Bleacher Report - Articles by Cameron Fletcher

Vrabel, Waters Present and Accounted For at Minicamp

Cameron Fletcher — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:54:26 -0400

The roll call is in."Vrabel!""Here!" "Waters!" "Here!"

So they showed up after all, thus ending days of speculation on whether or not Mike Vrabel and Brian Waters would show up for the first day of mandatory training camp at the Arrowhead practice facility.

Shouldn't we have learned our lesson by now? After the way new general manager Scott Pioli handled the firing of Herman Edwards and the hiring of Todd Haley with nary a peep coming from within the organization. Nary a peep was heard, unless it came out of the mouth of Mr. Pioli.

So shouldn't we have been skeptical when all these rumors floated around that Brian Waters and Mike Vrabel were considering not showing up for the first mandatory workout of the season? I don't remember Scott Pioli saying, at any time, that could be the case.

So Vrabel and Waters have showed up, and all is well in Kansas City.

"Super Bowl Championship!" "Here?"

Royals Recent Slide Causes Concern

Cameron Fletcher — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:59:12 -0400

What a difference a few weeks make. Not too long ago the Royals were atop the Central, riding a six-game winning streak into Los Angeles to take on the Angels.

That's when it happened, the Royals starting losing games. Suddenly the Royals dropped down to second place, then third, and now they find themselves in fourth place, just a shade above the last place Indians.

Now the Royals head into Tampa to start a new month and a nine games in ten days road trip. How the Royals do these next ten days could factor whether or not they are in the race for the Central come September.

What happened since the Royals beat the Mariners on that sunny Thursday afternoon in early May to go to 18-11? Well a lot actually.

It all started in Los Angeles against the Angels when the Royals all but gave away three games with lackluster hitting, bad fielding, and a little bit of bad luck.

Things didn't get much better in Oakland as the Royals stellar pitching suddenly became also-ran.

Then after losing the first game of the Baltimore series on May 14th, the Royals seemed to be getting the ship back in order, winning three of the next four games, including a thrilling four-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth to open the Indians series on May 19th, putting them at 21-18.

But the joy didn't last long as the Royals have now dropped nine of their last 11 games and sit at 23-27, 5.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers and just 2.5 games up on the cellar-dwelling Indians.

Sure, it's easy to blame the loss of Joakim Soria on this recent slide, but the Royals have hardly had the lead during this losing stretch, but with Soria due back soon that is sure to provide some relief to an overworked bullpen.

Sans Greinke, the starting rotation hasn't provided many deep starts for the bullpen, and manager Trey Hillman's questionable use of multiple pitchers during blowout games have fans wondering about his management skills.

But the Royals do have young talent, and a good stable of young arms that will produce many victories down the road for this once proud organization.

The Royals have had some highlights during the first stretch of the season, including Billy Butler, hitting .291 and providing some pop in the three-hole. Mike Jacobs has proven to be a nice offseason pickup, belting nine home runs.

And then there's Zach. Who would have thought three years ago when Greinke almost quit baseball that he would be considered one of the game's best pitchers? His 8-1 record with five complete games and two shutouts have pretty much single- handily kept the Royals from the abyss this season.

If Greinke can continue to roll all season long and the rest of the rotation can come around, the Royals have the right balance of offensive pop with dynamite pitching to make a serious push for the Central crown.

How the Royals play these next ten days will be crucial. If they win six of the nine games on this next road trip that would put them at 29-30 and in good shape heading into the next long home stand (nine games in 10 days).

If they do any worse than that then the Royals can all but kiss the pennant race goodbye. I certainly hope the Royals stay in the race through September and perhaps win it.

Either way, this is a fun team to watch on a daily basis.

Kansas City Chiefs: Who Will Surround The Cassel?

Cameron Fletcher — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:07:34 -0500

Feb. 28, 2009, a day that all Chiefs fans will remember. Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel head to Kansas City in exchange for a second-round pick.

With this trade, the Chiefs solidified the quarterback position, and added a much-needed veteran presence in the linebacking corps. What does this mean for the free agent season and the upcoming draft?

Pre-Cassel, I would have said to take the best quarterback available at No. 3, but now with Cassel in tow, the Chiefs can look to build in other areas.

A nice fit at No. 3 is Aaron Curry, an inside linebacker out of Wake Forest. In his senior season, he earned the Dick Butkus Award after his 101 tackle, 2.5 sack season.

Granted, the lack of sacks is disturbing for the 6'3", 246-pounder, but he possesses the ability to rush the passer and has excellent pass coverage ability.

He's enough of a threat, even as a rookie, to draw more than one offensive blocker, which should free up some room for middle linebacker Derrick Johnson and the aforementioned Vrabel.

A linebacking crew with Curry, Johnson and Vrabel sounds pretty good.

Another option would be to select Michael Crabtree with the third pick. Selecting Crabtree would provide a viable second option behind Dwayne Bowe for Cassel, and free up Tony Gonzalez a bit more on passing situations.

It would be a similiar setup to the one Haley had as offensive coordinator in Arizona with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquain Boldin.

With both Jevon Kearse and Albert Hayensworth off the table, the Chiefs should probably go with defense in the April draft.

Building up the defense while building around Matt Cassel will make the Chiefs markedly better in the 2009 season and beyond.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Chiefs are at least a playoff contender by 2010 with Cassel under center, a Curry-Johnson-Vrabel trio at linebacker, and a little bit of luck.

If Alex Rodriguez Did It, Then Who Else?

Cameron Fletcher — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:09:06 -0500

A little over two years ago, I wrote a newsletter (see November 2006 issue) about the inability to know how far back the whole steroids in baseball controversy went.

Now flash forward to present day and we find out that Alex Rodriguez has taken steroids.

So much for somebody "clean" breaking the home run record of Barry Bonds.

Hearing this doesn't necessarily make my earlier composition correct, but it raises the likelihood that it is. Allow me to quote a few excerpts from the original piece:

"Steroids and sports have been in each other's sheets long before Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire ever swung a bat.

Recently there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the use of steroids in baseball. In early 2005, congress decided to hold a hearing on the issue.

Players past and present submitted their testimony in what seemed more like the Salem witch trial than a discussion about steroids. Mark McGwire damaged his once sure chance of getting into the Hall of Fame by saying that he wasn't at the hearing to talk about the past.

Rafael Palmeiro adamantly denied using steroids and ripped into former teammate Jose Canseco and his book titled "Juiced."

It was a bit ironic a few months later when Palmeiro tested positive for steroids.

Now lately a lot of the focus has been on Barry Bonds as he nears Hank Aaron's all-time home run record of 755. There have been threats of incarceration and he's even had syringes thrown his way.

People have been arguing that any records that are broken during the so called steroid era of baseball should have a huge asterisk next to them. Why?

If it's true that anabolic steroids have been in weightlifting since the early 1950's then doesn't it stand to reason that anabolic steroids were around in baseball during that time? How will we ever know if Roger Maris was on the juice? Can we say for sure that Hank Aaron wasn't 'roided up? We can't say for sure.

I'm not at all saying that Mr. Maris or Mr. Aaron were steroid abusers. I'm saying that there's the possibility.

Steroids are not a new issue. They have been around long before McGwire, Palmeiro and Canseco were in diapers."

The slippery slope just got a little more slippery. I really don't care to know how far this rabbit hole goes. Can we just play ball?

Is Tyler Thigpen the Guy In 2009?

Cameron Fletcher — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:16:15 -0500

Will the Kansas City Chiefs get Thiggy with it next year? The question that must be answered heading into next season is, will Tyler Thigpen be the starter next season for the Chiefs?

After a really slow start, Thigpen has come along. The Chiefs changed their offensive scheme to a pistol formation focusing on the spread offense. With this change, opposing defenses no longer could just stuff the box and stop the run. They now had to be weary of the pass play.

Thigpen is doing a good job, completing passes and creating first downs with his running ability, which is something Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle couldn't do.

Sure the wins haven't been there, but it's plain to see this team has gotten better since week 1.

It seems that the logical thing the Chiefs should do is give Thigpen another shot next season, seeing if it is just a matter of lack of film to study or sheer talent that has made him so successful.

The only caveat to that would be if the Chiefs have the ability in April's draft to select a potential franchise quarterback in the Top 5, say a Sam Bradford or a Tim Tebow, if he leaves early.

The Chiefs cannot pass on that option if it's available. But if it's not, stick with Thigpen and see what the kid can do.

Thigpen's story is an interesting one. Coastal Carolina, the college he played for, recruited him as a wide receiver before that school even had a football program.

Thigpen mentioned on a recent radio show with Mitch Holthus, that first year they practiced and practiced and practiced.

They didn't have any games to play so they just practiced. By that second year, he was instilled as the team's quarterback and the rest is history.

Thigpen was the first player from Coastal Carolina to be drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs then claimed him off waivers in September of 2007.

Brodie Croyle Impressive for Chiefs in Preseason Debut

Cameron Fletcher — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:48:09 -0400

Brodie Croyle led an impressive drive downfield against the Bears' first-team offense en route to a Larry Johnson rushing touchdown in a 24-20 victory last Thursday.

Taking the opening kickoff, the Chiefs (or Croyles) went on a 16-play, 81-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the game clock. Larry Johnson scored from five yards out to put the Croyles up by six.

Croyle looked impressive in the game, completing 6-of-10 passes for 82 yards.

Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen also played well at quarterback, combining to go 12-of-18 for 182 yards, a touchdown, and a pick.

The Croyles took a 14-3 lead into halftime, but the Bears outscored the Croyle-less Croyles by a 14-0 margin in the third quarter.

However, the Croyles bounced back and outscored the Bears, 10-3, in the fourth to secure the victory, their first since last October.

Now the Croyles will take on the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium this Saturday at 7 p.m. Will Croyle continue his strong preseason performance against Arizona? We shall see. I look forward to it.