Scouting the Competition: 7 Serious Questions for Kansas City Royals Correspondent Ted Uhlig

     With the feedback that I received from Scouting the Competition: A Look at the AL Central, I have decided to take it to the next level and run a series of interviews with the correspondents who cover the rest of the AL Central teams.  What better way to learn about your opponents than to get answers and team evaluations from those that follow them the closest?  I’ve lined up, what I like to call, 7 Serious Questions for each of the four remaining Fanball correspondents within the White Sox division and have asked each of them to answer with as much honesty and impartiality as they can.  The questions run from team/player comparisons to statistical projection to front office spending, with a splash of some inquiring thoughts that run through my brain.  First up…Ted Uhlig, Fanball correspondent covering the Kansas City Royals.

     Before I get to the questions, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Ted for taking part in this interview.  While we all spend our time writing about and schmoozing baseball, it’s not always easy to take the time to answer a series of in-depth questions.  We always have so much to say and such little time to say it, so thank you Ted.  We Sox fans appreciate your time here.  Now without further ado…

7 Serious Questions for Kansas City Royals Correspondent Ted Uhlig

1.   When the Royals started signing ex-White Sox like Scott Podsednick and Brian Anderson, Sox GM Kenny Williams knew he had a legitimate trading partner — someone he knew that loved his players more than he did.  So with that, the Sox traded 2B Chris Getz and 3B Josh Fields to the Royals in exchange for, what seemed to be an expendable Mark Teahen.  What were your thoughts on the deal?

     My next post was going to be “I am feeling better about the Mark Teahen trade.”  I was very against the trade at first from the Royals perspective.  I’m not sure about the projected Royals outfield of LF Podsednik, CF Ankiel and RF DeJesus.  DeJesus has started only 16 games in his career in RF.  Podsednik and DeJesus have better range and better fielding percentages in CF than Ankiel.  If the Royals are sure Jose Guillen is now just a DH, I would rather have seen an OF of LF Podsednik, CF DeJesus and RF Teahen.  For Teahen, we received two players from the White Sox who won’t start for us.  I like Alex Gordon better than Josh Fields, and I like Alberto Callaspo more than Chris Getz.  Then, I looked at Fields’ numbers against LHP.  We should bat him 4th against LHP.  A Fields-Gordon platoon might work well.

2.  Billy Butler made tremendous progress in his development last year hitting .301 with 21 HR and 93 RBI.  Do you see him taking his game to the next level in 2010 and if so, what kind of stats are you projecting?

     I do see Billy Butler improving in 2010.  Butler will turn 24 on April 18th.  I like his .492 slugging percentage.  He hit 18 HRs in 83 AAA games.  I project Butler to hit .300 with 30 HR and 110 RBI in 2010.

3.  Better ethnic nickname:  Joakim Soria : The Mexecutioner or Alexei Ramirez: The Cuban Missile?

     The Cuban Missile is catchier.  We just hope there is a Cuban Missile crisis when the Sox play the Royals.

4.  After Zack Greinke, your rotation seems a little shakey with Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Luke Hochevar and Kyle Davies.  Do you see any of them stepping up this year and if not, do you see the Royals doing anything this year to improve their pitching?

     I would like to see Meche and Bannister turn the clock back to 2007, and I think they can.  Meche was an All-Star, and Bannister was third in the voting for American League Rookie of the Year.  I would like to see Robinson Tejada and Juan Cruz given a shot to compete for the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation.  The career ERAs for Hochevar (5.88) and Davies (5.54) are scary.  It is possible that the player with the second lowest career ERA on the Royals opening 25 Man roster will belong to Rick Ankiel.  Have we considered having a pitching coach watch him throw a bullpen session or two?

5.  Alex Gordon was supposed to be a cornerstone of your team but has failed to live up to the hype.  Is the general consesus that he is too injury prone and therefore a bust, or are you still holding out hope that he can string together a few full successful seasons?

     I always hold out hope.  If I played poker like I root for the Royals, I would draw to an inside straight too often.  I would platoon Gordon with Josh Fields at 3B this year.  Fields kills lefties, and Gordon can’t hit them.

6.  If the Flash were to retire and pass off his red leotard, who would rock it with more style and make for a better superhero, Juan Pierre or Scott Podsednik?

     I would pick Pierre.  I think a superhero should have a higher success rate of stealing bases than 70%.  Podsednik stole 30 bases in 2009, but he was caught 13 times.

7.  Do you think the Royals would have been better off spending their money on a better middle infield than on the world’s largest HD scoreboard that you have at your stadium?

     At least, we can stay we are first in something.  I don’t think our middle infield is a weakness.  I hope we start Callaspo over Getz at 2B.  Getz has more speed and probably has a better glove.  On the heels of criticizing Podsednik’s caught stealing numbers, I applaud Getz for stealing 25 out of 27 bases last year.   Callaspo’s 2009 OPS (.813) is much better than Getz’s (.670).  I like SS Mike Aviles.  If he can repeat that OPS of 2008 (.839), we will be happy with our middle infield.  If he hits .183 like he did in 2009, we might try to trade a jumbotron to be named later for a quality SS.

     So there you have it, Sox fans.  The Royals have questions in the outfield, a possible platoon at third, a possible breakout season for Billy Butler, and a few pitching concerns as well.  I can’t say that I disagree too much with Ted.  I also believe that Billy Butler can take his game to the next level, that Alex Gordon has been a disappointment worthy of a platoon, and there’s no question in my mind that Juan Pierre woul dmake for a better superhero.  I do, however, still think The Mexecutioner is the better nickname and I’d like to check with MLB on the legality of a jumbotron for a middle infielder deal.

     For more on the Kansas City Royals from Ted Uhlig, check out his Fanball blog:  Royals with Cheese.  You don’t want to miss it!

     Thanks again to Ted for his candid response and hopefully I’ll get questionairres back from the other correspondents.  If not, then I hear they’re looking for a new San Diego Chicken.  Maybe I can put in a good word with Mark over at Friar Chat and get you other guys a second job.

Tags: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox, Juan Pierre, Kansas City Royals, Mark Teahen, White Sox