The Kansas City Royals did win a game this week, which may not sound like a lot, but means something to their loyal fan base, so I wanted to bring it up. Here’s a quick look at what else happened.
The Beginning
Despite Zack Greinke’s horrendous start against the Tigers, the Royals starters have a 3.55 ERA three weeks into the season, placing them square in the middle of the major league pack.
Million Dollar Gil and Zack G are leading the way, with five quality starts out of seven so far.
The Middle
Dismal Run support has been a problem. Kansas City is averaging only 3.4 runs a game and has below average numbers across the board. The best hitters have been John Buck and Reggie Sanders, two guys who are only playing in half the games.
The team leads the league in strike outs, while sitting at fourth-to-last in walks.
The End
The relief staff has kept Buddy Bell hooked on Rolaids, sporting a 5.74 ERA and blowing leads late in four games this season.
Joakim Soria has been given the closer’s job until Octavio Dotel returns from the disabled list. Soria picked up his first big league win by striking out four batters over the last two innings Thursday against Detroit. On the season, Soria has 11 Ks against 4 walks in 8.3 innings of work.
The Rest
Forbes has released its latest franchise valuations, including this scathing article about David Glass hording money from revenue sharing.
The club is currently valued at $282 Million if you would like to make an offer. My guess is that with some shrewd negotiating, you can get the boys in blue for about $250M if you throw in a new black cloak for the Emperor to wear.
Craig Brown at Royals Authority shows that Mark Teahen has reverted to his old habits of taking the ball the other way. Fond followers of the fellow will recall that once he started pulling the ball more, his power numbers jumped way up last year.
Finally, Mike Sweeney knows his bat is slow, so you can stop making fun of him.
