Kansas City Baseball Vault

The Royals have been unable to develop much starting pitching with Dayton Moore in charge, but that doesn't mean there aren't bright spots. To talk pitching, we brought on Kevin Scobee, former Park University pitcher and former instructor at Regal Athletic, to discuss the evolution of pitcher training and philosophy, specifically focusing on how it relates to the Royals and prospects Kyle Zimmer, Danny Duffy, and others. We also talked about Duffy and Twitter specifically. Duffy's been one of the more active Royals players on Twitter and sometimes it's caused some furor with followers. We got into what his involvement there might mean for expectations from fans and what to expect for him in the future.

While the All-Star Game was starting up, we got to talking about the second half and our frustrations with the way the Royals finished the first half. Most of our time was spent answering some listener questions about the podcast, the Royals, and baseball in general. That led us down the path of talking about the Royals player evaluation approach and the blindspots they run into when looking at players, including Irving Falu, David Lough, Johnny Giavotella and others. We also talked about some roster moves and the Royals use of their minor leagues to keep the bullpen fresh. And we also talked about the promotions of Kyle Zimmer and Lane Adams to Double A. That led us to talk a bit about Bubba Starling as well (who, along with Adams and Jason Adam formed a group called "The Tripod" in spring training before last year).

WE ARE MOVING! Get this feed now at www.soundcloud.com/Royalspodcast ITUNES https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/royalspodcast/id543221056?mt=2 We decided to start recording right as All-Star Game rosters were announced and while Troy thought James Shields or Ervin Santana would be the Royals All-Star representative, I thought it would be Greg Holland. We were both pleasantly surprised to find that we weren't close and two Royals - Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez - would be going to Citi Field for the mid-summer classic. Following that discussion we talked about the rosters in general, including the validity of Yasiel Puig's All-Star case, Miguel Cabrera's run for another Triple Crown and the crazy season of Chris Davis. We turned it back to the Royals by covering the Alex Gordon injury and return, Billy Butler haters, and what might happen the rest of the season. We finished up with a quick look at the minors and brought up Danny Duffy's continuing comeback in Omaha and where he might fit down the line.

There were plenty of ideas tossed around on this week’s Vault. We open by talking about Jeff Francoeur, his legacy, his reputation, and his time with the Royals after the team designated him for assignment. We also talked about his replacement on the roster, Johnny Giavotella, and reacted to Sunday’s game. Then, we discussed the rehab progress of Felipe Paulino and what contributions he might make this year. That also led to a discussion of Danny Duffy‘s potential addition this year. Tommy John surgery rehab is tricky and while some pitchers come back within a year, some don’t get fully comfortable until much later. Paulino’s had some setbacks, so we had to consider that in assessing his potential role this year. Of course, the rotation is full right now, so that’s another question. How to get Paulino or Duffy on the roster if there’s nowhere to put them? One way might be to trade Ervin Santana. What would he return? What about James Shields? We weighed the pros and cons. We continued by discussing June for Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon, as well as what July means for the Royals. Then we finished up by talking about Brooks Pounders‘ no-hitter and a good start from Kyle Zimmer. As always, we’ll take your email questions at kansascitybaseballvault@gmail.com or via Twitter at @KCBaseballVault. I AM STOPPING USING PODOMATIC. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE FOR DETAILS!

May was a tough month. So tough. Grueling. But May is over, and all that was left was to talk about the aftermath and pick up the pieces. We talked about the changes to the coaching staff and what trading Jack Maloof for George Brett means for the team going forward and if it means anything other than window dressing and a PR cover. We also discussed Yordano Ventura's promotion, Danny Duffy's rehab starts, and other moves recently. That led to a discussion about whether fans are setting themselves up for disappointment about Duffy whenever he returns. The concern came from Duffy's activity in social media, his previous work in the big leagues, and the expectation that he's going to be back to form right away. Then we covered the weird rain delay game, delved into the PED controversy, and hoped for better days for the Royals.

As you may have heard, Northwest Arkansas Naturals General Manager Eric Edelstein has taken a job that will land him in Reno, and he'll be leaving the Royals organization. But before he left, Troy Olsen caught up with him to talk about the move and to learn a bit more about some Double A prospects. Then we talked about the latest Royals action, including the kneejerk reactions from social media. We tried to make sense of the noise, take a deep breath, and reflect on the long slog of the baseball season. We wrapped up by picking a player from each full season minor league level to focus on. We discussed David Lough, Yordano Ventura, Kyle Smith, and Miguel Almonte this week, some of the top performers in the Royals system so far.

Things are not going well for the Royals. They're stuck in a 4-16 nosedive that has fans angry, players pressing, and seats heating up. So what better way to get the anger out than to talk about it!? Troy and Michael fired up the podcast machine to talk about what's gone wrong, what's potentially going to happen next, and what we'd do. We discussed potential demotions and other moves, potential firings, and considered alternatives to current front office personnel. More specifically, we talked about Chris Getz at leadoff, Alex Gordon batting third, Johnny Giavotella taking balls at third base, Danny Duffy getting rehab innings and wondered just what the heck the Royals have to do to get a win around here. Turns out, the Royals went 4-14 since our last podcast recording. Maybe this show was just what the team needed. You should check it out.

Will be updating the description

How about a bonus Kansas City Baseball Vault episode? While most of our time is focused on the Royals, we're not limited to the big league team and its affiliates. We're still baseball fans overall. So when we were contacted about an event in Omaha to unveil a statue of Bob Gibson (Omaha native), we wanted to check in. So to help us cover the event at the Storm Chasers Werner Park, we sent Kings of Kauffman's Mike Vamosi and Hunter Samuels to check out the festivities. Included in this episode, you'll hear from Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Joe Torre, and Bill White during a press conference/banquet and then there's more from the statue unveiling ceremony itself the following day.

This week on the Kansas City Baseball Vault, we discussed the young season and the Royals early success in 2013 and shared the elements that stood out to us in the first place start. Then we cycled in some great guests, starting with Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Kendrick's spirits were high following a successful Red Carpet premiere of "42", which saw a packed AMC Theater show the Jackie Robinson biopic. The event featured an collectibles auction and many Royals made appearances, as did the stars of the film, Chadwick Bozeman and Harrison Ford. We spoke about the movie, the event, and the lasting impact of sharing a story like Robinson's through film. We could talk to Bob for hours to hear all the stories, but we had to move on. We then talked with Brad Cook from OOTP Developments about the newest edition of Out of the Park Baseball and the new features of the highly-addicting baseball simulation game. We finished up by talking with Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus. He wrote an article detailing concerns about Bubba Starling and we brought him on to ask him a bit more. He had an interesting take on some of the circumstances that may hold Starling back and while it's not uplifting, it's also important information to think about in evaluating the local prospect.

After a long winter, baseball is finally back, and after a week off, we're back talking about the Royals. We gave our first impressions about the first four games of the season and discussed any performances we're worried about yet (stressing that it's only four games so far). We talked about the reactions on social media, both positive and negative, and everyone agreed that there was a lot of overreaction to the Royals first two losses of the year. There's a lot more baseball to go, and it's satisfying to project how things will go, and even more so to be right about it, but there's a point where it cuts into the enjoyment of the game. Then we brought on Aaron Stilley (@Royal_Heritage) who talked about an upcoming talk he's giving at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum about Jackie Robinson and the Kansas City Monarchs. The event is April 13 at 10:30 am. Aaron can also be found at his blog: http://kcbbh.blogspot.com. We finished off with a wraparound of the Royals minor league affiliates, with some games in progress. Add this after the first sentence of the last paragraph: In the process, we talked about Bubba Starling and how likely it is that he'll pan out or if he'll start looking at other avenues if he struggles this year or down the line. That will be a regular feature of the show from here on.

The regular season can't get here soon enough. While the Royals cruise through spring training, we covered a few of the remaining battles while also discussing the final second base decision to keep Chris Getz over Johnny Giavotella. We also talked a bit goings-on in Omaha and brought up the idea of a platoon (or replacement) for Jeff Francoeur and tossed out an idea of trading for David DeJesus. Most of our time this week, however, was spent talking with Curt Nelson, director of the Royals Hall of Fame. We talked about his vision for the exhibits and artifacts within the Hall of Fame and what he tries to present to those who visit the stadium and want to dive into the history of the franchise. Of course, we also had to bring up the question of "How does Emil Brown end up eligible for the Royals Hall of Fame?" Curt walked us through the process of nomination and how they've revamped the voting to include fan votes and we looked at a few specific cases on the current eligible ballot as well as other names from the past that may be revisited. It's interesting stuff to think about, especially as other players like Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran are nearing eligibility for the team honor.

The Royals were busy trimming the roster and the latest Kansas City Baseball Vault discussed any surprises or disappointments in the cuts as well as what it means for the roster and any position battles going on. Along with that, we talked about the demotion of Luke Hochevar to the bullpen and its impact on the fifth starter race. Eric Hosmer came up and inspired a discussion about concern, worry, and panic. His early spring numbers were strong, but his World Baseball Classic performance was not. He's still the biggest question mark for the 2013 season. Also, look for a friendly wager should Donnie Joseph make the opening day roster. While both Michael and Troy like his potential, Troy likes it a bit more. Don't be a surprised to see a Kelvin Herrera vs. Donnie Joseph board bet...

Dayton Moore has talked about "the Process" of building a contender. It's taken a rebuild of the farm system but now it's time to get results. After trading Wil Myers for James Shields, the Royals are closer than they've been in a long time, but what's the actual window for contention? With most of their lineup made up of young players, what can we expect for the franchise in 2013 and ahead? To answer those questions, we talked with Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN.com about his article discussing all of those ideas. He went through his process of determining a team's best year for being a World Series contender and the factors he had in mind while lining up the next few seasons. We also talked about the Royals spring performance, the second base job and adding versatility, and the World Baseball Classic. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove12/story/_/id/8850218/kansas-city-royals-window-contention-mlb --- Jason Martinez link.

The Royals start out undefeated in Cactus League play and we decided to figure out if it meant anything. Or even a little bit of anything. Does it improve the team's confidence? Is it a sign of good things in 2013? How did we think the rotation did the first time through? We covered all of those topics and marveled at the Chris Getz homer and what it means for the second base battle. We also talked a bit about what the World Baseball Classic means for the rest of spring training. Paul McCartney even showed up*. *Paul McCartney did not show up. It was just a poor impersonation. The best part of the week, though, was our discussion with Anthony Seratelli of the Omaha Storm Chasers. He shared his story of how he got to be a part of professional baseball and the twists and turns that landed him in the Royals organization. He's an easy guy to root for.

Its season preview season which means we have to get the opinion of our main man Greg Schaum on the Royals 2013 season. Also on this episode Aaron Bentley of Baseballinstincts.com gives us his evaluation of the Detroit Tigers system.

While snow fell in Kansas City, the Royals were busy getting spring training underway and taking the field against the rest of the Cactus League. We did our best not to overreact to the action so far, but did discuss Luis Mendoza's potential as a starter, John Lamb's comeback and velocity (as well as that of Noel Arguelles) and Alex Gordon's day off. Then we welcomed the voice of Kauffman Stadium to the show. Mike McCartney's a name you might not know but if you get to see the Royals at home, you'll know his voice. We caught up with him to talk about the All Star break, his philosophy behind how to work within the game and the crowd in calling up a player, what he does with the weird names (and we tested a few with him), and what it's like to work at the ballpark all summer. After a brief interlude to talk about the Chiefs and their search for a quarterback (we try not to go there unless it's a big story), we talked with Elliot Johnson, the newest Royal in camp. Johnson shared a lot about his climb towards the big leagues, including the disappointments of being kept in the minors, bad timing, and his dustup with Francisco Cervelli (and he had a nice take on the overreaction to that 2008 collision). He also talked about the leadership the Royals should expect from former-and-once-again teammates James Shields and Wade Davis as well as his adjustment to a new clubhouse and coaching staff and playing every position on the diamond.

The Royals are gathering in Surprise, Arizona right now for spring training and taking stock of their talent as the 2013 season starts. Who better to discuss that talent than one of the men who's helped acquire it? Royals Assistant GM JJ Picollo talked with the Vault about a number of prospects and their expected paths to the big leagues, including John Lamb, Kyle Zimmer, Jason Adam and Yordano Ventura. He explained the organization's approach to advancing Bubba Starling and talked about the input he gave Dayton Moore prior to the Wil Myers/James Shields trade. He also gave us an idea of how things shift from a scouting and development standpoint and adjusting to the circumstances and skills of each player. Prior to talking with Picollo, Troy, Jeff and Mike talked about some of the early news out of spring training including Jeff Francoeur's reaction to criticism, the middle infield and utility player battles, and what to take away from Tuesday's intrasquad game.

Royals 2011 draftpick Kyle Smith talked with Clint about his stellar 2012 season, his training regiment and what his goals are for 2013. Also on the show Keith Elkins of the Lexington Legends spoke about the new partnership with the Royals at the Single A level, the towns great support for the team and upcoming promotions for the 2013 season.

Former major league third baseman and Royals hitting coach Kevin Seitzer joined the program to talk about hitting approach, the struggles Eric Hosmer encountered and the differences in his approach and that of manager Ned Yost. Quote from Seitzer on Yost - "I wanted the guys to take one pitch the first time through but Ned wanted them to be aggressive which isn't what I like to teach." "It was a rough seat for me but it didn't matter as it came back as a reflection of me." Also Aaron Bentley of BaseballInstinct.com joined the podcast to talk about the Chicago White Sox minor league system. Follow us on Twitter @ClintScoles and @DBLesky You can email the show at Podcast@Pinetarpress.com or listen to past shows at RoyalsPodcast.com.

You either love him or hate him. He's either an annoying cheerleader or wrapped up in passion for the game. There's not always a lot of gray area when it involves Royals television analyst Rex Hudler. Hudler took time to talk with us at the Kansas City Baseball Vault about his passion for baseball, his attitude as a player and how it has framed his daily approach as well as how he responds to criticism. We discussed optimism, getting over losses, and what he's said to players since joining the Royals. The Wonderdog also shared some of his personal stories of raising a child with disabilities and the ways his family has embraced the challenges and blessings involved. This was a very forthright Hudler and a different side from what you'll see on the Fox Sports Kansas City broadcast. Love him or hate him, he's got something to say.

Bob Dutton has been covering the Royals to some extent since 1987 and became the primary beat writer covering them for the Kansas City Star in 2003. He's seen his share of bad Royals baseball and, on occasion, some good as well. Dutton took some time out of his schedule to talk with us at the Kansas City Baseball Vault about the Royals in 2013. We made sure to nail down who's going to play right field, asked about the fifth starter spot and sought insight into the 2012 struggles of Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. We also checked on the status of some prospects who might make it to Kansas City in 2013 including Yordano Ventura and Kyle Zimmer. We also talked about the second base battle and factors in the search for a utility infielder. We finished off with some hypotheticals about what might happen if Kansas City is near the playoff hunt later in the year.

We're getting anxious for spring training to start, but we can't match the anticipation of Danny Duffy. Duffy took time out of his rehabbing to talk with the Kansas City Baseball Vault about the work he's putting in to get back, his hopeful timetable, and his mindset as he looks to return in the middle of 2013. Last spring, Duffy was the most excited player in Royals camp. This year, he has to hang back while he continues to train after last June's Tommy John surgery. He talked about that need for patience and dealing with frustration. He's also talked about his return to Twitter and interacting with fans. His new Twitter handle is @DannyDuffy805 and he's looking to regain all of his old followers. And since he's a California kid, we had to see if he's rooting for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's Super Bowl. Spoiler alert: that's a yes. Also, you might stick around for some outtakes at the end of the episode. Mike may or may not have sang.

Rob Neyer was lucky. He started his Royals fandom in 1976 while the Royals were just beginning the first of three straight playoff appearances. That passion for baseball led him to Bill James, then to ESPN.com and now to SB Nation. He talked with us about growing up a baseball fan, the current state of the Royals, the Wil Myers/James Shields trade and if Kansas City is a baseball or football town. We also talked with him about writing and the gaps between old school fans and those who dig into some of the stats and how that came out during the MVP and Hall of Fame discussions. We even added some questions about blogging, traditional media and the interaction between the two.

In this week’s Kansas City Baseball Vault, we were joined by our pals Clint Scoles and Dave Lesky from the Pine Tar Press podcast. We discussed the Hall of Fame vote and the factors that led to nobody being elected, as well as the process of voting. Lumped in with that was a discussion of steroids and other such issues that dozens of BBWAA members were writing about leading up to the final ballot counts. In other baseball news, we answered a listener question about adding cell phones in dugouts to communicate with the bullpen. We finished up by talking about projections for the Royals in 2013. Lesky explained some of his problems with the ZiPS system while we talked in general about the players who looked like they might be able to meet those projections, or even beat them. After the discussion, Troy spoke with Joe Bonsall of famed band the Oak Ridge Boys. I know, “what does that have to do with baseball?”, you might ask. Bonsall is a big baseball fan (of the Phillies to be exact) and the ORB sang the national anthem at then-Royals Stadium before Game 7, so he shared his stories of being a baseball fan and cheering for Kansas City during the Royals dramatic Game 6 win and their series-clinching victory. Download the full mp3 here or listen in the embedded player above. The Kansas City Baseball Vault is a weekly podcast that covers the Royals, their minor league affiliates and other aspects of baseball in Kansas City.

The big news in Kansas City wasn't another Royals acquisition but rather the Chiefs signing Andy Reid to be their next head coach. We briefly covered the biggest local story of the day before moving on to the Royals latest moves. We talked about the minor league free agent signings of the last week, including Miguel Tejada and Endy Chavez and our listener question this week dealt with those kinds of deals as well which allowed us to talk a bit about Dayton Moore, intangibles and the Royals approach to building a roster. Then we brought on Chris Kamler to talk about what's new in his world and to talk about a big pre-spring training event at the Screenland Armour in North Kansas City on February 10th at 4 p.m. We're looking forward to helping out with the event and seeing everyone out to watch a screening of Major League and to take part in other trivia and shenanigans.

The Royals have been quiet since the James Shields trade, but there's nothing wrong with a little speculation, right? We responded to some listener comments, starting off discussing how well (if at all) the Royals match up for a Giancarlo Stanton deal That got us in a position of evaluating the Royals crop of prospects in relation to other teams. Obviously, we'd all like to have Stanton on the Royals, but what would it take? That bridged into a conversation about whether we'd trade the last 20 years of Royals baseball for the on-again, off-again, fire sale prone Marlins. It seems like being a Marlins fan isn't the best place to be, but maybe it's not so bad in some ways? We also talked about international free agents, Eric Hosmer's struggles, and tossed in some outtakes at the end.

Ever since the James Shields trade, the question has turned from "what can the Royals do to get better?" to "how do the Royals win the division?" To help answer that question, we talked with Mark Simon of ESPN's Baseball Today podcast about his article that addresses that second question. A lot has to go right, Mark admitted, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. He took us step by step through what it'll take to get Kansas City back into the playoffs. There will have to be a couple of leaps, though, and nobody's allowed to get hurt. Following the discussion with Mark, we talked a bit more about other happenings in the league, including a comparison of the Royals trade and the trade that sent R.A. Dickey to Toronto. While not exactly comparable, they're similar enough that it seemed to be two team going for the same goal in their quest for pitching. We also discussed optimism, pitching staffs and the gap between the Royals and the Detroit Tigers.

After the blockbuster trade of Wil Myers (plus) for James Shields and Wade Davis, we had to go out and get another opinion on the trade. To do that, we consulted Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City. He's excited about the deal and feels that James Shields is a strong pitcher at the top of the rotation and his argument is laid out pretty well. He also touted the clubhouse abilities of Shields and how he may work with Jeremy Guthrie and Jeff Francoeur in that role as leader. It's an interesting discussion about aces, prospects, Twitter reactions, stats vs. scouts and all sorts of baseball topics tied into one transaction.

Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus recently released his top ten prospects report for the Royals minor league system and was kind enough to talk with the Kansas City Baseball Vault about the rankings, the Royals development process and the level of talent in the Royals system. He also offered his opinion on the potential of a Wil Myers-for-James Shields trade, and the philosophy behind trading prospects in general. Parks offered a long-term look at each of his top ten prospects, including telling us about the two names he felt like he could have placed higher. Parks sees a lot of the Royals players as his initial work in baseball writing was in regards to the Rangers system, a team which shares a spring training complex with the Royals. He also weighed in on the Royals training methods, management, David Glass and gave an update on life at BP after Kevin Goldstein.

As the hot stove warms up, it was time to cover the latest roster moves by the Royals in advance of the Winter Meetings in Nashville. We covered all of the moves the Royals made to clean up their 40 man roster and the arbitration offers they made to their eligible players. We also discussed the Jeremy Guthrie deal and the value behind it, both as a contract and in relation to the Royals staff in 2013 and beyond. In light of David Glass's latest comments, we had to discuss the payroll for 2013 and Glass's idea of what the Royals can spare this year. The numbers don't seem to add up... Oh - but we didn't stop there. We talked about Wil Myers, James Shields, R.A. Dickey and trade rumors, as well as what to look for during the winter meetings this week. At the end, we have an interview with J.J Cooper of Baseball America who compiled his list of the Royals top 10 prospects to get his take on the state of the Royals system.

In the wake of the Miguel Cabrera vs. Mike Trout debate, Jeff and Mike responded to the apparent eyes vs. numbers argument put forth by Mitch Albom. Spoiler: Neither were very pleased with Albom's characterization of the sides of the debate. We also talked about some of the Royals recent moves, including the signing of Brandon Wood and how the former prospect might fit within the organization, as well as the trades of Tommy Hottovy and Jeremy Jeffress. Additionally, we talked about Joakim Soria and bidding wars, the Royals and player development and reclamation projects, and then brought up some trade ideas - including offering opinions on the infamous Jeffrey Loria fire sale trade between the Marlins and Blue Jays last week.

"We have a couple of interviews for you this week. Troy talked with Jason Adam about his year in Wilmington, what comes next season and his preparations this offseason while hard at work in Arizona. Troy also talked with Ryan Verdugo about his being held back when September callups came around, fans at his major league debut, and what might happen this offseason."

The Royals were busy this week, making a trade to get Ervin Santana and shuffling players to get the roster down to 40. We discussed the implications of the Santana trade, what it signifies for the rest of the offseason, and what kinds of players might be in competition for the starting rotation this year. We also looked at other moves in the league, including the Mike Aviles trade and lamented the slight return the Royals got for him in 2011. Finally, we finished up talking about some listener comments.

Even though the Royals haven't played for a while, there's still news trickling in (and more to come once the offseason is upon us). The Royals added two hitting coaches to the staff, so we discussed their experience and what it may mean for the Royals offense next season, including the Royals trend towards internal hires rather than going outside of the organization for coaching positions. We also covered the claim of RHP Chris Volstad and considered what he might add to the Royals next season - but we had to touch on comments from Dayton Moore about how free agency may not be the option he uses to rebuild the rotation. Finally, we wrapped up with more discussion of our seasons on Out of the Park Baseball and added a little bit of nonsense before wrapping it up.

This week, we looked at some of the dates the Royals will have to work around this offseason in setting their rosters for 2013. That meant we had to guess at who may or may not be offered arbitration or added to the 40 man roster. That put Chris Getz, Brayan Pena and others on the line. We also covered the free agent compensation rules in the new CBA and what it may mean for the Royals this offseason. Before checking in on our Out of the Park leagues, we also checked on the Royals that are playing in offseason leagues like Justin Marks, Brian Fletcher and Jorge Bonifacio

With the season over, we decided it was a good time to wonder about the Royals front office, focusing on the way David Glass runs the team, and the difference between running a team to win and running a team as a business. Of course, Glass has said he's willing to pay up to upgrade the starting rotation, so with that in mind, we bounced ideas around as to who the Royals may target, what kind of trades may be necessary, and also took inventory of the Royals pitching prospects just in case any of those could be contributors (or at least to guess at the timetable for when they might be). Finally, we delved into pure baseball nerddom while discussing our experiments as GM of the Royals on the baseball simulation game Out of the Park Baseball. (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/index.php)

This week Jeff and Troy get back together to talk, Chiefs, booing, cheering, idiot national reporters, idiot national reporters from KC, and College Sports. Check out EKOHNetwork.com for all your Sports and non sports blogging entertainment.

A goodbye and Thank you from Troy "KCRoyalman" Olsen. Full story on KingsofKauffman.com

This week on the Kansas City Baseball Vault, we covered a little bit of everything. There were a few bright spots about the Royals play this year, though how much matters and how much is just spin was a question we tried to answer. There are still big holes to fill, especially starting pitching, and that led us to discuss the future rotation and who may be a part of it. Of course, that led us to the question of Luke Hochevar. Comments in the Royals post-season press conference suggest that they'll bring Hochevar back. That same conference also unleashed a whole other set of questions about the organization and how it's looking to fix the problems. On a brighter note, we got to talk with an Orioles fan - Neal Moorhouse - who you know as Carne Cabeza or the LuchadOriole from the final episode of the Royalman Report. He talked about Baltimore's response to their playoff win against Texas and the feelings within the city going into the next series. Finally, we talked with Brad Cook from Out of the Park Baseball. The new version of the game simulator is out and all the different things you can do with it. Vote for us! Podcastawards.com and http://stitcher.promotw.com!

We gathered a handful of Royals bloggers together to discuss the Royals in a roundtable format in the latest Kansas City Baseball Vault. The discussion ranged from the Royals inability to develop pitching and what it means for next season and the offseason, as well as what moves or pitchers might be necessary to go after to turn things around, to the 40 man roster and who might be left off and who might stay on, and finally, wrapped up with a discussion on the Royals as an organization and their hesitance to adapt to new media, their approach to traditional and new media, and how a little adaptation might benefit everyone. We'd really like to thank Dave Lesky (@DBLesky) from Pine Tar Press, Jeff Parker (@RoyallySpeaking) from Royally Speaking and Matt Whitener (@CheapSeatFan) from I-70 Baseball for joining us in the discussion.

If the Royals aren't going to be in a playoff race, the least we can do is talk about it with someone whose team is. Nick Schaefer from FanSided's Southside Showdown joined us to talk about the White Sox division lead and their struggles against the Royals this year. In 18 games, the White Sox only scored 52 runs, leading to a 12-6 head to head advantage for the Royals. Nick had his theories. We also talked about some of the Royals needs this offseason and continued to guess at the solutions for pitching next season. Nick offered his insight on Jake Peavy and his concern that the White Sox will try to keep him. We brought up Jeremy Guthrie, Edwin Jackson and Brandon McCarthy as potential options. We finished up with some discussion of the Royals successful months (yes, there were some), and if it means anything. To his credit, Nick assured us that it'll all be better soon. We'll see about that ...

Well we had some internet gremlins make recording interesting but Jeff (Herr) and Troy (Olsen) managed to take you through the last 2 weeks and the upcoming week for the Chiefs, KU, Mizzou, KSU and Nebraska. What do you want to talk about? Have comments on the show? Hit us up. RoyalmanReport@gmail.com

As the title suggests, we had to talk about the Royals latest approach to fixing Luke Hochevar and his spot in the organization. We considered the price to keep him, what he might have left in the tank and what the alternatives might be. We also talked about Lorenzo Cain's injury, Omaha's quest (in vain) to repeat as PCL champs and which players might get dropped from the 40 man roster this winter. Salvador Perez was also a key figure in our discussion, as he had just matched Darrell Porter's team-record hitting streak for a catcher. To finish up, we tossed out all the cliches and phrases we always hear as Kansas City sports fans. I think we've really turned a corner with this one...

Troy and Jeff went around the horn with Nebraska, Kansas, K State and Missouri. Then they talked about the top 25. After a break they talked about the Big XII contract followed by more Chiefs talk and an around the Horn with the NFL games. Due to technical difficulties this was posted late. Our apologies.

In the latest episode of the Kansas City Baseball Vault, we tried to settle on the value of Jeremy Guthrie, the fate of Luke Hochevar and discussed why Wil Myers isn't going to be called up this September. That led to discussion about service time, the Rule 5 draft and Super Two status as well as what to look for this offseason as the Royals figure out their 40 man roster and who to offer arbitration. We also checked in on the playoff status of the Omaha Storm Chasers, Wilmington Blue Rocks and Burlington Royals. Check us out on Youtube. Youtube.com/RoyalmanReport

Last week The Royalman Report Ended, then the KC Baseball Vault ended on 1510, then we changed how we record things and reinvented the KCBBV Podcast. This week the new Vault of Jeff Herr, Mike Engel and Troy Olsen took to google hangouts and talked about the great August the Royals had, how much different the new additions have made and how much the removed players took away from this team. Then they talked about Kevin Goldstein going to the Astros and Kent Babb to the Washington Post and wished well to both of them. Then the KCBBV switched to the EKOH Sports Report. Jeff and Troy talked about the Chiefs preseason and what it means for the regular season before switching to Mizzou, KU, KState and Nebraska Football talk. We are looking for a studio or someone to host our studio. If this is you or someone you know, please email RoyalmanReport@Gmail.com

We dropped the final curtain on the radio portion of the Kansas City Baseball Vault this week with nothing less than perfection. Not us, of course, we spent the hour discussing the ownership troubles of the Royals and our favorite segments from past shows. The perfection I refer to was our guest, none other than 1956 World Series MVP Don Larsen. Larsen spent two years also as a member of the Kansas City Athletics. We talked with him about his time in Kansas City, the famed World Series Perfect Game and the state of pitching in the Major Leagues today. He politely declined our offer to come back and pitch a few innings for the Royals. Even though this was our last show on 1510 AM, you can still catch us EVERY week with here with the new and improved Kansas City Baseball Vault LIVE SATURDAYS at NOON Central time on KingsOfKauffman.com/Podcast and downloadable on EKOHNetwork.com, RoyalmanReport.com and KCBaseballVault.com and of course Stitcher, Tunein Radio and iTunes - Thanks for everyone's support this season! We look forward to being back next year!

The Royalman Report welcomed a kindred spirit this week as we brought LuchadOriole, A.K.A. Neil Moorhouse to the program. Neil is an Orioles SuperFan and spoke about the genesis of his character, how it's been embraced by Baltimore and the Orioles and the chances for the O's this season. We also talked about Jeremy Guthrie's near no-hitter Sunday and gave a BIG announcement about the future of the show. Make sure to stay tuned to EKOHNetwork.com for more information about changes in dates, times and name for this podcast!! Thanks to everyone for their continued support. We're coming back bigger and better!

As season one of the Kansas City Baseball Vault comes to a close, we spent our second to last show wondering what it was like growing up in Kansas City as a baseball fan in the 60's when Kansas City was home to such stars like Mickey Mantle, Lou Pinella and Diamond Jim Gentile. We spoke with Randy Herr, Jeff's father about just that. We also spoke with former KC A's First Baseman and six time All-Star Jim Gentile about his time with Kansas City, being a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame and the famed summer of 1961, when he went toe to toe with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Tune in next week for our final episode (on the 1510 side, at least) of the Kansas City Baseball Vault!