Our busy weekend at Kauffman Stadium hasn't slowed down despite that Monday is an off day for the Royals. We have Gloves For Kids from 6-8 p.m. at the Dick's Sporting Goods on 19th and Nall in Leawood, Kan. (details here!), and then welcome Detroit into town Tuesday for a three-game set.

But, before team photographer Chris Vleisides floods our inboxes with photos from the upcoming events this week, we thought we would share some photos from our weekend at Kauffman Stadium. Enjoy!

More David Cook: So, did you know that "American Idol" finalist David Cook was in Kansas City last Friday? For those of us living here, it was kind of hard to miss the Blue Springs, Mo., native making the rounds in our community including a stop for the Royals-Orioles game Friday evening. Cook, who threw out a first pitch and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in front of the hometown crowd at The K, returns to L.A. to compete for the top prize.

We have a photo gallery from Cook's visit to The K up on royals.com (here!), but wanted to share one more photo of a young Royals fan who just might be a David Cook fan now...

Marin McClain, only six months old, met the "American Idol" star in the Stadium Club during the game...and from the looks of this photo, she had no trouble putting a smile on Cook's face!

Umbrellas=Smart Promotion on Rainy Night: Well, could we have picked a better night to have a Royals Umbrella promotion at Kauffman Stadium?

The crowd of 15,808 in attendance Saturday tried its best to stay dry and the golf umbrellas - presented by Budweiser - seemed to do the trick for the most part...especially during the nearly two-hour rain delay! 

And...don't forget to pack that umbrella if you are headed back to the ballpark this week - forecast calls for occasional showers throughout the series - yikes...

Pink Bat Auction: We auctioned off 14 pink bats - and one Miguel Olivo chest protector - this weekend to help raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Pink Bat Silent Auction was part of our Breast Cancer Awareness effort, which we paired up with our Mother's Day celebration.

All in all, it meant a lot of pink at The K...and a lot raised for Susan G. Komen for the Cure - more than $20,000! The two bat auctions - Saturday and Sunday - alone brought in $6205 for the cause, which strives to help save lives and end breast cancer forever.

More Pink: Did you think we were joking about the abundance of "pink" at The K on Sunday? 

With a Mother's Day promotion that involved pink Royals T-shirts and the pink bats in the silent concourse auction and on the field, the normal Royal blue - and even the Sunday powder blue - was a little harder to find in the crowd for the sunny afternoon game.

Again, the whole "pink" effort was part of the Royals and MLB's league-wide commitment to supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Stay tuned for information regarding the online auction of the game-used pink bats for the Mother's Day game.

Gathright's Catch: Did you see Joey's catch Sunday...and then his run-in with the left-field out-of-town videoboard? If not, check it out here!

Dodge Honorary Lineup: Seven young Royals fans got to join in on the fun Sunday as participants of the Dodge Honorary Lineup. We do the Dodge Honorary Lineups for each of the Royals Sunday home games, pairing the young fans up with the players to take the field for the National Anthem.

This Sunday, the Honorary Lineup crew also donned pink Breast Cancer Awareness wristbands to match their favorite Royals players!

Well...we have a lot more pictures to share from this past homestand, so don't forget to check out royals.com Tuesday for the photo galleries.

In between a ceremonial first pitch and belting "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch, David Cook found himself in a familiar - yet unfamiliar place - at Kauffman Stadium.

Visiting some Royals fans and associates, the Blue Springs, Mo., native stopped to take in the game from a press level suite...the same type of Kauffman Stadium suite, he said, that he use to clean as a seasonal employee for six years.

Yes, a lot has changed for the Royals employee-turned-"American Idol" finalist.

Cook, back in Kansas City for just the day, donned a blue Royals jersey with his name across the back and hit the field with Royals pitcher Brett Tomko to throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday's Royals-Orioles game. He then accepted a Royals jacket and a framed lineup card that stating he was the official "10th player" on the team from Manager Trey Hillman.

On Friday, the crowd of 21,873 - along with a news helicopter - helped us welcome Cook back to Kansas City. And, from all accounts we heard from Cook and his family, the "American Idol" finalist (who is still looking for your votes!), could not have been happier to be out in front of his hometown fans in the stadium where his hometown team plays!

Maybe you heard...

David Cook - the David Cook from "American Idol" - will be here...at Kauffman Stadium...on Friday.

Yes, it's official! David Cook is coming to Kauffman Stadium Friday, May 9 to watch his hometown Royals take on the Baltimore Orioles, 7:10 p.m.

Reports of David making the trip to The K started circulating last week, but the Blue Springs, Mo., native had one more round to make it through before returning home for the weekend...and last night he made it through that round!

After a day full of concerts, parades and more, the "American Idol" contestant will visit Kauffman Stadium on Friday, throw out a first pitch (pregame begins at 6:30 p.m.) before the game and then lead the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.  

So, get your tickets and come join us at The K Friday night to welcome David Cook back to Kansas City!

Do you have a blank baseball just sitting around waiting to be signed?

Well, we can help you take care of that with three perfect opportunities to meet some of your favorite Royals!

Saturday, May 10: Meet Billy Butler and David DeJesus at Sprint!
Prior to heading out to Kauffman Stadium for the 6:10 p.m. game against Baltimore, two of Kansas City's young stars - Billy Butler and David DeJesus - will meet fans and sign autographs at the new Sprint store at The Legends at Village West in Kansas City, Kan. DeJesus will appear from 11 a.m. to noon with Butler following from noon to 1 p.m.

Sunday, May 11: Autograph Afternoon at The K!
Taking a break from their pregame routine, select Royals players head out into the stands along the first base line to meet fans and sign autographs from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. For the first Autograph Afternoon of the season, fans met John Bale, Butler, Luke Hochevar, Ron Mahay and Manager Trey Hillman...come out on Sunday (with your mom!) to see who will be signing this time!

  Monday, May 12: Gloves For Kids at Dick's Sporting Goods
Join Royals broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre and current Royals for Gloves For Kids at Dick's Sporting Goods in the Town Center Plaza (11801 Nall Ave. in Leawood, Kan.) from 6-8 p.m. A $20 donation will go directly to the purchasing of new baseball gloves and baseball equipment for area youth baseball players. Each fan that donates at least $20 will receive a $5 gift certificate for Dick's Sporting Goods. 

The players scheduled to sign include Brian Bannister, John Buck, Butler, DeJesus, Alex Gordon, Tony Pena, Jr., and Mark Teahen (players subject to change). Just a heads up...One group of Royals players will sign from 6-7 p.m. and the other from 7-8 p.m. A $20 donation is required for each session.

So...at least three great opportunities to see your Boys in Blue out and about this weekend (and Monday!). Hope to see you at one...or all three!

For more info on the Royals appearances and efforts in the community check out royals.com/community.

Some news and notes to get us ready for the longest homestand of the season...

Chat with Meche: He tossed seven shutout innings to lead the Royals to a 2-0 win over The Tribe on Sunday. On Tuesday, Gil Meche logs on to chat with you about the big victory, pitching for Kansas City and his thoughts on the season thus far. The right-hander is the next participant in the Royals Relay Chat Series, chatting at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on May 6 prior to our 7:10 p.m. game against the Angels. To chat online with Meche, you need to register here on royals.com.

News from Mexico City: Closer Joakim Soria, who worked a scoreless ninth inning Sunday to pick up his eighth save of the year, is getting some news coverage from back home. Monday morning, a devoted Royals fan living and working in Mexico City sent us the link to a story that ran in Monday's sports page of the Mexico City-based newspaper, Reforma. As many of you know, Soria is a native and resident of Monclova, Mexico. Here's the story if you want to check it out...and can read Spanish:

Soria_Mexico Clip.pdf

All-Star Ballots: The 2008 All-Star Game is just around the corner! Okay, not really just around the corner since the game is not until July 15 at Yankee Stadium, but filling out your ballot is! Online voting on royals.com began a week ago and, starting with Monday's game, ballots will be distributed at The K during the third inning of every home game until June 24. Therefore, you can fill out a ballot every time you are at the stadium (up to 25 games), plus up to 25 times online per email address. That's means each of you could conceivably cast 50 votes (or more) for Alex Gordon and Billy Butler and David DeJesus and the six other Royals on this year's ballot. So, the question is, who do you think should be our Royals All-Star this season?

Garth Brooks Goes Pink: We mentioned this before, but as a reminder...starting Thursday, when you are out at the ballpark from May 8-11, you'll have the chance to purchase Garth Brooks' "Pink Edition" of The Ultimate Hits album for $16 with a portion of every CD sold benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. If you can't make it out to Kauffman Stadium during that time, you can still help out the cause and purchase a CD by visiting http://ww3.komen.org/garth/.

Kauffman Stadium Promotions: Great promotions this weekend...

•   Friday, May 9: Fireworks Friday after the game (weather permitting)!
•   Saturday, May 10: Royals Golf Umbrella to the first 15,000 fans age 21 and older - it's presented by Budweiser.
•   Sunday, May 11: In honor of mom on Mother's Day...Royals Pink T-Shirt to first 10,000.

Pitching Probables: Here are the pitching probables for the three-game set against the Angels to open the homestand:  

• Monday at 7:10 p.m.: RHP Brett Tomko (1-3 and 6.26 ERA) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (5-0 and 2.47 ERA).
• Tuesday at 7:10 p.m.: RHP Brian Bannister (3-3 and 4.04 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Adenhart (0-0 and 22.50 ERA).
• Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.: RHP Zack Greinke (3-1 and 1.47 ERA) vs. RHP Jered Weaver (2-4, 4.36 ERA).

Hope you can all make it out to The K this week to welcome your Royals back to town!

Royals Charities donated more than $230,000 to 14 area non-profit organizations during the Spring cycle of its Royals Charities Grant Program.

That amount means the charitable arm of the Royals has donated more than $3 million since 2001...all to local charities! That's a pretty substantial amount of money and we're just getting started...

This season, Royals Charities is hosting several new events as well as revamping many of its existing programs - all in an effort to help out our community in as many ways as possible. So, here's a quick rundown of what the Royals Charities factory is cranking out in 2008:

June 26 - Diamond of Dreams: It's Royals Charities first on-field event and we aren't holding anything back! Diamond of Dreams: Taking the Field for The Dream Factory is Thursday, June 26 - a Royals off day - on the field at The K with all proceeds benefiting The Dream Factory. Since our Boys in Blue will be in town, several of the players as well as GM Dayton Moore and Manager Trey Hillman will be in attendance to mingle with guests, who are encouraged to dress in their most creative Royals attire. Local 80s band favorite The Zeros will entertain from second base, while guests enjoy a Kansas City-inspired food and drink menu. Individual tickets for this event are going fast, so purchase your Diamond of Dreams tickets now... 

May 17 and August 16 - T.A.K.E. Defense: We are inviting all our female fans out to The K to participate in one (or both!) of our T.A.K.E. Defense self-defense classes. The classes are FREE, open only to females and are taking place on the field! The T.A.K.E. Defense program represents a living legacy in honor of Ali Kemp, a 19-year-old Leawood, Kan., resident who was murdered while working as a lifeguard at a neighborhood pool in Johnson County. The goal of the program is to raise awareness and to give women ages 12 and older the self-protection skills they need to avoid becoming the victims of violent crime. All you have to do is register for a class and meet us at The K!

More with T.A.K.E. Defense - Royals Calendars: Sure, April is over, but you can still buy an April-March Royals Players calendar (only $10) to benefit The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation. We are selling them at The K when the guys are in town, but you can also buy them online here. Something we noticed at the last Autograph Afternoon at The K (next one: Sunday, May 11) is that the calendars are great for signing!  

Royals Legacy Brick Program: Have you bought your Legacy Brick yet? If not, here's your chance. The Royals Legacy Brick Program, which benefits Royals Charities (which benefits our community), is giving fans the opportunity to be a part of the tradition of our franchise and leave their marks on Kauffman Stadium. You can order your personalized bricks here.

Royalty Fields: If your baseball/softball fields are in need of repair or revamping, keep sending in those applications for grants through the Royalty Fields Grant Program, which just rewarded these three programs with $5,000 grants:

• Southern Youth Sports, Nebraska
• Lone Jack Athletic Club, Missouri
• Kearney County Community Foundation, Nebraska

Find the Royalty Fields Grant Application here.

Thursday, Aug. 7 - Kansas City Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament: Okay, the details haven't been officially released on this one, so we'll keep it to "save this date on the calendar." Basically, Royals Charities is hosting its first Royals Celebrity Golf Tournament at The National. We all know how baseball players love to golf, so expect the event to involve hitting the links with current and former Royals all raising money for charity. Again, details haven't been released, but you can call (816) 921-8000 to reserve your spot...

The Royals wrapped up a pretty busy homestand Sunday and are on their way to Texas (April 28-May 1) before heading to Cleveland later in the week. Since Monday is an off day and we have time to gather our thoughts, here are some community notes from the front office...

Dandi's Batting Practice Cancelled: Well, it did kind of rain on Dandi "Dan" Mackall's parade this past Wednesday (April 23) when she came out to Kauffman Stadium as the Royals special guest. Dandi, who was once denied the right to be a batboy for the 1961 Kansas City A's because of her gender, was an honorary batgirl for the Royals-Indians 7:10 p.m. game on Wednesday. Out on the field prior to the game, Dandi was hoping to live her dream of being a batgirl, but Mother Nature had other plans for the author of A Girl Named Dan. Rain not only cancelled BP, but it also cancelled the game. Dandi still hung out in the dugout, met some players as well as Manager Hillman and also had her story told on the Royals Radio Network pregame show with Steve Stewart. In between rain drops, she picked up a couple of stray baseballs, too!

Dream Factory Back at The K: Did you see this ESPN article on Trey over the weekend? Toward the end of the piece, reporter Elizabeth Merrill mentions an informal dugout meeting Trey had with some kids...the first Dream Factory Royals visit of the season! The 11-year-old girl mentioned is Erin Dublin and her twin brothers - age 7 - are Will and Jack. Erin's family, along with a few other people including The Dream Factory's Dan Liston, spent Wednesday afternoon hanging around the Royals batting cages and dugouts. Trey topped the list of Royals Erin and her brothers hugged, high-fived, received autographs from and posed with for pictures!

Lemons into Lemonade at The K: Third Baseman Alex Gordon got to The K a little earlier on Thursday to lend his smile and voice to the local chapter of Alex's Lemonade Stand - a nationally known fundraising effort that focuses on pediatric cancer research. It's the second season where our Alex has been the local spokesperson for the program.

On Thursday before BP, Alex joined some young cancer patients to shoot a public service announcement promoting "Lemonade Weekend" at Kansas City-area Hy-Vee stores on June 6-7. It only took a couple of takes for the group to get the lines down...and only one little guy (the one being held in the photo!) tried to make a break for it and run across the field! Fans can visit www.alexslemonade.org to learn more about Alex's Lemonade Stand and - as our Alex said during the PSA shoot - "help fight childhood cancer one cup at a time."

Players Coming to Sprint Store: During the next homestand, Billy Butler and David DeJesus will head to the new Sprint store at The Legends in KCK for a meet and greet with fans. UPDATE: The event is on Saturday, May 10 (sorry we initially left that out!). DeJesus will appear from 11 a.m. to noon before Butler shows up from noon to 1 p.m. Then the guys will head to The K to play the Baltimore Orioles.

A Cold Baseball Equipment Drive: Friday at Kauffman Stadium was pretty cold. But, despite the low, windy temperatures, Betty Kaegel, our director of community outreach, and some Royals Wives - Katie Butler, Ashley Hochevar and Yamel Ros, wife of Jose Guillen - braved the cold to collect baseball equipment for Guadalupe Centers, Inc. We are still accepting donations this week, so official numbers aren't in, but one anonymous fan did drop off several large tubs of equipment prior to the gates opening Friday. Thanks to all who donated items! 

Mother's Day at The K:...is also Breast Cancer Awareness Day at The K! Over the weekend, we announced our plans for celebrating moms on May 11 as well as our plans for honoring breast cancer survivors and supporters of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The special day involves Pink Royals T-shirts to the first 10,000 fans, a breast cancer survivor sitting in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat as well as another survivor leading the crowd in the singing of "God Bless America." There will be a special "moms" twist to the Dodge Honorary Lineup and, probably the most fun, we'll have a special "Pinked-Out Zone" for the game. The "Pinked-Out Zone" will be full of breast cancer survivors and Susan G. Komen supporters. Susan G. Komen supporters can purchase specially priced tickets for this section by visiting royals.com/komen - where a portion of the tickets sold will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  

Speaking of benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Royals Charities is donating a $5,000 donation to the Susan G. Komen Greater Kansas City Affiliate. The RC donation will be made in memory of Donna Stewart, the late wife of Royals long-time scout and 2008 Royals Hall of Fame inductee Art Stewart.

And, finally, when you are out at the ballpark from May 8-11, you'll have the chance to purchase Garth Brook's "Pink Edition" of The Ultimate Hits album for $16 with a portion of every CD sold benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. If you can't make it out to Kauffman Stadium during that time, you can still help out the cause and purchase a CD by visiting http://ww3.komen.org/garth/.

Okay - a lot to process, remember and mark on the calendar. Enjoy watching or listening to the Royals this week and we hope to see you out at The K when the team is back on May 5!

Royals fan Dave Curtis sang it at the last Royals "610 Saturdays" party (see video here)...now he is on royals.com and is a finalist to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a Royals game.

Will it be you this Saturday?

The Royals are hosting their second "610 Saturdays" event presented by Miller Lite prior to the 6:10 p.m. contest with the Toronto Blue Jays. This time, 610 Sports has invited 96.5 The Buzz out to the ballpark to host the event. On-air personality Jason of the "Middays with Jason" show will take over the mic for the event, which also feature a live performance by the band The Away Team.

But, let's get back to Dave, our Baby Ruth "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" contest winner...

For the first pre-game "610 Saturdays" party, we had 15 to 20 Royals fans who braved the cold to sing along to the traditional Seventh-Inning Stretch song. But, in the end, it was Dave who took home the title for his rendition of the classic. Now, Dave, along with all the other finalists from the Royals "610 Saturdays" this season, will be featured on royals.com. At the end of the season, fans will vote for their favorite Royals singer and the winner will lead the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the Saturday, September 20 Fan Appreciation Night game, plus win two (2) Royals Season Tickets for 2009!

So...do you think you can beat Dave? If so, then we hope to see you at "610 Saturdays"...

The rain never let up Wednesday evening...leading to a rainout and a doubleheader for Thursday. The first game of the doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians begins at 5:10 p.m. Thursday with the second game starting 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first.

The pitching matchups for the DH:

GAME 1: Carmona vs. Tomko
GAME 2: Lee vs. Bannister

Any fans holding a ticket for Wednesday's rainout game can redeem their tickets for any Royals regular season game, including Thursday's DH.

Those of you who were already planning on atttending Thursday's game are getting a treat: your ticket is good for both games!

...to losroyals.com!

Monday afternoon we officially launched losroyals.com - the club's Spanish-language website - entering into a new era in Royals baseball!

You might not realize this, but on the 25-man roster, we have nine Hispanic players - Alberto Callaspo, Esteban German, Jose Guillen, Leo Nunez, Miguel Olivo, Tony Pena, Jr.,  Joel Peralta, Ramon Ramirez and Joakim Soria - as well as one Hispanic coach (third base coach Luis Silverio). That's more than a third of our roster who consider English to be their second language. So, it's only natural that we want to highlight these players as well as recognize our fast-growing Hispanic-fan base...thus, losroyals.com!

The site, which is updated daily, features MLB.com editorial including game stories, recaps, features, photo galleries and more. There'll be special ticket programs offered and details on upcoming promotions and events (Viva Los Royals on Sept. 6!) at Kauffman Stadium. In addition, exclusive content on the site will include a recurring series of video profiles provided by Univision Kansas City featuring our Hispanic players. Just like royals.com and the Royals Report, you can also sign up for the site's official online newsletter, the Royals Boletin. The Royals are among 16 MLB clubs offering Spanish-language websites and the second to do so from the American League Central (joining the Chicago White Sox).

Right as we announced the website launch at the Guadalupe Centers, Inc., Monday afternoon, the first part of a two-part series on Coach Silverio launched on both the Spanish and English sites - a great example of the kind of in-depth pieces you can expect to see on losroyals.com.

And...along with a press release this morning...we also used the afternoon presser to announce the upcoming Royals Baseball Equipment Drive, which is scheduled for Friday, April 25 prior to the Royals-Blue Jays game at The K. The annual drive is collecting new and gently used baseball equipment to benefit the Guadalupe Center Youth Baseball program. As the drive recipients, the Guadalupe Centers, Inc., will also receive a $5,000 grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, which will be presented to them on Wednesday, April 23 prior to the game. For more details on the drive, click here.

So, check out the new site because, as Royals President Dan Glass said during the press conference, "Losroyals.com is a new vehicle the Royals can provide to fans to eliminate another barrier and bring a new culture closer to the team." Enjoy!