So this is what's up...

Long story short, I'm not cutting out the reports, in case you've been wondering about the inactivity lately. I just changed jobs, which has made it somewhat tougher to find time to post. I had planned to do a season preview, and of course, today is opening day for the minors teams. Time and energy just hasn't been there to get stuff done, so I can't promise how the reports will go this season. I think I just need to work out some kind of regular schedule. As you can probably understand, after a day at work (at a job considerably less Pipeline-posting friendly, which weighs in), the thought of piecing together the report isn't the most appetizing. So daily reports may not fly.

Anyway, if you're counting, and Royals fans are, that's three games, three blown leads by the KC bullpen. Great.

Going down the list, at Omaha, some are touting this as the best O-Royals team in recent memory. The pitching staff includes former #1 overall pick Bryan Bullington, another shot for Chris Hayes to see if he can Disco his way to KC, former M's farmhand Gaby Hernandez, former Mets prospect Phil Humber, and reliever Carlos Rosa. The catchers are former Rockies and Dodgers farmhand Edwin Bellorin and Cody Clark, who is getting another shot at AAA. The infield is led by 1B Kila Ka'aihue, who was once again jerked around by the organization after a good spring. Former Braves prospect Wilson Betemit is there, Scott Thorman is back, and Marc Maddox tries to come back from a lost 2009. In the outfield, Jordan Parraz is the big name, although David Lough is one step away from the majors as well. Jose Duarte is getting another shot after floundering in AAA last season, and new guy OF Buck Coats is also in the mix.

At NWA, it's the one pitching staff in the organization I'd like to see every night. Aaron Crow, Louis Coleman, Blaine Hardy, Brandon Sisk, Everett Teaford, among others. Crow, Coleman and Teaford would be my favorites to move up this season. Too bad Danny Duffy isn't in the mix. Manny Pina and Ryan Eigsti are the catching tandem to open the season. The infield includes Johnny Giavotella, Clint Robinson, Kurt Mertins and another shot for once solid prospect Chris McConnell. Derrick Robinson and Nick Van Stratten are the highlights in the outfield and are joined by Tim Smith (a fruit of the Gutierrez trade along with Pina) and Paulo Orlando. I'd say both Omaha and NWA are solid, for the first time in the same year in a while. Not a lot of great players, but some good ones.

At Wilmington, it's Montgomery (Mike) and Melville (Tim) in the rotation and then a grab bag. Alex Caldera is back, Chris Dwyer is getting his first full season shot in Advanced A. After that, we'll see what we get. Salvador Perez (only 20 next month) and Ben Theriot are the catchers. Eric Hosmer paces the infield along with SS Ryan Wood, 2B Fernando Garcia, and 3B Jason Taylor. Alex Gordon is also rehabbing with NWA to start the season. The OF is slaptastic with Patrick Norris, Adrian Ortiz AND Jamar Walton, who are joined by, gasp, another former Brave in Jamie Romak. Perhaps the most dubious of the Royals minors' rosters to start the season.

Finally, there's the Burlington Bees. Kelvin Herrera is back from injury in the rotation along with Tyler Sample in his first year of full-season ball, ditto for John Lamb, Matt Mitchell is back from injury, and there's a few iffy relievers. Catchers are Jose Bonilla, Joey Lewis and the big name, Wil Myers. IFs include Fernando Cruz (guess the C experiment is over?), Deivy Batista, Ryan Stovall, and a couple imports. Hilton Richardson and Carlo Testa make for an interesting outfield to watch, and are joined by Allen Caldwell and Dominican import Rene Oriental. The Bees ought to be interesting to watch once more. We'll see how they gel. We'll also need to watch when and where Noel Arguelles pops up. I'm assuming it'll be in Wilmington or NWA.

So there you have it. When you'll hear from me again is the next question...it is nice to have baseball here once more, however. That, at least, you can count on.