2009 Kansas City Royals Repository.

[WilliamTheIrish]

All Royals All The Time!

After consultation with others who peruse the game threads we decided to create this as a repository for all things Royals. Minor league news, AL (ahem) Central (thanks Vonne) news and anything Royals can be found here.

alnorth will continue the game threads as usual. But if you locate something of interest.. ANYTHING.. deals on apparel, best ways in/out of the stadium, giveaways, great stories from this season or from seasons gone by, rumors, trades, anything.... feel free to post it here.

If a big story breaks, you can still start a thread about it. There is merely an all inclusive thread that will make a easy for us all to keep up with all things Royals.


Welcome! "Grab a Brew... don't cost nuthin"...[spills beer on feet]


Courtesy of ari:

Hey William... add this link to the opening post, if you want.

here. Free MLB radio... acts like you are a Holiday Inn customer... then you sign in with your MLB login

.
http://guest.ichotelsgroup.com/in_ro...Language=en-US

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

For grins:

Petro claims that his sources say that the Royals are receiving upwards of 100 mil. in revenue sharing.

That is the bad wrap on Glass and why the owners do not like him. He is taking the revenue sharing and pocketing it as opposed to putting it to use on the roster.

[Demonpenz]

we are going to throw that money at pujols

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by petegz28

That is the bad wrap on Glass and why the owners do not like him. He is taking the revenue sharing and pocketing it as opposed to putting it to use on the roster.

In fairness, we're spending a lot in other areas (draft, Latin America, etc.). That said, these expenses are part of the deal for owning a team.

Payroll should absolutely be equal to if not more than whatever the amount received in revenue sharing.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

In fairness, we're spending a lot in other areas (draft, Latin America, etc.). That said, these expenses are part of the deal for owning a team.

Payroll should absolutely be equal to if not more than whatever the amount received in revenue sharing.

Yep. Kind of hard to argue that you have a $60mil payroll when you got $100mil in revenue sharing alone. That's $100mil before one ticket, one hot dog, one beer, one t-shirt, etc. is even sold.

[Sure-Oz]

Prospecting
Kila Ka’aihue(notes), KC, 1B – Like Chicago Cubs prospect Jake Fox(notes), profiled here last week, Ka’aihue is seemingly blocked at the major league level with Mike Jacobs(notes) (.835 OPS) and Billy Butler(notes) (.794) performing reasonably well for the Royals. A late bloomer, Ka’aihue served notice last season by launching 37 home runs in 124 games split between Double- and Triple-A. He also walked 104 times compared to just 67 strikeouts. This season, after a sluggish April, Ka’aihue is back on track with a 1.040 OPS in May, including five home runs in his past 12 games. Something needs to give for Ka’aihue to get a call from the parent club, but with the Royals sitting in second place in the AL Central, it’s doubtful the team is going to mess with what they got at first base or DH for the time being. If a trade or injury eventually clears a path for the Hawaiian slugger, his power upside offers plenty of fantasy intrigue.

From Yahoo Fantasy Sports "mlb skinny"

I still would like to see this kid get a shot.

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

In fairness, we're spending a lot in other areas (draft, Latin America, etc.). That said, these expenses are part of the deal for owning a team.

Payroll should absolutely be equal to if not more than whatever the amount received in revenue sharing.

He also put a little money into the stadium renovation

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by SPchief

He also put a little money into the stadium renovention

he shouldve invested more in toilets/KK

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Yep. Kind of hard to argue that you have a $60mil payroll when you got $100mil in revenue sharing alone. That's $100mil before one ticket, one hot dog, one beer, one t-shirt, etc. is even sold.

Hey KK, since when is Glass/the Royals getting $100 million?

[SPchief]

, just caught up on the thread from the last few days, pete=hook line n sinker

[Sure-Oz]

Nationals designated RHP Daniel Cabrera for assignment.

Cabrera, long on potential and short on realizing it, will certainly land somewhere on a minor league pact. The Nationals grew fed up with Cabrera and his abysmal 7.88 BB/9. He had been removed from the rotation last week. The move puts the Nationals at 12 pitchers. May. 27 - 11:13 am et

Bring him in???

[Sure-Oz]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.

[tk13]

I've always thought the 100 million number was very strange. The Royals haven't even been the lowest payroll team the last few years... if they're truly getting that much, then several teams are getting more. Just two years ago, there were literally 5 or 6 teams in the playoffs with lower payrolls than the Royals. And then none of them are spending it. I think that number might be exaggerated a bit. Maybe not, there was probably a lot of operating costs we don't think about.

But then again, we've made efforts... if we truly signed everyone we'd gone after, we might have 20+ extra in payroll with guys like Torii Hunter and Kuroda and Hudson. But we're still at a point where free agents will take less money to sign somewhere else. We've certainly tried to spend the money, and don't forget we spent more money on last year's draft than any team in the history of baseball. That's no small feat.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Good story from KCR.com about Tug Hulett.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/new...t=.jsp&c_id=kc

KANSAS CITY -- Tug Hulett doesn't have much time.

The Royals play the Tigers in about 70 minutes, and Hulett is the newest position player on the Kansas City Royals. It's his second time in the big leagues and he's here because Royals shortstop Mike Aviles went on the disabled list.

He doesn't have much time, but this is his story, and he'll tell it one more time. His story has saved lives. His story has made grown men cry. And his story has rocked the lives of a family.

"It was 1992," Hulett says, beginning his story. "We were in Baltimore."

The Hulett brothers were playing in the street before dinner. Their dad, Tim, was playing for the Orioles in Chicago, and their mom was cooking dinner.

The Hulett brothers always played together, always made everything a game, always made everything competitive.

Tug, at 10 years old, was the oldest. Joe was 8. Sam was 6. Jeff was 5.

"We'd look both ways, then we'd run across the street," Hulett says, "gold, silver, bronze."

The next part happened so fast. Hulett remembers Sam saying he was finally going to win the gold. He remembers it was almost time to go home. And he remembers his brother, Joe, yelling, "Sam, wait!"

Sam didn't see the car.

"I reached to grab him and I missed and the car hit him." Hulett says. "I remember at that point, for the first time in my life, feeling completely hopeless."

Hulett did the only thing he knew to do. He grabbed Jeff and Joe, slammed them down on the curb and began to pray.

The next part happened fast, too. His brother Sam was gone. His mom called his father, and he flew home from Chicago.

"I remember Dad coming home and gathering the family together, and saying 'A tragedy like this either tears a family apart or brings it closer together, and we will not let this tear us apart,'" Hulett says.

Hulett's family had always been close. Now they'd become even closer.

Hulett would eventually go on to play college baseball at Auburn. His family had moved to Shreveport, La., and he was just 5-foot-8 and hometown LSU didn't want him. But he found a place where'd he excel. He would be drafted in the 14th round by the Texas Rangers in 2004. He would be traded to the Mariners organization and finally make it to the Majors in 2008. He'd hit a broken-bat single to center field at Kauffman Stadium off future teammate Gil Meche for his first Major League hit.

"I got the ball," Hulett says.

But before he could do any of that, before he could start living again, Tug Hulett had to find peace.

For the first few years after Sam's death, Hulett carried around a burden on his shoulders. He was the oldest brother. It was his game, that race that ended in tragedy. He was just 10 years old, but he was supposed to be in charge, supposed to look after Jeff, Joe and Sam.

"I was pretty dead inside," Hulett says. "I was pretty guilt-ridden for a long time."

Hulett tried to deal with it. He tried to be strong. He tried to hide the hurt. He couldn't.

On the third anniversary of the accident, Hulett couldn't stop crying. He went to his mother and, through tears, he could only say one thing.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Hulett's mom knew what he meant. She looked at her son. She told Tug that they were going to pray, and the pain was going to go away. So they sat, and prayed.

"God will grant you the peace which surpasses all understanding," Hulett says, repeating the prayer more than a decade later.

"I just remember having a peace that I hadn't had in a long time, a joy that I hadn't had in a long time," Hulett says.

He realized that Sam's tragedy didn't have to have a sad ending. He had found peace. Now he would lean on his faith. He would use his story to help others.

Hulett is 26 years old now. After playing 30 games for Seattle last season, he was designated for assignment in February and claimed off waivers by the Royals on Feb. 19. He played 39 games for Triple-A Omaha and hit .296 before being called up to Kansas City.

"I was pleasantly surprised," says Hulett, who saw the infielders ahead of him in Kansas City and wasn't sure if there'd be room for him.

Royals manager Trey Hillman calls him a "ballplayer." A ballplayer that brings energy whether he's in the lineup or on the bench.

"He certainly hasn't been given anything," says Willie Bloomquist, who played with Hulett last year in Seattle. "He's a grinder. He plays the game hard, and plays the game the way it's supposed to be."

A Bible sits on the bottom shelf of Hulett's locker. At just 5-foot-8, Hulett could be mistaken for a clubhouse attendant. The Royals list him at 5-foot-10, but ... "If they've got me at 5-foot-10, I'll take it," Hulett says.

Hulett spent his childhood around big league ballplayers, something that Hillman called an asset.

He idolized his dad and Cal Ripken Jr. and the rest of his dad's teammates on the Orioles.

Now he's getting his second opportunity at the Major League level, and he'd like to stick around for a while.

He can play the infield and he'll play the outfield if that's where he's needed. He said he'd flip balls in the batting cage if that helps Kansas City win.

"Everybody wants to play," Hulett says. "The goal is to play every day, be an everyday guy, but if it takes being a utility player to stay here, I'll do that, and I'll be happy with that."

There isn't much time left, and Hulett has to finish his story. The part where he saved a life.

A few years ago, he went to speak at a school in Alabama. He went to tell his story, and he met the principal before he spoke.

"I know your story," Hulett remembers the principal saying. "Just say what you have to say."

Hulett began to speak, began to speak about his brother Sam and his family and the tragedy that changed his life.

But as he spoke, he looked out at the students and saw nothing. No reaction, no emotion, nothing. He left that school wondering if he even should have been there.

A couple of years later, Hulett was sitting in a clubhouse opening mail and a letter appeared.

It was from a kid who'd been at that school in Alabama. He wrote that he'd been a freshman. He'd lost a brother too, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He'd had a suicide note ready. But he'd listened to Hulett, and the words had saved his life. Sitting in the locker room, Hulett began to bawl. He thought about his brother Sam, and he thought about the kid in Alabama.

"All things kind of work together for good," Hulett says sitting in his chair in the Royals clubhouse. Then he finishes his story.

"It turns out," Hulett says, "that was the principal's son."

[WilliamTheIrish]

Piching matchups for the weekend series courtesy of kcr.com

Friday, May 29 Kauffman Stadium | 7:10 PM CT


Clayton Richard, LHP (1-0, 3.55) White Sox (21-25) @

Brian Bannister, RHP (4-1, 2.79) Royals (23-24)

Scouting Report:

White Sox: Richard, making just his third start of the season, threw 107 pitches in another strong effort on Saturday, a 4-0 victory over the Pirates. Richard struck out a career-high eight batters in six innings, allowing four hits. He lowered his ERA from 4.33 to 3.55. Richard had made 12 relief appearances this season before being called upon to start on May 12 against the Indians.

Royals: Bannister is really clicking since being recalled from Triple-A, using a dazzling cutter to mystify batters. In his last outing at St. Louis, Bannister worked six innings for the victory, giving up seven hits that included six singles and a double. The Royals have won six of the seven games he's started this season. Among the starters, only Zack Greinke has a better record and ERA. This is his first shot at the White Sox this year; he's 2-3 with a 7.66 ERA against them in his career but that includes a 0-2 mark in four games last year.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Saturday, May 30 Kauffman Stadium | 6:10 PM CT

Mark Buehrle, LHP (6-1, 2.59) @ Gil Meche, RHP (2-5, 4.55)

Scouting Report:

White Sox: Buehrle gave up a season-high 12 hits Sunday against the Pirates but left the game with a 3-1 lead. He gave up just the one run without walking a batter and striking out three but did not factor in the decision. He's walked only 12 batters in 59 innings this season. The southpaw faced Kansas City on April 7 and gave up two runs over six innings but once again earned a no-decision. He is 19-8 with a 3.48 ERA lifetime against the Royals.


Royals: Meche had his shortest outing of the season in his last start, lasting just 2 1/3 innings in a loss to the Tigers. Meche, who has been battling a tight lower back, said his body felt fine after losing for the third time in four starts. According to Meche, he just wasn't pitching well enough to win. It was a tough setback for Meche, who was coming off a quality start against Cleveland on May 20, when he allowed just two runs in six innings but drew a no-decision. Meche's last victory came at Minnesota on May 3, but he does have one solid outing against the White Sox already. He pitched seven innings and allowed one run in a no-decision on Opening Day in Chicago.