2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[duncan_idaho]

Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner
Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play
A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise.

Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk.

At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor.

Burning questions updates below.

Burning Questions for 2013:

1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation?

Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory.

2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door?
Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster.

3) Does Hosmer bounce back?
Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far.
4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012?
Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go.
5) Who regresses?
Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years.
6) Who plays 2B?
Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it.
7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level?
Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha
8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014?
Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014.
9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse?
Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before.
10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers?
Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it?

[RedDread]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

Jose Guillen
Mark Teahen
David DeJesus
Jeff Francouer
Jermaine Dye
Aaron Guiel
Reggie Sanders
Michael Tucker
Emil Brown
Matt Stairs
Jon Nunnally
Felix Jose
Jim Eisenreich
Danny Tartabull

Good god..

That list is vomit inducing.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Peyton's Princess

guy just googled that and ruined trivia time

thanks a lot

Eh. The way Saul Good was completely stumping everyone, that question might have took two and a half days to answer.

[DeezNutz]

I don't even remember Felix Jose. Who the ****?

[Tytanium]

Another cool tidbit: Hal Mcrae started at DH from 1976-1985 for 1429 games. Mind boggling number of games at a non-fielding position...

[gblowfish]

Dye and Tartabull were both very good for their day. The Royals paid Sweeney and had to let Dye and Damon go, because they were too cheap to hold them together as a group. If the Royals were the Yankees, they'd have had a starting outfield of Damon, Dye and Beltran, with Sweeney as DH, all in their prime. But noooooooooo.....

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

Another cool tidbit: Hal Mcrae started at DH from 1976-1985 for 1429 games. Mind boggling number of games at a non-fielding position...

I think Hal McRae, Edgar Martinez and Jim Thome are the best DH guys of all time. All three should be in the HOF.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

And you were arguing with me about importance of trading Soria when the team was complete ass. Can't win without a closer in the playoffs, etc.

Now, the playoffs are a "real" possibility, and you're advocating the team trade two of its key pieces in the pen, including the likely closer?

OK. DM might be dumb enough to fall for this shit, but a decent number of posters in this thread won't. We're not STL fans; you're not getting ****ing ovation when you exit.

Is Herrera really your likely closer?

You want it to happen. Hell, I want it to happen; Herrera is a blast to watch.

But does Yost? Don't you think it's pretty likely that Holland pitches just well enough to burn up every ounce of rope he has about 3 times this year, only to hang onto the 9th like grim death every time? Yesterday was a prime example; it proved more than any outing he's had to date just how ill-suited he is for the 9th, but I guarantee you that closing out that game bought Holland another blown opp. And if he saves 3 or 4 more, ugly or not, he'll get himself a whole week of rope.

You saw what Yost did last year with Broxton; he wasn't going to make Holland the closer, no how scary Brox made the 9th and no matter how much better Holland looked. Now you have the same situation but with a better pitcher on the hill in Holland. I just don't see Yost yanking him unless he craters for a 3-4 games in a row and Holland is a better pitcher than that.

Even if he can't spot his heat, that slider's nasty enough that he can go out there and throw 15 straight sliders and somehow get guys chasing over and over again. Brad Lidge made it for 2 more years than he should have after he lost his fastball command by doing the same thing.

[Bowser]

I remember Matt Stairs actually hit a grand slam in the sixth inning once, and some lucky shlup won 25K.

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Is Herrera really your likely closer?

You want it to happen. Hell, I want it to happen; Herrera is a blast to watch.

But does Yost? Don't you think it's pretty likely that Holland pitches just well enough to burn up every ounce of rope he has about 3 times this year, only to hang onto the 9th like grim death every time? Yesterday was a prime example; it proved more than any outing he's had to date just how ill-suited he is for the 9th, but I guarantee you that closing out that game bought Holland another blown opp. And if he saves 3 or 4 more, ugly or not, he'll get himself a whole week of rope.

You saw what Yost did last year with Broxton; he wasn't going to make Holland the closer, no how scary Brox made the 9th and no matter how much better Holland looked. Now you have the same situation but with a better pitcher on the hill in Holland. I just don't see Yost yanking him unless he craters for a 3-4 games in a row and Holland is a better pitcher than that.

Even if he can't spot his heat, that slider's nasty enough that he can go out there and throw 15 straight sliders and somehow get guys chasing over and over again. Brad Lidge made it for 2 more years than he should have after he lost his fastball command by doing the same thing.

http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=269316

[Tytanium]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Eh. The way Saul Good was completely stumping everyone, that question might have took two and a half days to answer.

There's no way any one person would remember the revolving right-field door for the last 22 years without looking it up.

[DeezNutz]

Herrera was getting hot last night. And I'm going to have to give Yost credit for going to him so early in the year in Philly. I know it seemed like a common-sense move (and it was), but these old-school dipshits like Yost have a hard time going against the conventional wisdom at times.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

Jose Guillen
Mark Teahen
David DeJesus
Jeff Francouer
Jermaine Dye
Aaron Guiel
Reggie Sanders
Michael Tucker
Emil Brown
Matt Stairs
Jon Nunnally
Felix Jose
Jim Eisenreich
Danny Tartabull

Good god..

No to Aaron Guiel, Emil Brown, Jim Eisenreich, Tartabull, and Nunally.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I remember Matt Stairs actually hit a grand slam in the sixth inning once, and some lucky shlup won 25K.

Stairs also injured himself playing hockey with the broadcast crew on a road trip.

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

There's no way any one person would remember the revolving right-field door for the last 22 years without looking it up.

Jon Nunnally
is the only one i couldn't get.

[Demonpenz]

Matt Stairs was so drunk and hungover after tequilla that he kept his head down on the ball. There you go professional hitter with his head down all the time. I heard stairs was pissed when tony pena jumped into the shower with is uniform after the game as well.