A new rumor floating online has the Chiefs and 49ers possibly swapping picks. The 49ers have two picks in the first round — number 13 and number 17 — and may want to trade up to draft QB Jimmy Clausen. From ESPN.com: “One possibility that jumps right out at us is the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners have two picks in the teens, are enamored with Clausen and have a new man at the head of the front office who might be looking to make a signature transaction. Of course, it might be more logical for the Niners to hang on to both of those picks because they’ll likely be able to get two starters instead of one, and Clausen is considered a risky pick by some. But Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News is on board with this suggestion. He even suggests that the Niners might be able to get a second-rounder back from the Chiefs. That would mean the Niners would pick at No. 5, No. 36 and No. 49, with the Chiefs picking at No. 13, No. 17 and No. 50 (from Atlanta from last year’s Tony Gonzalez deal). On the surface, this seems to make some sense for both sides, since the Niners will get Clausen (if they do want him that badly), and the Chiefs will be able to plug two of their many holes with impact players drafted in the teens.”

The draft starts in a couple days. I’m actually enthused about the new format. Round one Thursday night. Rounds two and three on Friday night. And the remaining four rounds on Saturday. The Chiefs have eight picks: one in the first, two in the second, one in the third, one in the fourth, and three in the fifth.

Most mock drafts have the Chiefs picking an offensive tackle (Okung, Williams or Bulaga) or safety Eric Berry with their first pick. A few, including my own mock draft, have the Chiefs ending up with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. I’d be OK with any of these picks. And I’d be even better if they could move down a few slots and still get Berry or one of the offensive tackles.

Top priorities for the Chiefs: improve their offensive line (potential starter or add depth / future starter), improve their defensive line (in particular a true nose tackle), draft a starting safety, and find a kick returner. If they can do these four things, the draft will prove to be successful.

This is an exercise in futility only. My first time doing a mock draft. And if I’m correct on more than a dozen picks I’ll be shocked! This assumes no trades, though there’s been a lot of speculation that we could see more trades than normal this year.

St. Louis Rams (1 – QB Sam Bradford): I can’t imagine the Rams doing anything else. They’ve cut QB Marc Bulger, and all signs point to Bradford.

Detroit Lions (2 – OT Russell Okung): Most mock drafts have the Lions taking DT Ndamukong Suh. But this could shake up a few draft boards early. Lions need to protect their young QB and pick the best OT in the draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3 – DT Gerald McCoy): Bucs faced with a tough choice between Suh and McCoy, but choose McCoy as a better fit for their defense.

Washington Redskins (4 – OT Trent Williams): The Redskins are disappointed that Okung is off the board and take Williams. Shanahan needs to protect QB McNabb and must replace the retired LOT Chris Samuels.

Kansas City Chiefs (5 – DT Ndamukong Suh): Chiefs have no choice but to draft Suh, the top player on their board. They certainly won’t reach for the third best OT in the draft. And they won’t take safety Eric Berry over Suh. Here’s hoping that the Chiefs can trade down with both Suh and Clausen still on the board.

Seattle Seahawks (6 – S Eric Berry): Seahawks happy to see Berry fall to them. Berry will be an impact player.

Cleveland Browns (7 – Jimmy Clausen): Browns need to solve their problems at quarterback, and I can’t imagine they believe that Jake Delhomme is a long-term answer. Clausen would be a good fit in Cleveland.

Oakland Raiders (8 – OT Bryan Bulaga): Never to be deterred by potential character issues, Raiders draft the best OT on the board. That makes three OTs in the top 10.

Buffalo Bills (9 – NT Dan Williams): Bills had hoped for Clausen, but settle to fill a hole on their defensive line as they move to the 3-4 defense.

Jacksonville Jaguars (10 -DE Derrick Morgan): I could picture the Jags going in many directions here with the tenth pick. But at this point I don’t have a single pass rusher coming off the board yet. Morgan would help Jacksonville and their anemic pass rush.

Denver Broncos (11 – WR Dez Bryant): After trading WR Brandon Marshall, the Broncos have a hole to fill, and Bryant is still on the board.

Miami Dolphins (12 – DE/OLB Sergio Kindle): The Dolphins need to go defense, and improve their pass rush. They decide to choose Kindle over Pierre-Paul.

San Francisco 49ers (13 – CB Joe Haden): The 49ers are happy to see the best CB in the draft still on the board at number 13.

Seattle Seahawks (14 – RB C.J. Spiller): Having gone defense with their first pick, the Seahawks move to offense and take the dynamic Spiller.

New York Giants (15 – ILB Rolando McClain): The best inside LB in the draft and a fiery leader. A good fit with the Giants.

Tennessee Titans (16 – DE Jason Pierre-Paul): This could prove to be one of the steals of the draft. Fits in well with the Titans, and could become a sack machine.

San Francisco 49ers (17 – OT Anthony Davis): If Jimmy Clausen falls, I could picture the 49ers taking him here. But with Clausen off the board, 49ers add Davis to their offensive line.

Pittsburgh Steelers (18 – C/G Maukice Pouncey): Steelers need to improve their offensive line, and Pouncey just looks like a great fit here.

Atlanta Falcons (19 – OLB Sean Weatherspoon): I like Weatherspoon. He’s got a chance to be a real impact player in the NFL. Another option here would be DE/OLB Brandon Graham.

Houston Texans (20 – CB Kyle Wilson): Texans need to replace CB Dunta Robinson, and Wilson is a decent value here.

Cincinnati Bengals (21 – TE Jermaine Gresham): If WR Dez Bryant is still on the board, he’s the pick here. But instead the Bengals take the best TE in the draft. A good weapon in the passing game for Carson Palmer.

New England Patriots (22 – DT Jason Odrick): Pats have a history of drafting defensive linemen in the first round, and they still need to replace Richard Seymour.

Green Bay Packers (23 – G Mike Iupati): Packers need to upgrade the offensive line, and Iupai is best lineman on the board.

Philadelphia Eagles (24 – S Earl Thomas): Eagles go with the best player still on the board. Thomas could go considerably higher. Some mock drafts have him in the top 10.

Baltimore Ravens (25 – WR Demaryius Thomas): A big, physical home run threat, Thomas will help the Ravens passing game.

Arizona Cardinals (26 – OT Charles Brown): The run on OTs continue as the Cards take the best offensive lineman on the board.

Dallas Cowboys (27 – S Taylor Mays): Disappointed that they’ve missed out on all of the top OTs, Cowboys grab the top safety on the board.

San Diego Chargers (28 – DT Terrence Cody): Cody will be a great fit in the middle of their defensive line. This pick just makes too much sense not to happen.

New York Jets (29 – DE Everson Griffen): Another defensive weapon for Rex Ryan, Griffen is a fantastic athlete. Or they could go with Brandon Graham here.

Minnesota Vikings (30 – CB Kareem Jackson): Many have Jackson going much higher in the draft. The Vikings will be happy to see him still on the board.

Indianapolis Colts (31 – OLB Brandon Graham): Colts take best player still on the board. Graham could go much higher than this.

New Orleans Saints (32 – OLB Jerry Hughes): The Saints need to get more pressure on the QB, and Hughes could be a playmaker.

All signs point to Lawrence for Rival’s #4 player Josh Selby. According to a tweet from ESPN analyst Jay Williams, “Just heard from a little bird that chances are really good for Showtime Josh Selby to be in Lawrence, Kansas next year.”

Not as good of news for KU about Doron Lamb, who is expected to announce tonight that he’ll sign with Kentucky. Both Selby and Lamb plan to announce their decisions tonight at the Jordon Brand Classic.

That still leaves KU with a scholarship to give next year.

Today begins the spring signing period for college basketball, and the University of Kansas still has two scholarships available with the departure of Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry. KU is on the short list for three specific recruits that we should all be watching.

Brandon Knight
Considered the #1 high school point guard by Rivals.com in the country, Brandon Knight has yet to commit. Knight is 6′3″ and 185 pounds. His short list of schools includes: Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse. He’s expected to pick Kentucky today at his 3pm news conference. You can watch it on ESPNU.

Josh Selby
Right below Knight in the rankings is Selby, the #2 high school point guard in the country. Selby is 6′2″ and 186 pounds. His short list of schools includes: Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas and Kentucky. Many expect him to choose KU later this week during the Jordan Brand Classic.

Doron Lamb
Considered by Rivals to be the #3 high school shooting guard, Lamb is 6′4″ and 175 pounds. His short list of schools includes: Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and West Virginia.

It’s clear that KU is expecting to land Selby or Lamb, if not both. But these high school kids can change their allegiance in a hurry as we witnessed last year between Xavier Henry and Lance Stephenson. Top high school recruits are seldom predictable.

Go KU!

I was never that much of a baseball fan growing up. Our summers were spent working on the farm, not watching or playing baseball. It wasn’t till I hit about 30 that I really started following the Royals. Which means instead of following them through their glory years in the ’70s and early ’80s, I’ve followed them through their awful years. Nobody better accuse me of being a fair-weather fan. I’ve witnessed very little good-weather let alone fair-weather with the Royals.

But this is maybe the least excited I’ve been about the Royals in the last fifteen years.

I’m a glass-is-half-full kinda guy. Typically you can find SOME reason to get excited. That there’s a GLIMMER of hope somewhere. An off-season acquisition, or an up-and-coming rookie who MIGHT become a star. You can dream that if THIS guy improves a little, and THAT guy gets a little better, that they have a chance. This year? I just don’t see any reason to hope.

Wasted Money
I read an interesting article a couple years ago. It had nothing to do with baseball, but it discussed choices people make in their lives. Let’s say you buy concert tickets, but then realize that there’s something else you would prefer to do the night of the concert. Often people choose to still go to the concert because they don’t want to feel like they wasted their money. But in reality, the money’s already spent. Why not make the choice to go to the other event if it’s really what you would prefer to do? You’re out the money either way.

This is what I watch happen in baseball all the time. A team signs a player (Jose Guillen) for a lot of money. The player under-performs (Jose Guillen). In baseball, contracts are guaranteed. The team (the Royals) continues to play the player (Jose Guillen) who is under-performing because they can’t trade the player and his huge contract.

If you have better alternatives, and the player doesn’t deserve to be on the 25-man roster, why not just cut him? You’ve spent the money either way. Why not make the best choice for the team instead of playing the player just because you have to pay him whether he plays or not? There’s absolutely no reason that Guillen deserves to be on this roster over either Mitch Maier or Kila Ka aihue. And for that matter, there’s no reason to pick either Scott Podsednik or Rick Ankiel over Maier either. Maier earned a spot on the team this spring.

The Infield
The Royals are faced with interesting decisions with their infield. Because Billy Butler has limited range and is a liability defensively at first base, it appears the Royals are going to choose a defensive second baseman (Chris Getz) over an offensive second baseman (Alberto Callaspo). It appears the Royals are going to stick with Yuniesky Betancourt at short stop, despite the fact that he appears to be a liability both offensively and defensively. I guess they feel like they need to prove that it was a good trade, when it wasn’t. And they’ll obviously stick with Alex Gordon at third, despite the fact that he hasn’t lived up to his potential.

What infield what I like to see? I would have kept Mark Teahan over Jose Guillen. (See A Royal Mistake) Kept Teahan at third. Put Mike Aviles back at short. Kept Callaspo at second. Moved Gordon to first. And allowed Butler to backup at first and DH.

OK. Teahan’s gone. So what would I do now? I would probably give up a little defense to keep Callaspo and Aviles in the lineup every day. I’d end up with Gordon at third (Bloomquist or Getz can fill in till he’s ready to return), Aviles at short, Callaspo at second, and Butler / Ka aihue sharing time at first and DH. It’s not perfect, but this group can hit some doubles and get on base.

The Outfield
One of the challenges the Royals face with their outfield is that David DeJesus, Ankiel, Podsednik and Maier all hit from the left side of the plate. Personally I wouldn’t have signed either Ankiel or Podsednik. I would have tried to sign a starting pitcher to come in and compete with the guys at the back of the rotation with that money. And now they compound that mistake by moving Maier off the 25-man roster.

Pitching
The Royals really only have two pitchers you can count on — Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria. Unfortunately the Royals have no alternatives for the back of their rotation. Luke Hochevar and Kyle Davies will start because there’s nobody else. The Royals have to hope that Gil Meche can stay healthy and pitch like he did before 2009. And that Bannister is a consistent and legitimate middle-of-the-order pitcher. There are lots of questions about the middle relievers and the setup men.

Prediction
The Royals are among the worst offensive and defensive teams in baseball. It’s hard to see them improving much over last year, though a number of injuries with Coco Crisp and Mike Aviles in particular really hampered what the Royals had tried to accomplish. If you want to look for a glimmer of hope, watch to see if the Royals really buy in to Kevin Seitzer’s hitting approach this year. Seitzer preaches patience and working your way into a hitter’s count. Last year the Royals featured free swingers with Miguel Olivo and Mike Jacobs. Showing some patience at the plate this year and limiting strikeouts could help this team considerably. And Aviles was really a bright spot in the lineup this spring. He looks to be in the best shape of his life. He’s playing fast. And he certainly knows how to hit the ball.

I don’t expect them to lose 100 games, but I don’t expect them to sniff .500 either. I’ll predict 73 wins and 89 losses. By mid-season fans will be calling for the Royals to fire manager Trey Hillman. And though Hillman hasn’t shown to be much of a manager, this really isn’t his fault. Nobody could manage this team to a .500 record.

The draft is only three weeks away, and I don’t think I’m any closer to guessing at what the Chiefs will pick than I was three months ago. So instead we’ll look at a few possible scenarios, and a few areas of need. The Chiefs have done a good job in free agency plugging a few holes with Thomas Jones, Ryan Lilja, Casey Wiegmann, Shaun Smith and Jerheme Urban. And they’ve resigned Chris Chambers, Derrick Johnson and Mike Vrabel. What this has done is that it’s put the Chiefs in a position where they don’t have to draft any one area of need. They can focus on taking the best player available.

Top Five Pick
It’s almost impossible to trade out of a top five pick, so for the most part we’ll assume the Chiefs are stuck with their pick. Typically top five picks are reserved for players at premium positions: quarterbacks, offensive tackles, pass rushers (defensive ends / 3-4 outside linebackers), and possibly star cornerbacks and defensive tackles. Occasionally you might get a running back or a wide receiver that jumps to the top of the draft, but it seems that in recent years these positions have slipped further down the draft boards. Typically not taken in the top five are safeties, guards, centers, inside linebackers and tight ends.

I only see one scenario where the Chiefs could trade their pick, and that’s if quarterback Jimmy Clausen is still on the board. Behind the Chiefs are several teams that have a need at quarterback including Seattle, Cleveland, Oakland and Buffalo. If the Browns or the Bills want Clausen, and are concerned that the Seahawks might grab him with the sixth pick  in the draft, then possibly the Chiefs will have an opportunity to trade down. Other than that, it won’t happen.

Best Player Available vs Area of Need
Last year the Chiefs surprised us all by reaching for defensive end Tyson Jackson. I don’t expect the same kind of reach this year. And good news for the Chiefs is that they have needs that match up well with premium positions, and the top players on the board.

Defensive Tackle: According to Mel Kiper’s Big Board, he’s got Ndamukon Suh and Gerald McCoy ranked as the top two players in the draft. Most mock drafts have Suh and McCoy off the board by the time the Chiefs pick at number five, but if one of them would happen to fall, the Chiefs will be faced with a tough choice. The Chiefs have drafted a lot of defensive linemen in recent years, but still have a hole in the middle of their line. I think they’ll both be gone by the time the Chiefs pick.

Quarterback: Kiper has Jimmy Clausen and Sam Bradford rated in his top five. In a way this is great news for the Chiefs. The Chiefs don’t need a quarterback, but several teams drafting in the top ten could use a quarterback. Bradford is likely to go number one to the Rams. Clausen could potentially go to Washington at number four.

Offensive Tackle: This is the position most Chiefs fans see as the biggest area of need. Picking a top offensive tackle would allow the Chiefs to move Branden Albert to right tackle, and could dramatically strengthen their offensive line. There are several offensive tackles ranked highly among the experts including Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Bryan Bulaga and Anthony Davis.

Pass Rusher: I’m a bit surprised there hasn’t been more talk about the Chiefs taking a pass rusher in the draft. Derrick Morgan and Jason Pierre-Paul are two of the best defensive ends in the draft. Pierre-Paul is 6-5 and 262, and I would think could transition to an outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense. He would give the Chiefs another pass rusher, and could rotate with Vrabel and Hali, and eventually replace Vrabel in the starting lineup.

Safety: Typically safeties aren’t taken in the top five, but most experts agree that Eric Berry is a special talent, and this would certainly qualify as an area of need for the Chiefs. I wouldn’t be disappointed at all to see Berry in Kansas City.

Two other names that have popped up for the Chiefs are wide receiver Dez Bryant and linebacker Rolando McClain. I’d be surprised by either pick. These are not premium positions, and they aren’t glaring needs for the Chiefs.

Summary
If Suh or McCoy falls, I think the Chiefs would have to give this serious consideration. But I think that’s unlikely. It’s hard to know how the Chiefs value the safety position, and whether or not they’d take a safety this high in the draft.

Experts: Eric Berry seems to be the pick from many experts, including Kiper and Todd McShay.
My prediction: Offensive tackle Russell Okung
My sleeper pick: Jason Pierre-Paul

Not a great way to start the spring. Lawrence gets hit by six inches of snow. And the Jayhawks get hit by the Panthers of Northern Iowa. Making the Final Four is tough. It never surprises me for a team to lose in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. But losing in the second round yesterday was a bit of a shock. I’m still proud of the Jayhawks. It’s been a great year.

The Good
The Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular season championship, and the Big 12 tournament championship. They compiled a sterling record of 33-3. They Jayhawks swept K-State and Missouri, and were ranked as the number one team in the country most of the season. None of this was a fluke. This was an awfully good team.

The Bad
These are college kids, so I won’t spend a lot of time beating them up over how the season ended. The frustrating thing to watch this season has been their inconsistency. They start slow, especially against weaker opponents. They never developed that killer instinct that you come to expect from great teams. And on Saturday, it came back to bite them. A pesky team from Northern Iowa with nothing to lose played carefree basketball and never looked back. If they played ten times, the Jayhawks would win eight or nine of them. But that’s what makes the NCAA basketball tournament such a great event.

The Future
Sherron Collins has played his last game as a Jayhawk. It’s been enjoyable watching Collins develop into the undisputed leader of the Jayhawks. I’m not sure I’ve seen a player step up and embrace the mantle of leader like Collins. But Collins fought his own demons this year with inconsistency. And typically if Collins was off, so was the team.

Jayhawk fans will be waiting with baited breath to hear the decisions of Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry. Let me put this one to rest — unless something unforeseen happens (like an injury during the off-season) Aldrich and Henry will enter the NBA draft. Both are projected to be lottery picks.

So where does that leave Jayhawk basketball next year? KU will lose it’s star power without Collins, Aldrich and Henry. But the team may find some more consistency underneath it all.

The Bigs: Bill Self prefers a three man rotation for his big men, and was able to achieve that most of the year with Aldrich and the twins. Cole has done a great job of staying out of foul trouble most of his career. The Morris twins have not. The Jayhawks will likely have to play a four man rotation next year with Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey combining to replace Aldrich.

Small Forward: Xavier Henry showed flashes of brilliance this year. He has one of the sweetest strokes I’ve watched at KU. But he would seemingly disappear for large portions of a game. Mario Little may not have the upside of Henry, but don’t be surprised if he isn’t more consistent than Henry, and better slashing to the basket. My prediction is that Little is really going to surprise the Jayhawk faithful next year. Travis Releford is likely inline to backup Little at the three.

The Guards: Nobody was more inconsistent this year than Tyshawn Taylor. It will be interesting to see what Self does with him next year. Down the stretch it was Tyrel Reed who played well and was on the floor at crunch time over Taylor and Brady Morningstar. Reed is one of my favorite Jayhawks. Plays hard. Plays smart. And knocks down the three. Elijah Johnson will be a sophomore, and figures to get a long look at the point. And then there’s C.J. Henry who continued to battle through injuries this year. Will he be back? I hope so, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he left Lawrence and never returned. I’d really like to see him get a shot at some quality minutes. He handles the ball well, he seems to have a really nice outside shot, and he can create his own shot.

The Starting Five: I think the Morris twins and Little are locks at starting spots next year. It’s harder to predict what’s up with the guards. Personally I’d like the see C.J. Henry and Reed get shots at starting. But it won’t surprise me if Self ends up with Taylor and Morningstar.

The Rotation: Self prefers an eight man rotation. Nine if he’s forced into it. Like it or not, he may end up with a ten man rotation next year. But with less star power to worry about, Self can go with the hot hand.

NFL free agency is set to begin, and there’s already been some movement as teams release players no longer in their plans. The Chiefs have many needs, but don’t expect them to fill many of them in free agency. It’s not the Chiefs fault. There just isn’t much out there, and 31 other teams who will be going after this same small group of unrestricted free agents. So who should the Chiefs pursue? Here are a few suggestions:

Safety Antrel Rolle: Released by the Arizona Cardinals in a financial move, Rolle would appear to be a good fit for the Chiefs. He would be an upgrade over Mike Brown. He’s played both corner and safety. And he’s only 27. He would be my number one target. I can’t imagine he’ll last long in free agency. There are a couple other free agent safeties who might be worth looking at including Ryan Clark from the Steelers and Dawan Landry from the Ravens.

Nose Tackle Jamal Williams: At 33 it’s hard to know how much Williams has left in the tank, but he’s a true nose tackle with tons of experience in the 3-4. Last year the Chiefs had Ron Edwards and not much else. Williams would provide depth, and might even push for a starting spot.

Wide Receiver: Fill in the blank here. The Chiefs are attempting to resign Chris Chambers, which I think would be an excellent move. But the Chiefs will need to consider yet another receiver. I’ve always like Laveranues Coles, and he was recently released by Cincinnati. Though at 32 his best seasons are well behind him. And I really like Antonio Bryant. He’s a playmaker, and only 28 years old. Plus there still might be an opportunity to trade for Anquan Boldin.

Running Back: The Chiefs will need to find a complementary back for Jamaal Charles. Preferably somebody with some size for short yardage situations. Chester Taylor from the Vikings is probably the biggest name out there, but he’s not necessarily the best fit for the Chiefs. Not sure where the Chiefs go here, but you’d think they’d bring in somebody to provide competition. Or they might just wait till the draft.

Offensive Line: I would expect the Chiefs to sign a couple of guys to create some competition, but there’s not much out there. Chad Clifton, the offensive tackle from the Packers, is probably the biggest name available, but he’s certainly not an elite tackle. I’d rather see the Chiefs draft an offensive tackle than sign Clifton.

The two biggest names on the market are linebacker Karlos Dansby and defensive end Julius Peppers. I don’t anticipate the Chiefs making a push for either of them. Dansby would certainly be an upgrade for the Chiefs at inside linebacker, but the Chiefs have such bigger needs elsewhere that it’s hard to see them going after Dansby. And Peppers would have to convert to an outside linebacker in the 3-4. He’s capable of making that transition, but with the Chiefs resigning Mike Vrabel this week it’s hard to see them making a play for Peppers.

Is that an oxymoron? A Royal Mistake?

Spring training has begun and I’m looking for reasons to be optimistic about the boys in blue. And it’s tough. Not to beat on a dead horse, but the Royals appear to jump from plan to plan every off-season. What was their plan last year? Improve their offense. Didn’t work so well. So what’s their plan this year? Improve their defense.

Which then leaves me baffled as to why Mark Teahen is now with the Chicago White Sox and Jose Guillen is still a Royal.

Jose Guillen is scheduled to make $12 million this year. He’s a liability as an outfielder and has now been relegated to DH. So you’d expect that he must be putting up some strong offensive numbers. Not so. Over the last two years he’s hitting .257 with 29 HRs. His SLG and OPS have been on a steady decline these last three years. (View Guillen’s stats here.)

Mark Teahen is scheduled to make about $3.5 million this year. While struggling at times in the outfield, Teahen showed his fine glove last year while getting extended playing time at third base as the replacement for the injured Alex Gordon. And compare his offensive numbers to Guillen over the last two years — Teahen hit .262 with 27 HRs (though he did have more at bats than Guillen). And his OBP, SLG and OPS are all similar to Guillen over the last three years. (View Teahen’s stats here.)

So let’s see, Teahen’s offensive numbers are very similar to Guillen, he’s significantly better defensively, has about one-fourth the salary, and is a positive presence in the locker room.

Can somebody explain this to me? Is it really a wonder that the Royals continue to struggle? The Royals can either have Jose Guillen on their team, or Mark Teahen and another $8.5 million to improve the club elsewhere.

The mistake with Mark Teahen was made a couple years ago when the Royals moved him to the outfield. Teahen is a good athlete, and the general thought was that he’d convert well to the outfield, while Alex Gordon was projected to be the future at third base. However, Teahen never quite conquered the outfield defensively (partly because the team kept moving him around) which caused him to struggle at the plate. And Gordon has been nothing more than a mediocre third baseman, both offensively and defensively. Gordon still has the potential to be better, but right now it’s still just potential.

I said it at the time — I would have preferred that they left Teahen at third, and put Gordon at first, where he could potentially be a gold glove first baseman. So today you’d be looking at the Royals with a better third basemen (Teahen over Gordon), much improved play at first base (Gordon over Butler), and a better bat at DH (Butler over Guillen). Improves the team significantly defensively without hurting the offense.

There’s also a trickle down effect with this lineup. Alberto Callaspo, one of our only offensive threats, appears to be getting squeezed out of playing time because Chris Getz is a better fielding second baseman than Callaspo. Remember the new plan is to improve the defense. But part of the reason that Callaspo’s defense is a concern is because of Butler’s limited range at first. With Gordon at first, you increase your range from first significantly, and can probably survive with Callaspo at second base. This team needs offense, and last year Callaspo was a doubles machine.

And you’d still have another $8.5 million to improve the club elsewhere.