Happenings in KC

1) Just when I back my horse, Bannister has two bad games in a row. Hopefully, he'll bounce back as a long reliever or starter in AAA (he's only 25).
2) Sammy Knight is released, giving his position to the youngsters (Pollard or Page).
3) Trent may be traded to the Miami Dolphins.
4) Croyle may be the starter next year; rotoworld.com is reporting that it's his job to lose.
5) Alex Gordon officially makes the Royals.

I really don't have anything new to add. It all speaks for itself. Gordon deserves to be on the team. One assumes, his defense will improve (not good this Spring), because he's been solid in the past.

For a team that is transitioning from ancient to slightly-elderly, don't you want Croyle at the helm. It seems like it'll be a miracle for the Chiefs to truly compete next year (i.e., a throwaway), so why not give Croyle the chance for some experience for 08 and Beyond.

Bad for Trent. He's going to be in a log-jam (Culpepper, Harrington, Lemon or something), plus, rotoworld.com is stating they want to renegotiate and give him veteran-league-minimum $$. Good for the Chiefs, we may get a second round draft pick this year.

As with Croyle, what does Sammy Knight really do that Page or Pollard can't do this year and probably better the year after and Beyond. This is a good move, he's fairly cheap to release (1.5 million).

Bannister, well, this is a bummer for me. I was hopeful, but the guy gave up 7 runs (4 homers) tonight, so... THAT is not how to win a starting job in the majors. It may be how to win a job with the T-Bones.

EXTRA!! EXTRA!! HEAR ALL ABOUT IT!!
Derick Ladnier, head of scouting (or something) for the Royals, just said (without realizing he tipped his hand) (810 WHB announcing the A's/Royals spring game) that Soria has a chance down the road to crack the rotation. I will not put exact quotations since I'm writing this 5 minutes after he said it. But he did say, Soria could crack the rotation down the road, but not initially.

This is bad news. Even with a semi-bad night, he went 3 or 4 innings tonight giving up 2 runs, walking 1 and striking out 6. When have we had a guy striking this many people out? OUR BEST STRIKER-OUTTER LAST YEAR WAS JIMMY GOBBLE (A RELIEVER!!!)!!! Good for Jimmy (my favorite player for no real reason), but bad for all 35 random starters we had last year. Maybe it was b/c none of the opening week starters from last year made it even close to the All-Star break. Bummer for them, bummer for Soria, bummer for me, bummer for you.