RoyalsPodcast

While the All-Star Game was starting up, we got to talking about the second half and our frustrations with the way the Royals finished the first half. Most of our time was spent answering some listener questions about the podcast, the Royals, and baseball in general. That led us down the path of talking about the Royals player evaluation approach and the blindspots they run into when looking at players, including Irving Falu, David Lough, Johnny Giavotella and others. We also talked about some roster moves and the Royals use of their minor leagues to keep the bullpen fresh. And we also talked about the promotions of Kyle Zimmer and Lane Adams to Double A. That led us to talk a bit about Bubba Starling as well (who, along with Adams and Jason Adam formed a group called "The Tripod" in spring training before last year).

We decided to start recording right as All-Star Game rosters were announced and while Troy thought James Shields or Ervin Santana would be the Royals All-Star representative, I thought it would be Greg Holland. We were both pleasantly surprised to find that we weren't close and two Royals - Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez - would be going to Citi Field for the mid-summer classic. Following that discussion we talked about the rosters in general, including the validity of Yasiel Puig's All-Star case, Miguel Cabrera's run for another Triple Crown and the crazy season of Chris Davis. We turned it back to the Royals by covering the Alex Gordon injury and return, Billy Butler haters, and what might happen the rest of the season. We finished up with a quick look at the minors and brought up Danny Duffy's continuing comeback in Omaha and where he might fit down the line.

There were plenty of ideas tossed around on this week's Vault. We open by talking about Jeff Francoeur, his legacy, his reputation, and his time with the Royals after the team designated him for assignment. We also talked about his replacement on the roster, Johnny Giavotella, and reacted to Sunday's game. Then, we discussed the rehab progress of Felipe Paulino and what contributions he might make this year. That also led to a discussion of Danny Duffy's potential addition this year. Tommy John surgery rehab is tricky and while some pitchers come back within a year, some don't get fully comfortable until much later. Paulino's had some setbacks, so we had to consider that in assessing his potential role this year. Of course, the rotation is full right now, so that's another question. How to get Paulino or Duffy on the roster if there's nowhere to put them? One way might be to trade Ervin Santana. What would he return? What about James Shields? We weighed the pros and cons. We continued by discussing June for Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon, as well as what July means for the Royals. Then we finished up by talking about Brooks Pounders' no-hitter and a good start from Kyle Zimmer. As always, we'll take your email questions at kansascitybaseballvault@gmail.com or via Twitter at @KCBaseballVault.

A lot can change in a month and the Royals are a good example of that. The pitching has been excellent the bats...well they've done enough to get the team back around .500. We talked about the Royals solid homestand and the dominance of the pitching staff, the influence of George Brett, and just how you go from an 8-20 May to storming right back towards even. Also, we checked around the minors for updates on Danny Duffy's rehab, Yordano Ventura's Omaha performance, and Cheslor Cuthbert's promotion. Jarrod Dyson is in Omaha rehabbing so we tried to guess at what the Royals will do when he returns. Finally, we wrapped up with some brief talk about the MLB Draft, Wil Myers being called up by the Rays, and walk-off win shenanigans (including Rally Sauce). Keep an ear out for Name Drop Bingo, as well.

May was a tough month. So tough. Grueling. But May is over, and all that was left was to talk about the aftermath and pick up the pieces. We talked about the changes to the coaching staff and what trading Jack Maloof for George Brett means for the team going forward and if it means anything other than window dressing and a PR cover. We also discussed Yordano Ventura's promotion, Danny Duffy's rehab starts, and other moves recently. That led to a discussion about whether fans are setting themselves up for disappointment about Duffy whenever he returns. The concern came from Duffy's activity in social media, his previous work in the big leagues, and the expectation that he's going to be back to form right away. Then we covered the weird rain delay game, delved into the PED controversy, and hoped for better days for the Royals.

Things are not going well for the Royals. They're stuck in a 4-16 nosedive that has fans angry, players pressing, and seats heating up. So what better way to get the anger out than to talk about it!? Troy and Michael fired up the podcast machine to talk about what's gone wrong, what's potentially going to happen next, and what we'd do. We discussed potential demotions and other moves, potential firings, and considered alternatives to current front office personnel. More specifically, we talked about Chris Getz at leadoff, Alex Gordon batting third, Johnny Giavotella taking balls at third base, Danny Duffy getting rehab innings and wondered just what the heck the Royals have to do to get a win around here. Turns out, the Royals went 4-14 since our last podcast recording. Maybe this show was just what the team needed. You should check it out.

As you may have heard, Northwest Arkansas Naturals General Manager Eric Edelstein has taken a job that will land him in Reno, and he'll be leaving the Royals organization. But before he left, Troy Olsen caught up with him to talk about the move and to learn a bit more about some Double A prospects. Then we talked about the latest Royals action, including the kneejerk reactions from social media. We tried to make sense of the noise, take a deep breath, and reflect on the long slog of the baseball season. We wrapped up by picking a player from each full season minor league level to focus on. We discussed David Lough, Yordano Ventura, Kyle Smith, and Miguel Almonte this week, some of the top performers in the Royals system so far.

Will update later

Scott discusses Bubba Starling, Miguel Almonte, Cam Gallagher and the new relationship with Lexington and the South Atlantic League

How about a bonus Kansas City Baseball Vault episode? While most of our time is focused on the Royals, we're not limited to the big league team and its affiliates. We're still baseball fans overall. So when we were contacted about an event in Omaha to unveil a statue of Bob Gibson (Omaha native), we wanted to check in. So to help us cover the event at the Storm Chasers Werner Park, we sent Kings of Kauffman's Mike Vamosi and Hunter Samuels to check out the festivities. Included in this episode, you'll hear from Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Joe Torre, and Bill White during a press conference/banquet and then there's more from the statue unveiling ceremony itself the following day.

This week on the Kansas City Baseball Vault, we discussed the young season and the Royals early success in 2013 and shared the elements that stood out to us in the first place start. Then we cycled in some great guests, starting with Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Kendrick's spirits were high following a successful Red Carpet premiere of "42", which saw a packed AMC Theater show the Jackie Robinson biopic. The event featured an collectibles auction and many Royals made appearances, as did the stars of the film, Chadwick Bozeman and Harrison Ford. We spoke about the movie, the event, and the lasting impact of sharing a story like Robinson's through film. We could talk to Bob for hours to hear all the stories, but we had to move on. We then talked with Brad Cook from OOTP Developments about the newest edition of Out of the Park Baseball and the new features of the highly-addicting baseball simulation game. We finished up by talking with Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus. He wrote an article detailing concerns about Bubba Starling and we brought him on to ask him a bit more. He had an interesting take on some of the circumstances that may hold Starling back and while it's not uplifting, it's also important information to think about in evaluating the local prospect.

Clint and David review the first week of the Royals season including todays thrilling home opening win.

After a long winter, baseball is finally back, and after a week off, we're back talking about the Royals. We gave our first impressions about the first four games of the season and discussed any performances we're worried about yet (stressing that it's only four games so far). We talked about the reactions on social media, both positive and negative, and everyone agreed that there was a lot of overreaction to the Royals first two losses of the year. There's a lot more baseball to go, and it's satisfying to project how things will go, and even more so to be right about it, but there's a point where it cuts into the enjoyment of the game. Then we brought on Aaron Stilley (@Royal_Heritage) who talked about an upcoming talk he's giving at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum about Jackie Robinson and the Kansas City Monarchs. The event is April 13 at 10:30 am. Aaron can also be found at his blog: http://kcbbh.blogspot.com. We finished off with a wraparound of the Royals minor league affiliates, with some games in progress. Add this after the first sentence of the last paragraph: In the process, we talked about Bubba Starling and how likely it is that he'll pan out or if he'll start looking at other avenues if he struggles this year or down the line. That will be a regular feature of the show from here on.

The Writers of Pine Tar Press make their 2013 season predictions for the Royals. Included in the episode are writers Darin Watson, Josh Ward, Paul York, Eric Gratton, Andrew Blobaum

The regular season can't get here soon enough. While the Royals cruise through spring training, we covered a few of the remaining battles while also discussing the final second base decision to keep Chris Getz over Johnny Giavotella. We also talked a bit goings-on in Omaha and brought up the idea of a platoon (or replacement) for Jeff Francoeur and tossed out an idea of trading for David DeJesus. Most of our time this week, however, was spent talking with Curt Nelson, director of the Royals Hall of Fame. We talked about his vision for the exhibits and artifacts within the Hall of Fame and what he tries to present to those who visit the stadium and want to dive into the history of the franchise. Of course, we also had to bring up the question of "How does Emil Brown end up eligible for the Royals Hall of Fame?" Curt walked us through the process of nomination and how they've revamped the voting to include fan votes and we looked at a few specific cases on the current eligible ballot as well as other names from the past that may be revisited. It's interesting stuff to think about, especially as other players like Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran are nearing eligibility for the team honor.