My final Sweeney Rave then I'll let it go:
Sweeney made about $73 million in his 16 year MLB career, about $70 mill of that came from your KC Royals.
Sweeney's final contract: 5 years, $55 million.
Let me put that in perspective: Royals highest paid player this year?
James Shields, $11 million.
They gave that same money FIVE YEARS in a row to Sweeney, and that was TEN YEARS ago. So in today's money, that contract would have been probably 15 to 18 million a year.
What did the Royals get in return for $70 million?
Royals all time history winning pct: .481
Royals winning pct while Sweeney was on the team: .414
Royals have had five years losing 100 games or more. Who was on all five of those teams?
Sweeney. For a man who has spent a literal fortune trying to prevent abortions, he sure allowed plenty of them here in KC, like the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Royals seasons.
How many playoff games did Sweeney participate in as a Royal in exchange for $70 million?
Zero.
What was the highest the Royals placed in the AL Central with Sweeney on the team?
Third Place.
Now let's consider Lonnie Smith:
Three World Series Rings with Three Different Teams.
Thought about killing John Sheurholtz and bought a gun to do so.
Those two qualities right there makes him vastly more qualified for this job than Sweeney!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Smith
I'm just saying, if you want to build a winning team, bring in winners. Plain and simple.
If you don't agree.....LOOK A SHINY OBJECT!