The 2013 Season

    The last Spring Training game has been played. Opening Day is Monday, and it is time to take a look at the Royals heading into the 2013 season. First of all, let's take a look at Spring Training. It is hard to imagine it going any better. The Royals were 25-7, all the regulars hit, all the pitchers pitched well, the defense was good, and nobody got hurt. So the Royals look good heading into the season. Let's take a look at the Royals position by position:

C- Salvador Perez, George Kottaras - Perez is my favorite Royal. He looks like a solid .300 hitter and a true leader. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 20 homers. Kottaras was picked up off the waiver wire, a good OBP guy with some power.

1B - Eric Hosmer - had a miserable season last year. He hit into tough luck early in the year, then tried to correct things, and screwed himself up. He looked pretty good this spring, although not as much power as I would like to see. For some reason, last year he appeared to be trying to hit everything to the opposite field. The Royals have to have him hit. I have guarded optimism.

2B - Chris Getz - Getz seems to be developing a little more pop in his bat although he will never be an offensive player. Fundamentally very sound, he is the best bunter on the team. I think he will be better than people may expect.

3B - Mike Moustakas - Probably the best power on the Royals, he just needs to show it, especially since he will be our cleanup hitter. Gold Glove caliber defense which was really a shock. Scouts talked like he was a bad fielder. I don't know what they were looking at.

SS - Alcides Escobar - Stellar defense at shortstop and his bat is improving. Good speed as he stole 35 bases last year. It seems like he should have more power, and that is what I look to see him improve.

UT (inf) - Elliott Johnson and Miguel Tejada - Johnson can play anywhere and appears to be solid. Hopefully, there is still a little gas left in Tejada's tank. For utility guys, that is a pretty good tandem.

LF - Alex Gordon - Gold Glover who isn't your prototypical leadoff hitter, but he is the best one we have. He hit 8 homers in Spring Training so hopefully that means his power will pick up. He really needs to hit at least 20.

CF - Lorenzo Cain - has gotten an unfair reputation of being injury prone because he had several injuries last year. Has the power and speed to be a 20/20 guy.

RF - Jeff Francoeur - The bloggers love to hate Frenchie. Had a very good year in 2011, but was miserable last year. He hit pretty well in Spring Training and I think we will see a different player than he was last year. He still may have the best outfield arm I have ever seen

UT (of) - Jarrod Dyson - He can run and really wreak havoc on the bases. No power at all, but Yost has done a good job of using his speed.

SP - James Shields, Ervin Santana, Jeremy Guthrie, Wade Davis, Luis Mendoza - Shields is one of the best pitchers in baseball and a true ace. Santana gave up way too many homers last year, but will probably give up less pitching at the K. He looged good in Spring Training. Guthrie pitched rxtremely well for us the last half of the year. I'd be happy if he just duplicated that. Wade Davis may turn out to be the key to our big trade. Has looked really sharp and I expect a big year. Mendoza was a star for Mexico in the winter. He's not flashy, but he gets people out. And he is definitely more consistent than Hochevar or Chen.

RP - Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, J C Gutierrez, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland - The 4 late iunning guys are as good as any bullpen in baseball. I can't imagine that Chen and Hochevar will stay in the bullpen all year. I look for one or both to be traded. Hochevar's problem as a starter is that he couldn't pitch with men on base. That doesn't bode well for the bullpen. We have lots of options at Omaha, so if both Chen and Hochevar are still Royals by the All Star break, I will be stunned.

Outlook - Royals are generally thought of as way behind the Tigers, but I think it is much closer than that. Tigers defense is dreadful and their bullpen at present has no closer. I look for the Royals to give the Tigers a good run for their money and certainly contend for a wild card spot. Play ball!

The Hall of Fame Vote

    I am ten years short of the required time as a member of the BBWAA to qualify to vote for the Hall of Fame, so my votes will not count in the official totals, but I thought I would give my choices for the Hall if I did have a vote. This ballot probably has more deserving players on it than any ballot in history. I tend to lean towards keeping the Hall a rather exclusive club, but this year there are a few guys that I could change my mind on. One brief comment before I give my choices. I think that anyone who uses their own personal agenda to keep deserving players out of the Hall of Fame should have their voting rights revoked. There are plenty of writers, including one longtime Kansas City writer, who are doing that this year and I think it is reprehensible. I could talk long and hard on this, but nobody wants to hear about it. I prefer to concentrate on baseball. That being said, here is my ballot:

1. Barry Bonds - the best player in baseball history, should be a unanimous choice.
2. Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young awards. Need I say more?
3. Craig Biggio - terrific leadoff hitter, over 3000 hits
4. Jeff Bagwell - MVP in 1994. Would be interesting to see what his stats would have been had there been no strike. Also had an OBP of over .400.
5. Mike Piazza - one of the top 3 catchers in baseball history along with Bench and Berra. Hit over .300 lifetime, very rare for a catcher.
6. Sammy Sosa - over 600 home runs. Had some incredible stats from 1998-2002.
7. Dale Murphy - his last year on the ballot. One of the criteria I use is did you think he would be a Hall of Famer when he was playing. I think everyone thought that about Murphy. He hung around a little too long, but he was one of the best players of the 1980s.

    That's it, although I could also accept Jack Morris, Curt Schilling, Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Kenny Lofton. To me, they fall just short. It is interesting how similar the stats are of Raines and Lofton, yet lots of people support Raines, but few support Lofton. I wish all these fine players luck in tomorrow's election.