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Split squads today as the Royals take on Milwaukee this afternoon and the Cubs this evening. The afternoon contest is audio available on 610 AM and MLB.com. Tonight's came will be televised. NOTE: The evening game will have its own thread. Those who post about the Royals-Cubs game on the Royals-Brewers' thread will be sent to the Jeff Zimmerman's Mom's basement where they will be subjected to the same bizarre sabre-metrical experimentation that the Z-man is currently conducting on the long missing Nick Scott.
The lineup is a hodge-podge this afternoon with most of the starters going this evening:
Jarrod Dyson, CF
Alcides Escobar, SS
Xavier Nady, 1B
Miguel Tejada, 3B
Irving Falu, LF
George Kotteras, C
Paulo Orlando, RF
Rey Navarro, 2B
Luis Mendoza, P
No designated hitter this afternoon.
Nady, as previously reported, was released yesterday to avoid the Royals having to pay him $100,000 to play in Omaha and resigned this morning (as was George Sherill) to a true minor league deal. No harm, no foul.
Irving Falu appears in the outfield today. If the Royals were not dead set on Tejada (which they are), Falu would be a nice piece to have on the bench as he not only can play everywhere in the infield, but has experience in the outfield as well.
Here is a bet for you related to Miguel Tejada batting cleanup. I will wager that at least once this season, Tejada bats fourth in a regular season game.
Bob Dutton reports that the Royals will use J.C. Gutierrez, Dan Wheeler, Louis Coleman, Fran Bueno and Tim Collins today between the two games. With Collins struggling and with the ever coveted 'options available' tag on his back, this has become a five men for two spot battle with just four games to go. Are you riveted? Actually, I am enough of a nerd to answer that affirmatively.