Yeah, I'm not gonna draw any conclusions unless he struggles in the minors. He may have been just working on a couple pitches for all we know. I'm unhappy when a position player looks bad in spring, but you really have to ignore pitchers who aren't fighting for a roster spot.

Gotcha. We don't have the money to give long term deals to these guys. I think Meche will likely be the only big contract DM ever gives to a starter on the open market.

I'm a lot angrier and more aggressive in that board. Chiefsplanet is my internet posting home, but oddly I feel like I'm in enemy territory sometimes on that other board.

You're acting like Ervin Santana is Zack Greinke. He's not. He could EASILY revert back to his 2012 form: 9 wins, 13 losses and an ERA over 5.

It would be smarter to give it to Ventura since Duffy is going to be on an innings limit this year.

Well, once you secure that extra year, I'm sure you could get to a point in July where Duffy has "shoulder soreness" or whatever to put him on the 15-day to limit his innings. Either that, or send him down after a couple bad outings.

Aoki drives in 2 on a single up the middle, advances to second on the throw home.

Hosmer grounds out to 2nd and brings Aoki home. 5-3 Brewers.

Yesterday I was listening to a Dayton Moore interview on Mad Dog Sports radio on Sirius XM. Chris Russo asked him about re-signing James Shields. Moore gave a very convoluted answer. He talked about how the Royals are a small market team and he won't apologize for it. He said they are interested in signing ALL of their YOUNG players to multi-year deals. He then babbled on for several more minutes, and it's hard for me to remember exactly what he said because he didn't say anything meaningful.

Not once did he say anything remotely positive about James Shields, and not once did he say they will do the best they can to retain him.

Shields will be gone next year. Count on it.

I hate that, but I can also understand DM's reluctance to give $20 million to one pitcher when he only has a $90 million payroll. If the Royals EVER give that high a percentage of their payroll to a single player, it has to be a Mike Trout type of player. Even if he really finds his power stroke in the next couple of years, I don't think Eric Hosmer or anyone else on this roster qualifies.

As long as they manage it properly, I guess I don't care how they do it.

Just don't do it the way the Nationals did a couple of years ago with Stephen Strasburg. They might have won the World Series that year if they had mananged his innings limit properly.

The Nats were F'ing stupid. If you find yourself where one of your best young pitchers is at an inning limit but you are going to the playoffs, you have to just go for it. The pitcher isn't going to say no and shut himself down. Make him throw, and try to get him the best help available to recover in the offseason.

Or just approach it better during the season. They had a viable sixth starter in John Lannan whom they could have used to spell Strasburg and keep him fresh.

Sure. But jason vargas is jason vargas, he is a no. 3 on decent team and 4/5 on a good team... and who the **** knows what we will get out of the kids. Shit, zimmer is already shut down. Duffy already has TJ... Until DM produces ONE major league starter (something he has not done) color me skeptical.

This is an all in year, no matter what DM says....

Also, why are we suddenly depending on young pitchers a year after trading away our best position prospect in a generation for two year rental starter? Why didn't we depend on these types of gambles last year and keep Myers? Oh because DM didn't have a contract extension....that is why. JS got us over .500 and got DM his money.

If this team is going to succeed, we have to develop young pitching. We just have to. If the Ventura/Duffy/Zimmer group doesn't work out, we are going to fail regardless of what happens with Shields/Santana/etc. Dayton will lose his job and we'll move to the next guy.

Agreed, they should not have put themselves in that position, but if in some bizarre stupid turn of events you find yourself in that position where you failed to limit your young pitchers innings and you made it to the postseason, then you have to just own your stupidity and keep him throwin'. No one will care if he's healthy and pitching well the following August, 9 games out.