Feb 24: Tidbits

• Baserate: You may have saw this on the MLB Network tonight, but the anchors were discussing a statistic called baserate. The formula for it is simple and Baserate= On Base + Slugging- Batting Average. Anyway, the anchor's first showed the top five players for the statistical category last year out of qualified individuals and not surprisingly Pujols with a baserate of .771 ranked number 1. The show then showed the bottom five in the category. At second to worst in baseball last season was Yunieskey Betancourt at .380 and then at fourth worst was Jason Kendall at .390. There are many things that to be said here, but I'll keep it simple if the Royals 7 hole hitter makes an out with runners on base you might as well take your bathroom break before the 8 hole hitter gets to the plate because the inning is as good as over.

• Jose Guillen: So after varying reports regarding Jose Guillen's health it became known yesterday that Jose Guillen underwent back surgery after the 2009 season came to an end. This isn't to surprising, but with Guillen's track record of hiding injuries and playing home doctor it is possible that he wasn't even close to 100 percent at any point last season. I guess this could be a reason that fans can hope for an increase in production heading into 2010, but I'm going to guess that his production continues to fade. I also think it is highly possible that Guillen will begin the 2010 season on the disabled list. If he does the Royals could improve their defense even more simply by shifting Gordon to first and placing Callaspo at third while moving Butler to DH. This would also provide the Royals with a way to get Callaspo regular at bats.

• Derrick Robinson: Not long ago I discussed Derrick Robinson on my top prospect countdown and I mentioned that one of the reasons I remain optimistic that he can hit was an outstanding August. Well after reading the 2010 copy of Baseball America Prospect Handbook, I learned that towards the end of June the Royals asked Robinson to quit hitting from the left side, but he suggested that he place his feet closer together and so the Royals gave him one more chance to show something. Robinson then proceeded to post a sparking stat line in August and his new stance helped him to turn on the ball quicker and get out of the box faster, which in turn improved his bat speed and his speed from home to first.

• Top NRI's: Recently SI's Tom Verducci posted a list of the most intriguing non-roster invitees around baseball. The top three in his list? Tony Pena Jr., Jimmy Gobble, and Chris George. He also begs the question "what happened to the generation of young Royals pitchers such as Jimmy Gobble, Chris George, Jose Rosado, Runelvys Hernandez, Kris Wilson, Mac Suzuki, etc.?" Here's the link to the article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/tom_verducci/02/23/non.roster/index.html?eref=writers