The Winter of the Wil Myers Trade is over. Replaced by baseball. Real, live baseball.
And with that, the first game thread of 2013. We've spent the winter in preparation: Taking precautions against carpal tunnel, honing our snark and finding the proper beer to nacho cheese ratio. (Really, it's just more beer.)
And now it's time.
Meet the 25 men* prepared to do battle for the honor of Kansas City this summer.
*Subject to change.
The final piece of the roster puzzle went down when Miguel Tejada was officially added to the 25-man roster. In a related story, Dayton Moore took $1.1 million of David Glass's money and flushed it down the toilet. Sorry! I'm supposed to be optimistic. Opening Day!
The lineup:
Alex Gordon - LF
Alcides Escobar - SS
Billy Butler - DH
Mike Moustakas - 3B
Salvador Perez - C
Eric Hosmer - 1B
Lorenzo Cain - CF
Jeff Francoeur - RF
Chris Getz - 2B
James Shields - SP
The Tampa Dividend makes his Royals debut.
Just for fun, compare it with last year's Opening Day lineup:
Alex Gordon - LF
Lorenzo Cain - CF
Eric Hosmer - 1B
Billy Butler - DH
Jeff Francoeur - RF
Yuniesky Betancourt - 2B
Mike Moustakas - 3B
Brayan Pena - C
Alcides Escobar - SS
Bruce Chen - SP
Finally, few links to get you ready:
Alex Gordon on verge of being what Royals always expected - KansasCity.com
Alex Gordon looks like the face of the franchise for the Royals as they prepare to open the season Monday against the White Sox in Chicago.
Strikeout To Walk Is Key Stat For Royals In 2013 - Kings of Kauffman
A fun fact: no team in the American League that was below league average in SO-BB ratio made the playoffs last season.
Great Expectations for Royals? Maybe – Pine Tar Press
Talent. Finally.
The Doubleday: Ad Hoch Hypothesis
Hochevar? Yeah, he's still here.
Play ball.