2007 Kansas City Royals - Here we go Again

[Dauis]

3/31/2008
ROYALS MOVES
We bit the bullet with David DeJesus today, eating the remaining $10.8 million on his contract. It was evident he was not going to be able to contribute to the major league roster once he came back from his injury.

4/6/2008
CONTRACT EXTENSION
The Angels have reached an agreement with outfielder Vladimir Guerrero on a 3 year contract worth $55.11 million.

[Dauis]

SEASON PREVIEW
Will the young arms be able to handle the pressure? That’s going to determine the fate of our season. Like I said in our Spring Training review, 4 of our starting pitchers are under the age of 25. Brad Penny, all of 29 years old, will be the wise veteran of our staff. Our bullpen is talented but somewhat untested. If the entire staff performs like I expect it to, they could have a decent season. We’ll just have to deal with the bumps along the way. Broxton will be out the first week of the season, and Hamels will miss the first 2.

Starting Rotation
R Mark Rogers
R Zack Greinke
R Brad Penny
R Craig Whitaker
L Monty Ford

Middle Relievers
L Joel Peralta
R Brett Evert
R Santiago Casilla

Setup Relievers
L Santiago Andrade
R Tito Pedigo

Closer
R Joakim Soria


Our lineup, on the other hand, is very experienced. We added Markakis, Huff, and Millar via trade, and our lone free agent acquisition, Torii Hunter, is roaming center for us. All our guys have proven they can hit the ball. We still have a young nucleus of German, Teahen, and Betemit though. We really need to find a catcher though, since we’ve been searching for one ever since I got here.

Lineup Versus RHP
2B Esteban German
RF Nick Markakis
3B Mark Teahen
SS Wilson Betemit
1B Nomar Garciaparra
LF Scott Spiezio
DH Aubrey Huff
CF Torii Hunter
C David Ross

Bench
C Chris Stewart
1B Kevin Millar
3B Billy Butler
RF Emil Brown
RF Brian Stavinsky

Lineup Versus LHP
2B Esteban German
RF Emil Brown
3B Mark Teahen
SS Wilson Betemit
1B Nomar Garciaparra
LF Scott Spiezio
CF Torii Hunter
DH Kevin Millar
C David Ross

Bench
C Chris Stewart
3B Billy Butler
RF Aubrey Huff
RF Nick Markakis
RF Brian Stavinsky

Our owner expects us to play .500. I think that’s reasonable, and with any luck we might be able to stay competitive. I hope so, anyway, for my job’s sake.

[Dauis]

4/7/2008
NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORE
New York (N) 7
St. Louis 6
W: A. Burgos (1-0) L: B. Chen (0-1) S: D. Sanchez (1)
HR – NYN: C. Beltran (1), B. Johnson (1) STL: A. Pujols (1), M. Rouse (1)

[Dauis]

4/8/2008
GAME #1 – Boston (C. Schilling) at Kansas City (M. Rogers)
Boston 6
Kansas City 2
W: C. Schilling (1-0) L: M. Rogers (0-1)
HR – BOS: B. Butler (1) KC: N. Markakis (1)

You could sure tell which pitcher was the experienced one and which one still has a long ways to go. Rogers looked extremely nervous, going only 5.2 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits and 6 walks and striking out 4. He pitched around the walks for a few innings, but Butler hit a 3 run home run in the 5th to put the game away. Schilling, on the other hand, went the distance. He only struck out 3, but was effective, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Toronto 5
Detroit 2
W: R. Halladay (1-0) L: R. Messenger (0-1) S: B. Ryan (1)
HR – TOR: V. Wells (1) DET: B. Coats (1)

Toronto outfielder Alex Rios suffered a torn groin muscle and will miss 2-3 months.

Tampa Bay 0
New York (A) 1
W: C. Wang (1-0) L: S. Kazmir (0-1)

Chien-Ming Wang dominated the Devil Rays, pitching a 5 hit shutout. He struck out 4 and walked 1.

Cleveland 2
Chicago (A) 1
W: C. Sabathia (1-0) L: J. Danks (0-1) S: R. Betancourt (1)
HR – CHA: A. Pierzynski (1)

Oakland 4
Seattle 0
W: D. Haren (1-0) L: F. Hernandez (0-1)
HR – OAK: M. Bradley 2 (2)

Baltimore 3
Minnesota 1
W: H. Penn (1-0) L: J. Santana (0-1) S: D. Baez (1)
HR – BAL: T. Yugamidani (1)

Texas 5
Los Angeles (A) 12
W: J. Speier (1-0) L: K. Millwood (0-1) S: H. Carrasco (1)
HR – TEX: M. Teixeira (1) LAA: R. Quinlan (1), B. Wood 2 (2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Atlanta 4
Philadelphia 1
W: J. Parr (1-0) L: B. Myers (0-1) S: J. Nathan (1)
HR – ATL: J. Guillen (1) PHI: E. Reed (1)

Florida 5
Washington 3
W: A. Sanchez (1-0) L: J. Patterson (0-1) S: J. Julio (1)
HR – FLO: J. Willingham 2 (2), B. Watson (1)

Los Angeles (N) 2
Milwaukee 3 (12)
W: A. Otsuka (1-0) L: T. Saito (0-1)

Chicago (N) 5
Cincinnati 4 (10)
W: B. Howry (1-0) L: E. Guardado (0-1)
HR – CHN: D. Lee (1), J. Jones (1), M. DeRosa (1), M. Barrett (1) CIN: R. Freel (1), A. Dunn (1)

Cincinnati third baseman Edwin Encarnacion will miss 1-2 weeks with a tender shoulder.

Arizona 1
Colorado 2
W: I. Kennedy (1-0) L: B. Lyon (0-1) S: B. Fuentes (1)
HR – ARI: R. Garko (1) COL: B. Hawpe (1)

Pittsburgh 10
Houston 2
W: Z. Duke (1-0) L: R. Oswalt (0-1)
HR – PIT: A. LaRoche 2 (2)

[Dauis]

4/9/2008
AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Baltimore 3
Minnesota 5
W: F. Liriano (1-0) L: E. Bedard (0-1) S: T. Gonzalez (1)
HR – BAL: J. Payton (1) MIN: F. Catalanotto (1)

Oakland 6
Seattle 5
W: A. Embree (1-0) L: C. Daigle (0-1) S: H. Street (1)
HR – OAK: R. Barajas (1)

Texas 8
Los Angeles (A) 6 (14)
W: C. Hines (1-0) L: D. Oliver (0-1)
HR – TEX: G. Laird (1) LAA: R. Quinlan (2)

Texas outfielder Jerry Owens will miss 2 weeks due to bruised ribs.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
San Diego 5
San Francisco 12
W: M. Cain (1-0) L: J. Peavy (0-1)
HR – SFN: B. Broussard (1), R. Winn (1), E. Alfonzo (1)

Florida 0
Washington 10
W: A. Kown (1-0) L: O. Perez (0-1)
HR – WSH: A. Machado (1), N. Johnson (1), R. Church (1)

Los Angeles (N) 9
Milwaukee 8 (10)
W: M. Melancon (1-0) L: F. Cordero (0-1)
HR – LAN: R. Furcal (1)

Pittsburgh 11
Houston 4
W: A. Miller (1-0) L: S. Baker (0-1)
HR – PIT: A. Laroche (3), R. Paulino 2 (2) HOU: M. Lamb (1), M. Ensberg (1), L. Berkman (1)

Pittsburgh catcher Ronny Paulino had 5 hits in Pittsburgh’s 11-4 victory. He singled in the 1st, hit a solo shot in the 3rd, singled in the 4th, doubled in the 6th, hit a solo shot in the 7th and walked in the 9th.

New York (N) 3
St. Louis 5
W: C. Carpenter (1-0) L: C. Capuano (0-1) S: B. Looper (1)
HR – STL: A. Pujols (2), C. Rasmus (1)

Arizona 2
Colorado 1
W: D. Eveland (1-0) L: C. Vargas (0-1) S: D. Davis (1)
HR – COL: B. Hawpe (2)

[Dauis]

4/10/2008
RETIREMENT
Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi announced his retirement today.

GAME #2 – Boston (D. Matsuzaka) at Kansas City (Z. Greinke)
Boston 12
Kansas City 1
W: D. Matsuzaka (1-0) L: Z. Greinke (0-1)
HR – BOS: D. Ortiz (1), D. Pedroia (1)

Greinke started off ok, giving up just 3 runs in the first 6 innings. Then the wheels came off in the 7th, with Greinke ginving up 3 runs while only getting 2 outs. Casilla and Pedigo gave up 6 runs while combining for 1 out, and that was that. Dustin Pedroia went 2-5 with a double, home run, 2 runs scored, and 5 RBIs to lead Boston’s attack.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Toronto 1
Detroit 4
W: J. Zumaya (1-0) L: T. Taubenheim (0-1) S: T. Jones (1)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (1)

Tampa Bay 11
New York (A) 5
W: P. Astacio (1-0) L: M. Mussina (0-1) S: J. Seo (1)
HR – TBA: E. Hinske 2 (2), B. Buchanan (1) NYA: B. Abreu (1), M. Cabrera (1)

Cleveland 4
Chicago (A) 7
W: M. Buehrle (1-0) L: B. Thompson (0-1) S: F. Bastamonte (1)
HR – CLE: D. Dellucci (1)

Texas 2
Los Angeles (A) 6
W: K. Escobar (1-0) L: K. Loe (0-1) S: D. Oliver (1)
HR – TEX: I. Kinsler (1) LAA: J. Rivera (1), R. Quinlan (3), P. Konerko (1), V. Guerrero (1)

Baltimore 4
Minnesota 1
W: J. Westbrook (1-0) L: M. Garza (0-1) S: D. Baez (2)
HR – BAL: B. Roberts (1)

Minnesota will be without Joe Mauer for 2 weeks after he suffered a bruised cheekbone when he was hit by a pitch.

Oakland 3
Seattle 9
W: J. Weaver (1-0) L: B. Halsey (0-1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Florida 7
Washington 5 (11)
W: J. Julio (1-0) L: L. Ayala (0-1) S: A. Fultz (1)
HR – FLO: J. Willingham (3), B. Watson (2)

Arizona 14
Colorado 3
W: L. Hernandez (1-0) L: B. Kim (0-1)
HR – ARI: B. Estalella (1), C. Quentin 2 (2)

Atlanta 4
Philadelphia 6
W: G. Geary (1-0) L: C. James (0-1) S: B. Morrow (1)
HR – ATL: E. Renteria (1), A. Jones (1)

Chicago (N) 2
Cincinnati 6
W: B. Arroyo (1-0) L: S. Marshall (0-1) S: E. Guardado (1)
HR – CIN: A. Dunn 2 (3)

Los Angeles (N) 4
Milwaukee 0
W: J. Sanchez (1-0) L: Z. Jackson (0-1) S: Y. Brazoban (1)
HR – LAN: R. Furcal 2 (3), J. Guzman (1)

Pittsburgh 5
Houston 4
W: D. Rasner (1-0) L: T. Miller (0-1) S: M. Capps (1)
HR – PIT: J. Bautista (1) HOU: C. Lee (1), L. Berkman (2), C. Burke (1)

New York (N) 8
St. Louis 7
W: B. Wagner (1-0) L: J. Isringhausen (0-1) S: D. Sanchez (2)
HR – STL: P. Nevin (1), M. Rouse (2)

San Diego 1
San Francisco 0
W: C. Meredith (1-0) L: B. Zito (0-1) S: T. Hoffman (1)

[Dauis]

4/11/2008
GAME #3 – Boston (I. Snell) at Kansas City (B. Penny)
Boston 0
Kansas City 2
W: B. Penny (1-0) L: I. Snell (0-1) S: J. Soria (1)

Leave it to the old man of the rotation to get us our first win and avoid the sweep. Penny was great, going 8 innings, giving up just 4 hits and 1 walk and striking out 7.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Toronto 6
Detroit 2
W: D. Romero (1-0) L: J. Bonderman (0-1)
HR – TOR: T. Glaus (1)

Cleveland 5
Chicago (A) 10
W: J. Vazquez (1-0) L: A. Miller (0-1)
HR – CLE: I. Ochoa (1) CHA: R. Sweeney (1), B. Anderson (1), J. Keppinger (1)

Tampa Bay 1
New York (A) 4
W: A. Pettitte (1-0) L: M. Walker (0-1) S: L. Vizcaino (1)
HR – NYA: M. Cabrera (2)

Oakland 9
Los Angeles (A) 5
W: S. Komine (1-0) L: C. Lee (0-1)
HR – OAK: J. Gomes 2 (2) LAA: J. Rivera (2)

Oakland outfielder Milton Bradley will miss at least 4 weeks with a fractured wrist, and reliever Justin Duchscherer will miss at least 1-2 weeks with back spasms.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (N) 5
Cincinnati 2
W: J. Maine (1-0) L: M. Wood (0-1) S: B. Howry (1)
HR – CHN: J. Jones (2), A. Soriano (1) CIN: J. Shanks (1)

Atlanta 5
Philadelphia 6
W: G. Geary (2-0) L: M. Gonzalez (0-1) S: R. Nelson (1)
HR – ATL: J. Guillen (2), R. Castro (1) PHI: J. Rollins (1), R. Howard (1)

Arizona 3
Washington 11
W: J. Williams (1-0) L: E. Gonzalez (0-1)
HR – ARI: M. Cameron (1) WSH: M. Vento (1), K. Shoppach (1)

San Diego 6
San Francisco 4
W: H. Bell (1-0) L: J. Towers (0-1) S: T. Hoffman (2)
HR – SDN: J. Bard (1), T. Walker (1), A. Gonzalez (1), A. Machado (1) SFN: B. Broussard (2), E. Alfonzo (2)

[Loeffle]

Originally Posted by Dauis

SEASON PREVIEW


Our owner expects us to play .500. I think that’s reasonable, and with any luck we might be able to stay competitive. I hope so, anyway, for my job’s sake.

Good luck on your task! Most of your players are rather unknown to be, but I guess you have a lot of young talent on your roster! In this game everything is possible ...

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by Loeffle

Good luck on your task! Most of your players are rather unknown to be, but I guess you have a lot of young talent on your roster! In this game everything is possible ...

A lot of my relievers are young, but we have a couple that are 27-28 years old that are just late bloomers. I will admit that the bullpen is inexperienced, though, as is our rotation. If you or anybody wants to know anything about any of my players, let me know. I'd be glad to answer any questions. Besides, it's a nice break from posting about losses.

[Dauis]

4/12/2008
GAME #4 – Detroit (N. Robertson) at Kansas City (C. Whitaker)
Detroit 7
Kansas City 4
W: N. Robertson (1-0) L: C. Whitaker (0-1) S: T. Jones (2)
HR – DET: M. Ordonez (1), C. Jackson (1)

Whitaker got rocked early, giving up 5 runs in 3.2 innings. We never could fight our way back. We added a run here and there, but nothing serious. Conor Jackson went 1-4, hitting a 3-run homer in the 3rd to start the scoring for the Tigers.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 8
Texas 0
W: J. Lester (1-0) L: V. Padilla (0-1)
HR – BOS: B. Butler (2)

Seattle 2
Cleveland 0
W: H. Ramirez (1-0) L: P. Byrd (0-1) S: J. Putz (1)
HR – SEA: A. Beltre (1)

Baltimore 11
New York (A) 3
W: D. Levinski (1-0) L: C. Pavano (0-1)
HR – BAL: C. Patterson (1), R. Hernandez (1), A. Stern (1) NYA: R. Doumit (1)

Toronto 2
Tampa Bay 4
W: P. Maholm (1-0) L: D. Waechter (0-1) S: S. Camp (1)
HR – TOR: T. Glaus (2) TBA: C. Crawford (1)

Minnesota 3
Chicago (A) 9
W: J. Contreras (1-0) L: D. Bush (0-1)
HR – CHA: R. Sweeney (2), J. Keppinger (2)

Oakland 7
Los Angeles (A) 8
W: J. Speier (2-0) L: K. Calero (0-1) S: F. Rodriguez (1)
HR – OAK: J. Gomes (3), D. Barton (1) LAA: M. Izturis (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Philadelphia 1
Florida 2
W: F. del Guidice (1-0) L: R. Nolasco (0-1)

Arizona 3
Washington 4 (13)
W: E. Fruto (1-0) L: B. Lyon (0-2)

Pittsburgh 2
Cincinnati 4
W: E. Milton (1-0) L: S. Kim (0-1) S: E. Guardado (2)
HR – CIN: K. Griffey Jr (1)

Ken Griffey, Jr. collected his 2500th hit in today’s game.

New York (N) 7
Atlanta 3
W: P. Martinez (1-0) L: M. Hampton (0-1)
HR – NYN: D. Wright (1), L. Milledge (1), B. Johnson (2)

Chicago (N) 2
Milwaukee 1
W: M. Wuertz (1-0) L: M. Parra (0-1) S: B. Howry (2)
HR – CHN: M. DeRosa (2), C. McGehee (1)

St. Louis 5
Houston 2
W: A. Wainwright (1-0) L: J. Johnson (0-1) S: B. Looper (2)
HR – STL: S. Rolen (1) HOU: L. Berkman (3)

Colorado 5
San Diego 0
W: J. Francis (1-0) L: K. Benson (0-1) S: T. Martin (1)
HR – COL: C. Iannetta (1)

Los Angeles (N) 9
San Francisco 5
W: T. Saito (1-1) L: J. Rauch (0-1)

[chambertrain]

Please post the standings, and team won loss records more often. Also what is your trade difficulty settings, sorry if you already listed them I forgot.

Thanks

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by chambertrain

Please post the standings, and team won loss records more often. Also what is your trade difficulty settings, sorry if you already listed them I forgot.

Thanks

I usually post complete standings every month, but I can post them every week if you want.

Also, I just left all settings at the default, which is probably why I've been able to make some of these deals. I expect I'll get a lot of crap for it, but oh well.

[Dauis]

4/13/2008
GAME #5 – Detroit (J. Verlander 0-0, 3.00 ERA) at Kansas City (M. Rogers 0-1, 7.94 ERA)
Detroit 8
Kansas City 13
W: J. Peralta (1-0) L: D. Wells (0-1)
HR – DET: I. Rodriguez (1), M. Ordonez (2), B. Coats (2) KC: T. Hunter (1), A. Huff 2 (2), N. Markakis (2)

Neither starter lasted long in this one. Rogers left after 2.2 innings, which was 2 innings longer than Verlander lasted. It was a back and forth game that had balls flying out of the stadium left and right, as you can see by the home run list. Aubrey Huff led our attack, going 3-4 with 2 home runs, 3 runs scored, and 5 RBIs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Baltimore 2
New York (A) 7
W: C. Wang (2-0) L: H. Penn (1-1) S: S. Proctor (1)
HR – NYA: H. Matsui (1), R. Cano 2 (2), E. Duncan (1)

Minnesota 1
Chicago (A) 3
W: J. Danks (1-1) L: J. Santana (0-2) S: F. Bastamonte (2)

Seattle 1
Cleveland 2
W: C. Sabathia (2-0) L: F. Hernandez (0-2) S: R. Betancourt (2)
HR – SEA: Y. Betancourt (1) CLE: T. Hafner (1)

Toronto 12
Tampa Bay 4
W: R. Halladay (2-0) L: S. Kazmir (0-2)
HR – TOR: R. Shealy 2 (2), A. Gonzalez 2 (2) TBA: B. Buchanan (2)

Boston 5
Texas 4
W: S. Strickland (1-0) L: K. Millwood (0-2) S: M. Delcarmen (1)

Oakland 3
Los Angeles (A) 5
W: J. Weaver (1-0) L: D. Haren (1-1) S: D. Oliver (2)
HR – OAK: B. Wilkerson (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (N) 2
Milwaukee 3
W: B. Sheets (1-0) L: C. Zambrano (0-1) S: F. Cordero (1)

Los Angeles (N) 3
San Francisco 4
W: N. Lowry (1-0) L: D. Lowe (0-1) S: F. Cabrera (1)
HR – LAN: J. Loney (1) SFN: J. Knoedler (1)

St. Louis 5
Houston 7
W: O. Dotel (1-0) L: J. Kinney (0-1) S: B. Lidge (1)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (2), M. Lamb (2), L. Berkman (4), L. Scott (1)

Philadelphia 2
Florida 5
W: A. Sanchez (2-0) L: B. Myers (0-2) S: J. Julio (2)
HR – FLO: M. Cabrera (1)

Arizona 1
Washington 3
W: J. Patterson (1-1) L: B. Webb (0-1) S: C. Cordero (1)
HR – WSH: M. LeCroy (1), N. Johnson (2)

New York (N) 2
Atlanta 8
W: J. Parr (2-0) L: A. Heilman (0-1)
HR – ATL: E. Renteria (2), C. Jones 2 (2)

Pittsburgh 7
Cincinnati 6 (10)
W: M. Capps (1-0) L: E. Guardado (0-2)
HR – PIT: F. Sanchez 2 (2), A. LaRoche (4) CIN: K. Griffey Jr (2)

Colorado 9
San Diego 10
W: E. Gonzalez (1-0) L: I. Kennedy (1-1) S: T. Hoffman (3)
HR – COL: G. Atkins (1) SDN: T. Walker (2)

[Dauis]

AL East                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Boston Red Sox         4  1  .800  ---   5       4-1       W2
Baltimore Orioles      3  2  .600  1.0   5       3-2       L1
New York Yankees       3  2  .600  1.0   5       3-2       W1
Toronto Blue Jays      3  2  .600  1.0   5       3-2       W1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays   2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       L1

AL Central             W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Chicago White Sox      4  1  .800  ---   5       4-1       W4
Cleveland Indians      2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       W1
Detroit Tigers         2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       L1
Kansas City Royals     2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       W1
Minnesota Twins        1  4  .200  3.0   5       1-4       L3

AL West                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Los Angeles Angels     4  2  .667  ---   6       4-2       W2
Oakland Athletics      3  3  .500  1.0   6       3-3       L2
Seattle Mariners       2  3  .400  1.5   5       2-3       L1
Texas Rangers          1  4  .200  2.5   5       1-4       L3

NL East                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Florida Marlins        4  1  .800  ---   5       4-1       W3
Washington Nationals   4  2  .667  0.5   6       4-2       W3
New York Mets          3  2  .600  1.0   5       3-2       L1
Atlanta Braves         2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       W1
Philadelphia Phillies  2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       L2

NL Central             W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Pittsburgh Pirates     4  1  .800  ---   5       4-1       W1
Chicago Cubs           3  2  .600  1.0   5       3-2       L1
Cincinnati Reds        2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       L1
Milwaukee Brewers      2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       W1
St. Louis Cardinals    2  3  .400  2.0   5       2-3       L1
Houston Astros         1  4  .200  3.0   5       1-4       W1

NL West                W  L   PCT   GB   G   Last 10   Streak
Los Angeles Dodgers    3  2  .600  ---   5       3-2       L1
San Diego Padres       3  2  .600  ---   5       3-2       W1
Colorado Rockies       2  3  .400  1.0   5       2-3       L1
San Francisco Giants   2  3  .400  1.0   5       2-3       W1
Arizona Diamondbacks   2  4  .333  1.5   6       2-4       L3

[Loeffle]

Originally Posted by Dauis

A lot of my relievers are young, but we have a couple that are 27-28 years old that are just late bloomers. I will admit that the bullpen is inexperienced, though, as is our rotation. If you or anybody wants to know anything about any of my players, let me know. I'd be glad to answer any questions. Besides, it's a nice break from posting about losses.

Ill drop you a line by message once in a while. I might get to know many of your players in my game. Rogers might get the call next season ...

My bullpen is a nightmare as well. Elmer Dessens is 7-0 with an 5.08 ERA Besides only Cordero and Capellan are decent. Rest of my pen sucks badly Thankfully my starters do their job mostly

[Dauis]

WEEKLY THOUGHTS
With the way our starters performed, getting 2 wins this week is a minor miracle. Penny is the only one who pitched well. He’s the bullpen’s best friend after this week.

We had a tough start to the season schedule-wise. Boston is probably one of the best teams in the majors. Detroit is tough, but I think they’ve got enough holes that we should be able to compete with them.

I know I’m not giving too much info right now, but I think I need a few weeks to see exactly how competitive we’re going to be.

AL Player of the Week
OF Gary Matthews Jr. (LAA) .591, 2 RBI, 3 R

NL Player of the Week
OF Jacque Jones (CHN) .667, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R

[Dauis]

4/14/2008
GAME #6 – Detroit (C. Mahoney) at Kansas City (M. Ford)
Detroit 3
Kansas City 2
W: M. Yourkin (1-0) L: B. Evert (0-1) S: G. Majewski (1)
HR – DET: M. Thames (1), C. Granderson (1) KC: N. Garciaparra (1)

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of Ford in his first career start. Our 6th round pick from last year’s draft had pitched 10 innings for us in relief last year, but starting a game is a totally different matter. He started off well by striking out Granderson on 3 straight pitches before the nerves got to him a little bit. He gave up a base hit to Magglio, who was thrown out trying to steal second. He then walked Guillen, who came around to score on Conor Jackson’s double. He walked Thames, but got Inge to fly out to center to end the inning.

Ford settled down after that, allowing us to tie the game in the 6th after German walked, stole second, and scored on a double by Markakis. We took the lead in the 7th on a Nomar solo home run, and with Ford looking good, I thought we had a good shot to win.

However, Thames got to Ford in the next inning, hitting a solo home run to tie the game. Ford left after the 8th of a 2-2 game. Evert came in and gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to Omar Infante, but erased him on a 3-6-4 double play by Vance Wilson. Evert was feeling generous though, and served up a home run to Granderson to give the Tigers the 3-2 final margin.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Baltimore 11
New York (A) 13
W: C. Britton (1-0) L: E. Bedard (0-2) S: L. Vizcaino (2)
HR – BAL: M. Tejada (1), T. Yugamidani (2) NYA: A. Rodriguez (1), J. Damon (1), R. Doumit (2)

Seattle 4
Cleveland 5 (13)
W: E. Mujica (1-0) L: J. Mateo (0-1)
HR – CLE: E. Byrnes (1), C. Blake (1)

Toronto 6
Tampa Bay 7
W: B. Medders (1-0) L: B. League (0-1) S: S. Camp (2)
HR – TOR: R. Johnson (1), T. Glaus (3), V. Wells (2) TBA: C. Crawford (2)

Minnesota 5
Chicago (A) 8
W: J. Garland (1-0) L: P. Neshek (0-1) S: F. Bastamonte (3)
HR – MIN: M. Lowell (1), L. Ford (1) CHA: J. Dye (1), J. Keppinger (3)

Oakland 1
Los Angeles (A) 2
W: S. Shields (1-0) L: H. Street (0-1)
HR – OAK: J. Kent (1) LAA: J. Rivera (3), M. Napoli (1)

Boston 8
Texas 6
W: C. Hansen (1-0) L: E. Gagne (0-1) S: M. Delcarmen (2)
HR – BOS: H. Choi (1) TEX: J. Piedra (1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Philadelphia 10
Florida 3
W: G. Geary (3-0) L: O. Perez (0-2)
HR – PHI: C. Utley (1) FLO: M. Cabrera (2)

New York (N) 8
Atlanta 4
W: C. Capuano (1-1) L: J. Gobble (0-1)
HR – NYN: J. Reyes (1), D. Wright (2) ATL: A. Jones (2)

Pittsburgh 2
Cincinnati 4
W: D. May (1-0) L: A. Miller (1-1) S: J. Witasick (1)
HR – CIN: A. Dunn 2 (5)

Arizona 1
Washington 4
W: A. Kown (2-0) L: D. Eveland (1-1) S: L. Ayala (1)
HR – ARI: O. Hudson (1)

Chicago (N) 5
Milwaukee 4 (10)
W: B. Howry (2-0) L: M. Wise (0-1)
HR – CHN: D. Lee (2)

St. Louis 6
Houston 4 (13)
W: J. Kinney (1-1) L: T. Miller (0-2)
HR – STL: A. Pujols (3), M. Rouse (3), J. Arias (1), C. Duncan (1) HOU: L. Scott (2)

Los Angeles (N) 2
San Francisco 8
W: M. Cain (2-0) L: W. Juarez (0-1)
HR – LAN: M. Kemp (1) SFN: B. Broussard (3), R. Winn (2)

Colorado 3
San Diego 7
W: J. Peavy (1-1) L: C. Vargas (0-2)
HR – COL: G. Atkins (2)

[Dauis]

4/15/2008
GAME #7 – Kansas City (Z. Greinke 0-1, 8.10 ERA) at Toronto (T. Taubenheim 0-1, 1.13 ERA)
Kansas City 5
Toronto 1
W: Z. Greinke (1-1) L: T. Taubenheim (0-2)
HR – KC: N. Garciaparra (2), C. Stewart (1)

Thanks to 2 walks and a 3-run home run by Nomar in the first, we got out to an early lead and never looked back. Greinke pitched well, going 7.1 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks, and striking out 3.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Detroit 5
Baltimore 4
W: J. Zumaya (2-0) L: J. Westbrook (1-1) S: T. Jones (3)
HR – DET: M. Ordonez (3) BAL: C. Patterson (2)

Seattle 2
Cleveland 3
W: R. Harden (1-0) L: J. Weaver (1-1) S: E. Mujica (1)

Tampa Bay 5
Texas 4
W: P. Astacio (2-0) L: C. Hines (1-1) S: S. Camp (3)
HR – TEX: V. Diaz (1)

New York (A) 0
Minnesota 2
W: M. Garza (1-1) L: M. Mussina (0-2) S: T. Gonzalez (2)

Chicago (A) 12
Oakland 4
W: M. Buehrle (2-0) L: B. Halsey (0-2)
HR – CHA: J. Crede (1), J. Thome (1), P. Lopez (1), R. Sweeney (3), B. Anderson (2) OAK: B. Wilkerson (2), D. Barton (2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Philadelphia 1
New York (N) 5
W: P. Humber (1-0) L: A. Eaton (0-1)

St. Louis 9
Pittsburgh 12
W: J. Dittler (1-0) L: B. Looper (0-1) S: M. Capps (2)

Houston 6
Chicago (N) 2
W: J. Jennings (1-0) L: S. Marshall (0-2)
HR – HOU: C. Lee (3), L. Berkman (5) CHN: A. Soriano (2)

Lance Berkman hit his 300th career home run in the game today.

Colorado 3
Los Angeles (N) 6
W: J. Sanchez (2-0) L: B. Kim (0-2) S: M. Melancon (1)
HR – COL: M. Holliday (1), I. Stewart (1) LAN: F. Menechino (1)

Milwaukee 2
Florida 6
W: G. Reynolds (1-0) L: Z. Jackson (0-2) S: J. Julio (3)
HR – FLO: J. Willingham (4)

Cincinnati 2
Arizona 3
W: L. Hernandez (2-0) L: T. Shearn (0-1) S: J. Valverde (1)
HR – ARI: R. Hammock (1)

Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo will miss 1-2 weeks with a tender shoulder.

San Francisco 8
San Diego 5 (17)
W: B. Bray (1-0) L: G. Maddux (0-1)
HR – SFN: E. Martnez-Esteve (1) SDN: J. Bard (2)

[Dauis]

4/16/2008
ROYALS TRANSACTIONS
Jonathan Broxton came off the DL today. To make room for him, we sent down Santiago Casilla to Wichita. Broxton will move to the setup role, and Pedigo will move to middle relief.

GAME #8 – Kansas City (B. Penny 1-0, 0.00 ERA) at Toronto (D. Romero 1-0, 1.13 ERA)
Kansas City 10
Toronto 1
W: B. Penny (2-0) L: D. Romero (1-1)
HR – KC: K. Millar (1) TOR: A. Lind (1)

For a while it looked like the one run we got in the first from a Mark Teahen RBI double was going to have to stand up, as our offense couldn’t really get anything going after that. Brad Penny was up to the task, though, shutting down the Blue Jays and helping us hold that precious 1-0 lead. Then the 8th inning came.

It started off poorly with Esteban German striking out. Emil Brown then hit a grounder to short, and it looked like we were going to have 2 quick outs, but the shortstop committed an error and Brown was on base. Teahen drew a walk, and Betemit doubled to score Brown and move Teahen to third. Nomar followed with a single to score Teahen and Betemit, which caused Toronto to bring in A.J. Burnett to face Spiezio. Burnett wasn’t much better, giving up a double to Spiezio to score Nomar. Torii Hunter grounded out to short before Kevin Millar hit a 2-run shot. Burnett responded by hitting David Ross and walking German before Brown hit a 2-run double. Jason Ray came on to pitch and got Teahen to strike out to end the inning. The total damage: 8 runs, 5 hits, and 1 error. We tacked on 1 more and allowed 1 in the 9th to make the 10-1 final.

Brad Penny had another outstanding outing, going 8 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 walks and striking out 9.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Seattle 4
Boston 14
W: D. Matsuzaka (2-0) L: R. Feierabend (0-1)
HR – SEA: R. Ibanez (1) BOS: J. Lugo (1)

Los Angeles (A) 10
Cleveland 7
W: K. Escobar (2-0) L: J. Borowski (0-1) S: F. Rodriguez (2)
HR – LAA: V. Guerrero (2), M. Izturis (2)

Detroit 3
Baltimore 6
W: J. Acevedo (1-0) L: J. Bonderman (0-2) S: D. Baez (3)
HR – BAL: M. Tejada (2), A. Stern (2)

Tampa Bay 4
Texas 0
W: M. Walker (1-1) L: R. Tejeda (0-1) S: J. Shields (1)
HR – TBA: C. Crawford 2 (4)

New York (A) 3
Minnesota 5
W: C. Silva (1-0) L: A. Pettitte (1-1) S: T. Gonzalez (3)
HR – NYA: R. Cano (3)

Chicago (A) 12
Oakland 8
W: J. Vazquez (2-0) L: S. Dunn (0-1)
HR – CHA: R. Sweeney (4) OAK: M. Ellis (1), B. Wilkerson (3), N. Swisher 2 (2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Houston 11
Chicago (N) 3
W: C. Sampson (1-0) L: J. Maine (1-1)
HR – HOU: M. Ensberg (2), L. Berkman (6), V. Rottino 2 (2), S. Riggans (1) CHN: A. Ramirez (1), A. Soriano (3)

Milwaukee 4
Florida 6
W: R. Pinto (1-0) L: C. Mason (0-1) S: J. Julio (4)
HR – FLO: C. Shelton (1)

St. Louis 4
Pittsburgh 5
W: M. Peterson (1-0) L: R. Franklin (0-1) S: M. Capps (3)
HR – STL: C. Duncan (2) PIT: F. Sanchez (3)

Washington 4
Atlanta 1
W: J. Blanton (1-0) L: C. James (0-2) S: L. Ayala (2)
HR – WSH: C. Snelling (1), R. Zimmerman (1)

Cincinnati 6
Arizona 4
W: D. Weathers (1-0) L: G. Frizzell (0-1) S: E. Guardado (3)
HR – CIN: R. Freel (2) ARI: B. Estalella (2)

San Francisco 1
San Diego 5
W: C. Carillo (1-0) L: J. Towers (0-2)

Colorado 4
Los Angeles (N) 2
W: L. Hawkins (1-0) L: J. Schmidt (0-1) S: B. Fuentes (2)
HR – COL: G. Atkins (3), B. Hawpe (3)

[Dauis]

4/17/2008
GAME #9 – Kansas City (C. Whitaker 0-1, 12.27 ERA) at Toronto (D. Waechter 0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Kansas City 8
Toronto 3
W: C. Whitaker (1-1) L: D. Waechter (0-2)
HR – KC: D. Ross (1), E. German (1), W. Betemit (1), M. Teahen (1)

That’s a sweep! Whitaker, the former Giants prospect, got his first major league win to complete the sweep. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks and striking out 5. This was another game where we were never really challenged, scoring 5 runs in the firsts 3 innings. Esteban German went 2-5 with a double, a home run, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBIs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (A) 4
Oakland 5
W: E. Loaiza (1-0) L: J. Contreras (1-1) S: H. Street (2)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (2) OAK: J. Gomes (4), N. Swisher (3)

Los Angeles (A) 5
Cleveland 1
W: C. Lee (1-1) L: D. Denham (0-1)
HR – LAA: R. Quinlan (4)

Seattle 1
Boston 5
W: I. Snell (1-1) L: H. Ramirez (1-1)
HR – BOS: J. Lugo (2), K. Youkilis (1)

Detroit 5
Baltimore 6
W: C. Ray (1-0) L: N. Robertson (1-1) S: D. Baez (4)
HR – DET: M. Thames 2 (3) BAL: B. Roberts (2)

Tampa Bay 3
Texas 2
W: P. Maholm (2-0) L: V. Padilla (0-2) S: B. Medders (1)

Texas reliever Sean Burnett will miss 2 weeks with back spasms.

New York (A) 5
Minnesota 2
W: C. Pavano (1-1) L: D. Bush (0-2) S: L. Vizcaino (3)
HR – NYA: A. Rodriguez (2), R. Doumit (3), R. Cano 2 (5)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
St. Louis 8
Pittsburgh 2
W: A. Wainwright (2-0) L: S. Kim (0-2)
HR – STL: A. Pujols (4), J. Encarnacion (1) PIT: J. Bay (1), A. LaRoche (5)

Houston 16
Chicago (N) 6
W: J. Johnson (1-1) L: T. Lilly (0-1)
HR – HOU: M. Ensberg (3), L. Berkman (7) CHN: A. Ramirez (2), M. DeRosa (3), A. Soriano (4)

Milwaukee 2
Florida 5
W: S. Olsen (1-0) L: M. Parra (0-2) S: T. Bowyer (1)
HR – MIL: T. Helton (1) FLO: M. Cabrera (3), J. Willingham (5), H. Ramirez (1)

Philadelphia 4
New York (N) 5
W: P. Martinez (2-0) L: F. Garcia (0-1) S: D. Sanchez (3)
HR – PHI: W. Helms (1), R. Howard (2) NYN: J. Valentin (1), C. Delgado (1), C. Beltran (2)

Washington 5
Atlanta 2
W: J. Williams (2-0) L: T. Hudson (0-1) S: L. Ayala (3)

Cincinnati 2
Arizona 10
W: R. Johnson (1-0) L: E. Milton (1-1)
HR – ARI: C. Monroe (1), C. Quentin (3), S. Drew (1)

San Francisco 1
San Diego 0
W: M. Morris (1-0) L: K. Benson (0-2) S: F. Cabrera (2)

Colorado 1
Los Angeles (N) 11
W: A. Thompson (1-0) L: J. Francis (1-1)
HR – LAN: J. Guzman 2 (3)

Colorado reliever Ramon Ramirez will miss at least 2 weeks with dead arm syndrome.