SB Nation User Blog: DC Royal

Open Post to the Royals Organization and Personal Resignation as a Fan

DC Royal — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:25:49 -0000

I am extremely disappointed in the Royals’ response to Rany Jazayerli’s blog post of June 24, 2009. Blacklisting Rany Jazayerli from Kauffman Stadium is fundamentally upsetting to me. This shows a lack of class and lack of respect for the basic right of free speech, and the Royals’ response should be protested.

I would have been able to tolerate, even understand, a response of blacklisting someone if Rany Jazayerli were employed or associated with the Royals in any professional capacity. But he’s not. Rany identifies himself on his blog as a dermatologist, blogger, and Royals fan. For years he’s been extremely articulate, incisive, and at times, critical of the Kansas City Royals organization from an outsider’s perspective, and my personal fandom of the Royals has been made all the better by his independent contributions to discussions of my most beloved sports franchise. It is very sad to hear that as a result of his love for the Royals (admittedly, sometimes a "tough love" as in his 6/24/2009), the powers that be have deemed him a pariah.

I’ve been a Royals fan all my life, but this lack of acceptance of freedom of speech by the Royals offends me as a person and citizen of this country. It’s not about whether Nick Swartz should be fired or not. At this point, I could care less, because freedom of speech comes first for me, before fandom. In result, it pains me to say this but I am no longer a fan of the Royals until they issue Rany a public apology. As such, I will no longer provide any support to the Royals – whether that be be monetary, emotionally, and sadly, contributing to this website.

The Royals’ front office response to Rany fundamentally offended my sense of right and wrong, and I will not sacrifice that for anyone, even the franchise that I have loved for so long. It’s time to move on. I wish the Royals all the best, and I extend a warm thank you to all of the contributors to Royals Review. This is an excellent online community – the Royals have such a wealth of intelligent and thougtful fans, it amazes me that so many bright people have been able to tolerate so many years of managerial and company executive ineptitude. But alas, that’s part of being a fan, and I have such a deep respect for you all. It really saddens me to leave this behind. Hopefully, this will not be a permanent self-imposed exile.

All the best,

Jonah Gillespie
Washington, DC

Run Totals During GMDM's Tenure

DC Royal — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:28:49 -0000

Run Totals During GMDM's Tenure

2006 (part of this season belongs to Allard): 757 RS, 871 RA
2007: 706 RS, 778 RA
2008: 691 RS, 781 RA
2009: 304 RS, 359 RA through 75 games (656 RS, 775 RA extrapolated for 162 games)

It's really intriguing that our runs scored has dropped precipitously since Dayton took over, and while our runs allowed enjoyed a large drop in one season between 2006 and 2007, it's topped off since then.

The runs scored is our real problem, folks. Dayton has not proven that he can build a MLB average offense.

More 2009 Draft Signings

DC Royal — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:35:38 -0000

More 2009 Draft Signings

Scott Lyons, SS, 15th round pick from U. Arkansas
Benjamin Tschepikow, 2B, 17th round pick from U. Arkansas
Jonathan Keck, LHP, 42nd round pick from Bethel College
Anthony Howard, CF, 47th round pick from Quince Orchard HS in Potomac, Maryland

Raul Ibanez brings the dark underbelly of bloggers living in their mothers' basements to the...

DC Royal — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:14:25 -0000

Raul Ibanez brings the dark underbelly of bloggers living in their mothers' basements to the national media. Time to go into exile, RR, which means leaving your mother's basement?

"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said, according to the Inquirer. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen.

"Nobody is above the testing policy. We've seen that."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4248759

OT: Anyone here been to Iceland?

DC Royal — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:58:38 -0000

Thanks to the global economic crisis, I'm round tripping to Reykjavik this evening for a far cheaper price than flying to Kansas City. I will do all the obvious touristy stuff there, like going to the Blue Lagoon, volcanic springs, horseback riding, whale watching, and the like. But I would really appreciate some less well known Iceland travel destinations from someone who has been before.

Also, any good restaurants or bars/pubs to recommend??

Let all our troubles be dwelled upon - Burning Royals Questions for 2009

DC Royal — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:17:40 -0000

I'm guardedly optimistic of the Royals in 2009, but I'm not sure exactly what to expect from this team. As some on this site have noted, this team has an outside shot at 2nd place in the AL Central but could easily finish in any slot lower and are more likely to finish last than 10 games above .500. A lot will depend on injuries, player development, and how injuries shake out. I need more Royals fodder to ponder, so let's consider some questions that relate to those categories. I have ready-made answers in my brain but would appreciate to hear how the RR community takes on these topics.

Question #1 - Player Development

To improve upon last year's finish, the Royals will likely need at least one young starting pitcher and one young hitter to take a huge step forward in 2009 from average to very good. Of the young pitchers, Davies, Hochevar, Bannister, who is most likely to do so? What about the hitters, Gordon, Butler, Teahen, Callaspo?

My answer: It's possible that all of these players could stand pat or be even worse than last season, but I think someone from each group is poised to greatly improve. Of the pitchers, I would select Bannister. We all know of his intelligence and I expect him to be closer to 2007-esque form with a lot of hard work and self-reflection in the offseason, not to mention some better luck on balls hit in play. The acquisition of Crisp should help him as well. I don't trust Hochevar yet; I think he will be a #3 starter someday but he needs more experience. I want to see Davies sustain success for a longer period than 5-6 starts before I feel comfortable.

Of the hitters, I've been anticipating a Gordon breakout for two years now and I'm sticking to it. The near-.400 OBP post-All Star break and drastic improvement against LHP makes this one much easier. In order for the Royals to contend next season I really think Gordon needs to take a step towards stardom. A .275/.380/.500 season may be optimistic but is well-within reason.

Question #2 - Offseason Acquisitions

Dayton Moore was no doubt one of the most active GM's this offseason, trading young, cheap relievers for established position players and replenishing a bullpen with high-priced veterans. Of the newly acquired players, Jacobs, Crisp, Farnsworth, Waechter, and HoRam, who are we going to be most pleased with, not now but at the end of 2009?

My answer: I'm as disappointed with the amount of money thrown at Farnsworth as everyone else, but I think he will end up surprising us as a good RH set-up man for Soria. If there is one thing I have learned, GMDM knows how to build a bullpen and, more importantly, Bob McClure knows how to take a cast-off power arm and make it effective out of the bullpen. Granted, I'm putting a lot of faith in the brantrust here, but Farnswoth still has the stuff to be an effective power reliever (95 mph fastball and a hard slider). A season similar to Nunez or Bale at their best before injury would not surprise me.

Question #3 - Offseason Acquisitions Pt. 2

Is Dayton Moore done wheeling and dealing until April?

My answer: I think so. The Royals are above their payroll target and due to the uncertainty of today's economic climate this year's FA signings are going to take much longer to sort out than usual. It's no secret that Dayton wants to trade Guillen but there is ZERO chance that he is able to trade him and get someone reasonable in return by Opening Day. The most we will see between now and April are additional spring training signings and possibly a waiver wire acquisition or two. I hope that Dayton is able to find some additional starting pitching insurance somewhere.

Question #4 - the 25-man roster

Who on the 25-man roster at the end of 2008 is least likely to be in a Royals uniform on Opening Day?

My answer: My heart hopes for Pena or Gload but I think the braintrust values whatever it is they perceive these two as providing more than I do. They will start the season on the 25-man as reserves. So, I'm going to go with Esteban German here. He had a disappointing 2008 season and never seemed to find a niche with Treyball. If the Royals can't trade Guillen, Teahen becomes the primary supersub which means that someone else has to go. I don't see where German fits in the Royals plans.

Question #5 - Back to the Bullpen

The Royals have a surplus of relief pitchers at the moment, carrying 12 viable candidates on the 40-man (Bale, Farnswoth, Gobble, Lowery, Mahay, Peralta, HoRam, Rosa, Soria, Tejeda, Waechter) and inviting some intriguing non-roster candidates to Spring Training (Lenny DiNardo, Franquelis Osoria, Duckworth, Yabuta, and Oscar Villareal). They can carry seven of these guys maximum when the regular season opens. Who gets a spot?

My answer: The way I see it, there are three guaranteed occurences here. One, Soria, Farnswoth and Mahay start the season on the 25-man. Two, at least one would be favorite to win a spot will get hurt and start the season on the DL or in rehab in Omaha. Three, at least one NRI makes the squad. This happens nearly every season. So, taking those three things into account, here is my MLB bullpen projection for Opening Day 2009.

Soria, Farnsworth, Mahay, Bale, Waechter, Tejeda, Villareal. Either Tejeda or Gobble or both start the season on the DL. Rosa starts 2009 in Omaha.

Question #6 - Happy New Year

Which current Royal would you most like to ring in the New Year with?

My answer: I've thought about this one a lot. Do I enjoy a gritty New Year with Ross Gload, or go for a pretty boy one with DDJ? Do I get into fights with random guys in Westport with a blacked out, amped up Kyle Farnsworth or do I get a Chipote burrito with Zack Greinke and then go back to his apartment to watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force? Such a tough question. But I'm not going with any of the above. I would like to ring in the New Year with Miguel Olivo. In interviews he seems like a fun-loving guy but someone who can definitely be an enforcer if some idiot at a party tries to start something aggressive with your crew. He's also Tony Pena's second cousin, which makes me think that he knows how to have a good time on the town in KC. It's in his genes.

Khalil Greene Traded to Cardinals?

DC Royal — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:03:02 -0000

Khalil Greene Traded to Cardinals?

As reported by the New York Post and picked up by MLB.com. Supposedly the Padres will receive two relief prospects in return; I'd guess that Chris Perez would likely be the primary player there. If this indeed is only lacking the signature on the red line, that takes one player off the market who I had a suspicion GMDM would be interested in.

Then again, given Greene's hacktastic career line of .248/.304.427, he's really the last thing the Royals lineup needs right now from an offensive standpoint. I would have preferred picking him up instead of the equally hacktastic Mike Jacobs, but that's a separate issue entirely.

I still think GMDM is actively looking for a SS to bump Aviles to 2B, though now that we have Crisp I think the Furcal to the Royals rumors carry a little less weight given that the Royals braintrust seems set on employing Crisp as a leadoff hitter.

GMDM Continues to Reshape Staff, Hires Mike Arbuckle

DC Royal — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:47:56 -0000

GMDM Continues to Reshape Staff, Hires Mike Arbuckle

Hired as a senior advisor to GMDM. I admit I can't objectively evaluate this one, but on paper it looks like a good move. Arbuckle did a great job drafting and scouting young offensive talent in Philadelphia - Rollins, Burrell, Utley, Howard, Victorino were supposedly all his brainchidren.

Open Thread - ST Game #2 - Royals v. Padres

DC Royal — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:45:06 -0000

I'm up for this again, and this time it's an MLB.TV broadcast. Who's with me?

By and large, this game is just as meaningless as the last one, perhaps even more meaningless considering that the opener versus the Rangers at least exposed how vulnerable Arkansas is to torn Texas-KC loyalties. As Will said, in time, it will be ours.

This game nevertheless holds some sentimental value for me as Nomomania will finally be coming to KC. When Nomo broke into the league with the Dodgers he was a baseball sensation with his tornado wind-up and killer split, not to mention a cool name and legendary status as the Japanese trailblazer. I can still recall donning my Nike Air Nomo cleats to take the mound during Pee Wee games, and while I tried to learn how to throw a split using one of those cheap color-coded balls with the different pitch grips, it never worked out.

Anyways, to get to my point: Being a KC fan as a kid was not that fun because it was precisely these types of sensations that the team, and we as a result, collectively "missed out" on. For those who grew up in the 80's you had Bo, and in the early 90's George Brett was still an icon, though an ageing one. But for those who came to be in the 90's, there wasn't much to go on. Hammer Hamelin was maybe the closest thing, and he only had one strike-shortened season in the sun.

So forgive me if I'm somewhat excited that Nomomania has arrived, albeit 10-15 years late. He may be washed up and have a .0000001% chance of making the 25-man, but just seeing him on the mound again will bring out the kid in me.

Open Thread ST Game #1 - Royals v. Rangers

DC Royal — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:52:14 -0000

From the diaries... We had a few Spring Training Open Threads last year, so lets give it a shot.-RR

Anyone going to be at the game? Anyone listening on Gameday Audio? I will be amongst the latter. If we have enough ppl perhaps we can do an open thread.

The weather sucks outside, but not in Surprise!

FILLER HAIKUS:

true blue tradition
our new captain is hillman
good things await us

Ross Gload will explode
but today is Shealy's day
and never Huber's

Info Link for the official site. Mellinger's blog also has some Surprisey Goodness.