2017 Royals

My thoughts on every player who played for the 2017 Royals.

The Hitters:

Jorge Bonifacio – A rookie who was probably not expected to be on the team during spring training, Bonifacio had a pretty decent year. He showed good power, hitting 17 homers, but struck out a lot, and isn’t a good defensive player. He rarely played after the Royals acquired Melky Cabrera, and in retrospect, it might have been better just to leave him in right field.

Billy Burns – Not much to say about Billy. He was up briefly and only got 6 at bats. I suspect if we need a spot on the 40 man roster, he will be the first to go.

Drew Butera – Was signed to a 2 year contract to be Salvy’s backup, a job that is pretty similar to being the Maytag repairman. Played when Salvy had the side issue, but was very poor defensively. 7 passed balls? Will likely serve in the same role in 2018 so he needs to improve the defense.

Melky Cabrera – Was acquired midseason when we were still in the playoff hunt. Played well, but I’m not sure he was that much of an upgrade over Bonifacio. I don’t expect him back in 2018.

Lorenzo Cain – Sometimes I don’t think I appreciate what a terrific player Lorenzo Cain is. Gold Glove caliber defense, hit .300, 26 steals, 15 homers, extremely likeable guy. He always seems to walk like he just pulled a hamstring. I don’t know who will play centerfield in 2018, but if Cain isn’t back I will miss him. By the way, the trade of Greinke for Cain and Escobar has to be one of the best trades in Royals history.

Christian Colon – Keeping Colon may have been the main reason Whit Merrifield started the season in the minor leagues. I always liked Colon, but he doesn’t really have the ability to be a starter. Nevertheless, he was a key part of some of the biggest moments of the 2014-2015 seasons. For that, I will always remember him fondly.

Cheslor Cuthbert – At the moment, Cuthbert looks like the 2018 starting third baseman. That is a concern. Decent enough as a backup, he doesn’t hit or field well enough to be a starter. Injuries never really allowed him to get going in 2017.

Alcides Escobar – I have to admit I love Esky. Plays every day (literally), always plays hard, makes terrific plays at shortstop, good base runner. He was one of our hottest hitters the last 2 months of the season. I wish he had hit like that all year. He doesn’t hit homers, but hits a lot of doubles and triples. What concerns me is: What happened to his base stealing ability? 4 stolen bases, caught 7 times. In his previous 5 seasons with the Royals, he was never caught more than 6 times, and he stole 35, 22, 31, 17, and 17 times.  If he is not back in 2018, it is likely the Royals have Raul Mondesi to take his place.

Cam Gallagher – Made a Royals fan very happy with a $25,000 Sonic Slam for his first major league home run. I really wish he had played more in September rather than Butera. He looked like a pretty decent hitter, and I would have liked to see what he could do.

Alex Gordon – What in the world has happened to Alex Gordon? For most of the year, he looked completely lost at the plate. It seemed like every time he got a pitch right down the middle, he would foul it off. Toward the latter part of the year, he started to hit like the old Alex Gordon, but we need him to be productive or we will have big problems going forward. He still plays stellar defense.

Terrance Gore – Terrance Gore has one job. Pinch run and steal a base. This year, he only stole 2 bases and was caught twice. Still looking for his first major league hit. Gore really has no value except either in September or maybe the playoffs. Otherwise, he is a waste of a roster spot, and if we need a spot on the 40 man roster, I think Gore would be expendable.

Eric Hosmer – Eric is the soul of the Kansas City Royals. Clearly the team leader, I feel the Royals have to resign him. He had a terrific year offensively, hitting well over .300 with good power. He saves so many errors with his ability to scoop low throws. The Royals seem to have a good relationship with his agent Scott Boras so I hope they can work something out.

Whit Merrifield – I love to watch Whit play. He seems to know what it takes to win baseball games. He started the season in the minors, because the Royals wanted to hang onto Colon and Cuthbert, and Merrifield had options. It seems almost ridiculous to think about now, but nobody could have guessed he would have this kind of year. Last year in half a season, he hit 2 homers and stole 8 bases. How could anyone imagine this year he would hit 19 and lead the league in steals? He is still older than Eric Hosmer, so I wouldn’t expect his numbers to improve a lot going forward, but right now he is a fixture at second base.

Raul Mondesi – Our starting second baseman at the beginning of the year, he frankly couldn’t hit. He did well at Omaha, where he probably should have been in the first place. I think we have rushed Mondesi at almost every level. Hence, his minor league numbers aren’t as good as they should be. He clearly has talent, and I think he will be a really good player as long as the Royals let him develop at his own pace.

Brandon Moss – It was easy to think Brandon Moss would hit about 40 home runs. After all, every time he played against the Royals, he looked like Babe Ruth. Unfortunately, he only hit 22. And barely hit above the Mendoza line. A very pleasant guy, but there are way too many unproductive at bats. He seems a bit like a left-handed Rob Deer. He will be back in 2018.

Mike Moustakas – At long last, someone finally broke Steve Balboni’s long-standing Royals home run record. Moose showed the power we all knew he had when we drafted him. The last couple of months of the season has was hampered by a leg injury when he was hit by Bruce Rondon. I think that affected him both at the plate and in the field. I really don’t expect Moose to be back in 2018. I like Moose a lot, but as a hitter, when he isn’t hitting home runs, he doesn’t provide much other offense. He doesn’t really hit a lot of doubles or triples and his OBP is low. I think he will get a pretty good contract this offseason, and the team that signs him may regret it.

Paulo Orlando – Paulo is a good guy to have as your 4^th outfielder. He gets exposed as a starter. Unfortunately, he had to start the first month of the season, and didn’t do very well. Then he went to the minors and broke his leg. Tough year for him, and I look for him to rebound in 2018. But if he is in the Royals starting outfield on Opening Day, then something has gone terribly wrong.

Salvador Perez – If Hosmer is the soul of the Royals, Salvy is the heart. Salvy’s defensive numbers don’t look as good this year, mainly because Royals pitchers were terrible at holding runners. Salvy set a new personal high in homers and still seems to swing at everything. But I would still take Salvy over every catcher in the American League. When he got hurt, the whole team felt the impact. Our most irreplaceable player.

Jorge Soler – I know. We traded Wade Davis to get Soler. We only had Davis for a year anyway, and we have Soler for 4. The jury is still out on this trade. Soler had a rough year. He was injured the first month, then got off to a slow start. He hit pretty well in Omaha, but when he came back up to KC, he never got in a groove. He would play a game, go 0-for-4, then he wouldn’t play for a week. Tough to get your timing as a hitter that way. I expect him to lay claim to the starting role in 2018. This guy is a good hitter; he just hasn’t gotten a chance to show it yet.

Ramon Torres – The quintessential utility infielder. Can play several positions, but not much of a hitter. Will likely spend 2018 in the minors.

The Pitchers:

Al Alburquerque – Al was a journeyman reliever who pitched a few games for us. He wasn’t terrible, but he walked too many guys. Al, we hardly knew ye.

Scott Alexander – Honestly, he was probably our most valuable bullpen guy. He pitched in several roles and became a guy to go to in pressure situations. He absolutely rescued us several times when thrown into a critical situation. He will be a key part of the 2018 team.

Miguel Almonte – He only pitched 2 innings due to injuries. Was at one time considered our best pitching prospect. I’d be surprised if we ever see him again.

Ryan Buchter – He came over in the midseason trade with San Diego and pitched pretty well. I think he will be used quite a bit out of the 2018 bullpen.

Trevor Cahill – Another guy who came in the trade with San Diego. I think he was injured when he got here because he pitched pretty well early in the year with the Padres. With us he was dreadful. We will not see him in a Royals uniform again.

Danny Duffy – Our ace had a bad year. He pitched well enough although not as good as we had hoped. Then he got injured. Then he got arrested. Definitely a year to put behind him. I think he will be back and ready to pitch on Opening Day 2018.

Luke Farrell – We called him up to pitch one game as the 26^th man during a doubleheader. He was horrific and has since been placed on waivers and claimed by Cincinnati.

Neftali Feliz – The former Milwaukee closer came over and pitched ok when we were short of pitchers. He looked nothing like his former self though, and has since been released.

Brian Flynn – Boy, Flynn had a tough year. In the offseason he fell through the roof of his barn, broke several vertebra, and was lucky to be alive. Then he pitched one game, injured his groin, and was out for the rest of the year. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Onelki Garcia – In 2004, the Royals called up a pitcher named Eduardo Villacis to start a game against the Yankees. I had never heard of him. Manager Tony Pena had never heard of him. As might be expected, he was terrible, and that was his only major league game. In 2017, the Royals called up Onelki Garcia. I had never heard of him although he had pitched briefly with the Dodgers in 2013. He pitched in relief August 27 in a game we lost 12-0 and was terrible. Undaunted, we gave him a start September 2 against the Twins, and he didn’t make it out of the first inning. That game reminded me of Joe Frazier when he faced George Foreman. I could almost hear Howard Cosell’s voice saying, “It’s target practice.” We lost that game 17-0. He has since been mercifully released.

Sam Gaviglio – This was a good pickup on the part of the Royals. People pooh-poohed the pickup because he was put on waivers by the Mariners, but he made 2 starts and pitched well both times. I doubt he will be in the 2018 rotation, but you need organizational depth.

Jason Hammel – Jason Hammel was signed after the tragic death of Yordano Ventura. He pitched poorly initially, then pitched ok for a while, then didn’t pitch well again. I think he probably pitched better than his stats would indicate, but he still didn’t pitch well enough for a team planning to compete. He will be back in 2018, but will I wouldn’t be surprised to not see him make it through the year.

Kelvin Herrera – Herrera had a strange year. He started out as the closer and did well. He’s not Wade Davis, but then who is? Then he started battling some issues where he would lose feeling in his arm in mid-inning. Scott Alexander came in to bail him out and Ned stopped using him in closing situations. I’m not sure what to make of Herrera. I thought he would be a trade candidate after the season, but since he lost his closer’s job, his value is diminished. I still think there is a good chance he is traded in the offseason. If not, I think he will be an 8^th inning guy rather than a closer next year.

Jakob Junis – The first 4 months of the year, Jakob Junis was on the I-29 shuttle. A pitcher would get hurt and up came Junis. Then we would get a new pitcher and Junis would head back to Omaha. Finally in August, he came up and became part of our rotation. He pitched very well, dramatically decreasing his walks, and seems to be slated for the 2018 rotation.

Nate Karns – We acquired Karns from Seattle for Jarrod Dyson. I had always liked Karns and he pitched well, including a couple of games where he had double digit strikeouts. Then he got the dreaded thoracic outlet syndrome. I don’t really know what that is, but I know syndromes are bad. He had surgery, and hopefully will be good as new next year.

Ian Kennedy – 5 wins. Kennedy showed flashes of pitching well, but mostly he did not. I can’t help but think he was hurt most of the year. His strikeout rate was the lowest of his career and I think he may have had a neck injury from having to turn and watch the ball go over the fence. He made 30 starts and gave up a home run in 24 of them. He can opt out of his contract and become a free agent, but it would not be a wise career move considering he will make $16 million in 2018. He will be back.

Andres Machado – He came up when we were desperate for arms, and I guess he qualified as an arm. He got shelled in 2 brief appearances.

Seth Maness – I barely remember Maness pitching this year. He was that nondescript. He actually appeared in 8 games and gave up 16 runs in a little over 9 innings. No wonder I have erased him from my memory.

Brandon Maurer – This was another acquisition from San Diego. It seemed like a good pickup at the time as he had been San Diego’s closer on the rare occasions when San Diego had a game to close. He was in a word, terrible. As one of 3 Royals eligible for arbitration (with Herrera and Karns), I expect him to be non-tendered.

Kevin McCarthy – Kevin McCarthy pretty much stayed under the radar. That is to say that he rarely pitched in high pressure situations, but he pitched pretty well and gave our other bullpen guys a rest. If he is the final guy on your staff, you are in pretty good shape.

Mike Minor – Minor is a former top prospect with Atlanta as a starter. After several years of arm trouble, we put him into our bullpen and he was probably our most effective reliever. He started out mainly pitching the 7^th inning, then in August started pitching mainly the 8^th inning, and ended September pitching as the closer. He was good in every role. The Royals have a $10 million mutual option with Minor for 2018 and I’m sure they won’t exercise it. I think it is likely that Minor will resign with the Royals but for a restructured contract something along the lines of 2 years for $5 million a year.

Mike Morin – The Kansas City native was acquired late in the season when we were (stop me if you’ve heard this before) desperate for pitchers. He was strictly a mopup guy and I don’t expect to see him again.

Peter Moylan – Moylan appeared in more games in a season for the Royals than anyone except Dan Quisenberry. He pitched really well and was very effective against right-handed batters. He rarely faced more than a hitter or two before he was removed for someone else. He had the unusual distinction of pitching in 79 games, yet he wasn’t charged with a win, a loss, or a save. That is a major league record. He is a free agent after the year, but I expect the Royals to resign him. They don’t want to lose the espresso machine.

Eric Skoglund – What a great debut he had! 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball in a game where the Royals beat the Tigers 1-0. Unfortunately, he made 4 more starts and couldn’t get past the third inning in any of them. I expect to see him at Omaha in 2018.

Joakim Soria – Joakim Soria seems to be everybody’s favorite whipping boy. He could pitch well for 7 or 8 games, then give up an 8^th inning homer, and everyone wants him run out of town. He actually pitched pretty well, and only gave up one homer all year, but if you ask the twitter community they would tell you he gave up 50 homers. Jack will be back next year.

Matt Strahm – Strahm looked really good in 2016, then started off 2017 unable to find home plate. He went down to the minors and pitched a little better when he came back before tearing up his knee. We shipped him to the Padres at midseason and he was the key to the Padres making the deal. He will probably get things back together and become a good pitcher down the road.

Jason Vargas – Just as I predicted before the year, Jason Vargas tied for the major league lead in wins. Just kidding. Who would have guessed that Vargas, coming back from Tommy John surgery, would make the All-Star team and have the kind of year he had? He had a little down turn after the All-Star break, but picked it back up at the end of the year. It was really a terrific season from Vargas. He will be a free agent and I don’t expect the Royals to resign him.

Yordano Ventura – No discussion of the Royals pitching is complete without mentioning Yordano Ventura. His death in January hovered like a black cloud over the whole organization. First of all, he was one of our best pitchers and at 25, had his best years ahead of him. Having him in our rotation would have made a big difference in our starting pitching. Then his death forced Dayton Moore to look for other starters. The two best free agent starters at the time were Jason Hammel and Travis Wood, and Dayton signed both of them. Neither of them were as good as Ventura would have been and in fact, were considerably worse. Then we can’t really measure the effect Ventura’s death had in the clubhouse. It might have caused the players to try too hard to compensate for his loss, I don’t know. The Royals are a close-knit team, and this might have taken some of the enjoyment out of playing the game.

Travis Wood – This was the other pitcher that Dayton Moore signed upon the death of Ventura. He did not pitch well at any time and was traded to San Diego in a deal where we picked up most of the salary.

Chris Young – In 2015, Chris Young was one of our most important pitchers, both as a starter and a reliever. In 2017, he was done and was released.

The Manager:

Ned Yost – There are actually a lot of Royals fans who don’t like Ned Yost. That is incredible to me. Ned Yost took over the Royals in May of 2010 after Trey Hillman got the axe. After Ned took over, the Royals increased their win total every year for 6 STRAIGHT YEARS! They had won 65 games in 2009, then under Ned, they won 67 in 2010, 71 in 2011, 72 in 2012, 86 in 2013, 89 in 2014, and 95 in 2015. He took us to the World Series in 2014-15 and won a World Championship in 2015. Every year, the supposed experts pick us to be lousy, and every year we beat those projections by plenty. Based on runs scored and runs allowed, the Pythagorean projections for the last 4 years have estimated we should have gone 84-78, 90-72, 77-85, and 72-90. Instead we have gone 89-73, 95-67, 81-81, and 80-82. Jeez, he must be doing something right. This year the Royals finished 13^th out of 15 teams in runs scored, and 10^th in runs allowed, yet they were in the playoff hunt most of the season, and finished 80-82. The Royals have a team unity like no team I have seen before. You never hear players criticize the manager or each other. Much of this has to be attributed to the manager. With any manager, you sometimes disagree with his decisions, but I rarely find myself questioning when Ned pulls a pitcher or something like that. I really expected Ned to retire after this season, but he has said he plans to manage the Royals in 2018. Go Royals!

The 2013 Season

    The last Spring Training game has been played. Opening Day is Monday, and it is time to take a look at the Royals heading into the 2013 season. First of all, let's take a look at Spring Training. It is hard to imagine it going any better. The Royals were 25-7, all the regulars hit, all the pitchers pitched well, the defense was good, and nobody got hurt. So the Royals look good heading into the season. Let's take a look at the Royals position by position:

C- Salvador Perez, George Kottaras - Perez is my favorite Royal. He looks like a solid .300 hitter and a true leader. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 20 homers. Kottaras was picked up off the waiver wire, a good OBP guy with some power.

1B - Eric Hosmer - had a miserable season last year. He hit into tough luck early in the year, then tried to correct things, and screwed himself up. He looked pretty good this spring, although not as much power as I would like to see. For some reason, last year he appeared to be trying to hit everything to the opposite field. The Royals have to have him hit. I have guarded optimism.

2B - Chris Getz - Getz seems to be developing a little more pop in his bat although he will never be an offensive player. Fundamentally very sound, he is the best bunter on the team. I think he will be better than people may expect.

3B - Mike Moustakas - Probably the best power on the Royals, he just needs to show it, especially since he will be our cleanup hitter. Gold Glove caliber defense which was really a shock. Scouts talked like he was a bad fielder. I don't know what they were looking at.

SS - Alcides Escobar - Stellar defense at shortstop and his bat is improving. Good speed as he stole 35 bases last year. It seems like he should have more power, and that is what I look to see him improve.

UT (inf) - Elliott Johnson and Miguel Tejada - Johnson can play anywhere and appears to be solid. Hopefully, there is still a little gas left in Tejada's tank. For utility guys, that is a pretty good tandem.

LF - Alex Gordon - Gold Glover who isn't your prototypical leadoff hitter, but he is the best one we have. He hit 8 homers in Spring Training so hopefully that means his power will pick up. He really needs to hit at least 20.

CF - Lorenzo Cain - has gotten an unfair reputation of being injury prone because he had several injuries last year. Has the power and speed to be a 20/20 guy.

RF - Jeff Francoeur - The bloggers love to hate Frenchie. Had a very good year in 2011, but was miserable last year. He hit pretty well in Spring Training and I think we will see a different player than he was last year. He still may have the best outfield arm I have ever seen

UT (of) - Jarrod Dyson - He can run and really wreak havoc on the bases. No power at all, but Yost has done a good job of using his speed.

SP - James Shields, Ervin Santana, Jeremy Guthrie, Wade Davis, Luis Mendoza - Shields is one of the best pitchers in baseball and a true ace. Santana gave up way too many homers last year, but will probably give up less pitching at the K. He looged good in Spring Training. Guthrie pitched rxtremely well for us the last half of the year. I'd be happy if he just duplicated that. Wade Davis may turn out to be the key to our big trade. Has looked really sharp and I expect a big year. Mendoza was a star for Mexico in the winter. He's not flashy, but he gets people out. And he is definitely more consistent than Hochevar or Chen.

RP - Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, J C Gutierrez, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland - The 4 late iunning guys are as good as any bullpen in baseball. I can't imagine that Chen and Hochevar will stay in the bullpen all year. I look for one or both to be traded. Hochevar's problem as a starter is that he couldn't pitch with men on base. That doesn't bode well for the bullpen. We have lots of options at Omaha, so if both Chen and Hochevar are still Royals by the All Star break, I will be stunned.

Outlook - Royals are generally thought of as way behind the Tigers, but I think it is much closer than that. Tigers defense is dreadful and their bullpen at present has no closer. I look for the Royals to give the Tigers a good run for their money and certainly contend for a wild card spot. Play ball!

The Hall of Fame Vote

    I am ten years short of the required time as a member of the BBWAA to qualify to vote for the Hall of Fame, so my votes will not count in the official totals, but I thought I would give my choices for the Hall if I did have a vote. This ballot probably has more deserving players on it than any ballot in history. I tend to lean towards keeping the Hall a rather exclusive club, but this year there are a few guys that I could change my mind on. One brief comment before I give my choices. I think that anyone who uses their own personal agenda to keep deserving players out of the Hall of Fame should have their voting rights revoked. There are plenty of writers, including one longtime Kansas City writer, who are doing that this year and I think it is reprehensible. I could talk long and hard on this, but nobody wants to hear about it. I prefer to concentrate on baseball. That being said, here is my ballot:

1. Barry Bonds - the best player in baseball history, should be a unanimous choice.
2. Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young awards. Need I say more?
3. Craig Biggio - terrific leadoff hitter, over 3000 hits
4. Jeff Bagwell - MVP in 1994. Would be interesting to see what his stats would have been had there been no strike. Also had an OBP of over .400.
5. Mike Piazza - one of the top 3 catchers in baseball history along with Bench and Berra. Hit over .300 lifetime, very rare for a catcher.
6. Sammy Sosa - over 600 home runs. Had some incredible stats from 1998-2002.
7. Dale Murphy - his last year on the ballot. One of the criteria I use is did you think he would be a Hall of Famer when he was playing. I think everyone thought that about Murphy. He hung around a little too long, but he was one of the best players of the 1980s.

    That's it, although I could also accept Jack Morris, Curt Schilling, Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Kenny Lofton. To me, they fall just short. It is interesting how similar the stats are of Raines and Lofton, yet lots of people support Raines, but few support Lofton. I wish all these fine players luck in tomorrow's election.

Being a Fan

    Lots of children dream of growing up to be president. However, the children who are die hard baseball fans dream of growing up to be baseball players. When we get old enough that our physical skills inform us that we aren't going to make the major leagues, we sit back in our chairs, follow our team, and criticize the manager. In fact, the two jobs that everyone seems to think they can do a better job than the person who actually has the job are President of the United States and manager of a baseball team.
    Just like the President has access to a lot of classified information that we are not aware of, so does the major league manager. If we wonder why the manager isn't starting Alex Gordon, we may not know that Gordon has a slight hamstring pull or a slight case of the flu. We are wrong in thinking we can do a better job even though if the manager gets fired, we can't understand why our phone doesn't ring with a job offer.
    The popularity of fantasy baseball has changed the fan's thinking as well. For one thing, we are much more aware of statistics and minor leaguers than we ever were before. If we can win our fantasy league, we can certainly be successful as a major league general manager. Does Dayton Moore know something about Wil Myers that we don't? Is he not as good of a prospect as we think? I don't know, but I do know that Dayton knows a helluva lot more about him than I do.
    The ones that get me are the guys who, when hearing David Glass say that his break even point is a $70 million dollar payroll, say that he is lying and it is really $90 million. Really? I'm not an accountant, but I think I would need some access to the books before I can determine what a break even point is. Do we even know all the costs associated with running a baseball team besides payroll? Again, I think Glass knows far more about his team's finances than we do. I guess I am saying what is obvious, but I still hold out hope that the Royals will give me a call when their next managerial position opens up. I'm in SABR, for heavens sake!

The Big Trade

    On December 9, the Royals made one of the biggest trades they have made in recent years. They shipped prospects Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis.
    When I first heard about the trade, I didn't like it. Wil Myers was the Minor League Player of the Year and was the heir apparent to Jeff Francoeur in right field for the Royals. With Frenchy's less than stellar year in 2012, I was looking forward to seeing Myers taking over. But then I stopped to think about it. Last year our starting pitching stunk. Our top two starters at the beginning of the season were Luke Hochevar and Bruce Chen. Both guys can give you good games from time to time, but those are not guys you want to the forefront of your staff. Shields is a legitimate ace. Take a look at the stats of these 4 pitchers from the last 2 years:

IP         ERA         SO       QS    WHIP    Wins
435      3.04          423       46     1.12       32
477      3.15          448       45     1.10       31
384      3.63          401       39     1.20       32
465      3.27          445       43     1.18       31

    Which one do you want? The top two pitchers look to be a cut above the bottom two and there appears to be little difference between them. In order these stats belong to David Price, James Shields, Zack Greinke, and Felix Hernandez. Like I said, we got a legitimate ace. We also got Wade Davis. Two years ago, Davis finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting. Because the Rays had starters coming out their ears, he went to the bullpen in 2012 and was terrific. He moves right into our rotation and gives us another quality starter.
    Myers is a great prospect, but some of the reaction seems to be equivalent to the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Myers also struck out 140 times in the minor leagues. As Royals fans, we get a little tired of hearing that we have these great prospects and in another 2 years, we'll be really good. It is a little like your financial analyst telling you that you will be able to retire in 2 years, and then you wait and discover you don't have as much money as you thought you would have. But in another 2 years..... It's time to win now and kudos to Dayton Moore and David Glass for pulling the trigger.

My first blog

    Pardon the primitive look to this blog, but this is my first attempt at blogging, so it may take me a while to get proficient at creating an attractive blog. I plan to blog about baseball, so if you are not a baseball fan, you might want to go elsewhere. I will mainly write about the Royals, although I will throw some other stuff in from time to time so I don't seem one-dimensional. With the improvement of the Royals pitching staff, the team should be a contender this year, so I hope this will be a happy blog. If the Royals have another 12 game losing streak in April, you may come here and be able to hear a grown man crying. Anyway, go Royals!