TheFightinPhils
09-09-2005, 01:39 AM
CHICAGO -- This hasn't been a very good year for Andres Blanco. So far.
Blanco has a chance to polish up the ending, however, as he enters the derby to become the Royals' second baseman of 2006.
He's the sixth entry on this season's list at the position.
Ruben Gotay's hot hitting won him the job in Spring Training, but he faded back to Double-A Wichita. Donnie Murphy, a hotshot fielder, arrived to make four errors and suffered a fractured finger tip.
Meantime, solid veteran Tony Graffanino was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Utility guys Joe McEwing and Denny Hocking did their bits at the position, but they're not long-term answers.
Now Blanco, who made his mark as a sharp-fielding shortstop, gets a shot. Big questions: Can he make the switch to the other side of the bag smoothly and can the switch-hitter be productive enough at the plate?
Other than three games at second base for Class A High Desert, his only other two games at that spot were for the Royals in this series against the White Sox. So he has some adjustments to make there.
He did hit .317 in a 19-game trial with the Royals last year. But, going into this year, his cumulative Minor League average was .259 with little power (no home runs in 317 games).
Last winter, playing in his native Venezuela, he had a basepath collision in his second game and was out for the season. This year in Spring Training, he injured his right knee.
"It was like 10 minutes before the game. I was stretching, going down on the grass and stretched my leg and it popped," Blanco said.
He kept playing and started the season as Triple-A Omaha's shortstop -- and finally hit his first pro home run -- but made it through just 17 games.
"My hurt knee hurt and they made me stop for a month. Then my knee was strong and they sent me to High Desert. I hurt my knee again and they said I needed to have surgery."
So he did, getting arthroscopic surgery to repair posterior lateral cartilage damage. Returning for rehab work in the Arizona League in late July, he later moved to Double-A Wichita.
"I came back and they sent me to Omaha on Aug. 15," he said.
There he finished the season and hit .302 in his last 18 games -- as the shortstop. Now he's switching to second base to see if that's a good fit.
Royals trivia: What memorable game did the Royals have at Detroit on Sept. 9, 2004? (Answer below.)
Farm report: The Salcedo Royals were swept in three straight games by the Yankees in the Dominican Summer League playoffs.
High Desert, despite two home runs by center fielder Chris Lubanski, lost the California League playoff opener to Lancaster, 8-5.
Trivia answer: The Royals walloped the Tigers with a club-record 26-hit, 26-5 victory. Joe Randa had six hits and scored six runs. The Royals scored 11 runs in the third inning. That was the first game of a doubleheader. The Royals lost the second game, 8-0.
Pickering clears: Designated hitter Calvin Pickering cleared waivers after being dropped from the 40-man roster to make room for pitcher Chris Demaria.
Pickering is eligible to become a free agent or re-sign with Triple-A Omaha. He had 23 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .275 average in 92 games for Omaha.
On deck: The Royals will open a three-game series in Detroit at 6:05 p.m. CT on Friday. In a matchup of right-handers, KC will send Zack Greinke (3-16) against right-hander Sean Douglass (5-3).
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050908&content_id=1202491&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Blanco has a chance to polish up the ending, however, as he enters the derby to become the Royals' second baseman of 2006.
He's the sixth entry on this season's list at the position.
Ruben Gotay's hot hitting won him the job in Spring Training, but he faded back to Double-A Wichita. Donnie Murphy, a hotshot fielder, arrived to make four errors and suffered a fractured finger tip.
Meantime, solid veteran Tony Graffanino was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Utility guys Joe McEwing and Denny Hocking did their bits at the position, but they're not long-term answers.
Now Blanco, who made his mark as a sharp-fielding shortstop, gets a shot. Big questions: Can he make the switch to the other side of the bag smoothly and can the switch-hitter be productive enough at the plate?
Other than three games at second base for Class A High Desert, his only other two games at that spot were for the Royals in this series against the White Sox. So he has some adjustments to make there.
He did hit .317 in a 19-game trial with the Royals last year. But, going into this year, his cumulative Minor League average was .259 with little power (no home runs in 317 games).
Last winter, playing in his native Venezuela, he had a basepath collision in his second game and was out for the season. This year in Spring Training, he injured his right knee.
"It was like 10 minutes before the game. I was stretching, going down on the grass and stretched my leg and it popped," Blanco said.
He kept playing and started the season as Triple-A Omaha's shortstop -- and finally hit his first pro home run -- but made it through just 17 games.
"My hurt knee hurt and they made me stop for a month. Then my knee was strong and they sent me to High Desert. I hurt my knee again and they said I needed to have surgery."
So he did, getting arthroscopic surgery to repair posterior lateral cartilage damage. Returning for rehab work in the Arizona League in late July, he later moved to Double-A Wichita.
"I came back and they sent me to Omaha on Aug. 15," he said.
There he finished the season and hit .302 in his last 18 games -- as the shortstop. Now he's switching to second base to see if that's a good fit.
Royals trivia: What memorable game did the Royals have at Detroit on Sept. 9, 2004? (Answer below.)
Farm report: The Salcedo Royals were swept in three straight games by the Yankees in the Dominican Summer League playoffs.
High Desert, despite two home runs by center fielder Chris Lubanski, lost the California League playoff opener to Lancaster, 8-5.
Trivia answer: The Royals walloped the Tigers with a club-record 26-hit, 26-5 victory. Joe Randa had six hits and scored six runs. The Royals scored 11 runs in the third inning. That was the first game of a doubleheader. The Royals lost the second game, 8-0.
Pickering clears: Designated hitter Calvin Pickering cleared waivers after being dropped from the 40-man roster to make room for pitcher Chris Demaria.
Pickering is eligible to become a free agent or re-sign with Triple-A Omaha. He had 23 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .275 average in 92 games for Omaha.
On deck: The Royals will open a three-game series in Detroit at 6:05 p.m. CT on Friday. In a matchup of right-handers, KC will send Zack Greinke (3-16) against right-hander Sean Douglass (5-3).
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050908&content_id=1202491&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb