My Dislikes: Yanks, Red Sox, and Redbirds

This topic is almost sure to draw criticism from at least two of my younger brothers, who root for teams that I'm going to discuss in this post. But I'm really just fishing for some comments from readers in general, and a little increased activity on my site after months of being stagnant.

I'm wondering which team(s), or fans of a particular team, you most dislike, and why? Everyone is more than welcome to share their thoughts and opinions. Yes, even fans of the teams discussed in this post, or others. And, if you hate the Royals, for whatever reason, I'd sure love to know why.

For me, there are just three teams that stand out above the rest when it comes to a dislike for particular franchises, and surprisingly, none of them are in the American League Central (although the White Sox were close).

Among fans of small market teams, I think there's a natural tendency to dislike teams that have overwhelmingly large payrolls. Obviously, the New York Yankees top that list, with the Boston Red Sox a close second.

When Gil Meche signed as a free agent with the Royals in December of 2006, his five-year, $55 million contract equaled former Royal Mike Sweeney's deal for the largest in Kansas City's history. Zack Greinke's recent four-year, $38 million package now ranks as the second-largest in terms of overall dollar value. But those pale in comparison to what the Yankees have been able to do.

This offseason, New York signed C.C. Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million deal, then added A.J. Burnett for five years and $82.5 million, and still had enough in the coiffers to ink Mark Teixeira to an eight-year contract for $180 million. And, keep in mind that Alex Rodriguez signed on the dotted line for 10 years and $275 million prior to the 2008 campaign. That's sick, and it's a primary reason behind my hatred of the Yankees, which happens to be my brother Brian's favorite team.

The Red Sox didn't make any major splashes in the free agent market this winter, and Boston owner John Henry has even been calling for a salary cap after the Yankees' recent spending spree. But, even with a lower projected payroll for 2009, Boston still ranked second in 2008 by distributing $147.1 million in salary to its players.

By contrast, Kansas City is getting set to increase its 2009 payroll to an all-time high of somewhere around $74 million -- yes, that's about half of what Boston spent last year, and a third of the $222.5 million the Yankees dealt out in 2008.

In my opinion, the ability to spend money like that creates an arrogance and an "East Coast is best" mentality that just oozes from fans of either of those two organizations. They often scoff at the notion that teams like Kansas City should even be able to be on the same field as their teams.

It's a cockiness and bully mentality that is fed by the fat wallets of their team owners, who have endless cash to spend thanks to lucrative television deals with YES (Yankees) and NESN (Red Sox), as well as top-grossing merchandise and licensing profits due to the enormous population located along the East Coast.

And it just drives me crazy, when listening to MLB Home Plate on XM Radio, to hear seemingly endless talk about either of those teams. Man, it'd sure be nice if I could hear something more than just the occasional brief mention of the Royals. I think, as much as anything, this stokes the hatred I feel for the Yankees and the Red Sox. Well, that, and the fact that Reggie Jackson acted like an ass when I asked him for an autograph at the College World Series a few years ago.

Granted, with 26 World Championships and a rich history -- wow, that word fits so well -- fans of the Bronx Bombers have obvious reasons to gloat. Red Sox Nation seems to always be competing with, but chasing, its rivals from New York. Sorry, Boston, but seven titles will always keep you in that chasing mode -- not that seven titles is anything to turn your nose up at.

With that in mind, though, and knowing that the Yankees are about to make their 2009 debut in a sparkling new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, it really makes you wonder if venerable old Fenway Park's days are numbered.

Okay, okay...enough about the East Coast. I think my disdain is quite evident.

For most Royals fans, you simply have to look across the state of Missouri to find another rather obvious choice -- those Deadbirds...er, Redbirds, of St. Louis. Even though they play in the National League, I think, more than any other team, I feel a sense of satisfaction when the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

My brother Matt (NOT pictured...thank God) is a die-hard fan of the Cards -- even though I have a picture of him from elementary school wearing his Royals jacket -- and he will assuredly be e-mailing me after reading this post. We go back and forth all the time, although there is a prevailing brotherly respect to our debates, which probably wouldn't exist if either of us was talking smack about our teams to just any other fan.

Obviously, I love to bring up the 1985 World Series anytime Royals-Cardinals is discussed. Of course, he automatically claims that series should have an asterisk by it due to Don Denkinger's call during Game 6. But I always respond to that by saying that if the Cardinals really deserved that World Championship, then they should have been able to come back and be more competetive in Game 7. And we all know that Kansas City then went on to kick the crap out of St. Louis by a score of 11-0, and celebrated the organization's greatest triumph.

The thing that I really dislike about many Cardinals fans, though, is their sense of arrogance. I can deal with my brother's pride in the Cardinals, but if you talk to an everyday fan of the Redbirds, they'll probably claim that they're the best fans in baseball, and that they're also the most knowledgeable crowd in the game.

For the most part, I think those claims by St. Louis fans are in comparison to fans of the other team in the Show Me State, which is why it bugs me. Cardinals versus Cubs is probably always going to be more of a rivalry to fans in the Gateway City, but I think their second love is to hate the Royals.

So, I truly enjoyed it last year when the Royals went to St. Louis and swept all three games at Busch Stadium. God, it would have been so fun to have been wearing all of my Royals gear, and sitting among the throng of red-clad St. Louisans as the young Royals won by scores of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-1. Imagine how cool it would've been to have been waving a broom back and forth as Joakim Soria recorded his third save in three days to finish the sweep! And, of course, Kansas City won last year's series against the Cards, four games to two, so Matt owed me some beers in our annual friendly wager.

There is no arguing the fact that Cardinals fans are loyal, and Busch Stadium is almost always full. But would those fans keep coming out to the ballpark if they had had to suffer through what Royals fans have had to put up with for the past decade-and-a-half? I don't think so. In fact, I think Busch Stadium would be about as empty as Kauffman Stadium has been in recent years if the tables were turned.

St. Louis fans I run into (like this guy) always love to bring up the Royals' struggles over the past 15-20 years. I'm just waiting for the day when the Cardinals head into a similar tailspin that lasts at least a few years, so I can make a comment or two about the dwindling attendance at Cardinals games, and about how mismanaged that franchise is. Kansas City's change in ownership, and Allard Baird, gave Cardinals fans great joy and satisfaction for years and years.

I want to feel arrogant and cocky again. I want to be able to respond with confidence to comments made by fans on the East Coast or across the state. I'm hoping Dayton Moore and David Glass are successful in restoring that sense of pride in being a fan of the Kansas City Royals.

Extend Dayton Moore's Contract

As Royals fans, we're well aware of a disappointing history of not being able to retain star players as they approach free agency. Names like Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Beltran will make most Kansas City faithful cringe, grind their teeth, or throw something at the wall.

All three of those players have been to multiple All-Star Games. Two of them -- Damon and Dye -- have helped teams win a World Series title, with Dye being the Most Valuable Player of the Chicago White Sox's 2005 championship. And, with the free agent signing of ace pitcher Johan Santana early this month, Beltran might soon be wearing a world championship ring, as well.

What's sad, and all true Royals fans know this, is that all three of those players used to roam the outfield grass at Kauffman Stadium -- at the same time -- and all three were traded before they became too expensive for the Royals to afford. It's sickening to think of the possibilities.

Damon led the American League in 2000 with 136 runs scored and 46 stolen bases, while finishing among the top 10 for batting average (.327), hits (218), doubles (42) and triples (10), but was traded to Oakland on January 9, 2001.

Dye also wound up in Oakland, with the Royals receiving Colorado shortstop Neifi Perez in a three-team deal on July 25, 2001. At the time, Dye was batting .272 with 13 home runs and 47 runs batted in. Neifi Perez is Neifi Perez.

And the last piece of that trio, Beltran, was traded to the Astros in another three-team deal on June 24, 2004. In return, the Royals received Mark Teahen and pitcher Mike Wood from Oakland, as well as catcher John Buck from the Astros. In the 2004 playoffs with the Astros, Beltran established a new playoff record with home runs in five consecutive games, and also tied Barry Bonds' postseason record with eight round-trippers overall. (And, no, if you clicked on that link for Bonds, I'm not insinuating anything about Beltran)

In late May 2006, the Royals' sinking ship was salvaged with the firing of general manager Allard Baird. It was Baird who traded Damon, Dye, and Beltran, and you'd have to search far and wide to find a Royals fan who feels Kansas City got fair value in return. It was also Baird who signed free agents like Juan Gonzalez and Chuck Knoblauch.

To be fair, Baird did also sign free agents like fan-favorite Raul Ibanez and Mark Grudzielanek, who earned a Gold Glove in 2006 and remains the starting second baseman to this day. He also drafted Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, and Alex Gordon, which is impressive.

But Kansas City suffered through a dismal stretch under Baird's guidance, with three 100-loss seasons and a win-loss record of 381-576. And it might be argued that the Jermaine Dye for Neifi Perez trade was reason enough for him to be fired.

So, back to the sinking ship. Out goes Baird, and in comes new GM Dayton Moore. I would argue that June 8, 2006 -- Moore's first day on the job -- is one of the brightest days the Royals organization has had in the past 15 years. Finally, someone to fix the leaks, and bail out the water.

If we stick with the ship analogy, Moore had been cruising on one of the most successful vessels on the sea (a.k.a. the Atlanta Braves) for the previous 12 years. He had learned the role of GM while working in several capacities for former Royals' GM John Schuerholz.

In Atlanta, Moore had gained a reputation as one of the brightest young minds in professional baseball. He was named by Baseball America in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Power Brokers in Major League Baseball, and in 2004, the same publication projected Moore as the top general manager prospect.

As such, in November 2005, Moore was interviewed for the vacant GM position with the Boston Red Sox. Moore going to Boston was an exciting possibility for Red Sox Nation, but he withdrew his name from consideration, reportedly because he was not assured that he would have complete control over baseball operations.

You have to give Royals' owner David Glass some credit, as he must have been paying attention to the news of what happened in Boston. Because, despite hedging on whether or not to fire Baird for weeks on end, Glass agreed to hand over control of Kansas City's personnel decisions to Moore, and things have been on an upward trend ever since.

Over the past two offseasons, Moore has aggressively attacked the free agent market. His diligent work has lured Gil Meche, Octavio Dotel, Jose Guillen, Yasuhiko Yabuta, Ron Mahay, Brett Tomko, John Bale, and Miguel Olivo to the Royals' roster.

It has also been widely reported that Kansas City offered a $70 million contract to free agent CF Torii Hunter, who signed with the Angels, and made competitive -- if not better -- offers to Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda, who both signed with the Dodgers.

In addition, his trades have been, for the most part, very sound. Brian Bannister, Ross Gload, Joey Gathright, Ryan Shealy, Tony Pena, Jr., Alberto Callaspo, Jorge De La Rosa, Daniel Cortes, Kyle Davies, and Julio Pimentel have all been acquired via Moore's dealings.

So, what's my point here? Succinctly, Dayton Moore is good at what he does. He's good for the Royals. And, going back to my original point, he needs to be signed to a contract extension at some point during this season. I suppose Glass can decide to wait and see if the team is winning games this year, but the team sure seems like it's ready to move in a new direction, and Moore is the one who pointed the Royals in that direction to begin with.

This morning, I was reading about Arizona GM Josh Byrnes, and how he was given an eight-year contract extension through 2015. Byrnes was hired by the Diamondbacks in October 2005, and has done essentially what Moore is in the process of doing in Kansas City -- rebuilding an organization, with a restricted payroll, and leading it to success.

Sure, Arizona won the N.L. West and advanced to the National League Championship Series last year, which is more than the Royals have done. But I would argue that Moore's task is a far greater challenge, yet the Royals are making progress, and fans are more excited about Kansas City baseball than we have been in years.

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts -- which is an interesting web site, by the way -- Moore has a five-year deal in place for about $1 million per year. Assuming that's accurate, this is the middle year of that contract. He's instilling faith and pride back into this once-proud organization, and he deserves a long-term commitment, just like Josh Byrnes.

David Glass needs to recognize the direction that Dayton Moore is taking the Royals, and reward him before he gets away just like Damon, Dye, and Beltran. Otherwise, as Kansas City has more and more success, and the end of Moore's contract in 2010 nears, baseball owners are going to be licking their chops, just waiting to steal him away.