Think back to the start of the 2011 season for a moment. On May 23, the Cleveland Indians owned first place in the American League Central by seven games after jumping out to a record of 30-15. They were the talk of baseball, and the toast of the town.
The Royals had an off day on May 23, but on May 24 they were 22-24 and entered the opening game of a series at Baltimore a full 8.0 games behind the Indians.The point? Fast (or slow) starts don't always matter. From that point on, the Indians fell apart, going 50-67 and finishing the season at 80-82.
Last year's Royals were 6-4 through 10 games and sat in third place in the AL Central. This year's team has lost five straight games early on to start 3-7. The Royals are 4.0 games back of the Tigers, and tied for fourth place in the standings.
Because of lofty expectations heading into this season, Royals fans are acting like the sky is falling. One bad weekend against the Indians has KC "faithful" calling for Dayton Moore's job, booing some of the team's promising young players, and completely overreacting to every little thing.
Here's a classic example of fans' stupid behavior. After Luke Hochevar was drilled on the ankle by a line drive off the bat of Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana, I read a post on Royalboard.com where a fan was actually hoping he broke his leg or ankle to end his season. Really?! Come on, man.
Listen people, it's 10 games into a 162-game season. I've done this type of analogy before, but those ten games are the equivalent of one game in an NFL schedule. So, the Royals lost their first "game." They are very capable of bouncing back and being competitive within the Central.
Don't get me wrong, I'm among those who are frustrated with the disappointing start to the season. I expected a much better first 10 games. I didn't think Eric Hosmer (8-for-40) and Alex Gordon (5-for-39) would have combined to go 13-for-79 at the plate. I didn't think Cleveland would have seven-run, six-run, five-run, AND four-run innings during the three-game weekend set.
But it's baseball, and I'm certainly smart enough to realize that this is the youngest team in the game and stretches like this are going to happen from time-to-time. I'm not calling for Dayton Moore's head. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon after one crappy weekend.
After all, I've been riding this bandwagon since 1980, and I know it's a bumpy ride. Things WILL get better, so calm down and enjoy the ride.
Showing posts with label Dayton Moore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dayton Moore. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Building a Solid Home
Put yourself in this situation for a moment. You're needing a new home. The one you're currently living in no longer fits your needs, and it's a bit run down. You want to build something brand new, and you've been saving money to invest in something that will serve as the home of your dreams. It's the house you'll retire in, and one that you'll welcome family and friends to for years to come.
After putting your current home on the market, it's come to the point where you need to find a qualified contractor to construct your dream home. After a thorough search, you've limited the choices to a pair of candidates.
Contractor A has a solid reputation as someone whose company will get the job done quickly. He promises that you'll be able to move into your new home in about six weeks, and it's exciting for you to think about the possibility that you'll be enjoying your new home in such a short time.
Contractor B also has a sound reputation as someone whose company does a great job and comes highly-recommended. However, unlike the other choice, this guy states that it'll be about 4-5 months before construction is complete.
Before you jump at Contractor A's offer to have you into your new place in a little more than a month, you do some more research and ask friends and family whether they know anything about either of the contractors, and here's the gist of what you find.
Contractor A spends more money up front for things like high-end kitchen appliances and fancy light fixtures, but his focus is so much on getting the house built quickly that his work lacks the overall quality of Contractor B, who doesn't cut corners to save time.
You're not needing to sell your current home before you start work on the new place, so time isn't too much of an issue. So, do you still go with Contractor A? Or do you think it's worth it to be patient and allow Contractor B the time it takes to build a home for you that won't start falling apart a few years down the road?
Where am I going with this? Well, let's apply this analogy to baseball. Think of Contractor A as a Major League Baseball general manager who will come in, spend money on some pricey free agents, and have your team competing for a division title within a year. The downside, though, is that after those free agents have moved on for more money, his fix-it-quickly method has left the organization without a sustainable plan for long-term success.
Contractor B is Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore. He gets criticized all the time by impatient fans for having taken too much time to field a winner at the MLB level. But his plan to start by rebuilding the farm system is starting to pay off, and he's likely at the point where he'll add a "high-end kitchen appliance" in the form of a starting pitcher or two this offseason.
Moore's "process" has taken longer, but I'd choose Contractor B over Contractor A nine times out of 10. The "house" Moore's building in Kansas City has a much greater chance of sustaining success for the long-term than one built by a GM who was focused on a quick fix.
Moore, of course, is using the same approach to rebuilding the Royals organization as the one that was utilized in Atlanta. He joined the Braves organization in 1994, and worked his way up the administrative ladder until he left to become Kansas City's GM on June 8, 2006. During his time in Atlanta, the Braves won 90 or more games in 11 of 13 seasons, and the two times they failed to reach that level were during his first year -- the strike-shortened 1994 season (68-46) -- and during the 2006 season when Moore departed (79-83).
The key to Atlanta's success has always been its highly-regarded and talent-rich farm system, and the architect of that system is former Royals GM John Schuerholz. Schuerholz served as General Manager in Atlanta from 1990 to 2007, and Moore spent valuable time learning the craft from Schuerholz.
Now entering his sixth offseason in KC, Moore is attempting to build an organization in Kansas City that will be able to field a winning team for years to come -- you know, just like that solidly constructed dream home in the opening analogy.
But, just as contractors run into issues that push back the reveal of a new home, Moore's task was made more difficult by the sorry state of the Royals organization when he took the reigns from Allard Baird.
Six times in the nine seasons prior to 2006, Kansas City won fewer than 70 games. In fact, the Royals had lost 100 or more games in three of four seasons prior to Moore's hiring. Kansas City also lost 100 games during that 2006 campaign, but hasn't done so since.
Don't get me wrong. The Royals have been far from good, with their 75-87 record in 2008 being the best season under Moore's watch. But, just as Contractor B takes his time to build a quality home that will last for decades, Moore has taken his time to build a strong foundation -- the farm system that will hopefully result in the type of long-term success enjoyed in Atlanta.
Sure, Moore could have focused more of his initial energy on making the Royals a winner by 2008 or 2009. It's why people are questioning whether he's going to be able to see this restoration project through to the point where Kansas City reaches the playoffs. But I've always trusted that he was doing things the right way by taking his time to turn the Royals' farm system into one of the best in baseball.
That farm system, which Baseball America gave its highest-ever grade to prior to the 2011 season, will allow the Royals to be able to sustain a level of success for years to come. Now Moore is about to go shopping, in an attempt to find a guy like Edwin Jackson, who could bolster the Royals' 2012 rotation. The lineup and the bullpen are solid, the defense is as good as its been in decades, and Moore is putting the finishing touches on that dream home.
Trust me, or rather, trust Dayton Moore -- Contractor B. It'll be worth the wait when his work is done.
After putting your current home on the market, it's come to the point where you need to find a qualified contractor to construct your dream home. After a thorough search, you've limited the choices to a pair of candidates.
Contractor A has a solid reputation as someone whose company will get the job done quickly. He promises that you'll be able to move into your new home in about six weeks, and it's exciting for you to think about the possibility that you'll be enjoying your new home in such a short time.
Contractor B also has a sound reputation as someone whose company does a great job and comes highly-recommended. However, unlike the other choice, this guy states that it'll be about 4-5 months before construction is complete.
Before you jump at Contractor A's offer to have you into your new place in a little more than a month, you do some more research and ask friends and family whether they know anything about either of the contractors, and here's the gist of what you find.
Contractor A spends more money up front for things like high-end kitchen appliances and fancy light fixtures, but his focus is so much on getting the house built quickly that his work lacks the overall quality of Contractor B, who doesn't cut corners to save time.
You're not needing to sell your current home before you start work on the new place, so time isn't too much of an issue. So, do you still go with Contractor A? Or do you think it's worth it to be patient and allow Contractor B the time it takes to build a home for you that won't start falling apart a few years down the road?
Where am I going with this? Well, let's apply this analogy to baseball. Think of Contractor A as a Major League Baseball general manager who will come in, spend money on some pricey free agents, and have your team competing for a division title within a year. The downside, though, is that after those free agents have moved on for more money, his fix-it-quickly method has left the organization without a sustainable plan for long-term success.
Contractor B is Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore. He gets criticized all the time by impatient fans for having taken too much time to field a winner at the MLB level. But his plan to start by rebuilding the farm system is starting to pay off, and he's likely at the point where he'll add a "high-end kitchen appliance" in the form of a starting pitcher or two this offseason.
Moore's "process" has taken longer, but I'd choose Contractor B over Contractor A nine times out of 10. The "house" Moore's building in Kansas City has a much greater chance of sustaining success for the long-term than one built by a GM who was focused on a quick fix.
Moore, of course, is using the same approach to rebuilding the Royals organization as the one that was utilized in Atlanta. He joined the Braves organization in 1994, and worked his way up the administrative ladder until he left to become Kansas City's GM on June 8, 2006. During his time in Atlanta, the Braves won 90 or more games in 11 of 13 seasons, and the two times they failed to reach that level were during his first year -- the strike-shortened 1994 season (68-46) -- and during the 2006 season when Moore departed (79-83).
The key to Atlanta's success has always been its highly-regarded and talent-rich farm system, and the architect of that system is former Royals GM John Schuerholz. Schuerholz served as General Manager in Atlanta from 1990 to 2007, and Moore spent valuable time learning the craft from Schuerholz.
Now entering his sixth offseason in KC, Moore is attempting to build an organization in Kansas City that will be able to field a winning team for years to come -- you know, just like that solidly constructed dream home in the opening analogy.
But, just as contractors run into issues that push back the reveal of a new home, Moore's task was made more difficult by the sorry state of the Royals organization when he took the reigns from Allard Baird.
Six times in the nine seasons prior to 2006, Kansas City won fewer than 70 games. In fact, the Royals had lost 100 or more games in three of four seasons prior to Moore's hiring. Kansas City also lost 100 games during that 2006 campaign, but hasn't done so since.
Don't get me wrong. The Royals have been far from good, with their 75-87 record in 2008 being the best season under Moore's watch. But, just as Contractor B takes his time to build a quality home that will last for decades, Moore has taken his time to build a strong foundation -- the farm system that will hopefully result in the type of long-term success enjoyed in Atlanta.
Sure, Moore could have focused more of his initial energy on making the Royals a winner by 2008 or 2009. It's why people are questioning whether he's going to be able to see this restoration project through to the point where Kansas City reaches the playoffs. But I've always trusted that he was doing things the right way by taking his time to turn the Royals' farm system into one of the best in baseball.
That farm system, which Baseball America gave its highest-ever grade to prior to the 2011 season, will allow the Royals to be able to sustain a level of success for years to come. Now Moore is about to go shopping, in an attempt to find a guy like Edwin Jackson, who could bolster the Royals' 2012 rotation. The lineup and the bullpen are solid, the defense is as good as its been in decades, and Moore is putting the finishing touches on that dream home.
Trust me, or rather, trust Dayton Moore -- Contractor B. It'll be worth the wait when his work is done.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Can the Royals Draw 2,000,000 Fans?
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On the field for the Kansas City Royals, things certainly look promising for 2009. Players like Alex Gordon, Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, Coco Crisp, Gil Meche, Joakim Soria, and Jose Guillen have Kansas City fans excited about the possibility that this team could challenge for its first division crown since 1985.But away from the baseball field, times are tough due to a financial crisis that has crippled the U.S. economy. It's one of the most difficult economic periods in a generation. The newly-elected government is attempting to figure out how to stimulate the economy, and just today, President Obama promised to cut the U.S. defecit in half by the end of his first term. Any stimulus package isn't going to have a short-term effect, and it could be years before improvements are felt.
In the meantime, businesses continue to close their doors left-and-right, banks are still struggling to stay afloat, the unemployment rate could reach levels that haven't been seen in decades, and families are being forced to cut back on discretionary spending in order to simply pay the monthly bills and avoid foreclosure on their homes.
So, tell me, when the Royals start to win games like we're all hoping they will, are people still going to have the extra money needed to attend a Royals' game? And even if Kansas City remains in contention for the American League Central Division title in August or September, will Kauffman Stadium's seats once again be filled like they were in the glory days of the late 1970's and early 1980's? Those are difficult questions to ponder, with unclear, and potentially scary, answers.
Here are some amazing signs of the times. The other day, I heard one of the hosts on XM Radio's MLB Home Plate mention that there are apparently still tickets remaining for what he said are the first nine games of the season for the New York Yankees.
Normally, this might not seem like such a big deal. But New York, which regularly attracts sellout crowds to its games, is moving into a state-of-the-art, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium this season. If ever a series of early-season games in the Bronx should be sold out, you'd think this would be it. But, apparently, not in this economy.
During the same conversation, the host suggested that it might not be long before Boston's MLB-record consecutive sellout streak at Fenway Park, which currently stands at 468 games, will come to an end due to the financial strain on U.S. citizens. If you follow the game of Major League Baseball, you know that's an astounding thought, especially for a team with two World Titles in the past five years.
So, when faced with possibilities like that, will a small-market organization like Kansas City be able to actually increase its attendance in the coming years?
A few weeks ago, also on XM, Royals general manager Dayton Moore was asked about attendance figures in relation to Kansas City's ability to increase its payroll. Moore said that, in order for the Royals to be able to increase their payroll to $80-85 million in any season, Kansas City would need between 2 million and 2.4 million fans to pass through the turnstiles at The K.
To put that in perspective, in their 40 years of existence, the Royals have had just 11 seasons in which they've drawn in excess of two million fans. The last time it happened was during the 1991 season, which capped a seven-year streak of two million or more through the gates. The largest total ever is the 2,477,700 who came out to watch the Royals during 1989. But, since 1995, the highest attendance figure for Kansas City is the 1,779,895 fans it drew during the 2003 season.
Last year, Kansas City's total attendance was 1,578,922, for an average of 19,493 per game. In order to reach the 2,000,000 figure, average attendance would have to jump more than 5,000 fans per game, to at least 24,691 per game. Can that honestly happen in this day and age?
According to an annual cost analysis study conducted by Team Marketing Report during April 2008, there were only five teams in Major League Baseball with a more affordable FCI, or Fan Cost Index*, than the Royals.
Yet, the same report said the following: "The Kansas City Royals, a regular at the bottom of the FCI, jumped up a few spots thanks to a 21.1 percent increase on tickets, going from $14.48 to $17.54. The Royals' FCI concurrently went up 22.5 percent to $151.16."
*The Fan Cost Index comprises the prices of two (2) adult average-price tickets, two (2) child average-price tickets, two (2) small draft beers, four (4) small soft drinks, four (4) regular-size hot dogs, parking for one (1) car, two (2) game programs, and two (2) least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps.
So, it's true that the Royals remain a bargain in terms of the cost for a family to attend a game, and the thing about that report is that it didn't factor in such savings as Dodge Buck Night, and all-you-can-eat seats, or other promotions that Kansas City runs on a regular basis in order to increase attendance. But the fact of the matter is, with another hike in ticket prices set for 2009, can the average family really afford to attend more than a handful of games?
It's not fun to think what could happen to organizations like the Royals, or other teams located in smaller markets, if the economy continues on its downward spiral.
It's not a stretch of the imagination to think that more than one team could run into such financial difficulties that it is forced to shut down, or relocate. And it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that teams like Kansas City might have to drastically cut their payrolls, and return to a strict reliance on players who come up through their farm systems.
Many MLB teams have already taken steps to reduce payroll for 2009. In fact, Kansas City is one of a very select number of organizations who have actually increased payroll this season. The Royals are set to pay a team-record total of around $74 million to their players this season, which is a reported $4 million over the team's budget. In order to offset that cost, I'm guessing the front office is factoring in an attendance increase.
Optimism surrounding this year's team is at its highest point in recent memory, and these Royals should win lots of games. But the big question is whether Kansas City can once again reach that elusive total of 2 million fans.
I guess we won't know the answer to that question until it happens, but it sure would be nice to read about the two millionth fan passing through the turnstiles at Kauffman Stadium this season.
Kauffman Stadium Photo Credit: AllPosters.com
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Kyle Davies is Key for Royals in 2009
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I'm shelving the dream of Orlando Hudson-to-the-Royals for now, as it seems more and more likely that David Glass has really put a stop to Kansas City's offseason spending. I know, it's easy for me to sit here at the computer and figure out ways to spend Glass's money, but it just seems like adding Hudson, even at a "bargain" cost somewhere between $4 and 5 million, is not likely to happen. Dammit.So, let's take a look at a player who's already in the fold for the 2009 season: right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Davies. I think the performance of Davies in Kansas City's rotation this season will go a long way toward determining whether this is a great season -- with the potential to reach the playoffs -- or simply another slight improvement for the franchise.
Davies is coming off a 2008 season in which he recorded career-best totals for wins (9), ERA (4.06), ERA+ (105), and WHIP (1.45) after being called up from Class AAA Omaha in late May. He finished with a record of 9-7, making 21 starts, and allowing 121 hits in 113 innings pitched.
In his second season working with Royals pitching coach Bob McClure, the 25-year old Davies finished with 71 strikeouts and 43 walks for a K/BB ratio of 1.65, the best of his career. And his 4.06 ERA was lower than the league average (4.27) for the first time in his four-year career at the Major League level.
Davies seemed to put things together late in the 2008 season, as he combined to go 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in five September starts. In those games, he allowed just 22 hits in 31.2 innings, holding batters to a line of .198/.246/.270 with 24 strikeouts and just seven walks. His WHIP was a solid 0.92 during that span, and he surrendered just one home run.
I'm sure there are those who will try to attribute Davies' impressive September numbers to the fact that many teams utilize players called up from the Minor Leagues late in the season. But if he can start the 2009 season with the type of confident mindset he honed during those late-season starts, Davies could be the type of #3 starter the Royals have been hoping for.
Davies was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the 29th pick (135th overall) in the 4th Round of the 2001 amateur draft.* A native of Stockbridge, Ga., Davies was acquired by Kansas City in a deal that sent closer Octavio Dotel to Atlanta at the trade deadline on July 31, 2007.
*The Royals had selected catcher John Draper with the ninth pick in that same round. In five Minor League seasons, none higher than Class AA, Draper batted .245/.311/.323 with just 12 home runs and 226 strikeouts in 1,357 at bats. With the fourth pick of the fifth round that year, just five spots before the Royals selected, the Phillies drafted a guy named Ryan Howard out of Missouri State. Thanks, Allard.
Davies always showed promise as a Minor Leaguer, combining to go 18-6 with a 2.97 ERA during 2004-07 in Atlanta's farm system prior to the trade to the Royals. Overall, in eight Minor League seasons (including time in Omaha during 2008), Davies owns a mark of 42-22 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 595 innings pitched, he has allowed just 498 hits, while fanning 576 batters and walking just 215.
But he's had his struggles facing Major League batters. In parts of three seasons with Atlanta, Davies was 14-21 with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.
Nevertheless, Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore knew what he was getting in Davies, and figured it was worth the risk -- and a little criticism from some Royals fans -- despite Davies' failure to stick around for long in the Major Leagues.
"He's a young pitcher who's trying to establish himself," Moore said after the trade. "I don't pay much attention to young pitchers' statistics. If you did, John Smoltz and Tommy Glavine never would have gotten off the ground."
Since coming to Kansas City, Davies' numbers have improved somewhat, resulting in a combined record of 12-14 over the past two years with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.
That doesn't seem like much of a jump, but it's his numbers during most of the 2008 season that have Royals fans hoping for something great from the guy who spent this offseason doing construction work for his father's company.
He began last season at Class AAA Omaha, where he posted an impressive record of 6-2 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. After his recall to the Royals, Davies got off to a sizzling start by going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his first four starts in Kansas City.
He then ran into a rough stretch of three starts -- versus San Francisco, St. Louis, and Baltimore -- in which he went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA. Take away those three games last season, and Davies was 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.
Let me repeat that for everyone. Other than three straight bad outings between June 22 and July 3 last season, Kyle Davies had a 3.20 earned run average for the rest of the season, totaling 101.1 innings pitched.
That's not a bad sample size, and those are the kind of numbers that can hush the naysayers who think that Davies only pitched well in September last season. They're also the kind of numbers that could make him a very effective No. 3 starter for the Royals.
If Davies can continue to improve, and Kansas City gets the type of performances it expects from its top two starting pitchers -- Gil Meche and Zack Greinke -- then I'd argue this team can compete for the American League Central crown in 2009.
Kyle Davies Photo Credit: Gail Burton/AP
Saturday, February 14, 2009
True Love: Valentine's Day and Baseball
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It's Valentine's Day, and I awoke this morning to a nice exchange of cards, kisses, and candy with my wife. Yes, love is in the air, and I'm fortunate to have a strong marriage, with lots to smile about.But, with apologies to St. Valentine, and to my wife, something else has made my smile even more radiant today, and it stems from my other love -- the Kansas City Royals.
Yes, pitchers and catchers report, and baseballs were in the air! What a wonderful thought that is. And, for the Royals, most of the rest of the team is already in camp in Surprise, Ariz.
So, it's time to start preparing to play ball, and to find reasons for optimism no matter what team you follow. It's time for Bob Dutton's V-logs, and for daily (or weekly) trips to In-N-Out for Sam Mellinger as he posts entertaining updates on his Ball Star blog. Best of all, I won't have to wait a week between stories about the Royals on the Kansas City Star's web site, or on Rany Jazayerli's blog.
For the first time in years, the Royals will have depth at most positions. Sure, there are still question marks, primarily on the right side of the infield and in the bullpen. But the backups should be known quantities rather than career Minor Leaguers who cause Kansas City fans to roll their eyes and have serious doubts about the team's potential.
Without a doubt in my mind, Dayton Moore's plan is beginning to pay dividends. When I listen to XM Radio's MLB channel, in those rare moments when they talk about the Royals instead of the Yankees, Red Sox, or some other East Coast team, I hear mostly positive comments. Some are even predicting that Kansas City could be a sleeper pick to be 2009's version of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sure, that could be stretching things a bit, but it sure is fun to think of the possibilities. And before Moore took over as General Manager for the Royals, no one in their right mind would have been able to make such a preseason prediction.
There's even talk circulating today, based on a report in Buster Olney's blog, that Kansas City is considering ways to be able to fit free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson into the payroll. Now that, my friends, would put the Kansas City Royals on the map.
The downside to that signing is that it would cost the Royals their second-round pick in this year's draft. But if it takes Kansas City from being a sleeper pick to contend in the A.L. Central, to all of a sudden being considered a leading candidate for the division crown, then it's certainly worth trying to make it a reality, isn't it?
The payroll is already being stretched at a time when many teams are trying to make cuts due to the depressed economy. Moore has said that, in order for the Royals to extend their payroll to the $80-85 million range, the team needs to be able to draw between 2 million and 2.4 million fans to Kauffman Stadium.
The renovations, designed to create the feel of a new stadium, should already be reason enough for increased attendance figures in 2009. So why would it not make sense to take a bit of a gamble, and sign a guy like Hudson in order to put together a team that is truly capable of making a run for the playoffs. I mean, you have to spend money to make money, right?
With Hudson at second base, the Royals' defense would improve dramatically. Hudson won Gold Gloves for his defense as Toronto's second baseman in 2005, and for Arizona in both 2006 and 2007. Offensively, the 31-year old Hudson has batted .282/.346/.433 during his seven-year career, while averaging 26 doubles, six triples, 10 home runs, 60 runs scored, and 53 runs batted in per season. And his OPS+ the past three seasons has been 102, 106, and 108.
Today is the official start to what can be a dream season for the Royals. In my mind, every Royals' season begins as what could be a dream season, but most people seem to think that Kansas City's best chances to reach the playoffs will come in 2010 or later. But why not now? Most of the pieces seem to be in place. Is Hudson among the final pieces to a playoff puzzle the Royals haven't been able to solve since 1985?
It's fun to dream, isn't it?
Orlando Hudson Photo Credit: Washington Times
Friday, July 18, 2008
Contrary to Rumors, I'm Still Alive...
Wow, May 22 was my previous post on here, and I can't apologize enough for the lack of attention this blog has received over the past two months.
Have I given up hope in the Kansas City Royals? Nope. That's why I called this site Undying Royalty. Although some might have started to speculate about whether I was still a fan of the team, my loyalty remains in tact. I've just been keeping things to myself for awhile.
Have I still been keeping up with the team? Yes, I purchased MLB Extra Innings prior to the start of the season -- a fantastic purchase, I might add, although my one complaint is that I can't watch the pregame segments, or Royals Live after the game -- and I'd wager that I've watched at least as many, if not more, games than the average Royals fan.
Is the start of summer to blame? Partially. After I posted on May 22, I spent the next two weeks vacationing, the first at my in-laws in North Dakota, and the second fishing with my high school buddies at my parents' cabin. But that doesn't give me any reason to have failed to write a darn thing the past six weeks, and I'm sorry for that.
I will admit that I was pretty down on the team after that miserable stretch of the season in Boston and Toronto, which carried on into the 12-game losing streak. But Trey Hillman might have caught wind of my previous post, because Jimmy Gobble hasn't pitched in a game the Royals have won since he wrecked the team's chances to steal a win at Fenway Park on May 22*.
*My use of a Pozterisk here is to make everyone aware that Gobble hasn't let me down, going 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in 14 appearances, beginning May 22. He has worked 13.1 innings, allowing 18 hits, 16 runs (all earned), while walking 11 and striking out just seven. Taking a closer look at his numbers, he has surrendered a horrendous line of .316/.435/.614, with four home runs allowed, two wild pitches, one hit batsman, and has been allowed to throw 283 pitches, only 157 of which have been for strikes. Now, could someone please remind me, why the hell is he still on the Royals' active roster?!
Whew, okay, I feel better.
So, no, I haven't fallen ill, died, or mysteriously vanished from the face of the Earth. My blood still runs Royal blue, and I have just as much disdain for the St. Louis Cardinals. Speaking of which, I have absolutely no idea why I didn't take full advantage of the Royals' dominance over that other team from the Show Me State. Who's your daddy, Redbirds? That's right, look to the other side of the state, and give Trey Hillman's boys the respect they earned.
Tonight, the second half of the season begins, and it will be interesting to see how well the Royals can work through a very tough stretch of games against teams with winning records at the All-Star break. At 10 games under the .500 mark, there are at least five games I can think of that should have fallen into the win column in the first half, and a record of 48-48 at the break would have made things much more intriguing. Not that things won't be worth following as is, though.
I'll be extremely interested to see what kind of moves Dayton Moore makes in the next two weeks, and I think those transactions will depend largely on how well the team fares to start the second half. If the Royals come out of the gates hot, and win several games against Chicago, Detroit, and Tampa Bay, then I could see Kansas City become buyers in this market. But I'd estimate the chances of winning six to eight of those 10 games is fairly minimal.
What's more likely to happen is that, because of this challenging stretch in the schedule, the Royals will be aggressively looking to make some moves to bolster the team's future. Mark Grudzielanek's days in a Kansas City uniform are likely coming to an end, and players like Ron Mahay and even guys like Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, David DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and Esteban German are likely to be involved in private trade discussions between Moore and other teams. I can only hope that Jimmy Gobble's name comes up, as well, but my prayers are rarely answered.
Yes, I'll be watching, and hopefully, I will once again be writing on a regular basis. Thanks for putting up with my extended leave of absence.
Have I given up hope in the Kansas City Royals? Nope. That's why I called this site Undying Royalty. Although some might have started to speculate about whether I was still a fan of the team, my loyalty remains in tact. I've just been keeping things to myself for awhile.
Have I still been keeping up with the team? Yes, I purchased MLB Extra Innings prior to the start of the season -- a fantastic purchase, I might add, although my one complaint is that I can't watch the pregame segments, or Royals Live after the game -- and I'd wager that I've watched at least as many, if not more, games than the average Royals fan.
Is the start of summer to blame? Partially. After I posted on May 22, I spent the next two weeks vacationing, the first at my in-laws in North Dakota, and the second fishing with my high school buddies at my parents' cabin. But that doesn't give me any reason to have failed to write a darn thing the past six weeks, and I'm sorry for that.
I will admit that I was pretty down on the team after that miserable stretch of the season in Boston and Toronto, which carried on into the 12-game losing streak. But Trey Hillman might have caught wind of my previous post, because Jimmy Gobble hasn't pitched in a game the Royals have won since he wrecked the team's chances to steal a win at Fenway Park on May 22*.
*My use of a Pozterisk here is to make everyone aware that Gobble hasn't let me down, going 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in 14 appearances, beginning May 22. He has worked 13.1 innings, allowing 18 hits, 16 runs (all earned), while walking 11 and striking out just seven. Taking a closer look at his numbers, he has surrendered a horrendous line of .316/.435/.614, with four home runs allowed, two wild pitches, one hit batsman, and has been allowed to throw 283 pitches, only 157 of which have been for strikes. Now, could someone please remind me, why the hell is he still on the Royals' active roster?!
Whew, okay, I feel better.
So, no, I haven't fallen ill, died, or mysteriously vanished from the face of the Earth. My blood still runs Royal blue, and I have just as much disdain for the St. Louis Cardinals. Speaking of which, I have absolutely no idea why I didn't take full advantage of the Royals' dominance over that other team from the Show Me State. Who's your daddy, Redbirds? That's right, look to the other side of the state, and give Trey Hillman's boys the respect they earned.
Tonight, the second half of the season begins, and it will be interesting to see how well the Royals can work through a very tough stretch of games against teams with winning records at the All-Star break. At 10 games under the .500 mark, there are at least five games I can think of that should have fallen into the win column in the first half, and a record of 48-48 at the break would have made things much more intriguing. Not that things won't be worth following as is, though.
I'll be extremely interested to see what kind of moves Dayton Moore makes in the next two weeks, and I think those transactions will depend largely on how well the team fares to start the second half. If the Royals come out of the gates hot, and win several games against Chicago, Detroit, and Tampa Bay, then I could see Kansas City become buyers in this market. But I'd estimate the chances of winning six to eight of those 10 games is fairly minimal.
What's more likely to happen is that, because of this challenging stretch in the schedule, the Royals will be aggressively looking to make some moves to bolster the team's future. Mark Grudzielanek's days in a Kansas City uniform are likely coming to an end, and players like Ron Mahay and even guys like Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, David DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and Esteban German are likely to be involved in private trade discussions between Moore and other teams. I can only hope that Jimmy Gobble's name comes up, as well, but my prayers are rarely answered.
Yes, I'll be watching, and hopefully, I will once again be writing on a regular basis. Thanks for putting up with my extended leave of absence.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Huber is Lightning Rod for Royals Fans
Justin Huber is no longer a member of the Kansas City Royals organization, and many Royals fans are not happy, not happy at all.In fact, as I'm writing this -- which, by the way, is not a rant about today's decision to part ways with Huber, but rather an examination of the issues behind the anger and frustration -- they're sitting in front of their computers, sipping on a can of Foster's*, and writing red-faced rants about how Dayton Moore is not the great general manager many of us (myself included) believe him to be.
They're angry about how this is yet another example of fizzled trades in which potential Royals stars are shipped off to other teams in exchange for the proverbial PTBNL -- that's Player to be Named Later for all you non-sports types who somehow got lost here, or for those who have had far too much Foster's prior to reading this.
*Huber is Australian, which is why I thought it would be humorous to create the image of angry fans sipping a can of the lager as they compose their rants. But, my brother traveled to the Land Down Under in college, and he reported to me that Australians actually don't drink Foster's at all. It's not even in the bars there, and I know my youngest brother well enough to trust he did an exhaustive study of a majority of the bars on that continent during his one month studying abroad. The company's slogan, "Foster's. Australian for Beer," is simply an American marketing campaign to sell a beer in the United States. Oh, and this is my second-ever Pozterisk.
So, what is it that has caused Justin Huber to be such a lightning rod among Royals fans? There are some very ardent Huber supporters out there, like Jeff of Royally Speaking, who will now be sponsoring the Baseball Reference page of a member of the San Diego Padres until February 28, 2009. In all fairness, Jeff's "rant" about Huber was incredibly under control, which surprised me when I saw that he had sponsored Huber's page.
I expected to check out his blog tonight and see a 5,000-word manifesto about how Dayton Moore sucks. Instead, he simply provided a quote from Moore about why he decided to trade Huber, and then took the liberty to disagree with Moore, calling the quote, "B.S...".
Here's the history. Huber was acquired by the Royals in a trade with the New York Mets on July 30, 2004. Kansas City sent utility player Jose Bautista to the Mets that day, and New York turned around and immediately traded Bautista to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
These days, Bautista is entering his second season as the Pirates' starting third baseman. But he only spent a month with the Royals after having his contract purchased from Tampa Bay, so remarkably, I haven't been able to find many rants about that move. Oh, and Crossing the Clemente, a "Pittsburgh Pirates blog celebrating the heroes of PNC Park," is the sponsor of Bautista's Baseball Reference page.
Back to Huber, who had been a catcher in the Mets organization. However, the day before the trade, he tore cartilage in his left knee. Then-general manager Allard Baird still went through with the trade, but Huber had surgery August 23 to repair the damage, and the Royals converted him to a first baseman in the process. He struggled to play first base, was tried in left field, and didn't fare much better, and the Royals haven't known exactly what to do with him since.
Offensively, Huber has some impressive credentials. He's represented Australia in international play, has been to numerous Minor League all-star games, and has batted .289/.369/.495 with 150 doubles, 12 triples, and 107 home runs during his seven seasons in the minors. The 2005 season was his finest, as he won the Texas League batting title (.343) for Class AA Wichita, and also played in Omaha (AAA), finishing the year with a combined line of .326/.417/.560, with 28 doubles, 23 homers, and 97 RBI.
But he has not been able to carry those numbers over to the Major League level. During that 2005 season, he played in 25 games for the Royals, getting his most extensive opportunity to make an impression. But he batted just .218/.271/.256 in 78 at bats, with only three doubles and 20 strikeouts.
The past two seasons, he's had a mere 20 at bats in a Royals uniform -- one of the biggest points of contention for those angry Foster's drinkers writing the rants -- but he's managed just three hits for a .150 average.
This spring, Huber was out of options, which meant the writing was on the wall. He needed to make the Royals' roster, or it was likely he'd be traded, and he did everything he could to try to make the team. Despite limited playing time, and playing him only in left field, Huber was impressive. He batted .346/.400/.615 in 26 at bats, with six runs scored, five doubles, a triple, and seven runs batted in.
He had finally caught the attention of a team in Major League Baseball, it just happened to be one other than the Kansas City Royals, and he was traded to the Padres for the aforementioned PTBNL.
It's understandable that people are upset with Kansas City for holding up Huber's career. The Royals spent the past few years playing Emil Brown, and giving Huber scant opportunity to make an impression. But I think the Royals' front office looked at Huber's Minor League numbers, versus the numbers he accumulated in his MLB at bats, and just determined that he didn't fit into their future.
It didn't help matters that Huber's defense in left field this spring was butcher-esque -- is that a word? -- perhaps even worse than Emil Brown's horrendous defense, if that's possible. Chalk that up to tough Arizona skies, and windy weather conditions during Spring Training. But I've noticed that the Padres' website has him listed as a first baseman again, which is where he should have been with the Royals if not for the likes of Ryan Shealy, Ross Gload, Billy Butler, and even Mark Teahen standing in his way at that position.
In the end, it just seems like Huber's three-plus years as a member of the Royals organization were wasted, which is where most of the anger stems from. But I trust Dayton Moore, his staff, the scouts, and all the other baseball people around him to make the right decision.
If Huber winds up as one of the top first basemen (or outfielders) in the National League someday, so be it. Dayton Moore isn't going to get every move right over his career. As someone astutely pointed out on a message board tonight, the best GMs are going to make mistakes, but they're going to make far more great decisions, and that's what I fully expect Moore to do.
For now, I think I'll just tip back a Foster's (actually, a Sierra Mist Free), do an "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" cheer in honor of the newest member of the San Diego Padres, and enjoy the fact that the Royals are continuing to move in the right direction, even without Justin Huber.
Justin Huber Photo Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Introducing, Trey's Triggermen
Most of you would have a hard time believing this, but your's truly is about to embark on my very first season -- yes, I said first -- of fantasy baseball. There. I said it, and it feels good. I admitted the fact that I am a complete fantasy baseball virgin. Not even an almost, as in, "I started to play a season, but withdrew before the season ended." No, this is my first-ever foray as a baseball GM.
I'm going to be taking part in a Yahoo! Sports league called Reversible Nines, with 19 other die-hard Kansas City Royals fanatics like myself. My team? Trey's Triggermen, of course, named after the Royals' fearless new manager, Trey Hillman. My team came into being last Thursday night, in a draft that I was so psyched and ready for. I was incredibly anxious to take part in the draft, and to be able to select my players, round-by-round, and put together an unbelievable lineup. My team would be unstoppable.
Then, Java ruined my night.
About 45 minutes before the draft, I started trying to click on the draft application button in order to open the window that would allow me to make my selections, and watch as all the other managers made theirs. I clicked. Nothing appeared but a window with the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball '08 banner, and a few question marks. Click again. Nothing.
So I ran a test to see if my computer needed updated software in order to have the draft application work. The test said I needed the most recent Java Plug-In, and directed me to the Java website. Once there, however, it ran a test to see if I had the correct version, and informed me that I was all set. Great!
So I restarted my computer, and went back to the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball site. I tried again. It failed again. Same blank window. Same message telling me that I need the latest Java Plug-In. Ugh!
I deduced that it must be something with my Firewall and security software, so I temporarily shut off the firewall. Still nothing. This was really starting to irk me. And it's about 10 minutes until the draft is slated to start. The pressure was mounting by the second, and I was stressed out and ready to hurl something at my computer screen.
I shot off a couple frantic messages to Antonio, the league's commissioner, but he really couldn't be expected to help me 10 minutes before the draft, with all the other things he had going on that night. I can't blame him. It was my fault for not having checked out the Yahoo! draft site well before the night of the event.
The only thing that made me feel even remotely comfortable was that I had taken the time to pre-rank my player list, using ESPN.com's fantasy expert recommendations. But I had only done a little over 200 players, and this is a 20-team league with 25-man rosters, meaning the draft would involve 500 players. So, after those initial 200 players were exhausted, who knows what I'd end up with.
To his credit, Antonio updated me through the first few rounds to let me know who I was getting with my selections, but I was just so angry at this snafu, and the fact that I wasn't clever enough to figure it out and join the rest of my new league online for my first-ever fantasy baseball draft.
Well, I bet you're wondering, how did Trey's Triggermen fare? All in all, not too bad for having been on autodraft all night long. I had the second pick, and it was a snake format, so I'd have to wait for it to go all the way down to the 20th pick, and then all the way back to me. But that meant that, every other round, I'd get two picks within four spots of each other. Here is the initial draft for the 2008 Triggermen:
Round 1: (2nd Pick) Hanley Ramirez (FLA), SS; Round 2: (39) C.C. Sabathia (CLE), SP; Round 3: (42) Aramis Ramirez (CHC), 3B; Round 4: (79) Aaron Harang (CIN), SP; Round 5: (82) John Smoltz (ATL), SP; Round 6: (119) Fausto Carmona (CLE), SP; Round 7: (122) Adrian Beltre (SEA), 3B; Round 8: (159) Ryan Garko (CLE), 1B; Round 9: (162) Ian Snell (PIT), SP; Round 10: (199) Jeff Kent (LAD), 2B; Round 11: (202) Zack Greinke (KC), SP, RP; Round 12: (239) Michael Bourn (HOU), CF; Round 13: (242) Ramon Hernandez (BAL), C; Round 14: (279) Greg Maddux (SD), SP; Round 15: (282) Joey Votto (CIN), 1B, OF; Round 16: (319) Moises Alou (NYM), OF; Round 17: (322) Jon Rauch (WAS), RP; Round 18: (359) Juan Cruz (ARI), RP; Round 19: (362) Edinson Volquez (CIN), SP; Round 20: (399) Ryan Doumit (PIT), C, OF; Round 21: (402) Jacque Jones (DET), CF; Round 22: (439) Philip Humber (MIN), P; Round 23: (442) Juan Lara (CLE), RP; Round 24: (479) Brandon Backe (HOU), SP; and Round 25: (482) Marlon Byrd (TEX), CF
I've already made some changes to my roster, which was top-heavy with pitchers. Three players -- Humber, Lara, and Byrd -- are no longer members of the Triggermen, while Carlos Gomez, Marco Scutaro, and Cla Meredith have been added.
I'm also in the process of adding Skip Schumaker, even though he's a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, and that goes against every fundamental bone in my body. However, I was desperate for a corner outfielder with a bit of power, and it came down to Schumaker or Carlos Quentin, and Schumaker's spring numbers -- 21 G, 24-for-64, .375/.412/.563, 15 R, 10 RBI, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, and three stolen bases -- made the decision easy. I'm also working like crazy to swing a trade or two.
I want to be the Dayton Moore of Reversible Nines, scouring the waiver wires and free agent market for undervalued or unnoticed talent that can be a surprise help to my lineup. Scutaro is likely going to have to start the year for me at second base, since Jeff Kent has a bad hamstring that has kept him from playing at all this spring. But Scutaro was a great choice, because he'll start the season in the Blue Jays' starting lineup after Scott Rolen broke his finger.
Yes, this is my first venture into the world of fantasy baseball, but I plan to learn the intricacies of the game quickly, and try to beat other team's managers to the punch. The fact that I'm coming off my first fantasy football championship (in my third year in my league) gives me hope, and confidence. But, just like I'll do with the 2008 Royals, I think I'll try to keep my confidence in check for awhile and see how the start of the season goes.
But come 2010, in my third year in the league (at least, I hope so), I'll be expecting a championship, baby! As long as Java doesn't mess with my draft again.
I'm going to be taking part in a Yahoo! Sports league called Reversible Nines, with 19 other die-hard Kansas City Royals fanatics like myself. My team? Trey's Triggermen, of course, named after the Royals' fearless new manager, Trey Hillman. My team came into being last Thursday night, in a draft that I was so psyched and ready for. I was incredibly anxious to take part in the draft, and to be able to select my players, round-by-round, and put together an unbelievable lineup. My team would be unstoppable.
Then, Java ruined my night.
About 45 minutes before the draft, I started trying to click on the draft application button in order to open the window that would allow me to make my selections, and watch as all the other managers made theirs. I clicked. Nothing appeared but a window with the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball '08 banner, and a few question marks. Click again. Nothing.
So I ran a test to see if my computer needed updated software in order to have the draft application work. The test said I needed the most recent Java Plug-In, and directed me to the Java website. Once there, however, it ran a test to see if I had the correct version, and informed me that I was all set. Great!
So I restarted my computer, and went back to the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball site. I tried again. It failed again. Same blank window. Same message telling me that I need the latest Java Plug-In. Ugh!
I deduced that it must be something with my Firewall and security software, so I temporarily shut off the firewall. Still nothing. This was really starting to irk me. And it's about 10 minutes until the draft is slated to start. The pressure was mounting by the second, and I was stressed out and ready to hurl something at my computer screen.
I shot off a couple frantic messages to Antonio, the league's commissioner, but he really couldn't be expected to help me 10 minutes before the draft, with all the other things he had going on that night. I can't blame him. It was my fault for not having checked out the Yahoo! draft site well before the night of the event.
The only thing that made me feel even remotely comfortable was that I had taken the time to pre-rank my player list, using ESPN.com's fantasy expert recommendations. But I had only done a little over 200 players, and this is a 20-team league with 25-man rosters, meaning the draft would involve 500 players. So, after those initial 200 players were exhausted, who knows what I'd end up with.
To his credit, Antonio updated me through the first few rounds to let me know who I was getting with my selections, but I was just so angry at this snafu, and the fact that I wasn't clever enough to figure it out and join the rest of my new league online for my first-ever fantasy baseball draft.
Well, I bet you're wondering, how did Trey's Triggermen fare? All in all, not too bad for having been on autodraft all night long. I had the second pick, and it was a snake format, so I'd have to wait for it to go all the way down to the 20th pick, and then all the way back to me. But that meant that, every other round, I'd get two picks within four spots of each other. Here is the initial draft for the 2008 Triggermen:
Round 1: (2nd Pick) Hanley Ramirez (FLA), SS; Round 2: (39) C.C. Sabathia (CLE), SP; Round 3: (42) Aramis Ramirez (CHC), 3B; Round 4: (79) Aaron Harang (CIN), SP; Round 5: (82) John Smoltz (ATL), SP; Round 6: (119) Fausto Carmona (CLE), SP; Round 7: (122) Adrian Beltre (SEA), 3B; Round 8: (159) Ryan Garko (CLE), 1B; Round 9: (162) Ian Snell (PIT), SP; Round 10: (199) Jeff Kent (LAD), 2B; Round 11: (202) Zack Greinke (KC), SP, RP; Round 12: (239) Michael Bourn (HOU), CF; Round 13: (242) Ramon Hernandez (BAL), C; Round 14: (279) Greg Maddux (SD), SP; Round 15: (282) Joey Votto (CIN), 1B, OF; Round 16: (319) Moises Alou (NYM), OF; Round 17: (322) Jon Rauch (WAS), RP; Round 18: (359) Juan Cruz (ARI), RP; Round 19: (362) Edinson Volquez (CIN), SP; Round 20: (399) Ryan Doumit (PIT), C, OF; Round 21: (402) Jacque Jones (DET), CF; Round 22: (439) Philip Humber (MIN), P; Round 23: (442) Juan Lara (CLE), RP; Round 24: (479) Brandon Backe (HOU), SP; and Round 25: (482) Marlon Byrd (TEX), CF
I've already made some changes to my roster, which was top-heavy with pitchers. Three players -- Humber, Lara, and Byrd -- are no longer members of the Triggermen, while Carlos Gomez, Marco Scutaro, and Cla Meredith have been added.
I'm also in the process of adding Skip Schumaker, even though he's a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, and that goes against every fundamental bone in my body. However, I was desperate for a corner outfielder with a bit of power, and it came down to Schumaker or Carlos Quentin, and Schumaker's spring numbers -- 21 G, 24-for-64, .375/.412/.563, 15 R, 10 RBI, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, and three stolen bases -- made the decision easy. I'm also working like crazy to swing a trade or two.
I want to be the Dayton Moore of Reversible Nines, scouring the waiver wires and free agent market for undervalued or unnoticed talent that can be a surprise help to my lineup. Scutaro is likely going to have to start the year for me at second base, since Jeff Kent has a bad hamstring that has kept him from playing at all this spring. But Scutaro was a great choice, because he'll start the season in the Blue Jays' starting lineup after Scott Rolen broke his finger.
Yes, this is my first venture into the world of fantasy baseball, but I plan to learn the intricacies of the game quickly, and try to beat other team's managers to the punch. The fact that I'm coming off my first fantasy football championship (in my third year in my league) gives me hope, and confidence. But, just like I'll do with the 2008 Royals, I think I'll try to keep my confidence in check for awhile and see how the start of the season goes.
But come 2010, in my third year in the league (at least, I hope so), I'll be expecting a championship, baby! As long as Java doesn't mess with my draft again.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Money Doesn't Always Equal World Titles
I often see posts on message boards and blogs, bemoaning or ridiculing the fact that the Kansas City Royals are a small-market organization. They make statements about how there's no possible way the Royals can realistically compete for a World Championship with a payroll that has ranked among the bottom-third in baseball since the strike season of 1994.
Basically, many of their messages could be summed up this way: "The Royals can't pay their players as well as the Yankees, or the Red Sox -- or now the Tigers -- so they might as well just throw in the white towel and give up before they embarrass themselves."
Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Posts like this make me want to reach through the computer screen and ring the writers' necks. It's such a defeatist mentality, and I'm so glad these people have absolutely nothing to do with running the Royals.
According to USA Today's Salaries Database, during 1988-94, Kansas City's payroll was among the top half in baseball, ranking anywhere from first in 1990 ($23,873,745) to 13th in 1988 ($11,558,873). And it was among the top 10 in all of those years except for that 1988 season.
But during that strike season in 1994, the landscape in baseball changed. The Royals, who had the fourth-highest payroll in baseball ($40,481,334) for the second-straight year in 1994, emerged the next season with a $27.6 million payroll that had plummeted to 21st among Major League teams. Kansas City has not ranked higher than 21st in payroll since, and has been next-to-last three times.
However, does the Royals' drop in payroll necessarily prevent them from making the playoffs, or advancing to their third World Series? Does a Top 5 payroll always lead to postseason success, or even a trip to the postseason, for that matter? Are those fans who make negative posts about payroll correct to think there's no hope for teams like the Royals?
That answer is no, and the proof is in teams like the 2007 Colorado Rockies, or the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, both of which had payrolls ranked 25th among the 30 teams. The Marlins captured their second world title by defeating the team with the highest payroll in all of professional sports -- the Yankees, of course.
In fact, in the 13 years since play resumed following the strike, eight of 26 World Series teams have had payrolls that ranked outside the Top 10, with four of those teams winning a title, and half (13 of 26) of the teams have been ranked sixth or lower, resulting in six world championships.
For an even more dramatic example, there have been 104 teams qualify for the playoffs since 1995 -- four teams in each league for the past 13 years. Of those teams, a total of 42 -- or 40.4 percent -- have had payrolls among the bottom two-thirds, while 66 playoff teams (63.5 percent) have not been among the Top 5 for payroll expenditures.
In two of the past three World Series, both participants were not found among the Top 10 for payroll. In 2005, it was the White Sox (13th) defeating Houston (12th), while the 2006 World Series saw St. Louis (11th) topple Detroit (14th). So, payroll is not the end-all means of achieving postseason success.
All of this goes to show how tremendously important a deep and talented farm system is, and that's something Royals' GM Dayton Moore has been focusing on since the day he was hired. Moore has been working to stockpile Kansas City's minor league affiliates with pitching prospects like Luke Hochevar, Tyler Lumsden, Julio Pimentel, Carlos Rosa, and Matt Mitchell, either through trades or via the draft.
At the same time, Moore has gotten the green light from Royals owner David Glass to increase the team's payroll, and aggressively pursue players such as current starting pitcher Gil Meche or right fielder Jose Guillen, both of whom signed multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. Kansas City also made enticing offers to outfielders Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones, as well as Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, during the 2007 offseason. So the Royals are moving up the ladder in terms of money spent on players' salaries, and could possibly move out of the bottom third in payroll for the first time since 1994 this year.
Teams that are able to combine a healthy farm system with a middle-of-the-pack payroll have fared well in recent years, as noted above. It doesn't always take a Top 5 payroll to make the playoffs, or to win the World Series. I'm certainly not making an argument that teams that spend more money don't fare well, because they obviously have had incredible success. But teams that don't have huge payrolls aren't always left standing on the outside, looking in.
I just wish all those negative bloggers and message board naysayers would realize this.
Royals Payrolls Since 1988 (Rank)
2007: $67,116,500 (22nd)
2006: $47,294,000 (26th)
2005: $36,881,000 (29th)
2004: $47,609,000 (22nd)
2003: $40,518,000 (29th)
2002: $47,257,000 (22nd)
2001: $35,422,500 (27th)
2000: $23,132,500 (28th)
1999: $16,527,000 (27th)
1998: $32,912,500 (21st)
1997: $31,225,000 (23rd)
1996: $18,480,750 (29th)
1995: $27,608,834 (21st)
1994: $40,481,334 (4th)
1993: $40,102,666 (4th)
1992: $33,643,834 (8th)
1991: $28,722,662 (7th)
1990: $23,873,745 (1st)
1989: $15,427,162 (9th)
1988: $11,558,873 (13th)
Playoff Teams Since 1988 (Payroll Rank)
2007
AL - BOS (2nd)*, CLE (23rd)**, NYY (1st), LAA (4th)
NL - COL (25th), ARI (26th)**, CHC (8th), PHI (13th)
2006
AL - DET (14th), OAK (21st)**, NYY (1st), MIN (19th)
NL - STL (11th)*, NYM (5th)**, LAD (6th), SD (17th)
2005
AL - CWS (13th)*, LAA (4th)**, NYY (1st), BOS (2nd)
NL - HOU (12th), STL (6th)**, ATL (10th), SD (16th)
2004
AL - BOS (2nd)*, NYY (1st)**, LAA (3rd), MIN (19th)
NL - STL (9th), HOU (12th)**, LAD (6th), ATL (8th)
2003
AL - NYY (1st), BOS (6th)**, MIN (18th), OAK (23rd)
NL - FLA (25th)*, CHC (11th)**, ATL (3rd), SF (9th)
2002
AL - LAA (15th)*, MIN (27th)**, NYY (1st), OAK (28th)
NL - SF (10th), STL (13th)**, ARI (4th), ATL (7th)
2001
AL - NYY (1st), SEA (11th)**, CLE (5th), OAK (29th)
NL - ARI (8th)*, ATL (6th)**, STL (9th), HOU (17th)
2000
AL - NYY (1st)*, SEA (15th)**, OAK (25th), CWS (26th)
NL - NYM (6th), STL (11th)**, ATL (4th), SF (17th)
1999
AL - NYY (1st)*, BOS (5th)**, TEX (2nd), CLE (4th)
NL - ATL (3rd), NYM (6th)**, ARI (9th), HOU (11th)
1998
AL - NYY (2nd)*, CLE (4th)**, TEX (5th), BOS (8th)
NL - SD (14th), ATL (3rd)**, CHC (10th), HOU (15th)
1997
AL - CLE (4th), BAL (2nd)**, NYY (1st), SEA (15th)
NL - FLA (7th)*, ATL (5th)**, SF (21st), HOU (22nd)
1996
AL - NYY (1st)*, BAL (2nd)**, CLE (4th), TEX (10th)
NL - ATL (3rd), STL (9th)**, LAD (12th), SD (18th)
1995
AL - CLE (9th), SEA (11th)**, NYY (2nd), BOS (19th)
NL - ATL (3rd)*, CIN (6th)**, COL (15th), LAD (17th)
1994: Postseason cancelled due to MLB Players Strike
1993
AL - TOR (1st)*, CWS (13th)**
NL - PHI (20th), ATL (7th)**
1992
AL - TOR (3rd)*, OAK (5th)**
NL - ATL (11th), PIT (12th)**
1991
AL - MIN (16th)*, TOR (9th)**
NL - ATL (20th), PIT (14th)**
1990
AL - OAK (10th)*, BOS (6th)**
NL - CIN (20th), PIT (16th)**
1989
AL - OAK (12th)*, BOS (4th)**
NL - SF (13th), CHC (20th)**
1988
AL - OAK (14th), BOS (3rd)**
NL - LAD (5th)*, NYM (4th)**
*Won World Series; **Lost in League Championship Series
Basically, many of their messages could be summed up this way: "The Royals can't pay their players as well as the Yankees, or the Red Sox -- or now the Tigers -- so they might as well just throw in the white towel and give up before they embarrass themselves."
Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Posts like this make me want to reach through the computer screen and ring the writers' necks. It's such a defeatist mentality, and I'm so glad these people have absolutely nothing to do with running the Royals.
According to USA Today's Salaries Database, during 1988-94, Kansas City's payroll was among the top half in baseball, ranking anywhere from first in 1990 ($23,873,745) to 13th in 1988 ($11,558,873). And it was among the top 10 in all of those years except for that 1988 season.
But during that strike season in 1994, the landscape in baseball changed. The Royals, who had the fourth-highest payroll in baseball ($40,481,334) for the second-straight year in 1994, emerged the next season with a $27.6 million payroll that had plummeted to 21st among Major League teams. Kansas City has not ranked higher than 21st in payroll since, and has been next-to-last three times.
However, does the Royals' drop in payroll necessarily prevent them from making the playoffs, or advancing to their third World Series? Does a Top 5 payroll always lead to postseason success, or even a trip to the postseason, for that matter? Are those fans who make negative posts about payroll correct to think there's no hope for teams like the Royals?
That answer is no, and the proof is in teams like the 2007 Colorado Rockies, or the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, both of which had payrolls ranked 25th among the 30 teams. The Marlins captured their second world title by defeating the team with the highest payroll in all of professional sports -- the Yankees, of course.
In fact, in the 13 years since play resumed following the strike, eight of 26 World Series teams have had payrolls that ranked outside the Top 10, with four of those teams winning a title, and half (13 of 26) of the teams have been ranked sixth or lower, resulting in six world championships.
For an even more dramatic example, there have been 104 teams qualify for the playoffs since 1995 -- four teams in each league for the past 13 years. Of those teams, a total of 42 -- or 40.4 percent -- have had payrolls among the bottom two-thirds, while 66 playoff teams (63.5 percent) have not been among the Top 5 for payroll expenditures.
In two of the past three World Series, both participants were not found among the Top 10 for payroll. In 2005, it was the White Sox (13th) defeating Houston (12th), while the 2006 World Series saw St. Louis (11th) topple Detroit (14th). So, payroll is not the end-all means of achieving postseason success.
All of this goes to show how tremendously important a deep and talented farm system is, and that's something Royals' GM Dayton Moore has been focusing on since the day he was hired. Moore has been working to stockpile Kansas City's minor league affiliates with pitching prospects like Luke Hochevar, Tyler Lumsden, Julio Pimentel, Carlos Rosa, and Matt Mitchell, either through trades or via the draft.
At the same time, Moore has gotten the green light from Royals owner David Glass to increase the team's payroll, and aggressively pursue players such as current starting pitcher Gil Meche or right fielder Jose Guillen, both of whom signed multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. Kansas City also made enticing offers to outfielders Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones, as well as Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, during the 2007 offseason. So the Royals are moving up the ladder in terms of money spent on players' salaries, and could possibly move out of the bottom third in payroll for the first time since 1994 this year.
Teams that are able to combine a healthy farm system with a middle-of-the-pack payroll have fared well in recent years, as noted above. It doesn't always take a Top 5 payroll to make the playoffs, or to win the World Series. I'm certainly not making an argument that teams that spend more money don't fare well, because they obviously have had incredible success. But teams that don't have huge payrolls aren't always left standing on the outside, looking in.
I just wish all those negative bloggers and message board naysayers would realize this.
Royals Payrolls Since 1988 (Rank)
2007: $67,116,500 (22nd)
2006: $47,294,000 (26th)
2005: $36,881,000 (29th)
2004: $47,609,000 (22nd)
2003: $40,518,000 (29th)
2002: $47,257,000 (22nd)
2001: $35,422,500 (27th)
2000: $23,132,500 (28th)
1999: $16,527,000 (27th)
1998: $32,912,500 (21st)
1997: $31,225,000 (23rd)
1996: $18,480,750 (29th)
1995: $27,608,834 (21st)
1994: $40,481,334 (4th)
1993: $40,102,666 (4th)
1992: $33,643,834 (8th)
1991: $28,722,662 (7th)
1990: $23,873,745 (1st)
1989: $15,427,162 (9th)
1988: $11,558,873 (13th)
Playoff Teams Since 1988 (Payroll Rank)
2007
AL - BOS (2nd)*, CLE (23rd)**, NYY (1st), LAA (4th)
NL - COL (25th), ARI (26th)**, CHC (8th), PHI (13th)
2006
AL - DET (14th), OAK (21st)**, NYY (1st), MIN (19th)
NL - STL (11th)*, NYM (5th)**, LAD (6th), SD (17th)
2005
AL - CWS (13th)*, LAA (4th)**, NYY (1st), BOS (2nd)
NL - HOU (12th), STL (6th)**, ATL (10th), SD (16th)
2004
AL - BOS (2nd)*, NYY (1st)**, LAA (3rd), MIN (19th)
NL - STL (9th), HOU (12th)**, LAD (6th), ATL (8th)
2003
AL - NYY (1st), BOS (6th)**, MIN (18th), OAK (23rd)
NL - FLA (25th)*, CHC (11th)**, ATL (3rd), SF (9th)
2002
AL - LAA (15th)*, MIN (27th)**, NYY (1st), OAK (28th)
NL - SF (10th), STL (13th)**, ARI (4th), ATL (7th)
2001
AL - NYY (1st), SEA (11th)**, CLE (5th), OAK (29th)
NL - ARI (8th)*, ATL (6th)**, STL (9th), HOU (17th)
2000
AL - NYY (1st)*, SEA (15th)**, OAK (25th), CWS (26th)
NL - NYM (6th), STL (11th)**, ATL (4th), SF (17th)
1999
AL - NYY (1st)*, BOS (5th)**, TEX (2nd), CLE (4th)
NL - ATL (3rd), NYM (6th)**, ARI (9th), HOU (11th)
1998
AL - NYY (2nd)*, CLE (4th)**, TEX (5th), BOS (8th)
NL - SD (14th), ATL (3rd)**, CHC (10th), HOU (15th)
1997
AL - CLE (4th), BAL (2nd)**, NYY (1st), SEA (15th)
NL - FLA (7th)*, ATL (5th)**, SF (21st), HOU (22nd)
1996
AL - NYY (1st)*, BAL (2nd)**, CLE (4th), TEX (10th)
NL - ATL (3rd), STL (9th)**, LAD (12th), SD (18th)
1995
AL - CLE (9th), SEA (11th)**, NYY (2nd), BOS (19th)
NL - ATL (3rd)*, CIN (6th)**, COL (15th), LAD (17th)
1994: Postseason cancelled due to MLB Players Strike
1993
AL - TOR (1st)*, CWS (13th)**
NL - PHI (20th), ATL (7th)**
1992
AL - TOR (3rd)*, OAK (5th)**
NL - ATL (11th), PIT (12th)**
1991
AL - MIN (16th)*, TOR (9th)**
NL - ATL (20th), PIT (14th)**
1990
AL - OAK (10th)*, BOS (6th)**
NL - CIN (20th), PIT (16th)**
1989
AL - OAK (12th)*, BOS (4th)**
NL - SF (13th), CHC (20th)**
1988
AL - OAK (14th), BOS (3rd)**
NL - LAD (5th)*, NYM (4th)**
*Won World Series; **Lost in League Championship Series
Friday, February 22, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Please, Save Me the Expense of Therapy
So, I wake up this morning, and I'm feeling great. Despite the fact that I was up until about 1:00 a.m. working on this blog -- I'm a night owl -- I got great sleep, as I usually always do, thank goodness.
My morning routine usually consists of all the basics: lie in bed for a few minutes; stretch out my muscles (no, I'm not like Arnold Schwarzenegger); brush my teeth; kiss my wife; chit-chat about the upcoming day's schedule; make my son some breakfast; make myself coffee; say goodbye to my wife (she works, I'm a stay-at-home dad, although that's "work," too); turn on cartoons for my son after his 15th request; and then spend some time online, reading through news about the Royals.
And, while sipping my java and doing that last item, my mood took a turn for the worse today. According to the Kansas City Star's Jeffrey Flanagan, there are rumors floating around in "baseball circles" that the Royals are once again pondering a switch to the National League.
What?! Where in the heck did this come from? I thought this idea had gone to its grave in 1997, when Bud Selig offered Kansas City the chance to switch, and the Royals (thankfully) declined.
Here is where I stand on this issue: I hate the National League. Yes, I repeat, it's not just a mild dislike for me -- no, it's pure hatred. National League games are dull and boring to me. I do realize that my views on this might fall within the minority, but I don't care. This feeling of contempt for the N.L. has been inside me for years, and I don't see it changing -- ever.
In my entire life as a baseball fan, I've always been an American League guy. It's engrained in my mind that the A.L. is far surperior to the N.L. I love being able to rub it in to my brother, Matt, who is a die-hard Cardinals fan, that Kansas City went 10-8 against the Senior Circuit in 2007. That the American League is 16-3-1 against the National League in the All-Star Game since 1988.
Is there really any doubt which league is better? Certainly not in my mind. And I don't agree with the reasoning that the Royals should switch leagues, so that they'd have a better chance to have success outside of the A.L. Central Division.
Phooey! That's such a loser mentality. We suck, so let's cross our fingers that Major League Baseball will allow us to go play in the weaker National League. No way!
How am I supposed to lose my American League bias overnight? I can't change how I feel. I'd probably have to go see a therapist, or a deprogrammer, to help me adjust to seeing the Royals in the N.L. standings. Do you think I'd be able to send Kansas City's front office a bill for that?
Luckily, in Flanagan's account of this, the Royals' Mike Swanson, Dayton Moore, and Dean Taylor all seemed to dismiss the report as nonsense. I just hope they're not testing the waters to see what kind of reactions are out there among Royals' faithful.
But if that is the case, I hope they happen across this post and decide to keep the Royals in the good old American League. Otherwise, I'm going to need to find a good shrink.
My morning routine usually consists of all the basics: lie in bed for a few minutes; stretch out my muscles (no, I'm not like Arnold Schwarzenegger); brush my teeth; kiss my wife; chit-chat about the upcoming day's schedule; make my son some breakfast; make myself coffee; say goodbye to my wife (she works, I'm a stay-at-home dad, although that's "work," too); turn on cartoons for my son after his 15th request; and then spend some time online, reading through news about the Royals.
And, while sipping my java and doing that last item, my mood took a turn for the worse today. According to the Kansas City Star's Jeffrey Flanagan, there are rumors floating around in "baseball circles" that the Royals are once again pondering a switch to the National League.
What?! Where in the heck did this come from? I thought this idea had gone to its grave in 1997, when Bud Selig offered Kansas City the chance to switch, and the Royals (thankfully) declined.
Here is where I stand on this issue: I hate the National League. Yes, I repeat, it's not just a mild dislike for me -- no, it's pure hatred. National League games are dull and boring to me. I do realize that my views on this might fall within the minority, but I don't care. This feeling of contempt for the N.L. has been inside me for years, and I don't see it changing -- ever.
In my entire life as a baseball fan, I've always been an American League guy. It's engrained in my mind that the A.L. is far surperior to the N.L. I love being able to rub it in to my brother, Matt, who is a die-hard Cardinals fan, that Kansas City went 10-8 against the Senior Circuit in 2007. That the American League is 16-3-1 against the National League in the All-Star Game since 1988.
Is there really any doubt which league is better? Certainly not in my mind. And I don't agree with the reasoning that the Royals should switch leagues, so that they'd have a better chance to have success outside of the A.L. Central Division.
Phooey! That's such a loser mentality. We suck, so let's cross our fingers that Major League Baseball will allow us to go play in the weaker National League. No way!
How am I supposed to lose my American League bias overnight? I can't change how I feel. I'd probably have to go see a therapist, or a deprogrammer, to help me adjust to seeing the Royals in the N.L. standings. Do you think I'd be able to send Kansas City's front office a bill for that?
Luckily, in Flanagan's account of this, the Royals' Mike Swanson, Dayton Moore, and Dean Taylor all seemed to dismiss the report as nonsense. I just hope they're not testing the waters to see what kind of reactions are out there among Royals' faithful.
But if that is the case, I hope they happen across this post and decide to keep the Royals in the good old American League. Otherwise, I'm going to need to find a good shrink.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Prospect of Baseball Warms a Winter Day
Hello, and welcome to anyone who might happen upon this, my initial post of what I hope will be an ongoing blog for fans of the Kansas City Royals, or just baseball in general. I live in Minnesota, and today's weather is miserably cold. I think the forecasted high temperature for the Twin Cities was 8 degrees. I try to stay inside. It's depressing thinking about six more weeks of winter that was predicted by Punxsutawney Phil. If you're not skiing, or snowboarding, or ice fishing, days like this can put you in quite a sour mood.
But, even with the freezing weather outside, there's reason to be optimistic, as the start of the 2008 baseball season is a little more than a month away. Yesterday, pitchers and catchers had their first official workout -- even though new Royals manager Trey Hillman convinced his players to show up and start working more than a week ago. So, in a sense, spring abounds despite the fact that I've had to shovel my driveway a couple times this week.
Now, you might be thinking that optimism and Kansas City Royals baseball haven't exactly gone hand-in-hand in recent years. I really can't argue with that. Other than the Royals' 2003 season, when they challenged for the American League Central title before finishing third with a record of 83-79, fans of Kansas City's Major League Baseball franchise have had little to cheer about. After all, this is an organization that has failed to reach the playoffs since claiming the 1985 World Series crown.
But things are changing for the better, and true fans of the Royals can sense the stirrings of a franchise resurrection in the works. Following 12 years managing in the New York Yankees' farm system, and the past five years guiding Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters, Hillman is like a breath of fresh air for a franchise that's been trapped in a smoky bar for years. His enthusiasm is contagious. And he led the Fighters to back-to-back Japan Series -- winning the title in 2006 -- by proving his ability to adapt to the hand he was dealt. His 2007 team advanced to the finals despite having one of Japan's most anemic offenses.
In the front office, Dayton Moore continues to work his magic. Moore, named Senior Vice President and General Manager for Baseball Operations on May 30, 2006, is considered one of the brightest minds in professional baseball. In 2005, while working in the Atlanta Braves' front office, Moore was named by Baseball America as one of MLB's Top 10 Up-and-Coming Power Brokers, while the same publication regarded him as the top general manager candidate in a 2004 issue.
Since he began his duties with the Royals, Moore has focused on stockpiling the organization's farm system with talented young pitchers; has convinced Royals' ownership to add a seventh minor league affiliate -- the Burlington Royals -- joining the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets as one of just three franchises with seven teams in its farm system; and he's spearheaded an effort to rank among the "top quarter in baseball" when it comes to money spent in Latin America.
But the Royals aren't just making investments in order to have success three to five years down the road. Kansas City owner David Glass, often criticized for an unwillingness to spend money to retain or attract talented players, has allowed Moore the liberty to open the checkbook in order to attract proven free agents to the City of Fountains. Moore's signing ability has resulted in the addition of players such as pitchers Gil Meche and Jose Guillen, while being able to retain stars like 2006 Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. The Royals also made competitive offers for free agents Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, and Hiroki Kuroda during the offseason.
So, yes, there is reason for die-hard Royals fans like myself to be optimistic about the fortunes of the franchise. Moore, whose mentor in Atlanta was former Royals GM John Schuerholz, is working to restore the pride that once eminated from an organization that finished no lower than third in the seven-team* American League West every year between 1975 and 1989 (except the strike year of 1981, when they were fourth).
That renewed hope is enough to brighten an otherwise gloomy and very cold day here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
*The AL West had six teams in both 1975 and 1976.
(Blogger's Note: This is an edited version of a post I wrote previously on another blog, which I have since aborted.)
But, even with the freezing weather outside, there's reason to be optimistic, as the start of the 2008 baseball season is a little more than a month away. Yesterday, pitchers and catchers had their first official workout -- even though new Royals manager Trey Hillman convinced his players to show up and start working more than a week ago. So, in a sense, spring abounds despite the fact that I've had to shovel my driveway a couple times this week.
Now, you might be thinking that optimism and Kansas City Royals baseball haven't exactly gone hand-in-hand in recent years. I really can't argue with that. Other than the Royals' 2003 season, when they challenged for the American League Central title before finishing third with a record of 83-79, fans of Kansas City's Major League Baseball franchise have had little to cheer about. After all, this is an organization that has failed to reach the playoffs since claiming the 1985 World Series crown.
But things are changing for the better, and true fans of the Royals can sense the stirrings of a franchise resurrection in the works. Following 12 years managing in the New York Yankees' farm system, and the past five years guiding Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters, Hillman is like a breath of fresh air for a franchise that's been trapped in a smoky bar for years. His enthusiasm is contagious. And he led the Fighters to back-to-back Japan Series -- winning the title in 2006 -- by proving his ability to adapt to the hand he was dealt. His 2007 team advanced to the finals despite having one of Japan's most anemic offenses.
In the front office, Dayton Moore continues to work his magic. Moore, named Senior Vice President and General Manager for Baseball Operations on May 30, 2006, is considered one of the brightest minds in professional baseball. In 2005, while working in the Atlanta Braves' front office, Moore was named by Baseball America as one of MLB's Top 10 Up-and-Coming Power Brokers, while the same publication regarded him as the top general manager candidate in a 2004 issue.
Since he began his duties with the Royals, Moore has focused on stockpiling the organization's farm system with talented young pitchers; has convinced Royals' ownership to add a seventh minor league affiliate -- the Burlington Royals -- joining the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets as one of just three franchises with seven teams in its farm system; and he's spearheaded an effort to rank among the "top quarter in baseball" when it comes to money spent in Latin America.
But the Royals aren't just making investments in order to have success three to five years down the road. Kansas City owner David Glass, often criticized for an unwillingness to spend money to retain or attract talented players, has allowed Moore the liberty to open the checkbook in order to attract proven free agents to the City of Fountains. Moore's signing ability has resulted in the addition of players such as pitchers Gil Meche and Jose Guillen, while being able to retain stars like 2006 Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. The Royals also made competitive offers for free agents Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, and Hiroki Kuroda during the offseason.
So, yes, there is reason for die-hard Royals fans like myself to be optimistic about the fortunes of the franchise. Moore, whose mentor in Atlanta was former Royals GM John Schuerholz, is working to restore the pride that once eminated from an organization that finished no lower than third in the seven-team* American League West every year between 1975 and 1989 (except the strike year of 1981, when they were fourth).
That renewed hope is enough to brighten an otherwise gloomy and very cold day here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
*The AL West had six teams in both 1975 and 1976.
(Blogger's Note: This is an edited version of a post I wrote previously on another blog, which I have since aborted.)
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