Daily Clips
March 23, 2017
LOCAL
Karns K's 9 in 6 scoreless; Moose, Cuthbert homer
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan & AJ Cassavell/MLB.com
Versatile Cuthbert delivers at plate, at first base
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Struggling Soler adds Minors games to prep work
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
5th starter runner-up Wood has no hard feelings
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Cheslor Cuthbert sparks Royals with glove, bat in 6-2 victory over Padres
March 22, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Mike Moustakas, Mike Jirschle and the work behind a great play
March 22, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
Royals’ Eric Hosmer on winning WBC: ‘You come together for the United States'
March 22, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Authentic Kansas City Royals items up for auction
March 22, 2017By Christa Dubill/KSHB.com
MINORS
Omaha Alums Battle For WBC Title Tonight
Duffy, Hosmer, Fuentes, Beltran among group in championship game
March 22, 2017By Andrew Green/Omaha Storm Chasers
NATIONAL
Yadi, Balentien among All-Classic Team standouts
Along with Hosmer, pair selected unanimously to field of 12 honorees
March 22, 2017By Manny Randhawa/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March23, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Karns K's 9 in 6 scoreless; Moose, Cuthbert homer
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan & AJ Cassavell/MLB.com
Cheslor Cuthbert hit a two-run double as well as his first spring home run, and Mike Moustakas hit his fourth as the Royals beat the Padres, 6-2, on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium.
Royals right-hander Nathan Karns, in his first start since winning the No. 5 spot in the rotation, was dominant. Karns went six innings and gave up four hits, no runs and no walks while striking out nine. He threw 72 pitches, 54 for strikes.
"After the last couple of outings went kind of rough," Karns said, "we decided to dial it in early on and we had some success."
Right-hander Jered Weaver, likely in the lower part of the Padres' rotation, struggled with his command. Weaver -- who threw 31 pitches, 16 for strikes -- hit two batters and gave up three hits and four runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Afterward, Weaver said he's dealing with "a little dead arm," but noted that the same thing flares up almost every spring as he gets his arm back into game shape.
Weaver's early exit got catcher/pitcher hybrid Christian Bethancourt into the game earlier than expected. Bethancourt entered with two outs in the third and put forth yet another solid showing. In his first multi-inning appearance, Bethancourt lowered his spring ERA to 1.35, allowing just one hit over 1 1/3 scoreless frames.
"The more he pitched, the more comfortable and confident he looked," Padres manager Andy Green said. "I thought hands down this was his best day on the mound."
Padres Up Next: Luis Perdomo has been arguably the Padres' best starter this spring. He gets the ball Thursday when the Friars play host to the Angels at 1:10 p.m. PT. Fellow youngster Manuel Margot -- the Padres' top prospect -- is slated to return from the sore left knee that has kept him out of action for half a month.
Royals Up Next: The Royals are off Thursday and return to action Friday in Peoria against the Mariners in a 3:10 p.m. CT start, as left-hander Danny Duffy, likely the Opening Day starter, makes his first start since playing for the United States in the World Baseball Classic. Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Matt Strahm and Chris Young also are expected to pitch.
Versatile Cuthbert delivers at plate, at first base
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals infielder Cheslor Cuthbert had a special day Wednesday, perhaps his best day of the spring.
Cuthbert hit his first home run of the Cactus League season, doubled in two runs and made the defensive gem of the month in the Royals' 6-2 win over the Padres.
The defensive play went like this: Playing first base, Cuthbert leaped to snare a high one-hopper, landed on the ground, pivoted, threw a strike to second base for a forceout, then sprinted back to first base and picked a low throw while doing the splits for a sensational double play.
Which made Cuthbert happier, the defensive gem or the home run?
"Oh, the play at first base," Cuthbert said smiling. "That was more exciting."
Cuthbert said the key to making that play is patience.
"You can't hurry or rush the throw," he said. "You take your time."
Cuthbert enjoyed the home run, as well.
"That was good to get that first one," Cuthbert said.
Royals manager Ned Yost has been moving Cuthbert all over the field this spring, from third base to second base to first base, even the outfield.
"He can play a lot of positions," Yost said. "He's athletic and he has good hands. He can make plays like that."
Struggling Soler adds Minors games to prep work
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
If Royals outfielder Jorge Soler doesn't find his timing at the plate soon, it won't be for lack of effort.
When Soler hasn't been playing in Cactus League games lately, he has been getting at-bats in games in the Royals' Minor League camp.
Soler, who is hitting .140 through 43 at-bats this spring, played in Minors games last weekend and was scheduled to do so again Wednesday.
"He's just not comfortable with his timing," manager Ned Yost said. "His swing looks fine to me. It's just timing on the breaking ball. Seeing the ball."
There were encouraging signs in Tuesday's game against the D-backs. Soler hit his first home run of the spring.
"His last two at-bats were pretty good," Yost said. "He had that homer and then a walk. Starting to see it a little better."
Yost and general manager Dayton Moore anticipated that Soler might struggle a bit at first this spring.
"He's a young guy, only 25 years old," Yost said. "He's still growing as a hitter. He comes over in a big deal, and Dayton and I knew there would be an adjustment. He's having a settling-in period. He'll be fine."
Sore neck for Young
Right-hander Chris Young had been in the battle for the No. 5 spot before the Royals awarded it to Nathan Karns, so Young now is transitioning back to the bullpen.
Young had been scheduled to pitch an inning or two Wednesday. But Young woke up with a sore neck and will be pushed back to Friday.
5th starter runner-up Wood has no hard feelings
March 22, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
One of the main reasons left-hander Travis Wood signed with the Royals this offseason was the promise of getting a chance to compete for a starting job.
The Royals fulfilled their end of the deal by giving Wood that chance this spring. But Wood came up short in the battle for the final rotation spot, as manager Ned Yost named Nathan Karns his No. 5 starter on Monday.
Wood said there was no disappointment with the decision, however.
"You could really pick a name out of a hat between Chris [Young] and Nate and I," Wood said. "You could see right away that we were all throwing the ball well. Anyone they decided on was going to be the right choice."
Yost reminded everyone too that it's a long season, and the chances are very good that both Wood and Young eventually will be called upon to start some games.
"Absolutely, it's a long season," Wood said. "Any way I can to help. Most everyone here is here to win. This is a team just one season removed from winning a World Series, and everyone wants to get back. They're hungry to compete and win another."
Wood, 30, transitioned to a full-time bullpen role last season with the Cubs, and he excelled at it, posting a 2.95 ERA in 77 games.
"I'm just excited to help," Wood said. "When they call my name, I'll be ready to go out there and do my best.
"I was there [in the bullpen] all of last year, so it won't be anything for me to go back down there."
Yost said he isn't sure what type of bullpen role Wood will fulfill, but the lefty is ready for anything.
"I can go multiple innings," Wood said. "Whatever they want me to do."
While the competition for the No. 5 spot was intense, Young, Wood and Karns have maintained a friendship. They all locker near each other.
"He's right over there and we talk all the time," Wood said of Karns. "We play catch. He's a good guy with good stuff and I'm excited to see him work."
Cheslor Cuthbert sparks Royals with glove, bat in 6-2 victory over Padres
March 22, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Cheslor Cuthbert is a third baseman who spent much of this spring training trying to prove he can play second base.
Oh, he can apparently play first pretty well, too.
Cuthbert started at first base and turned in the defensive moment of the day in a 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium. In the top of the fourth, with a runner at first and nobody out, Padres shortstop Erick Aybar pounded a high chopper to first base. Cuthbert leapt into the air, started a double play with an accurate throw to second, then finished it by doing the splits on an athletic stretch, nailing Aybar by a step.
“That’s why we feel like he can play almost anywhere in the infield,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Cuthbert also finished 2 for 3 and clubbed his first homer of the spring. The production supported starting pitcher Nathan Karns, who turned in six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts. The Royals moved to 13-12 in Cactus League play.
In the moments after the victory, Cuthbert said he preferred the defensive highlight to the homer, though each moment was nice. In the final weeks of camp, Cuthbert appears a safe bet to make the 25-man roster, given that he is out of options and would have to be placed on waivers in order to be sent to Class AAA Omaha. Still, his exact role is to be determined. Cuthbert will back up Mike Moustakas at third base. He could also log some time at second. He also proved yet again on Wednesday that he can play first base if need be.
“Just try to keep calm,” Cuthbert said of the double play. “Just try to catch the ball first and make a good throw.”
Mike Moustakas, Mike Jirschle and the work behind a great play
March 22, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
It’s noon and the desert sun is beating down.
It’s not too bad in the shade, but there’s no shade where Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and coach Mike Jirschele are standing; they’re on one of the backfields of the Royals spring training complex.
Moose is standing at third base while Jirsch is positioned at home plate with a fungo bat. Jirsch has two big buckets of baseballs and one by one he uses them to hit ground balls to Moose.
There are dozens of fans 30 feet away on the other side of a chain-link fence watching Moose work. They watch in silence; even the least informed of them seems to understand that this is work.
And Jirsch isn’t making things easy on Moose; he hits ground balls to the left and right, forcing Moose to move his feet and get set up in the proper position. When Jirsch thinks Moose needs a break, he hits ground balls right at him.
Moose is “getting his feet under him” and that means taking grounder after grounder to get his legs in game shape.
Good defense begins with the feet; get to the right spot at the right time and catching the ball becomes much easier. Get lazy, quit moving your feet, start reaching for the ball and making those plays becomes much tougher.
Moose is wearing a practice glove; an undersized infield glove so small that a ball has little chance of sticking if it’s not caught in the pocket. That forces Moose to concentrate and when he goes back to his regular-size infield glove, catching a ground ball will seem comparatively easy.
After Moose makes a catch he flips the ball toward the third base coach’s box; this work is about his hands and feet, not his arm and there’s no need to make dozens of unnecessary throws.
After Moose makes a particular difficult backhand play, Jirsch encourages him to work from the “bottom up.” That means having the glove beneath the ball as it arrives and bringing it up to make the catch. Get tired or lazy and it’s easier to stay upright and then bend down as the ball arrives — but bend a heartbeat too late and the ball is past you.
Better to start down and work up.
After dozens and dozens of ground balls, Moose is dripping with sweat and pauses to take a drink from a water bottle. Jirsch asks if he’s had enough and Moose say no. Jirsch has already hit Moose one bucket of baseballs and they’re working on the second bucket.
Moose wants to know how many balls are left in that second bucket and Jirsche says it’s about a quarter full; Moose says go ahead and hit the rest.
After more than a hundred grounders, Jirsch picks up the last ball in the second bucket and tells Moose he’s got to make the last play; in baseball you don’t end practice on a negative note. You always want to make that last play or square up that last batting practice pitch — if you don’t, you do it over.
So Moose is ready for the last play, anticipating a tough one, but Jirsch hits him an easy chopper. Moose declines to end on that and asks for a hard one and Jirsch obliges; this time it’s a hard chopper that takes Moose into foul territory to catch the ball. Then Moose jumps and whirls and makes his first throw of the day; a one-hop strike to first base.
But practice isn’t over.
In baseball you don’t leave the field until the baseballs are picked up and even if you’re a star in the big leagues you don’t make someone else pick them up for you. You also thank the coach that hit the balls or threw the pitches; you were working out of self-interest, he was working to make you better.
And if you make a great play in a big-league game, you’ll get the credit. Nobody is going to say that play would not have been possible without the coach that got you ready.
So make sure you say thanks to your coach; there’s a good chance no one else will.
As Moose walks to the outfield to pick up some of the balls that made it that far, fans begin to ask for autographs. Moose says, “I hear you” and asks them to give him a few minutes. He finishes picking up baseballs in the blazing sun and then wearily walks over to the fence and begins to sign autographs.
And Moose signs for a long time.
We see big-league ballplayers make incredible plays and assume they made those plays because they’re naturally talented — and they are. But talent only takes you so far; to make it to the big leagues and stay there also requires hard work.
And one afternoon, on a practice field under a blazing sun, some of us got to see just how hard that work can be.
Royals’ Eric Hosmer on winning WBC: ‘You come together for the United States'
March 22, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
A couple of Royals played big roles for baseball’s new world champions.
Team USA beat Puerto Rico 8-0 in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, and Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer and pitcher Danny Duffy were key contributors throughout the tournament.
Hosmer batted .385, with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs, while Duffy was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA. He had eight strikeouts and one walk in eight innings.
It was the first WBC title for Team USA, but both Royals players know a little something about winning. They were on the 2015 World Series championship team and the 2014 AL pennant winners.
After the game, Hosmer was asked about what made this year’s Team USA different.
“I think what’s so special about this is it’s all fan bases, especially throughout the United States, that come together, no matter what team you like or represent,” Hosmer told reporters. “You come together for the United States. I mean, we had All-Stars, superstars all across our roster, and they’re doing roles they’re not really used to doing, but that’s what it was.
“Every single day everybody comes to the field, staying ready and doing whatever they can to help the team win. When you’re a part of a group like that, a lot of special things tend to happen, and that’s exactly what happened. We brought home gold for the USA, so it was extremely fun to be a part of.”