Kansas City Royals - The Future Begins Now!

[royals_fan]

Kansas City, MO (AP) - After years of frustration, the Kansas City Royals finally put together a .500 season in 2003. The Royals quickly returned to earth in 2004 though, losing a club record 104 games. Two men ultimately took the fall for the Royals failures, as GM Allard Baird and manager Tony Pena were both fired. Owner David Glass decided to go outside the organization to find its new GM. He decided to go with Justin Shipman, who graduated from Pittsburg State University in December 2000 with a masters degree in Business Management. Reports swirling around KC are saying its a three-year deal worth $1,650,000. A press conference has been called for 2pm this afternoon.....

I would like to introduce to the fans and the media of the Kansas City Royals, our new general manager and the man who is going to restore this club to the success it enjoyed in the late 70's and early 80's, Justin Shipman.

"Thank you, Mr. Glass. I don't know where to start. I've dreamed of working for the Royals for a long time. Never did I believe I would ever be given the opportunity to do so. I'm pumped about getting to work along side some of the greats that have played for this organization as we try to right this ship. I truly believe we share the same ideas about what we need to do with this team to make it exciting again. I'm excited about getting to work with the young talent this club has, I think we will bring our young pitchers along great and believe our rotation of the future is going to be one of the best. I'm not a man who believes in making a lot of trades or signing big name free agents. We are going to build this team from our farm and the draft and I am going to make a guarantee that we will be back in the playoffs before my contract expires. My first order of business is to evaluate the roster and our farm system to see where we are at talent wise. Then we must find a manager to lead us back to greatness. Thank you, again"

Starting Lineup & Batting Order (2004 Stats)
SS - Angel Berroa - .262 AVG, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 14 SB
CF - David DeJesus - .287 AVG, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 8 SB
DH - Mike Sweeney - .287 AVG, 22 HR, 79 RBI, 3 SB
RF - Matt Stairs - .267 AVG, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 1 SB
1B - Ken Harvey - .287 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 1 SB
C - John Buck - .235 AVG, 12 HR, 30 RBI, 1 SB
LF - Terrence Long - .295 AVG, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 3 SB
3B - Mark Teahen - .314 AVG, 15 HR, 63 RBI, 3 SB (AAA)
2B - Ruben Gotay - .270 AVG, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB

Bench (2004 Stats)
C - Alberto Castillo - .270 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB
1B - Calvin Pickering - .246 AVG, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 0 SB
INF - Tony Graffanino - .263 AVG, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 10 SB
OF - Emil Brown - .320 AVG, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 5 SB (AAA)
LF - Eli Marrero - .320 AVG, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB

Starting Rotation (2004 Stats)
RHP - Jose Lima - (13-5), 4.07 ERA, 34 BB, 93 K
RHP - Runelvys Hernandez - Out For Season
RHP - Zack Greinke - (8-11), 3.97 ERA, 26 BB, 100 K
RHP - Denny Bautista - (0-4), 8.49 ERA, 13 BB, 19 K
LHP - Jimmy Gobble - (9-8), 5.35 ERA, 43 BB, 49 K

Bullpen (2004 Stats)
RHP - Mike MacDougal - (0-1), 5.56 ERA, 9 BB, 14 K, 1 SV
RHP - Shawn Camp - (2-2), 3.92 ERA, 16 BB, 51 K, 2 SV
RHP - Nate Field - (2-3), 4.26 ERA, 19 BB, 30 K, 3 SV
LHP - Jeremy Affeldt - (3-4), 4.95 ERA, 32 BB, 49 K, 13 SV
RHP - Mike Wood - (3-8), 5.94 ERA, 28 BB, 54 K, 0 SV
RHP - D.J. Carrasco - (2-2), 4.84 ERA, 15 BB, 22 K, 0 SV

Key Injuries
None!

Season Goal
The goal for my first season is to try and finish at the .500 mark. It will be a season mainly focused on evaluating talent and see where we need to improve the team for the future through the draft.

[royals_fan]

KANSAS CITY (AP) -- Buddy Bell, the Royals' new manager, tried on his uniform with No. 25 on the back.
"It fits," he said, smiling.

The Royals are banking on that.

Bell, who had been bench coach for the Cleveland Indians, was named as the permanent replacement to Tony Pena on Tuesday. His contract runs through 2007.

He was among five candidates, winning the job over Art Howe, Terry Collins, Jerry Manuel and interim manager Bob Schaefer.

Bell, meeting with reporters before managing his first game against the New York Yankees, emphasized it would take patience with the young Royals.

"Time can be their best friend and I think that's going to be the case," Bell said.

Bell managed the Detroit Tigers in three seasons and the Colorado Rockies in two-plus seasons. His combined record was 345-462, a winning percentage of .428.

His greatest success as a skipper came in 1997 when he directed the Tigers to a turnaround season. They were a franchise-worst 53-109 in 1996, Bell's first as manager, but the record improved to 79-83 the next year.

But, in 1998, the Tigers slipped to 52-85 when he was fired Sept. 1.

"The problem in Detroit is we just weren't patient enough with it," Bell said. "I'm very impatient with impatience ... and this is going to take some time."

Bell, 53, faces a daunting challenge. He takes over a club mired in the American League Central cellar more or less for the last 20 years.

"Realistically, what we really expect out of Buddy this year is to get this team playing to its truest talent level and I think our record will be an indicator of how much talent we have on this club," said Royals GM Justin Shipman.

The Royals, after last year's 104-loss season, launched a rebuilding season based around younger players. They knew they'd take their lumps.

The Royals wanted not only a manager with Major League experience but one who had worked well with young players and had the patience to wait while players developed.

Bell has been director of Minor League instruction for the Chicago White Sox and worked as a farm system batting coach for the Indians.

Buddy Bell's Managerial Record
YEAR TEAM G W L WP Finish
1996 Detroit 162 53 109 .327 5
1997 Detroit 162 79 83 .488 3
1998 Detroit 137 52 85 .380 5
2000 Colorado 162 82 80 .506 4
2001 Colorado 162 73 89 .451 5
2002 Colorado 22 6 16 .428 5
TOTAL 807 345 462 .428

"He's a teacher, a communicator, a player development director, a guy who was a coordinator on the field and, more importantly, he's been a guy who's been in a rebuilding mode with the Cleveland Indians," Shipman added.

Shipman was asked why, considering the long-term approach to building with young players, Bell's contract was not extended beyond 2007.

"That's a good question," Bell interposed, to laughter.

"Our comfort level now is to go through '07," Shipman said. "Obviously we want him here for the long haul. When you have good, young players you like to see them reach their maximum ability level because we all know what happens then -- you win ballgames and you win championships."

Called "Buddy" but named David Gus Bell, he comes from a rich baseball background.

His father, outfielder Gus Bell, spent 15 years in the Majors and was a standout for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1950s.

Buddy Bell played 18 years in the Majors and combined with his father to set the record for most hits, 4,337, by a father-son duo in history. Now the mark is second to Bobby and Barry Bonds' 4,348.

A third baseman, Buddy Bell broke in with the Indians in 1972 and spent seven years with them. Then he was traded to the Texas Rangers for infielder Toby Harrah.

He finished his playing career in 1989 after playing for the Reds, the Houston Astros and, briefly, the Rangers again. His career average was .279 with 2,514 hits, 201 home runs and 1,106 RBIs in 2,405 games.

Bell's sons, David, Michael and Ricky, also developed into professional players. David Bell, now with the Philadelphia Phillies, was the San Francisco Giants' third baseman in the 2002 World Series.

Buddy Bell becomes the 14th full-time manager in Royals history. This list includes Whitey Herzog, who had a club-high 410 victories, and Dick Howser, who won 404 games and directed the 1985 Royals to the World Series championship.

Bell will begin his tenure with a new hitting coach. Royals Minor League instructor Andre David was promoted Friday after Jeff Pentland was fired.

Team captain Mike Sweeney expected a positive response from Royals players.

"I think so, yes. He's a man who commands respect and with a young team that's very impressionable, hopefully he'll be like a ship at sea with a steady rudder. Not up or down every day but just steady and a good leader for this team," Sweeney said.

Bell's initial mission will be to evaluate the Royals -- with patience.

"Right now, we're looking for small victories," he said, "and eventually it'll develop into some big wins."