kansas city and pitching stats:

lastly, we have the royals of kansas city. poor kc. they finished in last place in the AL central for the third straight year, posting a 62-100 record. it seems like ages ago they finished above .500. actually it was just back in 2003, when they shocked the world and finished 83-79. in 2002, they had an identical record to last year.

so, what of 2007? their win total may increase, slightly, but i believe the result will be the same. looking up at every other team in the AL central. they do have some good young talent. but until they can assemble a starting rotation of five good starting pitchers, competing for the division crown WILL BE an impossibility. most of the young talent they have resides on the offensive side.

so, i mentioned pithcing being key. as i mentioned in my previous blog, three of the six teams that won 90 games were from the AL central this year. cleveland won 90 games in 2005, of course. when it comes to team ERA, here is how all the teams from the AL central fared when compared to the rest of the AL.

#1 detroit, 3.84
#2 minnesota, 3.95
#6 cleveland, 4.41
#10 chicago, 4.61
#14 kansas city, 5.65 (last in the AL)

quality starts:

#1 los angeles, 97
#2 detroit, 88
#3 cleveland, 82
#4 chicago, 81
#9 minnesota, 73 (a surpise from the division champs, it tells you how strong there bullpen was)
#14 kansas city, 47 (last again, AND less than half the total of the angels!)

strikeouts:

#1 minnesota, los angles, 1164 (a tie)
#8 chicago, 1012
#9 detroit, 1003
#13 cleveland, 948
#14 kansas city, 904 (a pattern has become evident)

fewest walks allowed:

#1 minnesota, 356
#2 cleveland, 429 (makes up for the lack of k's)
#3 chicago, 433
#5 detroit, 489
#14 kansas city, 637 (not to labor the point...)

lowest batting average allowed:

#1 los angeles, .254 (i notice a pattern here too, yet they did not make the playoffs)
#2 detroit, .257
#5 minnesota, .267 (the second category that do not dominate in)
#7 chicago, .271
#11 cleveland, .282
#14 kansas city, .292 (umm....)

GM dayton moore did what he could in free agency. he had to overspend like crazy. the result: $55 mil to gil meche for 5 years. that is one million dollars for each career win. a guy who in 143 career starts, has never pitched more than 200 innings. he was injured for two full years, and did not pitch in either 2001 and 2002. in 810.0 innings, he struck out 575, walked 363, and has an ERA of 4.65. this guy is now an $11 million dollar a year pitcher, and the ace of a major league baseball team. i do not which statement is more shocking. there are six other pitchers who will be competing for the final four spots in the rotation.
this group includes:

brian bannister. brian is a good prospect actually. was aquired from the mets for flame throwing yet all over the place (aka rick vaughn before the glasses) ambriorix burgos.

scott elarton. scott was the openning day starter for kc last season. last year's gil meche. the tribe resurrected scott's career in 2004. he was a very good #5 starter for us. not good enough to outbid kc. his season was mercifully shut down in august with a shoulder injury. his ERA was 5.34.

zack grienke. zack actually looked like he would be a good starter back in the day. he was a rookie in 2004, and finished that year with a 3.97 ERA in 24 starts, over 145.0 inning pitched. 2005 was horrible though. next thing, he quits baseball. he stated he did not like the game. then he went to a shrink, and found out the root of his problem: a social 'disorder'. now he is back.

luke hudson. luke had a good year last year. except for one game, against the tribe. he did not make it out of the first inning, and gave up 11 runs. remove that start from the books, and his ERA falls from 5.12 t0 4.18. luke has been a prospect for awhile. has his time arrived?

odalis perez. odalis used to be a good starter for the dodgers. he is not the same pitcher from back then. his ERA the last three years: 4.56, 5.64, and 6.20 (6.83 with the royals).

jorge de la rosa i do not know why he is being considered for a position. he is a lefty, but the best year of his career came in the NL in 2004, when he was used strictly as a reliever by the brew crew. last year, in 10 starts with kc he had an ERA of 5.18.

it appeared management was building a bullpen of power arms. none of those guys are around anymore. gone is andrew cisco, mike mac dougal, and ambiorix burgos. joel peralta and joe nelson both show promise. quality middle reliever and ex indian david riske was added to the mix. octavio dotel was brought in to close out games. it remains to be seen if he is healthy, and if he is, how long he will stay so. ken ray is another newcomer / hopeful to the group. todd wellemeyer and lefty jimmy gobble probably will round out the pen. an upgrade all around, but minor at best.

so, they do have depth for a change. quality is another.

as bad as there pitching was, the offense somewhat surprisingly was not much better. the two additions will not do much to help things out. utility first baseman ross gload and jason la rue, who will be competing for the starting catching job versus incumbent john buck, were the additions. what may help, alex gordon becoming the third baseman. if this does happen, mark teahen will move to the outfield. reggie sanders could then be traded for more pitching. a healthy mike sweeney is always a good thing. then again, he has not played in more than 130 games since 2001. yes, it will be a long hard road out of last place.