The St. Louis Cardinals called a press conference at 1:30 pm on Tuesday.  While rumors spread about contract extensions or arbitration resolutions, the reality set in quickly.

Chris Carpenter has reported to the team that he is experiencing the same discomfort that he experienced last season that led him to miss the majority of the season and have a rib removed to attempt a comeback.  When the possibility of another rehab assignment was brought up to Carpenter in the past, he claimed that a setback of this nature would possibly bring an end to his career.

When asked if he anticipated Chris Carpenter playing any role for the Cardinals in 2013, General Manager John Mozeliak simply stated “No, I do not”.

The team seems poised to handle the injury with an internal replacement, as pitchers Joe Kelly, Trevor Rosenthal, and Shelby Miller were mentioned by name during the press conference as players that were told to prepare to come to camp attempting to be a part of the rotation.

Speculation now runs rampant on whether or not Kyle Lohse could see a return to the Cardinals.  Lohse, a free agent at the end of last season, has seen very little interest in his services on the market thus far.  Many believe that is due to the compensation draft pick that would have to be surrendered in order to bring him onto a roster.  The Cardinals would obviously not have to be concerned with that in order to bring him back to the organization.

The decision on whether or not to bring in a free agent pitcher, Lohse or otherwise, may very well be related to the business behind the remainder of the Carpenter situation.  Insurance policies on contracts are commonplace these days and could earn the Cardinals somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-75% of Carpenter’s 2013 contract.  In addition, if Carpenter does officially retire, he would be walking away from his current contract and the team would no longer retain any liability to his current contract.

All things considered, it is a large blow to the St. Louis Cardinals going into a Spring Training that just became a lot more interesting.

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

The Kansas City Royals have built a team through the draft and player development, turning home grown players into Major League mainstays.  Many of the accolades afforded to the players coming through the system, as well as some players acquired from elsewhere, is focused on the offensive production they have produced.  Quietly the players that make up the starting eight have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Catches like this one earned Gordon a 2nd consecutive Gold Glove.

The voting for last year’s Gold Glove Awards consisted of votes cast by each manager and up to six coaches from each team.  Voters were given a list of players they could vote for and were restricted from voting for anyone on their own team.  When the dust settled, the Royals had four players finish in the top three of their position, more than any other team in the American League.  Only the Cincinnati Reds can claim more, having six players finish in the top three at the respective positions.  Beyond those four, a good case can be made for two more Royals to have received consideration.

During a recent interview with a local radio station, Royals manager Ned Yost made sure to point out the hard work and effort that third baseman Mike Moustakas had put forth in getting better defensively.  Long before the remainder of the team would report for batting and fielding practice prior to a game, Yost stated that you could find the man known as “Moose” taking ground balls at third base, determined to make himself a asset to the team when in the field.

Moustakas and his counterpart across the diamond, Eric Hosmer, both finished second in American League voting results for Gold Gloves at the close of the 2012 season.  The two talented infielders have represented the youth movement of this franchise for many years now and seeing them develop into strong defenders in 2012 has got to please the manager.

In addition to the corners, the Royals enjoy one of the most dynamic and talented shortstops in all of baseball.  Alcides Escobar was not recognized this year for his defensive talent, but most scouts and players will tell you that he is widely respected as one of the best at his trade.  His appearances on the nightly highlight reels across the country would support this claim as Escobar continues to become a large part of the Royals future success.

Behind the plate, another home grown talent patrols the field with a highly impressive arm and an ability to control the field the way most teams hope their backstop will.  Salvador Perez was given a substantial contract extension last year and, while his production at the plate is impressive enough, the way he controls the field and works with his pitching staff leaves very little doubt as to why the team extended the young man who had barely seen major league service before then.

The outfield reveals another player who finished close to a Gold Glove Award and one that took home a second consecutive Gold Glove of his own.  Alex Gordon has become one of the best left fielders in the game today and his counterparts rewarded him as such in 2011 and 2012.  His range, arm, and ability have solidified him as an outfielder that commands a lot of respect around the league.  He has quickly become known as a player that runners do not try to advance on and has established a presence that makes the fans pay close attention to any ball hit to left field.  Any ball that ends up within the range of Gordon quickly becomes capable of becoming that day’s “did you see that?” play.

The opposite corner of the outfield finds a player that many fans are ready to see the team cut ties with.  Offensively speaking, Jeff Francoeur is statistically speaking one of the worst players in Major League Baseball.  His veteran leadership, his glove, and his arm keep him on the field every day.  One of the most impressive throwing arms in recent memory, “Frenchy” routinely makes up for a lack of range with an impressive accuracy that holds runners at bay.

Six positions on the field are capable of amazing plays that everyday players can only dream of.  Four of those positions were considered to be one of the best three at their position in the American League last season.  The other two figure to be in that discussion for a long time coming.

While the Royals continue to find themselves offensively and with a rebuilt pitching staff, they know what they have on defense.  What they have is, in fact, golden.

ROYALS ANNOUNCE HITTING COACH KEVIN SEITZER WILL NOT RETURN IN 2013

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 4, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals and Manager Ned Yost announced today that the contract of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer will not be renewed for the 2013 season.  The remainder of the coaching staff will return next season: bench coach Chino Cadahia, pitching coach Dave Eiland, first base coach Rusty Kuntz and third base coach Eddie Rodriguez.  The Royals will also need to fill the bullpen coach position after naming Steve Foster the club’s Special Assistant to GM/Minor League Pitching Coordinator on August 31.

The Royals plan to hire a hitting coach and a bullpen coach as a later date.

The Kansas City Royals have accomplished something two nights in a row that they have not done all season long.  Winning in walk-off fashion.

Not only does this give the Royals two needed wins on their home field but also could be a turning point for the entire season.  Something that the Royals had lacked in their previous two weeks of baseball was the fact that they could not come up with the clutch hits to put them over the top of teams that were trying to give the games away.  Boy does it feel better to be a fan of a team that when given the opportunity to win they take advantage of it.  Smals sample sizes are something that is brought up a lot in baseball but if the Royals continue to have success this season beyond what was expected of them fans can look back at the last two wins in the series against the Milwaukee Brewers at the time when the Royals turned it all around.

Baseball starts with starting pitching.  If a team can’t pitch they can’t win.  In the final two games of the series the starting pitchers, both of whom were struggling coming into these starts, gave the Royals exactly what they needed.  They were not perfect and did give up runs and hits but they kept their team in the game.  The fact that this team is able to be in games in which pitchers like Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez are on the bump could be a huge stride for a pitching staff that by all means needs some help.  They will not have to be stellar every time out but keeping your team in the game will be the biggest feat that Royals pitchers will have to face for the remainder of the season.  If they can continue to put the talent in the batting order in situations where winning is an option then this team will win more games than the lose.

In Pittsburgh, the Royals bats were dreadful to say it nicely.  But that all turned around when they came home.  In Wednesday’s game against the Brew Crew runs were that of a minimum for the Royals until the ninth inning.  And in baseball the game is not over until one team gets the other team out 27 times.  That was no more evident than when Alcides Escobar stepped up to the plate with the most clutch hit of his young career driving in two runs to tie the game with a triple.  The Royals would later win the game on a literal walk-off when Mike Moustakas walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning.  The biggest thing to come away from this game was the hit by Escobar in the ninth inning.  Manager Ned Yost caught flack all last season when he continued to choose to not pinch hit for Escobar in situations in which a clutch hit was needed and the thrilling short stop continued to not produce.  But finally that has come to fruition and Yost can tell us all, “I told you so.”

Thursday’s game was a entire different story.  Once again though, the Royals waited until late in the game to score but it does not matter when you score it is the fact that they do.  Eric Hosmer broke through with a two run home run in the bottom of the sixth to put the Royals on the board and more importantly give the Royals the lead in the game.  The fact that starter Luke Hochevar was able to get past the fifth inning was a huge part of the game not only for tonight but also for the weeks ahead giving many in the bullpen the night off and the three relievers who did pitch were able to not throw extended sessions on the field.  Then once again in the bottom of the ninth the Royals used some magic when Brayan Pena came up in the clutch again with a bloop single that scored Mitch Maier to tie the game then the Brewers made a mistake seen before by fans of Royals past by throwing the ball to second base allowing Jarrod Dyson to score all of the way from first and take the Royals to victory.  Only one thing that can be said about how the Royals won the game tonight, clutch hits and “That’s what speed do.”

If the Royals can continue in their ways they will find themselves having success that they did not believe that they could be in after the first couple months of the season.  If pitchers can keep them in games, relievers keep teams down, and they get clutch hits here and their the Royals may be in a race for a division that just seems to not be playing very good baseball as of late.

ST. LOUIS – March 29, 2012 – Fans that follow the Cardinals online and via social media have been among the first to see the team’s new lineup of television spots.

While the TV campaign will begin officially on local television this Sunday, fans are already enjoying the exclusive sneak preview. Each of the ten spots is being individually debuted this week on the Cardinals’ Facebook page (facebook/cardinals), Twitter feed (@cardinals) and website (cardinals.com/tvads).

“We thought it would be fun to provide fans a sneak preview via a film festival format by releasing the spots one at a time through Facebook, Twitter and the team website,” said Dan Farrell, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “We want to get fans engaged and create some buzz for the ad campaign.”

The first three ads were unveiled yesterday, with the remainder slated to debut over the next two days.  Fan feedback to the ads has been very positive, with hundreds of fans engaging in a dialogue about the spots on both Facebook and Twitter (#cardstvads). Once all of the spots are live on the website, fans will be able to vote for their favorites on the page as well.

Filmed in February during Cardinals spring training in Jupiter, Fla., the campaign again incorporates many of the team’s key players, including Matt Holliday, Adam Wainwright, David Freese and more. The campaign was developed by the team’s new advertising agency HLK Advertising of St. Louis.

Fans who want to see the ads can go to cardinals.com/tvads and follow the team on Twitter @cardinals (#cardstvads) and Facebook (facebook.com/cardinals).

Last year the St Louis Cardinals entered spring training with Kyle McClellan‘s role unsettled.  He wanted to be a starter but had spent his first years working high-leverage innings late in games.  With the loss of Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery, McClellan was thrust full-time into the rotation.

This year the Cardinals enter spring training with McClellan’s role settled, but his presence in the bullpen uncertain.  Now faced with the possible  loss of Chris Carpenter for at least a few starts,  McClellan, who has 17 major league starts to his name  . . . never came up as a potential replacement.  Lance Lynn is on track to fill in, as needed, for Carpenter.

What – what?  Why did that happen?

McClellan has major league experience out of the rotation, something Lynn doesn’t yet possess.  By all outward appearances Kyle was pretty good before he hurt his hip.  McClellan posted a 6-2 record in his starts prior to May 30, spent 15 days on the DL, then posted a 1-4 record prior to being sent back to the bullpen for the remainder of the season.

Doesn’t seem like enough to disqualify him from this year’s discussion.  If his hip is sound he should be able to return to his pre-injury form.  So why was he left out?  Let’s look a little deeper.

From his first start until the injury, opponents hit .250/.307/.404 against him with a .257 average on balls in play.  After he returned from the hip injury, opponents hit .272/.322/.426 against him with a .285 BABIP in games he started.  That’s not far off from what he was allowing prior to the injury; worse, but consistent.  As a reliever, he gave up a .264/.341/.496 line and a .269 BABIP.  His numbers got worse as the season progressed regardless of how he was employed.

Here’s what I found interesting.  According to Fangraphs, during his hot period as a starter he was worth exactly 0.1 WAR. In May, his last full month as a starter, he was worth -0.1 WAR.  Yes, WAR uses FIP to evaluate pitchers, FIP heavily penalizes home runs, and McClellan gave up a lot of those last season (8 of his 21 surrendered in those two months).  Nevertheless, isn’t it interesting he was exactly replacement level as a starter the first two months of 2011*?

Maybe the reason St Louis decided to go with Lynn, despite a belief he is more valuable long-term out of the bullpen, is his higher ceiling.  Don’t forget Lynn was the Cardinals minor-league pitcher of the year in 2009 as a starter.  McClellan’s spectacularly average performance while starting last season makes the selection of Lynn to be this year’s spot starter more understandable.

*for the record, in June and July he posted a 0.0 WAR.

Mike Metzger is a freelance writer based out of San Diego.  He also blogs about the Padres.  Follow him on Twitter.

ROYALS SIGN SHORTSTOP ALCIDES ESCOBAR TO A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT
Four-Year Guaranteed Contract Also Includes Club Options for 2016 and 2017

SURPRISE, AZ (March 15, 2012) — The Kansas City Royals today announced the club has reached an agreement on a multi-year contract with shortstop Alcides Escobar. The contract includes four guaranteed years through the 2015 season, then club options for each of the following two seasons: 2016 and 2017. Consistent with club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The 25-year-old Escobar spent his first season with the Royals in 2011 after being acquired in a six-player trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on December 19, 2010. The defensive standout tied for the Major League lead with 158 games at shortstop while pacing baseball with 459 assists, 745 total chances and 271 putouts. The 6-foot-1, 193-pounder batted .254 with 21 doubles, eight triples, four home runs, 46 RBI and 69 runs scored. In addition, he stole a career-best 26 bases, becoming one of four shortstops in Royals history to steal 20 or more bases in a season (Freddie Patek, U.L. Washington and Angel Berroa). After a slow start, Escobar hit .286 from June 7 through the remainder of the season, including batting .324 in the month of September.

ROYALS INVITE LEFT-HANDED PITCHER BRANDON SISK TO SPRING TRAINING

KANSAS CITY, MO (February 2, 2012) — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has invited left-handed pitcher Brandon Sisk to Major League Spring Training in Surprise, Ariz.  Sisk becomes the 17th non-roster player to receive an invitation.  The Royals have now invited eight pitchers, three catchers, three infielders and three outfielders.

Sisk, 26, opened 2011 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, making 16 relief appearances.  The Elkhart, Texas, resident was then promoted to Omaha (AAA) where he went 4-2 with two saves and a 1.41 ERA in 25 outings, all in relief.  Signed from the Independent Bay Area Toros on July 8, 2008, Sisk was also a part of Major League camp in 2011.

Pitchers and catchers will report to Surprise on Monday, February 20.  Workouts for pitchers begin the following afternoon, Tuesday, February 21.  The remainder of the squad will report on Friday, February 24 and begin workouts for the 2012 campaign on Saturday afternoon, February 25.

19 games into the season, and the Royals have pulled off a surprising stretch of winning baseball. Fans have found themselves walking a tightrope between excitement and skepticism, with the memory of 2009′s 18-11 start and ensuing collapse still fresh. Personally, I will never complain about wins, and the 2011 Royals have been a blast so far, but my hopes for the remainder of the season remain tempered with a healthy dose of wait-and-see.

The Royals, now at 12-7, will have their first winning record after 20 games since 2003, and only the second since 1989. How much of a team’s true talent level is revealed after 20 games? Looking back at the Royals past, the answer could be “more than I expected.” In a surprising number of years, the team’s winning percentage after 20 games has been fairly similar to their final tally. Only once has a Royals team had a winning record after 20 contests but finished the season with a losing mark (1983). (If you are wondering where that 2009 team is, they just missed the cut by being .500 after 20 games.) And only five teams have dug themselves out of a losing 20 game start to finish above .500 (’84, ’87, ’91, ’93, ’94). That means 86% of Royals teams (36/42) have finished above or below .500 when having a similar winning or losing record after 20 games.

Getting a little more technical, the statistical correlation between the winning percentage after the first 20 games and at the end of the season for Royals teams is .42 (0 meaning no correlation, 1 meaning perfect correlation). So obviously there is still a lot of wiggle room after 20 games. But to a larger degree than I expected, teams that are winners after 20 games tend to be winners at the end of the season, and teams that are losers after 20 games tend to be losers after 162. Let’s hope that holds true this year.

Royals seasons 1969--2010

Best 20 Game Start: 16-4 in 2003; Final record: 83-79

The surprise to me in this exercise has been how few fluky starts the Royals have had, but of course there have been a few. Clearly, this was one, but fluky or not, it did lead to a fun summer of contention and the only winning Royals season in the last two million years.

Worst 20 Game Start: 3-17 in 1992; Final record: 72-90

A flukily bad start, but in the broader sense, correctly reflective of an actually bad team.

Limiting this exercise to Royals history may skew things a little. Because their history is generally drastically split between very good years and very bad years, perhaps it should not be surprising that Royals teams usually are showing their colors after 20 games. Looking at the more varied pool of all 2010 teams, seven squads flipped from above or below .500 after 20 games to the opposite at the end of the season, meaning 77% of teams finished on the same side of the .500 line. In 2009, eight teams flopped between winners/losers after 20 and 162 games (73% stayed the same).

We are moving out of the embryonic stage of the season, with win-loss records compiling to the point where teams will be trying to build on a good start or dig out of a bad one from here on out. Whatever the rest of the year may hold, it is nice for the Royals to be in a position of strength after 20 games for a change.

Every year, the group known as the Baseball Bloggers Alliance places their ballots for various awards to be announced at the end of the season. This year, it is my pleasure to place the votes for the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance in the category of Rookie Of The Year. The award is officially titled The Willie Mays Award.

The National League this year has shown some diversity amongst the teams. Highly competitive races came down to the last few weeks of the season, highlighted by three teams and the men that guided them. In my mind, the top three managers to be considered for the award are listed here….

3 – Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
I will probably catch some heat around Cardinal Nation for not placing Jaime higher in consideration for this award. Truth be told, he put together one of the most impressive seasons of a rookie pitcher in recent memory. That being said, the team, as a preventative measure, shut Garcia down in the early part of September for the remainder of the season. After costing him two or three more starts, the team also made it very hard for voters to seriously consider him in post-season award conversations.

Even after the team had shut him down, Garcia would finish with 13 wins in 28 starts and a 2.70 earned run average. He struck out 132 batters, walked only 64, and even threw a complete game shut out, just for good measure. A “dark horse” candidate for this award in the early part of the season, it seemed that Garcia was overlooked by everybody in baseball that was not following the St. Louis Cardinals. Garcia will not take the award home this season, but being considered in the top three is an accomplishment in its own right.

2 – Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
What Buster Posey lacked in patience at the plate, he certainly made up for with solid contact and the presence on the field of a veteran. Posey took charge of the Giants’ pitching staff while putting together a season that would make most veteran catchers proud.

Posey would come on strong, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 67 runs over the course of 2010. Add into those number his 23 doubles and Posey would post a slugging percentage of .505 while hitting an impressive .305. He would only strike out 55 times, but only walk a total of 30 times. When Posey came to the plate in 2010, he came to hit, and he did just that. If Posey can learn some patience at the plate, the Giants will be talking about this young, talented man for a very long time.

1 – Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
He was the favorite to win this award when teams broke camp in Spring of 2010. What Heyward did throughout the year, despite a stint on the disabled list, was not a disappointment in the slightest.

Heyward would match fellow rookie Buster Posey’s 18 home runs, drive in 72 runs and hit a respectable .277. What set him apart was his approach at the plate – though he would strike out an alarming 128 times, he would also walk 91 times, showing some patience and veteran style approach. A .456 slugging percentage and 29 doubles showed many pitchers that he was a force at the plate and moved him to the top of most ballots on the rookie award categories. In the long run, Heyward is ready for greatness in Major League Baseball, and that greatness is coming sooner rather than later.

There you have it, my picks for the Willie Mays Award for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

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.