Gil Meche News

Would Andy Ashby be one of the Royals five best pitchers this decade? Answer: no, but he'd be close.

He said JP had a NOSE for talent. Funny. Not to make excuses for the man but Ricciardi had a serious handicap that was at times too much to overcome a ' the city of Toronto.

John Buck, a catcher, the toughest position in baseball, the guy who blocks 95-mph fastballs in the dirt, who stands in the way of 250-pound ballplayers going full speed trying to score, who takes a licking and keeps on ticking hurts his back reaching for his catching helmet.

J.P. Ricciardi struck out in his attempts to turn the Toronto Blue Jays back into a winner.

Who has the third-best ERA among Major League pitchers during September? Two American League Cy Young Award candidates -- the Royals' Zack Greinke and the Mariners' Felix Hernandez -- are first and second with ERAs of 0.35 and 0.58. And third is Greinke's teammate, Robinson Tejeda, at 0.81. In fact, Tejeda ranks No.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid might have liked it, but the raindrops that kept falling on Lenny DiNardo's head didn't make for very good pitching last Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Nick Swartz, the Royals head trainer for the last 19 years, will retire at the end of the season.

Remember Robinson Tejeda's wild side? Where his ability to command the strike zone resembles a blindfolded driver staying in lane while speeding down I-70? It's been a while since we've seen that.

Royals manager Trey Hillman said on Tuesday that he still isn't sure who's going to start for the Royals on Thursday in the series finale against the Red Sox.

Right-hander Anthony Lerews strong closing kick at Class AA Northwest Arkansas earned him a summons Wednesday to the big leagues to fill the Royals need for a starting pitcher in tonights series finale against Boston.

It's probably premature to expect right-hander Aaron Crow to be pitching along with Zack Greinke and Gil Meche next summer at Kauffman Stadium but, no doubt about it, the Royals have big hopes for Crow.

Baseball Prospectus' Pre-season Projection : 75-87, fourth place Current record: 60-88, fifth place The powder-blue unis didn't quite do the trick.

Zack Greinke heads down the stretch Thursday afternoon in his Cy Young quest by making his fifth start of the season against the Detroit Tigers when the Royals conclude their three-game series at Comerica Park.

The best news of the Tigers' off-day Monday was that they don't have to face Zack Greinke.

What's this? Another victory over a first-place club? Sure enough, the Royals again defeated the Detroit Tigers, 5-1, on Wednesday night in front of 10,584 fans at Kauffman Stadium.

Luke Hochevar will enter his start on Saturday with the renewed confidence of a man who thinks he has his problems figured out.Hochevar was recently told he's been tipping his pitches and has spent the last several days working to fix the issue.

Royals starter Gil Meche is probably done for the year with a shoulder problem, and fellow right-hander Brian Bannister is flying to New York for a second opinion on his shoulder.

Brad Lidge and Charlie Manuel said their relationship is fine after a meeting to discuss the struggling closer's role with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Zack Greinke has a glittering 2.22 ERA in 28 starts, a stretch of excellence that would make him a leading Cy Young Award contender on just about any team other than the stumbling Kansas City Royals.

Royals outfielder Jose Guillen will miss the rest of the season because of a right knee injury.