Mike Sweeney: Ive been Misled! - Page 2

Deberg_1990 · 01-14-2005, 10:04 AM

Well folks it was inevitable. This guy now wants out of town as well. Its official now, The Kansas City Royals are the worst run team in baseball:

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/10642207.htm

By JEFF PASSAN

The Kansas City Star

First baseman Mike Sweeney, frustrated with the Royals' shallow plunge into the off-season free-agent market, said Thursday he felt “misled” by the team's plan to build a contender around him and would not rule out trade possibilities.

Minutes before he signed a club-record five-year, $55 million contract extension March 29, 2002, Sweeney and Royals owner David Glass spoke about the team's future. Sweeney said Glass told him he planned to increase the team's payroll incrementally until it ended up in the $60 million range.

After spending $44.7 million on last season's 104-loss team, the Royals' 2005 payroll currently projects to between $41 million and $42 million.

“It looks like the plan isn't what I thought it would be,” Sweeney said. “It is a bit frustrating. I'm not the owner. And I'm not the GM. But I am a player who wants to win. It's frustrating when you're told they're going to build the team around you. I was willing to do that. I said, ‘Just show me that it'll be worth it for me.' Not financially, but just show me you're going to build a team, a winning team, around me.

“I don't feel like Mr. Glass lied to me. He's a fine man. I just feel like I've been misled a little bit.”

Glass, the Royals' owner since 2000, said he does not recall telling Sweeney about a substantial payroll increase. Nor, Glass said, does one guarantee success.

“I think Mike's just misled or doesn't understand,” he said. “I don't think the size of the payroll determines how good your team is. There were a lot of teams with a smaller payroll that won a lot more games that we did. The quality of the players matters most.

“We're putting a team together with a lot of young talent. I hope Michael wants to be a part of that.”

When general manager Allard Baird shopped around his veterans last season, Sweeney's name surfaced in trade talks. Sweeney, 31, said in mid-June he wanted to stay with the Royals.

A limited no-trade clause, along with worries about his back that caused him to miss time the last three seasons, thwarted any movement. If Sweeney were traded, the cost of his contract's final three years would jump from $33 million to $37.5 million.

Last season, the Royals traded outfielder Carlos Beltran. This off-season, they lost third baseman Joe Randa via free agency to Cincinnati. Sweeney remains the only position player from the 2000 Royals team that scored 879 runs.

And Sweeney's position on staying with the Royals, likewise, has softened.

“I'm definitely not throwing up the white flag and saying get me out of here,” he said. “But I am saying I'm frustrated. If Allard Baird came up to me and said, ‘Mike, this team who's a winner every year wants you to play first base,' I'd have to pray about it, speak to my wife, speak to my family and then make a decision.

“Would I slam the door on it? No way. I'm not 25. I'm 31 years old. Only God knows how many years I have left to play. I want a chance to play in October.”

Sweeney enters his 11th big-league season wanting to prove, above all, he can stay healthy.

Originally a catcher, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Sweeney moved to first base in 1999 and immediately became one of the American League's best hitters. His last full season came in 2001, a year after he hit .333 with 29 home runs and drove in 144 runs.

Back problems flared during 2002 and continued into last season, when Sweeney hit .287 with 22 home runs and 79 RBIs in 106 games.

With the expectations of an American League Central Division title already squashed, Sweeney missed last season's final 42 games because of a herniated disk. He has missed 146 games over the last three seasons, most because of back troubles.

“No one played better last year, including Michael,” Glass said. “He had a lousy year.”

Two weeks of fly-fishing trips with family and friends constituted Sweeney's off-season. After that, he outlined a rehabilitation plan with Robert Watkins, a back specialist in Los Angeles, and returned to Kansas City primed to work.

On Thursday, for example, Sweeney woke up at 6:30 a.m., lifted weights with his trainer for almost three hours and spent three more hours hitting, running, throwing and fielding ground balls. He followed with another hour and a half of back exercises and said he has felt pain-free in his two weeks of baseball-intensive workouts.

“For our success this season, we're a different ballclub when Mike's in the middle of the lineup,” said Baird, who would not address the possibility of trading Sweeney. “Completely different. But the overall success is going to come from the young kids stepping up to the next level. No doubt, when Mike Sweeney is not in our lineup we're a completely different team.”

With the Royals choosing to rebuild through their minor-league system instead of making free-agent splashes, they will trot out a lineup next year that includes youngsters John Buck, David DeJesus, Angel Berroa and, sooner than later, rookie Mark Teahen.

To bolster their weakness at the corner outfield spots, the Royals traded for veterans Terrence Long and Eli Marrero. Their big free-agent signing was No. 2 or 3 starter Jose Lima, and the Royals also brought in third baseman Chris Truby as a stopgap for Teahen.

“I would have liked to see them be a little more aggressive,” Sweeney said. “I didn't think our team payroll would be around what it is. When I signed my contract, I was under the impression it would start around 55 or 60 (million dollars). ... We had a great showing in 2003. I was really excited after that season. I saw what moves we made in 2004. It seemed like we were really making a push to capture the division.

“Everyone in baseball knows the Central Division is the weakest. But you have to go out there and try, make some good off-season acquisitions. Build around your veterans and hopefully supplement them with guys from the minor leagues and free agents. I'm looking at the team for '05 and it's not what I hoped it would be as far as stacking the team to win a division in 2005.

“I don't want to come off like I'm sitting back and crying because we don't have a team like the Yankees. The whole reason I'm frustrated is because when I signed my contract I was promised something else.”

Said Glass: “We don't gauge how we're doing based on how many dollars we've committed.”

Which is why, Sweeney said, he will soldier on. He wants to embody the captain's C on his chest by advising the younger players. He wants to return to his pre-injury standing.

“He wants to win, too,” Glass said. “The fact that he's frustrated is probably a good sign. If he just wanted to earn his salary and come and play and go home and not worry about it, he wouldn't be Mike Sweeney. But he also can help in that regard by being a good leader and setting a great example for the kids.

“We're all in this together.”

In the meantime, Sweeney will continue working out, remedying his back and spending time with his wife, Shara, who is expecting in August a sibling for their first child, Michael.

And, he said, he'll leave it up to Glass, Baird and the rest of the organization to assemble the winner he felt promised.

“I've never felt bad for myself and never been angry at God because I'm playing a game I love,” Sweeney said. “There are so many things that are horrible. There are people in Asia with the tsunami. There are people in Kansas City without a home. It's trivial whether the payroll is going to be $40 million or $60 million.

“I guess I'm just a man of principle. When you tell somebody something, you try to fulfill it.”

|Zach| · 01-14-2005, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

I thought you were 'done with this team' anyway like you have said a million times before?

Don't hold him up to things he says...

Deberg_1990 · 01-14-2005, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

Don't hold him up to things he says...

I never said i was buying season tickets or anything......

teedubya · 01-14-2005, 11:50 AM

Funny thing is... the Royals should have given Beltran his contract.

|Zach| · 01-14-2005, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I never said i was buying season tickets or anything......

Nah, I don't know I guess I just find it funny everything is off the deep end with you...this guy is a TOTAL idiot...this team is the WORST run team in baseball...I am NEVER watching this team again. You bounce stuff around like this for a variety of things all the time.

You are the king of knee jerk reactions when it comes to sports information.

Deberg_1990 · 01-14-2005, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

Nah, I don't know I guess I just find it funny everything is off the deep end with you...this guy is a TOTAL idiot...this team is the WORST run team in baseball...I am NEVER watching this team again. You bounce stuff around like this for a variety of things all the time.

You are the king of knee jerk reactions when it comes to sports information.

OK ill admit i get a little emotional and say things that i dont really mean later on. But im sure we are all guilty of that.

|Zach| · 01-14-2005, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

OK ill admit i get a little emotional and say things that i dont really mean later on. But im sure we are all guilty of that.

Yes but on such a consistant basis? Its all good though....its just your schtick. No big deal even if I disagree with it.

**ChiTown** · 01-14-2005, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali Chi3fs

Funny thing is... the Royals should have given Beltran his contract.

Are you serious? Boras was never going to let Beltran stay in KC. That was just never gonna happen, no matter how hard you want to believe it.

**RNR** · 01-14-2005, 12:24 PM

Untill they move or get new ownership this team will be nothing more than a triple-A team for the rest of the teams to pull talent out of.

Miles · 01-14-2005, 12:29 PM

I can see how he is annoyed by the teams spending since he was a big time free agent when he resigned with KC. Though with his play and injuries hasnt exacly lived up to his end of the contract either.

Wonder if he understands that his contract makes him close to untradable. If he has a decent first half of the season KC may be able to dump him at the trade deadline for some OK prospects if they eat some salary. KC may even get lucky and the Yankees or one of the other big spenders may need a 1B.

They may be able to dump him now if they eat even more of it or get crap prospects in return.

**gblowfish** · 01-14-2005, 12:31 PM

Can't blame the guy. He looks at guys like Beltran who get paid out the ying yang; and guys like Randa, where the Royals ate up his best years then tossed him like a used kleenex. Who'd want to go thru another season like last year? It's going to be a looooong year.
Last year's review as here on my website, as I follow the Royals each year:
http://www.georgeblowfish.com/Royals2004-1.html

**Iowanian** · 01-14-2005, 12:33 PM

Maybe the Royals would win a few more games if their $55 million First baseman could actually stay healthy 2 weeks in a row, and if high dollar Mercenary outfielders would actually play a game.

Eleazar · 01-14-2005, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali Chi3fs

Funny thing is... the Royals should have given Beltran his contract.

Check it out, these people still exist

Demonpenz · 01-14-2005, 01:23 PM

The royals need some redass hardnose players. Last year I had the chance to listen to about 100 of their games on the radio and the one thing that stood out game in and game out is they didn't have the nuts to play the game right. From not taking out the second baseman on a double play, to not trying to take the extra base, or just getting tagged out at the plate instead of making an attempt to knock the ball loose. thats what pisses me off the most. Man I hated mike tucker when he was here, but I can tell you he would be in someone's face if someone didn't run out a ground ball.

beavis · 01-14-2005, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Man I hated mike tucker when he was here, but I can tell you he would be in someone's face if someone didn't run out a ground ball.

Actually, he was the guy in right field smoking a cigarette and scratching his balls between plays.

But for the most part you're right. They need to quit praying and kick some ass.

tk13 · 01-14-2005, 01:56 PM

I didn't even wanna post this article because I saw this thread coming. I've been a huge Mike Sweeney fan over the years, but for the first time in 15 years we might have a GM who's doing this thing right, if you don't want to be a part of it.... there's the door. It's amazing how quickly everyone forgets that just last year that the organization that doesn't want to win went out and signed big names like Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago and it crashed and burned. I guess I can't blame fans for thinking that, our own freaking team captain doesn't even remember it apparently...

01-14-2005, 10:04 AM
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	Mike Sweeney: Ive been Misled! Well folks it was inevitable. This guy now wants out of town as well. Its official now, The Kansas City Royals are the worst run team in baseball: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/10642207.htm By JEFF PASSAN The Kansas City Star First baseman Mike Sweeney, frustrated with the Royals' shallow plunge into the off-season free-agent market, said Thursday he felt “misled” by the team's plan to build a contender around him and would not rule out trade possibilities. Minutes before he signed a club-record five-year, $55 million contract extension March 29, 2002, Sweeney and Royals owner David Glass spoke about the team's future. Sweeney said Glass told him he planned to increase the team's payroll incrementally until it ended up in the $60 million range. After spending $44.7 million on last season's 104-loss team, the Royals' 2005 payroll currently projects to between $41 million and $42 million. “It looks like the plan isn't what I thought it would be,” Sweeney said. “It is a bit frustrating. I'm not the owner. And I'm not the GM. But I am a player who wants to win. It's frustrating when you're told they're going to build the team around you. I was willing to do that. I said, ‘Just show me that it'll be worth it for me.' Not financially, but just show me you're going to build a team, a winning team, around me. “I don't feel like Mr. Glass lied to me. He's a fine man. I just feel like I've been misled a little bit.” Glass, the Royals' owner since 2000, said he does not recall telling Sweeney about a substantial payroll increase. Nor, Glass said, does one guarantee success. “I think Mike's just misled or doesn't understand,” he said. “I don't think the size of the payroll determines how good your team is. There were a lot of teams with a smaller payroll that won a lot more games that we did. The quality of the players matters most. “We're putting a team together with a lot of young talent. I hope Michael wants to be a part of that.” When general manager Allard Baird shopped around his veterans last season, Sweeney's name surfaced in trade talks. Sweeney, 31, said in mid-June he wanted to stay with the Royals. A limited no-trade clause, along with worries about his back that caused him to miss time the last three seasons, thwarted any movement. If Sweeney were traded, the cost of his contract's final three years would jump from $33 million to $37.5 million. Last season, the Royals traded outfielder Carlos Beltran. This off-season, they lost third baseman Joe Randa via free agency to Cincinnati. Sweeney remains the only position player from the 2000 Royals team that scored 879 runs. And Sweeney's position on staying with the Royals, likewise, has softened. “I'm definitely not throwing up the white flag and saying get me out of here,” he said. “But I am saying I'm frustrated. If Allard Baird came up to me and said, ‘Mike, this team who's a winner every year wants you to play first base,' I'd have to pray about it, speak to my wife, speak to my family and then make a decision. “Would I slam the door on it? No way. I'm not 25. I'm 31 years old. Only God knows how many years I have left to play. I want a chance to play in October.” Sweeney enters his 11th big-league season wanting to prove, above all, he can stay healthy. Originally a catcher, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Sweeney moved to first base in 1999 and immediately became one of the American League's best hitters. His last full season came in 2001, a year after he hit .333 with 29 home runs and drove in 144 runs. Back problems flared during 2002 and continued into last season, when Sweeney hit .287 with 22 home runs and 79 RBIs in 106 games. With the expectations of an American League Central Division title already squashed, Sweeney missed last season's final 42 games because of a herniated disk. He has missed 146 games over the last three seasons, most because of back troubles. “No one played better last year, including Michael,” Glass said. “He had a lousy year.” Two weeks of fly-fishing trips with family and friends constituted Sweeney's off-season. After that, he outlined a rehabilitation plan with Robert Watkins, a back specialist in Los Angeles, and returned to Kansas City primed to work. On Thursday, for example, Sweeney woke up at 6:30 a.m., lifted weights with his trainer for almost three hours and spent three more hours hitting, running, throwing and fielding ground balls. He followed with another hour and a half of back exercises and said he has felt pain-free in his two weeks of baseball-intensive workouts. “For our success this season, we're a different ballclub when Mike's in the middle of the lineup,” said Baird, who would not address the possibility of trading Sweeney. “Completely different. But the overall success is going to come from the young kids stepping up to the next level. No doubt, when Mike Sweeney is not in our lineup we're a completely different team.” With the Royals choosing to rebuild through their minor-league system instead of making free-agent splashes, they will trot out a lineup next year that includes youngsters John Buck, David DeJesus, Angel Berroa and, sooner than later, rookie Mark Teahen. To bolster their weakness at the corner outfield spots, the Royals traded for veterans Terrence Long and Eli Marrero. Their big free-agent signing was No. 2 or 3 starter Jose Lima, and the Royals also brought in third baseman Chris Truby as a stopgap for Teahen. “I would have liked to see them be a little more aggressive,” Sweeney said. “I didn't think our team payroll would be around what it is. When I signed my contract, I was under the impression it would start around 55 or 60 (million dollars). ... We had a great showing in 2003. I was really excited after that season. I saw what moves we made in 2004. It seemed like we were really making a push to capture the division. “Everyone in baseball knows the Central Division is the weakest. But you have to go out there and try, make some good off-season acquisitions. Build around your veterans and hopefully supplement them with guys from the minor leagues and free agents. I'm looking at the team for '05 and it's not what I hoped it would be as far as stacking the team to win a division in 2005. “I don't want to come off like I'm sitting back and crying because we don't have a team like the Yankees. The whole reason I'm frustrated is because when I signed my contract I was promised something else.” Said Glass: “We don't gauge how we're doing based on how many dollars we've committed.” Which is why, Sweeney said, he will soldier on. He wants to embody the captain's C on his chest by advising the younger players. He wants to return to his pre-injury standing. “He wants to win, too,” Glass said. “The fact that he's frustrated is probably a good sign. If he just wanted to earn his salary and come and play and go home and not worry about it, he wouldn't be Mike Sweeney. But he also can help in that regard by being a good leader and setting a great example for the kids. “We're all in this together.” In the meantime, Sweeney will continue working out, remedying his back and spending time with his wife, Shara, who is expecting in August a sibling for their first child, Michael. And, he said, he'll leave it up to Glass, Baird and the rest of the organization to assemble the winner he felt promised. “I've never felt bad for myself and never been angry at God because I'm playing a game I love,” Sweeney said. “There are so many things that are horrible. There are people in Asia with the tsunami. There are people in Kansas City without a home. It's trivial whether the payroll is going to be $40 million or $60 million. “I guess I'm just a man of principle. When you tell somebody something, you try to fulfill it.”
Posts: 66,914

01-14-2005, 11:50 AM	#18
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9490002	Funny thing is... the Royals should have given Beltran his contract.
Posts: 36,650

01-14-2005, 12:24 PM	#23
RNR America is great assholes~ Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: In some people's mind~ Casino cash: $10027990	Untill they move or get new ownership this team will be nothing more than a triple-A team for the rest of the teams to pull talent out of. __________________ The Trump campaign and Black Lives Matter movement are perfect for each other. Both sides filled with easily led and angry nitwits convinced they are victims~
Posts: 31,085

01-14-2005, 12:29 PM	#24
Miles MVP Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Casino cash: $1682400	I can see how he is annoyed by the teams spending since he was a big time free agent when he resigned with KC. Though with his play and injuries hasnt exacly lived up to his end of the contract either. Wonder if he understands that his contract makes him close to untradable. If he has a decent first half of the season KC may be able to dump him at the trade deadline for some OK prospects if they eat some salary. KC may even get lucky and the Yankees or one of the other big spenders may need a 1B. They may be able to dump him now if they eat even more of it or get crap prospects in return.
Posts: 14,521

01-14-2005, 12:31 PM	#25
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	Can't blame the guy. He looks at guys like Beltran who get paid out the ying yang; and guys like Randa, where the Royals ate up his best years then tossed him like a used kleenex. Who'd want to go thru another season like last year? It's going to be a looooong year. Last year's review as here on my website, as I follow the Royals each year: http://www.georgeblowfish.com/Royals2004-1.html
Posts: 40,830

01-14-2005, 12:33 PM	#26
Iowanian Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utopia Casino cash: $4778454	Maybe the Royals would win a few more games if their $55 million First baseman could actually stay healthy 2 weeks in a row, and if high dollar Mercenary outfielders would actually play a game.
Posts: 61,525

01-14-2005, 01:23 PM	#28
Demonpenz I got Rice cookin in the micro Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $3142136	The royals need some redass hardnose players. Last year I had the chance to listen to about 100 of their games on the radio and the one thing that stood out game in and game out is they didn't have the nuts to play the game right. From not taking out the second baseman on a double play, to not trying to take the extra base, or just getting tagged out at the plate instead of making an attempt to knock the ball loose. thats what pisses me off the most. Man I hated mike tucker when he was here, but I can tell you he would be in someone's face if someone didn't run out a ground ball. __________________
Posts: 54,271

01-14-2005, 01:56 PM	#30
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $2002500	I didn't even wanna post this article because I saw this thread coming. I've been a huge Mike Sweeney fan over the years, but for the first time in 15 years we might have a GM who's doing this thing right, if you don't want to be a part of it.... there's the door. It's amazing how quickly everyone forgets that just last year that the organization that doesn't want to win went out and signed big names like Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago and it crashed and burned. I guess I can't blame fans for thinking that, our own freaking team captain doesn't even remember it apparently...
Posts: 54,929