Gil Meche News

It's a fairly slow Wednesday at the winter meetings. The Royals show little measurable progress in their efforts to find a catcher, a center fielder or left-handed help for their rotation or bullpen.

The most popular rumors flying around the Royals during the Winter Meetings on Monday involved pitcher Gil Meche.

Baseball's Winter MeetingsA have begun, and there isn't a team with as clear-cut a mission this week as the Chicago Cubs: get rid of Milton Bradley.

The Mets intend to check in on the three top free agents -- Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey -- during the Winter Meetings, with the strongest hope that Lackey's price falls into a range to make him their No.

A desire to keep some payroll cash in reserve entering next season means the Royals are operating with an even tighter offseason budget this week at the winter meetings.

Via the fellas from FOX - Once the major free agents sign, the Royals expect left fielder David DeJesus and possibly right-hander Gil Meche to draw significant trade interest.

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.