This team was very competitive in the second half last season and made a lot of improvements. Shealy and Teahen proved they can be solid run producers.

This team WILL be competitive -- around .500. No way this year's team loses 100 games again.

how is teahan transitioning to the OF. Good I hope.

Is Gordon going to be in the Big Leagues on opening day? We better not waste in him AA ball any longer. He's ready to do some damage. It's time to unleash the fury

I don't know if he is or not. I would rather start his clock once we are ready to make a serious run on the whole thing. I guess we will see when spring ball openes up. Hopefully he can be a force.

that's the plan.



And as for starting him too soon, I would rather get him some experience so that when the team is finally ready to compete, he will already have some MLB action under his belt.

Since football is done, and draft is a ways off... some baseball, revisited.



Last I could find of David Glass' worth was from 1999, est. at 326 million. Its clearly gone much higher both if he has apparently made a profit off the Royals and any other $$$ he has seen over the past 7-8 years. Hell, the franchise is expected to be double its worth after the renovations alone. That means even a modest number off the Royals, would be $96 mil for the team's worth, but lets say its not $20 mill every year, and just give an even number of $100 mil. THAT'S 196 million he has gained just off the team that he got at a ridiculous price to begin with.
The guy can more than afford to put a team out there with a payroll in the middle of the pack- which would be fair given the rest of the talent in our division. If he's really committed to fielding a winner, then he should know that taking a loss for a year or two is simply an investment that will see a return.

If KC had a team in contention and an honest shot at being a competitive team, KC's commitment to a winning team speaks for itself and he would in turn make his money back. Not to mention, additional success would add value to the franchise and additional revenue in media contract, merchandising and exposure.

Let's not forget he got the Royals at a rock bottom sale price.

Sure, this looks fine until Sweeney hurts his back reaching for a cup of Grape Gatorade, which suggests a much better topic of discussion:

What's the over/under on the first Sweeney injury of the year?

IMO, no way he gets through May.

Would be nice if the Royals have a decent SS and a C.

That 8-9 on the lineup is like an automatic 2 outs.

Spinoff: Who plays more games Sweeney or Meche?(or any other pitcher)

Sweeney. I'm guessing he logs around 60. In and out, in and out, in and out, all year, like what goes down at Redrum's mom's house.

You do realize, per the terms of him buying the team, that he can't make a penny off of the sale of the franchise? Every dollar off excess profit goes to the Kauffman Foundation. I'd also like to see some numbers that say he's made a profit off the Royals as far as revenue since he's owned them. The best case scenarios I've seen have him breaking even.

So let's just say he does have $326 million in the bank, for sake of argument. You expect him to lose from 10-20% of his net worth every year, to compete for free agents? That sounds like a brilliant plan to me.

I fault Glass for the way he's run the organization, but not for being smart with what money the franchise does bring in.

Your optimistic.

About Sweeney, I mean.

ROFL
Sad when predicting less than half is optimistic.

Justin Huber is still in the plans too. Shealy and Huber will probably split at DH/1B if Sweeney goes down.

Other than that, PinkFloyd hit it on the head. I'd invest in season tickets now, even if it is a smaller game package. The future is bright.

Meche might not be the long-term answer as the No. 1 guy, but some of you fail to realize the impact of the Royals hitting the free agent market, locking onto a guy they wanted and beating other teams --bigger market teams-- out for him, convincing him that Kansas City is a place to be and, finally, signing him. Did they overpay? Maybe. Did it take money out of YOUR pocket? No.

Though the make-up and star potential is similar to the late 90s (Damon, Dye, Beltran), I beleive the Royals are through losing future all-stars to other teams. Teahen, DeJesus and Gordon will be the cornerstones of a contending team in no less than three seasons.

This season they may very well be out of contention by the All-Star break, but just remember, the Royals are headed in very much the right direction.

The saddest thing is, in three years everyone talking shit on this thread will be on the bandwagon.

I disagree with Huber he won't be involved in future plans even if Sweeney goes down IMO it would be either German or Gload at the DH.