That'll never work, it makes too much sense.

@Ken_Rosenthal: Dexter Fowler has re-signed with the #Cubs, per @MDGonzales. One year deal with mutual option.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">there was no fowler agreement with orioles, both sides say now. unusual to take $13M over $33M but nothing wrong with it.</p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/702919765493420034">February 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">cant blame fowler for following heart. unfortunately, he would have been better off taking the $15M qualifying offer</p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/702919483707543552">February 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Weird.

He just gave away a bunch of money just to not play for the Orioles.

Resigning Fowler confuses the **** out of me. This means one of 2 things, say bye bye to Soler or Schwarber will be catching. I guess they could also platoon Schwarber and Soler in LF but that would be pretty weird.

He seems happy though

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash">#Cubs</a> fans ... If this doesn&#39;t make your day, check your pulse! <a href="https://twitter.com/DexterFowler">@DexterFowler</a> is back: <a href="https://t.co/VMMrdz7Rs6">https://t.co/VMMrdz7Rs6</a><a href="https://t.co/D6xYCHu403">https://t.co/D6xYCHu403</a></p>&mdash; Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/702924766798180352">February 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
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It really is monumental. Loving every second of it. I'm the one who is commenting on the game by game and player by player list of moments.

Wanted to ask.

Game 2 Astros
Game 4 Astros
Game 5 Astros
Game 2 Blue Jays
Game 6 Blue Jays
Game 1 Mets
Game 4 Mets
Game 5 Mets

In terms of greatness of the game itself (and not focusing on significance of the impact of the win) how do you rank them from best game to worst?

Then, where would Wild Card Game rank if added to the list?

(You could also make cases for Game 1 Angels, Game 2 Angels, Game 1 Orioles, Game 2 Orioles being in this elite level of classic games, among others but figured to ask everyone about those 2015 games and compare it to Wild Card game only...)

I'm confident Kennedy is going to be a better player for KC than Gallardo will for Baltimore. Gallardo is cheaper and has fewer years on his deal, so there's less risk that way, but he also seems to be a much larger injury risk than Kennedy to me (declining K and help rates might indicate something is about to pop).

There's also a sizable gap in the draft pick sacrificed: No. 14 vs No. 24 pick.

Davis is a better offensive player than Gordon, but he has a smaller track record of performance. I think he's got more risk because the deal is bigger and he doesn't add as much value all-around as Gordon does. Both will age well, IMO.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...42194800_o.jpg

Yick. Keep your stink away from our team!

Fowler didn't sign with the O's.

A few shots on Facebook I liked today.

https://scontent.fphx1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...75376717_o.jpg

https://scontent.fphx1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...67889920_o.jpg

True. Some folks online claim the Os screwed both Gallardo and Fowler over by low balling them after "failed physicals". Apparently Fowler didn't put up with the charade.


Not sure if that sounds believable or not, but why would Fowler do this?

The Orioles have always been brutal when it comes to passing a physical.

And generally correct.

is that rafael belliard for the braves out there?

Single game tickets went on sale today. Get em for the games you want while you still can.

FYI, game 2 versus the Mets already sold out. They were gone in about 5 minutes.

Waiting on the lottery draw for game 1. If I miss and any of you hit and want to sell, PM me.

I think that the Cubs have a better chance of making it to the playoffs/World series than Baltimore will, especially in the AL East. Of course, on the other hand, the NL Central is probably going to be tough, minus the Brewers and the Reds.

Plus the Cubs are more talented.

Twins update:

All players have reported and they are closing in on the royals.

ROFL

What is Yost doing?!?

mother****er. :cuss:

Lewdog and I caught practice today. Rode in the Mustang. It's sweet and Dog is so cool.

Guys are having fun. Salvy, I think, shanked a BP hit and Gordan yelled out "World Champions!" from left. Was funny. Early during base running, Salvy rounded third, where we were and the crowd cheered him. He stopped and tipped his cap, laughing the whole time.

Hitting looked really good, for batting practice. Lot's of bunting.

Salvy is entertaining. Great day overall. My face is burnt.

Oh and KU was playing Oregon in the game stadium. Lost 3-0.

WTF!!!!!! No invite!!!!!!


Just busting your chops. LD told me about it. I had to do taxes today.

Was nice to not have to go up there by myself today! Thanks for driving out my way.

Good day of baseball.......although I'm not sure there's really a bad day of baseball for Royals fans lately. No player meetings today but oh well.

HOO BOY!

LAME.

Lewdog's taxes were done weeks ago and return is already in hand.

WINNING.

Yes. Anyone who can have "tax return" in any part of their discussion on taxes is a winner against me.

But I'm a tough out in a round of "how big is the check I am writing to Uncle Sam this year".

I had to pay in. It sux0r.

For the sake of accuracy, the return is what you file to the IRS. The refund is the money. In my case the money is a ****ing draft from my bank account.

Sounds like a fun day, were the Royals all smiles in the dugout and all? What was the overall vibe the team gave off eDave and Lew.

Very relaxed, lots of joking around, but serious with their work if that makes sense. Ned is very involved but light hearted giving guys shit if they messed up or didn't hustle. They are hazing Ventura quite a bit and hardening him up. He seemed to like it. Expecting some maturity this year and hope he opens against the Mets.

Thanks bro you're a good person.

@JonHeyman: Royals, Salvy Perez are still working on possible extension/reworking of his alltime bad deal (7M/5 yrs, 3 club options)

It was a decent deal at the time, Perez was an unknown at the time remember.

Some of those rookies with contracts like his remain unknowns, its hit and miss.

Good that the Royals are getting him a better contract though.

Someone smarter than me, explain this:


Assuming Salvy can't physically be a catcher for the majority of a regular season, what kind of the expectations are there for how much he can improve as a hitter by DH'ing or playing 1st?

If he can't play Catcher, he has no value as far as I'm concerned.

Hopefully we can renegotiate Infante's awful deal downward. Fingers crossed.

No chance. Why would he be willing to do that?

There maybe a small uptick but I wouldn't say much of an uptick. Joe Mauer is what you are looking at. The good thing is that Salvy would just be in the lineup. He is important to the teams chemistry for sure.

He's making an argument against paying Salvy more.

Oh. Hopefully there's value that comes with keeping Sal happy and gaining favor with agents for future negotiations. Pie in the sky, I know...

I'll be at Wednesday's and Saturday's games. Can't wait.

What will you be wearing.............

nothing

<img src="http://imgur.com/NbA1tNH.gif">

Sal's mother was robbed in Venezuela
 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...her-was-robbed

Appears to be OK.

Wonder if they didn't know she was Perez's mom, and if they did they might have kidnapped her. Scary.

Royals thong. That's it.

Enjoy the ladies. They won't be wearing much.

Spring Training in AZ is a wonderful season.

I'll be there.............




wearing the same thing!!!

How will I know who is who?

I'm hung like a peanut.

Hope that helps.

Players don't do that.

Yeah that always happens.

Hosmer open to long-term deal with Royals

First baseman remains committed to winning championships in KC

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Certainly the popular narrative about the Royals this offseason has been that the team has a two-year window for future success, closing after the 2017 season.

That's when several players -- Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar, etc. -- could become free agents.

And the general consensus is that the hardest free agent to keep will be Hosmer, an immense talent whose career continues to ascend. But Hosmer disputes any notion that he would be the first one out the door after '17.

"It's not like if [general manager] Dayton [Moore] came knocking on my door to talk about [a long-term contract] I would say no. Of course, not," Hosmer told MLB.com. "But also, having just won a championship, it's not like you go making any demands to Dayton, either."

Hosmer also is quick to dismiss the notion that he yearns to take his good looks and talent to a big market such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

"That's just outside perspective," he said. "I don't play this game to be in commercials for hair products. I'm playing to try to win championships. Sure you want to give yourself the best opportunity in terms of financially, but at the same time, you want to give yourself the best chance to get to the playoffs.

"If this group stays together, the best opportunity is right here."

And Moore isn't conceding he won't be able to retain free agents such as Hosmer as well.

"We fully expect to sign as many of our players that we currently have on our team to long-term contracts," Moore said. "We anticipate that happening as we go forward. Will we get them all? Time will tell.

"We've had success keeping our homegrown players. Alex Gordon is a guy we've signed twice now to multiyear deals. We'll do our best to keep as many of our players here."

Hosmer said Kansas City's market size doesn't enter into the equation about where he would like to stay long term.

"You create those opportunities by what you do on the field," Hosmer said. "You look at what Golden State is [in the NBA]. I don't know if that's necessarily a top market, but you got Steph Curry and his team, and they will make everyone remember them for a long time.

"I think we can create that through the way we play. If we make it to another World Series that's three times in a row. We've caught the attention of America and the whole world.

"If you're a true player in this game, your dream is to win and create some history."

While some observers are skeptical that the Royals can keep their core intact, Hosmer isn't among those skeptics.

"Honestly, what is so cool about this organization is that everyone trusts everyone in their role," Hosmer said. "We trust Dayton that he will do the best job he can to keep everyone together. It's out of our control, but we trust Dayton."

Hosmer has seen what it means for someone such as George Brett to play an entire career for one organization, and then still be a part of it when the playing career ends.

"It's everyone's dream to be drafted by one team, play your whole career for that team and have your jersey retired by that team," Hosmer said. "But I'm not going to go out in the media and get myself a [long-term] contract just by talking about it.

"You look at what we've started in Kansas City, it's special. I got drafted by an organization I knew nothing about. It looks like a quick process [the last two years] but the truth is that guys like Salvy [Salvador Perez] and Moose [Moustakas], we've all been together since the low Minors. We feel like we've flipped this organization and that's a credit to Dayton and the front office.

"If it was up to us, we'd like to keep it together as long as we could."

So, if Moore and his staff came calling about a new deal?

"Yeah, you're going to listen," Hosmer said, smiling.

http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article...al-with-royals

Can you imagine what Salvy's salary is like in Venezuela? Bill Gates compared to me.

Hosmer is not dumb enough to say anything bad at this point or anything other then talking about how much he loves KC.

Doesn't mean it's true.

I need to escape for a few days and watch a Spring game.

I have meetings this week but maybe the second week of March?

I can bring an air mattress and pay for Uber.

:D

*** Official 2016 Royals Offseason Repository ***
 

I could see someone making a case for his offense looking like it does over the first half, except over a full season.

He's a much more effective offensive player when he is better rested and not beaten down by sitting in the crouch 5 days a week.

Make the trip and I'll pay YOU, $10 per hour to hangout with me.


Think about it.

LMAO

No but it still keeps my dream alive that Hos/Wade/Cain will pull a LeBron/Wade/Bosch and agree to team friendly deals as long as they know they aren't the only one staying. Esky, Moose and Kendrys are also welcome to join the party assuming they don't drop off.

The deal is done.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Salvador Perez’s new deal picks up three team options, adds two years. Starts in 2017, at least $30M in new $. <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman">@JonHeyman</a> said it was close.</p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/704707101906509824">March 1, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dayton is my homeboy

And here's an article by Passan about it. The Royals will announce it later today. Will be a straight 5 year deal starting next year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source-...182419175.html

No options, its a straight 5 year deal

5/52.5

So, we're paying $36MM for the 2 extra years.

:clap: Salvy is the heart of the team. He deserves every penny. Would love to see him get several more World Series MVP's.

Hosmer - you are on the clock!!

@DBLesky There's no good reason from a baseball perspective to give Perez this deal, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have value. #Royals

Out of that 52.5MM, $6MM of it is a signing bonus.

Prison Bitch will be apoplectic.

Barring a minor miracle, he and Moose are both going to test free agency. They don't have midwest ties like Gordon did, nor were they locked into a very team-friendly deal like Salvy.

Sounds like a win-win.

Salvador Perez gets much more security and money up front. Royals get some additional years of control at rates that will still be good as long as he holds up.

Adds some risk for the Royals, but they add control of the final few years of what should be his prime as compensation.

Do we get more years of control? I thought they just turn the last 2 club option years into guaranteed years.

At the end of the day (or contract), every player's going to want top dollar.

But this was a good way for the Royals to add control and gain a sense of trust. The Gordon/Perez deals will go over very well in the clubhouse.

Again, not saying this gets Hosmer any closer to a deal, but I think it's a good move. Is there a more respected front office inside baseball than ours? I mean, even Scott Boras likes working with us.

2 added years of control.

Previous team options ran through 2019. This adds two years to the deal.

Awesome!

Mike Moustakas agreed to a two-year, $14.3 million contract with the Kansas City Royals on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

They just gave Moose a big pay raise. If he continues to keep improving- I bet they won't let him go. Same with Hosmer.

These guys are Big fish in a little pond. This is home. They would most likely get more money elsewhere-but would be just another player. Money isn't everything.

I've long expected them to leave as free agents, with maybe an outside chance at keeping Moustakas.

Because the team keeps surprising me, I think I have adjusted the likelihood of them staying in KC up a few notches.

Keeping Perez, Hosmer, and Moustakas together for five more years (and incorporating younger players at the positions that require major athleticism - CF and SS) doesn't seem impossible at this point.

Duncan, don't let the recent success fool you! Expectations management is critical to weathering the long droughts KC sports brings.

Buying out arbitration years really doesn't mean anything to me re: willingness to sign long-term. Its low risk for the player to add a bit of security for years where he's stuck with the team in case he has a bad year and is staring at an unpleasant arbitration hearing.

Scott Boras believes that even if you want to stay with your team, even if you want to give them a discount, you should still test free agency to find out what you are worth. Then you can go back to your team and say "I found out that I'm actually worth X. I'll give you a discount of Y, but you gotta at least do that much"

A bit off topic but Justice Sotomayor referenced the "World Champion Kansas City Royals" in a Supreme Court opinion today:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions...-8358_o7jp.pdf

Nice to see the Royals recognized in legal opinions.

Not saying I love the chances, but they now seem better than the nearly zero percent chance I previously would have put on it.

Of course, if Hosmer goes 300/30/100/100/.375/.550 this year and next, they dim again.

I like the commitment to the players and to winning that is being displayed.