TOP OF THE MORNIN'

No relief for Royals if Soria moves to the rotation

There has been quite a bit of talk this season in Royals chat rooms about whether Joakim Soria would be better off in the rotation.

That talk was much more tolerable before Zack Greinke moved into the rotation (a great move, by the way) because Greinke certainly had the stuff and command to be an effective closer to take Soria’s place.

But if Greinke and Soria are each in the rotation, just who is the next Royals closer? Am I the only one thinking that the position of closer is paramount to any Royals turnaround over the next few years, and it therefore should be a priority?

Apparently, some folks have fairly short memories. Some people perhaps can’t remember the horror of the Royals routinely blowing leads before Soria came to town.

Nothing is more infuriating to a fan than a blown save. Nothing makes a fan hop into a chat room or call into a sports talk show faster than a blown save. More importantly, nothing takes the wind out of a team more than a blown save.

But perhaps no job is taken more for granted.

It has been 10 long years since Jeff Montgomery gave the Royals the look of a closer when he posted 36 saves in 1998. Anyone care to bring back Ricky Bottalico? Roberto Hernandez?

Anyone remember the terror of wondering whether Mike MacDougal or Jeremy Affeldt or Ambiorix Burgos would hit the backstop or the on-deck batter with any given pitch? Or just plain walk the bases full?

Soria no doubt has the talent to be an impact starting pitcher. But right now he’s busy being one of the best closers in baseball. Let’s leave well enough alone.

KCSP switch

KCSP has pulled the plug on Nick Wright doing the Royals postgame show and replaced him with the more experienced Marty Wall.

Wright, hired fresh out of Syracuse, didn’t appear comfortable trying to provide Royals analysis needed for a postgame show.

“That’s my fault for putting him in a position that he didn’t feel comfortable in,” said KCSP operations director Allan Davis. “He’s a young kid who we feel has a lot of talent. I think he’s going to be a big deal in this business someday, hopefully with us.”

Wright will continue to do his nightly talk show on non-Royals nights, as well as some weekend work.

Woeful start

KCSP’s big move last winter of dumping the morning shows hosted by Damon Amendolara and Tim Grunhard seemed somewhat puzzling at the time, though neither was a consistent threat to rival WHB’s shows.

But the first Arbitron book with the new hosts — Roger Twibell from 6 to 9 and Chris Hamblin and Cory Anderson from 9 to 11 — was shockingly low. Twibell posted a 1.1 share for the demographic of men 25-54, while Hamblin and Anderson had a 1.0.

During the previous winter book, Amendolara and Grunhard each had over 3.0 shares.

WHB, by the way, posted another easy across-the-board victory.

To reach Jeffrey Flanagan, call 816-234-4492 and leave a message, or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com