Baseball Notes for June 3, 2013

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Andrew Martin

Brett

One of baseball’s all-time heroes officially returned to the game this week. The slumping Kansas City Royals hired Hall of Famer George Brett, the greatest player in franchise history, to be the team’s new hitting coach.

The Royals, who spent big to bring in veterans like James Shields and Ervin Santana during the offseason, entered the year with playoff aspirations. However, after an 8-20 May, they are back in last place in the AL Central. Brett is being brought in to not only try and provide a spark, but to also buy the team some time. Royals’ fans admire nobody more than Brett. He may be able to create some good will while the team tries to get back on track and salvage their season.

***Speaking of Brett, he was mentioned for his kindness in a recent story about “Door George,” an aging Cleveland-area strip club bathroom attendant. (more…)

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Baseball Notes for March 31, 2013

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Andrew Martin

JoseFern

Major League Baseball’s 2013 Opening Day is finally here! With another season comes the return of Baseball Notes. Without a single regular season game having yet been played, there is already plenty to talk about. (more…)

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Why The Royals, Mariners, and Indians Will Vie For a Wildcard

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Daniel Marino

ShieldsDavis

Unlike past seasons….the three teams that made the boldest moves during the off season were the Royals, Mariners, and Indians.  Congratulations to the teams for making the moves that they made.  Many teams stood on the sidelines and did nothing significant during the off-season.  Even if these three teams do not succeed, it won’t be for a lack of trying.  A look now at each team’s moves: (more…)

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AL Central Players To Watch

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Daniel Marino

Bauer

Dan Marino continues his trek through each division in the major leagues and giving you one player he thinks is the: Rookie to Watch, Breakthrough Player, The Party’s Over, Non-Roster Invitee Most Likely to Stick, and Just Not Seeing it.

Now, in part three of six, he brings you the American League Central:

Part 1: AL East Players to Watch.

Part 2: National League East. (more…)

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2013 Kansas City Royals Top 16 Prospects

Posted on February 19, 2013 by mlbdirtstaff

Zimmer

The Kansas City Royals traded the likes of Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Mike Montgomery and still have one of the deepest farm systems in all of baseball. The system is loaded with high potential players in the low minors that get scouts’ attention.

Below are our top 16 prospects with 2013 opening day age, position, and comments on each player. Below the top 16 is a small list of additional notable names. Enjoy.

(more…)

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Willie Mays Aikens: Hard Living, Hard Times and Hard-Cover Books

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Andrew Martin

Aikens

Willie Mays Aikens once had a promising major league baseball career that came to a premature end in 1985 because of his personal demons. Although his problems robbed him of his career and led to serving a 14-year prison sentence, he pushed through and is finally back on track after a detour that lasted more than two decades.

Aikens grew up in difficult circumstances in South Carolina. He attended South Carolina State University, but when the school dropped its baseball program after his freshman year, he wound up playing semi-pro ball. His talent saw him through, and in 1975 the California Angels made him the second overall selection in that year’s draft.

A left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing first baseman, Aikens made his MLB debut in 1977 and went on to have an eight-year major league career with the Angels, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. He hit a combined .271 in 774 career games with 110 home runs and 415 RBI. His best season came in 1983, when he hit .302 with 23 home runs and 72 RBI for the Royals.

Aikens was also the star of the 1980 World Series, hitting .400 with four home runs in a six-game loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite the great numbers, 1983 ended horribly for Aikens. Following the season, he and teammates Jerry Martin and Willie Wilson pled guilty to attempting to buy cocaine, and were sentenced to three months in prison. (more…)

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Rays Rob the Royals in Blockbuster Trade

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

WilMyers

The Tampa Bay Rays have traded James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for the bat they have been in need of in top prospect Wil Myers while also adding even more prospects and pitching depth in Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard.

Wil Myers, my number two position prospect in all of baseball behind Jurickson Profar, has Evan Longoria‘s ceiling with the bat while adding a plus arm and above-average range in right field. Like Longoria, he will strike out, but he also has the potential to be a perennial 30+ homerun hitter with the chance to hit .300. (more…)

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Baseball Notes for November 26, 2012

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Andrew Martin

More moves and rumors are starting to come in now that the baseball offseason is in full-swing. It’s always interesting to see the jostling that takes place, as teams seek to set their 2013 rosters, while battling other teams for resources. Despite Thanksgiving dominating this past week, there was still a flurry of activity that provided a lot of fuel to the hot stove fires. (more…)

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Guthrie Signing a Bad One For Royals

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

The Kansas City Royals have reportedly signed right-handed free agent starter Jeremy Guthrie to a three-year deal worth $25M. The deal is worth $5M in 2013, $11M in 2014, and $9M in 2015.

Guthrie, who will be 34 years old in early April, joins one of the most hittable and homer-prone rotations in recent memory. Take a look at what Guthrie and fellow starters Ervin Santana, Bruce Chen, Luis Mendoza, and Luke Hochevar did in 2012: (more…)

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Melky Gets Paid Despite PEDs and Luck

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes has reported that out fielder Melky Cabrera has agreed to a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays worth $16M as general manager Alex Anthopoulos is working on building a major contender in the American League East.

Cabrera is coming off of a career year that was derailed thanks to high levels of testosterone that lead to a 50-game suspension. This suspension lead many to believe Melky would only get a one year deal, for fear that he could get suspended again or that PEDs actually had a hand in Melky’s performance.

The potential threat that PEDs had a hand in Melky’s performance or that they will be a problem moving forward is obviously a non-issue for Anthopoulos, given that he gave Melky a two year deal. I agree with AA here. But where my hesitation lies in giving Melky a two year deal is that his recent success has had more to do with luck than skill and I fear regression will rear it’s ugly head. (more…)

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