The Royals took two out of three against the Angels and now stand at 20-17, a game and a half back of the division leading Detroit Tigers. In the midst of a nine game road trip, the Royals will now head to Oakland to take on the A’s in a three game set. Here are three things we can take away from the series in Los Angeles (read: Anaheim).

1. Alex Gordon is raking: After going 6/13 with a double against the Angels, Alex Gordon has now posted a scorching hot  .357/.362/.571 line in 58 plate appearances in May.

2. Jeremy Guthrie is who we thought he was: We couldn’t have expected Jeremy Guthrie to win every start, but he certainly fun to watch, having gone nearly a half season’s worth of starts without registering a loss. It appears Guthrie has begun to regress to his career averages, but he’s still going to be a solid starter who will be able to eat innings and will pitch well enough to the Royals in the game and give them a chance to win.

3. It’s time to panic for Mike Moustakas: Struggling mightily coming into the series, Moustakas’ woes continued as he went 1/14 against the Angels, lowering his line to a meager .194/.266/.339 in 139 plate appearances this season. Moustakas hasn’t shown any signs to suggest that he’s going to figure it out anytime soon and the Royals front office should be thinking about other options at third base, if they aren’t already. I assume the front office would prefer to promote from within, so they might consider giving Anthony Seratelli a shot. Seratelli has put up a solid .326/.423/.516 in 111 plate appearances at AAA Omaha this season.

The Cardinals leave the second leg of their 10-game road trip from Philadelphia in a series that wasn’t a complete loss, but also was an example of problems of both the past and current showing their head. Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn authored fantastic efforts in two wins, yet in the games in-between two winnable games were booted. On Friday, Jaime Garcia looked like the version of him that has been most criticized; the one that was killed on the road. However, Sunday night’s loss was the most detrimental, with another late inning failure that lost a winnable game and continued to keep the club floating around .500.

Yet at the same time, they did manage to split another series on this tough East Coast road swing, and remain close to the picture atop the National League Central. How long they can remain there however, considering the amount of issues that are being to peak late in games, is anybody’s guess. As they begin a return to Washington DC, here are three things to look back at from the series that was.

1. Bogged Down: The resounding moment from the weekend was yet another implosion from Mitchell Boggs on Sunday night. Entering a tie game in the eighth inning, Boggs was blitzed to the tone of four runs on four hits, including the game breaking RBI single from Ben Revere, and the following nail in the coffin, three-run homer from Eric Kratz (who entered the at-bat hitting .190 on the year). This raised Boggs ERA on the year to 12.46, and became his fourth late-inning collapse in three weeks.

If there’s one thing to take away from the sudden assault that ended Sunday night’s ballgame is that it cleared up the dilemma of who is going to close games down, because Boggs has to be out of the picture now. Whether it’s a mechanical issue or something more, it can’t be worked out in high pressure situations, and Mike Matheny has to recognize that. Boggs broke down and began throwing by the time Kratz hit his home run, and looked lost in the woods. The frustration of his effort has derailed him to the point where it’s clear that he can’t pitch the last inning, but what type of game situation will be safe to utilize him in at all? How this situation is handled in the upcoming games will show a lot about if there is potentially another long-term issue in the pen regarding utilizing Boggs in any capacity.

2. Crisis Averted: On Sunday night, Matt Adams stepped to the plate having already reached base twice on the night, and sporting a .565 average and with the bases loaded ahead of him. Although it has become nearly a habit for him to destroy the ball in any given situation, this time he struck out looking on a Chad Durbin cutter, which if he’d connected on in his usual fashion, would have taken the push for more at-bats to him to a code red explosion level. He’s hit in every situation thus far, and went 2 for 3 on Sunday with his third double of the year. While he continues to be a dangerous presence off the bench, and a once per series starter, the torches that his growing group of supporters for an everyday position are waving may have gotten thrown into Mike Matheny’s office if he’d come through in that moment. Considering the amount of controversy on the who’s, when’s and where’s that are already in play, that would have been the last thing needed right now for him.

3. Beltran’s Back: While the offense as a whole continues to struggle to get on the same page at the same time, perhaps Carlos Beltran had his turning point versus a team that he has been particularly brutal on over his career. Beltran launched three home runs in the first three games of the series, raising his career totally vs. the Phils to 30, his most against any team in his career. For the weekend, he hit .437 (7 for 16), and has hit .375 over the past week.

Cardinals Announce 2012 Home Schedule
Team opens home action against division rival Chicago Cubs, Friday, April 13

ST. LOUIS, Mo., September 14, 2011 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced their 2012 home regular season schedule today in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s league-wide release. The Cardinals will open their home slate Friday, April 13 vs. Chicago. It marks the latest home opener for the Cardinals since 1991 when the team’s first home game was on April 19 vs. Philadelphia. The Redbirds’ opening homestand features three games against division rival Chicago (April 13-15), followed by three vs. the Cincinnati Reds (April 17-19). The Cardinals play division opponents in each of their first four home series through May 3.

The club’s home interleague action features a three-team homestand that brings the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals to St. Louis (June 8-17). Following a 9-game road-trip, the club returns home for a 10-game homestand facing Pittsburgh for three, the Colorado Rockies for four games and Miami for three games (June 29-July 8) leading into the All-Star break. The other three team homestand falls in August (14-23) when the club is home for 16 of 19 games August 3-23.

St. Louis will host the Chicago Cubs two additional times besides the home opening weekend; hosting a two-game Monday-Tuesday series, May 14-15, and a three game weekend series in July (20-22). The Cardinals will host both Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for three, three-game series each. However division opponent Houston will visit St. Louis just twice next season, with their first visit not coming until August 21-23. Cincinnati is also at Busch Stadium on just two occasions next season. After hosting the Reds for three games during the opening homestand, the Cardinals don’t see the Reds at Busch Stadium until the final three games of the season (October 1-3). St. Louis will close the season at home with three games vs. the Washington Nationals (Sept. 28-30) followed by the final three vs. the Reds as the season once again ends on a Wednesday.

The Redbirds will host every National League East and West team one time during 2012, playing the National League East 16 times at home and the National League West teams 17 times. St. Louis will host 43 games at Busch Stadium before the All-Star break, and 38 after the break. The team has nine home dates in April, 15 in May, 11 in June, 15 in July, a season-high 16 in August and 15 September/October home games.

The Cardinals will make future announcements regarding game times, ticket pricing and availability for the 2012 season.

2012 St. Louis Cardinals Home Schedule
April		July
April 13-14, Friday-Sunday – Chicago Cubs April 17-19, Tuesday-Thursday – Cincinnati Reds April 27-29, Friday-Sunday – Milwaukee Brewers		July 2-5, Monday-Thursday – Colorado Rockies July 6-8, Friday-Sunday – Miami Marlins July 20-22, Friday-Sunday – Chicago Cubs July 23-26, Monday-Thursday – Los Angeles Dodgers
May		August
May 1-3, Tuesday-Thursday – Pittsburgh Pirates May 11-13, Friday-Sunday – Atlanta Braves May 14-15, Monday-Tuesday – Chicago Cubs May 21-23, Monday-Wednesday – San Diego Padres May 24-27, Thursday-Sunday – Philadelphia Phillies		August 3-5, Friday-Sunday – Milwaukee Brewers August 6-9, Monday-Thursday – San Francisco Giants August 14-16, Tuesday-Thursday – Arizona Diamondbacks August 17-19, Friday-Sunday – Pittsburgh Pirates August 21-23, Tuesday-Thursday – Houston Astros
June		September/October
June 8-10, Friday-Sunday – Cleveland Indians June 12-14, Tuesday-Thursday – Chicago White Sox June 15-17, Friday-Sunday – Kansas City Royals June 29-July 1, Friday-Sunday – Pittsburgh Pirates		Sept. 3-5, Monday-Wednesday – New York Mets Sept. 7-9, Friday-Sunday – Milwaukee Brewers Sept. 18-20, Tuesday-Thursday – Houston Astros Sept. 28-30, Friday-Sunday, Washington Nationals October 1-3, Monday-Wednesday, Cincinnati Reds

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are pleased to announce the release of their 2012 Texas League Schedule.

The Naturals will open the 2012 season with a six-game road trip to Corpus Christi and San Antonio before their home opener at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday, April 12^th vs. the Corpus Christi Hooks. It will be the first time since the 2009 season that the Naturals have opened the season with a road trip and the first time ever that the home opener has been against a team other than San Antonio. The final home game will be on of the regular season will be on Labor Day, Monday, September 3^rd against the Tulsa Drillers.

The 2012, 70-home game schedule is highlighted by 31 games falling on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday dates. The schedule will see the Naturals face off 16 times against their two biggest rivals: the in-state Arkansas Travelers from North Little Rock (Los Angeles Angels), and the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis). Each will visit Arvest Ballpark four times in 2012, and at least two series against each team will be played on weekends. The Naturals are also home for the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays.

2012 will feature three School Kids Day Games (April 25^th, April 30^th, and May 8^th). Special group rates are available for those days. In addition, our group areas such as the Bud Light Bullpen Café and Wendy’s Home Plate Party Deck as well as luxury suite rentals are also available on all day games for companies looking to do a daytime corporate outing.

Next season’s Texas League All-Star game will be Wednesday, June 27^th at ONEOK Field, home of the Tulsa Drillers.

Pocket schedules with these home dates will be passed out to fans during the Naturals’ upcoming homestand beginning on Saturday night and can also be obtained by visiting the box office at Arvest Ballpark. A printable PDF copy of the schedule will also be made available in the coming days on the Naturals’ official website, www.nwanaturals.com.

Season tickets for the 2012 season are now on sale. Information on ticket plans and group information will be available in the coming weeks. Details regarding weekday promotions, giveaway nights, and the 2012 promotional calendar will be available in late February 2012.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

The Birds won 6 games on a 10 game road trip and are back at .500. Only late inning mishaps have kept this team from winning more. Their bats are definitely awake.

The Cardinals are off Monday then have Washington and Cincinnati coming to town for three apiece. The Nationals send lefty Lannan, righty Zimmerman, and lefty Gorzelanny to the bump. Then, the rival Reds will counter with Volquez, Wood (L), and Arroyo. These starting pitchers will be a little tougher than last week and they will have their work cut out for them against a team who is hitting on all cylinders.

Injury Front:

Jaime Garcia had some issues with nerves in his foot during his last outing. He should be good to go on Wednesday.

Playing Time:

Both Allen Craig and Daniel Descalso continue to get regular at-bats for Berkman and Freese respectively. If you are digging deep in NL leagues, Craig’s not a bad guy to have on your bench as he has a little pop and smacked a three run homer Saturday against the Dodgers.

HOT:

The Puma has become big in St. Louis. Lance Berkman led a scoring barrage for the Cards and hit six out last week. He is scorching hot right now going 10-24 this past week while knocking in twelve and scoring nine runs. There were some questions regarding Berkman coming into the season in regards to his bat and his power. Now that he is healthy, Berkman is starting to show that last year’s decline could mostly be chalked up to being banged up.

If you took my advice last week, Colby Rasmus paid off again. He is seeing the ball well and a breakout year seems to be here. He was 13-35 and he is scoring runs like crazy (tied for MLB lead with 15). He’s played in all 16 games, including games against tough lefties such as Clayton Kershaw. This will up his plate appearances over any of his previous years and push him closer to 100-28-85.

NOT:

Jake Westbrook continues to struggle. His strikeouts are down, his walks are up and he’s giving up the long ball. All these should begin to correct themselves as Jake will regress (in a good way) back to what he has been in the past. He’s a two start pitcher this week, if he were not facing the Reds, he’d be a decent option, but you’ll want to wait another week for him to come around.

Ryan Franklin= 5 save opportunities, 4 blown saves. Enough said.

The first week of the baseball season is over. Fan bases across the country are analyzing their teams’ starts; comparing them to last year’s team, other teams in their division, and wondering if it means anything. Royals fans are no different. Because the season is so young every game gets dissected a little more than it should.

On Opening Day we were greeted with exactly the same team we left in 2010. Bad starting pitching and defense, plus runners left in scoring position equals Royals fans screaming about 110 losses and another lost season. 72 hours later things were looking up as the Royals had won their next three in their last at bat. I heard more zealous Royals fans utter the phrase….”magic number”. Maybe that was in jest, but in order to jest there must be some amount of hope or truth.

Like all things in life, not just in baseball. The answer is somewhere in between. If you look back at Royals starts since 2002 you will find their start after 6 games doesn’t mean much. In 2004 the Royals started 4-2 at home before losing all but one game on an eight game road trip. That team finished with, at that time, the worst record in franchise history, 58-104. The worst record was in 2005, 56-106. In 2000 the Royals started with a similar home stand that included three walk-off wins. They then left on a nine game, three-city road trip, and lost every game. In 2009 the Royals got off to a spectacular start. On May 7th they had a record of 18-11 and had a 3 game lead in the division. Eventually the league adjusted to Mike Jacobs and he never adjusted back. Coco Crisp got injured. By Memorial Day the Royals were 23-27 and back in 4th place. They finished 65-97.

I think the Royals will be better than the national and local media has been giving them credit. Alcides Escobar’s defense is something we haven’t seen in a while. Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, and Jeremy Jeffress has been so impressive out of the bullpen I almost welcome the starters getting the hook. Jeff Francis has looked good through two starts despite not having a win. Chris Getz, and Alex Gordon seem to have improved, and Melky Cabrera, and Jeff Francoeur are hitting like they did earlier in their careers. And the most shocking…As of this writing the Royals lead the American League in walks!…by 7!

There are some concerns. Any starter not named Francis has been terrible. I’m beginning to wonder if Luke Hochaver will ever turn into the pitcher who thought he was good enough he held out before he signed a huge signing bonus. If the starters remain this bad, you cannot expect the bullpen to keep up their dominance. What happened during the final White Sox game is a good example. With 162 games, the major league level is a game of adjustments. Will the league adjust to the Royals new found offense? Will the league adjust to the bullpen once scouting reports begin circulating? All these questions, and they haven’t even played a road game.

Am I being a buzzkill? You could call me that. Royals fans have endured so much losing that even the slightest glimmer of hope has us acting like a bunch of 8-year-old fanboys ready to give the team a parade. The last week has been exciting. Last Saturday while attending the Angels and Futures Game I screamed my head off till my vocal cords hurt. I’ve done my share of coming off the couch when watching at home. However, one week does not make a season.

The Zack Greinke trade is paying dividends in Alcides Escobar

I’m pretty sure the Royals will not contend this year, but there are reasons to pay attention. If you don’t want to watch a shortstop throw a runner out at first from shallow left you need to find another sport to watch. Watching Tim Collins pitch is a wonder of mechanics and physics. Coming into the season most rational fans were looking for pieces from an improved farm system. The early indications are positive. Watching a good baseball team is always entertaining. The Royals are entertaining, but do not confuse entertaining with good.

The trading deadline is past the Royals were a seller to playoff hopefuls in the past two weeks. They’ve had to replace their entire outfield and yet they managed to win three of their last four games, after losing five straight. On brighter notes, Coach Yost was able to sign a two year extension. This will bring stability, and hopefully more wines, to the fluctuating ball club.

David DeJesus’ surgery went better than anticipated and he expects to be back before the end of the season. Gil Meche, who has been plagued by shoulder problems all year, has decided to forgo surgery and rehab his shoulder to a point where he can pitch out of the bullpen during the last month or so left in the season. He commented at a press conference on Sunday that he wants to fulfill his contract obligations to the best of his ability.

The Royals are traveling to Oakland to open up a nine game road trip that also includes stops in Seattle and Los Angeles before returning home. The last time the Royals went out west they won both a series in Seattle (3-0) and L.A (2-1). The Royals are hoping to continue their three-game winning streak while the Athletics are looking forward to get back on the winning track after losing five out of their last ten games.

Game 1: Bannister (7-10) v. Cahill (10-4)

Bannister has been roughed up his past five starts (lost all five); including his most recent start against the Twins. This past Wednesday against the Twins he last six innings but gave up eleven hits, a walk and five earned runs. The week before against Oakland he gave up five earned runs on six walks and six hits. In his career he is 1-5 vs. Oakland with an ERA of 5.29.

Trevor Cahill, 22 year-old all-star pitcher has been struggling during the same five start stretch as Bannister, but not nearly as bad. He is 2-2, including a no decision against the Royals on July 17^th. He allowed five hits, five earned runs and four walks in a 6.2 innings performance. Overall in his career he is 2-0 against the Royals with an outlandish 5.09 ERA.

Game 2: Davies (5-6) vs. Mazzaro (6-3)

Davies is going for win number sixth for the sixth time in a row. His last five starts have ended up as no decisions. Davies has not faced the Athletics this season; however he has had recent success against them. In his past three seasons he is 1-0 with an ERA of 5. Rajai Davis is on batter on the A’s that has had Davies number. He has batted .333 with a homerun career wise versus Davies.

Vin Mazzaro has been a Royals killer in his brief career so far. He already has two wins and will be looking for number three. His last outing he pitched a gem, going 7.1 innings while only giving up one run on seven hits and walk. In his last five starts he is 3-1 with his only loss coming against the Western Division leading Rangers.

Game 3: O’Sullivan (0-1) vs. Anderson (2-2)

O’Sullivan made a better home debut than his last start. He earned a no decision against the Orioles while going six innings and giving up three earned runs on four hits and three walks. All of the current Athletics that have batted against O’Sullivan are hitless (five).

Anderson is coming off a poor performance against the White Sox. He lasted only 5.1 innings while getting shelled for ten hits and five earned runs. In his one career start against the Royals he is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA. However, he has faced only three of the Royals batters who is currently on the Roster.

Offense:

In the Baltimore series the Royals got clutch hitting from a variety of sources, including a walk-off home run by Alex Gordon. The Royals need to continue their timely hitting in order to put “Ws” in the standings. The A’s are currently ranked eighth in the American league with a .261 team batting average. Look for the Athletics to be aggressive against Bannister in game 1 who has struggled in his last few starts. Oakland is one of only two teams in the American League to hit less home runs this year than the Royals. The other team is Seattle.

Defense:

The Royals played mistake free in the most series despite the constant fluctuations in their lineup. They turned more than a handful of double plays to help their pitchers out of jams. Despite these efforts, the Royals are still ranked near the bottom in field percentage while Oakland tied with Boston for sixth in the AL with a mark of .984. The Oakland A’s however rank next to last when it comes to turning double plays. The only team who has turned less than the Athletics this season is the Angels.

Pitching:

The A’s three starting pitchers all have had previous success against the Royals. The Royals starters on the other hand have had mixed or no results. This lack of results gives the Royals pitchers an advantage because the Athletics coaching staff and players will not have as an in-depth scouting report as they would against more experienced pitchers. It is also very difficult for a pitcher to shut down a team every single time out. Which ever bullpen holds up will give their team the edge since all start.

X-Factor:

The Royals are traveling but with the time zone, giving them two hours of additional rest. This means fatigue from playing a game and a plane ride will not be a factor in game one. The trading deadline has past and the Royals are on the streak. They also have played well recently against the Western division. With a three game winning streak to top it off, the Royals are looking like a team that will enjoy their time in Oakland.