Royals on the Farm 4/19

AAA - Omaha: Nashville 9, O-Royals 7

Huber 2-4, HR (6), RBI (8), K, 2 RS -- .372
Blanco 2-4, 2B, RBI (10), RS -- .340
Guiel 0-3, HBP, 3 K, RS -- .255, not a good day at the plate
Gotay 0-5, 3 K -- .276
Ambres 1-4, 2B -- .174
Phillips 1-4, HR (2), RBI, K -- .205, also 2 throwing E and 5 SB against, that's a mixed bag of a game
Aviles 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, RS, E (5) -- .171

Rotund Hernandez 5 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- L, 1-2, 10.67 ERA -- like the K/BB ratio
Elder 1 2/3 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 2 H, BB, 2 K -- BS

*** Omaha fell behind early but came back to take the lead only to lose it for good in the 6th. The Sounds scored 1 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd off Hernandez to take a 4-0 lead but Omaha put together a 5-run rally with 2 outs in the 4th to take the lead. DH Rick Bell reached on a fielding error by Nashville RF Nelson Cruz that allowed 2 runs to score and Aviles, Blanco and Kerry Robinson followed with consecutive RBI doubles to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. Omaha blew a chance to extend the lead after Ambres led off the 6th with a double. He was thrown out at third in an odd double play that looked to involve poor baserunning. Hernandez left the game with runners on first and third and one out in the 6th. RP Dave Elder gave up two RBI doubles, one a 2-run hit, to the first two batters he faced and, just like that, Nashville had a 7-5 lead. Nashville 2B Jermaine Clark drew a walk and, on a double steal with Tony Gwynn Jr. at second, both scored as Phillips made a throwing error and Aviles made a fielding error at third. Huber and Phillips went back-to-back with homers in the 8th to cut the Sounds' lead to 2 but that was it for Omaha's offense as Nashville came away with the W. The O-Royals are 9-5 and still a game up on the Sounds for first. Gwynn was 3-5 with 3 RBI for the Sounds to improve to .291. SS Chris Barnwell was 3-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .364.

Omaha tries to bounce back tonight at Nashville. Starters: Omaha RH Brian Bass (0-1, 6.55) vs. RH Dennis Sarfate (0-0, 5.40).

AA - Wichita: Springfield 6, Wranglers 2

Gordon 1-4, HR (3), RBI (7), K -- .345
Butler 0-4, K -- .259
Lubanski 3-4, 2B, K -- .146, finally a good game
Tupman 0-1, SF, RBI, BB -- .324
Sanchez 1-4, E (7) -- .340
Murphy 0-4, K -- .280
Maier 1-4, K, CS -- .232

Middleton 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K -- 5.17 ERA, walks, walks, walks
DePriest 1 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, HRA -- L, 0-1, 4.50 ERA

*** A 4-run 7th opened up a late tie for Springfield and the Wranglers dropped another one. Middleton and Cards SP Stuart Pomeranz battled back and forth for 4 1/2 innings before the Cardinals scored a run on a solo shot by 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir in the 5th. Gordon came back with a solo shot of his own to tie the game in the 6th but Springfield scraped out another run in the bottom of the 6th to regain the lead. Wichita once again tied the game in the top of the 7th on a Tupman sac fly but DePriest came on to pitch the Cards 7th and gave up a leadoff homer to C Iker Franco, a 2-run double to 3B Rico Washington and another run to stake Springfield to the 6-2 lead. Wichita went down in order in the 8th and 9th. The Wranglers are 3-10 and now 6 games back of Tulsa. Washington was 1-2 with 2 BB and 2 RBI to improve to .383. CF Reid Gorecki was 1-4 for Springfield to drop to .368. The Cardinals hit 6 XBH of 9 total team hits in the win. Pomeranz got a no decision and his ERA moved to 3.31.

The 5-gamer goes to its rubber match tonight in Springfield. Pitchers: Wichita's Juan Cedeno (0-1, 7.56) vs. Cards' Mike Parisi (1-0, 6.30).

High-A - High Desert: San Jose 6, Mavs 5

Stodolka 0-4, K, RS -- .355
Valentin 0-3, HBP, E -- .367
Lucas 1-4, K, 2B, RBI, E -- .234
Galloway 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI -- .297
C Tomas Duenas 1-4, HR, RBI, K -- .182, also 2 passed balls

Christensen 5 2/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K, HRA, WP -- ND, 4.32 ERA
RP Nate Moore 2 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 1.00 ERA
DeHoyos 1 IP, 2 R (1 ER), H, BB, 2 K -- BS, L, 0-1, 1.35 ERA

*** High Desert coughed up a 5-4 9th inning lead to lose the game with the Giants. San Jose got a 2-run homer from 3B Simon Klink in the 2nd to get the early lead but High Desert got an RBI double from Lucas in the 4th and RBI single from SS Irving Falu and 2-run triple from Galloway in the 5th to take a 4-2 lead. San Jose tied the game in the 6th thanks in part to a Christensen wild pitch but Duenas jacked a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead for the Mavs at 5-4. Moore pitched the Mavs into the 9th with the lead before DeHoyos came on to try and close it out. With 1 out, a walk was followed by an RBI double by SS Marcus Sanders to tie the game and a Valentin fielding error allowed Sanders to get to third on the play. DeHoyos got the second out of the inning but a passed ball on Duenas with the next batter at the plate allowed Sanders to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. The Mavs went 1-2-3 in the 9th. High Desert is 7-6 and 1 1/2 games back of first. The bullpen had a 15 2/3 inning scoreless streak going before DeHoyos' 9th inning woes. Giants RF Brian Horwitz was 2-4 to improve to .389.

This series also goes to a rubber game tonight in Adelanto, the Mavs' home base. HD RH Patrick Hicklen pitches vs. San Jose RH Juan Serrato.

Low-A - Burlington: Fort Wayne 12, Burlington 4 (10, completion of Tuesday's game)

Lisson 1-4, HR, 2 RBI (10), BB, 2 RS, SB -- .263
Thibault 1-4, 2B, K, RBI (9), PB -- .278
Duarte 1-1, 3 BB, RS, 2 SB (4) -- .194
Santana 0-3, BB, K -- .304

DiPietro 4 2/3 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, K -- 1.47 ERA
Damico 3 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K -- 5.14 ERA
De la Vara 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 K -- 5.91 ERA
Harkcom 1/3 IP, 2 ER, H, BB, HRA (GS) -- 7.20 ERA

*** So much for that 10th inning tie when play was suspended Tuesday night. As reported yesterday, the game was tied at 4 with Fort Wayne having 1 runner on and 0 out in the 10th when play resumed Wednesday to finish the game. De la Vara gave up a walk and RBI double before getting a double play for 2 outs but then gave up 2 more walks and 2 more RBI singles before being pulled for RP Cody Harkcom, who promptly gave up a walk and then a grand slam to finish off the Wizards' damage. The Bees then sat down meekly in the 10th to end it. What a nightmare of an extra inning. The Bees dropped to 6-6. Wizards SP Steve Delabar gave up 1 ER over 5 IP to move his ERA to 2.08. Fort Wayne RF Nicholas Crosta was 4-6 with 2 doubles, the grand slam and 5 RBI to improve to .286 and 2B Seth Johnston was 3-5 with a double to improve to .312.

Bees 3, Fort Wayne 2 (Wednesday's regularly scheduled contest)

SS Chris McConnell 0-5, 2 K -- .083
Lisson 1-3, HR (2), RBI (11), BB, SB -- .268
RF Carlos Arroyo 2-3, BB, RS -- .237

Henninger 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, K, 2 WP -- 4.50 ERA
Oliveros 4 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- 0.73 ERA, in bullpen for some reason

*** A 9th-inning rally gave the Bees a win to make tonight's series finale, as in High Desert and Wichita, the deciding game of the series. Fort Wayne scored its runs in the 1st and 3rd off Henninger before the Bees even got a runner on base. A Lisson solo homer in the 4th broke the ice on the scoreboard for Burlington to cut the lead to 2-1, which remained the score into the bottom of the 9th. Arroyo led off the inning with a single and, after 2 strikeouts put the Bees down to their last out, 2B Valentino Arce reached on a throwing error by FW 3B Abraham Aguilar and then McConnell reached on a throwing error by P John Madden (not the NFL announcer, but a funny thought) that allowed Arroyo and PR Joshua Johnson to score the tying and winning runs. Burlington is 7-6 and 2 games back of first. Wizards C Brandon Gottier was 1-4 to drop to .400 and 1B Daryl Jones was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .356. Fort Wayne starter Grant Varnell gave up only 1 ER on 5 H over 5 IP to lower his ERA to 3.00.

In the series finale tonight, Bees RH Carlos Rosa (1-1, 3.86) starts against RH Josh Geer (1-0, 3.60).

Royals on the Farm 4/18

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 6, Nashville 2

Huber 2-4, HR (5), RBI (7) -- .359
Guiel 2-4, BB, K, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI (13) -- .273
Aviles 2-4, 2 RBI -- .161
Phillips 2-4, RS, 3 SB against -- .200
Robinson 2-5, RS, SB (5) -- .300
Gotay 0-5, CS -- .302
Allen 1-4, BB -- .315
Blanco 0-4, K -- .326

Howell 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- W, 3-0, 2.65 ERA, another pitcher giving up walks
RP Frank Brooks 1 2/3 IP, H, BB, 0 ER -- organizational debut
RP Adam Bernero 2 1/3 IP, H, K, 0 ER -- SV, 5.40 ERA

*** Guiel is starting to come around as he had 2 homers and the O-Royals won their third straight by opening the Nashville series with a victory. Huber DHed and started the scoring with a solo shot in the 2nd for his 5th of the season. Omaha added 3 in the 4th on a leadoff solo shot by Guiel and a 2-run bases loaded single by Aviles to make the score 4-0. The Sounds scraped together 2 runs off J.P. Howell in the 4th and 5th to cut the Omaha lead to 2 and Brooks and Bernero held the lead where it was until the 9th, when Guiel hit a 2-out, 2-run homer for some added insurance. Bernero sat the Sounds down in order in the 9th to take any drama out of the situation. Omaha is 9-4 and now 2 games up on Iowa and Nashville in the PCL American North. Nashville RP Jason Kershner pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, CF Tony Gwynn Jr. was 1-5 to drop to .260, 2B Jermaine Clark was 1-4 to drop to .333 and C Mike Rivera was 1-3 to drop to .355.

The Royals try to keep the streak rolling tonight. Nice to see a team in the organization on a WINNING streak. Pitchers: Omaha RH Runelvys Hernandez (1-1, 11.00 -- uh oh, can he get his ERA under 10?) vs. LH Dana Eveland (1-0, 1.50).

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 7, Springfield 5

Gordon 2-5, 2 K, RS -- .353
Butler 3-4, BB, 2 RS -- .278
Lubanski 0-4, K -- .091
Maier 3-4, 3B, HR (4), 4 RBI (13) -- .231
Kaaihue 2-4, 2 RBI, K, RS -- .250
Sevilla 2-4, K -- .278
Sanchez 0-3, 2 BB, RS -- .349

Snare 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, K -- W, 2-0, 8.53 ERA
Markray and Nunez 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H (Nunez WP)

*** Maier, Butler and Gordon went a combined 8-13 to propel the Wranglers to their third win of the season. 1B Kila Kaaihue knocked in a run in the 1st to stake Wichita to a 1-0 lead and the Wranglers added 5 in the 3rd on a 2-run single by Kaaihue after Cards SP Chris Lambert walked the bases loaded. Maier followed with a 3-run homer (#4 for him) to give the Royals a 6-0 advantage. They'd need it as Snare got lit up in the 4th. Springfield pushed a run across the plate in the 3rd and then scored 4 in the 4th on two doubles and a 3-run homer by C Iker Franco to cut the lead to 6-5. Maier's RBI triple in the 7th gave the Wranglers an extra run and Markray and Nunez got through the 8th without too much trouble. Nunez gave up a leadoff double in the 9th and, with 2 out, walked the bases loaded but got CF Reid Gorecki swinging to end the game. The Wranglers are 3-9 and 5 games back. Springfield RP Kevin Ool went 3 1/3 IP of scoreless relief to drop his ERA to 0.77 and Gorecki was 1-5 to drop to .377. 3B Rico Washington was 1-2 with 2 walks to move to .378 for the Cardinals.

The series continues tonight. Starters: Wichita's Kyle Middleton (0-1, 6.52) vs. Cards SP Stuart Pomeranz (1-0, 3.60). In other news, OF Juan Senreiso got called up to Wichita from High Desert, where he was hitting .192/.192/.423 with 3 2B, a HR and 2 RBI in 7 G/26 AB. Fifth from the bottom on the team in OPS in a hitters' league. Ripe for a call-up, but it's a small sample size, I know.

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 4, San Jose 3 (10)

Valentin 4-5, GW HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS -- .407
Rusty Brown 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 K -- .268
McFall 1-2, K, HR (3), RBI (8) -- .212
Galloway 0-3 -- .303
Lucas 1-4, BB, 2B, RS -- .233
Gaffney 1-4, K -- .417

Cota 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 7 K -- ND, 10.12 ERA

*** High Desert rallied for 2 runs in the 8th to send it to extras and Valentin finished his damage for the day with a walkoff homer in the 10th. San Jose got on the board first with a run in the 4th but the Mavs matched it that inning on McFall's solo blast to left for his 3rd of the season. McFall ran into the wall making an inning-ending catch in the 5th and left the game with a black eye and bruised arm. San Jose scored 2 off Cota in the 6th to take a 3-1 lead and the High Desert bats stayed dormant until the 8th. Lucas doubled with 2 outs off Giants RP Ben Cox and a wild pitch and Valentin single brought him home to cut the lead to 1. Gaffney singled to center and a fielding error by SJ CF Joseph Dyche allowed Valentin to score to tie the game. RP Jarod Plummer set the Giants down in order in the 9th and 10th and, with 2 out in the Mavs 10th, Valentin homered to left off RP Thomas King to win it. The Mavs are 7-5 and 1/2 a game back of first. Cota had his best start yet in giving up 3 ER over 6 innings with 7 Ks to 1 BB. San Jose SP Jesus Reina held the Mavs to 1 ER over 5 IP but walked 4. Giants DH Brian Horwitz was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .375.

The teams play game 2 of 3 tonight as LH Danny Christensen throws for High Desert vs. San Jose's RH Anthony Moreno.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 4, Fort Wayne 4 (susp./10)

*** I guess I'll do the normal treatment for this game tomorrow, as this game is set to wrap up tonight before the regularly scheduled game is played. The Bees got an RBI double from C Kiel Thibault in the 4th but Fort Wayne tied it off SP Ryan DiPietro in the 5th. 3B Mario Lisson cracked a 2-run shot in the 6th and OF Jose Duarte scored on a wild pitch in the 7th to put the Bees up, 4-1, but Fort Wayne got a run off RP Yovany Damico in the 8th and 2 off RPs Kraig Schambough and Chris Hayes in the 9th, including the tying run on a passed ball on Thibault. The Wizards got a leadoff single in the 10th before play was suspended because of rain and lightning.

In tonight's regular game, SP David Henninger (1-0, 4.82) pitches for the Bees against Fort Wayne SP Grant Varnell (1-1, 3.60).

Royals on the Farm 4/17

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Memphis 1

Huber 0-4, BB, 3 K -- .343
1B Rick Bell 3-4, 2B, K -- .429
Guiel 2-4, BB, 2B, RS -- .250
Blanco 2-4, 2 RBI, CS -- .359
Allen 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI -- .320
Gotay 1-4, BB, RS -- .333
Aviles 1-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 K -- .111

Keppel 6 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K -- W, 1-1, 4.67 ERA
Nelson and Yarnall 2 2/3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K

*** Three Omaha pitchers held the Redbirds to 4 hits and the Royals got a good offensive effort from several players in holding on to a 1-game division lead. Aviles started the scoring with his first AAA homer to lead off the 5th and give Omaha a 1-0 lead. An error by Redbirds 2B Junior Spivey loaded the bases with 1 out in the 6th and Blanco came through with a 2-run single to extend the lead to 3-0. Memphis scraped out a run in the 7th but Omaha bought some insurance with a 2-run double by Allen in the 9th after Memphis RP Franklin Perez issued 2-out walks to Gotay and Guiel. Omaha RP Ed Yarnall got out of the 9th with little problem and the O-Royals improved to 8-4. Redbirds RF John Gall was 2-4 to improve to .377 and C Michel Hernandez was 1-2 to improve to .404.

Omaha moves on to a 4-game set at Nashville (7-5, AAA Brewers) tonight. The Sounds are on a 4-game win streak. Starters: O-Royals LH J.P. Howell (2-0, 2.25) vs. RH Brett Evert (0-0, 1.80).

AA - Wichita: Springfield 3, Wranglers 1

Gordon 0-2, SF, BB, K, RBI (6) -- .348
Butler 0-3, BB, K -- .240
Lubanski 1-3, CS -- .100
Espino 2-3 -- .222
Sanchez 1-4, 2B, K, RS -- .375
Tupman 0-3, BB -- .340
Maier 0-3 -- .188

Song 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, 9 K!! -- L, 0-1, 6.14 ERA
Braun and Gragg III 3 IP, 0 ER

*** Song got little run support as Wichita managed only 4 hits off Cards SP Jordan Pals and 3 relievers. Wichita's lone run came in the 1st as Sanchez led off with a double, was moved to third by Tupman and came home on Gordon's sac fly. The Wranglers didn't get a hit after the 5th. Song gave up a run in the 3rd and 2 in the 5th before being lifted but actually had an all right start with 9 Ks. Manager Frank White was ejected after arguing a call in the 6th. The Wranglers are 2-9 and 5 games back of first. OF Reid Gorecki went 2-4 for Springfield to up his BA to .396 and 3B Rico Washington was 1-3 with a triple in dropping to .372. Pals moved to 1-0 and lowered his ERA to 3.38.

The series continues tonight in Springfield. Starters: Wichita SP Ryan Snare (1-0, 8.22 ERA) vs. Cards SP Chris Lambert (1-0, 5.40).

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 7, Inland Empire 5 (12)

1B Stodolka 4-5, 2 2B, BB, K, RS, SB! -- .407!!! (great game....maybe the Royals will get something good out of that 2000 1st rounder yet.)
OF Geraldo Valentin 3-6, K, 2 RS -- .318
SS Irving Falu 2-4, BB, SB, CS, picked off, E, HBP -- .268
2B Michael Gaffney 1-4, 2 BB, 2B, K, RS -- .500
Melgarejo 1-2, K -- .321
3B Ed Lucas 0-6, RBI, 3 K, RS -- .231
McFall 1-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, E -- .194

Buckner 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 2.76 ERA
DeHoyos 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, K -- 0.00 ERA
RP Brandon Weeden 3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 K, balk -- W, 2-0, 4.35 ERA

*** McFall provided the winning margin in the 12th after High Desert forced extras with a run in the 8th. IE got to Buckner for a run in the 1st but the Mavs scored 3 in the 2nd on RBI ground outs by Lucas and Valentin (aided by a Tuiasosopo throwing error) and a Falu RBI single. The Mavs added a run in the 5th on a ground out by C Adam Donachie that brought Gaffney home. The 66ers scored 1 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th to take the lead as RP Nate Moore blew a save on a 2-run double. Valentin scored on a wild pitch in the 8th to tie the game off IE RP Stephen Kahn. DeHoyos helped High Desert get the game into extras and Falu stole second with 2 out in the 10th but got caught stealing third to end the threat. The whole third-out-at-third problem seems to be organization-wide. Weeden came in for the 10th and got into slight jams in both the 10th and 11th but worked out of them. Stodolka singled with 1 out in the 12th and, after Lucas struck out swinging, McFall hit a 2-run homer to left off IE RP Mumba Rivera to give the Mavs a 7-5 lead. Weeden set the 66ers down in order in the 12th to end it. The Mavs are 6-5 and 1 1/2 games back of first. Tuiasosopo was 1-5 to drop to .333 and IE 2B Erick Monzon was 3-6 to improve to .325. 66ers LF Josh Womack was 1-5 to drop to .435.

A 3-game home set with San Jose starts tonight. Starters: Giants LH Jesus Reina (1-0, 1.80) v. RHP Luis Cota (0-2, 14.73).

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 13, Fort Wayne 2

1B Miguel Vega 2-5, 2B, HR (2), 5 RBI!, K -- .161
2B Joshua Johnson 3-4, BB, 2 RS -- .346
McConnell 1-3, 2 BB, RS, HBP -- .097
Arce 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 RS, SF -- .308
Thibault 1-4, BB, 3 RBI -- .281
LF Antonio Sabatini 0-1, 3 BB, HBP, 3 RS -- .200

Kniginyzky 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K -- W, 2-0, 3.18 ERA

*** The Bees offense exploded for 13 runs and Kniginyzky shut the Wizards down to get Burlington the win. Burlington started the scoring with 3 in the 3rd on an Arce RBI single and 2-run double by Vega. They added a 4th inning run on an RBI ground out by 3B Mario Lisson and 5 in the 5th on a 3-run dinger by Vega (his 2nd) and a 2-run single by Thibault to make the score 9-0. The final 4 runs came in the 7th on a passed ball that allowed Sabatini to score, a fielding error on a ball hit by Thibault that allowed 2 runs to score and an Arce sac fly. After Kniginyzky got out of a 2-out, bases loaded situation in the 1st, he allowed only 3 other baserunners and 3 other pitchers helped finish the game. The Bees are 6-5 and a game back of first. Wizards 1B Daryl Jones was 1-3 to drop to .368.He's the only Fort Wayne player batting over .300.

The series continues this evening. Starters: Bees LH Ryan DiPietro (1-0, 1.32) v. FW RH Stevie Delabar (0-0, 2.25).

Royals on the Farm 4/16

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 7, Memphis 6

Huber 1-4, HR (4), RBI (6), 2 K -- .387
Gotay 3-5, 2B, RBI, SB -- .341
Allen 2-4, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI (8) -- .311
Guiel 0-4, BB, 3 K, RS -- .222
Blanco 1-4, 3B, RBI, 3 E!!! (2 throwing, 1 fielding) -- .343, nice BA but not a good day at SS
Ambres 1-4, K, E -- .167
Robinson 0-5, K, RS, SB (4) -- .325
Price 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 K, E -- .100

SP Kyle Snyder 7 IP, UER, 8 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- nice start, 0.73 ERA
RP Dave Elder 1/3 IP, 5 R (2 ER), 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K -- 8.10 ERA

*** The O-Royals made some late magic happen to move back into first place with the narrow victory over the Redbirds Sunday. Omaha scored runs in the 2nd and 3rd on Huber's solo homer and a Gotay RBI double to take a 2-0 lead. Blanco's first error of the game on a blown double play in the 3rd helped Memphis cut the lead to 1 but that was all SP Kyle Snyder allowed for 7 strong IP as far as runs. The Royals scored 2 in the 6th on a 2-run shot by Allen (#2 on the season for him) and added runs in the 7th and 8th on a Blanco RBI triple and an Allen solo homer (#3) to make the score 6-1 Omaha. Elder came on to pitch the 8th and the Redbirds capitalized on another Blanco throwing error to start a rally. Memphis 1B Brian Daubach singled home 2 runs and DH Juan Diaz doubled home another run with 1 out to chase Elder with Omaha still leading, 6-4. RP Danny Tamayo entered the game and Blanco made a 2-run fielding error on the first batter Tamayo faced to allow the Redbirds to tie the game. Tamayo got the last 2 outs of the inning without further damage. Memphis brought in RP Brian Falkenborg for the 9th and he gave up a leadoff blast to Omaha C Jared Price to make the score 7-6 O-Royals. Price and Chip Ambres made errors in the bottom of the 9th but Tamayo was able to pitch out of the minor jam to end the game. Omaha is 7-4 and a game up in the division lead. Daubach, Diaz and OF/1B John Gall had 2-hit games for the Redbirds. Gall is hitting .367 and Daubach is at .364. Omaha scored 5 runs off Memphis starter Anthony Reyes over 6 1/3 IP.

The series concludes tonight in Memphis. Starters: Omaha RH Bobby Keppel (0-1, 6.55) vs. RH John Webb (0-0, 4.22).

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 4, Springfield 2

Gordon 1-5, 2B, K -- .364
Butler 2-5, RBI (5) -- .255
Lubanski 0-4, BB, K -- .081
Sanchez 4-4, BB, 3B, 3 RBI (10), RS, CS, E (6) -- .389
Kaaihue 3-4, 2 RS -- .231
Maier 0-3, HBP -- .200

SP Junior Herndon 6 IP, 2 UER, 7 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 1-1, 1.80 ERA
RP Derrick DePriest 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, BB, 3 K -- SV

*** Wichita again faced an early deficit but this time got the win as the Wranglers got a strong start from Herndon. The Wranglers started the scoring in the 3rd with a run on a Butler single after a leadoff triple by Sanchez. Springfield scored 2 in the bottom of the frame as a Sanchez fielding error extended the inning. Wichita tied it in the 4th on a Sanchez RBI single and added runs in the 6th and 8th on two more Sanchez RBI singles. Needless to say, Angel was a big part of the game for Wichita. Herndon gave up a leadoff triple in the 4th but came away unscathed after inducing three consecutive ground outs. DePriest came on for the 7th and cruised through the 7th and 8th before shutting the door in the 9th. Wichita is 2-8 and 4 games out of first. Springfield LF Cody Haerther was 3-4 to improve to .243. Cards CF Reid Gorecki dropped to .386 after a 1-4 day.

The series with Springfield continues tonight. Pitchers: Wichita SP Seung Song (0-0, 6.52 ERA) vs. Cards SP Jordan Pals (0-0, 4.15). In other news, DePriest was sent down from Omaha to start the season and RP Barry Armitage was placed on the disabled list.

High-A - High Desert: off day

The 5-5 (entering Monday) Mavs complete the series at Inland Empire today as Billy Buckner gets the start. A 3-game home set with defending league champ San Jose (High-A Giants, 7-2 entering Monday) starts Tuesday.

Low-A - Burlington: off day

The Bees (5-5) start a 4-game home set with the Fort Wayne Wizards (6-3, Low-A Padres) tonight. Rayner Oliveros (1-0, 1.29) starts for Burlington.

Royals on the Farm 4/14 and 4/15

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 10, Memphis 4 (Friday)

Huber 1-4, BB, K, RS, SB -- .304
Gotay 4-4, 3 2B, BB, RBI, 2 RS -- .294
K. Robinson 3-3, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 3 RS, SB, CS, picked off -- .400
Guiel 2-3, BB, HR (3), 4 RBI (10) -- .241
Ambres 2-5, RBI, 3 K -- .176
Blanco 1-3, 2B, RBI -- .296
Allen 0-5 -- .324

SP R. Hernandez 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 1-1, 11.00 ERA

*** Robinson and Gotay got the job done out of the 1 and 2 spots in the batting order and the Royals sent Memphis to its worst start in history at 0-9. Omaha led off the game with 1 in the 1st on a Robinson walk and steal of second followed by a Gotay double. Three more runs crossed the plate in the second as Blanco hit an RBI double and Robinson and Guiel hit RBI singles. Memphis cut Omaha's lead to 4-3 entering the 7th when the O-Royals got 2 runs on a Guiel sac fly and Ambres RBI single. Four runs in the 8th cemented the win as Robinson hit a 2-run single and Guiel hit a 2-run homer, his 3rd, to make the score 10-3. Runelvys had an OK start and got the win but doesn't look ready to take the mound for KC. Of course, KC's pitchers don't look ready for that so far. The win moved Omaha to 6-3 and up a game on Iowa for the division lead. Memphis C Michel Hernandez was 3-5 and 1B John Gall was 2-4. Both were hitting .400. Former Omaha farmhand Dennis Tankersley got the loss but dropped his ERA to 8.10 in the losing effort.

Memphis 10, Omaha 3 (Saturday)

Huber 4-4, HR (3), RBI -- .404
Blanco 3-4, RBI -- .355
C Paul Phillips 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 RS -- .148
Gotay 2-5, K -- .308
Robinson 1-5, CS -- .371
Guiel 1-3, 2B, 2 BB -- .250
Ambres 0-4, 2 K -- .158
Aviles 0-3, BB, K, E (4) -- .087

SP Brian Bass 4 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 4 BB, 0 K, 2 HRA, WP -- L, 0-1, 6.55 ERA
RP Stephen Andrade 2 IP, 2 ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 WP -- 6.00 ERA

*** Memphis' long start to the season got a ray of sunshine Saturday as they hammered Bass. Omaha got a great game from Huber but it wasn't enough as the Royals left 10 on base. Omaha got on the board first in the 2nd on Huber's solo homer but Bass gave up a 2-run homer to Memphis SS John Nelson in the bottom of the inning to lose the lead. Omaha tied it in the 4th on a Blanco RBI single but Bass gave up a 2-run double to 2B Junior Spivey and the Redbirds tacked on 4 in the 5th on 2 2-run homers given up by Bass and RP Joe Nelson. Omaha's final run came in the 8th on Phillips' solo homer, his first of the year. The loss dropped Omaha to 6-4 and back into a tie with Iowa. Hernandez was 2-5 for Memphis to stay at .400 but Gall was 0-5 to drop to .356. Another former Omaha pitcher, Brad Voyles, got the win.

Sunday's starters are RH Kyle Snyder (0-0, 1.69) vs. Memphis RH Anthony Reyes (0-0, 2.25). In other O-Royals news, RP Justin Huisman, who was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 2 relief appearances, has been released. LH Frank Brooks was signed and joined Omaha. According to the team site, Brooks pitched for Nashville in parts of the 2003 and '04 seasons. He pitched for 3 clubs in 2005, including one relief appearance for the Atlanta Braves. The 27-year-old Brooklyn native was with the Yankees in Spring Training and went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 4 relief appearances.

AA - Wichita: Arkansas 10, Wranglers 5 (Friday)

Gordon 2-4, 2 2B, RS -- .371
Butler 0-4, RBI, E (first one on missed catch) -- .237
Lubanski 0-4, K, E (2) -- .107
Tupman 2-3, BB, RBI, RS -- .400
Sanchez 2-3, 2 BB, RS, CS -- .333
Maier 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 RS, SB, outfield assist -- .237
Sevilla 1-4, 3B, RBI, K -- .250, AA debut

SP Kyle Middleton 5 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 12 H, 0 BB, K, HRA -- 6.52 ERA
Gragg III 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB, K -- L, 0-1, 8.44 ERA

*** The Wranglers' struggles continued as Middleton got knocked around as did the bullpen in the 5-run loss. Arkansas got a leadoff triple in the 1st from CF Dwaine Bacon and that was a sign of things to come. The Travs scored 1 that inning but Wichita matched it on a Butler sac fly in the bottom of the frame. The Wranglers took the lead in the 2nd on a sac fly by 1B Kila Kaaihue but Arkansas tied it in the 4th. Wichita scored 3 in the 4th on a Maier RBI double after Gordon's leadoff double, an RBI single by C Mat Tupman and an RBI triple by Sevilla for his first AA hit of 2006. The 5-2 lead held into the 6th when Arkansas tied the game on hits off Middleton and RP Thad Markray. Arkansas moved ahead with 3 in the 8th on runs off Gragg III and RP Cody Smith and added 2 in the 9th off Smith to make the score 10-5. Wichita got 6 baserunners after the 3-run 4th but none scored. The Wranglers dropped to 1-7. Arkansas LF Aaron Peel and C Bobby Wilson were 4-5 (plus Peel had 3 RBI) to improve to .371 and .318, respectively. SS Brandon Wood was 0-5 to drop to .267. Arkansas pounded out 20 hits in the win.

Arkansas 5, Wranglers 4 (Saturday)

Gordon 2-4, HR (2), RBI -- .385
Butler 1-4, RBI -- .238
Lubanski 0-5, 2 K -- .091
Maier 0-4 -- .214
Tupman 1-2, 2 BB -- .407
Sanchez 0-2, BB, RBI, E (5) -- .312

SP Juan Cedeno 4 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, K, 2 pickoffs, 2 WP -- L, 0-1, 7.56 ERA
RP Leo Nunez 1 1/3 IP, o H, K -- 9.00 ERA

*** Unlike Friday, Wichita never had the lead Saturday in dropping to 1-8. Cedeno gave up 3 runs in the 2nd to get behind and gave up another run in the 3rd to give the Travs a 4-0 lead. Wichita scored its first run in the 3rd on a Butler RBI single but Cedeno gave up a 5th run in the 4th to make the score 5-1. Wichita tried to mount a late comeback with 2 in the 7th on a bases-loaded walk to 2B Walter Sevilla and a Sanchez sac fly to cut the lead to 2. Lubanski and Butler had chances to do damage in the inning but failed. Wichita scored a run in the 8th on Gordon's 2nd pro homer, a solo shot, to make the score 5-4 Travs but didn't get another runner past second base. The Wranglers are 5 games back of the Travs in the division. Wilson was 3-4 with 2 doubles for Arkansas to improve to .385 and Wood was 1-4 with a double to drop to .265.

The Wranglers start a 5-game set at Springfield (6-3, AA Cardinals) Sunday. Starters: Cards LH Rich Rundles vs. Wichita RH Junior Herndon (0-1, 4.50). In other news at Wichita, 1B/DH Randy Ruiz was released. That didn't take long.

High-A - High Desert: Mavericks 5, Inland Empire 4 (Friday)

Galloway 2-3, BB, K, CS -- .400
Ed Lucas 2-4, 2B, RBI, RS -- .333
Rusty Brown 2-3, RBI, RS, K -- .320
Melgarejo 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .320
RF Juan Senreiso 1-4, HR, RBI, 2K -- .190, walk-off homer, outfield assist

SP Dan Christensen 7 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K, 2 WP -- 4.91 ERA, no decision
RP Adam Rowe 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K!! -- W, 1-0, 2.57 ERA

*** Senreiso got his first big hit as part of the Royals organization and the Mavs improved to 5-3. High Desert got on the board in the 1st on a Brown sac fly but the 66ers tied the game in the 2nd. The Mavs regained the lead with 1 in the 2nd on an RBI ground out by 2B Wilver Perez but Inland Empire rallied for 3 in the 4th off Christensen to take a 4-2 advantage. High Desert tied the game in the 6th on a Lucas RBI single and double-play ball by LF Geraldo Valentin. Christensen got through the 7th with no more damage done and Rowe came in and worked perfect 8th and 9th innings. Senreiso led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo homer to center off RP Jose de la Cruz to end the game. 66ers SS Matt Tuiasosopo was 0-3 with 2 K to drop to .393. 2B Yung Chi Chen, who did some damage against the Mavs in the season-opening series, was 1-4 with a double and 2 RS to drop to .367. He also had 2 stolen bases.

G1: Inland Empire 7, Mavs 3 (Saturday)

RF Brian McFall 2-3, 2B, RBI, E -- .200
Lucas 0-3, BB -- .300
Galloway 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .357
Brown 1-3, 2 K -- .321
Stodolka 1-2, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, RS -- .368

SP Patrick Hicklen 5 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, BB, 0 K, HRA -- L, 0-1, 9.90 ERA

*** A 5-run 2nd propelled the 66ers to the win in a 7-inning game 1 of a Saturday twinbill. The Mavs got on the board first in the 2nd on a McFall RBI double but IE got a 3-run homer from LF Josh Womack to cap a 5-run inning and make the score 5-1 IE. The 66ers added a run in the 5th on a Womack RBI single before High Desert cut the lead to 6-3 in the 6th with 2 runs on a Stodolka double. McFall followed with a single and Stodolka was cut down at the plate by IE RF Michael Wilson. Wilson homered off RP Jarod Plummer in the 6th to add some insurance and High Desert got three runners on in the 7th but couldn't score. The Mavs dropped to 5-4 with the loss. Womack's 2-3 day improved his BA to .600. Tuiasosopo was 1-3 to drop to .387 and Chen was 0-3 to drop to .333. 66ers SP Cibney Bello held the Mavs in check with 1 ER and 3 H spread over 5 IP.

G2: 66ers 3, Mavs 0 (Saturday)

Senreiso 1-2, 2B, E -- .192
Stodolka 0-3, 2 K -- .318
Melgarejo 0-1 -- .308, left game in 3rd
Lucas 0-3, 2 K -- .273

SP Justin Barnes 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HRA -- L, 0-1, 5.40 ERA
RP Gabe DeHoyos 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K -- 0.00 ERA

*** The game to make up an early rainout didn't go well for High Desert as they got 1-hit by 3 66er pitchers in another 7-inning game. Inland Empire scored 3 runs on 2 homers off Barnes in the 3rd and 4th and that was all they needed. Senreiso's 6th inning double broke up the 66er no-no. High Desert had 3 baserunners in the game in dropping to 5-5. Inland Empire SP Mark Lowe left the game after 5 IP of no hits and 8 Ks. Must have been on a pitch count. The Mavs struck out 11 times in the game. Tuiasosopo was 0-3 with 3 Ks to drop to .353. Chen was 0-1 to drop to .324 before being pulled for a PH. Womack was 0-3 to drop to .500.

The Mavs get Sunday off before finishing the set with IE Monday. I think it's SP Billy Buckner's turn again.

Low-A - Burlington: Beloit 7, Bees 4 (Friday)

C Jeff Howell 2-4, HR, RBI, K -- .211
McConnell 0-4, K, 2 E (3) -- .077
Lisson 1-2, 3B, RBI, BB, K, RS, CS, picked off, HBP -- .280

SP David Henninger 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 4.82 ERA

*** Beloit had 2 3-run innings to Burlington's one in the game as the Bees dropped to 4-5. Beloit scratched out 3 in the 2nd to lead off the scoring but Burlington got 1 in the 2nd on Howell's solo homer and took the lead with 3 in the 3rd on a 2-run triple by Lisson and a wild pitch that scored Lisson to make the score 4-3 Bees. The lead held into the 7th when Beloit tied the game on a 2-out RBI triple by SS Paul Kelly off RP Eliszer Garcia. The Snappers got 3 more in the 8th on 4 hits off RP Chris Hayes to provide the margin of victory. The Bees got multiple base runners in both the 8th and 9th but couldn't scrape together a run. Beloit C Caleb Moore was 2-5 to drop to .407. Beloit had 3 triples in the game. Royals organizational SS prospect Chris McConnell continued his struggles at Burlington with an 0-4 day that included 2 errors.

Bees 8, Beloit 0 (Saturday)

1B John Lowen 2-4, BB, K, RS, 3 RBI -- .286
2B Joshua Johnson 2-3, 2 BB, K, RS, RBI, CS -- .273
McConnell 0-2, 2 BB, RBI, RS -- .071
Lisson 1-4, 2B, BB, RBI -- .276
RF Ethien Santana 0-3, BB, K, RBI, RS -- .350

SP Carlos Rosa 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K, pickoff -- W, 1-1, 3.86 ERA
RP Gilbert de la Vara 4 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K -- SV, 1.80 ERA

*** The Snappers outhit Burlington, 8-7, but got outscored 8-0 by the Bees, who benefitted from 2 Beloit errors as well. Rosa and de la Vara held the Snappers in check and struck out 11 combined in helping the Bees move to 5-5. Burlington scored 5 in the 4th on RBI singles by Lowen and 3B Jeremy Jirschele before Santana drew a bases loaded walk, Johnson hit an RBI single and McConnell hit a sac fly to break the game open. The Bees added 3 more runs to the pile in the 8th on a Lisson bases-loaded walk and 2-run single by Lowen. Burlington batters drew 11 free passes in the win. Beloit DH Tarrence Patterson was 4-4 and is hitting .406. C Moore took the game off.

The Bees have Sunday off before starting a 4-game home set with the Fort Wayne Wizards (6-3, low-A Padres). RH Rayner Oliveros (1-0, 1.29) gets the start in the opener Monday for the Bees.

Royals on the Farm 4/13

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 11, Albuquerque 5

Huber 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 RS, K -- .316
K. Robinson 4-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, RS -- .333
3B Rick Bell 2-3, BB, RBI, 2 RS -- .333
Blanco 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 RS -- .292
Allen 2-5, HR, RBI -- .375
Gotay 0-5 -- .200
Guiel 0-5, 2 K -- .192
Ambres 1-4, 2B -- .138

SP J.P. Howell 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, 6 K -- W, 2-0, 2.25 ERA
RP Stephen Andrade IP, 2 K -- official organizational debut

*** Huber had his first great game of the season and the O-Royals rolled to the series finale win over Albuquerque. Omaha started it off with 4 in the 2nd on Huber's 2-run homer following Ambres' double and RBI singles by Blanco and Robinson. Omaha added 2 in the 3rd on a solo shot by Allen (his 1st) and an RBI single by Bell following a Huber double. Another run came in the 4th on a wild pitch by Isotopes RP -- prepare yourself -- Chris George. He gave up 4 ER over 2 2/3 IP -- that's classic George. Albuquerque cut into the lead with 3 in the 5th but Omaha matched it that inning on a 2-run Blanco single and a Robinson RBI double. The final Royals run came in the 8th on a missed catch error by RP Jimmy Anderson that allowed Blanco to score. Omaha is 5-3 and still tied with Iowa atop the division. Isotopes CF James Shanks was 2-4 to improve to .316.

Omaha moves on to a home series with Memphis starting Friday. As noted earlier Thursday, Elvys pitches for Omaha vs. Tankersley. The Redbirds (AAA Cardinals) are 0-8.

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 7, Arkansas 6

Gordon 3-3, BB, 2B, RBI, 2 RS, 2 SB (5) -- .355
Butler 0-4 -- .265
Lubanski 0-4 -- .125
Maier 2-4, HR (3), 4 RBI, 2 RS, K, SB -- .206
Tupman 2-4, RBI -- .364

SP Ryan Snare 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, WP -- W, 1-0, 8.22 ERA
RP Ryan Braun 2 IP, 0 ER, H, BB, 4 K, WP -- SV (1), 8.10 ERA

*** Gordon stepped up and he and Maier helped the Wranglers to their first win of the season. Wichita had two fruitful innings but it was enough to get the W. Arkansas scored 3 in the 1st off Snare to come out of the gate running but Wichita fought back with 4 in the bottom of the 1st on RBI singles from Gordon, Maier and Tupman and an RBI double by 2B Adam Keim. The Travs tied it in the 4th but Wichita scored 3 in the 5th on Maier's 3-run shot to right for his 3rd homer of the season. Arkansas scored runs in the 6th and 7th to get within a run and threatened in the 8th but Braun pitched out of a 2-on, 2-out situation and set the Travs down in the 9th. Wichita is 1-6 and 4 1/2 games back. SS Brandon Wood was 0-4 and is down to .320 for the Travs. 1B Mike Eylward was 2-4 with 2 doubles and is up to .393.

The series with Arkansas continues Friday as Travs RHP James Holcomb (0-1, 0.00 ERA) goes against Wichita RHP Kyle Middleton (0-1, 4.50 ERA). In other Wichita news, IF Brett Groves went to the disabled list, and Walter Sevilla was called up from High Desert to replace him.

High-A - High Desert: Rancho Cucamonga 10, Mavericks 1

2B Michael Gaffney 3-4, 2B -- also IP, 0 H, BB, 0 ER
Stodolka 2-3, BB -- .353
DH Rusty Brown 2-4, K -- .273
Melgarejo 1-5, 2 K -- .364
Galloway 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .364
3B Ed Lucas 0-4 -- .304

SP Luis Cota 3 1/3 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- L, 0-2, 14.73 ERA (this is the top organization pitching prospect? Bring on Andrew Miller.)
RP Brandon Weeden 3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K -- 6.14 ERA

*** Another rough game for the Mavs and Cota. The Quakes started off slowly with 2 in the 2nd but chased Cota with 6 in the 4th off 4 hits and 2 walks credited to Cota and a hit given up by Weeden. Weeden gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th to make it 10-0 and High Desert could only manage an 8th-inning run on an error on a ball hit by SS Irving Falu that scored Gaffney. The Mavs left 9 on base in the game. Gaffney pitched a hitless inning of relief, too, in the blowout. At least *he* came to play. The Mavs are 4-3 and a game out of first now. Five players had 2-hit games for the Quakes. RC RF Cody Fuller was 1-2 and is hitting .417. LF Drew Toussaint hit 2 dingers in raising his BA to .292. SP Rafael Rodriguez pitched 6 innings of 5 hit, 1 walk, 7 K ball to move to 2-0.

A 4-game set at Inland Empire (high-A Mariners) begins Friday. I think it's SP Daniel Christensen's turn to take the mound for the Mavs.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 5, Beloit 2

Thibault 2-3, 2 RBI, RS, HBP, SB -- .333
Santana 1-3, SB -- .438
Lisson 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, K, RBI, 2 RS -- .261
Arce 1-4, E -- .294

SP Ryan DiPietro 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 1-0, 1.32 ERA
RP Kraig Schambough 2 IP, H, K -- SV (2)

*** Burlington scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and that was all Ryan DiPietro needed as he held the Snappers in check for 7 IP and Schambough finished the job. The Bees scored 3 in the 1st on RBI singles by Thibault, DH John Lowen and RF Carlos Arroyo to take a 3-1 lead after DiPietro gave up a solo shot to the third batter he faced. The Bees added 2 more in the 2nd on a Lisson RBI double and Thibault RBI single. They had 3 base runners the rest of the game. DiPietro worked out of a jam in the 5th, coming away with just one run given up. Beloit didn't threaten again. The Bees are 4-4 and a game back of first. Beloit DH Caleb Moore was 0-4 to drop to .409. Snappers RPs Jose Lugo and David Shinskie pitched 4 innings of no-hit relief. SP Adam Hawes was who took the beating.

The Bees and Snappers continue the series Friday as Bees RH David Henninger (1-0, 3.38) starts against Beloit LH Ryan Mullins (0-0, 3.00).

NPB Notes -- Yomiuri Giants

Founded: 1934 as Japan's first pro team. They were the Tokyo Giants from 1936 to '46 and the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants from '47 to 2002.
Owners: the Yomiuri media conglomerate
Home base: the Tokyo Dome (since 1988)

A high payroll, the most titles (20) and their own TV network with all the games televised - nationally. That's part of what makes the Yomiuri Giants the New York Yankees of NPB. As the oldest and most storied franchise, the Giants have also become the Dallas Cowboys of Japan in a way -- "Japan's team". In the same way as the Yankees and Cowboys, they inspire intense feelings for both fans and foes. Over the course of their history the Giants have won 30 Central League titles and 66% of the Japan Series they've qualified for. They are the franchise of world homer champ Sadaharu Oh and "Godzilla" Hideki Matsui as well as Japanese hall of famers Shigeo "Mr. Baseball" Nagashima (.304 career BA, 444 HRs, 5-time MVP as player, also a manager) and pitcher Eiji Sawamura, who struck out nine in a game against an American all-star team in 1934 that included Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx. Sawamura pitched the first NPB no-hitter in 1936 and added two others later. He was killed in World War II as a soldier in the Japanese Navy and the Japanese version of the Cy Young award is named for him.

Money and history speak loudly in the NPB as the Giants, from all I've read, can basically pick and choose which free agents they want and the team even gets the best players in the annual amateur draft. The Japanese use a "reverse designation" system that allows college and industrial league players to set preferences for professional team. Many want to play for Yomiuri.

The Giants won every Japan Series from 1965 to 1973 and won their 20th and most recent title in 2002. Americans Jesse Barfield, Warren Cromartie, Dan Gladden and Reggie Smith have played for Yomiuri during stints in the NPB. To sum up the winning history of the Giants in one post is kind of futile. Today's Giant stars include C Shinnosuke Abe (currently hitting .436 in the '06 season), OF Kenji Yano (.500 in 8 games), 3B Hiroki Kokubo, P Koji Uehara (WBC stud) and P Kimiyasu Kudo, not to mention new-for-06 FA pickup IF/OF Seung Yeop Lee, who smacked 30 homers for Chiba Lotte in 2005. As shown in the picture above, their unis resemble those of San Francisco in MLB. Their mascot is an orange rabbit with the ears and head forming the intertwined YG logo. It's name is "Giabbit".

By the way, the Giants are 10-2 this season and currently lead the CL (thru Thursday) by 2 1/2 games over Chunichi. Archrival Hanshin is third with a 5-4-1 record.

Bob Bavasi's Giants page
Borisov's 2006 Pro Yakyu page
Wikipedia on Giants

Royals on the Farm 4/12

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 10, O-Royals 1

Guiel 1-4, HR (2), RBI (6) -- .238
Allen 1-4 -- .370
Gotay 0-3, BB -- .240
Huber 0-2, BB -- .200
Ambres 0-3, 2 K -- .120
Blanco 0-3, K -- .250
Aviles 0-3 -- .059

Keppel 5 2/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 10 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-1
Huisman 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K!

*** Guiel's solo homer in the 4th off Isotopes SP Yusmeiro Petit tied the game at 1 but Albuquerque rallied for 8 in the 6th and 7th to blow open a lead and put the game away. The O-Royals were 4-3 after the loss but still tied with Iowa, which lost to Nashville. Petit allowed the 1 run over 6 IP and the Isotopes got 3 IP of no-hit relief. RF Matt Cepicky and DH Mike Kincade were 3-4 while 1B Jason Wood was 1-4 with a homer for the Isotopes.

Today's game has already been played as J.P. Howell took the hill for Omaha and got the win in an 11-5 O-Royals victory. A report on that will be posted later tonight or tomorrow. The Royals start a 4-game set at Memphis Friday. Matchup: Omaha RH Runelvys Hernandez (0-1, 24.00) vs. (ol' friend) Memphis RH Dennis Tankersley (0-0, 10.80 -- big surprise on the ERA, but it's better than Elvys').

AA - Wichita: Arkansas 5, Wichita 4

Gordon 1-4, K -- .286
Butler 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, RS -- .300
Lubanski 0-2, BB, K -- .150, outfield assist
Tupman 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, RS -- .333
Sanchez 1-4, 2 RBI -- .333

SP Seung Song 6 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- no decision
RP John Gragg III 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K, HRA -- blown save
Hoelscher 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H -- L, 0-1

*** The Wranglers wasted a good start from Song and the futility continues as they are 0-6. Gordon's BA continues to slide as the 1-4 day knocks him down to .286 but Butler had a good day at the plate with 2 doubles. Arkansas scored first but Wichita tied the game in the 3rd on an RBI ground out by Butler. Wichita took the lead with 3 in the 5th on a 2-run single by SS Angel Sanchez and an RBI single by DH Randy Ruiz that drove Butler home after a double. The hit also ended the inning as Ruiz was thrown out at second trying to stretch it after the throw home to try and get Butler was late. Arkansas got a run off Song and Gragg in the 7th to cut the lead to 4-2 and tied it in the 8th on a 2-run blast off Gragg by 3B Matthew Brown. In the meantime the Wrangler offense sputtered. RP Nate Hoelscher gave up a double and RBI single with 2 outs in the top of the 9th to give Arkansas the lead and Wichita couldn't tie it in the bottom of the frame off RP Bob Zimmermann. The loss has the Wranglers 5 back in the division. Brown was 3-4 and is hitting .400. Travs SS Brandon Wood was 0-3 with a walk and is down to .381.

The series continued today with an 11 a.m. start. And the Wranglers have won. Go crazy, Wichita! Wranglers win, 7-6, and are now 1-6. A report will be made on that game tonight or tomorrow. Ryan Snare made the start for Wichita. The 5-game set continues Friday.

High-A - High Desert: Rancho Cucamonga 12, Mavs 3

SS Irving Falu 2-5, RS, E -- .304
LF Michael Galloway 0-4 -- .421
1B Rusty Brown 1-3, BB, RBI, RS, E -- .222
RF Brian McFall 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI -- .167

SP Jarod Plummer 2 IP, 8 R (5 ER), 8 H, 0 BB, 1 K -- L, 0-1, 22.50 ERA, uuuuuugly
RP C.J. Woodrow 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K -- 7.71 ERA

*** The Quakes handed High Desert - mainly Plummer - an old fashioned Cal League woodshed beatin' Wednesday in a 12-3 victory. Plummer got 2 out in the 1st before giving up 3 of 4 runs, although 2 were unearned because of an error by 2B Wilver Perez. Plummer gave up 4 more runs in the 2nd as he and Falu committed errors in the frame. Woodrow came on for the 3rd and gave up a run in both the 3rd and 4th to make the score 10-0 RC. Woodrow piled on 2 more runs for the Quakes in the 6th before the Mavs finally got on the board in the 7th on McFall's 2-run homer - his first at High Desert. Brown had an RBI groundout in the 8th but the game never got close to close, if that makes sense. The Mavs are 4-2 and in a 4-way tie atop the CL South. Quakes SP Nick Green got the win with 2 ER allowed over 6 2/3 IP with 7 Ks. SS Sean Rodriguez was 3-5 and a double short of the cycle and is hitting .458 but also made his 5th error. Three other Quakes had 2-hit games and the team had 8 XBH out of 14 hits overall.

The series concludes tonight as Quakes SP Rafael Rodriguez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) starts opposite HD's Luis Cota (0-1, 9.00 ERA). Hey, guess what the Quakes call their home stadium? That's right - the Epicenter. That's kinda clever, or at least a good marketing ploy. Also in the Mavs' news department, P Ryan Rafferty got slapped with a 50-game suspension for performance enhancers. The Royals just picked him up from the indy leagues this last off-season. We barely knew ya, Rafferty.

Low-A - Burlington: Kane County 8, Bees 6

McConnell 1-5 -- .091
Thibault 0-4, 2 K, HBP -- .286
1B John Lowen 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K -- .231
CF Ethien Santana 2-3, BB, K, RS, SB -- .462

Kniginyzky 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 K, WP -- 4.91 ERA
RP Gilbert de la Vara 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- L, 0-1, 3.00 ERA

*** For a few minutes the Bees had a 5-4 lead but it didn't last as the Cougars finished the series with an 8-6 win. The Bees scored 2 in the 3rd on a sac fly by 2B Joshua Johnson and an RBI single by 3B Mario Lisson but Kane County scored 4 off Kniginyzky in the bottom of the inning on a 5-hit rally. Johnson had an RBI ground out in the 4th and the Bees regained the lead with 2 in the 5th on Lowen's homer but Kniginyzky gave up the tying run that inning on a wild pitch with 2 out. Kane County scored 2 off de la Vara on a homer in the 7th after Bees RF Carlos Arroyo threw out the would-be lead runner at the plate to end the 6th. The Bees got back within a run in the 8th as McConnell reached on a fielding error that scored C Jeff Howell. Johnson committed the cardinal sin of making the third out at third on a caught-stealing play to end the inning. Absolutely Berroa-esque there. Kane County tacked on some insurance in the bottom of the 8th and the Bees went down quietly in the 9th to end it and drop to 3-4 and 1 game out of the division lead. Cougars RP Robert Madej pitched 2 1/3 innings of no-hit relief for the win. Kane County SS Frank Martinez was 2-3 with a HR and 4 RBI to improve to .364. 3B Wes Long was 2-4 (.400 BA) and 1B Steve "Mister" Kleen was 3-4 with a double and is hitting .300. I doubt they call him "Mister" but it's the obvious nickname.

A 3-game home set with co-division leaders Beloit (low-A Twins) starts tonight. Bees LH Ryan DiPietro (0-0, 0.00) hurls against, or should I say versus, Snappers RH Adam Hawes (0-0, 0.00).

Royals on the Farm 4/11

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 4, O-Royals 1

Allen 2-4, 2B, K -- .391
Guiel 1-3, BB, K -- .235
Phillips 1-3, BB, RBI -- .067
Huber 0-4, K -- .231
Aviles 0-3, K, 2 E -- .071
Gotay 0-4, 2 K -- .273
Ambres 0-4, K -- .136
Blanco 0-2, BB, K -- .294

Tamayo 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K -- L, 0-1
RP Joe Nelson 3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K

*** Isotopes SP Renyel Pinto shut Omaha down to the tune of 6 IP of 2-hit ball with 4 walks and 6 Ks. RP Buddy Carlyle added two more perfect innings and the Royals' lone run came in the 9th on a Phillips RBI single before Huber struck out to end it. Three of Albuquerque's runs came on one Tamayo pitch in the 5th on a 3-run shot by CF James Shanks. Their other run was in the 9th on a solo homer by 3B Jason Wood. Omaha is 4-2 and still tied with Iowa atop the division as Ben Sheets held the Cubs in check in a rehab start. Isotopes RF Matt Cepicky was 2-4 as was SS Robert Andino, who had a double and triple. Marlins 1B prospect Jason Stokes and LF prospect Mark Little were 0-4. Stokes had 3 Ks and is hitting .091. Little is hitting .412.

The teams continue their set today. Isotopes RH Yusmeiro Petit (0-0, 0.00) and Omaha RH Bobby Keppel (0-0, 5.06) are set to square off tonight.

AA - Wichita: Arkansas 7, Wranglers 4 (10)

Gordon 0-4, BB, K -- .292
Butler 1-5, 2B, K -- .269
Maier 2-5, 2B, RS -- .154
DH Adam Keim 2-4, 2 RBI -- .125
Lubanski 1-3, 2 BB, E -- .167

Redman 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K -- another good start
Markray 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 2 HRA
Leo Nunez 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 13.50 ERA, L, 0-1

*** Wichita squandered a 4-1 lead and let the Travelers send it into extra innings where they scored 3 in the 10th to get the win and drop the Wranglers to 0-5. Wichita started the scoring with 3 in the 2nd on an RBI single by SS Angel Sanchez and 2-run single by Keim. Donnie Murphy popped out in his first AB and then was pulled for a PH his second time up but no injury was mentioned yet on the team site. Arkansas scored a run in the 3rd but Wichita answered with a solo shot by 1B Randy Ruiz (his 2nd of the season) to make the score 4-1. The Travs got solo homers in the 6th and 7th from big time Angels SS prospect Brandon Wood and LF David Gates and an RBI triple from 1B Mike Eylward in the 8th to tie it at 4. All of that was off Wranglers RP Thad Markray. Leo Nunez finished off the 8th and got through the 9th smoothly but ran into trouble in the 10th. A Wood double was followed by a 2-run shot by 3B Matthew Brown and then a solo shot by RF Jason Aspito to make it 7-4 Arkansas. Lubanski and Gordon walked to start the bottom of the 10th but Ruiz and Butler K'd and Maier grounded out to end it. Arkansas RP Rich Thompson pitched 3 innings of no-hit relief to get the win. Wood was 4-5 with 2 doubles and the HR and is hitting .444. Eylward was 2-4 with a double and triple and is hitting .450.

The teams continue the series in Wichita tonight. Travs LH Daniel Davidson (0-0, 5.06) is scheduled against Wranglers RH Seung Song (0-0, 16.20 ERA).

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 5, Rancho Cucamonga 2

Melgarejo 1-4 -- .412
Ed Lucas 1-4, 2B, RBI -- .368
Stodolka 1-4, 2B, 2 K -- .286
1B Rusty Brown 1-4, 2B, RBI -- .200

Buckner 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 K, WP -- W, 2-0, 1.64 ERA -- looking good
RP Justin Barnes 3 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- SV (1)

*** A 3-run 1st and the pitching of Billy Buckner was about all the Mavs needed Tuesday in taking over sole possession of first in the division with the 5-2 win. Brown doubled home a run in the 1st and scored later on a wild pitch before Lucas doubled home the third run of the inning. The Mavs got another run in the 5th thanks to a 2-out fielding error by Quakes SS Sean Rodriguez. The 5th run came in the 6th after a 2-out double by Stodolka. Another Quakes error on a ball hit by OF Juan Senreiso allowed Stodolka to score and Barnes finished out the game in relief. The Mavs are 4-1. Quakes RF Cody Fuller was 3-4 with a double and RBI and is hitting .500. Rodriguez was 1-4 and is hitting .421.

The Mavs will try and keep their 3-game winning streak going tonight. No announced starter yet for the Mavs while RC will have Nick Green (1-0, 1.80) on the hill.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 6, Kane County 3

Thibault 2-4, RBI, PB -- .353
Arce 1-4 -- .308
McConnell 1-3, 2B, K, HBP -- .059
1B Miguel Vega 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, K -- .111
3B Jeremy Jirschele 1-4, 3B, RBI, K, E -- .143
OF Carlos Arroyo 1-4, 2 RBI -- .176

SP Rayner Oliveros 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- W, 1-0
RP Chris Hayes 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- SV

*** Oliveros held the Cougars to one run over 7 IP while the Bees slapped together 6 runs off Kane County starter Trey Shields. Burlington scored 2 in both the 2nd and 3rd on a Jirschele RBI triple and Vega sac fly in the 2nd and a Thibault RBI single and RBI ground out by Arroyo. One run each was scored by the Bees in the 4th and 5th on a Vega solo homer (his 1st) and an Arroyo RBI single. The only blemish on Oliveros' resume came on a solo homer by Cougars DH Frank Martinez in the 4th. A Jirschele throwing error, Thibault passed ball and wild pitch by RP Eliszer Garcia led to 2 unearned runs for KC in the 8th but Hayes came in and got the job done to seal the win, including striking out the side in the 9th. The Bees are 3-3 and a game out of first in the division.

The series concludes with a day game today. RH Matt Kniginyzky (1-0, 1.50) will start for the Bees against Kane County RH Vince Mazzaro (1-0, 3.60).

Evil Empire 9, KC 7

Well, we have our first game of '06 that can be listed under Bell's name on the blame list. The Royals had the Yankees down, 7-4, in Yankee Stadium in the 8th and couldn't finish them off today as Burgos gave up a crushing 3-run homer to Jeter. Since I mentioned Bell, there were some questionable managing calls in the game. After SP Joe Mays gave up his 4th run and got pulled in favor of Mike Wood in the 3rd, Wood got out of the 3rd unscathed and through the 4th. Meanwhile, the Royals tied the game on Sanders' 2nd homer and RBIs by Berroa and Buck. As a side note, Berroa actually got walked in the 8th, which is news in itself. Wood also got through the 5th before being pulled in favor of Dessens to start the 6th. The Royals built a 7-4 lead by the middle of the 7th as Costa homered and Sanders drove in another run. Dessens got through the 7th but was pulled in favor of Sisco for the 8th. Sisco promptly loaded the bases and gave up 2 runs with only 1 out to his credit before Burgos came in and sandwiched Ks of Damon and Sheff around the dinger by Jeter. I guess the bulk of the blame should go to Mays for blowing another start and walking 5 batters, but can't Wood or Dessens go more than 2 innings? Neither was struggling or getting hit extremely hard when pulled, then you had Sisco in at least two batters too long. To top it off, the Royals had the winning run at the plate and Bell let Mientkiewicz hit against Rivera with 2 out in the 9th instead of giving Stairs a shot. Again, why is Stairs on the roster, then? When you've got a team like the Yankees on the ropes, you have to knock them out, which the Royals didn't do today.

The good news is Teahen had 2 hits, as did Sanders, Grudz and Brown. The offense did it's job today but Mays and Sisco didn't step up. Sweeney is also hitting a robust .095 after going 0-4 and leaving after Rivera drilled him in the hand in the 9th. DeJesus also missed another game with his injured hammy. Costa led off and went 1-5, so didn't do a great job of getting on base. At 2-4, the Royals move on as Affeldt tries to improve on his first start tomorrow against Chacon, who is beatable. He can't get much worse than his first start, so there's not much room to go but up.

Royals on the Farm 4/10

AAA - Wichita: O-Royals 3, Albuquerque 2

Guiel 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K -- .214
Gotay 2-4, K -- .333
Allen 1-4, K -- .368
Huber 0-1, 2 BB -- .333
Blanco 1-3 -- .333

SP Brian Bass 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K
RP Joel Peralta 2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K -- 1-0

*** Guiel picked a good time for his first homer of the year and helped the Royals move to 4-1. Omaha scored 1 in the 1st when CF Kerry Robinson led off with a single and moved to second on a Gotay single. Robinson stole third and a throwing error by C Tom Wilson allowed him to score. The score remained 1-0 through 6 as Bass held the Isotopes to 2 hits. Albuquerque strung together two doubles to tie the game in the 7th and, after Peralta got through the top of the 8th, Gotay singled with 1 out in the bottom of the frame and Guiel followed with a homer to give Omaha a 3-2 lead. Albuquerque got runners to first and second with 0 out in the 9th before C Paul Phillips nailed the lead runner at third. With 2 out, Isotopes 1B Jason Stokes singled home a run but Peralta struck out 3B Jason Wood swinging to end it. Bass allowed 4 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings in a great first start at AAA. Albuquerque OF Mark Little was 2-2 with a walk and HBP in the game but was the guy thrown out at third in the 9th. He's hitting .538. SP Scott Olsen was who shut the O-Royals down for most of the game with an UER on 5 H and 3 BB over 6 1/3 IP.

The O-Royals continue the series Tuesday as the matchup is Isotopes LH Renyel Pinto vs. RH Danny Tamayo. The win helped Omaha keep pace with 4-1 Iowa.

AA - Wichita: The Wranglers had the day off and start a five-game home set with Arkansas Tuesday. They're 0-4.

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 7, Rancho Cucamonga 6

Stodolka 2-3, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 RS -- .300, bat looks good so far
Valentin 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 CS -- .375
Sevilla 1-4, BB, 2 RBI
Melgarejo 1-4, BB, 2 RS, 2 SB -- .462, outfield assist
Ed Lucas 0-3, BB, RS -- .400
Galloway 1-4, 3B, K, RBI -- .533

SP Patrick Hicklen 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 7 K
RP Adam Rowe 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 K -- W, 1-0
RP Gabe DeHoyos 1 IP, 2 K -- SV

*** The Mavs moved into an early first-place tie with the Quakes at 3-1 with a 9th-inning comeback. Both teams scored 1 in the 1st as Galloway hit his RBI triple. High Desert added a run in the 2nd on a Stodolka triple and ensuing RBI single by Geraldo Valentin. Rancho Cucamonga took the lead with 3 in the 3rd and 1 in the 5th off Hicklen but High Desert tied it at 5 in the 6th off Quakes RP Joseph Torres and Mike Pete. RF Brian McFall drew a bases-loaded walk to bring the first run home and Stodolka followed with a sac fly. Valentin's second RBI single of the game brought the tying run home and kept the Mavs in business but McFall was picked off and Wilver Perez hit into a force out to end the rally. The Quakes scraped together an 8th inning run off Rowe to put the Mavs down, 6-5, entering the 9th. Stodolka, who is looking decent with the bat (although it may just be the altitude), led off with a double and advanced to third with 0 out on a throwing error by Quakes P Frederic DeLoizaga-Carney. A strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play put the game in jeopardy but Melgarejo walked and stole second to put runners at second and third with 2 out. Sevilla came through with the 2-RBI single but was thrown out trying to advance to second and High Desert was left with the 7-6 lead. Gabe DeHoyos slammed the door in short order in the bottom of the 9th. Quakes SS Sean Rodriguez was 2-4 and is hitting .467.

The Mavs continue the set at Rancho Cucamonga tonight. Billy Buckner (1-0, 1.80) takes the mound against Quakes SP Karl Gelinas.

Low-A - Burlington: Kane County 6, Bees 3

LF Ethien Santana 3-4, 2B -- .400
2B Valentino Arce 1-3, RBI, RS, HBP -- .333
McConnell 0-4, BB, E
Lisson 0-3, RBI, 2 K

SP Carlos Rosa 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 6 K -- L, 0-1
RP Cody Harkcom 2 2/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K

*** Burlington took an early 3-1 lead but couldn't hold it in losing its road opener to fall to 2-3. The Bees scored 1 in each the 1st, 3rd and 4th on a sac fly by Lisson, an RBI single by RF Carlos Arroyo and an Arce sac fly. Kane County rallied for 4 runs in the 5th and tacked on a run in the 6th to make the score 6-3 and Burlington didn't get another base runner. Cougars' RP Joe Piekarz pitched 3 innings of 2-hit ball for the win. LF Nick Blasi and 3B Jeffrey Bailey were 2-3 to lead Kane County. Rosa was making his first start for the Bees since missing all of 2005 with an arm injury.

The Bees continue the series Tuesday as RH Rayner Oliveros takes on Cougars RH Trey Shields (1-0, 4.50).

Royals on the Farm 4/9

AAA - Omaha: Nashville 11, O-Royals 5

Huber 3-4, HR, 2 RBI
Chad Allen 3-5, 2B, 3B, RS
Blanco 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI
Robinson 2-4, BB, K
Gotay 2-5
Guiel 0-3, BB, RBI

Runelvys 3 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, K, 2 HR -- yuck
Bernero 4 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB

*** Doesn't look like Runelvys is ready to go, as he got smoked by Nashville Sunday to the tune of 8 ER and 2 HR over 3 IP. In other words, the O-Royals were never in the game. He walked two of the first three batters and only got out of the 1st with one run given up because LF Chip Ambres threw out a runner at home via a relay from Blanco to end the inning. In the 2nd, Runelvys gave up 2 BB, 3 H and a wild pitch as the Sounds scored 4. Hernandez took the fielders out of the question in the 3rd in giving up the 2 jacks and 3 runs total. Meanwhile, the O-Royals went scoreless until the 4th when Huber hit an RBI single and Mike Aviles hit an RBI ground out. Adam Bernero came in for Hernandez and had a smooth 4th before giving up the final 3 runs for Nashville in the 5th on a bases-loaded triple by Tony Gwynn Jr. Guiel knocked in a run in the 5th and Huber led off the 6th with a solo longball but by then the damage was done. Blanco went solo in the 8th and that was it as '05 Wichita Wrangler Chris Demaria pitched the last two innings for Nashville. The O-Royals are 3-1 and still had a successful opening series. They are tied with Iowa for first in the division. Gwynn was 2-4 with 4 RBI and 2 RS.

Albuquerque (1-3, AAA Marlins) comes to Omaha for 4 starting Monday. Isotopes LH Scott Olsen goes against O-Royals RH Brian Bass in the opener.

AA - Wichita: Tulsa 4, Wranglers 3

Gordon 0-4, 2 K -- .350 BA, first 0-fer
Butler 1-4, 2 K -- .286
Lubanski 1-4, HR (1), RBI -- .133
Sanchez 2-2, BB, 2 E, 2 CS -- .375
Murphy 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, K -- .350
Maier 0-4, 2 K -- .095

SP Juan Cedeno 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
RP Junior Herndon 4 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 0 K -- 0-1

*** The good news for Wichita was Tulsa OF Jordan Czarniecki didn't hurt them Sunday. The bad news was 3B Ian Stewart was still in the lineup. Stewart homered to lead off the 8th and give the Drillers the edge they needed to win. The Wranglers actually jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd on an RBI double by Murphy but Tulsa pushed across 2 in the 4th to take the lead away. Lubanski hit his first AA homer to lead off the 5th and tie the game and 3B Brett Groves hit a sac fly to bring Sanchez home. That run made the score 3-2 Wichita, which remained the score until the 7th, when Tulsa SS Troy Tulowitzki hit a 1-out RBI single off Herndon to tie it at 3. Stewart's homer made the difference as Wichita went down in order in the 8th and 9th. The Wranglers are 0-4. Stewart was 1-3 with the HR and Tulowitzki was 1-5 while Czarniecki was 0-3.

The Wranglers are the lone winless team in the TL (4 games back of the Drillers, of course) and now head home to take on the Arkansas Travelers (AA Angels) for 5 games starting Tuesday. The pitching matchup in the opener is Travs RH Jesse Smith against RH Mark Redman in his second rehab start.

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 10, Inland Empire 8

Ed Lucas 4-5, 2 2B, 2 RS, K
LF Michael Galloway 4-5, RBI, 2 RS
C Tommy Duenas 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
SS Irving Falu 2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, RS
DH Mike Stodolka 1-3, BB, HR, RBI -- first pro HR, I think

SP Daniel Christensen 4 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 2 H, BB, 4 K, WP
RP Brandon Weeden 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 K, WP -- W, 1-0

*** Ah, a California League game. 18 runs on 23 hits with 4 errors. The Mavs jumped all over IE SP Shawn Nottingham as they got 1 in the 1st on an RBI double by 1B Rusty Brown, 3 in the 2nd on RBI doubles by OF Juan Senreiso, Falu and IF Walter Sevilla and 2 in the 3rd on a Duenas solo shot and a Sevilla sac fly. IE stayed in it with 3 in the 3rd off SP Daniel Christensen but High Desert scored 3 in the 4th on RBI singles by Galloway and Duenas and an error by SS Matt Tuiasosopo that allowed Duenas to score. The Mavs tried to let the 66ers back with 4 in the 7th off Weeden and RP Justin Barnes but got an insurance run in the bottom of that frame on Stodolka's first homer as a non-pitcher. They almost needed that run as IE scored again in the 8th but that was it as Nate Moore pitched the last two innings to get his first save of the season. The Mavs are 2-1. Tuiasosopo was 1-4 with 3 Ks and Yung Chi Chen was 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI.

The Mavs are a game back of Rancho Cucamonga (High-A Angels) and head out to play the Quakes for 4 games beginning Monday. Quakes SP Rafael Rodriguez will start the opener vs. the Mavs' Patrick Hicklen.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 4, Clinton 2

2B Joshua Johnson 2-4, 2B, RBI, K, RS
SS Valentino Arce 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Lisson 1-4, K
Thibault 1-3, BB

SP David Henninger 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K
RP Kraig Schambough 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K

*** The Bees split the series with Clinton with a win Sunday as David Henninger had a decent opening start. The Bees scored 3 in the 2nd after a fielding error kept the inning alive with 2 outs on an RBI double by Johnson and a 2-run single by Arce. Clinton scored 2 in the 6th off Henninger and RP Adam Kalkhof before Burlington got an insurance run in the 7th on a wild pitch. RP Kraig Schambough shut the door over 3 IP for his first save. The Bees are 2-2 and a game back of first-place Beloit. Nobody had a great game for Clinton Sunday. Clinton SP Jacob Rasner got the loss despite giving up 3 UER over 5 IP.

Burlington heads to play the Kane County Cougars (Low-A A's) for three games beginning Monday. RH Carlos Rosa starts for the Bees against Cougars RH Ken Ray.

To quote Meat Loaf (White Sox 3, Royals 1)

It was a cliche before Meat Loaf made it a hit and set the cliche in stone, but there's a reason "two out of three ain't bad" is used. It's true, especially when you're talking an early season series against the defending world champs and division rivals, the Chicago White Sox. The Royals dropped the series finale, 3-1, despite a good start from Elarton. The team ran into some outs, so really they had their chances today but didn't take advantage. Buehrle took a 1-hitter through the first five or six innings and the only run came on a solo shot by Reggie Sanders off Jenks in the 9th. Reggie was the only Royal with 2 hits and the bullpen worked out of a jam in the 9th. The White Sox got 2 runs on a double by Crede early and then got shut down by Elarton until he gave up a gopher ball to Thome in the 8th. Maybe if he gets some run support he'll win a game this season. Sweeney was back to an 0-fer after Saturday's heroics, Teahen continued his Mario Mendoza imitation with a .111 BA, but he did have a 1-3 day. He got tagged with a throwing error probably caused in part by Graffanino's station at first with Mientkiewicz getting the day off. Berroa made an error and hit into a DP as part of an 0-4 day and continued to refuse to try to work a pitcher for a walk. It was a frustrating day to be a Royals fan but the last two games have taken the edge off so it's probably best to move on to the Yankees series and hope for at least one if not two of three up there. The momentum needs to keep going.

Royals on the Farm 4/8

AAA - Omaha: G1 O-Royals 2, Nashville 0 (7 inn.)

DH Chad Allen 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, K
Huber 0-1, HBP, E
Blanco 1-2
Ambres 0-3, K
Gotay 1-3, RS
Guiel 0-2, BB, RS

J.P. Howell 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Elder 1 IP, 2 H, K

*** Howell didn't give up a hit until the 4th and got a 2-out, 2-run double from Allen in the 6th to give Omaha a late lead in the truncated 7-inning game because of the doubleheader. RP Dave Elder allowed a couple runners in the top of the 7th but no runs to close it out. The game took 1:41 to play. Gwynn Jr. was 0-3.

G2 O-Royals 3, Nashville 2 (8 inn.)

Huber 0-2, BB -- .000 BA
CF Kerry Robinson 0-2, 2 BB, 2 RS, SB, K
Gotay 1-3, K
Guiel 1-3, 2 RBI
Allen 1-3 -- .300 BA
Ambres 1-3, HR (1), RBI
Blanco 0-3, E

Kyle Snyder 5 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 7 K !!!, 0 BB, balk
Justin Huisman 2 2/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 1-0

*** The O-Royals are in position for the season-opening sweep as they came back from being down 2 early to send the game into extras and winning in 8. Blanco's throwing error led off the game and Nashville used the mistake in scoring 2 in the 1st and putting SP Kyle Snyder down early. Ambres homered to lead off the 2nd and Snyder settled down to hold the Sounds in check. In the 6th, Robinson reached on a throwing error and got to third on a wild pitch. Guiel came through with a single to tie the game, which stayed tied at 2 into the bottom of the 8th. Robinson walked, was sacrificed to second by Gotay, stole third and scored on a Guiel sac fly to end the game. The O-Royals are now 3-0. Gwynn Jr. was 1-4 with a K.

Omaha goes for the sweep Sunday as RHP Runelvys Hernandez goes up against Nashville RH Dennis Sarfate.

AA - Wichita: Tulsa 7, Wranglers 4

Gordon 3-5, 2B, K -- .438 thru 3 games
Butler 0-4, 3 K -- .294
Murphy 1-5, HR, 4 RBI, 3 K, E
Maier 0-5, K
Ruiz 1-3, BB, 2B, K
Lubanski 0-3, BB, RS -- .091 yeesh
Sanchez 1-3, BB, 2B

SP Kyle Middleton 4 IP, 5 R (2 ER), 8 H, 2 K, 0 BB -- 0-1

*** The Wranglers fell behind 3-0 in the 2nd and never contended. Looks like my Wranglers prediction of 80-60 may be way off, unless Tulsa is again a league power. Two of the 3 2nd inning Tulsa runs scored on an error and passed ball on C Mat Tupman. 1B Brett Groves made an error in the 3rd that cost the Wranglers another run as part of a 2-run inning. Tulsa added runs in the 6th and 7th with the 7th-inning run coming partly because of a Murphy error to make the score 7-0. Murphy cranked a grand slam in the 9th off RP Joshua Newman but Maier struck out and Gordon flew out to end the game. The Wranglers are 0-3. SS Troy Tulowitzki was 2-5 for Tulsa and Czarniecki again did damage with 2 doubles. Tulsa SP Juan Morillo held the Wranglers to 4 H through 5 IP with 7 K and a BB.

The Wranglers will try to avert the sweep today as LHP Juan Cedeno will square off with Tulsa's Mark Kaiser.

High-A - High Desert: Inland Empire 9, Mavs 0

CF Ransel Melgarejo 2-4, 2 Ks
SS Irving Falu 2-3
3B Ed Lucas 0-3, E, HBP
1B Mike Stodolka 0-4, 3 Ks -- .000 at new position thus far
2B Wilver (formerly Gary) Perez 0-4, 3 Ks, E

SP Luis Cota 4 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, K -- 0-1
RP C.J. Woodrow 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, BB, K
RP Adam Rowe 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 K!

*** Cota's High Desert career got off to a rough start as the 66ers got 2 runs in the 1st and another in the 2nd before driving Cota out of the game with 2 in the 4th to stake a 5-0 lead. Inland Empire added 2 in the 5th and another run in the 6th off Woodrow. Meanwhile, the Mavs strung out 7 hits off four IE pitchers but couldn't push a run across the plate in falling to 1-1. 66ers 2B Yung Chi Chen was 4-5 with 2 2B and 2 RBI from the leadoff spot. 66ers SS Matt Tuiasosopo was 1-3 with a double, RBI, walk and 2 RS.

The teams end their series today. No announced starters, but if I had to guess I'd pick Daniel Christensen as the Mavs' starter.

Low-A - Burlington: G1 Clinton 1, Bees 0 (8 inn.)

McConnell 0-3, HBP
Lisson 1-4, K, E
Thibault 1-4, 2 K, SB

SP Ryan DiPietro 6 2/3 IP, O ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K

*** It was a pitchers' duel between DiPietro and Clinton's Zachary Phillips as DiPietro allowed only 3 hits while Phillips only allowed 4 hits as the game, shortened to 7 innings for the doubleheader, went into extras. Bees RP Chris Hayes gave up a run in the 8th and the Bees loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th but couldn't tie or win the game as Lisson was called out on strikes and Thibault went down swinging to end it. Burlington left 7 on base in the loss. The Bees moved to 1-1. Clinton CF Truan Mehl and SS Matt Smith were 2-4 in the win.

G2 Clinton 2, Bees 0

Thibault 1-3, K
Lisson 0-1, 2 BB, K
McConnell 0-3 -- .000 thus far

SP Gilbert de la Vara -- 4 IP, 0 H, BB, 3 K (must have been on pitch count)
RP Yovany Damico -- 3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K -- 0-1

*** The Bees nearly got no-hit by Clinton in the nightcap as a 1st inning single was Burlington's lone hit off SP J.B. Diaz or RP Jose Marte. The Bees did draw 5 walks and 2 Clinton errors but the offense struggled to score. Clinton's offense wasn't much better but the LumberKings scraped together runs in the 6th and 7th as Damico walked in a run in the 6th and Clinton got a sac fly in the 7th. The Bees went down with a whimper in the bottom of the 7th to end it and drop to 1-2. Clinton RF Terry Blunt was 2-3.

The Bees end the series with Clinton today. RH David Henninger takes the mound against Clinton RH Jacob Rasner.

180°??? Royals 11, CWS 7; Royals 4, CWS 3

The last time I posted about the major league Royals, they were 0-2 and coming off a horrible loss to Detroit. Three days later they're .500 and going for a sweep of the reigning world champs. If that's not a 180° turn, I don't know what is. How they got set for the sweep is somewhat interesting as they came back from a 6-0 deficit Friday to beat the White Sox and got a late blast from the $11 million man Mike Sweeney to get the win Saturday. Friday's game started much like the entirety of Wednesday's 14-3 loss to Detroit went as wannabe starter or closer Jeremy Affeldt got blasted like Charlie Brown on the mound to the tune of 6 ER on 7 hits over 4 IP. The new pickups chipped in as Reggie Sanders drove in Grudz to start a 4th-inning rally. Brown, Berroa and Buck doubled to bring in the rest of the runs in the 5-run spurt. The Royals tied it at 7 on a wild pitch and then a sac fly by Mientkiewicz, so the momentum was heavily rolling their way. Another Buck double and a DeJesus double gave the Royals a 2-run lead in the 6th and KC tacked on two more runs thanks to Teahen's first hit of the season and Mientkiewicz knocked in a run on a FC. Needless to say, that's a somewhat astonishing turn of events after the 13 innings from Wednesday's game to Friday. Grudz, Sanders, Buck, Berroa and Brown had 2-hit days. Mike Wood got the win after getting torched by Detroit Wednesday before getting ejected. His ERA is still 18.00. Another bad outcome in the game was DeJesus leaving with a hamstring injury that kept him out of today's game.

Then, today, the Royals got a good start out of Bautista and got good bullpen outings from Luke Hudson (once again), Dessens and Burgos. The offense took a while to get going but finally put some runs on the board as Sanders got a clutch 2-run double in the 6th to give KC a 2-1 lead and, after Sisco got touched up for 2 runs to blow his first save of the season in the 8th, the Royals had their backs against the wall. Grudz singled to lead off the bottom of the frame and Mike Sweeney (give credit where it's due) came back from a previous HBP to knock a Cliff Politte pitch into the left field stands and give KC the 4-3 lead. Burgos promptly came in after the Royals did no further damage and struck out Mackowiak and Uribe before getting Ross Gload to fly out to end it. All in all, two good wins. It's easy to forecast this season could be a series of ups and downs -- remember, KC swept the Yankees in 2005 -- but we'll see how Sunday's series finale goes and how the team responds in upcoming series as the true identity of the team is revealed.

Royals on the Farm 4/7

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Nashville 3

Gotay 0-3, RBI, K
Guiel 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K, RS
C. Allen 1-4, 2 RBI, RS
Ambres 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
Huber 0-1, 2 BB
Blanco 1-3, RS

Keppel 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 hits, 3 BB, 3 K
Yarnall 1 2/3 IP, 1 hit, BB, 2 K
Joe Nelson 1 IP, 3 Ks -- !!!, 1-0
Jo. Peralta 1 IP, K -- SV

*** Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson no-hit Omaha through 5 IP and Nashville ran up a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. CF Kerry Robinson broke up the no-hitter in the 6th but the Royals didn't get another runner until the 8th, when a fielding error by Nashville shortstop Enrique Cruz helped a Royals rally. Gotay hit a sac fly, DH Chad Allen came through with a 2-run double and Chip Ambres matched that feat to give the Royals a 5-3 lead. RP Joel Peralta put Nashville down quietly in the 9th to end it. The O-Royals are 1-0. Sounds CF Tony Gwynn Jr. was 1-3 with an RBI.

LHP J.P. Howell makes his first '06 start today in the first of two games against Sounds LHP Zach Jackson. In the nightcap, RHP Kyle Snyder will take on LHP Dana Eveland.

AA - Wichita: Tulsa 9, Wranglers 7

Gordon 2-4, RS, 3 SB!!! -- .364 BA, speed demon
Murphy 3-5, 2B -- .364
B. Butler 1-5, HR (1), RBI, 2 K, outfield assist, ejected in 9th -- .385
Maier 1-5, HR (2), 3 RBI
DH Randy Ruiz 1-4, HR (1), RBI, RS, K
Lubanski 0-2, BB, K, RS, HBP
An. Sanchez 2-4, RBI, 2 RS
C Damaso Espino 2 E

SP Ryan Snare 2 2/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 hits, 2 BB, 4 Ks -- ugly 10.12 ERA
RP Barry Armitage 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 hits, 2 BB, 1 K -- even uglier 16.20 ERA
RP John Gragg III 3 IP, 1 H, 1 walk -- nice outing
RP Ryan Braun 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 1 HR, BB, K -- 0-2 through 2 games, not good

*** Once again a Wrangler comeback went for naught as Wichita came back from a 7-2 deficit to tie it in the 9th only to see Tulsa CF Jordan Czarniecki strike again. After Snare gave up a first inning run, 3B Alex Gordon singled in his first AB, stole second and third and scored on a Sanchez force out to tie it. After Snare gave up another run in the 2nd, Billy Butler tied it on a solo homer -- his first of the season, but the Drillers scored 2 in the third thanks in part to two errors (one throwing, one Jack Clark-style dropped foul pop-up) by C Damaso Espino. Tulsa tacked on 2 in the 4th and another in the 5th off Armitage to take the 7-2 lead. Gordon singled and stole second in the 6th but didn't score. Wichita got back in the game in the 7th thanks in part to an error by Tulsa 2B Matthew Macri. Lubanski scored on a double-play ball by Murphy and RF Mitch Maier followed with a 2-run shot -- his 2nd in 2 games -- to make it 7-5. DH (and new pickup) Randy Ruiz homered to lead off the 8th and cut the lead to 1. SS Angel Sanchez singled to lead off the 9th and later scored on a Maier force out to tie the game. Butler was called out on strikes to end the inning and must have argued because he got tossed. With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, Braun walked Macri and then gave up a walk-off dinger to Czarniecki (his 3rd in two games against Wichita) to end it. The Wranglers are 0-2 and could just as easily be 2-0. Two games, two tough losses. Tulsa 3B Ian Stewart was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Czarniecki was 2-5 with the HR and 3 RBI.

The series continues today in Tulsa as Kyle Middleton takes the mound for the Wranglers against Drillers SP Juan Morillo.

High-A - High Desert: rainout. This game will be played as part of an April 15 doubleheader. I'll go ahead and assume Luis Cota will make his Mavs' debut tonight against the Inland Empire 66ers. No announced starters (as usual) on the team site.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 6, Clinton 1

3B Mario Lisson 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 RS, K, SB
C Kiel Thibault 1-3, 2 RBI, K
1B Miguel Vega 0-4, 4 Ks -- ouch

SP Matt Kniginyzky 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, 0 BB, 5 Ks -- 1-0, 1.50 ERA
RP Eliszer Garcia 3 IP, 1 H, 4 Ks! -- SV

*** The Bees had a very successful opener as pitchers Kniginyzky and Garcia shut the LumberKings down and Burlington took advantage of two Clinton errors to get the win. The Bees scored 2 in both the 1st and 2nd on a Lisson double and Thibault sac fly in the 1st and 2 runs on a sac fly by LF Antonio Sabatini thanks to a missed catch error by Clinton 3B John Whittleman. CF Jose Duarte threw in an RBI single in the 4th and Thibault hit an RBI single in the 8th to round out the scoring for Burlington. The Bees are 1-0.

Today's doubleheader to make up the opening day rainout features Bees LH Ryan DiPietro against LH Zach Phillips in game 1 and Bees LH Gilbert De La Vara versus RH JB Diaz in game 2.

NPB Notes -- Intro

I've always been curious about/interested in Japanese professional baseball and, with the Japanese coming off an inaugural World Baseball Classic championship and my interest still intact below the surface of my mind, I figured now might be a good time to start what will hopefully be a regular feature on The Pipeline about major league baseball in Japan. I'm calling it NPB Notes for now but that's subject to change. I remember doing a project on Japan in fourth or fifth grade -- which even involved writing to the Japanese embassy in D.C. and getting a huge thick packet of stuff in return (greatly appreciated). I don't know how much of that info I remember -- I guess some but not nearly all -- but I didn't really go into baseball in that project, unfortunately.

When you're young and reading just about anything about baseball you can get your hands on, there aren't really a lot of references to the Japanese leagues. About all you ever read about is Sadaharu Oh and his feat of hitting more homers than Aaron or Ruth (an eye-popping 868 from 1959 to 1980) and maybe a mention of Masanori Murakami, who pitched 89 innings for the Giants in the mid-1960s. Then you had Warren Cromartie successfully making the trip overseas (at least the first noted success of my lifetime) to play in the 1980s followed by more American exports, known as "gaijin" in the '80s, '90s and today. MLB imported some Japanese players too starting in the mid-1990s with Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu and hitting it big with Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. As many players going either way have failed as have succeeded. For every Ichiro and "Godzilla" Matsui there is a Tsuyoshi Shinjo or Masato Yoshii.

"Pro Yakyu" or Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is what the Japanese call the major leagues there and the league structure there resembles MLB in several ways. Baseball was introduced there in 1872 and the teams that are now the Yomiuri Giants (kind of like the Yankees and Dallas Cowboys rolled into one) and Hanshin Tigers (somewhat like the Red Sox) were formed in 1934. Since 1958 the NPB has been 12 teams in two leagues of 6 -- the Central and Pacific leagues. That's one point where I think the Japanese may have a leg up on MLB -- they haven't overexpanded over the years. The Central is kind of the equivalent to the National League while the Pacific employs the DH and is therefore equated to the American League. The two winners have met in the Japan Series every year since 1950 with Yomiuri winning 20 titles. Interleague play began last season. There are fewer home runs in Japan and a different strike zone is used than we're used to as it is bigger close to the batter but smaller as you get farther away laterally. The NPB also uses a slightly smaller ball.

The Central consists of the Giants, Tigers, Yokohama Bay Stars (think the Cubs only with 2 recent titles -- in '60 and '98), Hiroshima Toyo Carp (sorta like the Reds), Chunichi Dragons (Dodgers without all the championships but still a winning tradition) and Yakult Swallows (kind of the "small market" team even though they're in Tokyo). The Pacific includes the Chiba Lotte Marines (the reigning champs under the guidance of Lasorda disciple Bobby Valentine -- closest in some ways to the Mariners), the Orix Buffaloes (hard to classify as a newer hybrid team), the Seibu Lions (another traditional power with 12 titles), the Fukuoka Softbank (formerly Daiei) Hawks (managed since '95 by Oh), the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (a partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks) and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (closest Japan has ever had to an "expansion team"). The merger of the Orix BlueWave (Ichiro's former team) and the Kintetsu Buffaloes (the NPB team with the worst total historical record) after the 2004 season to form the Orix team left an open spot in the Pacific so that lead to the creation of the Golden Eagles, a team that features NPB's first American GM, Marty Kuehnert. Another point to note is that the team names are based on the owning companies and not the towns where they play.

The Pacific League begins play about a week before the Central starting in late March. One big difference between Japanese and American baseball is that they have ties in NPB. No game goes past 12 innings. I guess as Americans we've been trained that there must be a winner since a tie is, as Alabama football coach Bear Bryant once said, "like kissing your sister." That's not the case in Japan. They even have ties in the Japan Series. The teams play 140 regular season games and the PL has a different playoff system than the Central.

I'll probably do some kind of write-up on each team as part of the NPB Notes series along with keeping readers abreast of the CL and PL races in Japan. I may even adopt one team or maybe a team in both leagues to lend the Pipeline's fan support to.

Entering play Saturday (Japan is 14 hours ahead of the U.S. so at midnight it's 2 p.m. there), Chunichi and Yomiuri are tied atop the CL with Hanshin a game back with 6 or 7 games in the books. Seibu is a game and a half up on Softbank and Nippon Ham in the PL with 11 or 12 games played (depending on the team). Valentine's Marines are 4-8 and 4 1/2 games back. Once a find a regularly updated league leaders list, I'll detail some of those.

A couple of sites that were valuable in compiling this and are great sites in their own right are Bob Bavasi's JapanBall.com, Japan Baseball Daily, and the Wikipedia site for NPB. I encourage anyone interested to also check them out. The NPB Notes will be a fun diversion for me and, hopefully, an interesting topic for any readers.

Royals on the Farm 4/6/06

AAA -- Omaha: rainout. Rescheduled for Saturday as part of a doubleheader. That makes today opening day as Bobby Keppel makes his first start in the organization against Nashville Sounds SP Zach Jackson. He is a former 1st rounder from the Mets in 2000 who pitched 27 good innings at AAA Norfolk last season. He's only 23 going on 24 so may be a really good pickup. Winner gets first place in the division as both Iowa and Memphis lost yesterday.

AA -- Wichita: Tulsa 9, Wranglers 8 (16 innings) -- wild one

Gordon 2-7, BB, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 RS, 3 Ks
Butler 4-8, 2B, 2 RS, 1 K
Murphy 1-6, 2B, K, HBP
Maier 1-7, HR, RBI, BB, 5 Ks (ouch!!!), E, outfield assist
Lubanski 1-6, 2B, 2 BB, 3 Ks
Tupman 2-6, BB, K
A. Sanchez 1-7, HR, 2 RBI, 2 Ks, E

Redman 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 Ks -- good start
Song 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER on 8 hits, 4 Ks -- 16.20 ERA
Nunez 2/3 IP, 1 ER on 2 hits, 2 BB, 0 Ks -- first blown save
Cody Smith, 3 IP, 1 hit, 3 Ks
Markray 2 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 3 Ks

*** The Wranglers almost got two games for one on opening day. They were ahead, 8-2, at one point and Tulsa had a 5-run 9th to force extras. Not a good bullpen day. Maier homered in his first AB (before K'ing 5 times), Butler singled and Gordon doubled and an error brought both home. SS Angel Sanchez hit a 2-run shot in the 6th and Gordon hit a 3-run shot in the 7th to make it 8-2. RPs Seung Song (another new pickup) and Leo Nunez gave up the damage in the 9th and it stayed tied at 8 until the 16th before RP Ryan Braun gave up a walk-off shot to the first batter he faced in the inning. The Wranglers had a couple chances to score earlier in extras but couldn't get it done. They left 15 on base in the game. They're 0-1. Good news is Redman had a good outing, albeit at AA. Tulsa got good games from SS Troy Tulowitzki (first rounder last season), 3B Ian Stewart (Rockies' hot 3B prospect) and CF Jordan Czarniecki, who had 2 HRs.

Ryan Snare is set to go for Wichita tonight in game 2 against the Drillers' Steven Register.

High-A -- High Desert: Mavericks 6, Inland Empire 2

CF Ransel Melgarejo 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 RS
LF Michael Galloway 2-3, 2 2B, 2 BB, RBI
3B Ed Lucas 2-4, RS, 2 Ks, 2 throwing Es
2B Wilver Perez 2-4, RBI, 2 RS, K

SP Billy Buckner 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 4 Ks -- 1-0, 1.80 ERA
RPs Weeden/Barnes/DeHoyos -- combined 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks

*** Pretty decent first game for the Mavs as Inland Empire was a thorn in the side in 2005. Buckner had a good first start but the Mavs fell behind, 2-0, before pushing across 2 runs in both the 3rd and 4th. Runs were added in the 6th and 8th on RBI doubles by Melgarejo and Galloway -- both of whom are new to the organization. It was a good day for the pitching staff all-around as the bullpen also locked it down. The Mavs are 1-0. Mariners' hot prospect SS Matt Tuiasosopo was 1-4 with an RBI, was caught stealing and had two errors in the field.

No announced starters again for today's game. I assume today would be Luis Cota's high-A debut for the Mavs.

Low-A - Burlington: rainout. Rescheduled as part of a Saturday doubleheader. SP Matt Kniginyzky gets the delayed start in today's opener. He was a reliever at Idaho Falls last season and was a 2005 23rd rounder out of High Point U in North Carolina. He goes up against Clinton SP Kyle Rogers.

First Royals on the Farm of '06 tomorrow

With the AAA, AA, and high- and low-A seasons starting today, the first Pipeline "Royals on the Farm" report will be posted tomorrow. Looking at the Schematic, which will need just slight tweaks to be up to date, Omaha should have a competitive team (prediction: 77-67) with Huber, C/UT Jared Price, Gotay, Blanco, Ambres and Guiel the players to watch, not to mention J.P. Howell. Wichita could be the killers in the Texas League with Butler, Gordon and Lubanski in the lineup and what should be a pretty decent pitching staff (prediction: 80-60 overall and at least one of the two season half titles) -- also watch 1B Kila Kaaihue, SP John Gragg III, and I almost forgot OF Mitch Maier. High Desert looks weaker than last year's team that made the playoffs but will hopefully still compete with IF Ed Lucas and OF Brian McFall the position players to watch and prospects Luis Cota and Billy Buckner among the starting rotation (prediction: 65-75 overall). Burlington may also be interesting to watch with some prospects from last year's rookie leagues in tow. SS Chris McConnell is probably the biggest name there, but also watch C Kiel Thibault, OFs Jose Duarte and Ethien Santana, IF Valentino Arce and Ps Rayner Oliveros, Matt Kniginyzky (a fun name to type) and David Henninger. (prediction: 72-68 overall)

So there's a short preview. Omaha opens with 4 at home against Nashville (Brewers AAA) with Kyle Snyder getting the first start. Rosenblatt Stadium has a new state-of-the-art video board, which is more than 27 feet high and 56 feet wide and cost over $1.25 million. Stadium renovations have gone wild in the top levels of the Royals organization. Wichita opens on the road with 4 games at Tulsa (Rockies AA). Today's game features a rehab start for new signee Mark Redman as he tries to work his way to KC. High Desert starts with 4 in a mixed home-and-away series with Inland Empire (Mariners high-A). Once again the Mavs' site lived up to my expectations and contains little info about the opener but I assume Cota will get the start today. The Burlington Bees open with 4 home games against Clinton (Rangers low-A). Today's opener is already rained out and will be made up as part of a Saturday doubleheader. Kniginyzky will get the first start of the season tomorrow.

As a side note, I listened to the start of Soren Petro's "The Program" Thursday to hear his take on Wednesday's Royals debacle (seems to be the most popular term for it so far) and, what does he start off pissing and moaning about? The uniforms. Right now the uniforms are the least of the team's worries. He's a supporter of the black unis which have been discontinued. I would like to see them go back to the powder blues myself -- you know, bring back what they used to play well in and contend while wearing. I think the whole black alternate uni thing is overdone, so I wasn't sorry to see it go. Why should KC have them just because it seems like 75 percent or more of the other teams do? I don't care if they're neutral colors and hot sellers as Petro said. It's a dumb topic to argue about anyway. Then he went on to ask why Matt Stairs is even on the team, which I can kind of agree with. If he isn't gonna be in the lineup against Bonderman and put some pop in the lineup, why is he eating a roster spot? Maybe it's because the team once again has too many DHs on the 25-man. At least Harvey is out of the mix finally. Sweeney's salary will keep him in the lineup and neither he nor Stairs can play first like Mientkiewicz, so basically Stairs is taking up space, since he can't play the outfield either.

WU: Jennifer Harris drafted to WNBA

Yeah, I know, it's the WNBA but I thought I'd post about Jennifer Harris, a player from my alma mater, Washburn University in Topeka, a D-II school, getting drafted by Chicago in the second round of the WNBA draft today. Say what you want about women's basketball, but I'm stoked about that. She played like a true champion this past season, helping the Lady Blues to a 51-game winning streak over the last season and a half and the 2004-05 D-II title. They were undefeated this season before losing in the regional championship game of the D-II tourney. She was D-II player of the year in three different publications, so she is definitely a standout. Here's hoping a WNBA rookie of the year is next on her list of accomplishments. Here's a link to her bio:

Jen Harris bio

Congratulations and good luck goes out to Harris from the Pipeline.