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?

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by -King-

Over/under on games until Yost is fired: 10

He won't get fired at least until the AS break. Dayton Moore is not logical.

[Deberg_1990]

Someone needs to start a thread:


Guess when the Royals win again


@Rangers this weekend....Twins and Astros and at the K next week.


http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/sch...lendar=DEFAULT

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Hypothetical:

Glass fires Moore and hires you as the GM. You will have access to all of the resources that Moore had, but no more. Your payroll will be capped somewhere in the $90MM range unless you can begin drawing 2.5 million+ fans/year.

How would you retool the Royals? What do you do with guys like Moustakas and Hosmer? How do you try and develop the players you have in A ball? What kind of trades might you make in order to restock the farm system?

Step 1: Fire everybody. Starting with Ned Yost. Jack Maloof has been a failure as a hitting coach and considering the struggles of Hosmer and Moustakas and Maloof's previous role as minor league hitting coordinator, you have to wonder how much that moron f***ed up.

Step 2: Hire new staff. Understanding of advanced stats and a blended approach required.

Step 3: Give the new staff some time with Hosmer and Moustakas before giving up on them. Talent is still present there. It's possible they can be fixed. Moustakas sent to Omaha to work things out.

Step 4: Give younger minor league guys time. The Royals have a lot of talented prospects at the A+ and lower levels. It's a matter of developing that correctly. Starling, Bonifacio, Cuthbert, Mondesi, Zimmer, Almonte, Baez, Selman, Smith are key guys.

Step 5: Explore a deadline trade for Ervin Santana. Acceptance based on ability to find return that would exceed his compensation on a qualifying offer. Any pitcher in the bullpen also available.

Step 6: DFA the dead weight. Francoeur and Getz out. Instantly. Move Hochevar into rotation in place of Wade Davis, in prep for letting him walk at the end of the year (or potentially salvaging a smidge of trade value this season)

Step 7: call up two of Giavotella, Seratelli and Colon and play everyday at 2B/3B.

I'd hang on to Shields, Gordon, Butler, Perez and Escobar. That's a decent core to build around for a short-term turnaround. I would explore a 2-3 year extension for Shields, if he's amenable.

Long-term, draft approach focuses on highest-upside talent. If in position to take polished college starters, those are a high priority. High power bats are next priority. Basically, draft the best guys you can and develop them the best you can. Be less rigid in developing guys (for instance, if a guy is a slider pitcher - like John Lamb - let him throw the slider rather than forcing the curveball on him).

In 2014, a lot of money comes off the books... $12 million for Santana, $6.5 million for Francoeur, $4.5 million each for Hochevar and Chen, $1 million for Getz, $1 million for Tejada. Take this savings of nearly $30 million and use it to purchase at least one bat (Mike Morse? Kelly Johnson? etc) and a solid SP (AJ Burnett? Scott Feldman?)

Short-term success is still built on at least one of Hosmer/Moustakas figuring it out, but there are enough pieces there that I take a stab at it in 2014.

Rotation:

Shields
Scott Feldman (just for kicks)
Jeremy Guthrie
Danny Duffy
Luis Mendoza/Wade Davis/Yordano Ventura

Only other thing I can think of is being open to trades, especially if a young, controlled player can be obtained in return.

[Coach]

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Step 1: Fire everybody. Starting with Ned Yost. Jack Maloof has been a failure as a hitting coach and considering the struggles of Hosmer and Moustakas and Maloof's previous role as minor league hitting coordinator, you have to wonder how much that moron f***ed up.

Step 2: Hire new staff. Understanding of advanced stats and a blended approach required.

Step 3: Give the new staff some time with Hosmer and Moustakas before giving up on them. Talent is still present there. It's possible they can be fixed. Moustakas sent to Omaha to work things out.

Step 4: Give younger minor league guys time. The Royals have a lot of talented prospects at the A+ and lower levels. It's a matter of developing that correctly. Starling, Bonifacio, Cuthbert, Mondesi, Zimmer, Almonte, Baez, Selman, Smith are key guys.

Step 5: Explore a deadline trade for Ervin Santana. Acceptance based on ability to find return that would exceed his compensation on a qualifying offer. Any pitcher in the bullpen also available.

Step 6: DFA the dead weight. Francoeur and Getz out. Instantly. Move Hochevar into rotation in place of Wade Davis, in prep for letting him walk at the end of the year (or potentially salvaging a smidge of trade value this season)

Step 7: call up two of Giavotella, Seratelli and Colon and play everyday at 2B/3B.

I'd hang on to Shields, Gordon, Butler, Perez and Escobar. That's a decent core to build around for a short-term turnaround. I would explore a 2-3 year extension for Shields, if he's amenable.

Long-term, draft approach focuses on highest-upside talent. If in position to take polished college starters, those are a high priority. High power bats are next priority. Basically, draft the best guys you can and develop them the best you can. Be less rigid in developing guys (for instance, if a guy is a slider pitcher - like John Lamb - let him throw the slider rather than forcing the curveball on him).

In 2014, a lot of money comes off the books... $12 million for Santana, $6.5 million for Francoeur, $4.5 million each for Hochevar and Chen, $1 million for Getz, $1 million for Tejada. Take this savings of nearly $30 million and use it to purchase at least one bat (Mike Morse? Kelly Johnson? etc) and a solid SP (AJ Burnett? Scott Feldman?)

Short-term success is still built on at least one of Hosmer/Moustakas figuring it out, but there are enough pieces there that I take a stab at it in 2014.

Rotation:

Shields
Scott Feldman (just for kicks)
Jeremy Guthrie
Danny Duffy
Luis Mendoza/Wade Davis/Yordano Ventura

Only other thing I can think of is being open to trades, especially if a young, controlled player can be obtained in return.

Would you do a trade for Andre Ethier if the price was right? He is moody player, big long term salary and isn't having the best year but he is what we need in right field and to bat in front of Butler IMO.

[RedDread]

Is Marty really going to lead the charge again?

we'll be firing up posts @ facebook.com/pages/Save-Our… Go like it & tell your friends to like the page. We'll do a Fan Rant of the Day soon.

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

Go check out our sister site:facebook.com/pages/Save-Our… and like the... fb.me/1c71eNLK0

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

For you Twitter Hounds, you can follow @saveourkcroyalson Twitter for updates.We've had that site in mothball... fb.me/2JrmwiEAJ

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by RedDread

Is Marty really going to lead the charge again?

we'll be firing up posts @ facebook.com/pages/Save-Our… Go like it & tell your friends to like the page. We'll do a Fan Rant of the Day soon.

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

Go check out our sister site:facebook.com/pages/Save-Our… and like the... fb.me/1c71eNLK0

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

For you Twitter Hounds, you can follow @saveourkcroyalson Twitter for updates.We've had that site in mothball... fb.me/2JrmwiEAJ

— Marty McDonald (@SaveOurChiefs) May 30, 2013

I think it's more of just drumming up interest. See what the feel is from fans right now.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by SPchief

I think it's more of just drumming up interest. See what the feel is from fans right now.

I liked it at 300, its over 600 in less than a hour.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Would you do a trade for Andre Ethier if the price was right? He is moody player, big long term salary and isn't having the best year but he is what we need in right field and to bat in front of Butler IMO.

Sure, if the price was right. That would include either the Dodgers sending a lot of cash this way (that contract is BAD - paying him $86 million over the next five seasons) or the price in prospects being pretty low. Or somewhere in between.

For the money you're committing to Ethier - more than $16 million a year - you can probably sign TWO hitters who help you in FA, or one pitcher and one hitter.

For example, Kelly Johnson. You can probably get him on a 2- or 3-year deal for around $18-20 million.

With the money left over, you could pursue another bat - Jason Kubel, Mike Morse, Corey Hart. There also would be some decent mid-tier rotation guys available in that pay range.

Or, shit, you could offer it all to Shin Soo Choo. (Even though I hate that guy).

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I would avoid Morse like the plague. He might be the worst defensive outfielder in all of baseball, and guys with his hitting profile get absolutely carved up in the postseason.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by DJJasonp

this is the softest team ever. I want to quit them....I want to be a fan of another franchise.....but I just cant bring myself to do it.

i guess I'm a masochist

I'm as close as I've ever been to giving up. The thing that hurts is that the Royals seemed to do things the right way this time around, and it's still resulting in epic failure. Sure, you can criticize and deal here or there, but they developed (what was thought to be) high upside talent through the draft, supplemented with some proven pitching, retained high quality arms in the pen and used patience when dealing with the young guys. To see them implode like this is just so disheartening.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I would avoid Morse like the plague. He might be the worst defensive outfielder in all of baseball, and guys with his hitting profile get absolutely carved up in the postseason.

Just throwing guys out there that popped off the FA list.

I know Morse's defense is bad, but a Gordon-Butler-Morse middle of the lineup would be a lot more effective than current options. Having a guy with legit 30-HR power hitting behind Butler would certainly protect him much better than he's used to, even if it hurts quite a bit defensively.

Hart is intriguing, though the injury problem is an issue. He also would offer some insurance at 1B if Hosmer continues to struggle/bust. That would be a short-term type thing.

Kubel is also a guy I've long liked.

Choo is a wet dream, but would be an awesome and perfect addition. His plate discipline and all-around skills would play great for the Royals. Not sure what he's going to command in FA, but if I'm trying to compete next year, that might be a good way to spend the money coming off the books.

Of course, you'd need Duffy to come back strong from his TJ and look like he's ready to step into the rotation, along with either Ventura or Paulino ready to step into the rotation, too, to be confident in allocating all the freed-up cash to a hitter rather than splitting it between a mid-rotation starter and a hitter.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Choo is a quietly crappy outfielder who should be nowhere near center, but one of the best leadoff men in baseball. I'd bet he gets 13-16 million/year.

[KC_Connection]

Ethier is an expensive platoon player (.906 OPS vs. RHP career, .651 OPS vs. LHP career). He's not worth what it would cost to pay him (or likely what it would cost to trade for him as well).

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Supposedly the Dodgers are now spinning the tires on Chase Utley. Clown shoes.