Charity Game Thoughts.

Sorry about the live blog not working out this afternoon. I believe the problem is solved, and tomorrow I should be able to do the majority of the game as long as nothing else pops up. Anyway I decided to post my thoughts on the Charity Game in a new thread so here we go.

• Davies- didn't get off to a good start today in what might become the most fierce position battle in camp: the 5th spot in the rotation. Davies was wild and fell behind in the count on nearly every hitter, then again so did the rest of the pitching staff on the afternoon. It is just the first game so I'm not going to get to worked up, still this has been Davies problem all throughout his career and it doesn't do much good to have three above average major league pitches if you can't throw strikes and get ahead of hitters.
• Scott Podsednik- The guy was signed to get on the bases and make things happen for a potentially weak offense that will need to be creative in scoring runs. Well in the first game he fit the bill. After reaching on a grounder through the hole, Podsednik stole second and was able to advance to third on a throwing error. He then scored on a grounder and we will get to that in the next point.
• Jason Kendall- The Royals grew tired of Miguel Olivo for two major reasons. First, he couldn't block balls. Second, he couldn't get runners home from third with less than two outs. In Kendall's first game he was able to successfully do both of those things. Which makes the Kendall signing the best move of the offseason. Just kidding, but it was a positive in today's blowout.
• Yuniesky Betancourt- Interesting comments from Dayton Moore on the post game interview. Moore talked about how teams very seldom ask players to commit extra time and often only prescribe workouts if the players approach the staff about an area that they need to improve. But according to Moore this offseason the Royals demanded (maybe too strong of a word, but sounds like more than just a request) that Betancourt show up during the winter and work on all aspects of his game including: defense, hitting, and strength and conditioning. So it sounds like Betancourt has been one of the hardest workers of the offseason. We'll see what the results are but I like that the Royals are taking the initiative, but then again... should they have to?
• Alex Gordon- Doubled in today's contest and it sounds like he made a couple of pretty good plays on the defensive side of things as well. Man the expectations of this team would totally change if Gordon were to breakout.