So let's talk AL Central...

[cmh6476]

sounds like we're going to be competitive this year:

Glass promises Royals will be competitive

By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer
January 19, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The owner of the most woeful major league team this century made a bold promise Friday to long-suffering fans.

The Kansas City Royals will not just be better in 2007, David Glass said at the team's annual forecast luncheon -- they'll be contenders in the AL Central.

"I think all of us can look forward to a competitive team this year," Glass said. "We've not had good teams in recent years, but the fans have hung in there. All we want is to have a competitive team, where every time we go out to the park we feel we have a chance to win. And I think that's what we've got this year."

Glass, who allowed his team to make moves in the free-agent market, said his peers seemed miffed when he saw them at Thursday's owners' meeting in Phoenix.

"We listened to the commissioner berate all of us for the escalating salaries and what we're doing to the economics of baseball," he said. "But all of them were all on my case complaining about the things that we're doing, we're overly aggressive, that we've got all these things going on. The more they complain, the better I like it, because they'll pay the price later on in the season."

Kansas City has lost 100 or more games in four of its last five seasons, including a 62-100 finish last year. The Royals then gave a $55 million, five-year contract to 28-year-old right-hander Gil Meche, a $5 million, one-year deal to reliever Octavio Dotel and a $2.25 million, one-year contract to reliever David Riske.

Prospect Alex Gordon seems poised to take over at third base, and hard-throwing right-hander Luke Hochevar is climbing through the system after being taken as the overall No. 1 pick in last year's amateur draft.

"I may need a scorecard to figure out who all the new players are," Glass said. "This is perhaps the most exciting team Kansas City has fielded in a long time."

New general manager Dayton Moore also has added 13 front office positions in the baseball department.

"The thing I'm most excited about is the leadership team we've put in place," said Moore, who was hired last June to replace the fired Allard Baird.

"I've told a lot of people throughout the process we did have some success in making some trades that we're excited about, acquiring free agents," Moore added. "But the leadership team we've put in place and the processes we have gone through ... that's been the most gratifying for me."

Meche is 55-44 with a 4.65 ERA in six seasons, all with the Seattle Mariners. He missed the 2001 season with a rotator cuff injury and spent 2002 in the minors.

He was 11-8 with a career-best 4.48 ERA last year and probably will start Kansas City's opener.

"Once we get to a point where we have two to three players every year come through our farm system who can compete for a spot on our 40-man roster, we'll have the potential to sustain some consistency at the major league level, without a doubt," Moore said.

"The economics of the game are what they are," he said. "It is very competitive. Certainly it's great for the players. But at the same time for us to be able to manage our payroll effectively, we have to have a great farm system. It takes four, five years to develop your farm system and get that steady flow. But there's no doubt that we'll be able to do that."

roto times does a decent job at projecting starting rotations and lineups...



1. Royals
2. Tigers
3. Chi Sox
4. Twinkies
5. Indians





it kinda sucks and its kinda cool our teams plays in the most competitive divisions in their respective sports

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Sorry, but Meche won't get it done. Our big bats wont produce for another 2 seasons. I dont see us being very competitive at all IMO. We play in the toughest division in baseball.

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.

[Demonpenz]

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

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

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

[Demonpenz]

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.

[cmh6476]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

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

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.

[Anyong Bluth]

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

Originally Posted by huskerdooz

You make it sound like all that revenue that your 5th largest economy (something like that) is lining the pockets of the Glass family. I have no doubt that Wal-Mart has made David Glass a very wealthy man but even he doesn't have bottomless pockets.

For the record just who would you like the Royals to spend some of this payroll on? Hell people all around baseball are pitching a bitch that the Royals signed Meche to such a high dollar contract. Right now besides the FAs they signed this winter (Meche, Dotel, Riske, and possibly Bale), Sweeney, Sanders, Grudz, Brown, Perez and LaRue the majority of the players are young guys. It's entirely possible that next season the team will have an even lower payroll yet may actually be thought to have a brighter future. When this years contracts for Sweeney, Sanders, LaRue, Brown, Elarton, Dotel, and possibly Grudz if the option isn't picked up come off the books, the payroll could be effectively cut in half. In fact if any of the aforementioned veterans are traded before the end of the season then the payroll could actuall go down during the season. If Dayton Moore is unable to lure any other FAs to come to KC, then we could be looking at plugging guys like Billy Butler, Mitch Maier, Luke Hochevar, and a few others making the ML minimum. What will you be saying then?

The more you read about Royals owner David Glass, the more you wonder why the hell Dayton Moore agreed to work for him.

Dayton certainly seems like a smart guy. Surely he did his research. But this piece on espn.com furthers the impression of the New York Times article we referenced a few days back: Glass is a tyrant, a fraud and a charlatan. He's excellent at making himself rich and damn everything else. The espen piece compares him to evil Simpsons nuclear plant potentate Montgomery Burns. We can only assume Dayton's not a closet Smithers.

Here's just one of the parade of galling items in the story:

David Glass is no overnight sensation. He's been cutting corners and making untold millions for years and years. Forbes magazine estimated Glass' yearly profits from the Royals at $20 million. Quite a handsome haul for a franchise that has averaged 97 losses and is well on its way to its fourth, 100-plus-loss season during David and Dan Glass' seven-year reign of terrible. With new Kauffman Stadium taxpayer-financed renovations on the way, the franchise will soon be valued at more than twice what Glass paid for it in 2000.

The story also notes that Glass was actually chairman of the Royals board when he bought the team, and essentially negotiated with himself to buy it for $96 million, $24 million less than the other bidder offered. Good luck, Dayton.

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.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by cmh6476

this isn't that bad of a lineup, fellas:

CF DeJesus
2B Grudzielanek
OF Teahen
DH Sweeney
OF Brown
3B Gordon
1B Shealy
SS Berroa
C Larue/ Buck

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.

[Coach]

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.

[acesn8s]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

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.

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

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by acesn8s

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.

[beavis]

Originally Posted by Cocina_Basement

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.

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.

[acesn8s]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

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.

Your optimistic.

About Sweeney, I mean.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by acesn8s

Your optimistic.

About Sweeney, I mean.

Sad when predicting less than half is optimistic.

[leviw]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

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.

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.

[SnakeXJones]

Originally Posted by leviw

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.