St. Louis has slogged through the first half of yet another gray, cold winter in the country’s heartland, especially without the aid of St. Louis Blues hockey until Saturday. But that all changed this weekend as the St. Louis Cardinals opened up their annual Winter Warm-Up celebration.

Friend of the site Cadence with Chris Carpenter in 2012

Each year, just as fans start to feel the pangs of being baseball-deprived for three months, the Cardinals host the Winter Warm-Up event in downtown St. Louis. The event serves as a pep rally for the club before it heads to Jupiter, Fla., in about a month, and gives fans a chance to meet with past, current and future members of the organization.

This year’s event ran Saturday through Monday at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch hotel.

For many fans, the Winter Warm-Up is their chance to get re-acquainted with their team and enjoy a baseball-filled weekend even though temperatures hovered in the 30′s Sunday and dropped to 24 degrees Monday.

In several ways, the Winter Warm-Up is similar to the Fanfest events that Major League Baseball has in the All-Star Game’s host city in the days leading up to the game. There are interactive displays and activities, as well as opportunities for autographs, although that’s an additional expense.

The Winter Warm-Up is also a chance for fans to ask questions about the team heading into spring training and the upcoming season. This year, people will surely have plenty of questions for the Cardinals about players such as Jaime Garcia, Rafael Furcal, Matt Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

Those four players, in particular, will be vital to the Cardinals success in 2013, but they each come with legitimate concerns for either the coming year or future years.

Garcia turned down an opportunity last week to pitch for Mexico, his native country, in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. That’s certainly his right to choose, but concerns about that decision arise because Garcia dealt with left shoulder problems last season and has spent the offseason trying to rehab so he can be ready for the start of the season. That rehab is especially important since he decided against surgically repairing the shoulder.

Furcal also has injury concerns. He tore a ligament in his right elbow Aug. 31 against the Washington Nationals and never returned to the field. His return as the starting shortstop is important to the team because the Cardinals and their fans aren’t sold on his backup Pete Kozma, even though Kozma hit .333 in 26 games down the stretch and played a key role in the Cardinals’ first-round series win over the Nationals.

Carpenter doesn’t have any injury concerns, but the Cardinals have asked him to pull a Skip Schumaker move during the offseason and transform into a second baseman. Carpenter has been a great utility player for the Cardinals in the past two seasons, but asking a player to change positions at the big-league level is always a dicey proposition.

The only questions for Wainwright about the 2013 season will be if he can fully return to his dominant form before suffering a season-ending elbow injury at the start of spring training in 2011. All of the other questions will likely be about the years following 2013.

Wainwright’s contract is up at the end of the season, and with another solid season he will be a highly sought-after free agent in the offseason. With pitchers signing increasingly large free-agent contracts in the last few years, Wainwright’s price tag could be incredibly high. With those factors in place, Cardinals fans could be on a Pujols-like watch at next year’s Winter Meetings.

All of those issues will be sorted out at the proper times, of course. Most importantly, the third weekend is always a chance for St. Louis sports fans to start dreaming about the warm summer days and nights they’ll experience in the heart of downtown St. Louis surrounded by a sea of red clothes in one of the best places on Earth: Busch Stadium.

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.

In this article, we take a look at Mike Stanton

Why He Should Get In
Stanton, while starting his career as a closer, established himself in the thankless role of being one of the best setup men in baseball.  His longevity, durability and stability in the bullpen has him as one of the best players to do what he did.

Why He Should Not Get In
Unfortunately, what he did was something that most writers brush aside.  He does not have the key numbers in wins, strikeouts, or saves to warrant his place in Cooperstown.  A pitcher in the middle of a baseball game that did not start or close the game, makes it hard to qualify his place in history.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

As another offseason of eye-poppingly large free-agent contracts begins to wind down, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in an unfortunate, yet familiar situation as one of their biggest stars heads into the final year of his contract.

It was Albert Pujols in 2011; it will be Adam Wainwright in 2013.

The Cardinals co-ace is headed into the final year of his six-year, $59.4-million contract. That number is almost laughably low for a  Cy Young Award quality pitcher with a career 80-48 record, 3.15 ERA. In the past year, pitchers with less impressive numbers have signed contracts nearly triple the size of Wainwright’s current deal.

The San Francisco Giants signed Matt Cain in April to a six-year, $127.5-million extension. That was, of course, before he had a career season that included starting the All-Star Game and pitching a perfect game June 13 against the Houston Astros. The Los Angeles Dodgers also recently signed former Cy Young winner Zack Grienke to a six-year, $147-million contract. And those are just the big-name pitchers.

Even mediocre pitchers got paid big bucks this offseason. The Detroit Tigers signed Anibal Sanchez, who has a career 48-51 record and 3.75 ERA, to a five year contract worth $80 million. The Chicago Cubs were in the hunt for Sanchez, but they quickly turned around and gave Edwin Jackson, a 70-71 career pitcher with a 4.40 ERA, a four-year, $52-million deal.

If those types of pitchers are getting around $15 million per year, a pitcher with Wainwright’s record could honestly be looking at the possibility of a contract that pays him closer to $30 million than $20 million per year. That’s one heck of an investment.

The Pujols situation blew up in Spring Training of 2011 when Pujols cut off contract negotiations, and that issue lingered throughout the entire season. Pujols, of course, ended up signing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 10 years and $254 millions the following offseason.

The Cardinals avoided a similar situation with catcher Yadier Molina when they gave him a five-year, $75-million contract extension in Spring Training before the 2012 season even began.

If the Cardinals and Wainwright don’t reach a deal before the 2013 season starts, the unrest in St. Louis concerning the team’s best pitcher will build and build whether Wainwright pitches great or pitches poorly.

The Cardinals have plenty of incentives to get a deal done quickly, but Wainwright could play the system and cash in at the end of next season. The Cardinals would likely be able to sign Wainwright at a cheaper price now because no other teams are currently able to offer him contracts, and if Wainwright pitches great in 2013, that will also drive up his price.

The team’s other co-ace, Chris Carpenter, currently holds the record as the highest-paid pitcher in Cardinals history. He signed a five-year, $63-million contract in 2006.

Like it or not, the Cardinals need to be prepared to shatter that record with Wainwright because the price for good starting pitchers continues to skyrocket. It’s not impossible to think Wainwright could sign the largest pitcher’s contract in the history of the game, exceeding the seven-year, $161-million contract the New York Yankees gave CC Sabathia before the 2009 season began.

Otherwise, St. Louis baseball fans might spend next Christmas bemoaning the fact that one of the best pitchers in franchise history moved on to take a huge sum of money somewhere else.

After Pujols’ departure in December 2011, that’s probably a Christmas story few Cardinals fans would want to relive.

Correction: a previous version of this article claimed Adam Wainwright was a former Cy Young Award winner.  That has since been corrected.

Fox Sports Kansas City Records All Time High Television Ratings for Royals
Ratings on FOX Sports Kansas City increased 13 percent to 3.8 household rating, the highest season average ever for Royals cable telecasts

Viewership for Kansas City Royals cable telecasts reached an all-time high in 2012. The 140 regular season games televised on FOX Sports Kansas City averaged a 3.8 household rating in the Kansas City DMA, according to The Nielsen Co., up 13 percent from 2011.

Ratings increased over 2011 in every month of the season except August. Viewership in September increased 52 percent over last year, the most of any month.

The 3.8 household rating surpasses the previous season high of 3.4 established in 2003. Available ratings data goes back to 1997.

“This year again showed that Kansas City has great baseball fans,” said FOX Sports Kansas City Senior Vice President and General Manager Jack Donovan. “The city embraced the All-Star Game. Attendance was up. And the TV ratings show that fans are excited about what the Royals are building.”

Making his debut on i70baseball, the following article is from Carson Redmond, a young fan of the Kansas City Royals.  Carson’s articles will appear here from time to time and you can find thoughts from him, his father, and the rest of his family over at Redmonds On The Royals.

On July 10, 2012, the world turned their heads toward Kansas City while they hosted the All-Star game. Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers won the Home Run Derby, and what is the definition of a dumpster fire trade was capitalized. Yes, former Royal, Melky Cabrera won the All-Star game MVP, while still in the lead for the NL batting title. And you have to think that the Royals got a halfway decent return for the Giants star, and then you remember, that it is the Royals, the only team in baseball to spend an additional 24MM for 19 points of win %, and the only team in baseball with a scouting director for a GM. The Kansas City Royals who two months ago traded the best player in baseball for a starting pitcher with an ERA of 7.76. Today however, they traded a disgraced PED user for their only solid starter. Melky Cabrera’s batting average before his stats magically took a bump, and after;

Before: .262/.324/.370
Average HR/RBI’s per year: 8/54

After: .326/.365/.493
Average HR/RBI’s per year: 15/74

That is just not right. In the process the Royals also secured Jeff Francoeur to a 2 year 16MM extension. Jeff Francoeur has -3.0 WAR this year. So great job Dayton Moore! You did it again, but at least Frenchy isn’t here on a work visa, and he doesn’t get hit in the back with fly balls. But even blind squirrels find an acorn from time to time, and out of the ashes of what could be contemplated as the worst trade in MLB history, came Jeremy Guthrie. A man who’s ERA was 5.83 points higher at Coors Field than it was on the road.  Jeremy Guthrie, who was the Baltimore Orioles #1 starter for a matter of years, Jeremy Guthrie, who is better than Luke Hochevar. Yes, the Luke Hochevar that was selected ahead of Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, and Ian Kennedy. The Luke Hochevar whose career low in ERA is 4.68, The Luke Hochevar who either has “great stuff” is “tipping his pitches” or is “throwing the cutter to much” or maybe he just “throws too many pitches” (yes, he throws too many pitches in a Royals uniform).  Ya, THAT Luke Hochevar. Whatever the case may be, Hochevar is getting ready to pass Kyle Davies for the all time high ERA with at least 120 starts. And a couple of weeks ago Dayton Moore and Ned Yost hosted a press conference about why exactly they are undoubtedly going to bring Hochevar back for another miserable 2013 campaign. And Dayton Moore also refuses to call up Wil Myers, who has just 4 fewer home runs than Francoeur has RBI’s.

Jeff Francoeur is the worst player in baseball. He is dead last in the league in WAR (Wins above Replacement, how many more wins you would get with this player, than an Irving Falu type player). His Rfield (the value of runs the player creates or gives up with his glove) is -14. I mean, even with my various kabetching about Hochevar, he is better than Frenchy.

The earlier point I made about 24MM for 19 points of win %, what I meant was .019 points of win percentage. I am sure Dayton Moore is a brilliant man, but he spent that 24 million on;

Jeff Francoeur: 16MM, 2 years
Jonathan Broxton: 4MM, 1 year
Jonathan Sanchez: 5.6MM, 1 year
Yuniesky Betancourt: 2MM, 1 year

If you add that up, it comes out around 27, but Francoeur was paid 2.5MM last year. So out of those signings, you have 2 DFA’s (designated for assignment, Betancourt and Sanchez), One trade (Broxton) and a -3.0 WAR (no analysis needed). Maybe the recent call-up of Jake Odorizzi will help the Royal’s jenga tower of a starting rotation finish the season, but I don’t think you are going to go on many winning streaks when you are running the penultimate fly ball pitcher in Bruce Chen out there every 5th day, and in the small possibility that I have not made this clear enough, Luke Hochevar isn’t exactly an ace either. On that note, remember that amazing, lefty heavy, franchise saving farm system the Royals had a couple of years ago, even without Odorizzi seeing the light of a Royals minor league uniform? Look and see how well that farm system from 2010 has done;

Eric Hosmer, MLB, 1B
2012: .237/.311/.367

Mike Moustakas, MLB, 3B
2012: .246/.298/.422

Wil Myers, AAA, OF
2012: .314/.387/.600
(worth mentioning that Myers has 37 HR’s)

John Lamb, RKL, LHP
*Tommy John surgery*

Mike Montgomery, AA, LHP
2012: 5-12, 6.07 ERA

Christian Colon, AAA, IF
2012: .301/.376/.413

Danny Duffy, MLB, LHP
*Tommy John surgery*

Chris Dwyer, AA, LHP
2012: 8-12 5.89 ERA

Aaron Crow, MLB, RHP
2012: 3-1 3.36 ERA

Brett Eibner, A+,OF
2012: .199/.298/.408

So, if I were giving them letter grades it would go like this;

Hosmer; C
Moustakas; B-
Myers; A
Lamb; incomplete
Montgomery; F-
Colon; B-
Duffy; B-
Dwyer; F-
Crow; A-
Eibner; I, for I don’t care, because he will never see the light of a Royals uniform.

So, we have 2 major league players who we hope are better than they have shown. One fantastic replacement for Francoeur, but at this point, I would be happy to have Daniel Nava replacing Frenchy. One guy who will never see Kauffman Stadium if he doesn’t move to 2nd, along with Gio not panning out. 2 Tommy John surgeries. One good reliever. 2 left handers that got demoted to AA. One guy that will never see the majors period. 8 of the 9 Royals position players are settled. If Dayton Moore would bring us a little starting pitching, we could be a legitimate contender in 2013. The Royals are currently closer to being a contender than they have been in a long time. So if we hold on to hope, and don’t hit that off button on your television quite yet, it might pay off.

If National Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized in Kauffman Stadium, it is a holiday without a lot of history.

In mid-July, the Royals hosted an event called “Viva Los Royals,” which as far as I can tell was not connected to any relevant date on the calendar.

But if the month (Sept 15 to Oct. 15) officially designated to recognize Americans of Hispanic heritage goes unrecognized by the Royals, that would only seem fitting considering their first 40 years or so.

The lack of Mexican- and Latin-born players in the history of the team is surprising. Given that history, the team’s recent emphasis on signing players from Latin America has added significance.

Throughout the team’s history, the number of Hispanic players at positions other than middle infield is amazingly small. But the lack of Hispanic pitchers to play a significant role on the team is downright shocking.

Nonetheless, in light of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and especially considering that Hispanics are starting to play greater roles for the Royals, the contributions of Mexican- and Latin-born players deserve to be heralded.

In the Beginning:

Interestingly, considering how few Hispanics have been stars in KC, the team’s first “star,” was Puerto Rican catcher Ellie Rodriguez. Rodriguez holds the honor of being the first Royal to play in an All Star Game, in 1969.

Rodriguez aside, the Royals first true star of Hispanic heritage was Cookie Rojas. Second only to Frank White in the history of Royals’ second basemen, the Cuban Rojas played eight years (1970-1977) in KC and earned four appearances in the All Star Game.

Rojas was so popular in KC, you would think there would have been other Hispanic stars to follow. But the Royals produced only one significant home-grown Hispanic player – Onix Concepcion – during the next decade and a half.

Concepcion, from Puerto Rico, was signed by KC in 1976 and developed in the farm system. He began sharing the shortstop role with UL Washington in 1980 and is one of a collection of players to play in both World Series for the Royals.

In the meantime, the Royals did play host to one of the greatest Latin-born players in history. In 1974, future Hall-of-Famer Orlando Cepeda tried to milk one more season out of his aging Puerto Rican body. But the experiment produced just a .215 average and one homer in 33 games from one of the best sluggers of his era.

A Hispanic player did contribute perhaps the most significant play in team history. Mexican Jorge Orta benefited from a dubious call of “safe” at first in the ninth inning of the sixth game of the 1985 World Series, a game KC eventually won en route to the championship. Orta played admirably, primarily as a DH, for the Royals from 1984-1987.

Hispanics man the middle:

Not surprisingly, the Royals have fielded a number of Hispanic second basemen and shortstops since Concepcion in 1985. Many of the names may induce nightmares for Royals fans:

Angel Salazar (Venezuela), Jose Lind (Puerto Rico), Felix Jose (Dominican Republic), Jose Offerman (Domincan Republic), Carlos Febles (Dominican Republic), Rey Sanchez (Puerto Rico), Neifi Perez (Dominican Republic), Angel Berroa (Dominican Republic), Tony Pena, Jr. (Dominican Republic) and Yuniesky Betancourt (Cuba).

Many were fine fielders, but none solidified the middle infield during the dark days in KC. Current Venezuelan shortstop Alcides Escobar looks to stop the madness.

Other than Concepcion, the Royals produced almost no Hispanic talent from their own system until Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran emerged from the minor leagues in 1998. He would become the greatest Hispanic player in team history, not to mention possibly the second greatest Royal of all time.

“Nosotros Creemos:”

One of the most significant moments in Royals history was when they hired Tony Pena, Sr. to manage the team in 2002. The rallying cry “Nosotros Creemos” (“We Believe”) unified the upstart Royals for a time, but ultimately the believers’ faith was misplaced. The Dominican Pena departed in 2005 without having attracted elite Latin talent to KC, and without having produced a consistent winner.

Where are the pitchers?:

Unbelievably, the team went 20 years before a Hispanic pitcher played a significant role. Finally from 1988 to 1992, Puerto Rican Luis Aquino cracked the staff, earning 55 starts and pitching in a total of 114 games. Aquino posted a 22-19 record as a Royal.

Next came Hipolito Pichardo, from the Domincan Republic, who pitched in 281 games from 1992 to 1998. He started 49 games in his first two seasons, then converted to the bullpen. He notched a 44-39 record, and also 19 saves.

Perhaps the greatest starting pitcher in team history of Hispanic descent was not actually born in Latin America. Jose Rosado was born in New Jersey, but joined the Royals by way of Puerto Rico. He went just 37-45 in 112 starts for KC from 1996 to 2000, but his solid role on the Royals’ staff earned him two invitations to the All Star Game. Sadly, injuries ended his career at age 25.

The first Hispanic closer in team history was Roberto Hernandez. The Puerto Rican came to KC in the much-maligned Johnny Damon trade. Hernandez did notch 54 saves, but was never able to earn much fan support.

During the 2000′s, guys like Jose Santiago, Runelvys Hernandez, Miguel Asencio combined for about 15 minutes of fame. Dominican Jose Lima’s self-proclaimed “Lima Time” had an even shorter duration.

Finally, in 2007, the greatest Hispanic pitcher to wear a Royals uniform arrived. Mexican Joakim Soria ranks as one of the greatest closers in the history of a team relatively rich in closers. Soria recorded 160 saves in just five seasons and hopes to add more if he can recover from arm surgery.

I-70 Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month:

Considered the history of Hispanic heritage in Kansas City, it would be difficult to name an All-Time Team of Hispanic players. But it’s worth a try. That team will be forthcoming on I70baseball.com.

And as the Royals finish out the season with Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar providing some hope for the future, appreciate that the Royals are now a leader in Latin America when it comes to recruiting and developing young talent. Coming soon is a story celebrating Kansas City’s investment in Hispanic prospects.

Can we get an All Star Game do-over?

Photo courtesy of Minda Haas

The 2012 Midsummer Classic, hosted by the Royals in Kansas City, was by nearly every measure a smashing success. But there was only one problem.

It came a year or two too early.

Forget the fact that 2013 would have been the 40-year anniversary of the last All Star. No, as much as that would have made sense, the real problem is that the Royals young stars were just a little too young in 2012.

Alex Gordon scuffled. Eric Hosmer flopped. Salvador Perez got hurt. Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas weren’t on the nation’s radar.

Those guys could, and should, all be All Stars sooner than later. But it wasn’t in the cards in 2012.

Based on entirely unscientific research, it’s my guess that Salvador Perez will be the first Royal selected by the fans to an All Star roster in years.

His competition will be stiff. There are currently five excellent catchers in the AL under the age of 30 who will vie for the spot for years – Detroit’s Alex Avila (25), Baltimore’s Matt Wieters (26), Toronto’s J.P. Arencibia, Boston’s Jarrod Saltalamacchia (27), and Minnesota’s Joe Mauer (29). And MLB.com’s top two catching prospects – Travis d’Arnaud, and Gary Sanchez – belong to the Blue Jays and Yankees, respectively.

But Perez’ infectious smile, boundless energy and natural leadership should make him a fan favorite beyond Kansas City. And his offense has thus far matched his widely respected defensive abilities. He has as good a chance as any Royal to be elected by the fans.

Mauer will always be a fan favorite, but he’s been on a steady decline, and might not stay behind the plate much longer. Perez’ bat has, thus far, been Mauer-like. If he can continue to hit, he’ll be the best of the bunch.

Moustakas may turn out to be as popular as Perez. The cheers of “Moose!” are already starting to spring up in parks around the league. His defense has been light years better than what was expected – he’s making highlight-reel plays on a regular basis. And chicks will dig the long balls he belts as much as guys will dig his blue collar-zeal for the game.

But third base won’t be an easy spot to get voted in. Even if Detroit’s 29-year-old Miguel Cabrera isn’t long for third base, two very popular players will be in the way – Tampa’s Evan Longoria (26) and Toronto’s Brett Lawrie (22). Another problem could be Texas prospect Mike Olt.

Hosmer will be plenty popular if he gets his approach at the plate straightened out. He might still turn out to be the best of the Royals’ youth movement.

But first base is always a tough place to get elected to the game. The Yankees and Red Sox will always go out and buy the best hitter available at this spot.

At this point, just one man under the age of 30 stands in his way. But Detroit’s Prince Fielder (28) just happens to be as immensely popular as he is talented.

I think Escobar might have been the league’s best shortstop in the first half of 2012. But Cleveland’s 26-year-old Asdrubal Cabrera is fantastic, and Texas’ Elvis Andrus (23) isn’t far behind. Looming on the horizon are prospects Manny Machado (Baltimore) and Jurickson Profar (Texas).

All four of these Royals should make multiple appearances in the All Star Game. Getting a start in one may be another matter, however. For the next several years, we’ll still be watching the old guard – Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz. Then the small-market Royals stars will have to contend with those mentioned above.

My money is on Perez to make the first start, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Can we get the All Star Game to come back in, say, 2016?

Two years waiting for the All Star Game to come to Kansas City is over.  Not only is the wait over but also the game is over.  It was a great three days in Kansas City and by all accounts the city was a great host for the 83rd All Star Game.  Not only did record crowds head out to Kauffman Stadium for all of the activities but the fan base showed just how loyal that they can be to their hometown boys.  All of that being said, reality has set in and the Kansas City Royals still have just under half of their games yet to play.  It could be an interesting second half for the boys that play at the K.  An array of story-lines could occur in the next couple of months that would send the media in Kansas City stirring.

What will the Royals do in the trade market over the next few weeks is probably the biggest current question that fans and media have surrounding the organization. For the first time in a long time the Royals could be both buyers and sellers.  Selling their stock in guys like Jonathan Broxton, Jeff Franceour, and Yuniesky Betancourt.  No doubt will these three names be on the top of Dayton Moore’s list of players that other teams may need.   Broxton has shown this season that coming of of an injury he is still able to close games, even if he does give everyone watching a heart attack while doing so.   There are always a few teams looking for that closer at the deadline and with the way that the Royals bullpen is set up if Broxton is moved they have many that could step in a fill his role. Some teams have stated that they are in need of a right handed bat and the Royals have two that are expendable at this point.  Franceour, even though having what most would say is a terrible year, could still give a lineup some pop and nothing would make fans in Kansas City happier than to see room on the field made for number 1 hitting prospect Wil Myers.  Betancourt could also be a movable piece not only because over the last month he has turned in on as a run producer but also because the Royals have a plethora of serviceable second basemen that could fill right in. These guys would probably just bring prospects back but could be packaged together to get something in return that could help both this year and for the future.

The proof will be in the pudding whether the Royals truly are buyers in this years market. Tim Collins name has been thrown into the trading pool and could be a good addition to a trade that could bring more pitching to the Royals organization.  The thing that every team needs when they are buyers are numerous guys that can be plugged into a trade that could give good value to another organization.  The biggest thing that the Royals need if they are going to buy is pitching.  There are a few pitchers out there that could help this team out not only for this year but also would be able to sign here and stay on for the future.  The biggest names that the Royals could trade for would be Zach Grienke and Cole Hamels but  are they going sign here after this season woudl be the biggest question that they Royals will have to ponder when making a buyers trade.  One pitcher that would seem to fit nicely in the Royals staff and on that would have no problem signing here would be Milwaukee Brewers starter Shaun Marcum.  A local guy from Excelsior Springs that would love nothing more than to be able to come home and pitch for a team that I am sure he grew up watching.   The things that this deal and a future contract for Marcum could do for the team is show other free agents of the future that they Royals are willing to pay.  If they truly want to win they are going to have to pay at least two top starters to come to Kansas City and then fill in the other slots in the rotation with guys that they either already have or are developing.

The Royals have a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks.  They could sell some guys to continue to build the minor league system and they could buy players with prospects that they already have in the system that could help with the big league club now and in the future.  General Manager Dayton Moore will have to prove to fans that he is able to go out and get a guy to help the team because his trade for Jonathan Sanchez last winter seems to continue to haunt fans as Melky Cabrera cam back to Kansas City and was named the All Star Game MVP.  Do the knives in the backs of Royals fans ever stop?

The big boys are coming to our house this year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be allowed to play with them.

The Royals host the All Star Game this year, and it is a huge event for Kansas City. But the hopes of KC fans that their team would be well represented at home were disappointed.

Ever since the announcement was made that KC would be home to the 2012 All Star Game, the question has been would the Royals have more than one player named to the team?

But a 12-game losing streak, a sluggish start by a few young stars, and injuries conspired to limit the Royals to just one representative.

Billy Butler rightfully was named the Royals’ rep. And he’ll hobnob with baseball royalty at our very own Kauffman Stadium in what is a great exposure of Kansas City. It will be a great economic and cultural event for the city.

But it won’t do much for healing the wounds Royals have taken from the mid-summer classic over the past decade. Three letters describe the slight baseball has dealt the Royals: DNP.

Six of the last ten KC representatives in the midsummer classic never left the bench.

In case you were like most fans who paid almost no notice to whether Royals played or not over the past decade:

2011: Aaron Crow – DNP.
2010: Joakim Soria – DNP.
2007: Gil Meche – DNP.
2006: Mark Redman – DNP.
2003: Mike Sweeney and Mike MacDougal – DNP.

Having lacked a legitimate “star” for years, it’s been a long time since Royals fans had much reason to care about the All-Star Game. So all the DNPs seem to have gone by without much notice. Lesser players are often forced to wait until late in the games to pinch-hit, or are held out for extra innings. So most casual fans have gone to bed by the time the benches start clearing.

I made the case a year ago that this was no coincidence.

During a 13-year stretch – 1990 to 2002 – when the team was pretty bad, the Royals had just one DNP – Jeff Montgomery in 1996. So based on that fact, it would appear Royals representatives are not getting into the games as frequently as they once did.

And it wasn’t that all the Royals representatives during that period were legitimate stars (see Jose Rosado in 1997 and 1999 and Dean Palmer in 1998).

It all started with what looks like the biggest slap in the face back in 2003. In the one season when the Royals were actually good – leading the Central Division with a 51-41 mark – the Royals sent legit slugger Sweeney and lights-out closer (at the time) McDougal to the game.

And neither played.

Since then, the American League seems to be making no effort to get Royals into the game.

Butler will not record a DNP this year. Most of the DNPs have been logged by pitchers, which isn’t that uncommon. And being as the game is in KC, they will finally make it a priority to get the Royals’ rep in the game.

Butler will play, no doubt. Sadly it will probably be in a pinch-hitting role. He’ll come up for one short at bat, go to the bench, and the Royals’ presence will be barely noticed.

But strangely the slight doesn’t end there.

For once the Royals had a rep who could conceivably participate in the second-biggest event of the All Star Break, the Home Run Derby. The door was open for Butler, and Robinson Cano even said he would invite a Royal.

But this year the Royals will sadly record a different DNP – Did Not Participate in the derby.

Good luck in your All Star appearance, Billy. You deserve it. The Royals deserve it. The city deserves it.

I’m afraid next year we’ll go back to the usual DNP.

Farewell to Mitch Maier.

Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long.

The Royals designated Maier for assignment Thursday, stocking up on pitchers during the dog-days leading up to the All Star Game. It looks like this is the end of the road for Maier, who has spent most of the past six seasons with the big league team.

I actually thought this might happen a couple of years earlier, but Maier just kept hanging around. He played good defense, was a positive presence, and even pitched a few times when the team was in a pinch.

But he just wasn’t good enough. Not for a team that wants to contend.

I take this as a positive sign.

The fact that Maier was on the team at all the last several years told me that the Royals just weren’t any good. But Maier kept working his way onto the roster because the old guys who were supposed to start got hurt, or the young guys weren’t quite ready.

Something must be different now, because the Royals finally deem Maier expendable.

“We’ve got so many young outfielders we want to look at,” said manager Ned Yost about the decision to let Maier go. “He was a great guy to have on your team as your fourth or fifth outfielder. But being mostly left-handed in the outfield, we needed a right-handed bat in [Jason] Bourgeois and we’ve got [Jarrod] Dyson, [Lorenzo] Cain’s coming back soon and we’ve got [Wil] Myers on the horizon.”

The Royals carried just four outfielders into Thursday’s game in Toronto. But Bourgeois can play all three outfield spots, so they seem to be comfortable with a lighter bench. Bourgeois has a much higher ceiling than does Maier, and apparently Cain and Myers could be coming to KC shortly.

To improve as a team, you need to have a roster full of good players. Cain and Myers have more talent in their pinky than Maier has on his best day. To get better, the team has no room for someone like Maier.

I know that sounds harsh. I’ve talked to Mitch Maier, and he seems like a good guy. By all accounts he’s a great teammate. But when someone is described as “the consummate professional,” it’s like saying that a girl has a great personality. Maier was doing all he could with his limited skills, but that girl isn’t someone you invite to the prom.

Good luck Mitch. I hope you land somewhere and continue your career. I’m surprised how many other Royals are able to find a place in the league.

But this move can only be seen as a sign of progress, and it was high time for you to go.