Not a baseball question today for once. One I really don’t know though and maybe you can provide some insight. The beat writer situation. Is this a situation where the Royals don’t want them to have a beat writer? It’s certainly easier on the team, and they have gotten bad press here in the last year quite a bit. All deserved for sure. But what I don’t know is if the Royals care if there isn’t a beat writer. Are they able to apply pressure to the Star or the Athletic? Maybe the Royals want the coverage I guess I don’t really know. I just know they less they have to divulge you would think they think that is better. I find it interesting no beat writers yet. Is that on the Star and the Athletic or the Royals. And why would the Star and Athletic not want a beat writer with the team?
55-year Royal fan and winter AZ resident (10 minutes from Surprise Stadium), so will weigh in on food and golf. Don't miss the Burrito Barn food trailer at Cotton and Glendale (near Surprise in Waddell). Breakfast burritos are fabulous! Saigon Kitchen is also a favorite (usually have a tent at Surprise Stadium), but the restaurant and SK Lounge on Bell Ave are worth the trip. You'll likely need a reservation most nights. Favorite courses nearby are probably Wigwam (3 courses), Sterling Grove (new Nicklaus course) and Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear (near Reds/Indians ST). Valley Golf in El Mirage is great for hitting some range balls and has a miniature golf replica of the back 9 at Augusta that is free for anyone!
Well said! If you go to Tuscon, stay away from Olive Garden. Was there last year and didn't end well. I have fond, sports memories with my grandparents in the Phoenix area. In the 70's, I played golf in Scottsdale, don't remember the course. Saw my first NBA game at Veterans War Memorial Coliseum. Only arena that had a happy face painted on the roof! I went to the Twins spring training in 1987. Great way to interact with the players, like you said. Just going down memory lane.
I wonder about your thoughts on Cuas? I've mentioned him before, but he did provide quality innings last year. Is he going to fall victim to the numbers game? Candidate for trade? I like what he brought to the table last year.
Maybe just eternal optimism, but I see 75-80 wins for this team.
I agree with your take on the team's ceiling, but it's still frustrating. Other teams occasionally hit the ground running and make a surprise playoff run, even if it was just a fluke, but the Royals haven't come close to that in 20 years. Even the 14-15 teams took a while to get going and felt a little behind schedule. The same is true of individual prospects. Witt and Vinnie had good rookie seasons, but when's the last time a Royals rookie blew you away like Julio Rodriguez?
Look, I don't expect you to have any answers to this rant, and I am legitimately excited about some of the young pieces in the org- if it pans out to long term success in the near future, I'll gladly shut my mouth. I'm just feeling impatient this morning and needed to vent a little.
It didn't take me 23 minutes to finish reading, but I know when you add a lot of stats, it's those I gloss over. Anyway, David, this is a good, realistic look at the team and I suspect there will be some games we absolutely will be crowing over and some we will be shaking our heads about, and crying in our beverage of choice.
I'm glad that Anne Rogers is covering the team for MLB. Not sure if the Athletic will have someone this summer for the Royals beat, or what.
Spring Training is a lot of fun. I like going to different stadiums down there. However, as you alluded to, be prepared for some sticker shock. Some stadiums are VERY expensive. It's still worth going though.
A warning for those who hike. I've been going to Arizona since the 1960's. Every trip there, at some point, someone is airlifted off Camelback or the Superstitious mountains because they were not prepared properly. This is Desert. Hydration is everything. If you hike, make sure you have plenty of water and hiking shoes. I'm not kidding. People put themselves in bad situations all the time out there.
And no mention of In And Out Burger? Just kidding. Its really just another burger joint. They are fresh, but nothing out of this world.
I watched MLB Network yesterday evening talk about the Royals on a couple of their shows. They interviewed about four or five players plus Mad Dog had a good back and forth with Picollo. Ultimately, they agreed KC should be better than last year, but not near a .500 team. My heart says 82-80, but my mind says 70-92 (and that's hard to type for a kid/guy that's been going to games since Royals Stadium opened.
I have to say: even with the high word-count, I was "all in" for the duration!
Since I don't live in KC anymore (but still a long-time season ticket holder), I don't notice the "no beat writer" thing for the local paper...but I have to say that's another negative I would put on current ownership. If I was the owner...and my team didn't get enough local "buzz"...I would put my own PR folks on it (a la Jerry Jones)--or are they too busy talking about a downtown stadium??
Anything new on the Balley Sports belly up possibility? I finally got in with a ISO that actually carries them and would be more than irritated if I couldn’t watch them with all the kids. Thanks. GFG
As another fan going to spring training for the first time, this is quite helpful. Wish you were going this year too, but I suppose a new baby is a valid reason not to.
It's not just the Royals, either. The Star hasn't had a regular Mizzou beat writer for quite some time now. Their coverage of the men's basketball team is currently coming from the Columbia Tribune. Even when they had a beat writer, 99% of the coverage was Mizzou football and men's basketball (which I understand that's what most people care about). But as a subscriber to the Star, I expect a beat writer who will tell me about other sports that are doing well. The gymnastics team, for example, finished fifth at nationals and there was little to no coverage locally. I fear the lack of beat writers is going to become a growing trend.
We have been in Suprise attending the Royals spring training for its entirety for the past 10 years. We lease a home in Suprise. We dine out frequently and I have never heard of any the restaurants that you recommended. Where do you stay? Certainly not Suprise.
I don't understand this team. They signed a bunch of pitchers that for for no better word are just worthless. Now I can understand with a new coaching staff that maybe they can tap into something that other teams can't but my problem was with how much they paid some of them. Lyles 17 mil for 2 years just because he threw for 180 plus innings last year. Terrible Era. Terrible strikeout ratio. Same with greinke. I'm not into sentimentality. The guys 39 years old and although his Era was ok they protected him big time. He's barely a 5 inning pitcher at this point and gives up a lot of hits and he can potentially make 16 or 17 mil for one year if he meets his incentives so that's potentially 25 million for 2 over the hill pitchers for one year. They could have gotten a pretty good pitcher for that kind of money probably 2 for just a little bit more. There's no way this team should have a payroll at 80+ million with this team. Plus they keep talking about extentions for some of the younger guys who haven't proven themselves yet. With the shift ban this year you're going to see some of these older pitchers who have relied on their infielders to save their hides, get hit this year. Balls are going to go between first and second that in past years would have been fielded. That's not even added in the larger bases. A lot of these guys who shouldn't even be pitching are going to get lit up this year. I guess my point is stop paying for junk
Thank you for the clarification. Lots of good local eating places in the area. Best hamburger in Az is a place called Wild Horse West! Place in out toward Lake Pleasant and looks seedy but is clean, friendly staff, and very busy but just plain people. I was Pres of Bank and my wife a Supt. of Schools
and have been uncomfortable there. Thanks for yout kind response.
Not a baseball question today for once. One I really don’t know though and maybe you can provide some insight. The beat writer situation. Is this a situation where the Royals don’t want them to have a beat writer? It’s certainly easier on the team, and they have gotten bad press here in the last year quite a bit. All deserved for sure. But what I don’t know is if the Royals care if there isn’t a beat writer. Are they able to apply pressure to the Star or the Athletic? Maybe the Royals want the coverage I guess I don’t really know. I just know they less they have to divulge you would think they think that is better. I find it interesting no beat writers yet. Is that on the Star and the Athletic or the Royals. And why would the Star and Athletic not want a beat writer with the team?
55-year Royal fan and winter AZ resident (10 minutes from Surprise Stadium), so will weigh in on food and golf. Don't miss the Burrito Barn food trailer at Cotton and Glendale (near Surprise in Waddell). Breakfast burritos are fabulous! Saigon Kitchen is also a favorite (usually have a tent at Surprise Stadium), but the restaurant and SK Lounge on Bell Ave are worth the trip. You'll likely need a reservation most nights. Favorite courses nearby are probably Wigwam (3 courses), Sterling Grove (new Nicklaus course) and Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear (near Reds/Indians ST). Valley Golf in El Mirage is great for hitting some range balls and has a miniature golf replica of the back 9 at Augusta that is free for anyone!
Well said! If you go to Tuscon, stay away from Olive Garden. Was there last year and didn't end well. I have fond, sports memories with my grandparents in the Phoenix area. In the 70's, I played golf in Scottsdale, don't remember the course. Saw my first NBA game at Veterans War Memorial Coliseum. Only arena that had a happy face painted on the roof! I went to the Twins spring training in 1987. Great way to interact with the players, like you said. Just going down memory lane.
I wonder about your thoughts on Cuas? I've mentioned him before, but he did provide quality innings last year. Is he going to fall victim to the numbers game? Candidate for trade? I like what he brought to the table last year.
Maybe just eternal optimism, but I see 75-80 wins for this team.
I agree with your take on the team's ceiling, but it's still frustrating. Other teams occasionally hit the ground running and make a surprise playoff run, even if it was just a fluke, but the Royals haven't come close to that in 20 years. Even the 14-15 teams took a while to get going and felt a little behind schedule. The same is true of individual prospects. Witt and Vinnie had good rookie seasons, but when's the last time a Royals rookie blew you away like Julio Rodriguez?
Look, I don't expect you to have any answers to this rant, and I am legitimately excited about some of the young pieces in the org- if it pans out to long term success in the near future, I'll gladly shut my mouth. I'm just feeling impatient this morning and needed to vent a little.
It didn't take me 23 minutes to finish reading, but I know when you add a lot of stats, it's those I gloss over. Anyway, David, this is a good, realistic look at the team and I suspect there will be some games we absolutely will be crowing over and some we will be shaking our heads about, and crying in our beverage of choice.
I'm glad that Anne Rogers is covering the team for MLB. Not sure if the Athletic will have someone this summer for the Royals beat, or what.
Spring Training is a lot of fun. I like going to different stadiums down there. However, as you alluded to, be prepared for some sticker shock. Some stadiums are VERY expensive. It's still worth going though.
A warning for those who hike. I've been going to Arizona since the 1960's. Every trip there, at some point, someone is airlifted off Camelback or the Superstitious mountains because they were not prepared properly. This is Desert. Hydration is everything. If you hike, make sure you have plenty of water and hiking shoes. I'm not kidding. People put themselves in bad situations all the time out there.
And no mention of In And Out Burger? Just kidding. Its really just another burger joint. They are fresh, but nothing out of this world.
I watched MLB Network yesterday evening talk about the Royals on a couple of their shows. They interviewed about four or five players plus Mad Dog had a good back and forth with Picollo. Ultimately, they agreed KC should be better than last year, but not near a .500 team. My heart says 82-80, but my mind says 70-92 (and that's hard to type for a kid/guy that's been going to games since Royals Stadium opened.
Attention All Royals Fans!
If you like royals content you should follow my royals account on Instagram called @_depressed_royals_fan
I promise u won’t regret it
I have to say: even with the high word-count, I was "all in" for the duration!
Since I don't live in KC anymore (but still a long-time season ticket holder), I don't notice the "no beat writer" thing for the local paper...but I have to say that's another negative I would put on current ownership. If I was the owner...and my team didn't get enough local "buzz"...I would put my own PR folks on it (a la Jerry Jones)--or are they too busy talking about a downtown stadium??
Anything new on the Balley Sports belly up possibility? I finally got in with a ISO that actually carries them and would be more than irritated if I couldn’t watch them with all the kids. Thanks. GFG
As another fan going to spring training for the first time, this is quite helpful. Wish you were going this year too, but I suppose a new baby is a valid reason not to.
It's not just the Royals, either. The Star hasn't had a regular Mizzou beat writer for quite some time now. Their coverage of the men's basketball team is currently coming from the Columbia Tribune. Even when they had a beat writer, 99% of the coverage was Mizzou football and men's basketball (which I understand that's what most people care about). But as a subscriber to the Star, I expect a beat writer who will tell me about other sports that are doing well. The gymnastics team, for example, finished fifth at nationals and there was little to no coverage locally. I fear the lack of beat writers is going to become a growing trend.
We have been in Suprise attending the Royals spring training for its entirety for the past 10 years. We lease a home in Suprise. We dine out frequently and I have never heard of any the restaurants that you recommended. Where do you stay? Certainly not Suprise.
I don't understand this team. They signed a bunch of pitchers that for for no better word are just worthless. Now I can understand with a new coaching staff that maybe they can tap into something that other teams can't but my problem was with how much they paid some of them. Lyles 17 mil for 2 years just because he threw for 180 plus innings last year. Terrible Era. Terrible strikeout ratio. Same with greinke. I'm not into sentimentality. The guys 39 years old and although his Era was ok they protected him big time. He's barely a 5 inning pitcher at this point and gives up a lot of hits and he can potentially make 16 or 17 mil for one year if he meets his incentives so that's potentially 25 million for 2 over the hill pitchers for one year. They could have gotten a pretty good pitcher for that kind of money probably 2 for just a little bit more. There's no way this team should have a payroll at 80+ million with this team. Plus they keep talking about extentions for some of the younger guys who haven't proven themselves yet. With the shift ban this year you're going to see some of these older pitchers who have relied on their infielders to save their hides, get hit this year. Balls are going to go between first and second that in past years would have been fielded. That's not even added in the larger bases. A lot of these guys who shouldn't even be pitching are going to get lit up this year. I guess my point is stop paying for junk
Thank you for the clarification. Lots of good local eating places in the area. Best hamburger in Az is a place called Wild Horse West! Place in out toward Lake Pleasant and looks seedy but is clean, friendly staff, and very busy but just plain people. I was Pres of Bank and my wife a Supt. of Schools
and have been uncomfortable there. Thanks for yout kind response.
NEVER been uncomfortable at Wild Hors West, sorry for my mistype