SB Nation User Blog: philofthenorth

Free Agents GMDM Doubtless Covets

philofthenorth — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:50:10 -0000

Free Agents GMDM Doubtless Covets

From Fanhouse; I can't say I disagree with much if anything about this list, and yes, Johnny Damon should be on it as one commenter noted.

The Royals' 2009 From An Outside Perspective

philofthenorth — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:27:51 -0000

The Royals' 2009 From An Outside Perspective

The first handful of dirt on the corpse of another wasted baseball season in KC; linked via The Hardball Times.

"What the team has to do for 2010 Have better preventive medicine so players don't get hurt as often. ... Find more guys like Billy Butler(notes), who is developing into a fine hitter. Alberto Callaspo(notes) is another good offensive player at second base. Alex Gordon probably will be fine at third base, too. There's a good thing Dayton Moore did — sending Gordon back to the minors."

Some Of Our Staff Got Stuff!

philofthenorth — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:13:08 -0000

Some Of Our Staff Got Stuff!

Baseball Analysts attempts to quantify "stuff" and finds Zack to be 3rd best RHP starter behind "Limo Man" Burnett and King Felix. Gil finished just off the chart at 12th with his "electric stuff". Soria shows up 9th in the "makes the most of his stuff" category, but this is the most interesting part to me.

"For example, I had never heard of Carlos Rosa before conducting this analysis, but now, from a sample of just 50 pitches, I can’t stop wondering why he’s not in the Majors. Great stuff. Decent control. The only evident knocks against him are his 2-8 Win-Loss record in AAA and 4.56 ERA. Maybe Dayton Moore knows something I don’t, or perhaps Rosa brought it just for his brief appearance in the Majors, or it’s possible GMDM is undervaluing a young talent who can get Major League hitters out. Actually, all three of these scenarios have probably taken place."

Baby, He's Back

philofthenorth — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:46:15 -0000

Baby, He's Back

OAKLAND, Calif.(AP) Brett Tomko felt he never got the chance to show the New York Yankees what kind of pitcher he was before he was let go last month.

He got his opportunity in his first game back in the majors with the Oakland Athletics .

Tomko pitched five scoreless innings to beat the Yankees less than a month after his release, winning his debut with the A's, 3-0 on Monday night.

''I wasn't mad about it but I really wished I would have had the opportunity to show what I could do,'' Tomko said. ''I realize the situation. It's about winning there. They had horses that were doing well. I understood that. That's why I didn't have bad feelings. I just feel like I didn't really ever get the chance to show what I could do.''

Too late for this year, but the 2010 A.L. Cy Young seems inevitable. JDLR has the N.L. CY wrapped up this year, no?

Is Trey Hillman Going To Get Canned?

philofthenorth — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:04:57 -0000

Is Trey Hillman Going To Get Canned?

From Shysterball, Bob Tufts in the comments section:
"Bob Tufts said...
I (gulp) put the Royals in the same class as the Milwaukee pre-Selig’s departure. I find the Brwers rapid improvement post-Bud and Wendy to be no coincidence, as the current ownership used economic and baseball metrics to improve the organization from top to bottom.

Glass was selected as owner more for his alliance with Selig as a hardliner on labor issues as opposed to his ability to run a baseball franchise. Royals fans were screwed in the process.

Clubs can have their precious children and hangers-on work for the team, but unless they are qualified and there are demands for performance they are worse than dead weight. Steinbrenner would fire his kids if they didn’t folow the plan - would Glass do so, and frankly, what is the KC plan? "

So what do you really think, Bob?

A ChiSox Fan's Preseason Evaluation Of The Royals

philofthenorth — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:01:54 -0000

A ChiSox Fan's Preseason Evaluation Of The Royals

I found this on a random search for something else entirely. I thought it was kind of interesting looking back at preseason expectations from a different point of view. I don't think this was linked here before.

Royals Waiver Wire Possibilities

philofthenorth — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:54:59 -0000

Royals Waiver Wire Possibilities

Heyman Thinks Hoagy, Bloomers and Maday would all clear waivers, and he even thinks we might get Gil through. I don't think we're out to waive Gil, but he is mentioned. Could we take a run at Dunn?

Posnanski's Top 100 Baseball Players

philofthenorth — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:21:46 -0000

Posnanski's Top 100 Baseball Players

Joe takes on the daunting task of naming and ranking the top 100 baseball players, right now, in MLB. I'm sure some of you will disagree vehemently with some of his choices.

Whither Teabag Once Again

philofthenorth — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:19:39 -0000

With Gordon coming back and Betancourt doubtless becoming the starting SS, the saga of Mark Teahen takes another turn. Depending on Hoagy's legs, A-Gor may DH for a while, but that is not a permanent solution to the Teahen problem. Since Coco is out of the picture, that opens up LF unless TH insists on playing Freel in CF.

Here's what I would do:

C Olivo/Buck

1B Butler

2B Callaspo

SS Betancourt

3B Gordon

LF Pena

CF DDJ

RF Teahen

DH Hoagy most of the time, Jakers against a tough RHP

Batting order:

Callaspo

Butler

Gordon

Guillen/Jacobs

Teahen

Pena

DDJ

Olivo/Buck

Betancourt

This leaves Bloomers, Freel, a catcher and Jakers or Hoagy on the bench. I think this gives us the best chance to win while still developing the players who will matter in the coming years. I have little hope that anything like this will happen. This assumes no more moves are made, and after Betancourt I'm kind of hoping this is the case. I'm not as down on this move as most, but it's not what I'd have done.

Get Out Of Denver, Baby!

philofthenorth — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:46:12 -0000

Get Out Of Denver, Baby!

Beloved former Royal Clint Hurdle, whose aunt and uncle I briefly knew, just received the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the Rox's owner. Combined with the fact that, aside from one miracle stretch of wins that led them to the slaughter in the Series, Hurdle has been below .500 as a manager. The writing is on the wall.