2012 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[alnorth]

2012 Slogan: Our Time

A better, more accurate 2012 Slogan: It is Finally Next Year
(from Great Expectations)

An alternative slogan if you don't like that one: Someone has to win this crappy division
(from alnorth)

With the beginning of a new year, it is time for the 2012 version of the Royals Repository Thread. We've got Hosmer, we've got a 2011-dominating Gordon, we've got Moose, we've got hopefully a killer bullpen, we've got a stereotypical slow slugging DH, we've got easily one of the best defensive shortstops in the AL, we've got a promising catcher in Salvador Perez. Hell, we've got offense and promising prospects galore.

We do not have starting pitching.

Oh yeah, we've also got this:



Get ready for, (as of January 2012 anyway), one of the most confusing puzzles of a baseball season in recent Royals history. Will they suck? Maybe, I don't know. Will we be given a year of 0.500 baseball? Possibly, I don't know. Will they win the division and go to the playoffs for the first time in 27 years? For the first time in a long time, it could happen, I don't know. 92 losses, 92 wins, or anything in between would not surprise a lot of us.

Everything goes here except Gameday threads and really big news. If a giant story breaks, the Royals achieve some awesome milestone, or we sign/lose a highly significant player/coach/mascot/whatever, then it might also deserve its own thread. This being Chiefs Planet, please do not clutter the board with new threads about trivial Royals news or you will only annoy those who come here for just Chiefs football. If you aren't sure and its not a Gameday thread, it goes here.

What sort of stuff often goes here? SPchief explained it well, so I'll just copy that:

If you locate something of interest.. ANYTHING.. deals on apparel, best ways in/out of the stadium, giveaways, great stories from this season or from seasons gone by, rumors, trades, anything.... feel free to post it here.

[stevenidol]

Originally Posted by Unsmooth-Moment

Shields is better than Sanchez, tho sanchez is a couple of years younger.

They both have 7 years of MLB service time though. Sanchez has also missed an entire year between 07-08 because of a torn labrum and a large portion of the 2009 season.

[KC_Connection]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...2/2614446.html

Another AL Front-Office Executive: "I like it a lot for Kansas City. Here's the premise for why I think it was important for them. Wil Myers is not a major league ready impact bat, and might take a couple years of struggles burning into his major league service time, while Kansas City continues to toil around .500 and maybe Hosmer and Moose come into their own. Then they play in that mid-rotation market for guys like (Jeremy) Guthrie, (Ervin) Santana and even Odorizzi and then (Bruce) Chen/ (Jonathan) Sanchez types on the back-end with little or no chance of taking them to the next level.

For the people saying this is a desperate move on their part, what do they think Kansas City's window is? I think it's now, with a legit front-line horse like Shields and an absolutely stacked pen. I think they maximized Myers' value.

We've seen what the market is for frontline starting pitchers (Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee) and they can't play in that market. They trade a top prospect who isn't a sure thing even if you love him, and some replaceable pieces beyond that for no doubt above-average major league pieces in Shields and Davis.

The next two years are important, but my point is if they didn't make this trade they aren't winning with Guthrie and Santana leading the rotation, and they probably aren't winning next year either. Are they just supposed to sit around and wait a couple more years of losing and mediocrity?"

I fall a bit closer to this guy's opinion, though:

An AL Front-Office Executive: "I don't like the trade for KC, but I think the general reaction that this is the 'worst trade ever' is hyperbolic nonsense. The Royals are going to be better in 2013 with this trade, no doubt. But to judge the deal right now is silly. If the Royals make the playoffs and end nearly three decades of misery, it's worth it. If the prospects don't work out, then it's a good trade for KC. If the Royals win 81 games each of the next two years and Myers turns into an All-Star then it's a bad trade. All of those are within a realistic realm of possibility. To judge the deal right now with some sort of absolutism to an extreme is to simply exert a lot of energy to be part of the maddening crowd."

[Ebolapox]

I'll say this--it's obvious now why we didn't bring up myers or odorizzi (well, odorizzi until very late)... they didn't wanna take the high-luster shine of myers off if he struggled a bit in his call-up.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Maybe DM thinks he's squeak through this year with Frenchy, then bring up Bubba Starling. That's all I can figure. We've got to get a right fielder that can hit some.

This is a contract year for Frenchy, so maybe that will motivate him. Otherwise, if he plays like he did last year, he'll be a huge hole in our lineup.

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Maybe DM thinks he's squeak through this year with Frenchy, then bring up Bubba Starling. That's all I can figure. We've got to get a right fielder that can hit some.

This is a contract year for Frenchy, so maybe that will motivate him. Otherwise, if he plays like he did last year, he'll be a huge hole in our lineup.

You can say that again.

[htismaqe]

The national guys, almost to a man, LOVE this trade for the Royals.

[Bowser]

Didn't take Petro long to break out the "small market" line with Jayson Stark.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...2/2614446.html

That's clearly the argument in support of the trade; your window is now, so go for it. I still don't like the trade for a number of reasons, but it's done so I'm ready to move on. As Deez said, winning our division (or more) one of the next two years is how this trade will be measured, so it's very black and white. We'll see.

I'm pissed we lost Myers, but I am looking forward to having a real, live major league rotation for the first time in 25 years. Shields is a horse, and hopefully Davis found something in the pen that he can take back with him to the rotation. SP to RP back to SP has worked for some other pitchers, Greinke and Halladay to name a couple (and no, of course I'm not suggesting Davis will be at the level of either of those guys).

[MIAdragon]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

not thinking that going to be the case, but we will see.

Its what he was looking to get, will he actually get it, who knows.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The national guys, almost to a man, LOVE this trade for the Royals.

They like that the Royals appears "serious" about winning for the first time in this century.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by alnorth

No, it does not.

There are at least 2 teams who want to, and can, match our offer, and Sanchez will pick them over us.

Who else besides Texas? Detroit? Are we sure Texas wants Sanchez? I'd read they weren't fans of his. I actually expect them now to look at Dickey in trade and bring back Hamilton.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by KevB

They like that the Royals appears "serious" about winning for the first time in this century.

That's part of it but not all of it.

Basically it boils down to the fact that they think Will Myers has great POTENTIAL but Shields is a bonafide front-line starter.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by KevB

That's clearly the argument in support of the trade; your window is now, so go for it. I still don't like the trade for a number of reasons, but it's done so I'm ready to move on. As Deez said, winning our division (or more) one of the next two years is how this trade will be measured, so it's very black and white. We'll see.

I'm pissed we lost Myers, but I am looking forward to having a real, live major league rotation for the first time in 25 years. Shields is a horse, and hopefully Davis found something in the pen that he can take back with him to the rotation. SP to RP back to SP has worked for some other pitchers, Greinke and Halladay to name a couple (and no, of course I'm not suggesting Davis will be at the level of either of those guys).

This is correct. We paid an awful lot to win now, perhaps even sacrificing a shot at a multi-year playoff run later this decade. Whats done is done, so they'd better win. If we don't win the AL Central in 2013 or 2014, this trade is a big fat failure.

[Chris Meck]

I think you guys are nuts. Look, we got 2 proven Major league pitchers, one a bona fide staff ace. We gave up two minor league prospects that may or may not pan out at the ML level.

The Royals are literally a competitive ballclub RIGHT NOW. THIS MINUTE. They have totally revamped their starting pitching. Their bullpen was already a strength. If the young guys continue to improve, this club will compete for division titles from now until....

Yeah, yeah, you've got Shields for two years. In two years you're also hoping to have your homegrown talent ready to step up-or you can always re-sign him. If you're winning it won't be as tough as you think.

I just don't see the downside unless you thought you could get a stud staff ace for peanuts, in which case I don't know what to tell you. Good pitching beats good hitting, and we should have a good staff now. I'm pumped for the season.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by alnorth

This is correct. We paid an awful lot to win now, perhaps even sacrificing a shot at a multi-year playoff run later this decade. Whats done is done, so they'd better win. If we don't win the AL Central in 2013 or 2014, this trade is a big fat failure.

Don't do this crap. There is no "evaluation year" here. Win in 2013. No excuses.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by KevB

Who else besides Texas? Detroit? Are we sure Texas wants Sanchez? I'd read they weren't fans of his. I actually expect them now to look at Dickey in trade and bring back Hamilton.

Sanchez has received several different 5-year offers. I'm just presuming Texas will move on after losing Greinke, but today we've now got several stories saying the Dodgers want Sanchez. If the Dodgers offer something like 5/80, I'd bet its a done deal, even if we go 6/90.