Joakim Soria undergoing Tommy John surgery

The Kansas City Royals bullpen took a big hit, because closer Joakim Soria opted to have Tommy John surgery. This won’t be his first time under the knife as he had the surgery back in 2003 while he was in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.      

Soria sought the opinion of three doctors before finally deciding that surgery was his best option.

Plans call for Dr. Lewis Yocum to perform the surgery April 3 in Los Angeles. The typical recovery period ranges from 10-14 months. 


Soria definitely will miss this season and will possibly miss the early part of the 2013 season.

Soria, 27, was one of baseball’s best closers from 2008-10, but he had a down year last season. He closed 28 games in 35 chances with a 4.03 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. He looked like a good bounce-back candidate heading into this season. Instead, he’ll have to hope for a good second half in 2013 before he hits free agency at the conclusion of that season.

This will hurt the back end of the Royals bullpen as Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, and Aaron Crow will have their roles shuffled with Soria out.  

White Sox’s Beckham Apologizes For Calling Chris Getz Gay

Here we go again. Another athlete says something politically incorrect and is making an apology for it. This time it’s the Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham. This comes after the Philadelphia Eagles’ DeSean Jackson gave a caller on a radio show a homophobic blast.

Beckham is good friends with former teammate and Kansas City Royals second baseman Chris Getz. During a game between the White Sox and Royals, Beckham scrawled a message in the dirt saying “Getz Is Gay!” GB. It wasn’t picked up by cameras, but it was picked up by some of the fans. All in all it was harmless fun, but in the big scheme of things it’s not funny. That point got across to Beckham and he knows that he should’ve known better.

“Wow,’’ said Beckham again, looking as if he had seen a thousand ghosts and Bob Gibson on the mound. “Chris is one of my best friends. It was a joke. I didn’t know anybody could see. I didn’t mean anything, you know?’’

“I just want you to know that that’s not me,’’ he said. “I don’t use slurs. I have a lot of gay friends. I didn’t mean it as anything ­— you know, like gay as in . . . happy! Or, you know, an alliteration — ‘Getz is gay.’ ’’

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that with Chris,’’ he said. “And I didn’t even see his reaction. I asked him afterward if he was going to write anything back, and he said no. It was wrong. It was stupid. If I offended anyone, I apologize. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.’’

Beckham seems pretty distraught about the incident and probably wishes he could turn back the clock. The worse thing in his apology was saying he has gay friends. Usually that means he doesn’t care for gays. Kind of like when someone says something racist and then says I have lots of (insert race here) friends. I do buy his apology and believes he is truly sorry for it. Next time send him a note like in elementary school.

Meche Leaving Money On The Table

In a very surprising move, Kansas City Royals pitcher Gil Meche has announced his retirement. That’s not the surprising part of the retirement. I know it’s Gil Meche. Not a big deal overall.

Meche was in limited action in 2010 due to shoulder problems. Those same shoulder problems is why he announced his retirement. Don’t ask me to what extent, I’m no doctor. He won’t go the surgery route because he doesn’t want to sit out the 2011 season. Here’s Meche’s statement:

“After a lot of thinking and prioritizing of issues in my life I have decided to retire from baseball.  As a competitor my entire life this is the hardest decision that I’ve ever faced, but it’s not fair to me, my family or the Kansas City Royals that I attempt to pitch anymore.  I came into this game as a starting pitcher and unfortunately my health, more accurately, my shoulder, has deteriorated to the point where surgery would be the only option and at this stage of my life I would prefer to call it a career rather than to attempt to pitch in relief for the final year of my contract.  I can’t thank the Kansas City Royals and their fans enough for my four seasons there and if I have any regret, it’s that we weren’t able to accomplish on the field what the goal was when I signed there.”

Instead of getting paid the remainder of his contract (1 year, $12 million) he has told the Royals that he will forfeit the money. You don’t hear any athlete leaving that kind of money on the table. Call me morally corrupt, but if my leg is cut off and I can’t play I’m taking the money. I know some think of Meche as somewhat heroic and I do think it’s noble to walk away and not steal money, especially from a team that is counting every nickel and dime. I know it’s difficult to walk away from the game you love, let alone $12 million.   

Zack Greinke Wants Out

You can count Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke among pro athletes that wants out. Greinke has fired his agent and made a trade demand.

I’m not surprised by this at all. If Royals general manager Dayton Moore didn’t see this coming, he’s as blind as Ray Charles. Now Kansas City has to trade him. I know Greinke has a contract, and management doesn’t have to do anything. But when you’ve been in a perpetual cycle of losing, the cards that you have to play equals to bluffing. It was different before Greinke said he wanted out. The Royals could’ve waited for the best package to come their way, now they can’t have a possible malcontent on board with a history of depression. As for Greinke, I can’t blame him. I’d want out too. They’re not close to winning and don’t spend enough to win. He would be far from motivated to put his best efforts on display for a team going nowhere.

Greinke has a no trade clause to 15 teams. The Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, Blue Jays, and Brewers are on that list. I suspect the Red Sox and Yankees probably can offer the most attractive packages. If I were the Yankees I’d be worried that Greinke could go Ed Whitson on them. I do think the Texas Rangers will be the most agressive pursuer after losing Cliff Lee to the Phillies. That would be my best bet. But I didn’t see Lee going to the Phillies either. Well, neither did anyone else, so what do we know.

On a personal note, it’s pretty sad to see the Royals franchise in their current state. When I was growing up they were one of the model franchises in the league. Now they’re one of the worse run franchises. I really don’t see how the St. Louis Cardianls can find money to stay competitive but Kansas City can’t. Maybe i just don’t know much about the economics of baseball.

Royals’ Zack Greinke wins AL Cy Young

Even though the Kansas City Royals had a bad season,they are now home to the newest Cy Young winner,Zack Greinke. Greinke,who went 16-8 and had a major league low 2.16 ERA. Greinke compiled 25 first place votes and a total of 134,to beat out second place finisher Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander.
  It’s good to see someone rewarded for having a great season despite the way the team finishes.Greinke was Atruly deserving of the Cy Young for his near dominant performance all season.Much like Andre Dawson when he won the MVP award back in 1987 when he played for a last place Chicago Cubs team.Baseball is a team sport,but superior individual performances should be recognized,no matter where your team finishes.Its not a poularity contest and the best teams don’t always have the players with the best performances.I just hope Greinke can stick around in Kansas City for a while,so maybe the once proud franchise can turn their fortunes around.