Royals' bats remain silent in Boston

07/19/2006
BOSTON -- If the operators working the manual scoreboard on the Green Monster during Wednesday afternoon's game had left up Tuesday night's numbers, they could have saved themselves a lot of time. The only difference in Wednesday's game was a new source of illumination, as the glaring sun replaced the stadium lights.
Coming up on the short end of a game dominated by pitching for the second night in a row, the Royals lost, 1-0, at Fenway Park. The Red Sox swept the Royals, with their three victories coming by a total of three runs.
"We got two -- or actually three -- really good pitching performances and we wasted them," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "[We're] having trouble lining things up. ... Lining things up in our offense.
Royals southpaw Mark Redman pitched one of his best games of the season, allowing one run and seven hits over eight innings, but he was outdueled by Josh Beckett, who pitched eight scoreless innings.
"Yeah it was wasted," Bell said of Redman's start. "He had fairly easy innings for the most part. It's not always the pitch count, it's the kind of innings that he had. And in the past, his tougher innings have been later on in the game and he seemed OK to go back out [in the eighth]."
Redman had won six consecutive decisions and easily could have won No. 7, but the Royals' offense was shut out for the second straight night. The Royals have not scored a run since the sixth inning of Monday's game.
Like starter Brandon Duckworth on Tuesday night, Redman was given little help from a struggling Royals offense.
"You can look at it as being frustrating, but you can say, 'Hey, we're right in it,'" Redman said. "We're playing good baseball. We're not backing down and we're not giving up. Things aren't going our way right now [but if] we keep playing this way, eventually it's gonna turn around again for us."
Manny Ramirez provided the Boston offense when he belted the first pitch of the fourth inning over the Green Monster for his 25th homer this season and 460th of his career.
"Not much to it," Redman said of the homer. "It was a first-pitch changeup. He just got a pitch maybe he was looking for and out over the plate, but it was down. [A] home run. You have to take that. I can't say it was a mistake pitch. It was a good pitch. You just gotta tip your hat to Manny. He got it up in the air and over the fence. It was a good game.
"When you're facing Boston nothing is easy. This team is a tough team. You just have to make good pitches and try and get them to swing at your pitch."
The Royals had several opportunities to end their scoring drought, but they could not capitalize with runners on base.
Kansas City's biggest chance came in the sixth inning after singles by Doug Mientkiewicz and Matt Stairs loaded the bases with two outs. Beckett worked a full count to Emil Brown, who hit a fly ball to right field that was awkwardly intercepted by center fielder Coco Crisp from right fielder Gabe Kapler.
Angel Berroa doubled to lead off the third inning and was advanced to third base on a Paul Phillips groundout. It was the first time a Royals runner had reached third base since the sixth inning of Monday's game.
But Berroa was stranded after a Joey Gathright strikeout and a well-hit liner by David DeJesus that gravitated directly towards the glove of Crisp.
"The bats kind of quieted down this series, but I guess we'll have to give credit to the Red Sox pitchers for that," infielder Tony Graffanino said. "We had no runs yesterday and no runs today, so they did their job for sure. We have to look at it the positive way. We're playing good baseball. We were in every game on this trip except for one. ... If we keep playing as well as we're playing, sooner or later things will start rolling our way and we'll win ballgames."
The eighth inning provided a glimmer of hope for the Royals after DeJesus hit a one-out double and was advanced to third base on an Esteban German groundout.
Mientkiewicz stepped to the plate as a visitor in the place he once called home and and fell behind 1-2 to Beckett. Mientkiewicz worked a full-count on an eight-pitch at-bat, but was only able to loft the ball to Ramirez, his former teammate.
Jonathan Papelbon came on in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff walk to get his 29th save of the season.
"Maybe catching some breaks, maybe something's missing, who knows?" Graffanino said. "We're playing with what we have in here, and we're playing well. Detroit's a good team [and] Boston's a good team. On paper, they're probably not the best matchups for us. Again, this was a good road trip for us. We easily could have won 6 out of 7 ballgames."
Unfortunately for the Royals, they didn't.

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Royals acquire Keppinger from Mets

07/19/2006
The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets completed a deal that sent Jeff Keppinger to Kansas City and Ruben Gotay to New York in a swap of Minor League second basemen.
With much speculation circling around possible trades involving Reggie Sanders, Tony Graffanino and Mark Redman by the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, Kansas City took part in a Minor League deal Wednesday.
In the Minors, Gotay, a 23-year-old switch-hitter, was batting .264 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs. Keppinger was batting .299 with two home runs and 26 RBIs.
Gotay was once in line to be the Royals' second baseman of the future, but struggled at times in the field and at the plate when he got opportunities at the Major League level. Gotay appeared in 44 games and batted .270 for the Royals in 2004, but in 86 games with Kansas City in 2005, Gotay slumped to .227 at the plate. In 123 career games at the Major League level with the Royals, Gotay had a .981 fielding percentage.

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Notes: Hernandez back with Royals

07/20/2006
KANSAS CITY -- It wouldn't be fair to expect Runelvys Hernandez, who will be recalled from Triple-A Omaha to start Friday against the Angels, to completely fill the shoes of the pitcher he's replacing in the rotation. Still, the Royals will take what they can get.
"We need a pitcher and he's the guy," manager Buddy Bell said.
Hernandez's promotion comes after right-hander Scott Elarton, who hasn't missed a start this season, was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a right shoulder strain. The full medical report on Elarton is forthcoming. Team physician Steve Joyce will evaluate an MRI performed on Elarton's shoulder Thursday.
Bell deferred further inquiry to head trainer Nick Swartz, who said that nothing could truly be determined until Joyce's evaluation. It appears the problem is not something that can be healed with normal rest.
"It's not good," Bell said. "I don't know if it's a cuff or a labrum."
Could the injury be season-ending?
"I think there's a good chance," Bell said. "I'm hoping that's not the case. But that's certainly something that's been talked about."
Hernandez was 1-4 with a 7.44 ERA in seven starts with the Royals from late April to late May. He began the season on the 15-day disabled list due to issues with his weight and stamina.
He failed to get out of the first inning in his most recent outing in the Majors, yielding five runs in two-thirds of an inning May 28 at Yankee Stadium. Including his season-opening stint at Omaha, Hernandez compiled a 5-6 record and a 4.59 ERA in 12 games there. All but one were starts.
"He has the recommendation of a lot of people, first of all our Triple-A staff, who I have a tremendous amount of confidence in," Bell said. "They say he's throwing the best, taking care of himself.
"Hopefully Runelvys will come up here and give us a chance to win as Scotty did pretty much every start."
Mac's back ... sort of: Closer Mike MacDougal hopes to make his first appearance at home this season sometime during the series against the Angels. He had spent the entire year on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain until being activated last Thursday.
"That was kind of the good thing about being here all year," said MacDougal, who rehabbed with the team. "It doesn't feel like I'm the new guy coming in. Not really a homecoming. Just the first time I've pitched here this year."
MacDougal threw one scoreless inning apiece on Saturday and Sunday in Detroit, notching his first save of 2006 in the series finale. He's glad to be back at Kauffman Stadium and has confidence in the outfield's abilities to patrol its spacious dimensions.
"That's definitely a plus," MacDougal said. "When you have guys like [David] DeJesus and [Joey] Gathright out there, it makes you feel pretty good that you can throw balls in the air."
Just doing his job: Reliever Joel Peralta spent nearly seven seasons in the Angels' organization before joining the Royals in the offseason. But that won't be on his mind should he be called upon during the next four games.
"Anyone I face, I want to get them out no matter what," Peralta said.
Peralta signed as a Minor League free agent with the Angels in February 1999. An outfielder at the time, the club converted him to pitcher. He was 1-0 with a 3.89 ERA in 28 relief appearances for Los Angeles in 2005.
"I'm grateful to those guys," Peralta said. "They gave me a chance last year, called me up. But right now I'm on the Royals and I'm going to try and do whatever I can to help this team out."
Injury roll call: Six Royals are currently on the disabled list, including catcher Paul Bako, designated hitter Mike Sweeney and right-hander Mike Wood. The timetables on each are uncertain.
Bako has missed nine games with a partially torn right oblique.
"He swung the other day and he's starting to feel better," Bell said.
Wood, meanwhile, has thrown once off a mound since he went out with back inflammation July 3.
Sweeney has been away the longest, unavailable for 71 games since May 2 with a bulging disk in his upper back. Before the All-Star break, he hinted that he might be sent out for a Minor League rehab assignment during the club's recently completed seven-game road trip. That was not the case.
"My hope is in the last two months of the season I'll be able to contribute in a mighty way," Sweeney said.

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Royals pull away from Angels late

07/21/2006
KANSAS CITY -- Joey Gathright's speed might be as good as advertised, but it could do nothing to accelerate the lumbering pace of Thursday night's game between the Royals and Angels.
Batting in the bottom of the sixth with the game already approaching the 2 1/2-hour mark, the Royals' center fielder at least added some spice.
In the process, he helped produce what proved to be the winning run in Kansas City's 9-4 victory against the Angels.
Whether as the leadoff man -- a role he is expected to gradually assume -- or in the No. 9 spot as he was Thursday, one maneuver is especially successful in Gathright's offensive arsenal: the unassuming bunt single.
It is only now occurring to him.
"I could bunt at any time and I should do it a lot more, which I will be doing," Gathright said. "It's a weapon. So I'm going to start using it."
With the game tied at 4, he laid a bunt down the third-base line to begin the sixth and started his sprint toward first base. Angels reliever Kevin Gregg, unwilling to concede, scrambled to try to nab Gathright.
His throw bounced up the line and even eluded Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick, who dove trying to back up the play. Gathright knew he was going to advance on Gregg's error. It was just a matter of how far.
He dug himself a potential hole after taking a wide turn around first base, venturing into the outfield grass.
"It's hard for me to stop once I'm going," Gathright said, "so I had to get all the way out there and just try to go the best I could."
The ball strayed far enough into foul ground in right field that Gathright decided to go for third. He wasn't worried that Vladimir Guerrero, widely regarded as having one of the best arms among outfielders in baseball, would be trying to throw him out.
"It doesn't matter who's getting the ball," Gathright said. "If I'm running, I feel like I'm going to be safe."
On base with a single and two-base error, he scored one batter later, as David DeJesus reached on an error by Angels first baseman Kendry Morales.
"Joey gives us a dimension that we haven't had all year," manager Buddy Bell said. "Having speed like that in your lineup, especially when you're not swinging the bats well like we were in Boston, it's nice to have to be able to manufacture some stuff."
Kansas City came into the game on the heels of a 1-6 road trip, losing the latter two games 1-0 at Fenway Park. Considering its opponent, the club's offensive struggles figured to last a little longer.
Another of baseball's starting Santanas stood in the Royals' path Thursday, bringing with him a recent string of personal success that rivaled his team's own hot streak.
Results were mixed for Kansas City the last time that happened. On July 3, the Royals knocked Minnesota ace left-hander Johan Santana, fresh from a torrid June (5-0, 1.05 ERA), out of the game in the sixth. But things turned sour soon after. The bullpen faltered in the late innings, helping the Twins to their 11th consecutive win.
This time, Angels right-hander Ervin Santana, winner of seven straight decisions, was the foe, taking the mound for a club that had victories in eight of its last nine games.
Just as Johan and Ervin are not related, however, neither was the outcome for Kansas City. The Royals set the tone early, then added five runs in the last three innings, to halt a three-game skid.
A corollary of the funk, a 21-inning scoreless streak, was snapped in the bottom of the first largely because Santana had trouble finding the strike zone.
First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz's trip around the bases told the story: He walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and reached third on Emil Brown's sacrifice fly, which scored Mark Grudzielanek.
Mientkiewicz came around himself courtesy of a passed ball by Angels catcher Mike Napoli. The Kauffman Stadium loudspeaker blared The Troggs' tune "Wild Thing" despite the official ruling.
Perhaps it was foreshadowing. Santana added a second wild pitch later in the frame and walked eight in 4 1/3 innings. The game featured two more wild pitches. Los Angeles also committed four errors -- three in the sixth -- to the Royals' one.
Further, there were separate calls for runner's and catcher's interference.
Elmer Dessens improved to 5-7 by pitching three innings of one-hit relief.
"I located my fastball and that was key," Dessens said. "It was down in the strike zone."

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Matthews draws closer to Hall call

02/21/2006
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Denny Matthews is in the Royals Hall of Fame but he'll have to wait for Cooperstown.
Matthews missed out on the Hall when former Houston Astros announcer Gene Elston was selected for the broadcasters' wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Matthews, who has called Royals games since the franchise began play in 1969, was among 10 finalists for the award.
"This was the first year I was a little bit excited," Matthews said. "I think it'll probably happen eventually."
Royals owner David Glass has been championing Matthews' election for several years. When a different selection format was utilized, Glass told Matthews he was in the final five at one point.
"From a personal standpoint, I'm disappointed," said Royals general manager Allard Baird. "Not only for Denny but for Royals fans. You look at the long line of listeners. Grandmothers and grandfathers have heard him and now their grandchildren hear him.
Matthews has broadcast Royals games for 37 years and in five decades, becoming just one of six announcers to spend their entire careers with one team and logging at least 35 years at it. The other five are Vin Scully (Dodgers), Bob Prince (Pirates), Jack Buck (Cardinals), Jaime Jarrin (Dodgers) and Joe Nuxhall (Reds).
On March 1, Matthews will check into Spring Training to begin his 38th season.

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Bernero competing for spot in bullpen

02/21/2006
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- What team did Adam Bernero help get to the World Series?
The Yankees perhaps? No, we're talking college ball here. Hmm, Texas or Cal State Fullerton?
Nope and nope. It was little Culver-Stockton from Canton, Mo., in the NAIA World Series. His coach recruited a bunch of California kids, including Bernero, and unleashed them.
"We pretty much dominated the Midwest," Bernero said.
Bernero, a right-handed pitcher, also played at Sacramento City Junior College in California and Armstrong Athletic State in Savannah, Ga. Small colleges, but they led to a big-league career.
Now, at 29, Bernero has 146 Major League games behind him and stands at the shadowy entrance of the Royals bullpen. He's in a group of other lesser-known pitchers including Joel Peralta, Juan Cedeno, David Elder, Joe Nelson et al.
"I think we're all kind of in the same boat, so to speak," Bernero said. "We all have things to offer."
Bernero can offer an effective changeup.
"His changeup is outstanding," said pitching coach Bob McClure, "but everything comes off the location of the fastball. You stay with the changeup and eventually it's going to get hit."
Bernero also throws a slider and a forkball. Yep, he calls it a forkball, not a split-finger.
"The forkball has a wider grip and tumbles," he explained. "The split is more like a fastball and doesn't have such a big break."
Bernero has pitched for the Detroit Tigers and the Colorado Rockies -- where he met up with McClure -- and has 34 starts among his 146 games. His career record is 10-26 with a 5.87 ERA.
He began last season with the Atlanta Braves and worked 36 times in relief, going 4-3 with a 6.51 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A Richmond.
In the Minors, Bernero was primarily a starter with a 30-30 record in seven years.
"Adam gives us some depth," manager Buddy Bell said. "Whether he breaks with the team or goes to Omaha, I don't know."

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/

Notes: Few seats open on KC bench

02/21/2006
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The squeeze for seats on the Royals bench will be tight this spring.
Manager Buddy Bell said he plans to go with 12 pitchers, leaving just four spots for reserves.
Matt Stairs is a lock because he'll be a frequently used designated hitter, first baseman and outfielder. One spot will be filled by a catcher, Paul Bako.
An infielder will be needed and Esteban German is considered the favorite, but Joe McEwing also covets the role.
A fourth outfield spot apparently will be a battle between Chip Ambres and Aaron Guiel.
"We had 12 pitchers last year," Bell said. "That's pretty typical. The Angels were the only team that didn't have 12 last year, at least the only one I can think of."
Gotay goes high: Ruben Gotay, the surprise winner of the second-base job last spring, checked in from Puerto Rico.
Gotay had a busy winter, batting .269 in 40 games for Carolina in the Puerto Rican League. He had 39 hits and drew 32 walks for an on-base percentage of .407.
Moving into the Caribbean Series, Gotay hit .368 (7-for-19) in five games. The team was 2-4 and finished third behind champion Venezuela.
Gotay believes he improved his range at second base.
"I think I'm getting pretty good at it," he said.
He's booked to play second base this season at Triple-A Omaha.
Huber checks in: First baseman Justin Huber, who has the longest commute to camp, arrived from Australia.
"I have four months off for the first time so I'm keen to get going," he said.
Huber will play with the Aussie team in the World Baseball Classic in a bracket against Italy, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Although the first full-squad workout isn't until Friday, almost everyone has reported. Two regulars were among the missing: Mike Sweeney and Reggie Sanders.
Extra innings: Before the Cactus League season gets started, the Royals will play some intrasquad innings to give their pitchers some work.
They'll have a full-blown game on Feb. 28 at Surprise Stadium. Then, on March 1, they'll play about half a game at the complex.

Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/