Jose Guillen Trade Rumor

What? Could it be? The Royals have found another team even remotely interested in this turd of a player??

Rumor has it KC is in talks with the NY Mets for a possible Jose Guillen trade. According to the NY Daily News, the Mets are after either Matt Holliday or Jason Bay (clearly much better options than Guillen), but have begun talks regarding Guillen as a Plan B option.

First of all, let me just say the fact that anyone is talking to KC about this deal makes me ecstatic. Secondly, the fact that their Plan A involves either Guillen or Bay coming to town makes me feel even better. I can't imagine either of those guys really want to go to the Mets. With all the other teams after them, I think the Mets (who are run by one of the worst GM's in baseball) are not a Plan A, B, C, or D option for Holliday or Bay.

Word is, coming back to KC in the deal would be a pretty solid outfielder named Angel Pagan. He can play centerfield, but is obviously blocked by a certain All-Star caliber player named Carlos Beltran. Wouldn't it be some kind of sweet justice for a solid player blocked by a former Royals great to be traded to KC for a current Royals albatross.

Last year, Pagan got a lot of time in the big leagues due to several injuries and managed to hit .306 in 343 at bats. Add to that 22 doubles, 11 triples, six homers...and the fact that he can play center and has good speed...the Royals should offer to pay Guillen's entire contract to get him out of town.

A week ago, I would've been happy to trade Guillen for a flaming bag of poo. Or a gym bag full of dirty jock straps. But now...we've got someone willing to deal an ACTUAL player for this clown. And one who could probably be in our opening day lineup.

Don't screw this up, Dayton. Get this guy out of here. (And while you're at it...throw in Mike Jacobs for a box of ball point pens and some post-it notes).

Jacobs, Bannister on the Block

No surprise that we'd part ways with Jacobs (good luck finding a trade partner, though). Bannister I could see moving for the right price...or I could see keeping around in the back end of the rotation.

Jon Heyman dishes on some trade rumors

Zack Wins!

As a Royals fan, this is the most excitement I've had in years....congrats Zack.

He won the award by receiving 25 out of 28 first place votes. A landslide. Looks like I'm not the only person with a man crush on Zack.

Zack or Felix?

In about 15 minutes we'll find out who wins the AL Cy Young (gotta be Zack, right?).

Here is a good read from The Hot Stone League at the Seattle Times website (where they predict Zack will win)....

Click for article.

Stay tuned for the results...

More Gold Gloves

The National League winners are...


Catcher
Yadier Molina
Cardinals

First Base
Adrian Gonzalez
Padres

Second Base
Orlando Hudson
Dodgers

Third Base
Ryan Zimmerman
Nationals

Shortstop
Jimmy Rollins
Phillies

Outfield
Shane Victorino
Phillies

Michael Bourn
Astros

Matt Kemp
Dodgers

Pitcher
Adam Wainwright
Cardinals

Granderson on the block?

According to a Fox Sports article posted today, the Tigers are taking offers for Curtis Granderson. The team has already reportedly shopped pitcher Edwin Jackson around as well. Are the Tigers cutting salary? Do they not believe in Jackson?

In other news (and more relevant to this particular blog), the Royals have given the starting third base job to Alex Gordon. He has by no means earned it...but hey...nothing this team does makes a whole lot of sense (that Teahen trade was the first positive move I've seen in about two years).

The same report says the team is comfortable with newly acquired Josh Fields playing left field should they find a trade partner willing to make a play for David DeJesus. I could see this happening. He's cheap ($4.7 million this year), was in the running for a Gold Glove this year, and is a very consistent hitter. A solid guy who plays a solid game, and at a pretty good cost.

Maybe the Royals should ship DDJ off to the Motor City in a package deal for Granderson? Dejesus and Callaspo for Granderson, perhaps? Sounds better to me than that sickening rumor of Callaspo to the Dodgers for 28 year old catcher (who happens to be a career minor leaguer with no power).

I love DeJesus...but if we can get something for him...well...like DM said the other day (about our beloved Royals) - "It's not working." No. It's not working. And shipping off these long time players like Teahen, DeJesus, Buck, etc., who have known nothing but losing may be a step in the right direction.

American League Gold Gloves Announced

Here they are...your 2009 AL Gold Glove winners:


Pitcher
Mark Buehrle
Chicago

Catcher
Joe Mauer
Minnesota

First Base
Mark Teixeira
New York

Second Base
Placido Polanco
Detroit

Third Base
Evan Longoria
Tampa Bay

Shortstop
Derek Jeter
New York

Outfield
Adam Jones
Baltimore

Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle

Torii Hunter
Los Angeles of Anaheim


No Royals on the list, which is not too shocking. I do think a case can be made for Greinke...hopefully he'll bring home some hardware next week, though.

Royals Decline Options on Three Players

Looks like we have some more news to report. According to MLBTR, KC has declined options for Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta.

None of these moves are shocking, of course, but it's nice to see the team letting dead weight (and tied up cash) walk.

The word on the street...well...not the street so much as the internet, is that Crisp may be offered an incentive based deal to come back and play center. I personally would not be opposed to that.

Here's to hoping John Buck follows Olivo out of town and we kick off 2010 with a new catching tandem (one that includes Brayan Pena is okay with me).

Next on the chopping block? Mike Jacobs? Crossing my fingers.

Teahen Trade - It's official!

Still no official word from either team on this deal. Apparently nobody will confirm this, and Teahen tweeted last night that he still hasn't heard a yes or no...

Will keep an eye on this deal and post something as soon as I hear something a little more official.

EDIT (2:35 PM) - checked my email a little while ago and received one from kcroyals.com stating the trade is official. Looks like KC also sent cash to the Sox in this deal - how much, we don't know. Either way, we turned Teahen into a couple of guys with upside - and Teahen seems to be all out of upside. Not a bad deal at all.

Teahen to the White Sox?

Reports are buzzing around that Teahen has been traded to Chicago for second baseman Chris Getz and corner infielder Josh Fields.

Buster Olney of ESPN is also reporting that talks between the teams are not that far along....

I'll dig deeper into this deal (if it happens) once I see a few more confirmations. If Buster confirms it - I'll believe it.

Stay tuned.

EDIT: A little over an hour ago (I'm writing this update at approximately 3:30 Kansas City time) this article was posted at Chicago Breaking Sports News (the following is taken from that article, read the full article here.)

The White Sox have yet to confirm a New York Daily News report that stated they would receive versatile left-handed hitter Mark Teahen from Kansas City in exchange for second baseman Chris Getz and infielder Josh Fields.

The article then goes on to say:

But there appear to be some potential stumbling blocks. One is that the Royals already have Alberto Callaspo at second base and would be inclined to trade him to get maximum value before finalizing a deal with the Sox.

"We're in discussions with a lot of clubs about a lot of things," Kansas City GM Dayton Moore said in a statement earlier Thursday. "There is nothing to announce yet, and we won't comment (about trade rumors) until there is something to announce."

A trade involving Callaspo would clear the way for Getz, who said he is recovering on schedule from a sports hernia operation on Oct. 2 but has yet to take a physical examination that is normally required before a deal is finalized.

So...basically...still not sure what's going on here. Either the trade is a done deal and the teams are not confirming for one reason or another...or...the trade is not a done deal and may hinge on the Royals being able to trade Callaspo.

Not sure I like the sound of the latter. I like Alberto's bat more than I like the speed and slight defensive upgrade of Getz. Unless the trade of Callaspo involves us landing a starting pitcher or filling another gaping hole (lord knows this team has plenty), I'm hoping we're just waiting on some formalities here.

Built for Speed?

Or so you would think, if you watched the Kansas City Royals at all during their 2009 campaign.

According to a recent chat Dayton Moore did over at MLBTR...he is focused on pitching, speed, and defense...much like the Angels (although with much different results).

Notice out of the three things mentioned, one was SPEED. Really? By speed, I assume he means fast players. Because slow is a speed, too. But why would he want slow players? So...giving him the benefit of the doubt, we'll assume when he says "speed," he means fast.

My question: Where are these fast players? I'm going to run down everyone who was on the roster at some point this season and compile a list of players I think are fast. Ok...here we go:

1. Coco Crisp
2. Willie Bloomquist
3. Mark Teahen
4. Mitch Maier
5. Josh Anderson

I refuse to count Tony Pena, Jr., since he's no longer around (and is being turned into a pitcher now).

So that's five guys. You could make arguments for guys like DeJesus, Gordon, etc., but the five above are the guys I'm looking at for speed on the bases. Those five players gave us 67 steals in 2009. Not terrible, especially when you consider Coco only played 49 games before his season ending injury (and Anderson - a late season addition to the team - only played 44 games in KC).

As a team, the Royals were able to swipe 88 bases, putting them at ninth place in the American League. Horrible? Nah...I guess not. Especially in an era where speed isn't a part of the game like it once was (back in the days of Rickey Henderson, Vince Coleman, Tim Raines, and so on). But for a GM who claims speed is one of the building blocks...well...it's not good.

Moore has claimed speed is a focus of this team before, and in the chat at MLBTR, reinforced his belief in its importance. I am curious, how do players like Mike Jacobs, Jose Guillen help the cause? Hell, they can't even get on base (but that's a topic for another day). What's next? Maybe we'll bring David Oritz over as a pinch runner.

I'm not going to be completely negative here...but if we are focusing on speed, defense, and pitching - let's actually focus on these things, not just talk about focusing on them. And let's not focus to a fault, and turn a blind eye to some of the other skills that make a player succesful. Is Willie Bloomquist fast? No doubt about it. But how much can he utilize his speed when he can only muster a .308 OBP? Not very often by my estimation. What about stretching hits into doubles and triples? Well, if you can't hit the ball hard (and far), you can't utilize your speed that way either. Out of 115 hits (well, let's subtract his four homers and make it 111), Bloomquist managed to run his way all the way to 11 doubles and 8 triples - that's 19 extra base hits out of the 111 that didn't clear the wall.

The above statistics tell me that Bloomquist is not able to utilize his speed because:

A) He's not getting on base.

B) He's not hitting the ball far. Or, if he is, he's not a very smart baserunner.

All this talk about speed on the bases, and you're probably thinking..."Well, I bet all this alleged speed the Royals have compiled has really helped on defense." Have you seen the Royals play defense? I mean....seriously.

Speed is great. But it only adds as much to a team as the other primary skills (ability to get on base, instincts on the bases and in the field) allow. How about we scrap speed as one-third of our foundation and replace it with OBP? Sound good? Don't worry Dayton. We're still going to use speed, but it will come later.

And so begins my overhual of the plan to turn this team around. Who am I to overhaul this plan, you ask? Well, nobody really. Just a guy who watches a lot of baseball (and more spefically, a lot of Royals baseball).

Foundation ingredient number one: Get on base!

While we're at it...let's go ahead and make a note that another ingredient for success should be the ability to hit for power/extra bases.

So that means, really...the first and most important part of our foundation should be OPS (On Base Plus Slugging).

Now here are some numbers we can really crunch. Stay tuned for more of my nonsense (or so the Royals' staff would have you believe) as I analyze players using...GASP...statistics!

Greinke...

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Why?

Farnsworth comes into another close game in a tight situation...and...you guessed it. Another home run, another loss.

Farnsworth (or as he's become affectionately known in KC - "Farnsworthless") should not be pitching in these situations. I know it. My neighbor knows it. My dad knows it. Everyone I overhear talking about the Royals know it. Trey Hillman...well...he doesn't know it.

I like Hillman well enough, and it's only 12 games into the season, but come on! Are you kidding me? Farnsworth again? The Royals have five losses this year, and three of those hang on Farnsworth. Ridiculous.

Most disheartening for me as a fan in the Sunday game was Hillman's horrible handling of the bullpen. The Royals got behind early after Kyle Davies struggled to throw a strike in the first inning. Davies got his act together and pitched well for the rest of his outing, pretty much sitting Texas batters down with no effort. Kansas City came from behind and led the game 5-3, and then Hillman apparently started drawing the names of relief pitchers out of a hat.

Davies pitched through six innings, and our best reliever at this point, Juan Cruz, was brought in for the seventh. Great. No problems yet. In fact, since Greinke went for a complete game the night before, Cruz is rested and can probably pitch both the seventh and eighth. Perfect. Oops...wait a second...Cruz gets two outs and then gets yanked in favor of Ron Mahay. Mahay is a lefty and was brought in to face a lefty batter. Although Hillman has already stated Mahay is NOT a lefty specialist. Oh, and Cruz is great against lefties. Oh well...maybe Mahay gets an out and then pitches the eighth. Not a bad idea, except you just wasted your best setup man for two outs.

Mahay proceeds to allow two runs (only one earned - the defensive play of the infield is partly to blame for this loss as well), and then gives way Jamey Wright who gets us to the ninth with a tied ballgame. Then....you guessed it...Farnsworth. Our high dollar late inning strikeout machine faces one batter and gives up a home run, losing the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Okay Trey...pay attention here...you bring in Mahay in the seventh, hopefully he gets us through the inning with no problems. If he gets into trouble, you still have Cruz to bail the team out in that innning and probably whizz through the eighth as well, setting up Soria for the save. But it's not just the handling of Cruz that I take issue with here...it's the bullpen as a whole. There are five guys who should come into the game before Farnsworth (although Hillman had already burned through three of them). I still would have rather seen Tejeda or Waechter before inserting Farnsworth into a close game.

Trey - use Farnsworth in games that are out of hand. If KC is up by five runs - or down by five runs - put in Farnsworth and see what happens. If he starts pitching more like what you're expecting from him, then maybe you get a little more flexible with him...using him in the seventh inning at times. But please, for the love of GOD, do not put Farnsworth in a close game again. You're asking for a disaster every time out.

Yes, the Royals are 7-5 and tied for first in the division. Yes there are 150 games left to play. But this is an alarming trend that just keeps repeating itself, and someone needs to break the cycle now. Get it right Hillman, you've got fans that care again, and half of them are calling for your job....

Pitching is the name of the game

Opening day has come and gone.  I was at work, following the game online.  I went into a meeting and the Royals were up 2-1.  I came out of the meeting, and the game was over.  4-2 Sox.  What the hell went wrong?  

As the name of this post says - Pitching is the name of the game - for better and for worse.  Gil Meche was locked in yesterday, plowing through the White Sox lineup, having only been in one jam that I can remember (bases loaded) and working his way out of that with only one run scoring.  I thought the game was ours.  Meche got us through seven innings, now it would be Juan Cruz for an inning before turning the ball over to Mr. Automatic for the save.  But that's not what happened at all.  Kyle Farnsworth came in to bridge the gap to Soria, and all hell broke loose.

My question:  What the hell was Hillman thinking?  I mean, I can understand going with Farnsworth to a degree (although I think Cruz should clearly be our "A" option in late innings), but in a jam against Jim Thome.  No thanks.  Get me Ron Mahay, Cruz...anyone else.  Anyone other than Farnsworth, who gave up home runs at a horrible rate in 2008.  And against Jim Thome, who absolutely torches righties.

This has been quite the topic of debate in Kansas City today.  Is Trey Hillman a horrible manager for making this decision?  Didn't he learn anything last season?  Is this a sign of things to come?  And the flipside of the argument - the Hillman apologists:  It's only one game.  Right?

I think both sides have points.  Hillman should clearly have statistics at his disposal that tell him Farnsworth is not the guy to face Thome.  Hindsight is 20/20 and all that jazz...but come on.  Even I knew that was a matchup made in heaven - for the White Sox.  On the other hand...if we were 50 games into the season, would this situation have been as magnified?  I have to think not.  Opening day is the one time of year where EVERYONE is paying attention.

All things aside, my opinion is this:  Cruz has proven himself to be a more consistently good setup man than Farnsworth, although Farnsworth does have value coming out of the pen as a gritty hurler who isn't afraid to come inside and take ownership of the plate.  My opinion - Farnsworth is a solid guy for innings six and/or seven, while Cruz should be the guy who shuts opponents down in inning eight (and maybe seven as well).  And don't forget - we also have another solid guy out of the pen for these late innings named Ron Mahay.  

In summary, yes, Hillman screwed up.  But, it's only one game.  And we won game two behind six great innings from Greinke, two great innings from Cruz, and the usual from Soria.  Looks like Hillman learned his lesson (or so I hope).

Opening Day is here - get optimistic

After a snow out on Monday, the Royals are set to kick off the 2009 season today in Chicago, versus the White Sox. While I’m looking forward to the season, I do have a couple of complaints regarding the final 25 man roster.

First and foremost, I just don’t understand the decision to option Luke Hochevar to Omaha. Dayton Moore seems set on having a lefty starter – even if that starter is Horacio Ramirez, who hasn’t looked good in that role for a few years now. Also breaking camp on the roster is Sidney Ponson. I just don’t see where either of these guys outpitched Luke this spring. He posted an ERA around 3.8, and without looking up the exact numbers, I’d say Ramirez and Ponson both had ERAs that came close to doubling that number. I heard Moore on the radio the other day, and he said the other guys outpitched Hochevar, and he didn’t grab the open rotation slot. I wish I had been conducting that interview. I would have loved to ask Moore how he was judging these three pitchers. I love what Moore has done to change the culture here in KC, and respect him a great deal, but come on….

Gripe number two: I think Mitch Maier deserved a shot. Brayan Pena was given the last spot on the roster, and I guess I’m okay with that. My initial thought was, “Why do we need three catchers?” But he’s fairly versatile and can play corner infield and outfield positions as well, plus hits from both sides of the plate, making him a decent pinch hitting option (if he can hit). But Maier is a guy we drafted, a homegrown product who has been patiently waiting for his chance. He played very well this spring, and I thought this might be the year. Unfortunately, he’s back in Omaha – but I’m assuming he’s only an injury or a little roster shuffle away from suiting up with the big leauge club.

As for opening day, I’m not sure what to expect. I think Meche gives us a chance to win every time he’s on the mound, so I expect a decent game. I’m hopeful that we get off to a good start this year (I’m getting tired of starting off every season with a horrible April). This division really does seem to be wide open, and anyone – yes…even the Royals – has a shot. Sure, the Royals need more things to go their way than a couple of other teams, but it COULD happen. We’ve got three strong starting pitchers, a solid bullpen, and a very good batting order which has the chance to be exceptional if a couple of guys break out this season. I’m looking at you Alex Gordon and Billy Butler.

It’s the time of year for fans to be optimistic again – so count me in. I say we play .500 ball this season with a chance to contend. Maybe we’ll actually get some meaningful baseball in August and September this year in Kansas City.

Revisiting my Bannister predictions

Yikes. Banny looks bad. Bad enough that KC has brought in Sidney Ponson. Yeah...that's right...Sidney Ponson.

I have officially changed my position on Bannister since last I wrote here. I think he may be more along the lines of his '08 self. I'm just not sure he has the stuff to get guys out. I like Bannister, and I think he's a very smart pitcher, but knowing what you need to do isn't quite the same as knowing and being able to execute it.

It leaves the Royals, who were obviously hoping for a rebound of some sort, short in the starting pitching department. They are solid one through three (I think Davies is a legit starter), but after that...it's a little ugly. I think Hochevar gets a spot - it's time to put him out there and let him sink or swim. I think he'll be a solid fourth or fifth guy in the rotation, but I'd feel a heck of a lot better if we had one more guy...and I'm not sure we can salvage a starting pitcher out of the threesome of Bannister, Ponson, and Horacio Ramirez.

Maybe there is another trade in the works, but it's getting late in the game now. I like our lineup pretty well, and I like the pen. But after Davies...the rotation is a question mark. Should KC shell out $3 or $4 million for a guy like Pedro Martinez? If Dayton Moore can get Mr. Glass to shell out the money - I say it's a gamble worth taking.

KC Signs Bannister

The Royals agreed to a contract with Brian Bannister on Wedensday, avoiding arbitration with a contract just below $1.8 million.

Bannister was a disappointment last season after a great rookie season in 2007, in which he was 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA. In 2008, those numbers took a big dip, as he only went 9-16 and his ERA took a turn for the worse, coming in at 5.76.

After showing a lot of promise (and some will say having a lot of luck), I’m just not sure what to expect from Banny in 2009. I think his 2007 season, which saw him in the running for Rookie of the Year, is probably not going to happen again. Bannister did get lucky that year, having a lot of balls hit right at his defenders. Last year, we saw him pitching to contact once again, but this time, the balls found a lot of holes. Bannister’s numbers obviously took a hit, as did the Royals’ chances of winning when he was on the mound.

I think Bannister is a very smart pitcher, but is lacking when it comes to “stuff.” He doesn’t appear to have that extra something…where he can reach back and rely on raw talent to get a batter out. He relies almost completely on studying tape and trying to outsmart the hitter at every turn of every at bat. This is good and bad. He definitely knows what he wants to do on the mound, and knows the tendencies of the batters he faces – which is very good. However, as I said, he lacks the stuff do what he needs to do in a lot of situations – which is bad. Very bad.

All that said, and believing a repeat of ’07 is out of the question…I also don’t believe he’ll have a repeat of 2008. I think he studies too much and works too hard to get shelled like that again. I’m looking for 2009 to be somewhere in between.

Prediction: Bannister will (if all goes well and he starts all season) probably throw around 175 to 185 innings. Over the course of the year, he’ll probably win about 10 games and will maybe post an ERA around 4.8 or so, with a WHIP of 1.4. Are those great numbers? Not by any means…but if he can do that all year, that’s a pretty solid number four or five guy in the rotation, and if worse comes to worse, maybe he goes to the bullpen and pitches well in shorter outings.

Greinke signs a 4 year extension

Today the Royals made the best move of the offseason, signing Zack Greinke to a four year, $38million contract. In doing so, not only did the Royals lock up their ace pitcher, they also proved to the fans that KC is no longer trying to get by on a shoestring budget.

Of course, this signing will probably come with those who will put a negative spin on it. “He’s got psychological issues,” they’ll say. “What if he freaks out and walks off the team again?” they’ll ask.

Well…I’m not usually one for a big gamble when it comes to the Royals, as a small market team, they can’t afford to sit at the poker table and lose. However, this is a gamble I’ll take all day long. Greinke is now a couple of full seasons removed from his meltdown, and over that span, he’s started pitching like the ace we thought we drafted.

After a horrible 2005 season, which couldn’t have helped his state of mind, Greinke spent most of 2006 (when he decided he did in fact want to pitch) in the minors, logging about seven big league innings. Then, in 2007, he started out in the bullpen, as the Royals brought him back slowly, and then worked his way back into the rotation. He finished the year with 122 IP (only 14 starts) an ERA of 3.69, and a WHIP of 1.29. Then, in 2008, he proved he was all the way back, breaking camp as a part of the rotation and going on to be one of the best pitchers in the American League. Greinke posted a 13-10 record, logged just over 200 IP, had a 3.47 ERA and a 1.275 WHIP. He also struck out 183 while only walking 56 batters.

I’m going to guess this gamble will pay off…that we just locked up a young number one starting pitcher who has grown comfortable in his skin, is enjoying his success, and is ready to make his mark on the world of baseball. Greinke and Meche give the Royals a nasy 1-2 punch for the second straight year, and hopefully, these two pitchers will continue to lead the Royals back to respectibility.

Some KC football news...

Carl Peterson has officially been replace - welcome Scott Pioli to the Chiefs, ladies and gentlemen.

Should be interesting to see the dominoes start falling now that we have a new head honcho in place...Will Herm get axed? Will the entire coaching staff be shuffled? What type of players does Pioli like? What players are on their way out of town due to not fitting his "mold"?

Hang on Chiefs fan...could be an interesting ride.

That being said...this hiring is a tad less exciting to me than that of Dayton Moore a couple of years back. That one just left a more..."electric" feeling in the air.

There...I mentioned the Royals, too. I mean, it is supposed to be a Royals/baseball blog, right?

Tad Iguchi?

According to some rumors, the Royals are one of a few teams interested in the services of Tad Iguchi, although some Japanese clubs are also after him.

Not sure I like this move, but he could be a good veteran/utility guy to have around maybe...I'd rather see the middle infield of Aviles and Callaspo and see what we've got in those two.  Callaspo showed he could get on base last season and plays a solid second base.

Iguchi is 34 years old and hit around .230 (OBP around .290) last season...if we can get him on the cheap, I may be interested.  But what's the upside of this, really?