So we FINALLY released Jose Guillen. This move came about two months too late as Guillen has been horrendous down the stretch and pretty much for the last two seasons. Don't let the RBIs fool you (tip: never let RBIs fool you. Worst stat ever), Jose has been just above replacement level since he became a Royal. He trumps Juan Gonzalez, Mark and Storm Davis as the worst Royals free agent acquisition of all time. Yes, he does. By far. He was a clubhouse cancer, no matter how people tried to spin it. He wasn't misunderstood, or wanted to win, or was a passionate leader. He was a malcontent who couldn't back up his mindless ranting on the baseball diamond. Good riddance, Jose. Good luck finding someone who will give you more than a minor league deal as well. Say hi to Trey in Japan for us.
Zack Greinke opened his mouth again. Seems like Zack isn't too happy with the current state of the Royals. I'm happy someone was vocal, but Zack was pretty harsh on the Royals. I hope this isn't pointing to a return of Zack's psychological issues or anything like that. He was sounding an awful like he did back in 2006 in Bob Dutton's article. Hopefully it isn't too serious and it was just Zack venting his frustrations, which at this point in his career, he has certainly earned.
Anyways, these are some interesting days we're heading for. The Royals brass seems to be committed to a true youth movement. That being said, I'm joining Greg Schaum's fight for the Royals to call up Omaha 3B Ed Lucas, who has been tearing the cover off the ball in AAA this year. I would like to see him get a shot at third and see Betemit back on the bench as a late inning pinch hitter.
Enjoy the rest of Shark Week.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A Victorious Weekend
So I'm writing this as Chris Getz makes a pretty sweet diving play to save the final game of the Baltimore series and cap off a truly victorious weekend for our boys. From nail biters on the field, to hair pulling as 3pm came and went yesterday, this was a fun weekend to be a Royals fan. Rick Ankiel, who came on strong after being reactivated from the DL was traded along with Kyle Farnsworth to the Braves. The Royals got stronger with the trade. Not necessarily better, but stronger.
We got a center fielder in Gregor Blanco(who joins Wil Myers in the we-decide-to-leave-off-the-last-letter-of-our-first-name club), who probably profiles as a 4th outfielder/back up leadoff man in the future. A major league ready reliever Jesse Chavez, who isn't anything special, but is still young and cheap. And we got a 21 year old, 5'7", 155 lb. lefty with nasty stuff. I've seen multiple people say that if Tim Collins was six inches taller, he would be the top relieving prospect in baseball. Yeah, we got this kid for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.
And now for something that has never been said on this blog: GOOD JOB, DAYTON MOORE.
Of course, the Royals still have some work to do. Jose Guillen remains a Royal (at the point of the publication of this post). I fully expect him to be released before the team boards the plane for Oakland.
The Royals extended Ned Yost for two years. This is a positive because now Dayton Moore can focus on how to make this team better heading in to 2011 instead of conducting a managerial search and accidentally stumbling upon Trey Hillman 2.0. Yost is a major league manager with a pretty good track record with young teams. He will be the stable master as the Royals young studs come up through the system in the next two years. Yost is about to see a major roster overhaul. Mous, Hos, Monty, Myers, Dwyer, Orlando, Lamb, etc. are all going to be making their MLB debuts while Yost is under contract. Yeah, that's more prospects than the Brewers had when Yost was managing the Brew Crew. Exciting stuff.
Hey, Kila got called up. Hopefully for good.
Close your eyes. It's 2006. How do you see the Royals in 2010? Alex Gordon hitting walkoff homers. Billy Butler smashing go ahead shots in the 8th inning. Zack Greinke pitching eight solid innings and getting the W. And we're 15 games under .500.
There is still work to do, but this was a good weekend for the Kansas City Royals and their fans. These last couple of months have the potential to be a lot of fun. The Royals could make a push back towards .500 and swing some momentum towards 2011. And they wouldn't be pushing back towards .500 with Ankiel, Farnsworth, Podsednik and Guillen, but rather with Gordon, Butler, Blanco, Collins, Kila and young, homegrown talent.
Sure, winning is fun, but I'm such a damn purist that when the Royals start winning, I want the Royals to do it the right way. Not how the Yankees or Dodgers do it. I want our guys. And that's what we've got here now. Our guys are starting to populate the roster. That's something to get excited about.
We got a center fielder in Gregor Blanco(who joins Wil Myers in the we-decide-to-leave-off-the-last-letter-of-our-first-name club), who probably profiles as a 4th outfielder/back up leadoff man in the future. A major league ready reliever Jesse Chavez, who isn't anything special, but is still young and cheap. And we got a 21 year old, 5'7", 155 lb. lefty with nasty stuff. I've seen multiple people say that if Tim Collins was six inches taller, he would be the top relieving prospect in baseball. Yeah, we got this kid for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.
And now for something that has never been said on this blog: GOOD JOB, DAYTON MOORE.
Of course, the Royals still have some work to do. Jose Guillen remains a Royal (at the point of the publication of this post). I fully expect him to be released before the team boards the plane for Oakland.
The Royals extended Ned Yost for two years. This is a positive because now Dayton Moore can focus on how to make this team better heading in to 2011 instead of conducting a managerial search and accidentally stumbling upon Trey Hillman 2.0. Yost is a major league manager with a pretty good track record with young teams. He will be the stable master as the Royals young studs come up through the system in the next two years. Yost is about to see a major roster overhaul. Mous, Hos, Monty, Myers, Dwyer, Orlando, Lamb, etc. are all going to be making their MLB debuts while Yost is under contract. Yeah, that's more prospects than the Brewers had when Yost was managing the Brew Crew. Exciting stuff.
Hey, Kila got called up. Hopefully for good.
Close your eyes. It's 2006. How do you see the Royals in 2010? Alex Gordon hitting walkoff homers. Billy Butler smashing go ahead shots in the 8th inning. Zack Greinke pitching eight solid innings and getting the W. And we're 15 games under .500.
There is still work to do, but this was a good weekend for the Kansas City Royals and their fans. These last couple of months have the potential to be a lot of fun. The Royals could make a push back towards .500 and swing some momentum towards 2011. And they wouldn't be pushing back towards .500 with Ankiel, Farnsworth, Podsednik and Guillen, but rather with Gordon, Butler, Blanco, Collins, Kila and young, homegrown talent.
Sure, winning is fun, but I'm such a damn purist that when the Royals start winning, I want the Royals to do it the right way. Not how the Yankees or Dodgers do it. I want our guys. And that's what we've got here now. Our guys are starting to populate the roster. That's something to get excited about.
HAPPY SHARK WEEK!
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