Royals Moves

My favorite Royals Fans, Rob and Rany, have a new entry in their running dialog about the Royals. Most interesting are the comments on Raul Ibanez, who just signed as a free agent with the Mariners. As much as I liked Raul, I'm glad the M's signed him. Raul's a great player, but his age and salary prevent him from being a member of the Royals. And by the M's being so impatient to sign him, the Royals get 2 draft picks. A great deal for the Royals.

The Royals are also in the process of moving the fences back at Kauffman Stadium. Also a great move. The Royals have always been built as a speed, gap hitting team. The Royals have never been a power team, and the closer fences hurt the Royals' young pitchers more than helped their hitters.

It should be an interesting off season as the Royals try to build on the surprise success of 2003.