Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 24 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

24

is the number of games the 2011 Royals were out of first place at the end of the season.

The AL Central was the least close divisional race, with 15 games separating 1st and 2nd place. Even the 102-win Phillies didn’t win their division by that many games. A combination of weak competition and outperformance of their Pythag led the Tigers to their 95 wins. (Weirdly, the Royals were the only AL Central team who underperformed, based on Pythag.)

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 25 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

David Lough's super-white teeth should have their own Twitter...

Here are

25

Royals-affiliated Twitter accounts to check out:

TEAMS:
Royals
Storm Chasers
Naturals

PLAYERS:
Eric Hosmer
Wil Myers
Johnny Giavotella
Louis Coleman
Everett Teaford
Danny Duffy

Aaron Crow
Jarrod Dyson
Bruce Chen
David Lough
Clint Robinson
Luis Mendoza*
Derrick Robinson
Bubba Starling
Billy Butler
Joakim Soria*
Jonathan Sanchez*
Nathan Adcock
Salvador Perez*
Tim Smith

OTHER:
Sluggerrr
Werner Park

*primarily (or entirely) in Spanish

Of course, this list isn’t comprehensive. Other players do Tweet, and I did not have any rhyme or reason as to who made this list. They might not all be exciting or super-smart, but it is kind of fun to check in with your favorite prospects or whatever. Some, like Adcock, are great about answering questions and interacting with fans. Others, like Starling, mostly Tweet nonsense about what meals they’re eating. Teaford is my favorite, I think. Chen’s is a good source of really bad jokes.

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 26 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

Only 5.4 WAR this year? Come on, guys.

26

is the approximate number of Wins Above Replacement the Royals offense was worth last season. For reference, the highest team WAR (for offense only) was Texas with 38.9, and the lowest was Seattle with a jaw-dropping 4.4. The Royals were 10th in the Majors.

This year’s lineup is pretty well set like so:

Gordon
Giavotella
Hosmer
Butler
Francoeur
Moustakas
Cain
Perez
Escobar

Yuni (ugh) and Getz (ugh) will sub in for Giavotella, Escobar, and Moustakas way more often than they should, and of course Pena will spell Perez behind the plate, but the top of the order is pretty well set.

Now, according to fans who submitted projections for each of these players at FanGraphs, this year’s Royals hitters will be worth 30.9 WAR (though no one has done projections for Jarrod Dyson or MITCH Maier yet). Most of these projections might be a hair optimistic, but they all seem mostly realistic.

The only ones that gave me pause were  Gordon at only 5.4 (compared to 6.9 actual WAR last year), and Moustakas at 3.3. If Moose were to produce at about the same rates as he did in a partial season last year, his WAR after a full-ish season would only be 1.1. (I went with 144 games, to match what the fan projections say.) Am I the only one who thinks a 3.3 WAR season would be a pretty big jump? I mean, lots of 3B put up more than that last season – including Alberto Callaspo, for the record.

Obviously I hope he does produce at that level. Overall, I think the fan projections are on track. It’s not ridiculous to think this year’s crop of hitters can put up 30 or more WAR. Not at all.

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 27 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

27

is the number of doubles Eric Hosmer hit in the Majors in 2011. It’s also the approximate number of times the MLB Network has had him as an on-air guest this offseason. They are quite shameless in their collective mancrush on the Hos. Here is the most recent appearance, an interview with Dan Plesac as part of ’30 Clubs in 30 Days.’

Those 27 doubles were 5th-most on the Royals, and also the 5th-most among all Major League rookies. Three of the four rookies ahead of Hosmer in doubles had significantly more plate appearances to collect just a couple more doubles than he did. Only the Mets’ Justin Turner doubled more than Hosmer in less – a LOT – less playing time than Hos.

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 28 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

28

was the number of strikeouts, and the number of hits surrendered by Francisley Bueno in the Dominican Winter League this year. Sure, I sort of had to reach for a number today, but I wanted to share this snippet from Bueno’s official player page on the Chasers website:

Signed by the Kansas City Royals as a Minor League free agent on Nov. 17, 2011. … Signed by the Atlanta Braves as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 16, 2006. … Was ejected in his Major League debut on Aug. 13, 2008 for throwing at the head of the Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano. …

That certainly is more interesting than most tidbits in those player bios. And I suppose that made for a more memorable big league debut than many relievers get. Also, it is his only Major League appearance to this day. I always say, if you only get one shot, you might as well throw at somebody’s head?

DISCLAIMER: head injuries are not actually funny. My life is sort of in ruins thanks to having suffered one too many concussions. More about that in a later post.
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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 29 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

29

was the age of Omaha catcher Cody Clark last year.  Clark  joined the Royals organization in 2007, which is the same year I started working for Omaha, so to me, it seems like he has been around since the beginning of time.

If Sal Perez and Brayan Pena are the Kansas City catchers, that leaves Manuel Pina and Max Ramirez as the most likely duo for Omaha, right? And if that’s the case, where does Cody Clark fit in? When the season starts, his spot is safe because Pina will still be recovering from knee surgery. But what then?

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 30 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

Moose.

30

is the number of RBI Mike Moustakas had in the Majors last season.

You probably know my feelings on RBI, but hey, it’s a number 30! (Sorry, things are busy tonight. Me, phone it in? NEVAR!)

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Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 33 days left until Opening Day on April 6.

33

is the number of games in which Luis Mendoza pitched for Omaha last season. Mendoza was named PCL pitcher of the year with 12 wins and a 2.18 ERA, if you’re into that kind of thing. He didn’t rely on strikeouts to keep opponents from scoring (5.1 K/9), but rather, his success came by his allowing just 7.9 hits per nine innings. That was the 2nd-lowest figure in the PCL among pitchers with at least 100 IP, and it is the lowest mark over any full season of Mendoza’s career.

The official word from the Royals is that Mendoza is a candidate for the starting rotation. Craig Brown at Royals Authority is less optimistic, and notes that Mendoza’s great season is right in line with numerous  cliche “comeback” type of stories.

It would be awesome if the Mendoza who pitched flawlessly in those two late-September games was the real Mendoza, but that was September, and just two games of it at that. Perhaps the adjustments he made last season were the golden ticket indicating that he has everything figured out. That would be neat! But I won’t hold my breath. I’ll just hope for the best, because hoping for things that aren’t likely to happen is what I’ve been doing with this team for 23 years now.

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