RIP Fred White

Fred White, a Royals radio voice for 25 years, died Wednesday due to complications from melanoma, a day after announcing his retirement following a 40-year relationship with the club.

White teamed with Denny Matthews on broadcasts from 1973-98, and since had served as the team’s director of broadcast services and the Royals Alumni.

His retirement was due to health issues, and he died in hospice care.

Ryan made the point that there are studies that seem to show that the stolen base is not as effective or important as people used to assume. Ryan will tell you he’s not especially a fan of some of these advanced statistics, but he’s also an open-minded guy and we have had some fun discussions and disagreements through the years. Anyway, I think he was simply making the fair point that while statistics may show that attempting steals is not necessarily a prudent play—and he concedes that ...

Damn pinkos everywhere!

By the way, it was Mother’s Day. I have to mention, it was Mother’s Day of course yesterday and it was Mother’s Day at the ballpark, and the players were all wearing pink something or other, pink shoes or pink sleeves. There was one guy with a pink bat.

I’m talking about this and George (Brett) said, “Have you seen the official ball for today?”

I said, “No.”

So he went and grabbed one.

The official Rawlings game ball yesterday was printed with pink ink.

So, anyway, ...

On Tuesday night against Atlanta, Royals second baseman Chris Getz did this for the first time since 2009, for the first time in 954 at-bats ...

That would be third home run of his career, which to date spans 1,350 plate appearances.

Getz’s rare clout calls to mind current notable homerless streaks—a list from which Getz has, of course, just removed himself. Here’s the rundown from FoxSports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg:

Ben Revere it is! Revere, it should be noted, has no ...

There was a very real fear that one or both of the teams could relocate. The report cited the “progressive” city of Atlanta, that built a multi-purpose stadium and then attracted a baseball and football team. These new stadia were all the rage with the Astrodome leading the way. Kansas City and Jackson County wanted to stake their ground. This is what they proposed:

Kansas City was thinking big. Also included in the plans were secondary proposals for a smaller arena for hockey, ...

Now sponsored by Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index!

- Joe is a character in the new MLB: The Show video game.  (So is Aaron Gleeman, BTW.)  Since Joe isn’t a video game player, he doesn’t really know the details, but he’s happy.

- Playoff predictions:
Rany: TOR, DET, LAA, TB (wild card), TEX (wild card), WAS, CIN, ARI, ATL (wild card), STL (wild card); play-ins: TB d. TEX, ATL d. STL; World Series: WAS d. TOR
Joe: TB, DET, TEX, TOR (wild card), LAA (wild card), WAS, CIN, SD, SF (wild ...

For all of you dying to hear Dan Szymborki - with no pay wall restrictions and no annoying Fan Graphs formatting - explain to hopeful Royals fans why they will finish fourth in the AL Central this season. 

If I’m not mistaken…that was John Newland’s spooky intro for OSB’s “The Devil’s Laughter” episode.

Was it important for the Royals to win in the spring, to prove that the enthusiasm created among the young players by the veteran additions, translated to the field?

“Absolutely,” Moore said in our interview.

“The Royals haven’t been to the playoffs since 1985 (and have had only one winning season since ‘95), and so we’re consistently reminded of the need to create a winning culture.

“We know ...

People voted for Sanjaya too.

Apparently, a rogue element of jokesters has organized itself with the intent on getting longtime bad left-hander Jimmy Gobble elected to the Kansas City Royals’ Hall of Fame.
This year’s list of candidates includes Bo Jackson, Darrell Porter, Kevin Seitzer, John Wathan, Jermaine Dye and Al Cowens, and all except one — Bo — are running behind Gobble as of Tuesday night. Jimmy has been gobbling up online votes at a 20 percent-plus clip. Bo leads with over 40 ...

After he blew apart my “DiMythio’s Sphinct-O-Matic Nine” team? Why should I care now…

For the first list, I looked at players since 1969 who had at least 1,000 plate appearances through their age-22 season. The players clustered from a 97 OPS+ to 103 include Roberto Alomar, Lou Whitaker, Ruben Sierra, Chet Lemon, Adrian Beltre and Buddy Bell. Good players, although they all played key defensive positions. They also included Rick Manning, Wil Cordero and Chris Speier. Washington was actually at ...

Practice? We talkin’ about practice?

Now, let me make this clear: I believe this 10-game spring training winning streak means almost exactly nothing. It means about as much as an NBA player making 20 three-pointers in a row during warmups or an NFL kicker making a 68-yard field goal in pre-game. It might buoy the confidence a bit. It might sell a couple more early season tickets. It might help create a more positive atmosphere in the clubhouse. But that’s it. The Royals began last year by ...

I hate when a non-Kansas City Star newspaper can’t spell career.

Francoeur is vowing a big comeback year after sabermetricians - and fans - dubbed him the worst everyday player in baseball.

“The thing that keeps me positive is I know I’ve had good years,” he said. “I’ve hit 30 home runs. I’ve driven in 100 runs. I’ve hit .290. I know I can do it. It’s a matter, for me, of being able to be consistent.

“I’m at that age, 29, where I should be getting into my prime. Not going the other way. That ...

Anybody got some Lohse change?

Every signing that [the Indians] have made has surprised folks that they were willing and able to spend the money and come with the certainty that NOW the Indians must be tapped out. Maybe they aren’t… and Lohse is a definite fit for a team that basically pitched itself out of the division race last season. The draft pick wouldn’t matter a bit – if I’m not mistaken, all they would lose would be a fourth rounder. The Kansas City Royals are another team ...

They mean an actual horror movie, not a comeback with the current Royals.

Former Royals outfielder and Blue Springs High School graduate Brian McRae is set to appear in a horror movie called “Gravedigger.”

Couldn’t be that Brian McRae, right? The International Movie Database (imdb.com) cast list includes that McRae, who played for the Royals from 1990-94, before going to the Cubs, Mets, Rockies and Blue Jays.

McRae won’t be the only former major leaguer in the flick. Billy Sample, ...

Almost immediately after Melvin informed Greinke of his trade to the Angels, Greinke asked him, “Who did you get?” Melvin replied: Shortstop Jean Segura and right-handers John Hellweg and Ariel Pena.

Greinke said he didn’t know who those players were, but liked the deal for the Brewers after he heard more about them. He earlier had told Melvin that the team’s farm system was short on power arms, “guys who could throw 100 out of the bullpen.” And shortstops, he said, are the ...

LEAST INTERESTING POSSIBLE CONSTELLATION

A face appeared in the heavens. “BEHOLD!” it said. The people of the world stared and trembled. “I AM PETE HARNISCH!” it bellowed. The people of the world said, “oh,” and went back to whatever they were doing.

Goals and dreams are nice things.

I guess “Our Time” is over?

No brash promises this year from the Royals, not even after overhauling their battered rotation in the offseason.

The club’s 2013 slogan, announced Monday, is “Come To Play,” which is notable primarily for its toned-down expectations after a 12-game losing streak last April turned 2012’s “Our Time” theme into a punchline.

“The idea behind it is a dual thing,” said Toby Cook, the Royals’ vice president for community affairs and publicity. “We ...

Thank God, then, for the NRA.  A few minutes ago I saw people tweeting about the “enemies list” they apparently keep. In the NRA’s parlance, a list of “National Organizations with Anti-Gun Policies.”  Which, sure, if you’re an advocacy group you understandably want to keep a list of people who oppose your agenda, so fair enough. But the list is pretty hilarious, mostly because it goes way beyond actual opposition groups who work to counter the NRA’s agenda and seems to include ...

Will be interesting to see what Dayton Moore gives up to acquire him this summer.

The Phillies have signed shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to a minor-league deal, the team announced. The deal comes with an invitation to spring training.

The 31-year-old Betancourt hit .228/.256/.400 in 228 plate appearances with the Royals last season. During his eight-year career, Betancourt has seen time with the Mariners, Royals and Brewers. In 3,869 career plate appearances, Betancourt has a .266/.290/.392 ...

Always good to hear some thromboss tails from Brett.

On Rickey Henderson: “I hated that guy, but we are now very cordial. I don’t send him Christmas Cards, he don’t send me Christmas Cards, but we get along.” Brett then relayed a story about the final days of the 1990 Batting Title race where Henderson had ducked four pitchers down the stretch of the season and then called Brett a “weenie” in his book for only playing half of the final game of the season. “He called me a ...

Is it still funny when someone gets hit in the eye?

John Coomer allegedly suffered a detached retina and other injuries when a foil-wrapped hot dog flung by Royals mascot Sluggerrr smacked him in the left eye. A jury ruled in March 2011 for the Royals, finding that being struck by airborne groceries was an inherent risk that Coomer assumed by buying a ticket. The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals disagreed, however.

“The risk of being hit in the face by a hot dog is not a well-known ...

While police officers on the scene say the house had a musty smell of urine and fecal material, all of the utility players appear to have been well-fed and cared for. Donald Leius, director of the Major League Players Association, a non-profit group dedicated to finding homes for players, is not surprised. “We could always count on Dayton to help. Finding a home for all our players can be difficult, but Dayton specialized in the hard cases, the ones nobody else wanted. Whenever we would get a ...

“1. Washington Nationals — Obtaining a leadoff man and center fielder in Denard Span just made this roster even more impressive. Hard to beat the young core of Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and Drew Storen. They added righty Dan Haren. If they don’t re-sign Adam LaRoche, Michael Morse starts at first base. They’re likely to add another arm to the bullpen.

....

10. Kansas City Royals — A talented, athletic group of ...

Former AL MVP Miguel Tejada has reached a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals and says he is ready to return to the majors.

The 38-year-old infielder got a one-year contract that will be worth $1.1 million if he makes the big leagues. There is an additional $400,000 in performance bonuses.

The six-time All-Star last played in the majors in 2011 with San Francisco, hitting .239 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 91 games.

“I’m very pleased with this. The contract with the Royals is ...