Royals Absolutely Freaking Destroy Diamondbacks

post from Royals Review on 19 March 2010 11:41:00 PM. © Royals Review

I guess the Royals really wanted to get revenge on former K.C. farmhand Billy Buckner.

The Royals led 21-0 in the fifth inning, en route to a 24-9 victory over the Diamondbacks Friday.

Brian Anderson, who weirdly enough we had just talked about the night before as a forgotten man, hit for the cycle in the first four innings.

Being a Royal-explosion, it was highly singles based. In getting out to a 21-0 lead, the Royals banged out 17 singles. St. Willie had three of them himself. Kila and Aviles also had huge days. Many guys did.

Oh, and Farnsworth and Herges gave up nine runs.

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Yankees sweep split-squad games

post from Zell's Pinstripe Blog on 19 March 2010 11:23:11 PM. © Zell's Pinstripe Blog

Game #1:PitchingCC Sabathia made his fourth start of the spring, and it looks like he is shaping up for the regular season (77 pitches, 47 strikes). He worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits. In the process, he fanned 8 batters. Albaladejo came on in relief, recording the last two outs of the 6th inning. It’s about time [...]

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Rockies 10, Athletics 4; Rockies reserves beat
Oakland's travel squad

post from Purple Row on 19 March 2010 11:03:11 PM. © Purple Row

More photos » Ed Andrieski - AP

about 4 hours ago: Colorado Rockies pitcher Greg Smith, right, talks to catcher Jordan Pacheco during the forth inning of a spring baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, March 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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Greg Smith showcased himself well, should the Rockies keep him as a sixth starter or decide to trade him (a possibility brought up by Jim Armstrong in the pre-game post at the Denver Post). Smith pitched five innings, allowing three hits and walking one while striking out six.

Jordan Pacheco (a catching prospect we don't talk about that often, third behind Wilin Rosario and Michael McKenry within the system at the position) led the Rockies with three hits, while Mike Paulk and Melvin Mora each contributed two apiece, both of Paulk's going for extra bases. The Rockies were using Pacheco and Paul Lo Duca to catch while Miguel Olivo worked with Ubaldo Jimenez in today's minor league contest.

The Rockies were generally ineffective against A's starter Trevor Cahill, who used his sinker to generate 12 ground-outs in five innings. Most of Colorado's scoring came against two pitchers that currently seem slated for Oakland's AAA affiliate rather than their MLB roster, but that's not supposed to be seen as an indication that the Rockies wouldn't beat Oakland more often than not at a neutral site as the preceding paragraphs should indicate to you that we didn't exactly have a full MLB contingent ourselves today. I'm just saying that as is often the case during the Spring, the scope of this victory may be a little misleading.

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http://www.purplerow.com/2010/3/19/1381883/rockies-10-athletics-4-rockies

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The Braves End in a Tie, as I Head Home

post from Talking Chop on 19 March 2010 11:03:09 PM. © Talking Chop

More photos » Charlie Riedel - AP

Atlanta Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami delivered a good outing on Friday night.

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My last day at spring training and the Braves send me home with a tie. They had a chance to score in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. Gregor Blanco actually came through and tied the game with a single that got through the drawn in infield. Mitch Jones and his spring of futility popped up on the first pitch he saw, still with the bases loaded, for the second out. That was the key at-bat of the game, as he could have ended it there with a deep fly ball. Brooks Conrad then came up and flew out to end the inning.

The Braves could have gone another inning or two as they had Jon Huber and Ryne Reynoso still in the bullpen, but the Tigers were out of pitchers after ten innings, so the game ends in a 4-4 tie.

Kenshin Kawakami had a good start. He said his 2-seam fast ball was a little up. On the two homeruns he gave up he said that one was cutter that got a little up, and the second one was a 2-seamer that he didn't locate properly, he also added that he didn't have good release point on those pitches, which led to the poor location.

A lot more after the jump...

Billy Wagner gave up a run on three his, but Bobby Cox said that "Wags likes to work on off-speed stuff, and got a couple up." That's a reminder that some of the lines these guys put up, especially veterans, are lines they would never put up in the regular season because here in spring training they're working on things.

The big story of the evening was the spring debut of reliever Scott Proctor. Bobby Cox said of Proctor, "you never expect good command right away, but he had it." When asked if this means Proctor is closer to an opening day bullpen spot, Cox emphasized that he's got experience and a new arm, but that "we'll see how he repeats," which basically means we'll have to look at his next outing and whether he can eventually go on back to back days.

Proctor's velocity was in the low-90's. When I asked him if that's where he's like to be he said, "The main thing is they're strikes." Adding, "I'm just trying to go out there and pound the zone and be able to walk off the mound and do it again next time." He admitted that he is curious about his velocities and that he's not quite where he want's to be with that yet.

I'm heading home tomorrow, but I'll get right on the transcribing of some more of the interviews on Sunday. I was able to grab Brandon Hicks and Craig Kimbrel today, so in total I have about 10 or so interviews to get to over the next couple of weeks.

So long from Orlando, as I head home to Atlanta and the Braves head on the road:

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http://www.talkingchop.com/2010/3/19/1381891/the-braves-end-in-a-tie-as-i-head

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March 19 2010 Demolition Images

post from Demolition of Yankee Stadium on 19 March 2010 10:16:36 PM. © Demolition of Yankee Stadium

Photo Credit: yankeefan1959 (flickr)

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es/

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Giants' minor leaguers spend the day in a pickle

post from 22gigantes on 19 March 2010 09:55:00 PM. © 22gigantes

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Bradley gets second ejection in 3 days (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 19 March 2010 09:07:14 PM. © MLB News Blog

Chris Heisey had a pinch-hit, two-run homer — the first of four off left-hander Jason Vargas — and the Cincinnati Reds powered their way to a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, who lost outfielder Milton Bradley to another ejection. Bradley was thrown out by plate umpire Jon Merry in the fourth inning for tossing [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2010/03/20/bradley-gets-second-ejection-in-3-days-ap/

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SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a
charity of this community's choice

>> Take SB Nation Survey

Hello sports fans! We're always striving to provide you with the best experience possible and it's been quite some time since we checked in with you.

So we're rolling out this survey to learn more about you and your sports world. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete.

We really appreciate your time and this is also going to help make a donation to a good cause.

By next Thursday (3/25) at 11:59pm PST the site that has the highest percentage of their community filling out the attached survey about their sports interests and consumption will win $500 to donate to a charity of their choice. We will leave it up to the discretion of the community manager(s) of the winning blog to decide how to choose the particular charity.

You can take the survey HERE

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WYR2WQT

Thanks for your support!

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How Expensive Will The Nanny State Become

One of the best blogging academic economists -- Greg Mankiw -- gives his perspective on the federal health care takeover:

In the end, while I understood the arguments in favor of the bill, I could not support it. In part, that is because I am generally more of a libertarian than a communitarian. In addition, I could not help but fear that the legislation will add to the fiscal burden we are leaving to future generations. Some economists (such as my Harvard colleague David Cutler) think there are great cost savings in the bill. I hope he is right, but I am skeptical. Some people say the Congressional Budget Office gave the legislation a clean bill of health regarding its fiscal impact. I believe that is completely wrong, for several reasons (click links). My judgment is that this health bill adds significantly to our long-term fiscal problems.

The Obama administration's political philosophy is more egalitarian and more communitarian than mine. Their spending programs require much higher taxes than we have now and, indeed, much higher taxes than they have had the temerity to propose. Here is the question I have been wondering about: How long can the President wait before he comes clean with the American people and explains how high taxes needs to rise to pay for his vision of government?

I assume the question is rhetorical. A public figure, like our president, who can't even bring himself to allow mere citizens to see his college transcripts and papers, will not soon be fessing up about the prohibitive cost of operating his version of government.

By the way, Communitarian or Nanny State, are politically correct labels for political philosophies which are closer, or prefer, socialized forms of government as opposed to a more laissez-faire form of government. The point is not whether we are strictly in one category or another [we are exclusively in neither], but rather which form of government are we moving towards. There is no question that the Obama administration is moving us aggressively away from laissez-faire form of government. In my book, Socialism lies at the other end of that spectrum. So the question to be answered by those who object to the Socialist label is: What aspects of Socialism are objectionable to today's leaders of the Democrat party?

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http://www.2thinkgood.com/2010/03/just-how-expensive-will-nanny-state.html

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BoSox prospect out of ICU after surgery (AP)

Boston Red Sox minor league prospect Ryan Westmoreland has been out of the intensive care unit and into the neuro rehabilitation unit at the St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix on Friday. According to Dr. Robert Spetzler, Westmoreland’s neurosurgeon and the director of Barrow Neurological Institute, Westmoreland will undergo physical and occupational therapy.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2010/03/20/bosox-prospect-out-of-icu-after-surgery-ap/

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