Royals stuff

Royals pitcher Brian Bannister shares AL Player of the Week with former Royal Raul Ibanez.

Bannister was the AL’s rookie of the month last year in June and August, but this is his first award as AL player of the week. He is 3-0 overall with an 0.86 ERA.

Posnanski reminds us of his hatred for the radar gun with his love of Brian Bannister.

There is a stat on Banny that I find absolutely incredible, and it’s not very advanced: Banny has pitched three games, faced 76 batters, and he has yet to give up an extra base hit. Not one double. I mean, that’s stunning.

Royals Authority on whether Joey Gathright deserves David DeJesus’ job:

At any rate, there are certainly two camps when it comes to Joey Gathright. One camp loves his speed and the excitement he can bring to a game. They might harken back to the days of Fred Patek, Amos Otis and Willie Wilson (among others), when the Royals ran wild on the basepaths. Heck, they might even remember fondly the days of Tom Goodwin and, if not too bitter, even Johnny Damon. They love Joey Gathright. If he played everyday, he might steal 80 bases.

The second camp winces at the thought of 650 Gathright plate appearances this year. They believe Joey’s complete lack of power is far more detrimental to the team than any gain he brings with his feet. He does not get on base enough, he does not work the count well enough. Simply put, Joey might not get regular duty on their weeknight softball team.

Extend your bedtime this week.  The Royals are on the West Coast and, except for a 5:40 game tomorrow, play at 9:00 every weekday (schedule here).  They’ll be back home next Tuesday through the following Sunday.

Someone needs to buy Lou Piniella a Redbull and Vodka (hat tip: Mellinger’s Blog).

“I’ve never had Red Bull in my life, but I’ve actually seen people at a bar order Red Bull and vodka,” Piniella said. “I can’t comprehend that. If I had a couple of those things, I’d be like the malt liquor bull (from the old TV commercials) leaving the bar. My lord.”

Check this commercial out, and you’ll agree we could all benefit from seeing Sweet Lou in this scene.