Welcome to Royals Beat, a blog about life with the Kansas City baseball team. This is the 22nd year I’ve lived this life and so, hopefully, that background will help make this space interesting and useful to you.

My mission is to give readers some insight about what happens not only on the field but in the clubhouse. And certainly this space often will be the first exposure for breaking news about the team.

The Royals promise to be a better and higher-scoring club in 2009. Of course, everyone is always optimistic as Spring Training gets underway. There are 30 pennant winners in February and March. The truth starts emerging in April.

Anyway, the early birds are already throwing the ball around in Arizona. I better get down there and find out what’s going on.

— Dick Kaegel