Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 30, 2008 12:34:26 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/story/466910.html
A healthy Shealy could boost Royals’ fortunes
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
If there’s a potential wild card addition to the Royals’ lineup this season, it’ll be first baseman Ryan Shealy.
Shealy is coming off a hugely disappointing, injury-plagued season in which he hit just .221 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 52 games.
But if Shealy can come back and be the player the Royals envisioned when they traded for him in 2006, the Royals could take on a much different look. For one thing, the Royals would be better defensively with Shealy at first and Billy Butler as the designated hitter. Shealy’s defense is better than advertised.
Second, Shealy could provide some much-needed power to the lineup.
“I was just talking with (hitting coach) Mike Barnett about Ryan the other day,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “And he reports that Ryan is in great shape, and he looks good swinging the bat.
“We still believe that Ryan can be a valuable part of this team. Last year you can just throw out. He had the hamstring problems, the broken bone in his foot. He was never himself. You can’t make any judgments off that season.”
Shealy got the Royals organization excited in 2006 when he hit .280 with seven homers and 36 RBIs in 51 games after being acquired from Colorado for Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista.
Shealy demonstrated his power in the Rockies’ system, hitting 29 homers in Class AA and 26 homers in Class AAA. Those power numbers caught the eyes of most general managers two years ago and made Shealy a hot topic in trade talks.
“We certainly have no regrets about making the deal for Ryan,” Moore said. “He was a guy a lot of teams were trying to get, and even after we got him, we had offers from other teams who wanted to know if we would flip him (trade him again).
“We felt it was a solid pickup and we still do. We’re anxious to see what he can do healthy.”
‘Dirty Al’ hired
The United League Baseball’s Harlingen WhiteWings have hired former T-Bones skipper “Dirty Al” Gallagher.
Gallagher was the manager of the independent St. Joe Blacksnakes last season before they folded.
United League Baseball is an independent minor league based primarily in Texas.
One more Al
Reports in St. Louis indicate that former Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders — oh, how we miss him — may be close to a deal with the Rams.
But as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alertly points out, talks between Saunders and the Rams could be dicey because Saunders makes more money than Rams head coach Scott Linehan, who pulls in about $2 million a year. Saunders made a bit more than that with Washington and has one paid year left on his contract with Washington.
A healthy Shealy could boost Royals’ fortunes
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
If there’s a potential wild card addition to the Royals’ lineup this season, it’ll be first baseman Ryan Shealy.
Shealy is coming off a hugely disappointing, injury-plagued season in which he hit just .221 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 52 games.
But if Shealy can come back and be the player the Royals envisioned when they traded for him in 2006, the Royals could take on a much different look. For one thing, the Royals would be better defensively with Shealy at first and Billy Butler as the designated hitter. Shealy’s defense is better than advertised.
Second, Shealy could provide some much-needed power to the lineup.
“I was just talking with (hitting coach) Mike Barnett about Ryan the other day,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “And he reports that Ryan is in great shape, and he looks good swinging the bat.
“We still believe that Ryan can be a valuable part of this team. Last year you can just throw out. He had the hamstring problems, the broken bone in his foot. He was never himself. You can’t make any judgments off that season.”
Shealy got the Royals organization excited in 2006 when he hit .280 with seven homers and 36 RBIs in 51 games after being acquired from Colorado for Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista.
Shealy demonstrated his power in the Rockies’ system, hitting 29 homers in Class AA and 26 homers in Class AAA. Those power numbers caught the eyes of most general managers two years ago and made Shealy a hot topic in trade talks.
“We certainly have no regrets about making the deal for Ryan,” Moore said. “He was a guy a lot of teams were trying to get, and even after we got him, we had offers from other teams who wanted to know if we would flip him (trade him again).
“We felt it was a solid pickup and we still do. We’re anxious to see what he can do healthy.”
‘Dirty Al’ hired
The United League Baseball’s Harlingen WhiteWings have hired former T-Bones skipper “Dirty Al” Gallagher.
Gallagher was the manager of the independent St. Joe Blacksnakes last season before they folded.
United League Baseball is an independent minor league based primarily in Texas.
One more Al
Reports in St. Louis indicate that former Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders — oh, how we miss him — may be close to a deal with the Rams.
But as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alertly points out, talks between Saunders and the Rams could be dicey because Saunders makes more money than Rams head coach Scott Linehan, who pulls in about $2 million a year. Saunders made a bit more than that with Washington and has one paid year left on his contract with Washington.