The Royals were likely to call up infielder Johnny Giavotella after the Omaha Storm Chasers season came to an end, but Chris Getz‘s season-ending thumb injury last week gives Giavotella the chance to see if he has what it takes to be a Major League second baseman.

During spring training, a lot of fans expected (and hoped) Giavotella would make the opening day roster. But on March 25 Giavotella was optioned to AAA Omaha and Getz became the Royals second baseman. A lot of Royals fans and pundits were disappointed. But the Royals believed Getz’s defense was superior, his offense had improved and Giavotella needed more defensive seasoning in Omaha.

Giavotella did well in Omaha with a .331/.408/.504 line with five homers, 25 RBI and 152 plate appearances, playing second base. When starter Jonathan Sanchez went on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, Giavotella joined the Royals May 9.

During his first stint with the Royals, Giavotella played 21 games and split playing time with Getz and Yuni Betancourt. He had an unimpressive .217/.260/.261 line with no homers and six RBI over 73 plate appearances, committing three errors at second base. Giavotella got more playing time at second when Getz went down with a rib injury May 16, but he still split playing time with Betancourt. The Royals sent Giavotella back down to Omaha June 12 when Chris Getz returned from the disabled list.

Giavotella returned to Omaha, ending up with a .323/.404/.472 line with 10 home runs, 71 RBI over 418 plate appearances. He played the majority of the games at second, committing six errors with a .983 fielding average. It appeared Giavotella would be a September call-up, if he was called up at all. Then last Friday, Getz broke his thumb during a bunt attempt and Giavotella was called up for last Saturday’s game against the White Sox.

Plans are for Giavotella to play five to six games a week at second base. So far, Giavotella’s five games since his return haven’t been impressive. His average over the last five games is .167/.211/.167 with three base hits, no RBI with six strikeouts and no walks. In other words, he’s in the lineup, but not really contributing. Of course this is a small sample size and there’s hope his offensive numbers will improve as he gets more playing time.

But what about Giavotella’s defense at second base? To be honest, his defensive numbers this season haven’t been impressive either, with a .949 fielding percentage and a 3.65 RF/9. Compare that to Getz’s .983 fielding percentage and 4.43 RF/9. Even Betancourt had a .975 fielding percentage and a 4.61 RF/9, and we all know how bad an infielder he was. The league average fielding percentage at second base is .983 and the league RF/9 is 4.62. In other words, all three players are just near or below league average. One is no longer with the team (Betancourt), another is out for the year (Getz), and the one who’s left (Giavotella) is below league average in both categories.

Some Royals fans would like Giavotella to be the second baseman of the future and take Getz’s place. But to be fair, Getz played well with a .275/.312/.360 average and only committed four errors at second, despite having an injury filled season. And since Getz is not going to be a free agent until 2015, he’s probably going to be competing for a second base job in 2013, along with Giavotella.

Unless Giavotella has an injury, he’s going to be the Royals second baseman for the rest of the season. And even if his offense improves, his defense will decide if the Royals think he’s their second baseman of the future. Giavotella is being given a chance. It’s up to him to make the most of it.

In an unexpected move last Sunday, the Royals designated infielder Yuniesky Betancourt for assignment. I’m sure there’s some Royals fans who think this is an elaborate joke being played on them and the Yunibomber will be back. But it’s true. Yuni is no longer a Royal. Really! (I think.)

Remember when the Royals signed Betancourt to a one-year, two million dollar contract, telling shocked and disappointed Royals fans Yuni was going to be a part-time utility infielder? So what happened? Yuni got more playing time than fans wanted and he even had a decent June. But then Yuni became Yuni and went back to his worst everyday player in baseball self.

No team wanted to trade for him or claim him on waivers, so the Royals let Yuni go. Was it for his lack of defensive range? No. Was it for his .228 batting average? No. Was it for his -1.2 WAR? No. Yuni wanted more playing time, so the Royals cut him loose. According to Manager Ned Yost, one of the reasons Yuni was let go was to change the Royals losing culture. Are they serious? Did the Royals think signing Yuni would bring in a winning culture?

It’s things like this which frustrate Royals fans to no end. Never mind the team could have used infielder Tony Abreu, who they signed as a non-roster invitee, as a low-cost utility infielder. Or longtime Royals farmhand Irving Falu, who’s toiled ten seasons in the team’s minor league system. Instead, the Royals signed Yuni for two million and he performed like Yuni.

And the kicker? Abreu, the player who replaced Yuni, has some offensive pop but his defense is suspect. That sounds like a player the Royals just designated for assignment. Oh well, better late than never.

In another move, Doug Sisson was fired last Saturday. Doug who? You know, Doug Sisson, the former first base, base-running, outfield and bunting coach. Taking his place is Rusty Kuntz, who spent the last year and a half as a special assistant to the general manager while Sisson was first base coach. Now Kuntz is back, taking over Sisson’s duties. Why was Sisson fired? It’s hard to say. Maybe the players didn’t like him or his coaching, or perhaps Sisson and Yost weren’t on the same page.

Will this make a difference? Doubtful. It’s true Kuntz helped Alex Gordon convert to left field and he’s worked with outfielders Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain. But the Royals changing their first base coach in the middle of the season is just a symbolic blip in a long, disappointing season.

Then last Monday afternoon the Royals allowed the San Francisco Giants to claim situational lefty Jose Mijares off waivers. In return, the Royals got a $20,000 waiver claim fee. In other words, the Royals let Mijares go for next to nothing. The Royals did try to trade Mijares, but there wasn’t any takers.

Mijares wasn’t a bad pitcher. He had a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA, pitching 38.2 innings in 51 games. But the Royals didn’t see Mijares in their long-term plans. Even though he wasn’t eligible for free agency until 2014, it’s possible Mijares would make $2.5 million in arbitration. The Royals felt that was too much money for a situational lefty.

Taking his place is lefty Francisley Bueno, who the Royals signed as a non-roster invitee. For AAA Omaha, Bueno had a 1-4 record with a 2.75 ERA, pitching 55.2 innings over 35 games. He also appeared in three games for the Royals.

The Royals believe Bueno is more of a long-term fit and could be more effective against right-handers than Mijares. Ok, fair enough. But if that’s the case, why did the Royals sign Mijares in the first place? I’m sure Bueno would be more affordable and if he was good, the Royals would have better luck signing him than Mijares. And if Bueno wasn’t bueno, the Royals could cut him loose with minimum fuss.

The Royals 2012 season is sinking into oblivion and these moves aren’t going to turn the team around or reverse what Yost calls a “losing culture.” But it’s doing something, and for the Royals, doing something is better than doing nothing.

It’s a lot more fashionable to be optimistic about the Royals than it has been in past years, so I don’t want anyone to think I’m just jumping on that bandwagon. The Kool Aid Drinker has been spewing optimistic proclamations since the days of Darrel May and Lima Time and won’t be stopping any time soon. I also do not want you to think all of my posts will be half-baked attempts to gloss over whatever the Royals may be facing. I have signed on for four posts a month here at I-70 Baseball and I have decided to give one of them each month to the Kool Aid Drinker. The rest of the time I’ll try to offer something more insightful, if not as entertaining. But for now, let’s see what the Kool Aid Drinker sees in his crystal ball for the first half of 2012:

January 31, 2012
GM Dayton Moore shocks the baseball world right in the middle of Super Bowl Week by signing Roy Oswalt to a 1 year, $18 million deal. While some argue that $18 million is too much for a pitcher that has topped 200 innings only once over the last 3 years, Moore brashly counters: “We felt like we were one top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher away from being a legitimate contender, and Roy fits that mold. We expect to compete for a World Championship in 2012.”

February 21, 2012
George Brett arrives in Surprise, but the bigger surprise is who hops out of his passenger door, Frank White. White’s on-again, off-again love affair with the Royals is back on-again as he has been hired as a special adviser whose only responsibility is to teach Johnny Giovatella how to play second base…in a positive manner.

February 29, 2012
Manager Ned Yost finds it fitting on Leap Year’s “extra day” to announce that he is considering using an “extra” starter in the form of the 6 man rotation the Royals employed at times last season. Yost tells reporters that early in camp the battle for the 5^th (and 6^th?) spot in the rotation is going to be a tight one between Felipe Paulino, Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, Aaron Crow and Jake Odorizzi.

March 6, 2012
In split squad games against the Indians and Padres, Odorizzi and Montgomery set the early tone in the competition by each throwing a scoreless inning and striking out the side. Yost states afterwards that he may consider a 7 man rotation.

March 31, 2012
Conventional wisdom wins out with the Royals settling on a 5 man rotation and sending Duffy, Monty and Odorizzi to AAA to compile 3/5 of quite possibly the greatest AAA rotation ever. Eric Hosmer hits his Cactus League leading 11^th home run of spring training against the Diamondbacks.

April 6, 2012
Oswalt pitches a gem on opening day, throwing 7 scoreless innings, picking up a win the hard way in a 1-0 battle. Alcides Escobar is featured on Web Gems for his diving snag of an Albert Pujols line drive to end the game.

April 23, 2012
The Royals conclude their first home stand with a 10-5 victory. The 10 run outburst is keyed by a 3 run shot from Yuniesky Betancourt, filling at second in for Gio after his rough 4/39 start. The Royals average 32,000 fans over the 9 game home stand prompting David Glass to proclaim that he may be willing to splurge for a true utility infielder if this keeps up.

May 5, 2012
Joakim Soria celebrates Cinco De Mayo with a 5-out save for the Royals third straight win against the Yankees. CC Sabathia is scratched from his Sunday start after getting stuck in an Oklahoma Joe’s bathroom stall.

May 31, 2012
X-Rays show Bruce Chen has a broken right hand suffered in a post game celebration after the Royals walk off win against the Indians the night before. Chen is sent to the DL and the Royals call up Mike Montgomery and his 1.73 ERA. The Royals finish the month of May at 28-23, 2 games back of the first place Tigers.

June 13, 2012
After being hit by a 94 mph fastball, Billy Butler (pinch hitting for Escobar in the 7^th) finally gets to let Zack Greinke know how really feels about him. The brawl lasts 11 minutes and is highlighted by Salvador Perez lifting Brewers OF Nyjer Morgan completely off the ground in a Beast Mode pose.

June 17, 2012
Carlos Beltran strikes out looking on a 63 mph curve from Soria as the red hot closer notches his league leading 26^th save of the season. The three game sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis vaults the Royals into a tie with Tigers for first at 38-28

June 24, 2012
After splitting the first two games of their home series with the Cardinals, the Royals win the rubber match in convincing fashion, 11-0. The win caps a near perfect weekend at The K with sellout crowds all three days that, for the first time in many years, are more blue than red.

June 30, 2012
The Royals finish the month of June at 44-33, a game ahead of the red-hot Tigers. Hosmer leads the team with 19 home runs and 62 RBI, while hitting a cool .305.

Now, the Kool Aid Drinker does not want to completely let the cat out of the bag on 2012, so we will save the second half of the season for some time in June. Until then, I would love to hear what you see in store for the Royals through your rose-colored glasses.

I never thought I would be one of those writers with a cause célèbre, a single issue that I address frequently and passionately. But it would appear I have finally found my hot button issue.

I’ve bemoaned in two different articles recently the Royals’ handling of their need for a backup infielder – a “utility infielder,” if you will.

The collective scream of “No!” that you heard around Kansas City yesterday was fans reacting to the announcement that the Royals had signed Yuniesky Betancourt as a backup infielder. And I am back at the computer, this time not to address what the Royals should do. This time I have to address what it is they have done, which is more baffling than any decision to date.

If on no other basis that PR, this signing stinks. Betancourt’s inclusion in the Zack Greinke trade was seen by Royals fans as a case of addition by subtraction. Betancourt is probably the most reviled player in recent KC history. Fans celebrated every move Alcides Escobar made if for no other reason than that he is not Yuniesky Betancourt.

I have been railing about the Royals’ mishandling of Mike Aviles and Yamaico Navarro and their need for someone who can capably back up Escobar at shortstop as well as Mike Moustakas at third and whoever the Royals deem their starting second baseman.

Conventional wisdom says you need someone who isn’t necessarily sent out to win games, but who won’t lose games. Utility infielders usually are steady, not flashy, dependable, not streaky.

If that is the case, then Yuni is not your guy. Sure he has some pop, and can occasionally make an impressive play. But this is a guy who catches (or doesn’t catch) pop flies one-handed off to the side of his body. He fails with runners in scoring position. He covers very little ground.

That is, he covers very little ground at short. The Royals admit that Betancourt has only played nine games in his career at second base. As far as I know, he’s NEVER played third.

So the Royals problem really still isn’t fixed. You can’t blame the Royals for not having made a decision between Johnny Giavotella and Chris Getz. So they’ll probably carry both on the roster. So second is backed up already.

But who fills in for Moustakas? A guy who sucks at his natural position of shortstop and has never played third? Who shows lack of discipline and poor work habits? Whose physical skills are rapidly deteriorating?

I just don’t get it. And I don’t think I’m alone among Royals fans. Bringing back a guy who was unpopular is one thing. But bringing back an unpopular guy to play a role for which he’s poorly suited seems much worse.

I usually have on my powder-blue colored glasses for roster moves, but I don’t for this one. To me it’s just plain stupid.

The Zack Greinke trade of last December was aptly dubbed a “blockbuster,” meaning that several players changed hands in the transition. So to evaluate the trade requires more than just a one-to-one comparison.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

One of the centerpieces of the trade for the Royals was Alcides Escobar. Their arsenal of top prospects lacked a hot shortstop, and fans lusted for a change from whipping boy Yuniesky Betancourt.

Betancourt was not a centerpiece of the trade. He was a throw-in. Or more accurately, he was a throw-out. The Royals wanted rid of Betancourt, and the Brewers were willing to swap shortstops to get Greinke.

But what if the Royals had had the opportunity to trade Betancourt for Escobar even up during last off-season?

Certainly they would have jumped at the chance. Escobar’s struggles in his debut season in Milwaukee hadn’t completely tarnished his top-10 prospect ranking. Betancourt, on the other hand, couldn’t even get credit for hitting three of the Royals’ four grand slams in 2010. No one liked him, and his chances of emerging from the doghouse in KC were nil.

Looking back now, however, would a trade of Betancourt for Escobar, even up, be such a good idea?

It didn’t always look like a good idea. Like when Betancourt hit .333 with a homer and 5 RBI’s in the National League Championships Series. It didn’t when he scored five runs against the D-Backs in the previous playoff series.

But it did when he muffed an easy ground ball that opened the floodgates against the Cardinals in game 5. And it did when balls that would seem playable by average shortstops eluded his reach repeatedly throughout the playoffs.

Such is life with Betancourt. But under close analysis, is Escobar any better?

Comparison of a few of their numbers would show there wasn’t much difference between the two during the 2011 campaign.

Escobar’s batting average during the first two months of the season would have embarrassed Mario Mendoza. But he heated up to finish with a .254 mark. Yuni, meanwhile, posted a .252 average. No difference there.

Escobar’s .290 OBP was just 10^th among AL shortstops – well below average. But Betancourt, who has a career .292 OBP, managed just .271 this year. Advantage Escobar.

Slugging is where Yuni has a decided advantage. Like him or not, you can’t debate that Yuni has developed some pop. His slugging percentage in 2011 was an acceptable .381. Not great but just .007 behind someone named Derek Jeter. And last year, he slugged .405. Escobar on the other hand? An anemic .343 last year. Advantage Betancourt.

After knocking 16 homers in 2010, Betancourt popped 13 more this season. After Ned Yost bragged about Escobar’s power in the spring, his shortstop managed just 4. Big advantage Betancourt.

But while Betancourt begins to look like the better player, we can’t forget to look at the total package. Escobar far outshines Betancourt in the eye test. Who can forget the lazy showing on fly balls? Or the strikeouts with runners on base? Or the lack of speed or range?

Those headache-inducing defensive statistics seemed to back up the perception that Escobar is the far superior fielder. He scored higher in fielding percentage and in putouts + assists per 9 innings. Yost boasted that Escobar’s “runs are in his glove,” meaning that he is taking away an inordinate number of runs from the opponent. His arm is certainly one of the best, and he seems to move much better than Betancourt.

And speaking of moving, Escobar can move on the base paths as well. He was third among AL shortstops with 26 stolen bases. Betancourt has just 30 steals in his 7-year career. Escobar also led AL shortstops with 8 triples. Betancourt has a decent number of triples in his career, but just five in the last two years combined.

So in addition to fielding, Escobar has a definite advantage in two areas – 1) speed and overall athleticism, and 2) age.

Escobar is just 24 and looks lithe and agile. Betancourt is 29 but looks like he’s 39.

Escobar’s stock appears to be trending up, while Betancourt’s is decidedly headed down. Escobar took off after his horrid start and improved drastically over the course of his second season in the bigs. Betancourt, on the other hand, seemed on the decline. I have little doubt that Betancourt will be replaced within the next couple of years and probably won’t even be in the big leagues when Escobar peaks.

Before the season, I wrote the following:

With the proper expectations, Escobar has a great chance of being one of the best in team history. If Escobar could hit .250 with 10 homers and 30-plus stolen bases in a season, he’d fall right in with the best offensive shortstops the Royals have ever had. If he plays excellent defense, it would be first time in a decade the team had that at short.

If he performs any better than that, he could go down as the greatest shortstop in Royals history.

(See the whole article about KC’s history of shortstops)

While he didn’t exactly blow anyone’s mind with his play last year, I’ll stand by that statement. I saw enough potential from June to September to believe Escobar is a significant upgrade over Betancourt. I believe he is Kansas City’s answer at short, and I believe he will be a fixture on great Royals teams for the next decade.

The same could never have been said about Yuni.

People are always quick to say Dayton Moore is a bad GM. The problem with that statement is people don’t look at the full GM work that he does. Moore has built the Baseball America number one minor league system, which prevents him from being a bad GM but also something people around here are tired of talking about. GM has made some of the most boneheaded moves at the pro level, which everyone wants to crucify him for, which keeps him from being a good GM. So let’s except for this blog that Dayton Moore is an average GM.

Isn’t that what you should have for an average team, ran by an owner who wants an average return from exceptional fans. Well, being exceptional fans we just can’t accept things around here being average or really below average as they have been. What stinks is Baird conditioned an entire fan base to expect us to build great minor league systems and sell them off. Some say we saw it again this year with the Greinke trade. I disagree. There is a great chance 2 of the 4 prospects start in the majors and a good chance another one does. That is the kind of trade a small market team needs to make. At best we picked up instant impact at short and center and a lock down 8thinning guy to get us to Soria. We all know what the worst is. More realistically, we now have a good piece for a bad pen, someone probably better defensively than Yuni, but not as good offensively. A Triple-A centerfielder and a potential third starter in three years. I consider this trade a win, when all we gave up was two diva filled years of unhappy Greinke. Never forget Greinke blocked a great deal for the Royals from the Nationals, NEVER FORGET THAT.

The Royals also acquired Jeff Francis. A 30 year old, former 19 game winner who has had arm trouble but has also showed signs of greatness. I am personally invested in this signing because the Rockies are my National League team and Francis brought me plenty of happiness when I lived out there. I feel Francis will get some of his form back and be a 12-14 game winner, which is a heck of a lot better than what we had there. This is a win. The Royals acquire Jeff Francoeur. Come on, we knew this was going to happen. We got our hopes up it wasn’t but let’s be real. So Jeff Francoeur is a Royal (Who’s name I will misspell at least 50 times on twitter this season).One thing about Francoeur I took away from the Digital Digest interviews was, he is making a difference on the difference makers. Butler seems happier with him here and hopefully that will spell out a big year for him. I will keep this as a loss but if he is the difference maker in the clubhouse then it could be a win

Oh but then there’s Melky Cabrera. The guy all Yankees fans told me was the next Yankee legend… Um Yankee legends don’t end up with the Royals… Not even in the 80s…. I guess he’s not that bad. In his last full season in the AL, he hit 13 HRs which would be tied for fourth on last year’s team. His .274 batting average puts him behinds DDJ and Pods, tied with Gregor Blanco and ahead of the rest of the potential Royals outfielders. So if you look at the team of last year, the move makes sense, I guess, but I think everyone around here would have actually been happy to see GMDM throw out some of the kids at Omaha instead of signing another maybe outfielder. So let’s think like we can only imagine GMDM was thinking.

‘Melky is better than anything we currently have and I just did a pretty good flip on Farnsworth, Pods and Ankiel. I should be able to do as well for Melky and Franny.’

Well GMDM I can’t jump on board here. You have a good young, center fielder that you got when you traded the best player on the team and now don’t have anywhere to play him. Loved the Ankiel/Pods signing, I was wrong. Hated these signings and I hope I am wrong again and that you flip them for good AA or AAA talent, however this is a big loss for GMDM. Sorry.

Now at 2 wins, 2 losses, we get to the move to my favorite move. I started #BringbackChen on twitter as soon as he was a free agent. Boras wanted 2 years; GMDM said no way….So did everyone else. Bruce came back for one more year. I am such a sick fan that this made me happier than anything that has happened on this team all last year and this off season. He led the team in wins even though he started in Omaha. Why can’t he do it again? This time for a full season. This time to the tune of 15 plus wins. We could get thirty wins from two free agent signings. That’s more than we got from our Cy Young Winner and our $55 Million Dollar Man. This is a win! Another thing that is very positive for GMDM is, according to Greg Schaum, he has never had to go to arbitration with any player. He got another clean sweep this year! For now, even giving Kyle Davies $3.4 Mil, GMDMs ability to avoid arbitration is a win.

Billy Butler’s 4 year contract is another HUGE win! It was really cool that this story broke during fan fest and lifted all the Royals fan spirits at the Overland Park Convention Center. It’s a step in the right direction to say the Royals are going to try and contend. It allows some of us to say, ‘look they are spending money! We are getting better. Quit being Negative Nancy’s!’ I am so excited for this season!

I went in to this offseason expecting the Royals to trade Greinke and lose 100 games. Now I feel like the royals could win 70 or so and finish out of the cellar. No fan should be happy for 4^th but if fans expect low and wish high, you are much happier when the team over performs rather than underperforms. Billy is coming in happy. He’s going to be the leader this team needs. Maybe they’ll surprise us and win 82 maybe they won’t but we still have baseball and a little something to look forward to.

Troy “KCRoyalman” Olsen can be heard on 810 Radio Wednesdays and Fridays from 9-11pm as part of 3 guys in a garage. Follow him at twitter.com/kcroyalman and facebook.com/kcroyalman.

The aftershocks of the Zack Greinke trade are still reverberating in Royals-land, and KC fans are trying to wrap their heads around life without Zack and the outlook for the four new names added to the franchise. A lot of unknowns. But here I will take a look back at the known: Greinke and fellow trade piece Yuniesky Betancourt’s time with the Royals. Zack and Yuni both stirred the emotions of Royals fans. The similarities end there though.

Betancourt was another stopgap in the seemingly endless merry-go-round of subpar shortstops in Kansas City, and became a whipping boy for many fans. To the sabermetrically inclined, GM Dayton Moore’s acquisition of Betancourt mid-season 2009 was another glaring example of the organization’s head-in-the-sand attitude towards advances in baseball analysis. He was dreadful in his 71 games with the club in ’09 and marginally better in 2010. His 16 home runs—four of the grand variety—in 2010 came out of nowhere and did provide a boost. Still, that Moore included him in this trade takes the sting out of losing Greinke ever so slightly.

Zack has been a part of the Royals organization since the 2002 draft, so Royals fans have had a long time to get attached to him. He whizzed through the minors and made his Royals debut in a start in Oakland in 2004 when he was just 20 years old. He pitched well enough in his five innings that day to be in line for a win. The game served as an ominous foreshadow of things to come for Greinke: with the Royals up 4-2 and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Royals were primed to celebrate their young prospect’s first victory. But Eric Chavez hit a two run blast to tie it up, and the Royals dropped the game in the 11th. If Zack had any idea how many times his talents would be wasted by hapless Royals teams over the ensuing years, he would have demanded a trade then and there. Instead he trudged on, and had an encouraging rookie year (3.97 ERA, 4.70 FIP). Then came a tortuous sophomore campaign in which nothing seemed to go right. Zack wasn’t as bad as his 5.80 ERA and 5-17 record suggested (his FIP actually improved to 4.49), but the year took a toll on him.

His struggle with anxiety and depression that led to him walking away from baseball in 2006 spring training has been well documented and probably overblown, so here’s the short version: Greinke headed home to Orlando thinking he might become a lawnmower, but received some help and rediscovered his drive to play. Zack has credited then Royals GM Allard Baird and manager Buddy Bell for handling his problems with grace. He headed to AA Wichita where Frank White was managing and the team was winning games. Zack was supposedly enjoying being part of a winning team so much that he was disappointed when the call came to head to the losing big league club for three late-season relief appearances.

Greinke was hit hard early in ’07 and was moved to the bullpen after seven starts. There he made 38 largely effective appearances before being put pack into the rotation in time for seven more starts at the end of the year. It was in those games Greinke began filling his potential as an ace. With the season winding down, he shut out the White Sox for eight innings, allowing two hits, zero walks and striking out 10. He has never looked back. In 2008 he put it all together over a full season, and Kansas City had the makings of a star on their hands.

Royals fans were already endeared to Greinke at this point, but it was taken to a new level when he signed an extension before the ’09 season that everyone thought would keep him in Kansas City through 2012. In a city jaded by seeing homegrown players who achieve success bolting for larger paydays, fans were jubilant that Zack actually wanted to stay. He seemed to think Moore was putting the Royals in a position to contend, and silly as it seems now, there were dreams that the ’09 Royals could do just that. A motivated Greinke flew out of the gates, reeling off one of the sickest stretches of pitching in history. It took 24 innings into the season for anyone to get a run off him—and it was unearned. Through 10 starts, his ERA stood at 0.84 and he had 73 strikeouts and 12 walks. Royals fans started wishing each other a Happy Greinke Day when he was starting. And as if they needed anymore reason to love him, he told the media in New York, “I don’t want to pitch for New York in the playoffs. I want to pitch for Kansas City in the playoffs.”

The complete domination abated slightly in the middle of the season—perhaps when it was clear the Royals weren’t contenders—but then returned in full force at the end of the season. On August 25, he struck out 15 to set a new Royals record. He followed that up with an even better game: a one-hit shutout in Seattle. Much of his success was predicated on a slider so filthy it buckled the knees of anyone in a ten mile radius. He landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated and dominated an inning of the All-Star game. When the year was over, he had 242 strikeouts, a 2.16 ERA, an impossible 205 ERA+, a 2.33 FIP and a Cy Young trophy. It was probably one of the three greatest individual seasons in Royals history (along with George Brett’s 1980 and Bret Saberhagen’s 1989).

But Zack never seemed particularly excited about or interested in the individual achievements. He found it “annoying” when KC fans chanted “Cy Young” during his last home start of ’09. Greinke just wanted to win. And in spite of his once-in-a-decade performance in ’09, the team was merely 17-16 in games he started thanks to criminally bad run and bullpen support.

No one was deluding themselves that the 2010 Royals would be contenders, and it seemed to most observers that Zack lacked motivation last season. The traditional stats (4.17 ERA) show that he was downright mediocre, but of the things Zack could control, he was still an elite pitcher (3.34 FIP). Fangraphs WAR rated him the seventh best pitcher in the AL in 2010. But in August, he revealed to the Kansas City Star just how frustrated he was with the Royals. He stated that he had no reason to get excited about another youth movement in Kansas City since even if it paid dividends, it would not be until after his contract was up. Then during this off-season, it became clear Greinke was pushing hard for a trade to a team that had a chance to win now. Dayton Moore had failed to build a competent team around his star, and that led to his hand being forced to move him.

There are real reasons to be excited about the future of the Royals starting in 2012 or so, but for now, there’s a gaping hole on the mound where one of Kansas City’s favorite athletes used to be. Dayton Moore signing Greinke to that extension in ’09 was probably his finest move as GM; his inability to keep Greinke content and in KC may be his worst. I shudder to think what a re-energized Greinke might do to the National League in 2011. And for now, Royals fans are left to wonder what could have been in Kansas City.

If, before the 2010 season began, someone told you Yuniesky Betancourt would start 151 games at shortstop for the Kansas City Royals during the season, you would probably assume something was about to go terribly wrong.

Well, the Royals did lose 95 games in 2010, finishing last in what many consider the weakest division in all of baseball.

But… over there at shortstop, Yuniesky Betancourt played pretty darn good.

In fact, he was one of the few bright spots for the Royals in 2010, and his performance virtually guaranteed his placement in the starting lineup in 2011.

Fans cried foul when the Royals traded away a promising pitching prospect for Yuni during the 2009 season. Many people considered baseball experts called Betancourt one of the worst, if not the worst, everyday players in the majors. And in ’09, he sort of looked like it.

But in 2010, Yuni actually came to play ball.

Offensively, Yuni was not the worst player in the majors. In fact, he was by many indicators the second-best hitter on the team in 2010. His final numbers include 16 homers which, sadly, led the team, a .259 batting average, 78 RBIs and a .405 slugging average. Yuni drew 23 walks in 2010, which was a career high for the free-swinger.

Defensively, Yuni actually wasn’t that bad. I don’t get into advanced sabermetrics much, but one that’s becoming more mainstream is “Total Zone – Total Fielding Runs Above Average.” Baseball Reference describes it as “The number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made.” Basically, that means the league average shortstop will have a Total Zone number of 0.

Betancourt’s number is -2, which means was slightly below average. That makes him the 17^th best defensive shortstop in the league.

Not too shabby for a guy considered the worst in the league just a year before.

(FYI – The player who won the American League Gold Glove Award for shortstop, Derek Jeter, ranks second-to-last in the majors, according to Total Zone numbers, with a score of -10. The best defensive shortstop in the majors? St. Louis’ Brendan Ryan, with a Total Zone number of +15.)

Betancourt also provided much-needed stability for the Royals at a crucial position. Only Oakland’s Cliff Pennington and the White Sox’s Alexei Ramirez started more games at shortstop than Betancourt.

For the 11 games Betancourt didn’t start, Mike Aviles was the guy (Willie Bloomquist played one inning at shortstop as a defensive replacement). We spoke about his numbers in the second base edition of this series.

As previously mentioned, there’s no reason to believe Betancourt won’t be the starter in 2011. His competition would probably include only Joaquin Arias, a recent waiver wire acquisition, although Arias projects as a backup at best.

Long-term, fans are hopeful first-round draft pick Christian Colon can skyrocket through the ranks and eventually join Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer as infield prospects.

Until then, we’re stuck with Yuni, for better or worse. He’s under contract through 2011 with an option for 2012.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

During a recent I-70 Baseball Radio show, Bill Ivie and I looked into the crystal ball and predicted the starting lineups for our respective teams in 2011.

Here, with my comments, is my projected Opening Day starting lineup for the 2011 Kansas City Royals.

(NOTE: This projected lineup is made with internal candidates only; any free-agent signings the Royals make could throw a wrench into it.)

1. Jarrod Dyson, CF

Dyson really impressed me in the minors in 2010 and during a major league callup late in the year. Although he didn’t put up great numbers in The Bigs, Dyson proved he can be a productive leadoff hitter, and he’s one of the best baserunners I’ve ever seen. He also provides a strong glove in the outfield.

2. David Dejesus, RF

Before a season-ending injury in 2010, DeJesus was on pace to put up the best numbers of his career. If he can stay healthy, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be the No. 2 hitter next year – unless manager Ned Yost decides to bat him leadoff.

Billy Butler

3. Billy Butler, 1B

Billy has been consistently solid at the plate over the last couple years, and defensively he’s getting better every season. Although I’d like to see him hit more home runs and hit into fewer double plays, he makes for a strong No. 3 batter on this team.

4. Kila Ka’aihue, DH

Like Dyson, Kila didn’t put up huge numbers in the majors in 2010, but I think he deserves a shot at a full season in KC. He probably shouldn’t be batting fourth, but… who else is gonna bat cleanup on this team?

5. Mike Aviles, 2B

After recovering from an injury, Aviles returned to form at the end of 2010. I expect 2011 to be a huge breakout hear for the infielder – and I expect him to be the Royals’ All Star representative next season.

6. Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

Hopefully Yuni can put up the same kind of numbers he did in 2010. If he can, perhaps Yuni becomes a legitimate trade candidate in mid-season – which would probably be best for the Royals long term. He’s a shoe-in to start at shortstop on Opening Day.

7. Alex Gordon, LF

I think 2011 is Alex Gordon’s last chance with the Royals. If he can’t prove himself as a legitimate day-to-day player, I don’t see him in Royal blue in 2012.

8. Mike Moustakas, 3B

If things go as planned, Moose will be the starting third baseman on Opening Day. He also won’t stay in the No. 8 hole for long – I can even see him moving up to 3, 4 or 5.

9. Lucas May, C

This is my dark-horse pick for 2011. I think May beats out Brayan Pena for the starting catching position, which will be up for grabs due to Jason Kendall’s injury.

Bench: Wilson Betemit, Brayan Pena, Mitch Maier, Gregor Blanco and either Chris Getz or Josh Fields.

There you have it, folks. I would be very satisfied as a Royals fan if the Opening Day lineup looks like this. When we get closer to April, I’ll take another look at this projection and see how wrong I am.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

In football, teams can often be judged by their giveaway-takeaway ratio. In almost every case, the teams with high rates of takeaways (recovered fumbles, intercepted passes) and low rates of giveaways are the best in the league.

Let’s consider a similar formula for a baseball team. In this situation, the “takeaways” will be breakout players, those who perform above their pre-season expectations. The “giveaways,” conversely, are the busts, players who have failed to meet their goals.

In the case of the Kansas City Royals, players such as David DeJesus, Billy Butler, Alberto Callaspo and All-Star representative Joakim Soria don’t factor into the equation. We expected them to have good seasons, and they’re doing just that.

Let’s examine the Royals’ breakouts and busts, and see what that tells us about the first half of the 2010 season.

BREAKOUT: Bruce Chen

He pitched six perfect innings over the weekend and has been the biggest surprise in the Royals’ rotation this year. In fact, he may be the best pitcher on the team right now.

BUST: Rick Ankiel

Even before he was injured early in the season, Ankiel was batting a measly .210 over the first 19 games.

BREAKOUT: Yuniesky Betancourt

Don’t stop reading! The much-maligned Yuni is batting .255 with a handful of homers and halfway decent defense, including a few spectacular plays. He’s performing well above what anybody expected.

BUST: Zack Greinke

The last few games he has been nearer to his Cy Young-winning form, but early in the season he was bust-worthy. Zack has always been haunted by poor run support, and this year has been no exception.

BREAKOUT: Kyle Farnsworth

Farnsworth, perhaps the biggest surprise this season, is leading the team with a 2.10 ERA. He’s become a valuable setup guy in the bullpen. Expect him to be traded soon.

BUST: Willie Bloomquist

Bloomquist is a fan favorite and had a great year off the bench last season, but he’s become flat this year, with a scant .243 average over 74 at-bats.

BREAKOUT: Jose Guillen

Given Guillen’s contract, some fans would say anything less than a .325 average and 40 home runs would be a bust. But realistically, Guillen has been the best offensive producer on the team this year, which is surprising given his previous numbers.

OTHER BREAKOUTS: Mike Aviles, Scott Podsednik, Wilson Betemit, Dusty Hughes

OTHER BUSTS: Gil Meche, Chris Getz

What does this tell us? The Royals have had a few more breakouts than busts, and in most estimations, the team under Ned Yost is better than the team was under Trey Hillman. The Royals are 36-46, fourth place in the AL Central, and eight games back of the division-leading Twins and Tigers.

The success of the team in the second half will also be determined by breakouts and busts. Will the Royals have more takeaways or giveaways down the stretch?