Reasons to be excited for Royals baseball in 2010

Okay, so this site gets accused of being too negative on this site, and I am a big reason for that. DiscoDave has inspired me and gotten me excited for Opening Day, so let me lift your moods with my top reasons for being excited at this 2010 Kansas City Royals season.

via indyposted.com

Chipotle for everyone!

 

1. The Cy Young Winner

The obvious one is every fifth day we get to see the best pitcher in the game dazzle hitters with an amazing assortment of pitches. Watching Zack pitch is like playing a video game. His command is pinpoint, his fastball is crisp, and the ball just seems to dive out of the way at the last second when he wants it to. There are only a handful of fans in baseball that get the opportunity to watch a pitcher this talented. Savor every start.

2. BillyBall

Billy Butler had a pretty historic season last year with his 50 doubles at such a young age, putting him in pretty elite company. Many believe that doubles power at a young age translates to home run power as a player ages. Having a .300 hitter who can put up 25-30 home runs a season would be huge for this franchise. Plus, Billy has become the goofy face of this franchise, a guy most fans can relate to and a popular guy in the clubhouse. How can you not root for a guy that loves cheeseburgers?

3. The Mexicutioner

Joakim Soria has the most ridiculous curveball in the game. Even though we may go days without seeing him due to Trey's bizarre bullpen usage patterns, the times when we get to see Joakim pitch are a treat. Its amazing we not only have Zack, but another pitcher who can fire a fastball at the knees precisely on the inside corner, setting up a ridiculous change up that dives out of the zone and makes the hitter look like a fool. And he's not just tough - he's Mexican tough.

4. Getting Defensive

Our defense will be better. Even though Trey's assembled our outfield in the most ridiculous alignment you could possible come up with, the fact is we have two guys that can pass for centerfielders playing the corner outfield. That is good. Ankiel is below average in center, but he's not Guillen-bad. And Brian Anderson and Mitch Maier are good defenders off the bench. If the Royals can resist the temptation to stick Willie Ballgame out there and let Jose Guillen's corpse lie on the bench or at DH, we will likely have our best defensive outfield since the days of Damon/Carlos/Dye.

5. Banny Being Banny

While we have the most sabermetrically-opposed GM in the game, its interesting that we also have the most sabermatrically-inclined player in the game - Brian Bannister. Banny's curious mind has led him to conclusions that he may have figured out flaws in his game. When he's on, he's still a very good pitcher. When he's hittable, oh my. But he's still an easy guy to root for, a student of the game,  and a guy we need to have a solid year.

6. The Kid

This is one of those quotes I'm sure someone will keep and post in October to make fun of me, but - I really, really, really, really believe this is the year Alex Gordon busts out. And not just busts out to become Craig Paquette good, I mean busts out to become Dean Palmer good. Which still may be disappointing for some expecting the next George Brett, but let's be honest, if Alex put up a .278/.333/.510 with 34 jacks, you'd take it, wouldn't you? Alex will never be good enough for some, but I think he puts a lot of his critics to rest this year. At least I hope so.

7. The Hooch

I have mixed feelings on Hooch, mostly because of how wildly inconsistent he is. Some days he looks like an All-Star. Some days he looks like he doesn't belong in baseball. Hopefully the pitch-tipping was a big source of his problems last year (although its still troubling the Royals never picked up on it). Or perhaps it was his awful infield defense (which hasn't really changed so long as Yuni still stands behind him). In any case, Luke was BABIP unlucky last year and while I don't think he'll ever be the ace people expect out of a #1 overall pick, I do think he'll be a solid starting pitcher in an otherwise solid rotation.

8. The Backstop

Say what you will about Jason Kendall and his noodle arm and weak bat, but I don't have to see Miguel Olivo or John Buck run to the backstop to chase after a pitch anymore.

9. Speed Kills

The sabermetric crowd poo-poohs the stolen base, and I'm inclined to agree, but aesthetically, I love the stolen base. And if you can steal at a 75% rate, it can be a fairly effective tool. What about at a 93% rate? Because that's what Chris Getz did last year - 25 steals in 27 attempts. I don't think he's quite that good, but I feel he can become a really effective basestealer for us. His OBA may not blow anyone away, so I'm not saying he should lead off (and I think basestealers should hit low in the lineup anyway to maximize their abilities), but swiping bases at a high rate like that could be useful for an offensively-inept team like the Royals. Scottie Pods will drive us nuts with his pickoffs, but I will admit the guy has some speed. If he can get his rates above 75% (and I think Trey will give him the green light), we could see a big stolen base year from him as well.

10. We Have Baseball Players!

Gone are the day when Eduardo Villacis was sacrificed to the baseball gods because we had no one better to throw out there in a pinch. NRIs like Brad Thompson, Jorge Campillo, Matt Herges, Phillip Humber, Bryan Bullington, John Parrish and Adam Bostick are all decent guys to have as a 12th man on the staff. Combine them with inhouse guys like Carlos Rosa, Chris Hayes and Chris Nicoll and Omaha will have one of their best staffs in quite awhile. Jordan Parraz and David Lough aren't likely to embarrass themselves should they get a brief callup to fill in. Wilson Betimet can provide nice pop off the bench as a utility infielder. Edwin Bellorin is a nice catch and throw backstop. And the Braves pipeline was to our benefit with Scott Thorman tore up AAA last year. Him and/or Kila could both give us pop if needed.

11. The Future

This year we are likely to get at least a taste of some of the young arms Dayton has been collecting for four years now - Aaron Crow, Mike Montgomery and possibly even Noel Arguelles. I think each of these three has a good chance at being even better than many scouts think. I think Crow has a very polished arsenal and can step up pretty quickly to become a fixture in our rotation. I think Montgomery has great upside. And I think Noel will surprise a lot of people with how good he is. I've been fairly critical of Dayton's amateur talent strategy, but I am very optimistic about these three.


12. The Comedy Central

The AL Central sucks. Sorry, but it does. Cleveland doesn't show any inclination to try to win, Chicago makes erratic moves that sometimes work out, sometimes look foolish, Detroit is in some weird holding pattern while they wait for a jillion dollars in dead weight (Ordonez, Willis, Robertson, Bonderman) to come off their payroll, and the Twins are pretty mediocre for a team with one of the best hitters in the game. I'm not saying the Royals aren't any better, just...stranger things have happened than a team like the Royals getting lucky and taking a weak division.

13. Its Baseball!

As Bill Simmons suggested, even Royals fans can take enjoyment out of the fact they are outside, watching baseball. The K is my most favorite venue in all of baseball to take in a game, tickets are affordable, the food and beer options have greatly improved, my son is now at an age where we can stay more than three innings, and save for the occasional wiener in the eye, most people have a pretty good time at the game, win or lose.

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

via www.americanrhetoric.com