Graf back to Royals

[RockChalk]

Graffanino back the Royals. (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2387557) Decent ballplayer and pretty good guy to have around. I think this is good for the Royals, we should have a gritty team at the very least.

[Eleazar]

Not bad. He played well for Boston last year. More depth will never hurt.

[bkkcoh]

Graffanino back the Royals. (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2387557) Decent ballplayer and pretty good guy to have around. I think this is good for the Royals, we should have a gritty team at the very least.

And they didn't have to give up anything to get him, that is the best thing...

[Sully]

MMMmmm.
$2 mil for a bench guy. Great move.

[shakesthecat]

Whew!
I was starting to worry the Royals would break camp with only 2 utility IF's.

Hopefully this means McEwing is sent packing.

[RockChalk]

I think Boston has to pick up 500k of the 2 mil. I think he's a solid utility man and can provide some leadership to the youngters. He's better than McEwing, that's for sure

[CoMoChief]

Sweet. World Series here we come.

[Eleazar]

Hopefully this means McEwing is sent packing.

Being a crappy 35 year old, Mendoza hitting third baseman should make him an endangered species given the Teahen/Gordon situation.

[Bowser]

Can he play short? If Berrora pisses down his leg, can Graf move in there? Or will Grudz have to move over?

[shakesthecat]

Being a crappy 35 year old, Mendoza hitting third baseman should make him an endangered species given the Teahen/Gordon situation.

Ya know, if we were talking about any other team than KC, I'd say you were right.

And to be fair to Super Joe, he did hit .430+ this spring.
What's a guy gotta do to win a job for cryin' out loud?


I see KC also picked up a pitcher named Andrade from the Padres.
Never heard of the kid, but he was Nolan Ryan-esque this spring, striking out 15 in 8 innings.

My guess is Allard isn't done wheeling and dealing just yet.

[Eleazar]

And to be fair to Super Joe, he did hit .430+ this spring.
What's a guy gotta do to win a job for cryin' out loud?


His time is up. We're a team of young talent, and he isn't that talented. I would wish him well and let him go someplace where they could use him.

[Reaper16]

Ironically, Chip Ambres, who we got when we traded Graf in the 1st place, was designated for assignment to make room. We also picked up a Rule 5 pitcher from the Padres in Steve Andrade.

I really don't like the move so much, as he'll take all of the at-bats away from Esteban German. Hopefully, this ensures McEwing's departure.

[tk13]

We had German playing LF the other day. I was wondering if we were going to try that... if we could we'd have a lot of flexibility. Graffanino can play all four IF spots, and German can play the middle infield and the OF. They both hit from the right side... have Stairs and Guiel from the left side. I think. Hard telling.

[nychief]

I hope Ambres clears waivers.

[VonneMarie]

The Italian Stallion's back? Awesome!

No seriously, Graff is a great club house guy and a decent player. Good pick up for the Royals.

Now if they would just claim Carlos Pena. :drool:

[Coach]

The Italian Stallion's back? Awesome!

No seriously, Graff is a great club house guy and a decent player. Good pick up for the Royals.

Now if they would just claim Carlos Pena. :drool:

I'd definitely take a look at him, but I think he's probably useless anywhere but 1B/DH. He's only one season removed from an .810 OPS year. Not stellar, but not terrible either.

Erubiel Durazo was also released by the Rangers. Durazo isn't that bad of a player, but he's almost as frail as Affeldt and Sweeney put together. The most games he's ever played in a season is 154, but he only averages 89 games a season. As a bench player/DH he'd be pretty good, but he's a liability even at 1b.

[chief52]

The Red Sox tried to give Graffanino to the Dodgers for Hee Sop Choi. The Dodgers figured they were better off releasing Choi and not having to eat Graf's $2 million contract.

"The only player the Red Sox were willing to trade for Choi was believed to be Tony Graffanino. With Ramon Martinez, Robles and Willy Aybar fighting for utility jobs, the last thing the Dodgers needed was another one, especially one with a $2.05 million salary." Ken Gurneck, Dodger beat reporter.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060327&content_id=1364011&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Does seem like a good guy, though. Hope it works out with the Royals.

[gblowfish]

A good friend of mine in Chicago who's a major fantasy geek sent me this evaluation of the Royals, and the guys who write this have been pretty much spot on for the last few years. They predict the Royals to lose between 90 and 100, no problemo. Interesting to read about how crappy the team was in so many different and novel ways! Yikes.

http://tinyurl.com/rl9de

[beavis]

We had German playing LF the other day. I was wondering if we were going to try that... if we could we'd have a lot of flexibility. Graffanino can play all four IF spots, and German can play the middle infield and the OF. They both hit from the right side... have Stairs and Guiel from the left side. I think. Hard telling.
Does Graf play SS? I can't remember him there recently. I wouldn't think he'd have the range for it.

[beavis]

A good friend of mine in Chicago who's a major fantasy geek sent me this evaluation of the Royals, and the guys who write this have been pretty much spot on for the last few years. They predict the Royals to lose between 90 and 100, no problemo. Interesting to read about how crappy the team was in so many different and novel ways! Yikes.

http://tinyurl.com/rl9de
Too bad they are analyzing last years team. Didn't seem to bother taking into account the upgrades we've made defensively or the more experienced bats that will be in the lineup. I don't expect them to win the division or anything... but com on.

[Coach]

Too bad they are analyzing last years team. Didn't seem to bother taking into account the upgrades we've made defensively or the more experienced bats that will be in the lineup. I don't expect them to win the division or anything... but com on.

That's what I was thinking as well.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Holy crap, Pena's on waivers? That guy was THE prospect a few years ago. He could hit the cover off the ball. He's surely worth a spot on our somewhat crappy roster...

[tk13]

Well, we definitely have to earn respect at this point. I'm way higher on Teahen than the majority of people though. I don't know why. I think he can be a solid player. We'll see. And I think Berroa is about to have a solid year. None of that might matter if the starters don't hold up. That's probably my biggest worry. We've had such horrific luck with starting pitchers.

[beavis]

Well, we definitely have to earn respect at this point. I'm way higher on Teahen than the majority of people though. I don't know why. I think he can be a solid player. We'll see. And I think Berroa is about to have a solid year. None of that might matter if the starters don't hold up. That's probably my biggest worry. We've had such horrific luck with starting pitchers.
I like Teahan a lot too, but I'd really like to see what Gordon could do at third.

What makes you think that about Berroa? Is Bell going to get him to pull his head out of his ass?

[Coach]

Well, we definitely have to earn respect at this point. I'm way higher on Teahen than the majority of people though. I don't know why. I think he can be a solid player. We'll see. And I think Berroa is about to have a solid year. None of that might matter if the starters don't hold up. That's probably my biggest worry. We've had such horrific luck with starting pitchers.

That's pretty much it. The Royals starting pitchers just has to stay healthy. They're just like the Cubs of the AL. The talent is there, just there's always a mystifying injury always occuring.

I can see it now... The Kansas City Royals, your Towel Throwing Champions Since 2005!

Ironically, that site said that the Royals scored 13 more runs than the Twins did, yet the Twins were 3rd. Why's that? Becuase the Twins have a pitching staff, which the Royals didn't, last year that is.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Why don't you all ask "Graff" how his glove's feeling after shitting himself vs. the White Sox?

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I like Teahan a lot too, but I'd really like to see what Gordon could do at third.

What makes you think that about Berroa? Is Bell going to get him to pull his head out of his ass?

I'm fairly certain there are 3 people who have posted on this thread who could crush Teahan in home run derby. Combine that with his mediocre defense, and the fact that he essentially does nothing well, and you have a hell of a prospect.

[tk13]

I think Teahen can be a gold glove caliber third baseman. He was just a rookie last year, and now he'll have a great 1B over there digging out his throws. We'll see. I'm not opposed to Gordon playing third at all, but I want him to earn it. I think he's going to be a better hitter, maybe he could be a better fielder too, but I wouldn't just hand it to him because he was a #2 pick.

[tk13]

I like Teahan a lot too, but I'd really like to see what Gordon could do at third.

What makes you think that about Berroa? Is Bell going to get him to pull his head out of his ass?
Well, this is gonna sound bad, but I think his problem is just focus. If we could actually win some games, I think he'd be a lot better off. He was lights out in 2003 when we were rolling. If we have another 100 loss season, he probably won't look any better.

[Coach]

I think I am going to agree with tk13. I think Teahen can be a solid 3rd baseman, provided that he continue his good success that he had in Sept/Oct of 2005 of .352 OBP%, .505 SLG, .303 AVG, and a .857 OPS on a consistent basis, instead of just one month.

As for his defense, I think he'll get better at that as well. We'll see.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Any thoughts on Pena, tk?

[Demonpenz]

i like the move just in case gruz goes down. I know the guys on the radio didn't like it, but if it helps win games i am for it, because i always go to 10 or 20 a year. Everyone talks about how he will ride the pine but i bet someone gets hurt and it puts a sold at bat with a good glove out there.

[tk13]

Any thoughts on Pena, tk?
I... don't know. He was a highly thought of prospect. His bat isn't better than Sweeney's at DH, and his glove definitely isn't close to Mientkiewicz at first. Really if Minky reverts to how he hit a couple years ago, and he has ripped the cover off the ball this spring, Pena's numbers aren't really that much better, except for HR's. We just have so many 1B/DH types... I'm not sure there's room for him. I mean we have one truly elite hitter, and one truly elite fielder, and they both play 1st base. He might not get the AB's he'd need to succeed.

[Demonpenz]

we have more dirt dogs on this team that is for sure. Buck is going to step up this year

[VonneMarie]

Maybe we can Get Pena and convert him to another position? When he's on, he's on. Just look at the end of the 05 season.

[VonneMarie]

Why don't you all ask "Graff" how his glove's feeling after shitting himself vs. the White Sox?
AB R H RBI
T Graffanino 1b 4 2 2 5

I would say so. And he hit a GS in his second AB.

[shakesthecat]

we have more dirt dogs on this team that is for sure. Buck is going to step up this year

Buck?
He should thank Baird every day he's allowed to cash a big league paycheck. Bako should be starting and Phillips should be backup.

I doubt both Baird and Bell are blind to this (yeah, I know). If/when Buck struggles out of the gate, I would hope changes are made.

Buck isn't much better than having a pitcher bat at this point.

[Coach]

Buck?
He should thank Baird every day he's allowed to cash a big league paycheck. Bako should be starting and Phillips should be backup.

I doubt both Baird and Bell are blind to this (yeah, I know). If/when Buck struggles out of the gate, I would hope changes are made.

Buck isn't much better than having a pitcher bat at this point.

Career:

Bako: .313 OBP, .330 SLG, .239 AVG, .643 OPS.

Buck: .284 OBP, .402 SLG, .239 AVG, .686 OPS.

Buck beats Bako on SLG and OPS, while the AVG has been tied. The only thing Bako beats Buck is the OBP. However, Bako is going to be 34 this coming June, while Buck is going to be 26 this July.

Personally, the edge goes to Buck, based on his age factor and his stats beats out bako 2-1, since we'll just call the AVG a push.

[tk13]

Bako traditionally has been a pretty crappy hitter. He's hit the ball well this spring though, we'll see. Buck has been the most disappointing guy from the Beltran trade, although I think he's pretty good defensively. I'm interested in seeing if his pickoff percentage improves with veteran pitchers holding runners better. I honestly think he could be gold-glove caliber like Teahen could... they both show glimpses of talent, just gotta be consistent, especially at the plate.

[shakesthecat]

.

What are their stats this spring?

I realize it's spring training, but Buck can't even hit minor leaguers. Bako is every bit as good with the glove and has earned the job, IMO.

Phillips and Tupman are both better propects at this point. But since Buck was part of the Beltran deal, he'll get more chances than he deserves.

[tk13]

I think Buck is better defensively. I think we're really focusing on that... and that'll have a large part to do with it. I think that's part of the reason we're keeping Shane Costa over Aaron Guiel. I don't think Bell's gonna put up with the total crap defense we've seen the couple years.

[Coach]

What are their stats this spring?

I realize it's spring training, but Buck can't even hit minor leaguers. Bako is every bit as good with the glove and has earned the job, IMO.

Phillips and Tupman are both better propects at this point. But since Buck was part of the Beltran deal, he'll get more chances than he deserves.

Stats in the spring is pretty much irrevelent anyways. Spring training counts for so little, it is hard to measure.

Remember Nomar Garciaparra spring last year for the Cubs? He was hitting the cover off of the ball. What happened to him after spring? He stunk up the joint when the season started, before he was shelved becuase of a groin injury. That's one example.

[Ultra Peanut]

THE RAPES OF GRAFF

[Coach]

And for those who would be interested in the PECOTA AL Central projections on BP.

AL Central W L RS RA BatDelta PitDelta
Indians 88 74 825 757 +39 +16
Twins 84 78 757 727 -42 +62
Tigers 83 79 800 776 +18 -3
White Sox 82 80 785 772 -48 +52
Royals 61 101 695 901 -67 -110

[Pitt Gorilla]

Buck had a decent bat in the Astros minors, IIRC. It was his defense that needed improvement. Now, it seems as those have switched (I could be wrong on this).

However, I still loved the trade because we got a quality young catcher. After watching veteran retreads for years, I was downright giddy. Heck, I was thrilled when we got AJ Hinch in the Damon deal, even though he didn't work out.