Deberg_1990
06-04-2009, 08:31 AM
http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/337
Well, the Royals sure stink right now. The season's remaining drama now includes dreaming of .500, Zack Greinke's Cy Young candidacy, and what Jose Guillen's rant will sound like.
Today is June 4*, which is entirely too early in the season for this post, but the Royals just got two-hit by Jeff Niemann a day after scoring two runs in a start against Andy Sonnanstine, who entered with a 7.66 ERA.
* Happy birthday 24th birthday to Bar Rafaeli!
It's not just that the Royals have now lost six in a row (it's up to Gil Meche today to make good on Greinke's prediction that the Royals wouldn't lose more than six in a row this year). It's the ineptitude.
They are not getting unlucky here. They haven't scored more than four runs in any of the losses, and haven't given up fewer than five. Things are getting very 2004 around here.
Cue up the tape of Buddy Bell saying, "things can always get worse."
But we're looking ahead today, which may sound positive on the surface, except that you may not like what you're about to read:
If the Royals are to significantly improve this offseason, it will require GM Dayton Moore to hoodwink somebody in a trade and/or another big jump in payroll.
There just isn't a lot of money coming off the books, and isn't a lot of places where the team can improve internally.
Assuming the Royals pick up Coco Crisp's $8 million option for next year, they owe $56.4 million to eight players: Crisp, Guillen, Meche, Greinke, David DeJesus, Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, Joakim Soria and Willie Bloomquist.
That group will receive a collective $10 million raise over this year.
The free agents: Miguel Olivo, Horacio Ramirez, John Bale, Jamey Wright, Doug Waechter, and Sidney Ponson.
That's $9.7 million coming off the books if nobody from this group is brought back.
That's a virtual wash in payroll, except that it doesn't include 10 players in arbitration, including some who will get hefty raises: Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mark Teahen, Mike Jacobs, John Buck, Luke Hochevar, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Robinson Tejeda, Mike Aviles and Alberto Callaspo.
This is on David Glass. He OK'd a 20 percent or so payroll increase to a franchise record $70 million this year. That's great, but not enough.
Kansas City's payroll is still in the bottom third*, and the almost-entirely-funded-by-the-public stadium is going to generate many more millions for the Royals than last year.
* They're 21st according to USA Today's handy little tool.
And we haven't even mentioned the check the Royals will receive through revenue sharing.
The Royals are not as bad as they're playing right now, just like they're not as good as their 18-11 beginning.
I thought they were a 78 or 79 win team in the preseason, and that still feels about right, though some injuries and underperformances* could make that an optimistic number.
* I'm looking at you, Davies and Aviles.
Step away from the emotion of the current skid, and you'll see that the Royals have a team good enough to be around .500.
That's a big jump up from where they've been, but still a big jump away from where they want to go -- from where the fans deserve to see them go.
The problem is that outside of the breakthroughs we keep waiting to see from Gordon and Butler, there just aren't a lot of places where you can feel like the Royals will improve internally.
If it happens, the days of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer giving the Royals big-time offensive production under club-friendly contract terms are at least two years away.
The old Royals would be content to hope that happens, and tread water until they find out. There are reasons to believe that these are not the old Royals. This offseason will give us a giant clue as to whether that's right.
It's always easy to spend other people's money, but with the organization's best prospects still below Class AA, Glass would do good by the fans to allow the Royals to work with an even bigger payroll next year.
Well, the Royals sure stink right now. The season's remaining drama now includes dreaming of .500, Zack Greinke's Cy Young candidacy, and what Jose Guillen's rant will sound like.
Today is June 4*, which is entirely too early in the season for this post, but the Royals just got two-hit by Jeff Niemann a day after scoring two runs in a start against Andy Sonnanstine, who entered with a 7.66 ERA.
* Happy birthday 24th birthday to Bar Rafaeli!
It's not just that the Royals have now lost six in a row (it's up to Gil Meche today to make good on Greinke's prediction that the Royals wouldn't lose more than six in a row this year). It's the ineptitude.
They are not getting unlucky here. They haven't scored more than four runs in any of the losses, and haven't given up fewer than five. Things are getting very 2004 around here.
Cue up the tape of Buddy Bell saying, "things can always get worse."
But we're looking ahead today, which may sound positive on the surface, except that you may not like what you're about to read:
If the Royals are to significantly improve this offseason, it will require GM Dayton Moore to hoodwink somebody in a trade and/or another big jump in payroll.
There just isn't a lot of money coming off the books, and isn't a lot of places where the team can improve internally.
Assuming the Royals pick up Coco Crisp's $8 million option for next year, they owe $56.4 million to eight players: Crisp, Guillen, Meche, Greinke, David DeJesus, Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, Joakim Soria and Willie Bloomquist.
That group will receive a collective $10 million raise over this year.
The free agents: Miguel Olivo, Horacio Ramirez, John Bale, Jamey Wright, Doug Waechter, and Sidney Ponson.
That's $9.7 million coming off the books if nobody from this group is brought back.
That's a virtual wash in payroll, except that it doesn't include 10 players in arbitration, including some who will get hefty raises: Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mark Teahen, Mike Jacobs, John Buck, Luke Hochevar, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Robinson Tejeda, Mike Aviles and Alberto Callaspo.
This is on David Glass. He OK'd a 20 percent or so payroll increase to a franchise record $70 million this year. That's great, but not enough.
Kansas City's payroll is still in the bottom third*, and the almost-entirely-funded-by-the-public stadium is going to generate many more millions for the Royals than last year.
* They're 21st according to USA Today's handy little tool.
And we haven't even mentioned the check the Royals will receive through revenue sharing.
The Royals are not as bad as they're playing right now, just like they're not as good as their 18-11 beginning.
I thought they were a 78 or 79 win team in the preseason, and that still feels about right, though some injuries and underperformances* could make that an optimistic number.
* I'm looking at you, Davies and Aviles.
Step away from the emotion of the current skid, and you'll see that the Royals have a team good enough to be around .500.
That's a big jump up from where they've been, but still a big jump away from where they want to go -- from where the fans deserve to see them go.
The problem is that outside of the breakthroughs we keep waiting to see from Gordon and Butler, there just aren't a lot of places where you can feel like the Royals will improve internally.
If it happens, the days of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer giving the Royals big-time offensive production under club-friendly contract terms are at least two years away.
The old Royals would be content to hope that happens, and tread water until they find out. There are reasons to believe that these are not the old Royals. This offseason will give us a giant clue as to whether that's right.
It's always easy to spend other people's money, but with the organization's best prospects still below Class AA, Glass would do good by the fans to allow the Royals to work with an even bigger payroll next year.