Showing posts with label Kila Ka'aihue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kila Ka'aihue. Show all posts

Friday, May 6, 2011

Royals Blast Orioles, Take Series

Kansas City's offense caught fire again last night, as the Royals humiliated the Orioles 9-1. The win gave Kansas City the series, and after losing six straight, the Royals have rebounded to win five of its last six.

Bruce Chen had yet another solid start, and has established himself as Kansas City's top starter this season. Chen improved his record to 4-1 for the season, and the lefty has brought some consistency to a rotation that has been up and down all year. Following the win, the Royals announced that top prospect Eric Hosmer will be called up from the minors, while the struggling Kila Ka'aihue will be demoted to Omaha. Hosmer will join an offense that has been one of the best in the majors this season, and his gaudy minor league stats have shown he is ready to take on the big league.

The Royals have gone 14-6 at home this season, and will look to continue its dominance in Kansas City tonight against Oakland. The Royals will face a talented pitcher in Gio Gonzalez, however the A's offense hasn't been anything to write home about this season. I expect Hosmer to give Kansas City a boost, and the Royals should have no trouble at least taking the series from the A's.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Royals Take White Sox Series in Thrilling Fashion


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Winning games these days sure has become hard for the Royals, and this weekend's series against the Chicago White Sox certainly proved this. The Royals and White Sox games all went to extra innings, with the Royals taking two out of three to win the series and finish its recent ten-game home stand at a respectable 6-4.
Yuniesky Betancourt was the hero in game one, belting a game-tying grand slam and later winning the game with a walk-off single. Betancourt, who has been critized all season for his poor play at short-stop and his generous contract, stepped up to give the Royals a win when some had already started heading for the exits. Jason Kendell was the hero in game three, hitting a game winning single into the outfield gap to drive home Gregor Blanco in the 10th inning. The series as a whole provided close, competitive baseball, with an added bonus due to the White Sox being locked in a heated division race with the Minnesota Twins.
While the results were positive, there are still some glaring concerns with this team, most notibly the younger players. Blanco has been solid, however Kila Ka'aihue continues to swing hard at absolutely anything, and other young players are struggling as well. The good news for the Royals is Zach Grienke appears to be back on track and Joakim Soria is consistently dominant at closer.
The Royals have some pieces to build with, and appear to be putting together a solid pitching corps and bullpen. However, the offense has to get better, which includes the younger players that are getting action to close out the year. Betancourt saving the team with a grand slam makes for a good story, but it would be nice if the team could win some games without the heroics. But where would the fun in that be?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Royals Winning Ways Puts Team in an Interesting Position


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In case the circus following Lebron James’ free agency or the World Cup distracted you, you may have noticed that the Royals have slowly crawled out of mediocrity to put together a solid 2010 season. Despite the signs of improvement, the organization is now faced with an interesting decision: continue to push for a playoff spot or start to give younger prospects a chance to gain valuable experience and plan for the future.

The Royals are 27-23 since Ned Yost took over and has won 10 of its last 13. The club is talking playoffs, and in the weak AL Central that notion may not be too far fetched. Reigning Cy Young winner Zack Grienke appears to have found his other-worldly form, the team has an all-star closer in Joakim Soria, and the batters have an excellent .283 average overall.

Despite all the success, the Royals need to realistically assess how good their team really is and its chances to snag the division title and earn a playoff spot. Much of the team’s success can be attributed to strong seasons from veteran players such as Jose Guillen and Scott Podsednik, who are not getting any younger.

The Royals will have to keep a realistic approach in the next several weeks about where they stand in the division. Billy Butler and Grienke, the team’s best hitter and pitcher, benefited immensely from playing time at a young age, and top prospects like Kila Ka’aihue could do the same and help the club build a building block for the future. It will be interesting to see what the club does in the next month or two, but the new position the Royals find themselves in shows the team may slowly be crawling out of the cellar.


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