Kuzul

In the 2012 Home Run Derby, there was a big-time reaction for Home Run Derby captain Robinson Cano.  That reaction was filled with an array of boos from the Kansas City crowd.Why the hostility for the second baseman? Well, he said he would pick a a member of the Kansas City Royals a couple of weeks prior to the event.  That guy would be All-Star Billy Butler.  The Royals DH was not chosen by Cano. This has happened before.  Last year, captain Prince Fielder received boos after failing to pick local hometown boy Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, commissioner Bud Selig said that the Baseball Writers Association of America will discuss a possible rule change to the anticipated event.  This rule will be for the captain to choose a player from where the Home Run Derby is being played.  In other words, a hometown boy.Fans booing should not have such an ...

On Monday, it was a trip to Kansas City’s spring training facility to see the Royals and San Francisco. Outside of the Chicago Cubs, the Giants are the biggest draw in the Cactus League and easily had more than half the fans of the 6,243 in attendance. To the delight of much of the crowd, San Francisco won 2-1, as both teams used a mix of regulars and subs for about six innings, before the younger guys with numbers of 60 or higher took over. Last season, the Giants were last in the National League in scoring and 29th in baseball, with a large part of their problem being they swung (and often missed) at more pitches that were out of the strike zone than any other team in the major league. The return of Buster Posey will help, although you don’t go from being the lowest scoring team in your league ...

For the past few decades, the Kansas City Royals have been little more than an afterthought in the world of baseball, but behind names such as Eric Hosmer, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas, Aaron Crow and now Alex Gordon things are on the verge of turning around for the once forgotten franchise.The Royals haven't enjoyed a great amount of success in recent memory, finishing in last place of the AL Central six of the last seven season. Despite the lack of on-field success however, the team has enjoyed a fair amount of early round picks in the past few MLB drafts.With these early round picks, the team's management has chosen some quality players over the years, three of which made their debuts in Aaron Crow, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.Crow has been everything the Royals could have asked for in a set-up man, posting a 1.43 ERA and 37 strikeouts in ...

As much as I've enjoyed the Royals' surprising early-season success, I'm still not kidding myself. They're not especially likely to be in the playoff picture during the summer's dog days. Even closer than August contention, though, is the MLB All-Star Game.The all-star game will be an especially big year next year, when the event is heading to Kansas City. There might even be hope for multiple Royals to represent the American League in their home park. But this year, it's almost sure to be the status quo for Royals players.What is the status quo? The Royals have not had more than one all-star since 2003 when, somewhat amazingly, Mike MacDougal represented the team along with perennial all-star Mike Sweeney. Here is the list of Royals representatives since 2003:2004: Ken Harvey2005: Mike Sweeney2006: Mark Redman2007: Gil Meche2008: Joakim Soria2009: Zack Greinke2010: Joakim SoriaWhat stands out about that list is the inclusion ...

This is something that the Royals haven't had for awhile: two All-Stars in the same season. However, it could very well be a reality this year for KC, with a strong possibility of their two best players making the cut. If you really think about this, it starts to make some sense. On one hand, you have a two-time All-Star closer in Joakim Soria, and on the other hand, you have an emerging, young hitter in Billy Butler who has really improved in many areas throughout his short big league career. Soria is one of the best closers in the game, and if you didn't know his background, you might be surprised that he is a former Rule 5 draft pick that was actually traded from the Padres' organization. He could have been a dentist, as he has two siblings that do this, but he chose baseball in the end. Needless to say, the Royals are ...

Kansas City Royals (2010 record: 67-95) Kansas City is one more year away from beginning their slow, inexorable climb up the standings. While Royals fans have heard similar promises for years, their patience is finally (mercifully) about to pay off. GM Dayton Moore and his front office staff have developed a farm system that is rated tops in the game – stocked with prospects who are expected to make a significant impact in the major leagues within the next two or three years. They will start to feed those prospects to the parent club in full force this year. In anticipation of the impending influx of talent from the minors, Moore & Company have stocked the club’s roster with journeymen and retreads… guys who are little more than place-holders until the minor leaguers arrive, and who will be expendable at that point in time. The roster is due for a ...

Opening Day is just over a week away, and it is time to look at what this season holds for the Kansas City Royals.With many new players being added to the team over the past year, many will be looking for players that have been on the team in the past to step up their game and take charge this season.The following is my guide to five players that will be very crucial to the club's success in 2011.Begin Slideshow

Billy Butler was supposed to be on the verge of breaking out for an awe-inspiring amount of home runs last year. Finishing the year at 15 was obviously extremely low compared to the hopes and expectations the Kansas City Royal fans had. His numbers on the season stayed within a respectable range as he tallied up 78 RBI with a .318 average. He crossed the plate 77 times and hit a precipitous 45 doubles. His on-base percentage crept up further last year hitting .388, making him a patient hitter as well as a solid hitter The question then stands: Will he finally break out for power this year? The answer to this question is tricky. Many believe the reason for his lack of numbers is the basic overall play of the Royals. If they were able to get on base more often, then Butler would have more RBI at the end of the ...

With one week of spring training games in the books and just over three weeks to go before the start of the 2011 MLB regular season, it's time to look forward to this year and take a look an early look at the 2011 version of the Kansas City Royals. First of all, the lineup will see some notable changes in 2011. Free agent outfielders Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur were acquired in the offseason, and they are projected to be the starting center fielder and right fielder, respectively. The shortstop position will also feature a new face in Alcides Escobar, who was one of the four players the Royals received in the Zack Greinke deal in December. As of right now, Cabrera, Francoeur and Escobar appear to be the only new starters for KC to start the season, but that could change depending on the development of many of the Royals' highly ...

I want everyone to take a deep breath. What I am about to say is nothing short of shocking, mind-bending and literally unbelievable. Royals first baseman Billy Butler stole a base Sunday in the Royals' spring opener against the Texas Rangers. I know—incredibly strange news considering Butler only has one career stolen base in 533 games in the majors, but manager Ned Yost told MLB.com that he wants to see his players running more this season. “Billy got one in the intrasquad game the other day, too,” Yost said. “You can pick your spots in those situations, and we’re looking to do that whenever we can.” Yost believes that Butler could reach double-digit steals this season. “I have one in my career, and Ned’s going to be a little more aggressive than managers we’ve had in the past,” Butler said. Butler went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk in his debut only to ...