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Struggling Royals fire Hillman

GameSetMatch — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:23:27 +0000

Even as the losses piled up, Trey Hillman never lost the respect of his players or the Kansas City Royals’ management.

It was evident in the way the Royals allowed him to manage one last game, in the tears that filled general manager Dayton Moore’s eyes as he spoke about the man he hired to rebuild a struggling franchise.

Those losses were just too hard to overlook.

The Royals needed a change and, tough as it was, Hillman had to take the fall.

Hillman became the first manager to get fired this season, bowing out with a graceful exit and a win in his final game on Thursday.

Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost will move from the front office to replace Hillman in the dugout for the remainder of the season.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Hochevar fights battle between good and awful

GameSetMatch — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:12:54 +0000

Before you even ask, yes — Luke Hochevar’s bruised left ankle is fine.

At least that’s what Hochevar, who starts for the Royals tonight against Detroit, has been saying since he was hit by a line drive in his last outing, an exhibition loss to Texas on Friday.

“It’s not even an issue,” Hochevar said after Monday’s 8-4 loss to Detroit at Kauffman Stadium. “I haven’t felt it since I got hit. There’s no swelling, no bruising.”

It’s a good thing the ankle is the least of his concerns right now. This is clearly a big year for Hochevar, and the last thing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft needs is a distraction. He’s trying to get off to a strong start and put a disappointing 2009 season behind him.

Click here to read the full article – By TEREZ A. PAYLOR of The Kansas City Star

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Royals not likely to overhaul ‘10 roster

rsanrel — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:16:29 +0000

Lock and reload for 2010. That’s the Royals’ mission.

There don’t appear to be any far-reaching changes coming in the look of the roster. In truth, the Royals thought they were pretty solid coming into 2009 and so did many prognosticators, figuring the club could reach the .500 mark and possibly even contend in the wide-open American League Central.

But injuries struck early and in crucial places — third baseman Alex Gordon, center fielder Coco Crisp and shortstop Mike Aviles were key regulars who went down early. The alternatives were thin, there was a scramble to improvise and other players didn’t fulfill expectations.

Even so, don’t look for any earth-shaking revisions. General manager Dayton Moore’s contract has been extended through 2014, and he won’t be in a panic mode.

There are some big decisions ahead. Crisp, despite being hampered by sore shoulders, made a good impression as the leadoff hitter and center fielder. But he underwent surgery on both shoulders and the club holds an $8 million option on his 2010 contract. If the medical reports are good, the best guess is that the Royals will decline the option and instead try to sign Crisp at a reduced price with a contract laden with incentives that could get him back to that $8 million range.

The Royals also have to decide on whether to bring back first baseman-designated hitter Mike Jacobs, whose power numbers didn’t measure up to the notices, and sort out the three-man catching staff of Miguel Olivo, John Buck and Brayan Pena

Click here to read the full article – By Dick Kaegel of MLB.com

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Trio of three-run taters leads KC to rout

GameSetMatch — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:11:45 +0000

Say, wait a minute. Maybe having the Detroit Tigers for the 2010 Opening Day opponent is a good idea for the Royals after all. The Tigers have become tame tabbies for the Royals.

Alberto Callaspo, David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo each belted a three-run homer as the Royals stomped the Tigers, 11-1, in front of 20,442 fans on Tuesday night at Comerica Park. It was Kansas City’s seventh victory in the past eight games — and four of them have come over the guys wearing the old English “D.”

Royals right-hander Robinson Tejeda went five innings for his second consecutive win over the Tigers and got four scoreless innings of backing from the bullpen.

Click here to read the full article – By Dick Kaegel of MLB.com

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Soria looks old-school with six-out save

GameSetMatch — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:35:54 +0000

It took Joakim Soria to halt another meltdown by the Royals’ bullpen on Tuesday night. Soria pitched the final two innings for the save as the Royals held on for a 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics, their first win in four tries this season at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Kyle Davies pitched six solid innings to get the win.

“It wasn’t easy,” acting manager John Gibbons said. “You tip your hat to Soria. He’s done that for us a few times this year now. That’s why he’s one of the elite closers in the game. He’s got that knack.”

This was Soria’s 21st save and marked the fourth time in his last seven successes that he’d had to pitch two innings to do it.

“Like one of those old-time closers,” Gibbons said.

Click here to read the full article – By Dick Kaegel of MLB.com

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Guillen activated off disabled list

GameSetMatch — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:26:57 +0000

Just as he predicted, Royals outfielder Jose Guillen came off the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over the Athletics. Guillen was not in the starting lineup, but acting manager John Gibbons used him as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and he struck out.

“He should be ready to go,” Gibbons said. “He ran around pretty good yesterday and did a lot of things, so we thought we’d give him today to regroup and then throw him in there tomorrow.”

Guillen is likely to be the designated hitter in Wednesday afternoon’s game against the A’s.

Guillen has been out since July 23 with a ligament tear in his right knee. He had a .245 average, nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 79 games before his trip to the DL.

Click here to read the full article – By Dick Kaegel of MLB.com

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Royals evaluating catcher options

GameSetMatch — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:25:48 +0000

John Buck sat in the Royals’ clubhouse Tuesday and talked a little bit about his season.

Playing for the first time in almost a week Monday, Buck went for 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs.

But Buck wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday. Buck has played just once in the past six games and just eight times in August.

There’s a reason for this.

Trey Hillman is juggling playing time between three catchers — Buck, Miguel Olivo and Brayan Pena. It’s an evaluation process, Hillman says. But it does mean fewer at-bats for all three players.

Click here to read the full article – By Rustin Dodd of MLB.com

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