Pitching woes, starting pitching woes. The black eye of our season last year right? Well we all know that our starters had some issues finding the strike zone, but for the most part, our bullpen was a thing of beauty. Everyone to a man was calling for McClure to hit the road, and now we have Eiland to grab the helm, and steer these pitchers.

2012 will be a huge leap forward in our quest to right this ship, and steer it back to our once proud port of baseball greatness. It will happen…I have absolutely no doubt. Just how will all this play out? Who will be our front 5? Who will be our middle relief? Who will close? Well, I’m just a fan like you, but we can always guess and put in our 2 cents right?

Here is how I would like to see things, provided there are no more moves. 1) Luke Hochevar– People are saying that we need a real ace. That’s fine, but I say Luke is the Ace…an overall #1 pick who has taken a bit longer to bloom than hoped. But in full bloom he is! If you didn’t notice the huge improvement in him the last half of the season, you might be reading this post in Braille. Luke has finally figured it out and feel free to call me an idiot for this, but Luke is the next Justin Verlander. Just watch & see. 2) Bruce Chen - Our pitcher of the year…crafty veteran who posted a 3.77 ERA and is happy to stay in Royal blue. We are happy to have this lefty here as our #2 guy. 3) Greg Holland– If you haven’t noticed by now, I am putting our starters Right-Left-Right-Left. Greg was really our best pitcher of the year IMO. He is pure nasty. Put this guy in the starting rotation and watch out team ERA plummet. 4) Jonathan Sanchez– This slot goes to Sanchez, provided he can get back to his old form. I hope the change to KC under Eiland will be the spark he needs. 5) Drum roll please…………Aaron Crow, no wait, Louis Coleman, no wait, Felipe Paulino, no wait, Luis Mendoza, oh maybe another lefty…Everett Teaford. Ok…great problem to have huh?

These are all solid pitchers fighting for the #5 spot in the rotation. Personally I like Aaron Crow in that spot,and for the sake of argument, let’s say that is our opening day rotation. Then we have this as a middle relief. * Felipe Paulino - R * Louis Coleman - R * Everett Teaford– L *Jonathan Broxton– R * Danny Duffy – L * Kelvin Herrera– R * Luis Mendoza– R Maybe another lefty in the pen instead? Who? Laffey…Verdugo…Collins? Closer is the no brainer of the year, Joakim Soria (again, provided he returns to previous form) Fellow Royals fans, maybe I’m too much of a cockeyed optimist, (like Billy Mumphries) but I think our pitching woes are in the rearview mirror. Along with the solid lineup that is scary from top to bottom, this should be one exiting season to be at the K!