Another move

Trade: Sisco for Gload

This was kind of a wierd deal I guess. At first glance, it seems like we may have given up a promising, young, lefty for ANOTHER 1B/OF/DH guy.

However - I like the move. I think Dayton Moore has acquired enough pitching that we can let a guy like Sisco leave town. I've seen some complaints on various message boards (my favorite board - by the way - is RoyalsCorner - lots of VERY intelligent fans over there), but what did we really lose in this deal? Let's take a look:

Andrew Sisco - A big (6'10") power pitching lefty, drafted by the Cubs, then picked up by KC in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. He did show some flashes of actually being good during the 2005 season, however, I tend to think that his low ERA that year may have been deceiving. While he did post a 3.11 ERA coming out of the pen that year, he walked a lot of guys (42 in 75 innings), showing that he may have some control issues. In addition, he gave up 68 hits (not too shabby), but overall, the combo of walks/hits gave him a WHIP of 1.46 for the season - for those who aren't geeks - WHIP is walks+hits per inning pitched. Basically, the guy allowed an average of about 1.5 baserunners per inning pitched. Not exactly a shutdown reliever.

Sisco's control problems (and apparent lack of work ethic) showed even more in 2006. He only pitched 58 innings that season, while giving up 66 hits and 40 walks - only 2 less of each in about 20 less innings....NOT GOOD. His ERA ballooned to 7.10 and his WHIP was 1.82, I think at this point, all signs were pointing to Sisco not panning out as a consistent relief pitcher at the MLB level.

On the other hand...I like what we gain in the deal. I kind of look at Gload as a younger version of Matt Stairs - a very solid bat who can play 1B and OF. A guy who has a career batting average of .289, OBP of .343, and Slugging % of .437....all solid numbers.

Maybe Moore is just a little more willing to cut bait with some guys who might have a ton of potential, but no desire to win (Sisco, Runelvys Hernandez, etc). Maybe he's cleaning house, ridding the organization of former GM Allard Baird's "project" players....I'm not 100% sure yet, but so far, he's given me no real reason to doubt any of his decisions.

Should be interesting to see what other moves lie ahead.....