Kansas City Baseball Vault

This week is pretty special. One hundred episodes ago, we joined up with Baseball Prospectus Kansas City, so to commemorate the occasion, we dove into the vault and dug out some info on another notable 100: the 100-loss 2002 Royals.

We discussed the plight of that injury-riddled, pitching-starved, manager-changing team and how it fits in with the history of other franchises and their first 100-loss years. 

From Paul Byrd's crazy win total to Mark Quinn's kung fu fighting, we cover a historic Royals season that was only the tip of the iceberg of futility when it was all said and done.

(We also recapped the Royals better play as of late, including Jason Adam's MLB debut and Jorge Soler's continued hot streak.)

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Over the past week, the Royals went through a stretch that saw them win three out of four games. 

For this year's team, that's momentous.

They've seen a few things settle down as the year has gone on. The bullpen is a little more stable, the starting pitching has been mostly good still, and the offense is slowly waking up.

Unless you're Jorge Soler, who is just tearing it up right now. He's on pace for an immense year and has an opportunity to be the breakout star of the 2018 Royals. After his 2017 and his 0-11 start in 2018, that's more than welcome. Also, fellow outfielder Alex Gordon is showing signs of his former self since his return from a hip injury. Can he continue and provide some value the rest of the year? Or the rest of his contract?

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals haven't gotten into a groove yet, but help arrived this week, as Sal Perez and Alex Gordon both returned from the DL. That overlapped with a special return from old friend Lorenzo Cain, and, on the subject of returns, Ned Yost may return next year, and the next, and next...

We discussed those topics in light of using this season to look for special moments and progress on the field, including a Royals walkrate that's way better than their franchise norm, and the potential, possible, maybe-it's-coming-but-we'll-have-to-wait-and-see breakout of Jorge Soler.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals lost every game since our last episode. Some by blowout, some by blown save. Shaky offense, shaky bullpen, and not enough starting pitching.

It's rough.

Is there help on the way? Well, things can probably only get better, right? There are some players performing in the minor leagues who could help and even Salvador Perez may be closer to returning than we had figured three weeks ago - or even last week!

Will a couple of bullpen moves and the return of Salvy be enough to take the Royals from dreadful to at least watchable? Are the Dark Days back? Or, to paraphrase Buddy Bell, could it get even worse?

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Alex Gordon will miss some time with a torn labrum in his hip, and while he hasn't been hitting this season so far, it still injects more uncertainty into the Royals lineup. Meanwhile, Salvador Perez might be closer than we expected to returning? We discuss the lineup and the impact of these injuries, plus a potential fresh reboot for Gordon when he eventually returns.

We also discussed some of the pitching. The Royals have gotten some strong starts, and even some of Danny Duffy's rough ones have been much better than they started out. How far can that take the Royals, and will it matter with a bullpen that can best be described as treacherous?

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Despite the weather, the Royals actually managed to get a couple games in during the first week of the MLB season. 

Now, the results? Not that great. We discussed the meaning of early-season stats - that is, that there isn't much meaning yet - and what stood out from four chilly games.

We also talked about the roster moves that lead to the opening day roster and since game 1, including the curious DFA and trade of Miguel Almonte, and the DFA waiving of Kyle Zimmer. 

Finally, we talked about the Royals early approach of increasing defensive shifts and if it's something that's here to stay or if shifts might be actually bad.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

That was a long offseason, and finally, after all the contract talks, trades, and other nonsense...the 2018 season begins.

Of course, the Royals just learned that they'll be without Salvador Perez after a torn MCL. The initial timeline is 4 to 6 weeks of recovery, so we discussed how the Royals may approach the next month and a half.

We also discussed the first lineup, Danny Duffy, and the final moves to make up the opening day roster.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

It's time for our 4th Annual Over/Under Extravaganza And Pancake Luncheon. 

After covering some of the roster news, Jeff and Mike call out some numbers and discuss whether they think certain Royals will end up over or under that mark. Simple! For instance, Baseball Prospectus projects Alex Gordon to bat .239 this year. Over or under?

As in year's past, the Vault also tossed out a couple of bold predictions about the Royals in 2018. Maybe we're just crazy with a couple of these. You can let us know.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

While the Royals cut down the roster at big league camp, Jorge Bonifacio got suspended and will miss half the season.

Bonifacio's suspension impacts playing time for a number of Royals we figure will be on the opening day roster, and we discuss those implications. We also looked at the first cuts in camp and what's next for some key players, including Hunter Dozier's first base adventure, and Bubba Starling's injured oblique.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The prevailing idea in baseball lately is that when your contending window closes, you carve it up and lose for a few years, but I guess nobody told Dayton Moore that.

A week after signing Lucas Duda to a one-year deal, the Royals signed outfielder Jon Jay to a one-year deal as well. And they signed Ricky Nolasco to a minor league deal. And - oh yeah - while we recorded this episode, news broke that they'd reached an agreement with Mike Moustakas as well.

So we discussed those moves and how they fit for the Royals in 2018 and their impact even beyond that. 

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.