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my royals cover of local h born to be down

ROFL Awesome

Mike Jacobs signs minor league deal with Mets:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/0...ke-jacobs.html

http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/statuses/8919753349

When even Omar Minaya is smart enough not to give a major league deal to the guy you traded an elite setup man for (and paid several million to), you oughta just go ahead and kill yourself.

Oh My. :shake:

Kyle Farnsworth-R- Royals Feb. 11 - 8:43 am et

Kyle Farnsworth will compete for a spot in the starting rotation, Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports.
Seriously. "We're going to lengthen him out and see how it goes," said pitching coach Bob McClure. "Because what he showed me last year was the ability to back off a little bit and not pitch with his hair on fire. And, to be a starter, you have to be able to just kind of go pitch-by-pitch." Farnsworth, who turns 34 in April, is 6-11 with a 5.81 ERA as a starting pitcher in the major leagues and hasn't made a single start since the 2000 season with the Cubs. And with good reason, too. He made some alterations to his repertoire last season, making him a bit less predictable, but he still posted a 4.58 ERA in 41 relief appearances. It's not the craziest thing we've heard, but we're skeptical that it will result in actually winning baseball games.
Source: MLB.com

http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/pla...rt=MLB&id=2778

Is it asking too much for the organization NOT to make moves/decisions that make us national punchlines.

Farnsworthless.... man, somebody put a gun in his locker...

Dear Lord,

Please shelter us and protect us against Trey Hillman and the rest of Hell's minions.

http://www.togodbethegloryministries...%20praying.jpg

Well nothing makes up for a stupid decision like making it even worse...

O-M-F-G :shake:

and tell him that Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman are tag-teaming his girlfriend.

When I first came across http://twitter.com/fakedaytonmoore I thought it was DeezNuts' doing.

The royals need to do more crazy shit like this. They need to start inovate things.

Farnsworth in the rotation gives them an excuse to rest Soria's shoulder more.

Can he hit a curveball to?

Yeah, but every 5th day you know that Soria won't be needed.

In other words, it's the cause and the solution.

Win/Win!!

You are all taking the Farnsworth news the wrong way...it is win-win for the Royals (since they are already on the hook for the $).

Scenario #1: Farnsworth switches roles & does well. He will still have to win a spot in the rotation - 3 spots divided between: Davies, Bannister, Hochevar, Tejeda, Crow, & Montgomery (since Greinke & Meche are locks). If Farnsy wins that battle, it means he has finally learned how to keep the ball down & that his new fastballs are FINALLY moving his pitches around the plate a bit.

Scenario #2: He crashes & burns & returns to the pen. However, he has been stretched out to become a starter, so it is likely he relinquishes the set-up role to Juan Cruz & becomes a middle reliever - less pressure on him that way & he proved with 17 straight scoreless outtings in middle relief last season he can succeed in that role.

Scenario #3: He crashes & burns & blows out his arm. Maybe the Royals can collect insurance on him or something... Regardless, this scenario would likely make the fan base most happy as they wouldn't have to see the tatted-up, spectacle wearing, body slammer toe the rubber anymore & could put this horrendous signing behind them.


Bottom line is that we have already made our bed...but before we lie in it we may as well fluff the pillows becaus ethe status quo is unacceptable.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...arting-pitcher

Kyle Farnsworth, Starting Pitcher?
by Dave Cameron - February 11, 2010 - Share this Article

The Royals haven’t gotten much of a return on their 2 year, $9 million investment in Kyle Farnsworth so far. Rather than proving to be a relief ace to stabilize the bullpen, he’s continued to be his enigmatic self, with the results never living up to the raw stuff behind them.

Now, the Royals are going to try something a bit different – give him a shot at starting. He’ll come to camp in the mix for the 5th starter’s job, as pitching coach Bob McClure wants to see how he’ll adjust to using his arsenal in longer outings. Reliever to starter conversions generally don’t go very well, as most bullpen guys are there for a reason, but I like this idea, and I think there’s a decent chance it may work.

The main difference in ability between a starter and most middle relievers is the ability to get opposite handed hitters out. A huge majority of relief guys are some sort of specialist, often throwing a fastball/slider mix that is dominant against their same handed hitters but with nothing to offer batters from the other side. They get selectively used by their managers to enhance their strengths and limit their weaknesses, and can be effective in that role, but they would simply be exposed if they were not able to face a majority of hitters from the same side that they throw.

Farnsworth is not that type of reliever. Here are his career L/R splits:

vs RHB: 3.43 BB/9, 9.45 K/9, 41% GB%, 3.68 xFIP
vs LHB: 4.63 BB/9, 10.41 K/9, 36% GB%, 3.89 xFIP

His strikeout rate is actually higher against left-handed hitters, which is unusual for a power righty. He’s still better against RHBs, as the strikeouts don’t offset the higher walk and lower groundball rates, but the difference isn’t huge. He’s not the type of pitcher who is going to fall apart when the opposing manager stacks the line-up with left-handed bats.

There’s also reasons to be encouraged that he may have learned something last year. As McClure notes in the linked article, they got him to start throwing both a two-seam and a four-seam fastball last year, and it significantly changed his pitch mix.

BIS classified the new pitch as a cutter, but it doesn’t really matter too much whether it’s a two-seam or cut fastball – it’s certainly a departure from what he’d been doing previously. For most of his career, he threw ~70% four seam fastballs and 30% sliders. Last year, he threw 50% four seam fastballs, 20% sliders, and 30% cutter/two-seamer.

This new wrinkle paid dividends. He’d been an extreme flyball guy most of his career, which was one of the driving causes behind his home run problems. With his new lower velocity fastball, he posted a 46% GB% in 2009, drastically reducing his long ball issues. Thanks to the limiting of his biggest problem, he posted a 3.10 xFIP, his lowest since 2005.

In a lot of ways, Farnsworth is reminiscent of Ryan Dempster, another power reliever with command problems who flourished with a move to the rotation. It’s not wise to expect that kind of outcome, but there are reasons to believe that Farnsworth could find success in the conversion. The stuff is good enough, especially with his new pitch mix, and it’s certainly worth the experiment.

The Royals take a lot of crap from us, but I’ll applaud them for recognizing an opportunity here. Farnsworth could justify his contract, and then some, if this works.

First, no. Not even close.

He pitched in a bunch of meaningless innings where the team was up far enough (rarely) or behind far enough (lots) that his performance didn't affect the outcome of the game.

Farnsworth hasn't been able to prove anything, other than the fact that he's an absolute ****ing disaster of a pitcher.

I don't wish injury upon anyone, but, if I did...

Here's the bottom line. Yes, it's a sunk cost. So the sensible thing to do is to CUT the worthless ****ing player. You don't compound a bad decision by making more.

How about we fire Dayton Moore via Twitter? As in, that's the only official release. No further exchanges or releases from ownership.

I'd be willing to listen to a proposal for a Facebook firing, too.

Both would be innovative.

we got rid of nick swartz, enough of the "Royals way" now the new motto is "playing BLUE BALLS"

Former Royals prospect Danny Gutierrez just got a 50 g suspension for a positive amphetamine test. So that trade sucks slightly less now, I guess.

Full story...

RHP Danny Gutierrez, whom the Rangers acquired from Kansas City last fall, has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for a banned substance.

Gutierrez, who was recently ranked as the ninth best prospect in the Rangers system by Baseball America, tested positive for the amphetamine adderall, which is used to treated Attention Deficit Disorder. Gutierrez had a prescription for the drug, but did not apply for a waiver with MLB for therapeutic use of the drug. The suspension begins at the start of the 2010 season.

"I sincerely apologize to the Texas Rangers organization, Major League Baseball, and to my family for my failure to comply with the Minor League Drug Policy by failing to apply for and obtain a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption)," Gutierrez said in a statement released by the Rangers. "I understand that it was my responsibility to obtain a TUE even though the drug was prescribed by a doctor, and that I have let down myself and many others with my failure to do so. I greatly appreciate the support of the Texas Rangers front office and I am determined to serve as a better role model in the future."

Because he is not on the 40-man roster, Gutierrez is subject to the rules governing minor league baseball. Minor League rules stipulate a player receive a 50-game suspension. Had he been on the 40-man roster, he would have received a warning. This suspension doe not bar him from participating in spring training. He will report with the rest of the minor leaguers in early March.

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/ar...z-suspend.html

He was taking a drug for ADD. No wonder he forgot to tell the Rangers.

It really doesn't matter who is pitching other than Greinke. 3 runs will be enough to put us down game after game this year.

i heard theyre looking for a new 'slugger' mascot. maybe one of u guys could try out.
Posted via Mobile Device

This move can't hurt us....maybe the guy actually paces himself and doesnt throw all out like he does with his meatballs. Hope it works out if not well wtf did yoiu expect

His 17 scoreless innings were definetly laughable.

Anytime someone throws 17 STRAIGHT scoreless innings in the MLB, it is commendable.

Don't hate because you haven't seen your toes in decades...

there are about 100 people probably on the planet that throw 94 mph give him a shot, or bring him in to bean someone.

I think I could find you 100 High School kids that throw 90+.

There's a ton of guys that can throw the ball hard. It's a matter of knowing where to throw it, knowing how to make it go there, keeping your arm attached while doing so and hopefully putting a little bit of movement behind it.

The Cardinals have a guy in Blake Hawksworth that was a fireball coming up, tore up his shoulder and spent 2 years recovering. His 'stuff' is now considered barely above average and even he was able to hit 94 coming out of the pen last year. Mitchell Boggs can hit 97 and he's never been considered a power pitcher.

Get much past 98 and you're probably right. But 94 mph is more common than you'd think, especially for relievers. A starter that can cruise at 94/95 is tough to find, but I'd bet even money that Farnsworth can't sit at 95 for more than an inning or two either. He'll cruise at 92 and his fastball will probably be as straight as it ever was. In fact, if he's throwing anywhere near 95 it's because he's leaning on his 4-seamer and he'll get knocked into next week.

You want Farnsworth at 91/92 because it means he's throwing a 2-seamer and he might actually be generating some movement with it.

Huh? Farnsworth is a sunk cost and an absolute disaster after posting an xFIP of 3.10?

Or did you to type Betancourt?

There were whispers about his "recreational" use by insiders on Royals message boards before the trade ever went down, so I'm not surprised at all, even if it is just adderall this time.

Dude has a ton of talent but has extreme maturity issues.

Yeah, Rany hinted on twitter that he knew about some off the field problems back when the trade happened. Maybe this helps him grow up.

Whatever, not our problem now. Best of luck to the kid.

there is a world of difference between 90's and 94 mph's

I will just admit I am wrong. Alot of players can throw 90's. My point was. Farnsworth arm is so strong that he is going to keep getting chances.

LMAO

**** IT !!!

Give Tony Pena Jr his shot at RP

Too late, the Giants snagged him for their closer of the future

It's not win/win in any way.

Farnsworth pitching: Lose.

Farnsworth getting paid: Lose.


That about sums it up.

Farnsworth, like Al Harbosky in his last three years, is good for about one good heater per inning. And if he grooves it: Well you know the results.

Not trying to pile on here Jordan, but the status quo was set the minute he was offered that money.

You'd think Moore would have thought twice after hearing Farnsworth's jaw smash to the floor when it was offfered.

If paying 4.5 per to a pitcher who can perform only in "low-stress" situations is the goal, then I'll agree that Farnsworth hasn't been a disaster.

Not as bad as the Guillen contract or the Betancourt trade, but the KF signing is easily in the DM top 5 **** ups, which is impressive.

As an aside, Baseball America has released their list of the top 100 prospects. Royals who made the list:

Montgomery (39), Crow (40), Moosetacos (80), and Arguelles (100)

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...10/269546.html

Until Pujols collapses it with a long ball.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/22671738/detail.html

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals announced Thursday that pan-fried chicken will now be served at baseball games.

The Royals and Stroud's Restaurant entered into a three-year agreement.

The location of Stroud's at the stadium will be connected to the Royals Hall of Fame building in left field.

The restaurant will serve its famous two-piece chicken dinner, fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers and buffalo wings. Stroud's cinnamon rolls will also be available.

DM's key off-season acquisition.

The Little K needed help.

I hate this organization....lets focus on the food and fun promos instead of the actual product on the field.

DM!!!!!!!!!!!!WONONE!

But i do love me some strouds

Word is that's on the Jackson County 2012 .01% tax initiative preposal. I'm thinking of going for it if when can ensure ourselves a national t-ball allstar game by 2021.

Stroud's has gone down. At least I don't like the one they re-opened on Shawnee Mission. The originial was the best.

Well...from a business perspective, the "New K" was a pretty smart move.

The whole outfield experience thing is brilliant. Even if you only have an announced attendence of 20K or so, there might be another 10-15K out in the outfield walking around, boozing, buying food, or playing games.

Dayton Moore - the worst GM in baseball according to SI

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ankings/1.html

Though in fairness, that article sucks. It is, however, probably right in this regard.

Interview on 810 with Petro:

Dayton Moore says Farnsworth will get shot at rotation?

WTF????

:cuss::grr::mad::#:Lin:

Is the competition for the 5th spot really that atrocious?

Farnsworth sucks in mlb 10 the show for ps3 he went 2/3 ip 2hits 2 er 2 walks 1k for me bastard

Dayton continues to disappoint. I don't know how much of that is due to the cheap-ass Glass family, though. But seriously, he continues to show dumb decisions. I speculate Olivo was not re-upped due to Olivo's relationship, or lack thereof, with Trey "I'm the white Herm" Hillman. I woul have let that decision ride with Greinke, personally. Grienke liked pitching to him and that is something I am not ****ing up considering he is the lone bright spot on this pitching staff.

Let's say you're David Glass.

You just gave your GM more money than any GM in the history of your franchise. You gave him approximately $15 million in extra run-around money than the year before. In fact, you gave him a higher payroll than your cross-state rivals.

And with that run-around money he acquired Farnsworth, Jacobs, Bloomquist, Ramirez and Crisp while dumping your 2 best setup relievers. He also locked up loads of payroll in a pair of underachieving catchers and traded for Betancourt.

Would you be too terribly inclined to give him another $15 million?

Glass cannot be blamed for this. He's made a major committment to the Royals ever since Moore came on board.

And Moore's pissed down his leg.

I agree, the Olivo for Kendall (not literal) swap is a real negative for the Royals chances this year.

He's supposed to be good with picther development, so hopefully that will help offset his liability with the bat and throwing out runners. He used to steal bases too, but he's too old and slow for that now.

****, we had that with John Buck. I expect Bryan Pena to see significant playing time this year. We need to see what this kid has. He did nothing but impress me last year.

Dont' forget the brillant highering of Trey Hillman.

Hiring Trey was a big ****ing mistake. I supported Trey for a year. Then I couldn't do it anymore. The guy is an idiot when it comes to baseball. I know little league coaches that could do a better job than him.

"I'll bring in Soria for 3 outs but not 4" we lose the game .....two nights later "I'll bring in Soria for 4 outs not 5" we lose the game .....two nights later Soria gets brought in for 6 outs, we win the game.


Or one of my favorties, tie game in the 7th, bases loaded Guillen and Butler are on base and you pinch run for not one but BOTH of them! And we eneded up not scoring to take the lead in the 7th and had to play 11 innings without our 2 power hitters in th game.

Or another Trey highlight, Bloomquist leads off a 1-0 game and draws a walk on 4 pitches. Meir comes up 2nd and Trey has him try to lay down a bunt on the 1st pitch which was the 5th pitch of the game! IF Meir kept the bat on his shoulder until he got a strike on him the count would have been 3-1. But NOOOOOOOOOO!

THAT my friends is Hillman in a nutshell.

The list goes on and on for him.

At least they got rid of the 3rd base coach (was it Doran?). That guy cost us at least 20 runs last year with some of the worst base-running decisions ever. You could see the panic in his face if he had to make a bang/bang decision. I realize hindsight is 20/20, but he screwed up a lot.

I'm also pissed the Kuntz won't be on the field anymore. That guy has some sweet hair. He'd wear that helmet and take it off, and I'll be damned if it wasn't still perfectly sculpted. I think he's single-handedly keeping Consort men's hairspray in business.

That guy was a complete and total ****ing moron. I liekd Kuntz and he was well liked in the clubhouse.

I liked his explanation for blowing up Gil Mesche he gave on the radio today. "Gil just said there is no way way you are taking me out of this game early so I didn't." Not verbatem, but pretty close.

I was at that game. And I was conflicted about the decision. Most probably wouldn't let him go out there. I would have but after 10 pitches I would have pulled the plug. And his next 2 outings would have been short.

Trey has been mismanaging the pitching staff since he got here. I know I heard him in postgames last year on more than a few occasions say that "pitcher A" told him he could go another inning but he'd pull him anyways. Then a few weeks later "pitcher A" would say the same thing and Trey would leave him in.

Flying by the seat of your pants is no way to manage a baseball game. Trey has perfected it. And perfected losing.

I'm curious to see how he plans on getting Callaspo 500 at-bats this year. He claims that's a goal of his. Of course, he and DM also believe they can get 1,000+ innings out of the the starters. One of the guys on 810 asked Trey last week if this was an achievable goal and Trey said not realistically, but that it was still a goal. :clap:

Zack Greinke-S-Royals Mar. 5 - 5:23 pm et

Zack Greinke faced one batter over the minimum in three scoreless innings Friday in a defeat of the Rangers.
Same old Greinke. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed one hit, walked none and struck out three.

I have an abnormally large man-crush on Zach. Is there a therapy group for this?

Good thing we didn't draft Lincecum. My god that move would have been ****ing stupid.

Yeah I was listening to it today for a little bit at work. Greinke was mixing it up well. Nothing new about that though. Ankiel hit a gap shot for a triple too when I was listening. Good win.

It kept him out of black and white pinstripes for a while though...

This has been proven to be a fallacy (for any catcher, not just our piece of shit).

Games aren't won or lost on paper DEEZNUTZ they are lost in the sun with Chip Ambres chasing fly balls

I don't even understand statistical analysis. /DM

You can't prove or disprove it, too many factors involved.

While I understand what you're saying, there is no statistical evidence to prove that catchers have a noticeable impact on a game because of how they call it. Admittedly, this was the angle I was playing in response to the notion that Kendall would "help our staff."

If you go back several pages in this thread, I quote from one of Rany's updates that speaks to this issue.

Yeah I've heard the argument, but I haven't seen enough to buy it. Just because you can't prove statistically that a catcher has the ability improve a pitcher's, or an entire staff's, development, doesn't necessarily mean that it disproves it.

There are too many moving variables to prove it either way - if the team ERA improved this year under Kendall, many would argue that the staff was different, or Hochevar/Banny/etc was due to improve, or improved defense was the main driver, etc.

I just think sabremetricians are going too far when they try and say a catcher can have no positive effect on a pitcher; the problem is that it is practically impossible to accurately measure.

Tried my damnedist to order tickets online for april 5th(foolish i know).....page cannot be displayed, server reset....looks like every ****er in kc is trying to get it. i just quit after 10 min

no way in **** am i paying $50 a ticket to sit in the ****ing sky, i'll go to a bar adn watch

That sucks. Few years back (when I had free time) I'd sit by the home phone, with my work cell phone, personal cell phone, and the wifes celly to get tickets. Waaaaay before I was lucky (and smart) enough to have the web access.
Maybe you could score tickets through a radio station or something, maybe?

Are there really single tickets available? With all the multi-game packages available I'd be surprised if there was anything left.

I wouldn't know i tried connecting and finally got the page to load then i had to click the ticket icon again and it would give me server is busy page cant be displayed, your ****ed go do something else messages

No way im going to pay $50 to skip work....even though i already am i will just enjoy watching from a bar