Why not contract the KANSAS CITY ROYALS?

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Buddy Bell's hiring (!!!) sent Joe Sheehan over the edge:

There's enough waiver bait on this roster to stock a waiver bait shop on the shores of Transaction River for a good five years. (Three if Jim Bowden fishes there.) Terrence Long? Alberto Castillo? Joe McEwing? These guys are terrible, and two of them were in yesterday's starting lineup. ..

The Royals are a bad team that has been bad for a decade and shows little sign of becoming good at any point in the future. In a year's time, Glass will no doubt be at the front of the line of people asking for more money from other owners and the players, again blaming "the system" for his franchise's failures rather than the people within it. But the fact is, the Royals have had the same chance that the Twins and the A's and the Indians have had, and they have failed to capitalize upon it. Until the management of this franchise shows some level of competence in its decision-making, not only should it not be held up as an example of "the system's" inequities, but it should be cited as the reason for not allowing more extensive revenue sharing: why continue to support this kind of failure on such a grand scale? Why subsidize incompetence?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:43 (nineteen years ago) link

I was thinking similar WTF? things when I saw that BB was hired. Out of all the guys you could put into that situation, hiring BUDDY BELL is an exemplary non-move move that says, in no uncertain terms, I don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge. Shoving a sub-.500 caretaker whose previous managerial experience involved steering another franchise deeper into the morass of suck is like a department store selling off fixtures.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 18:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Owned by a Walton heir (technically, owned by her husband but let's be honest) = automatically evil.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 20:25 (nineteen years ago) link

no baseball in the town where the negro league hall of fame is = dud

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 20:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Kansas City deserves better.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 23:23 (nineteen years ago) link

I hired you people to try and win some ball games, not to jump around like a bunch of Kansas City Royals!

― ojitarian (ojitarian), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 00:24 (nineteen years ago) link

... and now they've swept the Yankees.

― ojitarian (ojitarian), Friday, 3 June 2005 01:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Great timing! Buddy Bell gets to be Genius for a Week.

So apparently Neyer wrote a column threatening to abandon his lifelong Royals fandom over BB's hiring?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 3 June 2005 12:26 (nineteen years ago) link

Neyer's done that before, tho, back when the Royals were in the throes of Muser's idiocy and Baird was just named GM (and his column was FREE).

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 3 June 2005 12:46 (nineteen years ago) link

Not BB himself, just BB as symptom of the disease.

It was lamenting how awful the hiring was, how awful the team was run in general and how Kansas City may not be able to support a major-league franchise and it was time to consider relocation.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Friday, 3 June 2005 18:18 (nineteen years ago) link

I read the Neyer column and whenever relocation comes up, I've got to wonder, "where?" Northern Virginia's no longer an option and Jeffrey Loria needs to keep stringing Las Vegas along in order to get a new park in Miami.

I'm all for Portland if they build a statue of Pig Champion in front of the new park.

― Gerard Cosloy (Gerard Cosloy), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 20:57 (nineteen years ago) link

two months pass...

They break the streak by sweeping the Yankees again at month's end.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 18:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Why not move them to New York? I mean, you're telling me that New York couldn't support a third team better than Kansas City could support one?

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:26 (eighteen years ago) link

hey man, new york baseball has enough problems w/out more competition!

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:40 (eighteen years ago) link

seriously tho, i'd advocate a third NYC team way before a salary cap or whatever kooky alternative yankees-win-too-much solutions anyone might think up.

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Sure but then there's Bosses Wilp & Steinb...

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:47 (eighteen years ago) link

I hear Montreal needs a team.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:50 (eighteen years ago) link

yeah i mean it's not gonna happen unless there's a genuine State of Emergency w/in the game, probably one where the alternatives faced by wilpstein wd be even graver than another team moving in. like if the yankees had one the past 3-4 WS or something, i think ppl would be going apeshit about this stuff right now.

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:52 (eighteen years ago) link

OMG maybe the Yankees plan to "buy" world championships is actually their way of screwing their chances of winning and SAVING BASEBALL!

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 19:56 (eighteen years ago) link

TS: $3/gallon gas as "saving Iraq's economy" vs. $200MM payroll as "saving baseball"!

― d4niel coh3n (dayan), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 20:09 (eighteen years ago) link

If you want to make an omelet, you have to burn down a few kitches.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 20:24 (eighteen years ago) link

It isn't that KC won't support a team, like Pittsburgh, it is the ownership and management running the thing into the ground that is the problem. KC was one of the best run clubs through the 70s and 80s.

If the Mets or Yanks were to tank like this for a dozen years starting from today, I don't think they would be drawing that well at the end of the run either.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:49 (eighteen years ago) link

It isn't that KC won't support a team, like MONTREAL etc...

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:31 (eighteen years ago) link

Gammons predicted a Sunday win w/ Greinke, but it appears Runelvys is starting.

Sheehan on BP:

David Glass made his money running Wal-Mart, where the profits come from driving down the costs of production, especially labor. He's taken that same tack as Royals' owner, worrying less about investing in his product and more about being on the front lines in the industry's labor battles. You cannot win with that mindset in baseball, where the labor is the product, and his inability to shift gears has driven a once-proud franchise into the depths.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 19 August 2005 19:30 (eighteen years ago) link

$37 mil payroll, they get $20 mil in revenue sharing

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 19 August 2005 20:46 (eighteen years ago) link

2 of 3 against the A's in Oakland!

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 22 August 2005 23:59 (eighteen years ago) link

what's the matter w/ oakland?

― jonathan quayle higgins (j.q. higgins), Tuesday, 23 August 2005 15:26 (eighteen years ago) link

Re: the Royales' success against the A's: BROKEN CLOCK ALERT!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 23 August 2005 15:43 (eighteen years ago) link

(from BP)
And you thought you had a bad week. Swept by the Orioles, who'd lost 20 of 30, the A's then lost two of three to the Royals, who'd only dropped 19 in a row entering the series. It all added up to a humbling week for what had been America's hottest team. Don't blame the pitching, which yielded just a 2.53 ERA, blame an offense which scraped together a meager 17 runs in that time.

― John (jdahlem), Tuesday, 23 August 2005 15:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Also Kotsay lost a ball in the lousy sun field Sunday (which screwed them one year vs the Yanks in the playoffs too).

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 23 August 2005 15:52 (eighteen years ago) link

eight months pass...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8800304216&indexURL=0

Mike Sweeney (.176/.313/.309 all for the low, low price of $11M/yr.) retirement rumors are beginning to surface.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 5 May 2006 18:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Yep:

"On Sunday, the Royals trotted out a lineup that included Tony Graffanino (.196) hitting third, Emil Brown (12 RBIs) hitting fourth and three players who were in Triple-A two weeks ago – Aaron Guiel, Kerry Robinson and Justin Huber.

"In the fourth inning, Joe Crede hit a fly ball to deep center field. Robinson climbed the wall to grab it. The ball landed – on the warning track."

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 8 May 2006 19:54 (eighteen years ago) link

That writer is a dumbass but moreover: why hate on Emil Brown's .371 + .675 = 1.046 OPS?

Explain me to pls why he shouldn't bat cleanup on KC because he's one of the few guys who can hit the ball?

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Monday, 8 May 2006 20:17 (eighteen years ago) link

because he's named Email?

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 8 May 2006 22:09 (eighteen years ago) link

He's clearly not clutch enough to do that when there are runners on base. He's running up his stats on bad teams.

― milo z (mlp), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 01:20 (eighteen years ago) link

dude!!! he only has 12 rbi! how can you put him in the cleanup spot?

― jonathan quayle higgins (j.q. higgins), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 14:38 (eighteen years ago) link

To be fair the bases aren't exactly loaded everytime he comes to the plate.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 16:16 (eighteen years ago) link

those 12 rbi account for more than 10% of the royals' runs (they are last in the majors with 101).

― maura (maura), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 17:03 (eighteen years ago) link

(and it's 13 now)

reggie sanders is first on the royals with 14 rbi.

― maura (maura), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 17:04 (eighteen years ago) link

also note: most of KC's runs came against Esteban Loaiza.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 18:11 (eighteen years ago) link

FREE ALLARD BAIRD

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 18:23 (eighteen years ago) link

I can't believe my Pirates have only won ONE more game than the Royals. I mean, their cleanup hitter is a Pirates cast-off, and it doesn't get much worse than that.

― W Gary (Schade), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 19:26 (eighteen years ago) link

If there was ever a team that could actually benefit from playing Alex Sanchez...

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 19:37 (eighteen years ago) link

So how long until Reggie Sanders is a Yankee? You know The Boss is already clammering for the deal to be made.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 21:39 (eighteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Ambidextrous Burgers!

― c(''c) (Leee), Thursday, 25 May 2006 16:21 (eighteen years ago) link

6-3 KC, top of 4. What're the odds?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Depends on your opinion of Andy Sisco--who's strikeout rate is excellent, a little problem with his control (which leads to his double digit ERA), but this is nothing Sisco can't work through... he won't win any awards this year but I like him as much as I did last year.

― Rob Neyer (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 25 May 2006 19:07 (eighteen years ago) link

well well

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 25 May 2006 20:07 (eighteen years ago) link

shocker of shockers!

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 25 May 2006 20:13 (eighteen years ago) link

(c'mon Sisco, just one K, I don't care how many BBs and HRs you hand out in the process, just keep that K rate up).

― Rob Neyer (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 25 May 2006 20:34 (eighteen years ago) link

Skipping 23 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

The Royals might not be that bad if they had any pitching whatsoever.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 24 August 2006 05:13 (seventeen years ago) link

What got into Mark Teahen?

   	   		G 	AB 	R 	H 	2B 	3B 	HR 	RBI 	BB 	K 	SB 	CS 	AVG 	OBP 	SLG 	OPS 	 
 Pre All Star 	  	56 	192 	30 	50 	7 	4 	7 	29 	16 	44 	3 	0 	.260 	.319 	.448 	.767 	 
 Post All-Star 	  	41 	152 	36 	54 	14 	3 	9 	33 	23 	28 	6 	0 	.355 	.441 	.664 	1.105

― mattbot (mattbot), Thursday, 24 August 2006 13:32 (seventeen years ago) link

AAA, it looks like - his splits before and after getting sent down in June are ridiculous; I think he had to work to get his pre-AS numbers up to that level.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 24 August 2006 13:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Suddenly that 2002 draft doesn't look so crappy does it.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 24 August 2006 13:49 (seventeen years ago) link

(xpost)

Yeah, the month-by-month breakdown is more dramatic:

   	   	G 	AB 	R 	H 	2B 	3B 	HR 	RBI 	BB 	K 	SB 	CS 	AVG 	OBP 	SLG 	OPS 	 
 April 	  	19 	64 	10 	14 	2 	2 	2 	8 	5 	19 	2 	0 	.219 	.271 	.406 	.678 	 
 May 	  	4 	13 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	4 	0 	0 	.077 	.077 	.077 	.154 	 
 June 	  	24 	82 	12 	25 	2 	1 	3 	11 	6 	15 	0 	0 	.305 	.352 	.463 	.816 	 
 July 	  	27 	91 	24 	29 	7 	3 	7 	25 	20 	19 	3 	0 	.319 	.442 	.692 	1.135 	 
 August 	23 	94 	20 	35 	10 	1 	4 	17 	8 	15 	4 	0 	.372 	.427 	.628 	1.055

― mattbot (mattbot), Thursday, 24 August 2006 13:50 (seventeen years ago) link

It's the NY Times Mag cover anti-curse!

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 24 August 2006 14:28 (seventeen years ago) link

It's a good thing the Royals' can't-miss prospect isn't a 3B!

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 24 August 2006 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Tho I guess they're thinking of moving Alex Gordon to 1B, maybe, and cutting bait on Huber? Of course, Gordon's at least 1 year away from making the team, I assume.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 24 August 2006 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

What got into Teahen? Steroids!

― c('°c) (Leee), Thursday, 24 August 2006 15:31 (seventeen years ago) link

9 SB to 0 CS and 7 triples is pretty impressive for a guy who weighs 220 lbs.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 24 August 2006 15:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Deceptive speed!

― mattbot (mattbot), Thursday, 24 August 2006 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Momentum!

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 24 August 2006 16:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Carl Crawford is 220#... he has 43 SBs.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 24 August 2006 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link

He's also Carl Crawford.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 24 August 2006 16:26 (seventeen years ago) link

Teahen's done for the season, apparently he's been playing with a torn labrum (?!) and they've decided to shut him down and opt for surgery. Alex Gordon will not be called up.

― mattbot (mattbot), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link

am i batty or are they actually kind of putting together a not terrible youngish team?

shealy, keppinger, teahen, gathright, dejesus...are they wedded to gordon at 3rd or is he getting reps at short in the minors, too?

if there pitching situation weren't such a shambles...seems like they have the arms, but what in god's name is happening to those kids?

― jonathan quayle higgins (j.q. higgins), Saturday, 9 September 2006 17:30 (seventeen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

45-52 Since June 15th? No longer the worst team in baseball? Maybe the Royals could flirt with .500 next year if they got one or two solid pitchers.

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Sunday, 1 October 2006 22:48 (seventeen years ago) link

samdawg25 (Columbia, MO): Royals lose first pick in MLB draft. Is not having the worst record in baseball worth it?

Joe Sheehan: If I remember correctly, Rany Jazayerli concluded that the biggest dropoff in value in the draft was from the first pick to the second. So I'm going to guess that whatever psychic benefit and marketing magic you derive from being #29 in baseball will be less than that.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:47 (seventeen years ago) link

It's not like they would sign the guy deserving of the #1 overall pick anyway, what with the Borases of the world.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 2 October 2006 22:08 (seventeen years ago) link

They did sign Hochevar ya know.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 2 October 2006 22:18 (seventeen years ago) link

And Alex Gordon seems to have been a good signing too.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 2 October 2006 22:19 (seventeen years ago) link

six months pass...

Kyle (KC): What are your feelings about the Meche signing now? This is before his duel with Buehrle last night. Meche - 1 win 1 loss 2.22 era in 4 starts 28.1 IP 7 ER Dice K - 2wins 2 losses 4.00 era in 4 starts 27.0 IP 12 ER

Rob Neyer: (12:56 PM ET ) I think we're three weeks into a 260-week contract.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:10 (seventeen years ago) link

SMACKDOWN

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:33 (seventeen years ago) link

Neener neener, Neyer.

― Andy K, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 18:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Can't wait to see how Bannister does.

― Michael F Gill, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 00:15 (seventeen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Royals To Get A Taste Of Angels' Colon

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 21:33 (seventeen years ago) link

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 10 May 2007 11:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Greinke outta the rotation.

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 10 May 2007 13:41 (seventeen years ago) link

Luke Hudson didn't make much of a case for himself today.

― Andy K, Thursday, 10 May 2007 21:33 (seventeen years ago) link

"Pitcher most likely to have game end up looking like a football score"

― Michael F Gill, Thursday, 10 May 2007 22:02 (seventeen years ago) link

Jimmy Gobble relieves Brian Duckworth.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:21 (seventeen years ago) link

What did the Royals brass know about Meche that makes his deal look not entirely horrible?

― Steve Shasta, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:32 (seventeen years ago) link

suddenly playing like a 67-win team!

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 24 May 2007 16:30 (seventeen years ago) link

They've won 8 out of their last 10, I am loving it.

(I predicted 70-odd wins back at the beginning of the season)

― Michael F Gill, Thursday, 24 May 2007 21:24 (seventeen years ago) link

one month passes...

A sweep of the Angels! This will be their first winning month in four years. And they are only one game behind the White Sox to get out of last place.

Exciting stuff if you are a Royals fan.

― Michael F Gill, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 23:09 (sixteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Three and a half games ahead of the White Sox now, plus still got a chance to win 75 this year.

Bannister is 12-7 with a 3.16 ERA.

― Michael F Gill, Monday, 3 September 2007 01:44 (sixteen years ago) link

I tried watching today's game, but man, I hate the Metrodome.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 3 September 2007 01:52 (sixteen years ago) link

HD makes a Metrodome game MORE difficult to watch.

― Andy K, Monday, 3 September 2007 02:06 (sixteen years ago) link

still don't know why the mets got rid of bannister.....
hope it's not some amos otis redux

― gershy, Monday, 3 September 2007 02:25 (sixteen years ago) link

Bannister going from the largest market to one of the smallest is a potentially big difference though. Not so much pressure on him in KC.

The Mets end of the bargin wasn't a total loss. Burgos could still work out, and Ruben Gotay is very promising.

― Michael F Gill, Monday, 3 September 2007 02:40 (sixteen years ago) link

Bannister is ROY-eligible, yes? 38 IP w/ Mets last year, how many roster days? He outVORPs Pedroia by a lot and Matsuzaka by a hair.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 4 September 2007 14:33 (sixteen years ago) link

He is apparently.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 4 September 2007 20:44 (sixteen years ago) link

sixteen years pass...

if you had asked me yesterday how old Salvador Perez is I would have guessed like 38 or 39 ... he's only 33?!?! i didn't realize he was so young when he got started, plus he was a high-profile player immediately

the Royals are a fun dark horse team so far this season. they've got some good pitching.

― na (NA), Monday, 15 April 2024 13:43 (two months ago) link

I was probably thinking 36 or 37--that is a surprise. I'd say there's one glaring thing that will hold him back from HOF consideration: never walks, so his lifetime OBP is .301. If you could add even 30 or 40 walks a year, I bet he'd have a decent shot. (Missing a full season followed by the COVID year right in his prime hurt him too.)

― clemenza, Monday, 15 April 2024 15:37 (two months ago) link

Timely as he's about to hit the IL for pulling his groin running out a single.

― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Monday, 15 April 2024 16:13 (two months ago) link

oh i thought he got hurt tagging a runner out at home

― na (NA), Monday, 15 April 2024 16:21 (two months ago) link

if Perez plays another few seasons and builds up some numbers, the argument against him becomes more difficult. he's got a world series MVP, eight time All Star, five gold gloves, his bWAR profile isn't dissimilar to possible future HOFer Yadier Molina (who is just slightly superior on defense per 162 games, and pretty inferior on offense.)

― omar little, Monday, 15 April 2024 18:26 (two months ago) link

i enjoy watching bobby witt jr. i assume he's a good player?

― 龜, Monday, 15 April 2024 18:49 (two months ago) link

just posted, relevantly: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/can-the-royals-pull-off-an-al-central-upset/

(the answer: probably not, though their odds have improved)

― na (NA), Monday, 15 April 2024 19:23 (two months ago) link

Timely as he's about to hit the IL for pulling his groin running out a single.

You see - if he’d have walked that wouldn’t have happened! *taps head*

― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 15 April 2024 19:23 (two months ago) link

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