Spring training action is well underway in Surprise, but there's still a lot of time between now and Opening Day. I'll be counting down the days with a collection of random Royals-related numbers. Most of them mean nothing - this isn't supposed to be a groundbreaking series of research - but they'll hopefully make the days go faster until April 5.

13 Days = 13 homers by David DeJesus in 2009
David DeJesus homered 13 times last season - once every 48 or 49 plate appearances. That's almost identical to the rate at which he went yard in '08. That rate was a huge jump from previous seasons, but is still not enough to qualify DDJ as a masher. And that's perfectly fine. DeJesus provides value to the Royals in a lot of ways, and is still cheap.

But...he's past the stage where we can describe him as "young talent" the Royals can build around. 30's not old, but it's not exactly young either. His OBP last season was as low as it's ever been, and he struck out more frequently than ever. Are these things just oddities that happened last year, or are they signs of aging?

On an unrelated note, please go help one of Royals Review's relative newcomers figure out all the nicknames that get thrown around. We're running out of time to get these important things figured out.