The Royal Way- The Kansas City Royals road from a Franchise to a Dynasty

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Quote: Originally Posted by Unknown

Dayton, I am interested in coming back, I've got a terrible itching to get back out there on the mound.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

Ummm.... We are definitely interested in having you back. When was the last time you threw from a mound?

Quote: Originally Posted by Unknown

I have been building up my arm strength again pitching in an Adults baseball league in my spare time

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

OK. How's your shoulder? We have to know. I saw the images of the MRIs and it didn't look good it didn't look like you could ever throw again.

Quote: Originally Posted by Unknown

I have about 500 innings in since I retired and I had to rehab it to be able to work again. I just went to the doc and he says that it doesn't even look like it was torn. Dayton, I really want to pitch. I feel like I have something to prove to this organization and I feel like I owe the game.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

Look man, I want to take your word for it but, I'm going to have to come out and watch you throw. Money is getting pretty tight around here and I don't really have any room to p*** away money. Whens your next start?

Quote: Originally Posted by Unknown

Two days from now at a tournament in Peoria, AZ.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

Alright, me and couple of scouts will be there. Really looking forward to it!

Dayton hung up the phone and looked at his staff. "Well guys, looks like an old player wants a fresh start."

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Spring Training Preview

Overview
This year is looking to be a good year for the Royals. While it's unlikely they will compete for a playoff spot, more of the Royals prized prospects should be arriving in KC this year. Most of the positions are locked up but we do have a couple position battles going on as well as a few rookies trying to make the club out of camp.

Starting Rotation
This year, the Royals rotation is going to be seeing a battle at the back end for spots. Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Jeremy Guthire all have their spots locked up. However at the back end, we have two spots available for Everett Teaford, Danny Duffy, Luis Mendoza Felipe Paulino and Will Smith. The favorites to win the jobs are Duffy and Mendoza but the Royals don't want to give up on Paulino who has shown flashes of greatness at times. Teaford and Smith are definitely going to have to prove that they can continue to succeed against talented hitters.

Bullpen
The bullpen is pretty much locked up this year but there are a few open spots. We would like to have Greg Holland challange Soria for the closer role and we want to give long looks to Kelvin Herrera and Louis Coleman. The sure fire locks are Aaron Crow, Greg Holland, Joakim Soria and Tim Collins. The Bullpen was a big strength for us last year and we want to continue that dominance moving forward.

Catcher
We extended Salvador Perez and he is a complete lock at catcher. He handles the staff well and is great defensively but moving forward, we would like to see his bat improve and catch up to his defensive skills. After Perez, there is a gaping question mark, who will back up Salvy? Well we have 3 options we are going to explore, Bryan Pena, Manny Pina and Max Ramirez. Pena is a solid veteran which is something the Royals need right now but we need to explore Manny Pina who performed well in a short stint with the Royals last year and not to mention Max Ramirez who really proved his worth defensively last year. Who ever it is, needs to be durable. Salvy is going to catch most of the games but his big frame scares me at the catcher position.

1st Base
Hosmer is the sure fire starting lock here. We like his bat and glove and we need him to continue his production from last year moving forward. With that said, Billy Butler is also another lock and he will be our starting DH moving forward. However, there is one surprise we need to talk about, Clint Robinson. Robinson has absolutely dominated the minors and he is starting to get up there so the Royals need to see what they have in this young man moving forward. So Robinson is going to play a little 1st and outfield for the Royals this Spring and try to win a spot off the bench.

2nd Base
This will arguably be the most heated position battle this spring. Chris Getz and Johnny Giavotella will go head to head for the starting 2nd base job. Whoever loses will either be on the bench or go to Omaha to start out the year. If we had to pick a favorite to win the job out of Spring Training, it would be Johnny Giavotella simply because of his bat. We know what we have in Getz but we really need to see what we have in Giavotella moving forward.

3rd Base
Mike Moustakas is the sure lock here. We are really looking forward to him breaking through this year. However, we need to figure out who is going to back him up. Therefore, we are going to give Tony Abreu and Irving Falu a chance to win a spot this year. These players have been in our organization for a long time and we really need to see what we have in them before its too late.

Shortstop
Once again, we have Alcides Escobar extended and he is a sure lock. We would really like to see him as a leadoff or #2 type hitter so we are going to experiment with that this season. But just like at third, we need to see what we can put behind him. Last year Escobar missed just 1 game. Yeah that was nice but I would really not wear him down. He is going to be extremely hard to replace.

Left Field
Alex Gordon is a sure lock here. We want to see him in the middle of the order and we are really going to push him to reach that this year. Jarrod Dyson is the one who is going to back him up this year. Dyson figures to be the main backup outfielder and could be playing in the middle of the season 5 days a week as we try to get our guys rest.

Center Field
With the Melk Man gone, we putting Lorenzo Cain's name here in ink. Cain is a premium athlete and we want to get him established here for a couple years. If he plays well, its going to give us a nice problem down the road with Bubba Starling on the rise.

Right Field
Frenchy has this spot locked up as well. He is signed through next year but its unlikely he will last that long. Wil Myers has really cranked it up in the Arizona Fall League and it shouldn't be too long before he is in KC. But for right now, we need to get as much out of Frenchy as we can.

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Dayton Moore, Lonnie Goldberg and JJ Picolo along with two area scouts rode through the city of Peoria as they scanned for a baseball complex. It was almost time for the game to begin and they couldn't afford to screw this up.

Dayton was about to call it off but one of the scouts noticed a ball park about 2 blocks away. They cut across the median and floored it into the parking lot. They hopped out and sprinted up to the field as fast as they could. They were a little out of place in the stands as they all wore khakis and Royals polos. They got out their note pads and radar guns and stood behind home plate, more giddy than a bunch of kids on Christmas Day.

The player there were there to watch was pretty easy to pick out from the rest of the players. He was rather tall and more muscular than the others. He jogged out to mound and dug in then wound up and unleashed a perfect strike into the catchers mit.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

What was he at?

Quote: Originally Posted by Scout

103.

Dayton just nodded and wrote down something in his notebook then turned back to the game. The man riffled several more shots into the catcher's glove. Then signaled for the throw down. The pitcher rapidly sat down the side on 9 pitches then went to the dugout.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

What'd he top out at and what'd he sit at?

Quote: Originally Posted by Lonnie

I had him at 104 and had him sitting at 98.

Dayton whispered something into one of the Scout's ears and told him to go tell the kid that. The Scout walked behind the dugout and told the pitcher that they needed to see the curve and change.

Next inning the pitcher went out there and dropped and 89 MPH curveball and flashed a 95 mph changeup. Dayton and his group were impressed but they didn't show it. However come time for the 6th inning, his control tanked but the hitters were so scared that they swung just to get away from him.

As the game wore in, Dayton began cringing when he watched his delivery and wrote that it would have to be scrapped and he would have to change that.

The game ended and the man and his family lingered with the coach. Dayton approached him and the coach bid farewell.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

You really have progressed since you left our organization

Quote: Originally Posted by Pitcher

Yeah I have always kind of wanted to come back and I have really dialed it up over the last couple years.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

From what we have seen from your medical records and from tonight. We are prepared to offer you a 1 year contract and Spring Training contract in the 100,000 dollar range.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pitcher

Well I don't have much of a choice so I will I accept your offer. When do I report?

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayton

Haha. Pitchers and Catchers report tomorrow. We'll email you the details and have you sign your contract then.

Dayton shook the pitcher's hand and welcomed him back. As Dayton and his group left, he hugged his wife and they began to cry. He thought he would never be able to play baseball again but he had done it he had gone from hell and back and had made it in one piece.

When Dayton got back to his office at the Surprise complex, he was overcome with joy in a professional sense that he may have found the answer to the Royals current problem from the Royals past. He sat at his desk and laughed over the fact that he was overjoyed by signing one of the BIGGEST draft busts in baseball history-Colt Griffin...

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