change.



Today, RC attended our first baseball games of 2006, a doubleheader between Navy and Coppin State University in Annapolis, MD. It was cold and windy, but RC stuck it out long enough to take some photos and test our new camcorder. The games themselves weren't very interesting, and it's quite likely neither team will yield even a single professional player. But still, it was fantastic to get outside and watch some baseball after months of sitting around RC Headquarters and cursing football and basketball. In case you're interested, you can view some photos of today's action here, here, here, and here.

Really, this game was just a tuneup for RC, as we wanted to get reacquainted with our official camera before heading to North Carolina in two weeks to check out some real draft prospects. The Tar Heels open their season vs. Seton Hall on February 17, and RC will be in attendance as future first round draft picks Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard take the mound for the first time in 2006. We promise to have all the photos and videos you'll ever want to see of both, along with as detailed a scouting report as we can manage.

Aside from the merciful end to the football season, today also marks the beginning of a new era at Royals Corner. Indeed, we are proud to present the first of what we hope are many captivating columns from our newest correspondent, Kevin Agee. Kevin plans a five-part analysis of the Royals roster, beginning today with the catchers. Once again, we welcome Kevin to the team, and we cannot wait to see what he has in store for us in the months ahead.