Kansas City Royals 2002 Season Preview

by Adam J. Ulrey

Royals Look for Divine Intervention

Manager Tony Muser has a large task on hand trying to keep the young Royals out of the cellar in the AL Central. The lineup has some good bats in it, but too many holes to be competitive. You know you're in trouble when once again your pitching ace is Jeff Suppan (10-14, 4.37). Their minor league system has produced some good hitters, but is still waiting for some pitchers to step up. Being a so-called small market team they need the minor league system to produce or they will continue to dwell in the cellar. The days of George Brett, Willie Wilson and Frank White seem a lifetime ago.

First base is where the Royals' best player resides: Mike Sweeney. Having him in the clean up spot for the past two years has been the lone bright spot for a team desperate for run producers. He has averaged 27 homers and over 116 RBIs the last three years. Carlos Febles has been a big disappointment, not living up up to the level the Royals had hoped for. Most of that can be attributed to the fact this poor kid can't stay off the DL. For the first time in three years he comes into camp healthy and looking forward to helping turn the fortunes of the Royals around. He brings an element that they sorely need, a running game. For now the shortstop position will be handled by Neifi Perez, but look for Angel Berroa to take over soon. Perez lived large in the friendly confines of Coors Field, but has not shown the ability to hit outside of Coors. At third base is one of the steadiest Royals in Joe Randa, who is in his second go around with the team. He has been rock solid over his three-year stay, averaging 15 homers and 96 RBI. He also brings a very good glove. The Royals got Brent Mayne in a trade with Colorado last year and he comes into this year as the number one catcher. A.J. Hinch and Hector Ortiz will serve as Mayne's backups. Over the second half of the season the Royals gave Raul Ibanez a chance to swing the bat as their primary DH and he responded with 13 HRs and 54 RBIs in just 279 at bats.

The Royals did dip into the free agent market by signing former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch. They hope their new left fielder can be the spark at the top of the order they so desperately need. There won't be anywhere near the pressure on Knoblauch there was in NY, so look for him to rebound and have a good year. He will be a real asset to the clubhouse. In center will be Carlos Beltran who came back from a disappointing 2000 season to get back to the numbers he put up as a rookie in 1999. Last year Beltran set career highs in homers with 24, stolen bases with 31 and a batting average of .306. The most important number to the Royals may be the 155 games he played in. Having Beltran and Knobby at the top of the lineup will provide the heart of the order with many RBI opportunities. Right field will be handled by the combination of Mark Quinn and Michael Tucker. Quinn has the power and Tucker has the speed.

Where the Royals outlook gets really ugly is with their starting pitching. Suppan has led the pitching staff three years in a row with 10 wins each season. Between their five starters they had only 34 wins last year. Suppan is solid, but at best he should be a number three or four starter. He's not a hard thrower, relying on off-speed stuff. Paul Byrd came over form the Phillies last year and provided the Royals with a good month and half of pitching. Look for him to continue that trend as he says his arm is sound. Following Suppan and Byrd in the rotation will be Chris George, Chad Durbin and Kris Wilson. The Royals have been waiting years for George to develop. He was 4-8 with a rather high ERA of 5.59. For them to have any chance to compete with the upper class of the division they need George to step up. Durbin was a workhorse, going 9-16 with over 170 innings pitched. He showed flashes of brilliance, but he was inconsistent for the most part. Even though he had a horrible record his ERA was only 4.93 and he had almost a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. For a young pitcher thats a telling sign that he might just have the make-up to become a successful pitcher in the majors.

The bullpen isnt bad with veterans Doug Henry and Jason Grimsley helping to set up another vet, closer Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez, however, has progressively gotten worse over the last three years. The Royals are hoping that Dan Riechert, Orber Moreno or Jeff Austin can take over at some point during the year. They have some good young arms, but last year were badly over-used, as the starters were not going deep into the game forcing them to work overtime in the bullpen. The bottom line is that if everything goes as well as possible the Royals will still fighting the Detroit Tigers for last place in the Central. It will be a long year for the Royals and their fans.

Ten Years Ago...

Our Royals Preview from April 1992, by A.C. Oddetts:

Strengths: Manager Hal McRae, a good blend of understanding and discipline. Kevin Appier, who will start the All Star game in '93. Brett, even though he is running out of gas. Brian McRae, who will be even better than his dad was. Wally Joyner, bringing Wally World to the midwest. Kevin McReynolds, who's not into high fives and looks like he doesn't care, but is a smooth ball player. Tom "Flash" Gordon, the best 9-14 pitcher in baseball. Best 1-2 catchers this side of Chicago in Mike McFarlane and Brent Mayne. Reliever Jeff Montgomery, although he makes you nervous by working himself into jams. He usually gets out of them. Gregg Jeffries, if his spoiled brat routine was simply a function of tension in the Mets dugout.

Weaknesses: Losing Sabes! Ouch! Ditto Tartabull. The farm system, which is why they made THE trade. Gubicza and Boddicker need to return to form. Weak bullpen, though Gordon may end up there and Mike Magnante is maturing. They need 6 good innings from the starters. Mid-infield is sub-par.

General Outlook: Tough to predict with this bunch. They could finish anywhere from first to seventh. I love this club, but I doubt if they climb much higher than third. Gubicza's last chance for rotator cuff is the key. All the new line-drive hitters are well-suited for Royals Stadium.

Perspective: The once-proud Royals were falling apart when McRae of the great '70s and '80s club returned with aggression and pride. He was 66-58 after Wathan's 15-22 start.

Other comments: Herk Robinson, who has fired up the sluggish machine , on trading Sabes, "If he wins four more Cys and we finish sixth, what good does it do us?" My mind agrees, my heart hates it.