Definitely. I was focusing on how he finally started scoping out fielders who were optimized to Kauffman's dimensions (and whether unintentionally or not, had fielding metrics that were off the chain).

But it's not my intention to take anything away from Odo. His role in the Shields trade has left a major impact on our current team.

The biggest thorn for me in that trade wasn't just that we were giving up Myers, it's that we were giving up Myers with a huge gaping hole in RF still. That didn't make sense at the time, especially coming off the the French Quarter era. Obviously GMDM's internal development process had enough red flags that they didn't think Myers was going to be the player the rest of baseball was thinking he would be... And it has worked out that way.

I'm less inclined to pound my head in my desk seeing Manaea's name mentioned in this deal for Zobrist. God-Damn-Dayton-Moore is on a winning streak in my mind.

That Greinke trade has worked out exactly as they (Dayton Moore, front office) hoped. I mean, if they don't get Alcides Escobar, that means the Royals would have been left counting on Colon at SS.

Hell, as little as a year ago, you had some who would argue the Brewers own that trade because they turned it into 1.5 years of Greinke and 6 of Jean Segura.

That Greinke trade has to be looked at as an A+ move at this point.

I was part of the initial freak-out about the Myers trade because it seemed like such an overpay for Shields based on initial impressions. But the more you dug into Shields after his big change in approach and the more you looked at Myers, the more it made sense.

Long view is always best...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rusty Kuntz has agreed to give up No. 18 to Ben Zobrist. Kuntz will wear No. 81. I hope Zobrist pays him with &quot;A League Of Their Own&quot; DVD.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/status/626148975461171200">July 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On a side note, I legitimately feel for Myers right now. He re-injured his wrist this season and his rehab was just shut down by San Diego's upper management. Wrist injuries can be wreak havoc on young hitters (akin to shoulder problems for pitchers), and it would be terrible if a freak collision in the TB outfield damaged Wil's future trajectory.

He always seemed like a great guy, and has rooted for the Royals even after the trade, I genuinely wish him well and hope he makes a full recovery.

Awe, shit. You missed the chase for 3000 and his 2nd batting tittle.

i didn't like the trade at first. Relented and decided as long as we win a playoff game it was worth it. He did more than that. Our pitchers picked it up a level and he was a great leader and influence.

Hoping October of 2015 gives me something similar to hold on to. :)

Edit: I also have to give due credit to my Mom. She's been a diehard Royals fan since the late 1970's (she always told me about how she listened to the 80' WS as a military brat in Alaska). She made it easy to get into the Royals as I had someone to listen to Denny and Ryan with every night.

That is different than CP how? :doh!:

You know that there were a few here who thought 2013 was nothing but a fluke and that Yordano & Duffy were pre-ordained busts and that this team would be nothing without a Beane/Friedman?

That was more or less the consensus on a lot of Royals pages after 2013. Anything remotely optimistic like "I don't think Vargas was that bad of a signing" or "I think Cain and Escobar have a good chance to bounce back" was met with overwhelming scorn and hostility.

The Royals discussion on here can be pretty good.... the Chiefs discussion can be downright disturbing.

30 years of the same rinse\repeat can do that to a fanbase.

LMAO

Last year I realized that I now spend 95% of my time here talking about the Royals and KU. I still love the Chiefs, but I'll probably need to see Alex win us a playoff game before I'm sold on our current potential.

Understandable, but I was a sweet summer child who needed a bit more levity.

There was a time that Levity was all we had as Royals fans.