With inter league play about to be in full swing the Kansas City Royals seem to be in a pretty good position to make a move in the later part of the month of June. With scheduled off days in the right spots Ned Yost will not have to worry about filling out a 5 man rotation for a few weeks, a luxury for him since not everyone has been up to par on the mound lately. The one snag that he could run into is the recent “injury” of starter Felipe Paulino who may or may not miss his next scheduled start.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

On the other hand it may light a fire under one player and one player alone. Eric Hosmer, whom has been showing much improvement over the last couple of weeks, will have to continue to progress or he may get bumped if Robinson comes up and kills the ball. The Royals need one of them to step up and hit for some power for the team to come out in top of their inter league schedule.

The one thing that I know I am worried about and may be in the back of the minds of many of the Royals faithful is if we had another Kila Ka’aiahue on out hands. A guy that displayed a lot of power in the minor leagues and never could cut it in the big league. As we saw even more evident when the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics cut the “slugging Hawaiian” earlier this week. So if he is like Ka’aiahue he would be a bust but the difference is the fact that Robinson has hit for better averages all throughout his career. With Kila it seemed to be extra base hits or bust but Robinson can get the base knock thrown in their with the power to go with.

As a lifelong Royals I always love when the longtime minor leaguers who have paid their dues over years of bus rides and 2-star dining finally get their big chance to shine. Now don’t get me wrong I love the stars that come up after only a few years of development but it’s the guys who had not complained staid by and waited there turn who seem to not let it go to waist. Like fans saw earlier in the season with Irving Falu maybe Robibson can shed some light on a dark offense of the past. In the words of Rex Hudler. “You go ahead, Clint Robinson, you take Kansas Itt by storm.”

March Madness has arrived.  64 teams will battle for the title of National Champion.

You can catch all of that basketball action live on various television channels.  I assure you, I will be watching with you.  But between games, we hope to remind you that baseball is, in fact, in full swing.

Friend of the site, and fellow United Cardinal Blogger member, Nick reached out to i70 yesterday to participate in a March Madness tournament.  The goal?  To crown the greatest St. Louis Cardinal Team of all time.

Yesterday, a draft was held.  Four websites chose the 64 teams for this year’s tournament.  Each site will represent a region for this tournament.

Aaron Miles Fastball – Gibson Region
Pitchers Hit Eighth – Musial Region
C70 – Smith Region
i70 – Buck Region

Each region will post a poll for the readers to determine the winners.  Each match-up will run over the course of a weekend, with the next round beginning the following week.  The Final Four will be held on the United Cardinal Bloggers official site.  The Buck Region bracket is below.

Later today, polls will be posted for the initial round of this tournament.  We ask that our readers vote on these rounds and help us determine who will represent i70baseball in the finals of the tournament.  Also, make sure you drop by the other sites that are participating and vote on their brackets as well.

Bill Ivie is the founder of i70baseball.com

I have to admit it’s a little easier writing about a team that’s going to be playing real games soon. I can only break down lists of spring training non-roster invitees, players who might surprise fans in spring training and profiles of the Royals coaches for so long before I run out of ideas. So let’s bring on baseball and find out what the Kansas City Royals are up to in Surprise, AZ.

The obvious top story is that former Royals outfielder Aaron Guiel is back! Ok, this may have been the top story in 2002, but the Royals Prodigal Son returned from his period of playing in Japan and is back home. Before you think General Manager Dayton Moore went all Allard Baird on Royals fans, the 39 year-old Guiel signed a minor league contract and it appears he’s there to make the transition as a future coach.

Guiel was a role player for the Royals from 2002-2006, kind of like today’s Mitch Meier. Guiel played hard and was a likable fellow among Royals fans during his tenure. So welcome back, Aaron Guiel. And who knows, he might be a fifth outfielder since Paulo Orlando was injured. Well, maybe not.

The Royals signing catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year, $7 million contract with three option years was the big news of the week. If Royals pick up all of Perez’s options and he meets all his incentives, he will make $26.75 million over eight years.

It’s a good deal for Perez and the Royals. The 21 year-old Perez gets financial stability and the Royals lock up a potential star catcher during his prime years at a good price. Even if the Royals pick up all his options, Perez will be 29 when the contract ends and has the potential for a huge free agent payday if he becomes the star catcher the Royals think he will be. It also shows players like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon that the Royals are willing to spend money to keep good players, which increases the chance they sign long-term extensions.

So far there’s only been two player injuries, Brazilian outfielder Paulo Orlando and catcher Manny Pina. Paulo Orlando was diagnosed with a sports hernia during physical exams and underwent surgery last week. He’ll be out four to six weeks and this takes him out of the running as a possible reserve outfielder. It has to be disappointing for the 26 year-old Orlando, who has yet to reach the Majors. After his recovery, it’s likely he’ll get into playing shape in Arizona during extended spring training and eventually report to AA Northwest Arkansas or AAA Omaha.

The injury bug also bit catcher Manny Pina, who tore the meniscus in his right knee. Pina had surgery last weekend and he will be out for a few weeks or more. This ends Pina’s chances to make the Royals Opening Day roster, likely giving the backup catcher job to Brayan Pena. After his recovery, Pina will probably report to Omaha.

For early spring training games, Manager Ned Yost is going with a six-man rotation. This gives the starting pitchers more time between starts to work on pitches or their mechanics by throwing a live session of batting practice against minor league hitters. Yost believes the non-competitive nature of live batting practice will improve the pitchers development. The Royals will go back to a five-man rotation midway though camp to condition the starters for the regular season.

While there’s plenty of competition for spots in the starting rotation and the bullpen, the field positions are pretty much set, barring injuries. The exception is second base, where Chris Getz, 28, and Johnny Giavotella, 24, will compete for the starting job. Going in, Giavotella has the slight edge. However, Getz arrived at camp stronger and in better shape than in previous years, hitting the ball with more power, according to Yost. Giavotella is coming off from off-season hip surgery, but is at full strength for spring training.

Getz has good fielding and base running skills, but still needs work with his bat. Giavotella is good with the bat, but still needs work with his defense. To that end, Getz is working on his hitting and Giavotella is taking extra fielding practice. Both players have options remaining, so there’s a possibility one of them starts the season in Omaha, if not on the bench. It all depends on who is the better player this spring.

So far, spring training is going well for the Royals. The return of a former Royal, the signing of a cornerstone in the Royals future to a long-term contract and nobody on the team suffering a season ending injury (at least for now) is good news. Yes, there’s still question marks about who will claim the final two spots in the starting rotation and injuries can happen to anyone at any time, wrecking the best of plans. But the Royals and their fans have reasons to be optimistic.

After a couple of intrasquad games, the Royals play their first Cactus League game this Sunday against the American League Champion Texas Rangers. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just a spring training game. But it signifies the return of baseball and the start of a journey that is the Royals 2012 baseball season. A season I’m looking forward to.

The MLB playoffs are in full swing. As much as I thought the last day of the regular season was epic baseball watching. Having three series deciding games in a 24 hour period has the potential to be just as special. (I say potential because this article will be loaded before the conclusion of them.) This really doesn’t relate to the Royals. There’s not much to talk about. Major news will be hard to come by between now and the end of the Post Season.

I’m not old enough to remember the Royals run to a Word Series Title in 1985. And even if I were I’m not going to re-hash what happened. This Royals fan is tired of hearing about it, and tired of the organization milking that Championship dry. The organization is developing some young marketable stars. But I’ve already discussed that. The Royals need some new post season dramatics so the younger fans have something to talk about. To help do this I used the new “Time Travel App” on my phone to text myself three years into the future to see what is going on around the Truman Sports Complex in October 2014:

I’m grilling burgers here in lot M of the Truman Sports Complex. I can barely talk from yelling so much during the Chiefs 24-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier today. I’m sure Steeler fan is a little annoyed that their former head coach Bill Cowher hung a loss on them. But they have a Super Bowl since his tenure, they’ll get over it.

Chiefs game & a Royals playoff game on the same day at TSC? That wouldn't suck

Chiefs are 5-0 for the first time since 2003. That was a fun year for Kansas City sports fans. However, this past summer has blown the doors off that summer. For one. the Royals actually increased their 7 game lead at the All-Star break and won the division in mid-September. The end of the season was pretty anti-climatic. It’s a good thing too. The ALDS against the Yankees took everything the Royals had. James Shields was brilliant in the deciding Game 5, needing only an Eric Hosmer solo home run to win the game 1-0. That game more than made up for the calm finish to the regular season.

Game 1 of the ALCS starts in a few hours over at Kauffman Stadium against the Texas Rangers. I hope my voice recovers by then. Beer should help that out, right? Because Shields pitched on Thursday our number two guy Jake Odorizzi is pitching tonight. I remember when we got him in the Greinke trade. Greinke had that World Series runner-up run with the Brewers back in 11. But since then the Brewers have been just as bad as the Royals were when Greinke was here. Anyway, Odorizzi has been excellent this season posting a 3.45 ERA and winning 19 games. The only reason he’s not a Cy Young candidate is James Shields has been better going 21-6 with a 2.91 ERA. But even Shields will have to wait and see if the Rays ace Matt Moore beats him out.

I remember when the Royals traded for James Shields. Trading Mike Moustakas and some of the hitters in the minors to the Rays was a risky move, but it’s paid off for both teams. Up until that trade Dayton Moore didn’t have a great track record in trading at the major league level. At the time I really didn’t like the odds of Moore winning a trade with Andrew Freidman. That was the “succeed, or be fired trade” for Dayton Moore. Since then he hasn’t missed.

Anyway, I better put this thing down and get these burgers off the grill. Can’t be burning food especially between an NFL game the ALCS in the same sports complex. I’ve heard about this happening in other cities. But this is the first time I can remember it happening here. I should probably change jerseys too. See you in three years. It’s worth the wait. Hopefully I’ll be back here in January for an AFC Title Game

Hey, It could happen.

All-star voting is in full swing and at this point, it looks like a few Royals players are putting together, some would argue, all-star caliber baseball during the first two and a half months of this season. Two of them should be especially noted with their defensive play in the outfield (Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon) as well as solid production at the plate. Billy Butler has been producing another solid .300 season so far.

Despite solid individual performances at key positions in the lineup the Royals have struggled the past couple of weeks, largely due to three starting pitchers still out of the rotation and lack of putting together solid offense innings and giving run support that the Royals young pitching staff desperately need. It has been rough especially in the last ten games, where the Royals have scored three runs or less in seven of them.

This offensive struggle, despite bringing up the hot hitting Hosmer last month, led to Ned Yost to bring up another high quality-hitting prospect, Mike Moustakas. Moustakas made his debut on Friday night in front of his hometown against the Angels and did a solid job going one for three with a run scored, and a walk. In order to make room on the roster for the young slugger, the Royals sent down Mike Aviles, who has struggled nearly all season.

The past few days, the Royals have seen Luke Hochevar and Joakim Soria return to their winning selves by pitching well against Toronto. Soria managed to convert back to back save opportunities this week after resuming his closer role, which is good news for the Royals and bad news for the Royals opponents who are down going into the ninth, because when he is on he is one of the best closers in baseball.

The injuries that had been piling up on the Royals pitching staff in recent weeks has lessened and two of the starters (Chen and Davies) made solid progress on their most recent rehab stints. Jason Kendall made some huge strides as well this week by taking part in batting practice beginning this past Monday. I would expect him to be back by the end of this month at the latest based on how he has progressed on his rehab.

The Royals have had a big influx of high-level prospect talent come through the clubhouse in the past six weeks and every rookie has an adjustment period. Despite having so many rookies on the roster and having several injuries in key positions (pitcher and catcher) the Royals are doing better than some other teams with similar injury related issues. With Chen and Davies coming back by the end of the month along with Kendall, the Royals could make a solid push right before the all-star break and heat things up in the American League Central. It is not going to be easy with the next eight games on the road, which includes a stop in St. Louis, but it is doable.

August heats up for the Cardinals and everyone currently predicts they will still be in the hunt of things when it does.

If in fact the Cardinals do find themselves deep in the division competition, one of the predicted top of the division foes will be the Milwaukee Brewers. The two teams will surely find some separation this month as they face of eight times in the Midwest heat.

The Cardinals will also find themselves on the road for most of August and facing other division foes like the Cubs and Pirates who, despite their records, seem to do a good job of playing spoiler.

August Breakdown:

Total Games: 28

Home: 13

Road: 15

Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 10

Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 18

Vs teams in the NL Central: 18

Key Series:

August 1-3 at Milwaukee, 9-11 vs Milwaukee, 30-31 at Milwaukee – the Brewers will look to untuck the Cardinals playoff hopes before September arrives while the boys in red will attempt to prove that all the pitching help Milwaukee employed during the off-season will not help them win a pennant.

While the Brewers were the most improved team in the NL Central this off-season, many pundits question whether they did enough. Over the course of these three series in August, we should find out just what the team is made of.

August 22-24 vs Los Angeles – The boys of Dodger Blue come calling near the end of the month and may have a chip on their shoulder to prove as well. A team stuck in the middle of a youth movement and a contender, the Dodgers may or may not find themselves in the thick of things by late summer depending on who you ask. Either way, these two storied franchises will challenge the thermometer to keep up with the play on the field as they light it up for a Summer classic in St. Louis.

Key To a Hot August:

The August schedule is an interesting one. There are teams the Cardinals should, and honestly have to, beat as well as contenders and division foes. It will be a challenge for the Cardinals as the season really heats up. This is the month that lineups and rotations have to prove they are healthy and can compete as their bodies are giving out.

At the end of August:

If the Cardinals have 14+ wins… they are not playing well enough to win this division. With 18 games against teams within the division, the Cardinals have to over-achieve a bit in August.

If the Cardinals are above .500… they have a start towards a playoff run. Honestly, this team does not need to finish above .500 in August, it needs to finish well above .500 in August. Anything less than 18 wins and September will be real interesting.

If the Cardinals are below .500… the season is looking down a barrel of the nastiest kind. If this team is under-achieving to this level and expects the Pujols contract not to be a distraction, everyone is fooled. If the Cardinals want to keep Pujols on the back burner and the season in focus, they cannot lose the month of August.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Two months into the season, the team should have established what they will be in 2011. Judging where that may or may not be is a bit premature currently but breaking down what they will face in June is worth analyzing.

An interesting month where the Cardinals will not play a single Monday game and find themselves with very few games against division foes, June will not be a month that makes or breaks this season. At the same time, games against teams that the Cardinals need to show superiority over will take place and the team will look to kill the curse of last year where they found themselves playing poorly against teams with losing records.

June Breakdown:

Total Games: 26

Home: 14

Road: 12

Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 8

Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 18

Vs teams in the NL Central: 9

Key Series:

June 3-5 vs Chicago – the loveable losers of the Chicago Northside will visit the not so friendly confines of Busch Stadium for the first time in 2011. The Cubs may not be competitors by the time they arrive in St. Louis, but that has never stopped this series from being interesting before. These two teams seem to put up classic battles on the field and in the stands every season, despite either team’s current performance. Cubs fans will surely invade Busch Stadium and Cardinal fans will surely attempt to protect their turf.

June 24-26 vs Toronto – The Blue Jays will come to town at the end of the month and be on a mission to prove that they improved enough to be contenders in 2011. The birds from North of the border will be in full swing to push forward into a hopeful playoff run and many experts think they will hang around in the American League East well into September. The Cardinals could find one of their biggest challenges of the month in this interleague matchup.

Key To a Hot June:

The Cardinals will need to improve their ability to beat the teams they should beat if they are going to be contenders this season. The month of June may be one of their biggest tests despite looking like one of their easiest months. The middle of the season can find players “going through the motions” and they will need to push through their competitive streaks to come out of the month as the front runners of the National League Central.

At the end of June:

If the Cardinals have 14+ wins… they have tread water well enough to continue to be considered a winning ball club. Most of the series this month should be a two-out-of-three win segment for the team.

If the Cardinals are .500… then they are failing to put away the teams that they simply have to beat. This team cannot be playing .500 baseball in the month of June.

If the Cardinals are below .500… then trade rumors and season ending discussions will run rampant. The team has to win in months where the schedule are laid out like it is in June. If they are not winning, there is a greater possibility of injuries or other factors off the field at play. This team is far too good to lose the month of June.

Off season baseball is upon us, free agency is in full swing, and all 30 teams are now squarely focused on 2011. Our writers here at I-70 Baseball will be focused on the future as well but we have some unfinished business to attend to first. Before we take our look forward to 2011, we must first wrap up 2010.

The Cardinals and Royals opened up their seasons in very different places. The Cardinals were the odds-on-favorites to win their division and challenge for the top spot in the National League. Most experts predicted the Royals to show improvement over recent performance, but still fall well short of the top of the division.

By the time the dust settled on the 2010 season, the Cardinals would miss the playoffs in a season that many said would be considered a disappointment without a world series appearance. A second place finish to a surprise Cincinnati Reds ball club left the Cardinals reeling with an 86-76 record and a fan base that wondered what went wrong.

The Royals, on the other hand, would finish the season with a disappointing 67-95 record, but an optimistic fan base as they began to look to the farm system to produce some top talent. They would finish last in the division behind the Cleveland Indians, change managers, and start to restructure their roster.

The real story is how they got there. Which positions and players provided the positive spots and which provided the pratfalls? Who turned in the most impressive offensive season and which hurler would be the best for their team? That is what we will aim to shed some light on over the next ten days.

Starting on November 10 and running through November 20, the staff here at I-70 will break down the players at each position for both the Cardinals and the Royals. On November 19 and November 20, we will award our players of the year awards to the teams, with a position player and a pitcher being profiled for each team.

We hope you enjoy our look back at the 2010 season and our profiles of the various players that spent time with the franchises this year.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

The second half of the season is in full swing with the Cardinals hosting the Phillies for four games and on the road to take on the Cubs for three games over the weekend. This could be a very productive week for fantasy owners who are lucky enough to own any Cardinal. Looking at the matchups for the week, it is certain to be a good one.

Albert Pujols may only have a .308 average (BA) this season but his other numbers are very productive. He has a career .342 BA after the break and most likely will find his BA improving towards the .330 mark. As always, Pujols should be active in all formats. Matt Holliday is heating up even more and making fantasy owners smile right now. In July, Holliday is batting .320, 10 R’s, 3 2B’s, 5 HR’s, 15 RBI’s in 14 games. When facing the Phillies and Cubs, he has a career .308 BA, 15 HR’s, 48 RBI, in 70 games. Holliday is an elite outfielder and should be active in all formats. Colby Rasmus was back in the lineup against the Dodgers after having a hamstring issue. He has a .310 BA for so far in July and when facing the Phillies and Cubs he has a .353 BA this season. Rasmus is producing quite well and with the lineup around him, he should be active in most formats.

Adam Wainwright has a record of 14-5 with an ERA of 2.02. He is scheduled to pitch Thursday at home, where his ERA is down to 1.31. Wainwright has only allowed one earned run in his last 29 1/3 innings. He should be active in all formats with his elite fantasy status. Chris Carpenter, after going winless in his previous 3 starts, has finally put everything back together with the win in his last appearance. His record is now 10-3, 3.16 ERA, and has 114 strikeouts this season. Carpenter’s career ERA is not all that great against the Phillies but holds a 10-3 record and 2.73 ERA against the Cubs. He is scheduled for a two-start week and should be active in all formats. Jaime Garcia is scheduled to pitch against the Phillies on Wednesday. He is 8-4 with a 2.27 ERA for the season. Garcia is still a reliable starting pitcher but fantasy owners need to watch him over the next few starts. I would be concerned fatigue could start setting in since he has giving up 17 hits in his last two starts. He should be active in all formats as long as his ERA remains amongst league best. Ryan Franklin has been solid all season. His ERA is currently 3.50 and without the Colorado game where he allowed 6 runs, his ERA would be 2.02. He has not allowed a run since and should have many save opportunities this week. Keep him active in all formats.

Ryan Ludwick will miss out versus Philadelphia but could be active when the Cardinals are at Wrigley Field. Ludwick tears it up with a career .351 BA, 14 R’s, 8 2B’s, 6 HR’s, 25 RBI’s in 23 games at Wrigley. It is too bad he is on the DL with a strained left calf. There is a possibility he could be activated for the Chicago series, but he would be a risky start.

Fantasy Minor League Profile of the week:

Jon Jay is the Minor League Profile of the week. Even though he is not in the minor leagues right now, he would still qualify as a minor leaguer in most fantasy leagues. He was selected in the 2nd round (No. 74 overall) of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft. Jay will not be an elite prospect but could be the type of prospect to give your team runs, doubles, stolen bases, and batting average. There is a log jam in the St, Louis outfield which will limit his playing time. So unless Jay is in the lineup full time, I recommend keeping him on your minor league roster.