Try living in Phoenix, bro. I just moved to the River Market in KC after being in PHX for a couple years and it's LIGHT YEARS better. Phoenix is the mothership of sprawl. You've got a downtown basketball and baseball stadium, and a central airport. Other than that, you're driving 30 miles in either direction to get ANYWHERE. University of Phoenix Stadium and Jobing.com Arena are all the way the **** out in Glendale, which is basically East LA. If you live in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert or even Tempe, good luck making it out there without blowing your brains out during the commute. They have a light rail. If you'd like to get from Mesa to the airport, it's super convenient, so long as you've got an hour to spare and don't mind a homeless dude pissing himself in the seat next to you while asking you for change so that he can hop off at Mill Avenue and buy crack from the peddlers on ASU's campus. I once hopped on the light rail in Mesa to go to a Suns game and by the time we made it to the stadium we were 30 minutes late for tipoff and the shuttle was so overcrowded that it looked like a Japanese subway.

Kansas City? It's cake. Sure, the airport's location blows. That's common knowledge. But I much prefer our stadium locations to places like Phoenix. And if those ****ers can have a lightrail that runs damn near from New Mexico to California, surely we can have one. Our downtown is blowing up right now, so yeah...a downtown stadium would be cool. I don't know that it'd be more convenient though.

Are you gonna tear out half of that beautiful parking lot? Theres no room for something that size currently.

From experience... arguing over stadium location with Saul Good is pretty much an exercise in futility lol.

Exhibit A: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=261302

Yep.

Hey, since we've got an off day, let's talk about something important.
Anybody notice Chen launching snot rockets on the mound last night? That's really colorful in high def!

I am just going by the sentiment of some that there is a lot of woodland space out there. I have never really looked with the intent to develop the area so I am not sure.

Off days suck!

I drove from downtown PHX to Surprise to catch a game back in March. I wanted to off myself by the time I got to Sun City. Christ!


not to mention their BBQ is a bunch of bullshit!

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=...ng&w=350&h=254

"Hello, my name is Drew Stubbs..."

Royals #5 in the CNNSI Power Rankings!




Kansas City Royals
The Royals' lack of home runs (four, tied for last in the AL) isn't such a problem since, you know, they're in first place -- but also because they have gap power, having hit a league-leading 22 doubles that included a streak of seven straight games with at least two. Incidentally, Kansas City pitchers have allowed the fewest doubles in the AL (seven).

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb...#ixzz2QBShD3gX

It would've been funnier had you said Elder Stubbs...

/bookofmormonreference

Since when did Oakland become a power hitting team?

One final thing on Starling...

I don't understand why his pitch recognition is a problem (I haven't seen consistent problems listed on that) when his plate discipline is pretty good. Those two things usually go hand-in-hand.

I'm talking about the tailgating portion of the parking lot. If you had a downtown stadium, you wouldn't be able to tailgate like a lot do.

I don't buy that either. I think it's all mechanical. Either they didn't fix his swing, or they "fixed" it and he hasn't taken to it yet.

His plate discipline is good? Doesn't he have like 100 Ks already?-

So, is the Royal's success sustainable. Sure we probably won't be like 108-54 at the end of the year, but can we win first place? Can we win it with a comfortable margin? Can we compete in the playoffs? Anyone care to offer any analysis towards one argument or another?

I've not seen him play so I'm just going by what I've read. It does seem at least a little counter-intuitive.

That said, low-level minor leaguers often struggle to throw strikes. You can draw walks at the lower levels simply by not swinging; you don't exactly have to be discerning about it. It doesn't suggest a good feel for the strike zone, just that he has a ton of raw power and that guys are throwing him carefully to deal with it.

Finally, you can absolutely have a good feel for where the strike zone is without knowing what a pitch is going to do. If you throw me a fastball, I may be able to determine that it's going to be out of the zone fairly easily and lay off it. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to be able to pick up that little red disc on the ball when you throw me a slider, gauge the tilt and do anything with it.

Yeah, strike zone judgment and pitch recognition often do go hand in hand, but not always. Starling could very easily be sitting fastball, spotting them when they're wide, punishing them when they're not and simply getting eating alive when they're not fastballs at all.

One doesn't strike out 70 times in 200 ABs in rookie ball if he has an easy time picking up breaking balls.

Sure it is. The Royals are a legitimate 85-90 win team and if they suddenly start believing in themselves, they could do more. Confidence can steal you 5+ wins.

But today you saw that claws that the Tigers do have. Sure, they're spinning they're wheels a bit right now, but bludgeoning the Blue Jays today, the darling of many a prognosticator, is something they're eminently capable of doing on any given day.

They've not been pushed for several years. If the Royals give them a rabbit to chase, the Tigers may just find another gear and go catch the thing. If the Royals win it, they'll be in for a dogfight, IMO.

Plate discipline isn't just about Ks. It's about strike zone judgment. Starling walked 14.25 percent of the time last season, which is well above average (average is about 8 percent).

It actually was the most encouraging thing about his debut season.

I'm hoping it's the latter. Time will tell. Early returns are awful, though.

Yeah, but you rarely see guys drawing walks at an elite rate (like Starling did) completely fall off the map.

Guys that really have the knack for drawing walks tend to have pretty flat or steady walk rates (look at Adam Dunn, who has walked at a 15-16 percent clip his entire career).

It's just one more thing about Starling that's confusing as a prospect. One of the hardest guys to put a finger on in years.

You can eat and/or drink before and after the games now.

Just comparing the eye-test to the slash lines here, nothing too fancy.

The Offense:

Alex Gordon (.378/.410/.578)
Alex Gordon is really on top of his game, but let’s be realistic. He hit .294/.368/.471 last year, so it is likely he will return back down to earth a little bit. However, he did get off to a slow start last year, so that gives me a little hope that he may just tear the league up this year.

Billy Butler (.276/.382/.517)
Billy had a slow first few games but has begun to pick it back up on this home stand. His productivity will likely increase over the course of the year.

Alcides Escobar (.306/.359/.472)
Escobar has improved over last year’s line. However, his walk rate is up a tick, which at least could be an indication that the game is slowing down a little for him. His increased level of success could be sustainable.

Lorenzo Cain (.296/.375/.370)
Cain has a much better slash line than last year. His approach at the plate does not appear to match his productivity, so I doubt this will be sustainable. However, moderate improvement over last year’s production is certainly not out of the question, given that he is finally healthy.

Frenchy (.286/.306/.457)
Frenchy’s production will revert to last year’s form. His approach hasn’t changed a bit and will not magically succeed all of a sudden at the major league level.

Eric Hosmer (.269/.387/.308)
I will hold out hope that Hosmer can manifest to become a star at this level. His OBP is pretty crazy thusfar this year. Maybe his power will come around? He is a giant question mark.

Mike Moustakas (.194/.265/.258)
Moustakas’s productivity will undoubtedly increase. However, will he be the .250 hitter of last year or will he step up and become a major league force. Another major question mark.

Salvador Perez (.263/.284/.342)
Salvy’s productivity will increase just based on the eye-test. He is outperforming his statistics at the plate. He consistently makes great contact. One concern I have is that he presses with men on base. I would like to see him be more selective in his approach as well. Getting better pitches and more walks would really bolster his game.

Chris Getz (.241/.241/.379)
Getz should see a marginal increase in production. His complete lack of walks is astounding.



Overall, I would estimate that the offense should see an increase in productivity over the course of the season.

This is a real, legit 85-win team, so they don't have to overachieve by much.

In prior years, overachieving meant we scratched, clawed, and lucked our way into not losing 100 games. This year, overachieving probably means playoffs.

Since the Royals are out to a good start -and they NEVER get out to a good start- I'm amending my thinking to believe they have a legit chance to go .500 this year. I'm not going to hope for much more than that, because I think .500 is a realistic goal. Anything beyond that is wonderful progress for this franchise.

For all the Royals gave up in the trade, .500 just isn't enough for me. Enough of the loser mentality!

Just 2 years ago they were 10-4 out of the gate.

If this team will really be an 85-90 win team, they'll need to hit for more power. Right now, that's a big worry.

I have real concerns with how the Royals prospects are transitioning to the major league level. Is it coaching? Why do we hate OBP? Why are other teams prospects flourishing while ours are circling the toilet?

The Royals started out 10-4 in April of 2011, they went 4-9 for the rest of the month. They were 5 games under .500 by the end of May and 15 games under .500 by the end of June.

Difference is that was very fluky. This is not fluky, at least so far.

Yeah I know. That's why I'm not running to Vegas with a second mortgage or anything....

But I am cautiously optimistic. And that's a big step for me.

Yeah, I know; I just don't buy his walk rate. I think it'll collapse as he sees better pitching.

All of his stats just don't scan. I won't beat up on him this early though.

They also were rolling out a starting staff of:

Bruce Chen
Jeff Francis
Luke Hochevar
Kyle Davies
Sean O'Sullivan

There was little reason to believe that pitching staff could sustain the early success. Compare it to:

Shields
Santana
Guthrie
Davis
Mendoza

It's not a stretch to say Mendoza would have been the best starter on that 2011 team.

The two cities with the most interstate highways (Kansas City and Dallas) both have their professional sports stadiums in or near the suburbs. That should tell you something about the culture of those cities.

duncan, it's also a bit scary that 2 of those pitchers are still on our current staff.

DFW is a bit different. The stadiums are halfway between Dallas and Ft Worth. It's not like they put the stadium out in Plano.

they shoulda built the K on the north side of downtown inbetween dt and the river. rivermarket area-ish. i just thought id say that

I don't mind them still being here in the bullpen. Hochever especially has some good stuff that can be well suited to a few innings. Just expecting a few innings out of him lessens the potential for his fragile mental makeup to surface and impact his performance.

I don't mind Chen as the swing guy/6th starter or even the 5th starter, at all.

Keeping Hochevar was a mistake and one that needs to be flushed ASAP.

The focus going forward is going to be on acquiring a legit bat.

Um...does the flood of 1951 and 1993 ring any bells????

If he sticks to his fastball he could be useful in the pen.

ROFL

:shake:

:(

I agree. I'm from Springfield and I love being able to just hop on the highway and right off to go to Royals and Chiefs games.

No Royals baseball tonight.

How upsetting.

Tell me about it. Looks like I'll be cranking it all night to Kate Upton gifs instead.

giggity

He needs to go to the Derek Lowe school of one-pitch pitching.

I think Hoch has the arm slot, delivery and size to really do a nice job staying on top of the ball and driving it down into the zone. If he's focused on just one pitch, I'll bet he could get really nice movement on it. He's just one of those guys that gets so locked on on being a 'complete' pitcher that he moves away from what he should be and gets himself in trouble worrying about what he could be.

He's essentially a less douchy version of Jason Marquis. Every time Marquis would start thinking he was ready to be a 4-pitch strikeout artist, he'd get his head kicked in. Then he'd calm down a bit, start leaning on his 2-seamer and have a month or longer of solid pitching.

If Hochevar would commit to being a legitimate sinkerballer, he'd prolong his career and maybe develop himself into a decent back of the rotation starter.

itd be a pretty sweet location until a flood wiped it out though amirite?

Yeah. And I'd happily take light rail to Paris. It's just not economically feasible to put the infrastructure in place. Hell, the studies have shown that the income couldn't pay for even a fraction of the upkeep. We literally couldn't afford this if it were free to build.

Major metro areas have millions of people in an area of a few miles. We have hundreds of thousands of people in tens of miles. We have one percent of the population density of the cities with light rail, and those cities are losing money hand over fist on the project. It is the biggest boondoggle ever. Clay Chastain is the guy who is always pimping this thing. Guess where he's from...actually, guess where he's NOT from

I could at least respect him for a problem like this.

Chen did his job the other night.

speaking of Jose Fernandez...

so uh he's pretty much worth owning in all fantasy leagues, right?

Do we have a legit chance at trading for Stanton? I've seen it discussed, but I must admit I don't know much about what we have left in the minors that is worth anything.

LMAO

This team has been so much fun to watch, I wish there was a game tonight.

LMAO. You haven't watched enough Hochevar.

It's not about being too diverse with his pitch selection; it's all about being a mental pussy at the slightest hint of trouble, even if he's otherwise dominating with his stuff.

Depends on Miami...if they decide to trade him its going to take at least 3-4 top prospects to get him.

Great username and first post buddy. Welcome to the Planet....

Anybody see the brawl between Dodgers and Pads? Apparently, somebody threw over Kemp's head early the game. A bit later, Greinke plunked Carlos Quentin in the arm. Quentin hesitated, then charged Greinke. ZG stood his ground and took him head up like a MLB stepping into the hole. I was damned impressed. Unfortunately, now they're saying ZG broke his left collarbone in the hit and will miss a while.

Quentin better wear some extra protection against the Dodgers going forward, they're going to be out to get him.

Not a chance IMO.....

ROFL

greinke breaks his collarbone in a brawl. for some reason that really amuses me.

Quentin is a ninja level douchebag. He doesn't even attempt to get out of the way of inside pitches. He leans in to them and then complains that he gets hit too much. I hope someone beans that asshat in the head next game.

No

Sweet baby jesus, Tim Collins is only 23? Seems like a salty vet!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/2013.shtml

I will say this for Grienke...he was the first Royal in a LONG time who wasn't afraid to throw at a guy after one of our guys got drilled. It would drive me insane to watch us get hit over and over while doing nothing to stand up for ourselves.

Then Matt Kemp went all Kanye West and was like, Imma let you finish Zack, but I gotsa steal the show, talk some shiz, and get ejected

/bitch life

He was still talking to Quentin after the game in the parking lot and tunnel. There are pics out there somewhere. This is going to get ugly. Mattingly was also furious.

Agreed. Of course we all want Stanton but know it's a pipedream. Even if it makes so much sense for us, and would really make me forget Wil Myers. A power-hitting RF we can build around? Yeah, I'll sell the farm for that.

Other potential bats that could become available:
Chase Headley (but where do we play him?)
Josh Willingham
Howie Kendrick (The Angels are desperate for pitching)
Chase Utley (As realistic as Stanton, but the Phils appear to be on the fade in an impossible division.)
Rickie Weeks (puke)
Aaron Hill (If the D-backs crash and burn.)
Michael Cuddyer (I would be great with this.)
Hell, even Carlos Gonzalez is reportedly being looked at.

Billy Butler has come out with his own signature brand of Barbeque sauce. Profits go to his charity.

http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2...KoPh.St.81.jpg

Now that brings a whole new meaning to "awesome sauce"

Can you eat it for breakfast???

Agreed.

I guess that's what you get when your manager likes to felate the opposing manager (LaRussa) in the local press.

I'd love to pry Howie Kendrick away from the Angels. He's on the hook for two more seasons after this one at around $10 million/year, but he's a pretty key piece of their lineup.

I like Headley alot (switch-hitter with pop, though probably not as much as he showed a year ago). He also has played extensively in the OF before, though it was in LF. Not sure he could stick in RF (he was slightly below average there during that season).

Weeks and Hill would also be upgrades.

All of those are potentially realistic.

I will try some. I love me some Billy!

Edit - link didn't want to work. Where can I get it?

I would give the Marlins whatever they wanted for Stanton.

Story posted tweets from Billy saying http://Zarda.com or http://originaljuan.com

Luckily, we have a new man who won't let that **** fly.

http://blog.masslive.com/redsoxmonst...elds-fight.jpg