Royals on the Farm 8/4

I'm leaning toward taking a couple days off here at some point on the reports. Haven't decided yet. Putting together the 7-team update each day can be a drag, especially when you're doing it as a fan of an organization that, as many people and Royals bloggers are talking about, is proving to be not worth the trouble. That's a great looking sentence, but trust me, it's better now than it was when I first wrote it. Of course, getting paid to write the reports might help, but that's beside the point. As much as I've seen improvement in the minors for KC since 2005, it's very hard to sit and watch the major league team spin its wheels year after year after mind-numbing year. And continue to make stupid decision after stupid decision, and give people multiple chances to fix things but those people make the same decisions over and over again. Didn't somebody say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time? I'm not Catholic, but if there is a baseball purgatory, its team is wearing Royals unis. I want to be the guy to stick it out and keep pounding away until KC breaks through and is good again, but at what point does it become a waste of time and energy? How many hours compiling data is this team worth? That's a question I have to answer each season. And early August is when that question really starts to sound the alarm in my brain. Any more, it's right after the team does absolutely nothing to get better, or at least find a way to jettison some dead wood, at the trade deadline.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 6, Memphis 4

1B Ka'aihue 3-5, RBI (43), K, RS -- .262
DH Aldridge 2-5, HR (13), 3 RBI (49), K, RS -- .303
LF Thorman 2-4, BB, K, SB (5), OF assist at home -- .281
SS Hernandez 2-3, BB, K, RS -- .291
C House 1-5, HR (8), RBI (38), RS -- .248
RF Parraz 0-4, SF, RBI (3), 2 K, OF assist at home -- .250
2B Hulett 1-5 -- .312
3B Lisson 0-3, BB -- .246
* Omaha stranded 10.

DiNardo 4 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 4 BB, 4 K, E (4) -- 3.47 ERA, 4 was the number of the day for Lenny
Yabuta 2 IP, BB, 3 K -- W, 2-1, 3.35 ERA
Hayes 2 IP, 2 BB -- 3.00 ERA
Marte IP, K -- SV, 2, 2.93 ERA

*** The Omaha bullpen turned its fortunes around with 5 no-hit innings of work and the O-Royals salvaged the finale with Memphis. Cory Aldridge hit a 2-out, 2-run homer in the 1st for his 13th of the season and J.R. House followed with his 8th to make it 3-0 O-Royals. Memphis scored a run off Lenny DiNardo in the 1st but Scott Thorman and Mario Lisson teamed up to gun down a runner at the plate to cut the rally short. Memphis kept trimming with a run in the 3rd and, after Omaha stranded 3 in the 4th, the Redbirds got another run in the bottom of the inning to tie it. Omaha regained command in the 5th as Aldridge hit an RBI single and Jordan Parraz hit a sac fly to make it 5-3. DiNardo was pulled after allowing a run on 2 hits, a walk and error in the 5th and Yas Yabuta came in with the bases loaded and no outs. Yabuta pulled the Houdini with a lineout double play and strikeout to come away with the lead intact. Omaha stranded 3 in the 6th but Kila Ka'aihue singled in an insurance run in the 8th. Chris Hayes and Victor Marte took care of the rest. Memphis SP Oneli Perez took the loss with 4 IP of 5 ER allowed on 7 hits and 4 walks with 2 Ks to fall to 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA. DH Jarrett Hoffpauir and 3B David Freese had 2 hits for the 'Birds. Hoffpauir hit his 13th double and drove in his 43rd RBI to improve to .300.

The O-Royals are 45-64. A 4-game home set with the Las Vegas 51s (55-56, AAA Blue Jays) starts tonight with Dusty Hughes (0-2, 4.24) facing 51s lefty David Purcey (5-4, 4.31).The Vegas roster features Jays prospects OF Travis Snider (top organizational prospect, leads team with 1.039 OPS, also hitting .308 in 130 ABs), C J.P. Arencibia (.228/.692 in 334 ABs), lefty Brad Mills (on DL, 2-8, 4.06, 1.40 WHIP in 84 1/3 IP), and former Royals IF prospect Angel Sanchez (.310/.789 in 355 ABs, he hit .221/.584 in 38 games with Omaha last season).

AA - NW Arkansas: Tulsa 11, Naturals 3

3B Maddox 2-3, BB, HR (2), RBI (8), 2 RS -- .246
RF Lucas 1-4, 2B (14), RBI (34), OF assist at home -- .284
LF Dyson 1-2, BB, S, RBI (10), E (4) -- .275
CF Lough 1-3, BB, 2B (3), RS, SB (8), E (3) -- .331
SS Bianchi 0-4 -- .321
2B Mertins 0-4, K -- .271

Kniginyzky 4 2/3 IP, 7 R (4 ER), 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA, balk -- L, 4-9, 5.07 ERA
de la Vara 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 5.43 ERA
Godin IP, H -- 1.50 ERA
Abreu IP, H, K, WP -- 2.45 ERA

*** A 5-run 5th blew the game open as Tulsa took the first of 3 with NWA. 3B Darin Holcomb hit a 1-out solo homer (his 10th) in the 1st off Matt Kniginyzky to get the scoring started. David Lough was thrown out at home in the NWA 1st but the Naturals got it tied in the 2nd on Marc Maddox's 2nd homer of the season. Kniginyzky allowed a run in the 3rd and NWA missed a chance when Corey Smith was picked off at third to end the Nats 4th. Things fell apart in the 5th as Kniginyzky allowed 5 runs on 2 walks, 4 hits and a Lough error to make it 7-1. Jarrod Dyson hit a 2-out RBI single in the 5th but Tulsa scored 4 in the 7th to put it away. An Ed Lucas RBI double in the 9th accounted for the game's final run. Tulsa SP Chaz Roe went the distance and allowed 3 runs (2 ER) on 6 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to improve to 5-2 with a 3.15 ERA. Six Drillers had multiple hits as RF Ryan Harvey had 3 hits, including his 16th double and 16th HR, and 5 RBI (58) to move to .237. 1B Jeff Kindel had 3 hits, including his 18th double, and 3 RBI (49) to move to .269.

The Naturals are 22-16 and now tied for first. Game 2 of the set is tonight as Rowdy Hardy (2-1, 3.12) faces Drillers lefty Keith Weiser (7-10, 4.91).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Winston-Salem 1

3B Moustakas 2-4, RBI (66), K -- .254
CF D. Robinson 2-4, K, RS -- .232
LF Orlando 1-3, HBP, RBI (29), K, RS, SB (14), CS (2) -- .256
DH Walton 1-4, RBI (25) -- .258
2B Giavotella 1-4, 2B (16), K -- .256
RF Van Stratten 1-3, BB, 2B (2), RS -- .191
1B Hosmer 0-3, BB -- .208

M. Santiago 6 IP, ER, 2 H, 5 K, HRA, WP -- W, 6-11, 4.13 ERA
Gutierrez 2 IP, BB, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
Sisk IP, H, 2 K -- SV, 13, 2.09 ERA

*** Mario Santiago and 2 relievers combined on a 3-hitter as the Rocks won their 10th in a row. Wilmington stranded 2 in the 1st and Santiago served up a leadoff homer to DH Seth Loman (his 8th) in the 2nd to spot the Dash a 1-0 lead. After the homer, Santiago retired the final 15 he faced. Paulo Orlando tied it with an RBI single in the 4th and Jamar Walton hit the go-ahead single to make it 2-1 Rocks. Mike Moustakas hit an RBI single in the 8th for an insurance run and Brandon Sisk pitched the 9th for his 13th save. Dash SP Jacob Rasner took the loss with 2 ER allowed on 6 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks over 6 IP to fall to 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA.

The Rocks are now 23-14 and 1 1/2 games back of first. Game 3 is tonight as Mike Montgomery (0-0, 3.00) faces Dash righty Levi Maxwell (4-10, 4.32). The Rocks' team record for consecutive wins is 11, set in 1994, so knock on wood.

A - Burlington: Bees 19, Clinton 6

DH Bonilla 4-6, HBP, RBI (28), K, 2 RS -- .236
2B F. Garcia 4-5, BB, RBI (17), 3 RS -- .266
1B D. Wood 3-7, 4 RBI (43), K, RS -- .247
CF Norris 3-7, 3 RBI (17), K, 3 RS, OF assist at home -- .251
3B Taylor 2-5, 2 BB, 3B (2), 3 RBI (16), 2 RS, picked off -- .252
C Graterol 2-5, BB, RBI (2), 2 RS -- .281
LF Ortiz 1-6, BB, 2 RBI (7), 2 K, 3 RS, SB (3) -- .194
RF Griffin 1-7, RBI (10), 3 K -- .301
SS R. Wood 0-3, 3 BB, K, 3 RS -- .100
* The Bees stranded 14.

Lehmann 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 4-4, 4.65 ERA
Coleman 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, H, K -- 2.45 ERA, first runs allowed
C. Rodriguez 1/3 IP, H -- 3.00 ERA
B. Hardy 2 IP, ER, 2 H, K, HRA -- 2.35 ERA

*** The Bees made a lot of their 20 hits in trouncing the LumberKings to even the series. Clinton scored a run in the 1st and the Bees answered with 5 in the 2nd on 2-out, 2-run singles from Patrick Norris and Adrian Ortiz with Jason Taylor also chipping in an RBI single. The Bees trumped that effort with 7 runs in the 3rd on another 2-out rally of a bases-loaded walk by Fernando Garcia, a 2-run Clinton error, Taylor bases-loaded walk, 2-run David Wood single and run-scoring wild pitch. Mike Lehmann allowed 2 runs in the 3rd but the Bees got 3 in the 4th on a Norris RBI groundout, another bases-loaded walk by Taylor and Wood RBI single to make it 15-3. Juan Graterol hit an RBI single in the 6th and the Bees scored their final 3 runs in the 7th on a Wood RBI groundout and RBI singles from Jose Bonilla and Shawn Griffin. The Kings scored 3 meaningless runs from then on. Clinton SP Jonathan Hesketh had a rough team debut with 5 ER allowed on 6 hits and a walk with 2 Ks over 1 2/3 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA. Four Clinton batters had multiple hits led by a 3-3 night from DH Kris Sanchez, who had a walk, 2 doubles (18), his 10th homer, 2 RBI (38) and 2 RS to move to .313. LF Jacob Shaffer also drove in 2 runs (30).

The Bees are 16-21 and 5 games back. Game 3 with the 'Kings is tonight as Manauris Baez (5-4, 3.34) faces Clinton lefty Bobby LaFromboise (6-6, 3.80).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 5, Orem 3

CF Llanos 2-5, RBI, 2 K -- .200
SS-2B Franco 2-3, 2 BB, RS -- .243
2B Stovall 2-4, K, RS -- .250
C Theriot 1-4, RBI (13), RS, SB -- .333
3B Morales 1-3, BB, RBI (14), K -- .275
RF Caldwell 0-2, BB, SF, RBI (13), K -- .221
LF Testa 1-5, K, 2 RS, SB (8) -- .282
DH H. Richardson 0-3, HBP -- .315

Marimon 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K, WP, balk -- 6.54 ERA
Lafferty 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, K -- W, 2-1, 3.04 ERA

*** Two late runs got the Chukars the win. Orem took the lead in the 3rd with 2 runs off Sugar Ray Marimon on a walk and 3 hits before stranding 2. Idaho Falls took the lead with 3 runs in the 4th on a Carlo Testa run-scoring single aided by an Owlz error, a Ben Theriot RBI single and Allen Caldwell sac fly. Orem tied it in the 4th and it stayed tied at 3 into the 8th. IF stranded 2 in the 7th but took the lead in the 8th on a 2-out Jason Morales RBI single. Alex Llanos drove in his 1st run as a Chukar with a single in the 9th and Brendan Lafferty got a double play to end it in the bottom of the inning. RP Francis Cabrera took the loss with an ER allowed over 1 1/3 IP to fall to 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA. Starter Orangel Arenas allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with a 5 Ks over 6 IP to move his ERA to 5.30. Orem 1B Dillon Baird had 2 hits and 2 RBI (20) to move to .407.

IF is 1-1. The series ends tonight with John Lamb (0-1, 5.00) facing Owlz lefty Stephen Locke (3-3, 5.55).

Rookie - Burlington: Pulaski 7, B-Royals 3 (completion of July 17 game)

CF D. Rodriguez 4-4, 2B, RBI, RS, SB (4), picked off -- .333
DH Moctezuma 2-3, BB, 3B, RS -- .385
SS Espinal 1-3, SF, 2B (3), RBI (5) -- .271
LF Pickett 0-5, RBI (2), K, SB (5) -- .152
RF Del Rosario 1-3, BB, 2B (3), SB (10), CS (3), E (2) -- .372
C F. Cruz 0-4, E (2) -- .227

Hayenga 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 K -- 3.76 ERA
Hudnall 2 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K, 2 HRA, 3 WP -- L, 0-3, 15.95 ERA

*** Almost 3 weeks after it started, the July 17 game with Pulaski was finished Tuesday. The Royals had a couple runners thrown out on the basepaths early and Pulaski scored 2 in the 3rd off Keaton Hayenga. Jovan Pickett hit an RBI groundout in the 5th and Burlington took the lead with 2 in the 7th on a Derek Rodriguez RBI double and Yowill Espinal sac fly. LF Greg Waddell hit a 2-run homer (his 1st) and CF Dwight Britton made it back-to-back HRs (his 4th) to give Pulaski a 5-3 lead in the 7th. Jaeson Hudnall allowed 2 more runs in the 8th and the Royals didn't have a comeback in them. RP Chris Sorce blew his 2nd save but got the win with an ER allowed over 2 IP to move to 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA. Starter Jean Tome worked 6 IP of 2 ER allowed on 8 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 6.85. Waddell and Britton had 3 hits and 2 RBI each and DH Jharmidy De Jesus also had 2 hits for the M's. The Royals' players individual totals may look a little skewed, as I think they're based on what the player was doing going into July 17.

B-Royals 6, Pulaski 5 (7/reg. Tues. game)

CF G. Beltre 3-3, 3B (2), HR (4), 3 RBI (19), 3 RS -- .245
RF Del Rosario 2-4, HR (2), RBI (14), RS, SB (14), CS (4) -- .283
2B Tschepikow 2-3, RBI (2), E -- .500
3B Culver 2-3, RBI (14) -- .227
LF Pickett 2-3, BB, SB (15), OF assist at third -- .293
1B Kuebler 2-4, 2B (4), 2 RS -- .226

Dennick 4 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- 3.38 ERA
Sirrett 1 1/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, HRA -- W, 1-1, 3.46 ERA
B. Richardson 1 2/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 3, 5.52 ERA

*** Burlington doubled up Pulaski on hits, 14-7, but had to scratch out a 1-run win in a truncated 7-inning game. The Mariners got a run on 2 hits off Ryan Dennick in the 1st and the Royals left the bases full in their half. Geulin Beltre led off the 2nd with his 4th homer of the season to tie it and Burlington pushed across 3 in the 3rd on Luis Del Rosario's 2nd homer of the season, a Beltre RBI triple and a Ben Tschepikow RBI single. Onassis Sirrett took over in the 5th and got knocked around for 4 runs, including a 3-run homer by DH Tim Morris (his 3rd) as the Mariners took a 5-4 lead. Beltre came through again in the 5th with an RBI single and Malcom Culver hit the go-ahead RBI single. Jovan Pickett had a key OF assist at third in the 7th and Brett Richardson was able to finish his 3rd save. RP Kyle Witten allowed 2 ER over 2 IP to drop to 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA. Starter Kenta Suda lasted only 2 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 9 hits and a walk with a K to move his ERA to 4.76. RF Mark McGonigle had 3 hits to move to .315 and Morris had 2 hits and 4 RBI (13) to move to .260.

The B-Royals are 12-29. Tonight's game features Tyler Sample (0-2, 4.87) against an unnamed M's starter.

Rookie - AZL: off day

The 2-6 Royals play the 3-5 Dodgers tonight.