All in for 2013 - The Undefeated Spring Edition

The headline on this post will likely be false by the time five o'clock rolls around tomorrow, but it's been fun to see the Royals put some runs on the board early this Spring. 

 

Billy Butler was the run-producer today, and the Royals finally started a pitcher who should see regular action in the regular season. 

 

I'm heading to Spring Training this weekend to take in a game with my dad. I'm looking forward to soaking up some Arizona sun and trying to find a good hat to wear this year while I root on the team. 

 

The Royals have won the Cactus league three times since moving to Surprise, AZ in 2003. That first winning season in '03 was followed by an improbable 9-0 start to the regular season, which gave them enough juice to finish over .500 for the first time since XX.

 

Winning in 2006 lead to a 62-100 regular season. Winning in 2011 led to a 71-91 regular season.

 

So, yeah, that doesn't matter much. No matter to me. Eric Hosmer is hitting triples and Billy Butler is going yard. I'm still all in.

I'm All In for 2013 - The Alex Gordon Leading Off Edition

Alex Gordon led off every road game for the Royals last year, and in those 81 at bats, he hit 315/383/548, including four home runs, which is awesome.

 

Ned Yost moved Gordon into the three hole for a few stretches, and around a couple of other spots in the line up to prove he was managing, but going into this season, he has been vocal about putting Gordon in the lead-off spot and keeping him there. 

 

This is a good thing. After Billy Butler, nobody on the Royals gets on base anywhere close to as often as Gordon does. (Irving Falu did manage to get himself on base at a better clip than Gordon in limited playing time, but the presence of a guy who won an MVP award just eleven years ago pretty much guarantees he will spend most of this season in the minors)

 

Getting on base is great, because, well... that's the point of each at-bat. Enough guys get on base, and somebody is going to score. Enough guys score, and you've got yourself some wins. It's such a simple concept, that it's amazing more baseball teams don't try it. 

 

Alex was an enigma for some time in Kansas City. Unable to live up to enormous hype when he got to the big leagues, and then battling some injuries before it all came together in 2011. More than any other player on the team, he feels like "Mr. Royal" to me right now. I love watching him play and think he's going to put together at least one great season and a couple of very good ones as he rides out his peak years in left field. 

 

Here's looking forward to a few bombs to start off some games, and a lot of time getting chased around the base paths by Billy, Moose and Hos. 

I'm All in for 2013 - The Frenchy Plexiglass Principle Edition

I think it's safe to say that when most Royals fans think about Jeff Francoeur right now, they tend to focus on the fact that he is not Wil Myers. 

 

This is a factual statement, but it does not do us much good when we are trying to pump ourselves up for 2013, so I will instead focus on who else Jeff Francoeur will not be in 2013: Jeff Francoeur from 2012.

 

It may be faint praise to say that a player is not going to be the worst every day major leaguer (or close to it) in 2013, but there is something to be said for showing up everyday and being something other than terrible at your job. 

 

While it seems like Frenchy has been around forever, he will still technically be in the prime of his career this season, having turned 29 in January. A quick look at his stats and graphs indicates that he is poised to have somewhat of a bounce back year, and even if it just gets him to average, he won't be the same suck on the offense he was last season.

 

His defense will probably continue to deteriorate, but 19 kills from right field is still pretty cool, and one would hope that a Lorenzo Cain/Jarrod Dyson centerfield combo would provide enough cover with the golden boy Alex Gordon patrolling left.