KC's new bullpen

I figured Dayton Moore would come over from Atlanta with a strong desire to build his new team around pitching, and it looks like that's exactly what he's planning to do. For the first time in a long time, the Royals actually have a handful of really promising pitching prospects (Hochevar, Lumsden, etc) and have added some major league ready talent as well.

A major weakness last season was our bullpen - we had no true closer (Burgos was NOT ready), and we paid for it. Out of 65 save opportunities in 2006, the Royals only managed to convert a total of 34...meaning we blew 31 save opportunities. Granted, a bullpen cannot save every game, but a good bullpen doesn't blow 31 leads. The Detroit Tigers - our 2006 American League champs - only blew 16 saves last season, basically half the amount of games blown by KC.

With the addition of Octavio Dotel as our closer, this could turn around in 2007. Dotel has great stuff and was a dominant setup man and later became the closer in Oakland. After getting off to a rough start with Oakland in 2005, he had Tommy John surgery and was shut down for the year on June 1. He finally returned from surgery late last season with the Yankees and pitched fairly well. Dayton Moore is gambling a bit here - hoping Dotel is now 100% recovered - but it's a gamble worth taking. If he has returned to his former self, he should be the first dominant closer we've had in KC for a long time.

In another recent move, the Royals picked up David Riske, a longtime reliever for Cleveland who spent 2006 with the Red Sox and White Sox. Riske is a solid righty who should become our main setup man in KC. Hopefully he can come into late inning situations and hold the games for Dotel. He's been one of the better setup men in the AL for the last few seasons and is a welcome addition to our revamped pitching staff.

How the rest of the pen will shake out remains to be seen - with all the recent acquisitions Moore has made, we have a crowded group of big league pitchers. I'm guessing Moore isn't done dealing, and at least a couple of these guys could be traded away, while others may start the year with AAA Omaha.

Whatever the outcome, it's nice to be excited about the Royals again, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Moore's next move will be.