Free agents outshine draft picks
As a low-budget team, the Royals are supposed to build their team on drafting and developing good players more so than going the free agent route.
But free agent pickups José Guillen and Miguel Olivo carried the team again Monday, leading the Royals to a much-needed win over the Yankees after losing 17 of their previous 20 games.
Meanwhile, the two young players who are supposed to be the core of the Royals’ offensive future have contributed comparatively little. Alex Gordon remains in a prolonged slump while Billy Butler is in Omaha.
Second-guessing is one of the great privileges of being a fan.
Gordon may turn out great, but the No. 2 overall draft pick in the banner Major League draft of 2005 has been eclipsed by several players that went later.
Ryan Braun, who went 5th to the Brewers, hit 34 home runs, drove in 97 runs and hit .324 last year. He’s on an even better power pace this year. Ryan Zimmerman of Washington, picked 4th in that draft, averaged 22 homeruns and 100 RBI the past two seasons. The Royals also could have had Troy Tulowitzki, who went 24-99 for Colorado last year, and went 7th in the draft, or Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston, an emerging star who tops the AL in stolen bases with 28. He went 23rd in the draft.
But credit the Royals for trying to supplement their young team in the off-season with the signings of Guillen, who leads the team with 11 homers and 48 RBI, and Olivo, who has 8 homers and 25 RBI as backup catcher and frequent designated hitter. Fans are down on the Royals, but imagine how bad it would be without those two?
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The Royals return home for a three-game series against Texas beginning Tuesday night before hitting the road again. As promotions go, Wednesday is the highlight game. Not only is it Buck Night — with $1 buying a hotdog, small drink or peanuts — but tickets in some sections are two-for one if bought on-line. College and high school students get a discount on tickets bought at the gate.
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The travel section of The New York Times on Sunday featured a review of food at big league parks. At Kauffman, Times writer Peter Meehan recommended ordering barbecue beef sandwiches sold at Gates BBQ stands and he complimented the beans as “sweet and smoky.” What to avoid: The corn dog, which he said was “disturbingly large, with overly sweet cornbread and a mushy hot dog center.”
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