First off I would like to apologize for my absense from the blog, I was having some login trouble and was not able to post.

Moving on there are a few things that have happened since the last time that I posted. But let’s begin with some very exciting news! Ross Gload has been traded to the Florida Marlins for a player to be named later. To be honest that player could be named half a box of cracker jacks and I would be thrilled with the deal. Even though the Royals are believed to be paying a reported 1.5 million of Gload’s 2009 salary of 1.9 million I think this is a good deal for the Royals, whom are now able to give a roster spot to a more deserving player (Ryan Shealy, Brayan Pena, or Mitch Maier)

Also, Luke Hudson has announced his retirement from the game. Luke was a great find by Dayton Moore for part of the 2007 season, but due to shoulder issues he has been unable to return to form. Hudson is best remembered for his less than stellar performance against the Cleveland Indians, when he gave up 11 runs in the first inning.

Peralta has been released. Bale been placed on the DL. The bullpen is starting to take shape with Soria, Farnsworth, Cruz, and Mahay at the back end. Plus Tejeda and Jamey Wright who have appeared to have locked up spots. This leaves one other spot which I believe will go to Doug Waechter.

Opening Day is less than 72 hours away. More posts to come!

This afternoon the Royals came to agreement with former Diamondback reliever Juan Cruz. The deal is worth a reported $2.25 mill this season, $3.25 mill for 2010, and a club option $4 mill for 2011, with a $500K buyout.

Last season Cruz led all National League relievers with a 12.37 strikeout rate per 9 innings. He also had a 2.61 ERA last season for the D Backs and owns career strikeout to walk rate of 535:266. Cruz was a type A free agent so the Diamondbacks will get the Royals second round pick as compensation (The top half of the first round are protected and the Royals pick 12th.)

To make room for Cruz on the 40 man roster the Royals designated Esteban German for assignment.

Cruz will add even more depth to a Royals bullpen that is really starting to take shape. With the likes of Cruz Farnsworth and Mahay at the back getting the ball to Soria, on paper it is starting to look like the bullpen maybe a strength of the 09 Royals.

The Kansas City Royals finished up a three game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 10-4 blowout on Wednesday night. Hell of a series for the Royals as they wind down the season.

The bottom of the order provided a lot of offense for the Royals as Mitch Maier had three rbi and he was followed by John Buck and Tony Pena Jr. who both had two rbi. Jose Guillen, Alex Gordon, and Joey Gathright provided the other three rbi for the Royals as they had a great game at the plate.

On the mound it was Brian Bannister who picked up the win after throwing six innings. Bannister gave up seven hits but did not allow a run. The only run that the Tigers scored was charged to Kip Wells. Jimmy Gobble and Ron Mahay tossed an inning of relief each as well. Mahay did have problems as he gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Good thing the offense scored so many runs!

The Royals will now be off on Thursday and then take on the Minnesota Twins for the final series of the weekend.

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The Kansas City Royals scored three runs in the seventh inning and went onto defeat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Tuesday night.  John Buck provided the three runs on a three run home run.  Without Buck’s homerun, I don’t think the Royals would have won this game.  However, the Royals will now be going for the three game sweep on the A’s on Wednesday!

Besides Buck going deep in the seventh inning to provide three rbi, Mike Aviles and Mark Grudzielanek both had a rbi to help out.  Grudzielanek had a rbi sac fly in the fourth inning while Aviles hit a solo home run in the sixth.

Gil Meche picked up the win on the mound and is now 9-9 on the season.  Meche pitched seven innings and only allowed five hits and two runs.  It was about time that the Royals offense scored more then a few runs so Meche could pick up another victory.  Ron Mahay pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Joakim Soria finished things up to record his 29th save.

So will the Royals get the sweep on Wednesday?  Come back and find out!  Royals Baseball

Well I sure didn’t expect this result that is for sure.  The Kansas City Royals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Thursday night as the two teams opened up a four game series in Kansas City.  The Royals were ahead 4-0 before the Rays came back with single runs in the 8th and 9th innings but that was all they would get in the game.

Gil Meche picked up his 8th win of the season and is now 8-9.  Meche tossed seven shutout innings while only giving up five hits.  Meche threw a great game and was the MVP of the game if you ask me.  Ron Mahay and Joakim Soria both gave up single runs out of the bullpen but Soria was still able to notch his 27th save of the season.

John Buck had a two run double in the 4th inning to lead the team at the plate with two rbi.  Mark Grudzielanek had a rbi sac fly while Ross Gload had a rbi single before the Buck two run double.  It wasn’t much offense, but it was enough to get the victory.

Good job by the Royals of coming out and taking game one of the series.  Will they win game 2?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!  Royals Baseball Blog

What a nice comeback win for the Kansas City Royals who looked dead until the bottom of the eighth inning.  Two runs in the eighth inning for the Royals were enough to come from behind and beat the White Sox for a 2-1 victory.  With the win, the Royals were able to avoid the three game sweep as well.

Mike Aviles and Jose Guillen both had rbi doubles in the eighth inning for the Royals.  Aviles double was off of White Sox starter Mark Buehrle and Guillen’s came off of Octavio Dotel.  The Royals weren’t done scoring however as Mark Teahen added a two run inside the park home run to extend the Royals lead to 4-1.

Royals starter Zack Greinke pitched awesome as he pitched seven innings and only gave up six hits and one run.  The one mistake by Greinke came in the fourth inning when Jermaine Dye it a solo home run.  That was the only run the White Sox would get however.  Ron Mahay tossed a eighth inning to get the win and then Joakim Soria closed the door on the White Sox in the ninth to record his 24th save of the season.

The Royals have one series left before the All Star break as they will start a three game series on Friday against the Seattle Mariners.

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The Kansas City Royals lost to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night by the score of 5-0.  I think the Royals were still thinking about last nights game when they blew the lead and ended up losing in ten innings.  The Royals really need to move on and hopefully win some games this weekend.

Luke Hochevar threw 5 1/3 innings while giving up nine hits and all five runs to take the loss.  Hochevar did not have his best stuff and it really showed against the Twins who roughed him up.

Ron Mahay, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Neal Musser all pitched out of the bullpen and all did a pretty good job even though they gave up hits.  The key for a relief pitcher is to not let runs score, and they did not allow a run to score so good job.

Alex Gordon had a rbi double in the ninth inning.  That was about the highlight of the game for Royals.

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The Kansas City Royals didn’t have much offense tonight but then again they didn’t really need it as they beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0.  Four different Royals pitchers combined to shutout the bad playing Tigers in the win.

Luke Hochevar pitched six innings and allowed four hits to pick up the win.  Hochevar is now 3-2 on the season and is starting to throw the ball better.  When Hochevar excited the game, Ron Mahay, Leo Nunez, and Joakim Soria all pitched an inning of scoreless baseball.  Soria pitched the ninth inning to record his tenth save of the season.

The two runs that that the Royals did get came in the second inning on a two rbi single by Joey Gathright.  The Royals didn’t have much offense, but it was enough to get by the Tigers tonight.

Royals Homeplate is currently seeking a Royals fan that would like to write game recaps for the games.  Recaps can be done right after the game is over or the next morning.  If you are interested be us the contact us link at the top of the site to email us.  Royals Blog

The Kansas City Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings but then went onto lose to the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Tuesday night.  Another up and down game for the Royals, just like there entire season as been.

Brian Bannister took the loss for the Royals and feel to 3-4 on the season.  Bannister gave up thirteen hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings of action.  Bannister got it often, and got hit hard all game long.  Ron Mahay and Jimmy Gobble finished the game out giving up one hit each.

Alex Gordon led the Royals at the plate as he went 2-3 with a RBI and a walk.  Miguel Olivo and Ross Gload also had one RBI in the game.

The Royals will try to avoid the sweep on Wednesday as they face the Angels once again.

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The Kansas City Royals got swept 3-0 for the series against the Oakland Athletics.  After getting three hits and scoring one run in the third inning, the Royals just could get a rally going all night long.  Falling behind early with the Athletics scoring five runs in the fourth inning, the Royals had a lot of work to do and just weren’t able to make it happen.

Luke Hochevar is now 0-1 for the year after opening his first game this season.  After pitching only 4.2 innings he gave up 9 hits and 6 runs.  Ron Mahay, Ramon Ramirez, and Leo Nunez were brought in to close it out but were unsuccessful in pulling out the win.

Coming off a three game losing sweep against the Athletics, do you think the Royals can pull it together to take on the Indians in Kansas City on Tuesday?

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