Posted by Craig Brown on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 7:14 am

There are about 33 or 34 positive things about this year’s Kansas City Royals. Someone else other than Zack Greinke will be starting the other 128 or 129 games though. Initially, this editor set out to be me more positive in introduction #4 but after reading Craig Brown’s Royals preview and trying to put myself in Royals fan’s shoes, we’ll be headed to Foot Locker to return the footwear while you dive in to BDD’s latest team preview. Read on for a quick look back at last year, the outlook for 2010, position breakdowns and more on this year’s Kansas City Royals.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

‘09 Record: 65-97, 4th in AL Central
Pythagorean Record: 66-96 (-1 differential)
Current PECOTA Projection: 74-88 (5th in AL Central)

———————-

2009 Review

Former Royals manager Buddy Bell had a saying:  Never say you’ve hit rock bottom because it can always get worse.  (Bell is a pessimist which made him an ideal manager for the Royals.) The Royals severely put that axiom to the test in 2009. Injuries, underperformance, atrocious fundamentals, Kyle Farnsworth… Everything that could have gone wrong for the Royals, did so in sometimes spectacular fashion.

The injuries were the big story. The Royals lost Alex Gordon to hip surgery and shortly after that learned Mike Aviles needed Tommy John surgery, which effectively wiped out the left side of the infield. The Royals also lost starting center fielder Coco Crisp for the season after just 49 games. Then, with a thin bullpen, manager Trey Hillman embarked on his Starting Rotation Chainsaw Massacre that saw him abuse starters Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies to the point they threw a combined total of 18 innings in the month of September.  It would have been difficult for a contender to withstand the onslaught on injuries. For a team lacking depth like the Royals, it was impossible to overcome.

The injuries are something to discuss in a review, but this team just wasn’t that good to begin with. How many wins they lost to injury can be debated. Unfortunately, the injuries will continue to resonate for a few years to come. Looking to plug the gap at shortstop, General Manager Dayton Moore traded for 2009’s worst everyday player in Yuniesky Betancourt whose contract runs through the 2012 season.

If you’re looking for positives, there’s Zack Greinke’s Cy Young performance and Billy Butler’s breakout. Unfortunately, that’s about it.

2010 Outlook

The Royals made a ton of moves this off-season, overhauling their outfield and attempting to add depth across the roster. Of course, this is a direct reaction to what happened with the injuries last summer. (The Royals are certainly a reactionary organization.  Perhaps this is why they’re always behind the curve.)

Unfortunately, the players they added (Jason Kendall, Rick Ankiel, Scott Podsednik) aren’t upgrades over the players they’ll likely replace in the lineup. It’s a vicious cycle for the Royals making them unlikely to crack the elusive 70-win plateau.

2010 Team

Catcher

Jason Kendall takes over for John Buck and Miguel Olivo who split time behind the dish for the Royals the last two years. While both Buck and Olivo were OBP challenged, they at least provided some power to an anemic lineup. Kendall won’t come close to replacing that power and is barely an improvement in the on base category.

Defensively, how much can you expect from a 36 year old catcher? He’ll be an improvement over Olivo who didn’t like to get dirty behind the plate blocking balls in the dirt, but not by much. The Royals bestowed a two-year, $6 million deal on Kendall while the rest of the catching market was signing one year, $2 million deals a month later.

Kendall is the 2010 poster child for an organization that can’t do anything right at the major league level.

Infield

Start with the known commodity: Billy Butler is at first. Following a breakthrough year where the 23 year old hit .301/.362/.492 with 51 doubles and 21 home runs, he’s the Royals top hitter. There were a ton of questions about his glove at first and UZR wasn’t kind (a –7.4 UZR/150, worst at his position) but really he wasn’t all that horrible with the glove. When expectations are low to start with, sometimes you’re surprised.

Looking to upgrade the defense up the middle, the Royals acquired second baseman Chris Getz in the Mark Teahen trade in December. He’s certainly better than incumbent Alberto Callaspo, but Callaspo brings a better stick. With his outstanding contact rate, the Royals need to keep Callaspo’s bat in the lineup. Callaspo can turn the double play, but his range on grounders (especially to his left) is lacking.

The Royals will look for a bounce back season from Alex Gordon at third after his 2009 campaign was shortened by injury and a trip to the minors. Gordon struggled last year, hitting just .232/.324/.378 and the loss of his modest power was the most alarming. If he struggles, the Royals could give some time to newcomer Josh Fields (who also came to the Royals in the Teahen deal.) Expect the Royals to give Gordon every opportunity to prove he’s fit which means Fields doesn’t seem to have a place on this roster. He could DH, but so could Callaspo.

Shortstop unfortunately belongs to Yuniesky Betancourt. Royals fans are hoping Mike Aviles recovers from his Tommy John surgery and pushes Yuni out of a job.

Outfield

It figures to be Scott Podsednik in left, Rick Ankiel in center and David DeJesus in right. A better alignment would be DeJesus in left where he shone defensively last year, Podsednik in center who still has enough left in his legs to cover the territory and Ankiel in right who has the least range, but the best arm of the bunch.

Offensively, there’s no power in the corners and Ankiel and Podsednik figure to have a difficult time cracking .330 in the on base percentage department. Is it sad that this is an improvement over last year’s outfield?

Designated Hitter

Last year, Royals designated hitters hit a collective .209/.281/.374. Ummm… I don’t need to tell you, for a position where your only job is to hit, that’s not a good slash line. Cranky Jose Guillen figures to get some appearances here as the Royals hope he lost his glove over the winter. He doesn’t want to DH, but his legs have broken down to the point it’s become painful to watch him try to play in the field. It isn’t much better watching him run down the line at first (which he rarely does anyway) but when you’re paying someone $12 million, it feels almost as if it’s an obligation to drop him in the lineup.

The Royals also have Callaspo who would be a much better DH and could find time for Fields here as well.

Bench

The bench seems in flux at the moment as everyone seemingly has a shot at a starting job. If Getz is on the bench, he’ll be used as a pinch runner and late inning defensive replacement. If Fields is on the bench, he’ll be used as a pinch hitter. Brian Anderson was a free agent signing who will likely be the fourth outfielder and can be used as a pinch runner as well. Brayan Pena will backup Kendall behind the plate and has a decent enough bat that he can DH from time to time.

Starting Rotation

Zack Greinke delivered a performance for the ages last summer and has the stuff to dominate once again. Unfortunately, he was the only starter who finished the season healthy. Gil Meche moves to the number two spot in the rotation and the Royals are hopeful Luke Hochevar can get his act together to be a presence in the middle of the rotation. Signs are positive as his walk rate has dropped while his strikeouts have gone up, but ultimately he’s dependent upon the groundball for success. Brian Bannister had an excellent first half featuring a new cut fastball with a ton of sink and a power change up that was a groundball machine for him. He’s the pitcher I’m most interested in watching to see if he can duplicate his early successes from last year.

The race for the fifth starter is between Kyle Davies, Robinson Tejeda and… Kyle Farnsworth. (I wish I were making that up.)

Bullpen

As usual, the 2010 Royals bullpen will be anchored by Joakim Soria, dominant as ever last season despite missing time with an injured shoulder. Tejeda and Farnsworth will likely return and hopefully Juan Cruz can bounce back from a horrible 2009 season (5.72 ERA in 50.1 IP). Tejeda walks far too many to be dependable (6.1 BB/9) but his strikeout rate (10.6 SO/9) keeps him useful. Farnsworth wilts under pressure, so if the Royals keep him out of close games, the damage will be lessened. They’re currently searching for a left hander to come out of the pen, with the most likely candidate Edgar Osuna, a Rule 5 draftee from Atlanta.

AROUND THE HORN WITH THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS…

Breakthrough Performance…

Alex Gordon

This isn’t your typical “breakthrough.” He tantalized Royals fans in 2008 when he hit .260/.351/.432, so many thought that 2009 was going to be his year. Expectations for Gordon couldn’t be lower after missing half the season with a hip injury and even more time through an unexpected exile to Triple-A. He looked out of sync post injury, but a September where he hit .279/.359/.471 make us slightly optimistic. The plate discipline has improved. The question remains, will he ever hit for power?

Ready to Rebound…

Gil Meche

The Meche signing brought the Royals a ton of heat three winters ago, but through the first two years of his contract, Meche more than justified the deal. Then last year, Trey Hillman pushed him to the breaking point. He just wasn’t the same after throwing 132 pitches in a start in June and Hillman inexplicably left him in a game to throw 121 pitches three starts later and just days after he complained of a dead arm. Meche was shut down by the end of August. If healthy, and if Hillman can figure out where the bullpen phone is in the dugout, Meche can slide in behind Zack Greinke to give the Royals a solid one-two punch at the head of their rotation.

Ready to Disappoint…

Rick Ankiel

The Royals are desperate for power, but Ankiel is just the most recent in a long line of miscast sluggers. He’s really more of a platoon player, but the Royals will play him everyday. He’s also the least suited of the Royals collection of outfielders to play center. Guess where he’s going to play?  Sigh.

Don’t Be Surprised If…

Yuniesky Betancourt is again the worst everyday player in baseball. Can you believe the Royals traded for this guy? Can you believe they apparently wanted him as far back as 2007? So, they basically watched him for two years… And that wasn’t enough to deter them?

Be Shocked If…

The Royals win more than 70 games. There’s been a lot of roster shuffling, but they haven’t made any improvement. Sound and fury signifying nothing.

Rock Steady…

David DeJesus

The Royals longest tenured player is also their most consistent. He’s merely good, not great, but he’s a player any contender would love to have to fill out their roster. He should be leading off for the Royals, but they’ll put the faster Podsednik at the top of the order. The Royals would be a better team if they didn’t do that.

Achilles Heel…

Fundamentals

Last year’s Royals team was the least fundamentally sound baseball team this writer has ever seen. Little leaguers were better at executing the smaller things… Like base running, throwing to the correct base, knowing how many outs there are in an inning, actually fielding their position. The Royals single handedly set baseball back 100 years with their lacksadasical play. If the 2010 version doesn’t figure out how to actually play the game, it will be a further indictment against the front office and manager Trey Hillman.

In the Next Three Years…

We’ll be looking ahead another three years. ‘Tis a vicious cycle.

Goosebumps Moment…

Narrowly missing getting hit by a hot dog launched by Sluggerrrr.

Seriously, the only goosebumps at the K are found in April when the wind blows across the highway out of the north. That won’t prevent the Royals from trying to manufacture some though, with several promotions tied to the 25th anniversary of their lone World Series title. I’m tired of the nostalgia angle. I think everyone else is, too.

Eventually, the teams get as good as the previews, trust us. But not tomorrow since the rebuilding Cleveland Indians are on deck. BDD’s Andrea Betts gets the task of delivering the skinny on life after Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez. We’ve been at this all week so catch up if you’re behind:

Previous Previews
Washington Nationals
Pittsburgh Pirates
Baltimore Orioles