I-70 - Game 3

Today is game 3 of the I-70 series. This series has not let others down with both teams potentially feeling like they should be 2-0. The Royals won the game Friday night 5-4 and the Cardinals won the game last night 5-4.

Today is what is known as "get away day" in major league baseball, as (potentially both) teams are on a flight to another city following the game and motivation to play is typically low. Managers also use Sunday afternoons to give their regulars a day off and allow the bench players some time to stay "sharp".

I have always felt that if a manager could find a way to motivate their players on Sunday they would be able to steal 5-10 extra wins throughout the summer.

Here's to hoping Ned Yost finds a way to motivate the Boys in Blue today and win the series 2-1.

I-70 Series

This weekend is the 2nd yearly edition of the I-70 series between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards visited Kansas City earlier this season and got the best of the Royals. This series is always highly anticipated as it is a rematch of the highly controversial 1985 World Series.

Because this series is being played in St. Louis the Royals will use National League rules (eliminating the DH/Billy Butler). This will be an interesting series as Ned Yost (manager) would typically sacrifice Butler's poor fielding at 1st base to keep his bat in the line up. With Hosmer (1st base) up from the minors, and playing well, there is no place for Billy Butler (highest paid player) to play. Butler does not have a good "team first" reputation amongst his teammates or the Kansas City media and it will be interesting to see how he handles being a pinch hitter.

This series will also be a good test for the young players as it will provide the most playoff like atmosphere they will experience this season.

Here's to hoping the Royals win 2 of 3!

The Plan Is Put Into Action

After the initial trade for Joey Gathright everyone was expecting a major turnover on the Major League roster at the July 31st trade deadline. What people did not understand was this was not a major league project, the Royals were too far gone for that. GMDM refused to make a trade "just to make a trade", and was always looking out for the better interest in the Royals farm system, and in particular pitching staff when making trades.

The Royals also put a great emphasis into drafting young (left handed) pitching prospects and potential power hitters. The past few drafts they have spent more money on their draft prospects than any other team in baseball, and just recently drafted Bubba Starling, a Scott Boras (super agent) prospect with the 5th pick in the MLB Draft.

Baseball America rated the Royals farm system this past winter as the highest rated farm system they have ever seen. In a Sports Illustrated article that ran prior to the season, one scout said you would have to combine the top 10 farm systems to get the type of talent they Royals have in their farm system.

This was not by accident. The Royals knew they only way they would be able to compete with the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox would be to disregard their major league club and use that payroll on their minor league system to develop their own talent.

The Royals now have the luxury of watching these young prospects make their way to the majors without the stress of every prospects having to "make it", there can be some misses along the way.

"The Plan"

When GMDM took over the Kansas City Royals in the Summer of 2006 the organization, from top to bottom, was a complete mess. The major league ball club was a mixture of players who performed at the AAA (minor league) level and veterans who had previously had a successful career but lost bat speed or arm strength and had become available to the Royals with a 2-3 legitimate prospects/ball players.

One of the things that makes baseball so unique is the lack of salary cap. A salary cap is just what it sounds like, capping the amount of money a team can spend on their entire team. As a result of no salary cap the top free agents each year go to the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, or another "big market" team. The Kansas City Royals are, and will always be, a "small market" baseball club.

Knowing the salary restrictions, GMDM looked at all the available resources and knew if he wanted to maintain a consistent winner, he would have to build this ball club through "home grown talent" and not consistently spend top dollar on free agents. GMDM also looked at the major league ballpark and realized he needed to build his team around pitching and speed.

The first piece to fall into place was Joey Gathright, considered one of the fastest players in the major leagues but blocked by the plethora of talent in the Tampa Bay Rays system. Joey provided a glimpse into what the organizational focus

Reason For Hope

As a life long Kansas City Royals fan I have heard all the excuses of why the Royals cannot be successful in Kansas City. It typically begins somewhere around "this is the Chiefs town" or "Kansas City only supports winners" and ends with "Kansas City will always be a farm system for big market teams".

I typically had very little response to these comments except that I had faith in the Zach Grienke's or Raul Ibanez's of the world knowing very well there was little organization plan for the future, until Dayton Moore took over as General Manager (GMDM) in June of 2006.

I can remembering driving along I-35 on June 6th listening to sports radio 810 and the newly hired GMDM speaking of his "plan" and speaking of words such as "the Braves way" and mentioning names such as John Smoltz, Tom Glavin, Greg Maddox, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, etc. This was not only the first day of the new Royals regime, but also the first day my response changed to all of the people who didnt believe. All I simply said was "Just Wait.."