[IBL] Kansas City Royals Season Preview

[ljshorty89]

March 31, 2009
The Kansas City Star
Page C1

Spring returns. The smell of hot dogs and fresh cut grass will once again exude from Kauffman Stadium as the Kansas City Royals hope to put an end to the string of losing seasons that has befallen the team. Over the off season, wealthy businessman Jerry Abramowitz, owner of Yellow Pencil Corp., bought the majority ownership in our own hometown team, and has made drastic changes. In Abramowitz' opinion, the team's main concern was that the players were too apathetic and didn't mind losing as long as they made their salaries. So, Abramowitz immediately fired both General Manager Dayton Moore, and more shockingly newly hired Manager Trey Hillman. Even more interestingly, Abramowitz replaced them with a move that more resembles a joke column than a Major League Baseball team. Yesterday, Kansas City Royals Fan Club Founder LJ Mills was named both General Manager and Manager.


As if that wasn't enough confusion within the organization, Mills promptly traded away many of the high paid players including Zach Greinke, Gil Meche, Jose Guillen, and others for a group of 8 high risk prospects from 3 different teams...and more importantly, for salary cap space. Since then, without a roster that would be able to take the field for opening day, Mills has convinced the commissioner's office to waive the age minimum, and has signed 11 highly touted High School Prospects. These ballplayers, all between the age 20 or younger will have the hopes and dreams of an entire city on their backs. Fortunately for them, the last 18 years or so have gotten most fans used to disappointment. Turn to page C4 for a Full Page Preview of the new Royals Roster

[ljshorty89]

March 31, 2009
The Kansas City Star
Page C4

Ian O'Connor

Kansas City Royals- Opening Day 2009

The Lineup:
1- Brett Zimmerman (3B)
2- Louis Milman (2B)
3- Leo Palmer (LF)
4- Corey Shipplett (1B)
5- CJ Kaltenbach (DH)
6- Kyle Bonn (C)
7- Curtis Carson (CF)
8- Chris Henkel (SS)
9- Chris Foster (RF)

The Pitching Staff:
Starter 1- Kevin Brown (R)
Starter 2- Brett Witrick (R)
Starter 3- John Mulder (L)
Starter 4- Jon Reefer (R)
Starter 5- Dave Ryan (R)

Set Up- Igor Sadovyi (R)
Set Up- Alex Gruber (R)
Closer- Matt Lee (R)
__________________________________________________ _______________
Bottom line, this team is too young. Not a single starting position player over the age of 24. Not a single Starting Pitcher older than 27. This season could get ugly fast. Admittedly, every player has incredible raw talent, but I'm not sure if they will be able to gel in time to salvage a decent season. The key for this team is to utilize the speed that exists in the lineup from top to bottom, and to play fundamentally sound baseball. With some luck, they could be a .350 ball club.

Catchers: Bonn is good, but it remains to be seen if he can take the pounding of a long season. John Buck is a good backup. Grade: B+

Infield: Milman, Zimmerman, and Henkel all have great gloves, strong arms, and decent contact bats. Shipplett is the home run hitter. Very little in the form of backups other than Utility Man Lee Porter. Grade: B

Outfield: Foster, Carson, and Palmer were all highly touted out of high school, but each had injury concerns. Lets see how they hold up. Anyone to back up? That's great depth. Grade: B+

Pitching: Only a single lefty on the team. No true ace. Unproven talent in CrazyEights Sadovyi, and Gruber could lead to late game meltdowns. This is the team's weak point. Grade: B-

Team Grade: B+

[ljshorty89]

KC Beat Report with Mark Johnson

Yesterday, I sat down with team captain and second baseman Lou Milman to talk about his thoughts on the upcoming campaign:

MJ: Hi, Lou. Thanks for your time. What kind of results do you believe this team can have this year?

LM: Well, I know we're inexperienced, but I think that people are going to underestimate us. We're going to play hard, we're going to hustle, and I honestly believe we can compete for a Division Title.

MJ: Do you think you guys can gel with a completely new team quickly enough to avoid a rough start. I mean, if you guys have a rough April, your season could be doomed from the start.

LM: Definitely. We're all in the same position, coming out of High School, and we're gonna have to rely on each other to acclimate each other.

MJ: You think that this is a playoff team this year? What about not having a single Left Handed Reliever?

LM: With these guys, it doesn't matter. I have played with or against all of these guys in High School, and they are immensely talented. I look forward to joining forces and dominating the American League.

MJ: Strong words. Any messages you'd like to put out there?

LM: Yeah. Watch out. The Kansas City Royals are the team to beat in the AL Central.

MJ: Thank you for your time, Lou, and have a great season.

LM: Thanks Mark. Any time.

[cjkalt]

No DH analysis grrr haha

[ljshorty89]

Haha, I didn't even think of it. Not sure what I'd preview. I mean, DH. CJ's gonna hit, the pitchers won't hit...hopefully he shows some power.

[love_that_reefer]

KC is about to get their ****ign **** socks blown off.

[browntown653]

I like how you copied last season's analysis. And how I went from #5 starter to #1.

[DirtyKash]

Nepotism.

[love_that_reefer]

Who the **** is Lou Milman? Can't we get Lou Brown from Major League?

[DirtyKash]

Who the **** is Lou Milman?

[love_that_reefer]

OOps Thought Lou was the manager. I read "captain" and stopped.

[ljshorty89]

I like how you copied last season's analysis. And how I went from #5 starter to #1.

Not copied...its slightly edited. Honestly, most of it is the same, because it's the same team. But the rotation order was basically Kevin acknowledged it first, then bwitty, I wanted the lefty as the #3, and then Reefer responded before Dry.

[HollywoodLeo]

Carson, and Palmer

heh

[ljshorty89]

I apologize, the game report will not be up tonight. I just finished playing the stupid game. Lets just say, it was a THRILLER. I will post the boxscore before noon tomorrow. Trust me, the shock will be well worth the wait!

[NYgiantsfan5689]

LM: Yeah. Watch out. The Kansas City Royals are the team to beat in the AL Central.

LJ Rollins