SBNation.com User Blog: Boots 58

Royals Position Players Since 2003 With More WAR Than Mike Moustakas' 2012 Season

Boots 58 — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:25:20 -0000

Royals Position Players Since 2003 With More WAR Than Mike Moustakas' 2012 Season

6.9 - Alex Gordon (1 other season qualifies)
6.8 - Carlos Beltran
4.4 - Mike Aviles
4.4 - David DeJesus
4.2 - Melky Cabrera (3 other seasons qualify)

Royals Digital Digest 2011; It All Happens Here

Boots 58 — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 01:22:24 -0000

Ryan Lefebvre looking at Dayton Moore who is looking at Ryan Lefebvre looking at Dayton Moore.

The Digital Digest was probably a step in the right direction for the Royals in reaching out to the alternative media. Dayton Moore met with a group of 7 bloggers, other than me, and he did in fact answer whatever question we asked of him. However, due to time constraints and the fact that each answer he gave was approximately 3 minutes long we only got to ask around 5 questions.

That doesn't mean that nothing useful occurred. I think that we asked some good questions and got some interesting answers, however most of these were not directed to Dayton Moore. The best answers mostly came from two people: Mike Swanson and Ned Yost. Billy Butler was Billy Butler. Jeff Francoeur seemed like a likable person who knows that he may not be well liked as a player, but is liked because of who he is. He also gave us some honest answers. I also interviewed Royalman in his cape.

I'm sorry to admit to you my second biggest regret of the night: I didn't get Dayton's vote in the DMIT finals. Sorry Royals Review readers, continue on if you can still respect me.

Ryan Lefebvre looking at Dayton Moore who is looking at Ryan Lefebvre looking at Dayton Moore.

I'm sorry to admit to you my second biggest regret of the night: I didn't get Dayton's vote in the DMIT finals. Sorry Royals Review readers, continue on if you can still respect me.

The afternoon started with the bloggers arriving around our appointed time of 3:45. It was interesting to put a face to all the names I know only from the internet. We chatted briefly before our interviews, decided that we basically had the same questions, and wondered how the whole thing was going to proceed as it was very vague up to this point how the interviews would be conducted.

We began by talking to David Holtzman (media relations) and Mike Swanson (VP communications), who were our overseers for the afternoon. Both of them were very open with us and took several questions. Swanson was the man in charge, and he gave very honest answers and a little look into the workings of the Royals upper council. Swanson was fighting against the blogs and online community from getting any access for years, but is willing to embrace them in the future. He even mentioned that there may be a "bloggers night" at a Royals game this year, but didn't really give too many specifics. The whole thing is a work in progress, and I think he wanted to see how well we behaved today before committing to anything. I don't think we screwed it up.

To give an example of the general feeling in the organization, I jokingly asked "Do the Royals think bloggers live in their parents basement?"

Everyone laughed, and Swanson lightly responded "Why, do you?" He then added "...not the Royals, just at our meetings [I've] heard guys talk about bloggers at times, and some of the stuff that apears..."

Perhaps bloggers can just get permission slips signed by their moms and they'll be good to go.

Dayton Moore has 5 cellphones AND advanced knowledge of sabermetrics.

Around 4:15 Dayton Moore came in the room. He introduced himself personally to each of us, and sat to take questions. Before he could answer any questions, Swanson basically explained to Moore why we were there and what was going on. I think that Dayton was aware what was happening beforehand, but I can't be certain. We proceeded to ask around 5 questions before time was up, and the way he answered each of the questions was in a vague round-a-bout way.

For example, I asked why he traded DDJ at the beginning of the offseason when his stock might be higher later in the offseason. He said that the accepted offer was the best they received at any time (including before he was injured), and the Crawford market was not comparable to the market for DDJ. He didn't really discuss why he didn't wait, other than to say "the market wouldn't have changed."

There's really not too much else to discuss with his interview. I'm sure someone will post the transcript tomorrow, but he gave the typical answers he gives in interviews. Maybe I missed some minute detail while I was there or during the few times I have re-listened to the interview. The time frame was too brief for us to ask follow up questions clarifying our points or going into further detail once he gave a response. I guess this isn't a big deal as this is just the first meeting between basement dwellers and Dayton Moore, but hopefully there is some additional time when bloggers get to ask him questions next.

This is a giant baseball. It is located at fanfest. Don't get too close though because it's roped off.

Next up was Ned Yost (around 4:30). We got to talk to him for around 20 minutes, which was a little over our time limit. He was very up front with the way he answered questions. When asked if he was willing to use Soria in less convential ways, he told us that "you won't catch me doing it." It's refreshing to hear a straight answer, even if is not the one you want to hear. Also, he told us the #2 spot in the lineup is for the "situational-guy" in your lineup. I meant to bring up Tango's research of optimal lineups, but time was limited and I missed my chance. Alas.

Also, when I asked him, "Are you planning on playing Alex [Gordon] everyday?" He responded, "Yeah, you know, kinda...Lorenzo Cain is in that mix, and Blanco is in that mix and Dyson...we just have to see how things shake out." Sounds like Gordon's playing time may not be as guaranteed as we hoped/thought. Looking back, I wish I had asked about Kila. I think we all assume that both of them are going to get a good chance this year, but it's perfectly possible neither of them do. Or maybe I'm reading into a January interview a little too much.

Yost also mentioned that he doesn't know what players he will have to work with once the season starts. It's pretty fair for him to be vague with the outfield when the Royals currently have 6 outfielders (plus Francoeur). To be honest, I feel kind of bad for Yost. Between the questions that we asked Moore and Yost, it was basically confirmed that playing time was guaranteed Cabrera and Francoeur. This means that Yost is limited in his managerial options in how he tries to win games. That's not the situation I would want to be in, but hopefully Yost can make the best of it.

We only have to wait until 2012 to get another one of these. Maybe sooner.

Last up was Billy and Jeffy. We asked Billy some questions first because he had another appointment, and he gave the typical Billy Butler answers. A lot of "you know"s and "I mean"s sprinkled in among his cliche answers to the questions. His response to Nick's in depth question on if his reduction in power but increase in overall offense was part of a plan: "I'm just trying to put the barrel on it." I think that was Yuni's plan all along as well.

However, KCYeti accused Billy Butler of staring him down from the batter's box while the Yeti was watching from the stands. Apparently, KCYeti thought Billy was looking for people trying to read his lips. Billy had no response. It was a pretty hilarious exchange, and while KCYeti was joking (I think), Billy seemed to enjoy getting a different sort of question than he typically gets.

Jeff Francoeur was asked about his swinging out of the strike zone and lack of ability to take walks. He completely acknowledged these faults in his game, and told us he is working on it. He spent 2 hours of batting practice this morning with Kevin Seitzer, so apparently he has a seriously problem with his approach (who knew?).

When asked about his "mentoring" and "leadership" abilities, he indicated that the older guys generally treated him very well when he was a rookie and he is planning on doing the same thing. They paid for his golf, food, and sme other expenses, but they weren't afraid to let him know if he messed up. This is in stark contrast to Billy Butler as a rookie, who had people treating him not so nice. Hopefully Frenchie's plan works on better than Billy's.

Fancoeur seemed like he was well aware of the general feeling on the internet about him. He preempted several of our questions without us prompting him (Minda said "you just knocked out 6 of my questions). Hopefully, whatever the Royals are doing that is different, things click in Francoeur's mind. He WAS effective as a 21 year old, so maybe it will come together six years later. No matter what, he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

It gets crazy at fanfest. I should note that there is a full service bar for adults.

After the players left, we got another 15 minutes with Swanson and Holtzman. Again, they answered all the questions we asked, and even gave us information we didn't ask for. I really want to emphasize how communicative these guys were trying to be during our interviews. We had a good conversation with them, and I plan to post the transcript unless someone else does while I'm at work tomorrow. I think I covered several of the main points above, but the overall chat we had could be interesting to people.

Next, we had a brief tour of the season ticket holder fanfest. As far as I can tell, Fanfest looks like a fun experience for the family. There are things for the kids to do; such as running bases, hitting slow pitch baseballs, and meeting Slugerrrrrrrrrr. There are things for the adults to do; such as the bar, a small hall of fame area, the bar, and several areas for collectibles/merchandise. Of course there a lot of autograph areas if you are into that as well.

I want to note that I saw Ryan Lefebvre interview Dayton Moore for quite awhile on the main stage. Moore also took time to field questions from the crowd. I didn't keep track of the time he was up there, but I am willing to bet that it was a good deal longer than he gave the bloggers. I don't know what that means, but that's just how the cards fell. To be honest I'm not sure there is too much to be learned from Moore in a public relations setting.

Without trying to be overly sarcastic, there were quite a few gimmicky and fun things at fanfest (for example, they had Royals family feud featuring Bruce Chen and Hal McRae on separate teams. What?!). I think that appeals to a lot of fans, and there's a lot of things there to entertain you for a while. If you make it out to the Overland Park Convention Center this weekend, you will probably have a good time. I would say it's worth your effort if you want to do something baseball related in the middle of the winter snowstorms. I received a free pass for another day this weekend, and I plan to make it out there again just to check it out in the setting of a "fan."

Overall, it was a good move to invite the bloggers. Some of the other attendees commented they were trying to think of questions that people typically don't hear, and I would say that they succeeded. Not to say that bloggers are revolutionary in their questions, and that they are better than anything anyone has ever seen. They aren't, but they're questions that I don't typcially hear when I listen to sports radio in the morning.

I don't know what the Royals PR expected, but things probably went as well as they could. No one made an ass of themselves, no one was offended by any questions, and more people will probably hear about fanfest than they would have if the bloggers weren't invited, so it's a win for everyone involved. The Royals will probably be more open to hosting alternative media events in the future, which can only mean more exposure for the general fans who like to follow the Royals in either a casual or hardcore sense.

Sorry to disappoint those who wanted me to get kicked out screaming and yelling. I decided that since I really don't have a stake in this (I don't have a blog), I didn't want to ruin things for the future of bloggers on the Royalsnet.

Oh, and to end things here is a cute kid who I think may be a future starting pitcher for the Royals (another lefty for depth!):

Note: The mother told me the boy has cerebral palsy, so it seems unlikely that he will be the next Montgomery/Lamb/Duffy/Dwyer/etc/etc. But at least we have one more Royals fan for when they turn around in 2011! And I like the photo.

Here is a link to my photos for those interested: http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h371/mgrosdidier/

Royals Avoid Arbitration With Alex Gordon - 1 Year $1.4 Million

Boots 58 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:04:57 -0000

Royals Avoid Arbitration With Alex Gordon - 1 Year $1.4 Million

Gordon signed a deal for $1.4 million with a chance for $100,000 in performance bonuses. (Updated)

Best Bunter In 2010: Gregor Blanco?

Boots 58 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:54:51 -0000

Best Bunter In 2010: Gregor Blanco?

Gregor Blanco got a hit on 57% of his 21 fair bunts last year.

Here is Part Two in the series

Is This Enough? Best Assets In Texas

Boots 58 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:24:31 -0000

Is This Enough? Best Assets In Texas

A+ The Alamo - Bastion of defense for small market teams - High upside, sure to succeed (according to anonymous sources).
A- Jessica Simpson - Attractive female human - Major league ready. Some may prefer a similar piece.
B+ Cowboys Bigscreen TV - Bigger than the Royals HDTV - High upside, but Royals are stocked in this department. Would block other prospects.
B+ Steers - Source of sustinance - Mid-level asset but sure to produce consistantly.
C- Game Used Francoeur Jerseys - Collectors items sure to rise in value - Low-level throw in, but type of asset managment covets.

Top 5 Greinke Rumors This Offseason

Boots 58 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:25:49 -0000

Top 5 Greinke Rumors This Offseason

Thinks Matt Cassel is a franchise QB
Does not think we landed on the moon
Afraid of bees
Does not find Conan humorous
Brandon Belt

Rany On The Royals - Chiefs Playoff Odds

Boots 58 — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:40:31 -0000

Rany On The Royals - Chiefs Playoff Odds

An interesting look at the Chiefs chances to make the playoffs. Rany goes into detail what has to happen for the Chiefs to make the playoffs, either by winning the division or the wildcard. Bottom line: win the division or go home.

Vin Mazzaro - Pitchf/x analysis

Boots 58 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:11:01 -0000

Vin Mazzaro - Pitchf/x analysis

"Today's topics are the unusual splits of a cutter, the borderline between cutters and sliders, and looking at the sinker of a recently traded pitcher...that doesn't sink."

Billy Butler, The Royals Most Valuable Player, Wins Award For Being Most Valuable Player

Boots 58 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:45:17 -0000

Billy Butler, The Royals Most Valuable Player, Wins Award For Being Most Valuable Player

Billy Butler wins the coveted Les Milgram Player of the Year award for second straight year. He was also the most valuable according to WAR (BRef, 2nd in Fangraphs).

If your team needs a catcher who absolutely will not get on base, this is the free agent class of...

Boots 58 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:02:48 -0000

If your team needs a catcher who absolutely will not get on base, this is the free agent class of your dreams.

Keith Law - Twitter

Strutting Cassel hangs with Strutting Leo.

Boots 58 — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:50:37 -0000

Strutting Cassel hangs with Strutting Leo.

What Is Different For Cassel?

Boots 58 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:14:59 -0000

Let's play a fun game: what are the differences between two teams?

I would do a fancy image here, but that would ruin part of the surprise, since you would know who the teams are!

Spoiler: One of them might be the Chiefs.

Let's play a fun game: what are the differences between two teams?

I would do a fancy image here, but that would ruin part of the surprise, since you would know who the teams are!

Spoiler: One of them might be the Chiefs.

Lets take a look at the two different teams, and how they rank up against each other:

Category	Team A	Team B
Win Percentage	>0.60	>0.60
Rush Offense	3rd	6th
Pass Yards/Game	27th	12th
Points Allowed/Game	3rd	8th
Yards Allowed/Game	16th	10th
Giveaway/Takeaway	13th	15th
Punt Return Avg	1st	9th

Note: All ranks are out of 32 teams. 1 is the highest (or best), 32 is the lowest.

These two teams look pretty equal from the stats that I have given, save that Team A is not very good at passing the ball. Team A is better at running the ball, but not by much. Both their defenses look pretty good, and they are good at returning punts.

Now let's compare the quarterbacks for these two teams, since it looks like Team A has a crappy quarterback:

Category	Player A	Player B
Completions	232	327
Attempts	424	516
Percent	54.7	63.4
Yards	2600	3693
Avg/Attempt	6.1	7.2
TD	16	21
INT	12	11

Player B had the better season by a long shot, but you already knew that.

However, both of these players are Matt Cassel. Player A is Matt Cassel's projected stats based on his season so far, and Player B is Matt Cassel with the 2008 Patriots.

And wouldn't you know it, the above Team A is the 2010 Chiefs while Team B is the 2008 Patriots. Hmm, they seem to be pretty similar in a lot of ways. That is, other than their passing game.

Now what else is different between these two teams, and how does that compare to the current Chiefs? Lets take a look:

Category	2010 Chiefs	2008 Patriots	Advantage
QB	Matt Cassel	Matt Cassel	Equal
O Coord	Charlie Weis	Josh McDaniels	?
WR1	Bowe	Moss	NE
WR2	Chambers	Welker	NE
RB	Jones/Charles	Morris/Faulk	KC
Sacks Allowed	3 (best*)	48 (5th worst)	KC

*Through 4 games, some teams have played 5 games.

Lets recap.

Both teams had good defenses. This allows the offense to be in the game and know that if they score, it will make a difference.
Both teams have positive giveaway/takeaway ratios. This is a point that Haley has been driving home all season.
Both teams have good punt return teams. Field position is important.
The 2008 Patriots had better wide receivers, and the Patriots had a much better passing game than the Chiefs do right now.
The 2010 Chiefs have better running backs, but both teams had good running games.
The offensive line for these teams was probably pretty similar. The Chiefs have only allowed 3 sacks this year, as opposed to the 48 the 2008 Patriots team allowed. However, I don't think sacks are a good statistic to show how good a line is.
However, this probably is a good indication that Matt Cassel spent more time in the pocket in 2008. More sacks in 2008 and yet more yards.

There are a few things you could take away from this as to why the Chiefs are not doing as well in the passing game as the 2008 Patriots.

1. Matt Cassel has regressed from his 2008 season. Completely possible that Matt Cassel was very lucky, and he really isn't as good as he showed us in 2008. He took advantage of his first opportunity to start in years and was successful.

2. Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers are not good. Cassel benefited from having two of the best WRs in the league on his team at the same time. The Chiefs have no where near as good wide receivers, and Matt Cassel is not to blame.

3. Josh McDaniels is better at calling plays for Matt Cassel than Charlie Weis. We all know that Weis was pretty good at calling plays for Tom Brady, and he did pretty good with Jimmy Clausen at Notre Dame, but Matt Cassel isn't really the same type of quarterback. It's very possible that if the Broncos had been able to acquire Cassel instead of the Chiefs, he would be playing much better in the NFL than he has for the Chiefs. As mentioned above, Matt Cassel is not spending as much time in the pocket, and is rushing the ball out of his hands or scrambling. This could be due to Matt Cassel himself or the plays being called from above.

Everyone seems to be focusing on options 1 and 2, but not three. Could it be possible that the hailed hiring of Charlie Weis is not a good thing for Matt Cassel? Or perhaps is Todd Haley restricting what Matt Cassel is able to do on offense, rushing him to make short and easy throws?

I'm not sure what the difference is, but I know that the Chiefs are 3-1 and that it's probably a bit too early to make any drastic changes. Cassel is probably the easiest scape goat, but we need to let the season play out a bit more before we decide it is in fact him.

(If anyone knows of a site that has advanced NFL stats, I would love to know how many attempts over 10 or 20 yards we have this year compared to the 2008 Patriots. I think this could tell part of the story.)

Rany - Could Jarrod Dyson Be The Royals CF of the Future?

Boots 58 — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:11:48 -0000

Rany - Could Jarrod Dyson Be The Royals CF of the Future?

"The stats say Jarrod Dyson is a poor man’s Joey Gathright, or (as I compared him to before the season) Endy Chavez: a player with top-of-the-line speed and defense, but below-replacement-level hitting skills. The scouts – or at least one scout – thinks that Dyson’s numbers are a reflection of his inexperience playing the game, and that – even at age 26 – he is poised to take a giant step forward and become a quality everyday centerfielder in the majors."

Rany - How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The GM.

Boots 58 — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:47:02 -0000

Rany - How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The GM.

"The Giants are proof that to build a playoff team, you don’t need to trade well, and you don’t need to spend money well. You simply have to draft well. The fact is that Brian Sabean, despite his many, many blunders over the years, cannot be considered a failure as a GM, because the Giants have done such a good job of drafting over the past decade that it covers over his mistakes."

Though the throwing error went to Quiroz, rendering the decisive run unearned, the loss went to Dan...

Boots 58 — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:32:42 -0000

Though the throwing error went to Quiroz, rendering the decisive run unearned, the loss went to Dan Cortes, and it's hard to say he didn't deserve it. Cortes inherited a three-run lead in the eighth and promptly threw nine consecutive balls, walking two, allowing a single, and giving the lead away before escaping the inning. He then returned for the ninth and, while he got the first two guys out, he walked Mitch Moreland and struck out Cruz on a pitch that was essentially uncatchable. The curve dropped at least a good foot in front of home plate before bouncing off, away from everybody. Cortes' final line reads 42 pitches - 18 strikes - 24 balls - and he was exactly as wild as that seems, if not moreso.

via Lookout Landing - Cortes earns first loss in amazing walkoff strikeout (emphasis mine).

Yost expects no changes in coaching staff except replacing Kuntz

Boots 58 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:11:33 -0000

Yost expects no changes in coaching staff except replacing Kuntz

Nothing is likely to be official until after the season, but Royals manager Ned Yost anticipates no changes in his coaching staff for next season beyond the need to replace first base coach Rusty Kuntz.

Yost’s staff could undergo a major shakeup if bench coach John Gibbons gets a managerial job. Gibbons spent nearly four years as Toronto’s manager from 2004-08 and is completing his second season on the Royals’ staff.

All coaches are under contracts that expire at the end of the season.

MLBTR: Are the Royals the next losing team to make the playoffs?

Boots 58 — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:38:54 -0000

MLBTR: Are the Royals the next losing team to make the playoffs?

"Eight teams have assured themselves of losing records in 2010, but they're all trying to turn things around and reach the postseason. Could the Diamondbacks, under new GM Kevin Towers, be the first to reach the playoffs? What about the Royals, who have so much minor league talent? Or the Cubs, a big-market team with a number of pieces already in place? It's time to vote on those teams, plus the Nationals, Pirates, Mariners, Indians and Orioles."

The results say no.

Royals extend contract with Omaha

Boots 58 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:11:22 -0000

Royals extend contract with Omaha

"The Royals announced Thursday that they have extended their contract with Class AAA Omaha through the 2014 season.

The Omaha Royals, who will be moving into a new park next year, are 77-62 this season in the Pacific Coast League.

Omaha has been an affiliate since 1969."

Lineup for Motown matinee: Blanco 8, Aviles 6, Bloomie 5, Billy DH, Kila 3, Pena 2, Mitch 9, Miller...

Boots 58 — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:52:28 -0000

Lineup for Motown matinee: Blanco 8, Aviles 6, Bloomie 5, Billy DH, Kila 3, Pena 2, Mitch 9, Miller 7, Getz 4. O'Sully pitching.

David Holtzman

I've never complained that much about a lineup, but...Bloomie at 3? WHO'S BEING SET UP TO FAIL NOW?

Throughout the decade of David Glass’ ownership of the Royals, the team has lost a record amount of ...

Boots 58 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:37:41 -0000

Throughout the decade of David Glass’ ownership of the Royals, the team has lost a record amount of games. Those losses without question are the direct result of the things Glass has done as an owner. However, from all the information available, it seems that he has become in many respects a model owner in recent years. His prior mistakes continue to haunt the franchise and will do so for at least a couple more years. He shouldn’t be given a pass for those mistakes; however he should be praised for changing his ways and doing the right things.

Royals Authority - David Glass 2.0

Deadspin acquires financial reports of baseball teams. Part 1 - Pirates, Rays, Marlins,...

Boots 58 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:02:41 -0000

Deadspin acquires financial reports of baseball teams.

Part 1 - Pirates, Rays, Marlins, Angels

Part 2 - Mariners

Update: Analysis of the data (Biz of Baseball) . Also, it's hinted that all teams information will be released in the coming days.

No info on the Royals. Yet.

Royals Are One Of The Best Clutch Hitting Teams In The League

Boots 58 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:13:11 -0000

Royals Are One Of The Best Clutch Hitting Teams In The League

After taking each team’s Clutch batting score from 2000 until the 2010 season and averaging them on a per-team basis, I found that the mean is -7.26 wins and the standard deviation is 12.7. That means that the Cubs (-35.1) are more than two standard deviations away from the mean. The Diamondbacks (-26.2), Reds (-24.1), and Rockies (-22.6) are all a standard deviation away on the same side of the scale as the Cubs. Meanwhile the Angels (16), Twins (14.7), Mariners (11.7), Athletics (8.9), and Royals (8.5) are more than one standard deviation away from the mean on the other side.

#Royals manager Ned Yost says plan is for Brayan Pena to catch at least 15 of the remaining 49...

Boots 58 — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:51:23 -0000

#Royals manager Ned Yost says plan is for Brayan Pena to catch at least 15 of the remaining 49 games.

Dutton - Twitter

Pre-season Coaches Poll Released

Boots 58 — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:43:44 -0000

Pre-season Coaches Poll Released

4. Texas
8. Oklahoma
9. Nebraska

Missouri recieved 32 votes, good enough for 36th place

What Will The 2018 Royals Look Like?

Boots 58 — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:33:00 -0000

What will the Royals of the future look like? Here's my best guess:

C: TBD

1B: TBD

2B: Antonio

SS: TBD

3B: Cuthbert (2-time all-star by this point)

OF: TBD

DH: TBD

Bench: TBD

Now the pitchers.

SP: TBD

SP: Crow

SP: TBD

Relief: TBD

Closer: TBD

As you can see, we don't have a lot of the team of the future in the system right now.

What will the Royals of the future look like? Here's my best guess:

C: TBD

1B: TBD

2B: Antonio

SS: TBD

3B: Cuthbert (2-time all-star by this point)

OF: TBD

DH: TBD

Bench: TBD

Now the pitchers.

SP: TBD

SP: Crow

SP: TBD

Relief: TBD

Closer: TBD

As you can see, we don't have a lot of the team of the future in the system right now.

The Royals management decides to call up every worthwhile prospect during the 2011 and 2012 seasons as they make a push for the World Series. Service times be damned, Moore is under too much pressure to save his job and win now. It works, and Clint Robinson hits the game winning homerun in Game 7 of the 2014 season. Yay.

Now back to the team of the future. Without knowing who is extended, the only Royals currently in the minors that make it to the big leagues are Cuthbert, Antonio, and Crow.

Cheslor Cuthbert rises steadily through the system as there is no real rush for him to make it quickly, making year long stops at Burlington and Wilmington. He absolutely mashes the ball in NWA, and stops in Omaha before making his debut late in 2014. He starts 2015 in Omaha, gaming his service time, and splits time with Mike "bigger-bust-than-Alex-Gordon" Moustakas. He makes the all-star team in 2016 and 17. Cuthbert poops his pants when he's anointed the next George Brett.

Michael Anotonio is forced to move to 2B as his defense does not develop, but he is able to get on base and steal bases at a great clip. He makes his debut with the Royals in 2015 when the Royals release Mike Aviles (who has two more Tommy John surgeries).

Aaron Crow is demoted to Burlington, then to Idaho Falls, then to R Burlington before things finally click. He rises slowly through the system, spending an adequate amount of time at each level so as not to be rushed, before making his major league debut in 2015.

I realize the giant hole in my analysis which has been harped upon dozens of times here: all prospects do not work out (see: Maier, Mitch). You hit and you miss. I do not think 90 percent of these guys will make it.

Therefore, I think it would be fair to say that at LEAST one of the players I listed above will not make it to the Royals major league team. Sorry Anotonio, but your time is up. Might as well hang up the cleats.

Hopefully, Dayton Moore fills this need soon. I don't really care how; the draft, trades, free agency, or international signings, we need to be thinking about the future.

If anyone sees a player I'm missing, let me know in the comments. And please, hold off on the Jason Kendall and Yuniesky Betancourt jokes here. They WONT be here. This is too serious.

Next To Be Moved: Bloomquist?

Boots 58 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:45:34 -0000

Next To Be Moved: Bloomquist?

Willie Bloomquist most likely Royal to be dealt before deadline. Angels, Yankees, Phils & Padres have kicked the tires on him. #trades

via Jerry Crasnick

And I want to ask a question, and I hope it’s a rhetorical question: Can you really call Dayton M...

Boots 58 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:54:21 -0000

And I want to ask a question, and I hope it’s a rhetorical question: Can you really call Dayton Moore the worst GM in baseball, or even one of the worst GMs in baseball, when he’s built the #1 farm system in the game in three years?

Rany on the Royals - Minor League Verdict

John Lamb promoted to AA Northwest Arkansas after tonight's game. His line: 4 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0...

Boots 58 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:13:16 -0000

John Lamb promoted to AA Northwest Arkansas after tonight's game. His line: 4 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (1.45 ERA in A+).

The Future Is Now (Closer).

via Schaum

Royals Authority - Trade Deadline: Alternate Universe Edition

Boots 58 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:54:11 -0000

Royals Authority - Trade Deadline: Alternate Universe Edition

Fantasy Manager Moves:

Royals Send: Callaspo
Royals Receive: Tevor Bell, SP and PTBNL (Angels)

Royals Send: Guillen, $4 Million
Royals Receive: Ray Kruml, OF (Yankees)

Royals Send: Farns and Bloomquist
Royals Receive: Chris Dickerson, OF (Reds)

Royals Send: Podsednik and Aviles
Royals Receive: Che-Hsuan Lin, OF and Kyle Weiland, P (Red Sox)

Call-ups: Lucas, Kila, Coleman, Hardy, Gordon
Demotions: Marte

Nebraska NOT unanimous to win the North?

Boots 58 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:58:55 -0000

Nebraska NOT unanimous to win the North?

By Mike DeArmond - Posted on 21 July 2010, KC Star

The Big 12 might want to issue a correction - albeit a small and pretty darned meaningless one - about league media being unanimous in picking Nebraska to win the Big 12 North.

I didn't pick the Cornhuskers, although given that Missouri plays at Nebraska I probably should have and probably would now.

A call to the Big 12 office produced a very nice apology:

"Thanks Mike. Sorry about the poll. All I can guess is it was either misplaced once I printed it off or intern who assisted me accidentally miscalculated points. I'll make sure your votes are counted for preseason team."

DeArmond's voting in the link, including Jerrell Jackson first team offense.