2008 Kansas City Royals season
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| 2008 Kansas City Royals | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:KansasCityRoyals 100.png | ||
| Division | Central Division | |
| Ballpark | Kauffman Stadium | |
| City | Kansas City, Missouri | |
| Owners | David Glass | |
| Managers | Trey Hillman | |
| Television | FSN Kansas City | |
| Radio | KCSP 610 AM | |
| ||
The Kansas City Royals' 2008 season began with the team searching for its 15th manager in franchise history. Trey Hillman, former minor league baseball and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (Nippon Professional Baseball) manager, was hired as the team's skipper on October 19.[1]
The team looks to improve upon its record of 69-93 from 2007, and make the post-season for the first time in 23 years.
Despite another last-place finish in 2007, the Royals feel they're on the brink of a breakthrough with what appears to finally be the right youth in their seemingly continuous youth movement.[2] Renovations to Kauffman Stadium are expected to be ongoing throughout the 2008 season and will be completed in time for Opening Day in 2009.
The team's payroll for the 2008 season is estimated around $57 million.[3]
Offseason
Coaching search
Early candidates to assume the manager's position included Royals bench coach Billy Doran,[4] former Royals star Frank White,[4] and Triple-A Omaha manager Mike Jirschele. Former Major League managers such as Joe Girardi,[4] Jim Fregosi,[4] Ken Macha,[4] and Jimy Williams[4] were also in consideration. Hillman, whom was considered a sleeper candidate, was chosen on October 19.[1]
Winter meetings
The Royals entered the Winter Meetings in December 2007 with José Guillén and Andruw Jones atop their free-agent prospects list.[2][5] OF Torii Hunter was also considered by Kansas City before signing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[2] The Royals signed Guillén to a three-year, $36 million contract, while Jones signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The acquisition of Guillén was the Royals' only major move at the Winter Meetings. Just before the meetings, the Royals had ministered to another need by signing reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta to a two-year deal with an option for 2010.[6][7] Yabuta, from the Nippon Professional Baseball league, is seen as the likely successor to David Riske in a right-handed setup role. Riske, after one fine season, left the Royals for a three-year, $13 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.[7][8] Hiroki Kuroda was on the Royals' radar, but several other teams were in pursuit as well,[7][9] and the Dodgers signed him first.
In the Rule 5 Draft, the Royals picked up left-handed pitcher Ray Liotta from the Chicago White Sox.
Offseason roster moves
Kansas City avoided arbitration with all of its players for the 2008 season.[10]
- C John Buck[11][12]
- 1B Ross Gload[11][12]
- IF Estéban Germán[12][13]
- IF Jason Smith (released)[14][15]
- OF Mark Teahen[12][10]
- OF Emil Brown (released)[12][16]
- LHP Jorge de la Rosa[11][12]
- RHP Zack Greinke[12][10]
- LHP Jimmy Gobble[11][12]
- RHP Brandon Duckworth[12][14]
- RHP Román Colón[12]
- RHP Luke Hudson[12][17]
- (x) = club option for 2008
- (m) = mutual option for 2008
- (y) = player option for 2008
Color Code Key
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Player will return to team |
| Light Green | Player joins team |
| Crimson | Player will not return to team (released, option not exercised, signed with new team, or retired etc.) |
| White | Player's status undetermined |
| Player | Position | 2007 Team | 2008 Team | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emil Brown | OF | Royals | Athletics | Signed 1 Year, $1.45M |
| Brian Buchanan | OF | Hawks | Royals | Signed minor league contract |
| Fernando Cortez | 2B | Royals | White Sox | Signed minor league contract |
| Zach Day | RP | Royals | Twins | Signed minor league contract |
| José Guillén | OF | Mariners | Royals | Signed a 3-year, $36 million deal |
| Jason LaRue | C | Royals | Cardinals | Signed 1 Year, $850K |
| Brian Lawrence | SP | Mets | Royals | Signed minor league contract |
| Colby Lewis | SP | Athletics | Central League (Japan) | Claimed off waivers from Athletics, released, signed w/ Hiroshima Carp |
| Ron Mahay | RP | Braves | Royals | Signed 2-years, $8M |
| Mike Maroth | SP | Cardinals | Royals | Signed minor league contract |
| Joe Nelson | RP | Royals | Marlins | Signed Minor League Contract |
| Hideo Nomo | SP | Did Not Play | Royals | Signed Minor league Contract |
| Miguel Olivo | C | Marlins | Royals | Signed 1-Year Contract w/ 2009 Mutual Option |
| Odalis Perez | SP | Royals | Nationals | Royals declined option; signed minor league contract |
| Paul Phillips | C | Royals | White Sox | Spring training invitee |
| David Riske | RP | Royals | Brewers | Signed 3-year, $13M contract |
| Reggie Sanders | OF | Royals | Elected free agency | |
| Mike Sweeney | 1B | Royals | Athletics | Signed minor league contract |
| John Thomson | SP | Royals | Elected free agency | |
| Brett Tomko | SP | Padres | Royals | Signed 1-Year, $3M |
| Chin-hui Tsao | RP | Dodgers | Royals | Spring training invitee |
| Yasuhiko Yabuta | RP | Marines | Royals | Signed 2-years, $6M deal with 2010 club option |
Trades
December 15—Traded RHP Billy Buckner to the Arizona Diamondbacks for IF Alberto Callaspo.[18]
Return of the Powder Blues
After a lengthy absence, the Royals' powder blue uniforms returned in 2008. The new powder blue jerseys were unveiled to season-ticket holders on December 6, 2007 at a private event in downtown Kansas City.[19] Royals players John Buck, Mark Teahen, Alex Gordon, José Guillén and David DeJesus and manager Trey Hillman modeled the new power blue tops and white pants, which will be an alternate home jersey in 2008. The Royals previously wore powder-blue uniforms in away games from 1973 to 1991.[19]
The Royals debuted the jerseys on April 12 against the Minnesota Twins. The first 20,000 fans for the game received a replica powder blue No. 16 Billy Butler jersey.[20] With that promotion, the game was a sellout.[20] Manager Trey Hillman and seven players—Brian Bannister, Gil Meche, Joey Gathright, Tony Peña, Jr., John Bale, Zack Greinke and Butler—helped hand out the free jerseys when the gates opened at 4 p.m.[20] All 20,000 powder blue tops were handed out within 40 minutes after the gates opened.[20]
Regular season
Suspensions
Outfielder José Guillén was to be suspended for 15 days (12 games) for violation of Major League Baseball's Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Kansas City signed Guillén knowing that he might have been suspended.[21] Guillén was cited in the Mitchell Report on December 13, 2007.[22][23] Guillén's suspension was put on hold for 10 days allowing him to play in the team's season and home openers and was pushed back to April 9 if an agreement was not reached and no other actions were taken.[24] The suspension was eventually upheld and Guillén never received any punishment.[25]
Miguel Olivo faced a five-game suspension for fighting at New York in the 2007 season while a member of the Florida Marlins,[23] but the suspension was reduced to four games after an appeal.[26] He was eligible to being playing on April 5 against the Minnesota Twins.[26]
March and April
On March 31, the Detroit Tigers hosted the Royals on Opening Day. Kansas City listed only 24 players on their active roster, as Miguel Olivo began serving his four-game suspension.[27] The roster listed 11 pitchers, 7 infielders, 4 outfielders, and 2 catchers.[27] Gil Meche made his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Royals,[28] lasting six innings.[3] The Royals won the game 5-4 in 11 innings,[3] and went on to sweep the Tigers in the three-game series outscoring them 13-5.
The Royals hit a two-game skid against the Twins, but won the final game of the series to advance to 4-2. Kansas City hosted the New York Yankees for their home-opening series at Kauffman Stadium and won two of three games. Their 6-2 start was the franchise's best since 2003.[29]
The Royals hosted the Twins from April 11-13, where game-time temperatures reached as low as 29°F for the series.[30] After losing the first two games and not scoring any runs, the Royals won the last by a score of 5-1. Kansas City debuted their new alternate powder blue home jerseys to a sold-out crowd on April 12, with a replica jersey giveaway promotion.[31] Brian Bannister threw a complete game and allowed only three hits on April 13 in a 5-1 win.[30] The following night, Zack Greinke threw a complete game as well and Billy Butler extended his hitting streak to 13 games.[32]
It was not until the team's 19th game of the season that the Royals fell under a .500 winning percentage in the middle of a seven game losing streak after going 9-6 to start the season. When the streak was snapped they were 10-13. In 2007, the Royals lost their second game of the year and remained under .500 for the remainder of the season.
May
At the Royals' May 9th game against the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City-native David Cook threw out the ceremonial first pitch and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the seventh inning stretch. At the time, Cook was a finalist on American Idol, and he eventually won the competition.[33] Since falling to 10-13 in April the team has gone 6-8 for a 16-21 record as of May 12th. Brian Bannister threw a two-hitter on May 11 in a 4-0 win over Baltimore for the Royals' first victory over the Orioles after losing 12 consecutive games to the franchise. Through 40 games, Joakim Soria had a 0.00 ERA and ten saves, and the Royals signed him to a three-year contract extension through the 2011 season.[34]
In early May, Kansas City completed their second series sweep against Detroit, advancing to 6-0 over the Tigers on the season. Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox threw a no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19.[35] It was just the Royals' second game to register no hits against an opponent, and the first since May 15, 1973.[35]
The Royals endured a 12-game losing streak following the loss to Lester and the Red Sox,[36] sending them 11 games under .500 and in last place of the AL Central. The Royals started the May 31st game against Cleveland with the fewest runs, sacrifice flies, RBIs and walks in the major leagues, but beat reigning Cy Young Award winner C. C. Sabathia 4-2 to end the streak.[36]
The losing streak prompted José Guillén to criticize his team's performance with the media after a 9-8 loss to Minnesota:[37]
"We've got 25 people. We've got to play as a team, win as a team and lose as a team. We've got too many babies here. They don't know how to play the game and play the game right, the way it's supposed to be played...That's the problem here. Now I know why this organization has been losing for a while."
The Royals' losing streak was the longest in the majors since Kansas City and Pittsburgh had 13-game slides in 2006. While going almost two weeks without a win, KC had allowed three grand slams, coughed up a five-run lead in the ninth inning of one game and scored three or fewer runs in nine others.[36] It was the Royals' fourth time losing 12 consecutive games in franchise history, and all of the streaks have occurred since 1997.[38] The losing caused Kansas City to make roster changes by sending the struggling Billy Butler to Triple-A affiliate Omaha. Mike Aviles, the Royals' best minor-league player, was called-up in exchange.[39]
Season standings
| AL Central | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 74 | 0.546 | — | 54–28 | 35–46 |
| Minnesota Twins | 88 | 75 | 0.540 | 1 | 53–28 | 35–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 81 | 0.500 | 7½ | 45–36 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 87 | 0.463 | 13½ | 38–43 | 37–44 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 14½ | 40–41 | 34–47 |
Record vs. Opponents
Statistics through June 19, 2008
| Team | W-L Record |
|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) |
2-1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1-3 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0-4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 0-3 |
| Cleveland Indians | 4-4 |
| Colorado Rockies (NL) |
0-0 |
| Detroit Tigers | 6-0 |
| Florida Marlins (NL) |
2-1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 2-3 |
| Minnesota Twins | 2-7 |
| New York Yankees | 4-3 |
| Oakland Athletics | 0-3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals (NL) |
3-0 |
| San Francisco Giants (NL) |
0-0 |
| Seattle Mariners | 1-1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 0-0 |
| Texas Rangers | 2-4 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 2-5 |
Game log
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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References
- Kansas City Royals: Official web site
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals introduce Hillman as new manager MLB.com, 22 October 2007.
- ^ a b c Kaegel, Dick. KC hopes for Winter Meeting encore MLB.com, 28 November 2007.
- ^ a b c Associated Press. Cabrera homers in Tiger's debut but Royals prevail in 11 ESPN.com, 31 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Dutton, Bob. Finding a manager tops Royals' offseason checklist Kansas City Star, 1 October 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals win one, lose one MLB.com, 6 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Yabuta signs two-year deal with Royals MLB.com, 28 November 2007.
- ^ a b c Kaegel, Dick. Guillen deal spanned Winter Meetings MLB.com, 6 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Riske departs with deal from Brewers MLB.com, 5 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals join hunt for Kuroda MLB.com, 27 November 2007.
- ^ a b c Kaegel, Dick. Royals sign pitcher Zack Greinke and outfielder Mark Teahen to one-year deals MLB.com, 7 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d Kaegel, Dick. Three Royals exchange salary figures MLB.com, 18 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kaegel, Dick. Royals Winter Meeting checklist MLB.com, 28 November 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals sign utility player German MLB.com, 29 January 2008.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals sign Duckworth, Smith MLB.com, 12 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals cut ties with infielder Smith MLB.com, 4 January 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Brown's days with Royals end MLB.com, 12 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals, Hudson agree on contract MLB.com, 8 January 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals acquire Callaspo from D-Backs MLB.com, 15 December 2007.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals to bring back powder blues MLB.com, 6 December 2007.
- ^ a b c d Kaegel, Dick. Powder blues popular in return MLB.com, 12 April 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals slugger Guillen suspended MLB.com, 6 December 2007.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals players cited by Mitchell MLB.com, 13 December 2007.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals await appeals decisions MLB.com, 23 March 2008.
- ^ Associated Press. Gibbons, Guillén suspensions put on hold for 10 days ESPN.com, 29 March 2008.
- ^ MLB commutes Guillen's suspension MLB.com, 11 April 2008.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Guillen will play on Opening Day MLB.com, 28 March 2008.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals make final roster decisions MLB.com, 29 March 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Meche eyeing repeat performance MLB.com, 28 March 2008.
- ^ Associated Press. Bannister, Royals drop A-Rod, Yanks for best start since 2003 ESPN.com, 8 April 2008.
- ^ a b Associated Press. Liriano rocked by Royals in return as Bannister baffles Twins for win ESPN.com, 14 April 2008.
- ^ Associated Press. Cold weather rubs off on Royals as scoreless inning streak hits 26 ESPN.com, 12 April 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Greinke, homers lift KC past Seattle MLB.com, 15 April 2008.
- ^ Associated Press. Hometown fans welcome back 'Idol' finalists MSNBC.com, 9 May 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals give contract extension to Soria MLB.com, 17 May 2008.
- ^ a b Kaegel, Dick. Royals victims of Lester's no-hitter MLB.com, 19 May 2008.
- ^ a b c Associated Press. Davies, Royals stop Sabathia, Indians to end 'miserable' 12-game slump ESPN.com, 31 May 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Guillén, Royals frustrated after defeat MLB.com, 29 May 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals reach Lee, but slide continues MLB.com, 31 May 2008.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals send Butler back to Triple-A MLB.com, 29 May 2008.