Newcomers Meche quickly

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

It didn't take long for Dayton Moore to make the Kansas City Royals look really good.

The general manager, beginning his first full season with the club, looked like a genius after Monday's season opener.

From staff ace Gil Meche to shortstop Tony Pena Jr., there were Moore fingerprints all over the 7-1 victory over the mighty Boston Red Sox.

It started with Meche, the newly acquired ace, the guy who had even the purist of baseball insiders scratching their heads after signing a $55 million contract with a career 55-44 record and 4.65 ERA.

So what did Meche do in his Royals debut? Try 7 1/3 innings, one earned run, six hits, six strikeouts and, most importantly, one victory.

His stuff was nasty. His placement awesome. Meche's mid-90s fastball was nibbling corners and staying at the knees. His knuckle curve was making hitters flail. After a nerve-wracking opening frame where he left a couple of pitches up (leading to Boston's only run), the Red Sox didn't have a chance against him. As manager Buddy Bell said in the postgame press conference, Meche made it look effortless.

Is it too quick to say Meche is the bona fide ace Moore hoped he'd be when he flashed the big money this offseason? Absolutely, but people aren't scoffing anymore. What Moore saw in Meche materialized and it only took one start. Even if the 6-3 righty struggles from here on out, everyone will look at Monday's performance and know the potential is there.

What about Pena? He made everyone forget about Angel Berroa, and that's a good thing.

Pena flashed the leather that earned him a spot in the opening day lineup just 10 days after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves. A nice snag of a ball hit up the middle and a 6-4-3 double play were two of his better defensive efforts, but his bat is what really had people talking.

All Pena did in his first Royals plate appearance was triple off Curt Schilling. He added another triple in the eighth inning off reliever Joel Pineiro, only the 24th time in team history someone has hit two triples in a game.

The first triple led to the Royals' second run of the game and gave them a 2-1 lead. The second triple knocked in Ross Gload in the eight inning to provide the final nail in the BoSox coffin.

Another Moore acquisition, first baseman Ryan Shealy, gave the Royals their first run of the game in the bottom of the first when he drew a bases loaded walk from Schilling.

As much as anything, Monday's game also showed that Moore knew what he was doing taking the Royals' job. It was said to be a no-win situation by some. Others called it hopeless. Moore saw an opportunity and some talent, and that talent was evident in the opener.

Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Teahen, John Buck and Joel Peralta all had big games.

Before the game Grudzielanek was awarded the gold glove trophy he earned with his defensive play last season. During the game he put the Royals' offense on his back.

It was Grudzielanek that drove in Pena after the second inning triple to give Kansas City its first lead of the season. His next time up, the Royals' most veteran starter at 36, drove a Schilling fast ball off the wall in right field for a two-run double. Gruddy finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three driven in. That's production.

Teahen looked good too. Picking up where he left off the second half of last season, the former Nevada Griffon went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Buck, being pushed for his job behind the plate for the first time in his career, responded with a 2-for-4 effort. Buck hit the Royals' first homer of the season in the sixth, coming on the heels of a double in the fourth. Both were off Schilling, who is a borderline hall of famer.

Peralta, a little-known reliever who had bounced between the minors and majors all of his career, relieved Meche and was impressive.

Peralta struck out four in 1 2/3 innings, including David Ortiz with two runners on in the eighth and Manny Ramirez to lead off the ninth.

"Everybody contributed," as Bell said.

***

It was a chance at immortality. As if the expectations aren't high enough for rookie third baseman Alex Gordon, his first at bat comes with the bases loaded against one of the best pitchers of this generation.

A home run would have been the stuff legends are made of.

"Wow," Teahen said about it. "What a way to start your career."

So what did Gordon do?

He struck out.

No big deal, he's a rookie and it was Schilling on the mound. The fans realized that too, showing him plenty of love as he walked back to the dugout.

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