The Royals have made 4 off-season transactions. Time for a quick analysis
1. Trade Relief Pitcher Leo Nunez to Florida for 1B Mike Jacobs
The Royals gave up part of their solid relief core last year to acquire a big bat that can slide in at the 4 or 5 slot of the lineup. Last year, Jacobs hit .247 with 32 home runs and 93 RBI's with the Marlins; however, his .299 on-base percentage was downright pitiful and something that is going to have to improve. Jacobs played in a bigger ballpark in Florida and comes to a ballpark with similar dimensions in Kansas City. He definitely has the potential to break the single season home run record held by Steve Balboni (36). Former Royal Kevin Seitzer was brought in to serve as the team's hitting coach and hopefully he can improve the OBP for not only Jacobs, but Jose Guillen, Mark Teahan, and Co.
2. Trade Relief Pitcher Ramon Ramirez to Boston for OF Coco Crisp
The Royals gave up yet another part of their solid relief core last year to acquire a true leadoff hitter in Crisp. General Manager Dayton Moore is hoping Crisp will provide the spark at the top of the lineup which will help the Royals improve on their 12th place finish in the American League in total runs. In 118 games for the Sox last year, Crisp hit .283 with an OBP of .344 with 7 homers, 43 RBI's and 20 stolen base. Look for the Royals to run Crisp a lot and you will see that stolen base total go up.
KEY ANALYSIS OF THE HITTING ACQUISITIONS: The Royals added two fresh bats to their lineup for about $9-$10 million in payroll. They likely would not have gotten the caliber of players in Jacobs and Crisp in the free agent market. Crisp, David DeJesus, and Mark Teahan will likely makeup the outfield this year with Jose Guillen serving as designated hitter. Oddman out? Perhaps Billy Butler, who will probably be a bench player/part time starter for the Royals.
3. Acquisition of Relief Pitcher Kyle Farnsworth for 2 years, $9.25 million.
Now, I understand what Dayton Moore is doing. He traded away two key components of his team, in order to acquire what he called cheap, quality hitters. He could then use some money to pay what some consider as "good money" to a top reliever in the marketplace. But Kyle Farnsworth? This guy may be one of the most overrated players in the history of baseball. I mean, the guy can throw 100 MPH, but his pitches have about as much movement on them as Joe Paterno on one leg. Farnsworth has a life-time 4.47 ERA in ten major league seasons, with his best season coming in 2005, when he had a 2.19 ERA splitting time with Detroit and Atlanta. Hopefully Farnsworth can rekindle the magic he had in 2005.
4. Acquisition of Relief Pitcher Horacio Ramirez for 1 year.
Dayton Moore traded Ramirez to the White Sox at the trade deadline last year but ended up getting him back in the free agent market. Ramirez was effective for the Royals last year in limited action as a reliever; however, Dayton Moore has said that Ramirez would compete for the fifth spot in the Kansas City rotation.
WHAT IS LEFT TO DO
The Royals missed out on Rafael Furcal, who elected to sign with the Dodgers. Had Furcal signed with the Royals, Mike Aviles would have moved from shortstop to second base; however, it now appears that Alberto Callaspo will be on the opening day second baseman next year. There are still a lot of free agents out on the market, don't expect the Royals to sit through the rest of the offseason in a quiet mode. After all, you never know when the next Mark Teahan trade rumor may pop up agai
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
JB Sez a new day is dawning in Kansas City..........
Well the semester has finally ended, school is 26 days away from returning, and I got some free time on my hands. What better way to spend that time but to blog, and what better way to start the blog up again by sharing my thoughts on what transpired yesterday in Kansas City. After 20 years of serving as General Manager, President, and CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs, Carl Peterson announced he was resigning effective at the end of the season. Whether Peterson actually resigned or was fired remains a question, but the bottom line is that a new mind will be in charge of player personnel decisions in Kansas City and this decision probably should have been made a long time ago.
Now, Carl Peterson has done some great things in Kansas City. He has overseen a home sellout of every game since 1991 (well technically every ticket was sold), he went 176-141-1 as General Manager and oversaw 4 AFC West Titles and 9 playoff berths. He made a Chiefs tickets one of the hottest commodities in the country and ensured that if Chiefs fans could not go to a home game, they could watch them on TV in their home market with that sellout streak.
In the end, King Carl could not escape from the shortfalls of himself as a General Manager. In 20 years, King Carl failed to draft and develop a quarterback as a franchise quarterback. He made the ill-fated decision to release Rich Gannon and keep Elvis Grbac. We then saw Gannon take the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl and Grbac flunk out of the NFL. The most important stat in the Carl Peterson era was the date of Kansas City's last playoff victory: January 1994. The scene? Well, it was Houston, Texas against an Oiler team that no longer plays in Houston but rather in Tennessee. The quarterback? Joe Montana, who retired one year later after a two year stint with the Chiefs. Now, how many teams in the NFL have a longer playoff win drought than the Chiefs? Well, you cannot count the Houston Texans, because they are a recently new franchise. That leaves you with two teams: The Detroit Lions (1991) and The Cincinnati Bengals (1990). Considering that these are two of the worst run franchises in all of sports for some time (even though the Bengals have had recent success), this does not put King Carl in good company.
Lamar Hunt was very loyal to King Carl over the years. I knew as long as Lamar was in charge that a change would not be made. As great of a person to the NFL as Lamar was, he failed to manage the team he owned, only caring about making money and only money. Clark Hunt has made it a point to tell the NFL world that he is not his dad, and his first big decision, free-ing himself from King Carl, was the right one.
Now, Clark Hunt has indicated the next General Manager will be only a General Manager and there will be a separate President and CEO. Whoever the next General Manager will have the daunting task of determing if Herm Edwards is the right man to coach this team, and will likely have to sign or draft two, or possibly three quarterbacks. Regardless of the decisions made, Chiefs fans should feel vindicated, that we are free from King Carl!!!!!!
Now, Carl Peterson has done some great things in Kansas City. He has overseen a home sellout of every game since 1991 (well technically every ticket was sold), he went 176-141-1 as General Manager and oversaw 4 AFC West Titles and 9 playoff berths. He made a Chiefs tickets one of the hottest commodities in the country and ensured that if Chiefs fans could not go to a home game, they could watch them on TV in their home market with that sellout streak.
In the end, King Carl could not escape from the shortfalls of himself as a General Manager. In 20 years, King Carl failed to draft and develop a quarterback as a franchise quarterback. He made the ill-fated decision to release Rich Gannon and keep Elvis Grbac. We then saw Gannon take the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl and Grbac flunk out of the NFL. The most important stat in the Carl Peterson era was the date of Kansas City's last playoff victory: January 1994. The scene? Well, it was Houston, Texas against an Oiler team that no longer plays in Houston but rather in Tennessee. The quarterback? Joe Montana, who retired one year later after a two year stint with the Chiefs. Now, how many teams in the NFL have a longer playoff win drought than the Chiefs? Well, you cannot count the Houston Texans, because they are a recently new franchise. That leaves you with two teams: The Detroit Lions (1991) and The Cincinnati Bengals (1990). Considering that these are two of the worst run franchises in all of sports for some time (even though the Bengals have had recent success), this does not put King Carl in good company.
Lamar Hunt was very loyal to King Carl over the years. I knew as long as Lamar was in charge that a change would not be made. As great of a person to the NFL as Lamar was, he failed to manage the team he owned, only caring about making money and only money. Clark Hunt has made it a point to tell the NFL world that he is not his dad, and his first big decision, free-ing himself from King Carl, was the right one.
Now, Clark Hunt has indicated the next General Manager will be only a General Manager and there will be a separate President and CEO. Whoever the next General Manager will have the daunting task of determing if Herm Edwards is the right man to coach this team, and will likely have to sign or draft two, or possibly three quarterbacks. Regardless of the decisions made, Chiefs fans should feel vindicated, that we are free from King Carl!!!!!!
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