I don't have a problem with Law's opinion at all. When a GM does something as stupid as DM did, it opens that person up to criticism and valid speculation.

To me, Law's comments were pretty tame because he didn't openly speculate about Dayton's level of competence, which should also be fair game.

David Price. :D

Fine to criticize. Certainly enough there to criticize.

But questioning the moral integrity of GMs is going to upset most of them. Just comes off personal and petty (fans can do it. Journalists can't).

I would bet on a lower-level 2012 draftee. Probably not anything too exciting.

I wouldn't mind it being Bralin Jackson. 5th round pick, CF from Raytown who can run and has some power projection.

Benjamin Franklin.

Heh. I confused PTBNL with PIIHB there for a second.

I don't think it's too far fetched to speculate Dayton would be the catcher in that scenario.

What did they have? Castellanos? So what, that isn't near enough to get it done. Wonder why they thought they had the dry powder to get Shields.

I was thinking of J.P. Ricciardi.

Avisail Garcia was the top guy they offered among others.

http://www.freep.com/article/2012121...sey=nav%7Chead

It makes me feel so much better about this trade knowing that we stole him while the Tigers were trying to get him. Seriously, **** those guys.

The Tigers interest now makes it more clear why the reports came out that they didn't want the Royals to get him. That and the fact that they are scared of us! We got this!

We didn't steal shit.

So he's their #2 prospect and not in any top-30 lists I can find. I don't see what's so impressive about him. He was their #10 guy last year. And what else goes with him? Would have to be Castellanos + Avasail and who needs a 3B in Tampa?


baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2013/2614333.html

I tell you what...

If we managed to somehow trade a few more prospects (at this point, we're all in) to land Dickey...sign me up.

Yeah, that would be an incredible coup.

Not sure what the Mets are looking for in return, but MLB ready bat is the main indication I've seen.

If that's the case, KC doesn't really match up. If they're willing to take guys that are lower in the system/farther away, then you might be able to talk.

Texas is in the mix, reportedly, for Dickey. Or at least kicking the tires. If they're willing to move Mike Olt, KC is in the same situation the Tigers were on Shields. Just not able to match...

I'm not averse to trading a bullpen arm for a RF

I always have a hard time keep him and De Podesta straight. Not sure why.

Brainfart moment.

I would hate to see anyone leave our pen. It is so good and with an improved rotation in front of them they could be unhittable. Surely we have a few players in the minors that could net us a serviceable RF.

I'm fine with that. It's just that a team might want more immediate help. If we could get a decent RF only for a bullpen arm, I'd rather deal from strength to shore up a big weakness. I wonder what Crow might bring.

He would probably bring the most since other teams will still feel he can be made into a starter. And actually, of all the guys, he is the one I least trust.

I would rather see a guy like Cody Ross on a 1-year deal in RF than Frenchy.

Crow needs to be a 7th-8th inning set up man

Yeah I don't think we can afford to give away any of our MLB bats.

I really like our core of Cain, Gordon, Moustakas, Escobar, Hosmer, Perez and Butler. There are far worse lineups than that...in fact, if a few of those guys take a marginal step or two, that might even be considered an elite lineup.

We'd have an elite lineup, with an elite bullpen, and a decent rotation. Give us a couple of bounces and I don't see why we can't compete for the division.

even with Frenchy and whoever plays 2nd batting 8th and 9th (though I'm sure Frenchy will hit 6th or 7th for some reason.

We can't have an elite lineup with two gaping holes.

Escobar is great at 9th. Frenchy is probably best at 7th after Perez. This lets the 8th be 2B and 9th be Escobar or the CF is Escobar is better at the 2 spot. Either way Frenchy batting 7th prevents him from being too much of an intrical part of the offense. You don't rely too much on him to drive in runs but you also don't rely too much on him to start rallies.

I kind of just disagree...

There aren't a lot of lineups in baseball that don't have 1-2 weak spots.

Maybe I'm wrong.

I just think our core 7 can make up for 2 shitty players...especially if we can get some production out of those 2 shitty players (you never know I guess)

While I applaud your spirits, an "elite" offense scores around 800+ runs over the course of the year.

You honestly think that lineup will score 800 runs? ESPECIALLY with it being anchored by Frenchy\Getz?

I think they have the potential to improve to maybe 720 runs... but 800 runs I don't see in their near future... Now maybe if we had a young stud RF'r hitting 35 HR's in the middle of our lineup... But where would we ever find such a commodity? :)

didn't we have the 12th ranked offense last year? Or was that just in the AL? I don't know, I kind of lost interest after we started 3-50

I can't see Hosmer not hitting at least .280 this year. I think Moustakas takes at least a marginal step forward. Gordon and Butler we can expect the same.

I really, really like Cain. I think he has great potential both offensively and defensively. If we got say .300 15/80 and 20 SB's out of him? (which is reasonable) and a healthy season? Added with a star in Perez?

I'm just saying...we could be borderline elite.

If you think Myers would've been hitting 35 HRs playing half his games at the K, I have a bridge and some beach front property to sell you.

My ideal lineup assuming Frenchy is playing:

Gordon
Cain
Hosmer
Butler
Moose
Perez
Frenchy
Getz (assuming he is 2B)
Escobar (when Dyson plays, put Escobar to 2nd and Dyson 9th)

That was tongue in cheek.

The point was -> KC is no where near an "elite" offense.

Moose just needs to stretch his first half out to a full season and he will be really good. I think no more Seitzer is a win as well. I can't believe how much he screwed with guys' swings and approaches. That and hopefully the days of taking first pitch strikes right down the middle no matter the situation are over as well.

I would say that depends largely on Hosmer and Moose. Not Frenchy and Getz.

well take an offense in the AL central and tell me why they are better than KC's offense.

Detroit has two GREAT bats and a few pretty good ones...but they have holes, too.

The White Sox strike out way too often, but they have a pretty comparable offense...probably more power for less average.

We are better offensively than Cleveland and Minnesota.

That was in the AL. Our hitting actually ranked behind our pitching.

If Hosmer and Mous develop into consistent hitters at the ML level this season, we will improve to over 700 runs.

Expecting Cain to put up those numbers is complete and total homerism. The guy has all of 8 career HR's and 45 RBi's in 400+ AB's spread out over 3 seasons...

If he stays healthy, we're looking at about a .750 OPS guy that plays respectable defense.

Everyone has weak spots. The Royals have Getz and Francouer.

Maybe it's homerism. I'm a fantasy baseball player and he was getting all sorts of buzz prior to his injury and he was raking a bit after his injury. I'm not sure, I like the kid.

Moose and Hos both taking big steps forward (is a big if) does not make this offense elite. Having 2 guys that rake will not make up having 2 guys that don't show up.

Having NEGATIVE impact bats in your lineup is much more damaging than having a couple of "good" players in the lineup. And neither of them were "good" players last year. If they take huge strides as suggested, they can become "good" players. That is still nothing near "elite". That's the whole point.

This team will struggle to score 700 runs, unless multiple people jump the fence and develop. They won't sniff 800 runs like the guy i was addressing, originally.

Ok, we'll just stop right there.... You're making me chuckle.

Not sure if you're just trolling, or really don't know what you're talking about.

Chicago's offense is lightyears better than KC's. They scored 75 more runs than we did. That's a fairly sizeable difference. Minnesota's offense even outscored KC's by 25 runs (mainly due to their ability to get on base).

KC and Cleveland are right on par with each other, offensively. We scored 9 more runs than them... so there's the two teams that you should compare from last year.

by Fantasy do you mean "fantasy world"? Because if you're talking fantasy as in "stats league" then you didn't pay attention to the numbers.

He will steal you a few bases to help your fantasy team, that's if you can keep him in the lineup...

I'm gonna predict the first 10 game losing streak to be in early May.

Lets get it over with early.

Why isn't DM making a move for Shumaker? Seems like a no brainer. Can play 2B and all outfield spots. Hits close to .300 every year. A really good locker room guy. Could provide some veteran leadership in the locker room. Knows how to win, has two World Championships rings.

Cards won't be asking much. He just doesn't fit into our plans this year but seems to be a great fit for the Royals.

This is where I'm at. I can't fall for another offseason in KC. #onpapercontenders

The Royals seem to be doing lots of maneuvering to improve from 71 to 74 wins.

ROFL

Chicago will be losing Youk, losing AJP (most likely), and Alex Rios cannot be expected to do what he did last year (he's quite possibly the most inconsistent player in baseball history). Konerko is also getting up there. The Royals might be closer to them than you think in 2013.

The pen is so deep, they could afford to move a guy.

Holland, Kelvin Herrera, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow are proven, front-line bullpen arms.

Louis Coleman is a proven solid piece - especially when used correctly (i.e. for RH-heavy matchups ... something that would be more possible if you have 3-4 starters pounding out 200 IP).

Donnie Joseph, Juan Gutierrez, etc. are other guys that would be potential pieces in the bullpen. And you can always find bullpen guys, something Moore has shown a real penchant for.

Whose swings did you see effected? The two that needed the most help, Hosmer and Frenchy, didn't look to change their approach or swing during the season hardly at all. Hosmer did for short periods, but always fell back to his ripping and Frenchy never stopped ripping

Hosmer was consistently tweaking and altering his approach and swing. Seitzer talked about it all the time. It was after his horribly bad luck start that they started trying to work on things and adjust them (don't recall the specifics anymore) even nothing was broken. I don't really think Hosmer needed help. It wasn't until they broke what wasn't fixed that things started getting bad for him as far as making poor contact and having ugly swings.

I really don't care about Frenchy and am not sure he can be helped. And it just seems like Seitzer had a lot of influence in that he wanted the guys to be patient even in favorable situations, so they would just watch meatballs go right by.

I'm not trying to troll I just think our offense didn't live up to its potential last year. We had a terrible year from Hosmer, less than half a year from Perez, less than a quarter of a year with Cain...and all of these young guys are going into the season with another year under their belt where typically the primes of a lot of careers start around age 24, 25, 26...

but hey, maybe I'm too optimistic

I would like it. The price you guys were talking about yesterday (Calixte or Mondesi) makes it unattractive, but if it was, say, a low impact guy like a depth starter or a lottery ticket arm, that might work.

Also was thinking about this... let's play pretend and flash forward to mid-season or this time next year. Say Orlando Calixte is raking at Northwest Arkansas (.280/.330/.500 slash). At his age, and if his D at SS holds up, that probably makes him a top 50 prospect. Would St. Louis be interested enough in a young SS to move one of the power RHPs for him? With Rosenthal, Miller, Jenkins and Martinez, seems like there's a surplus there that might match up.

Cards perspective on that? Not sure how dire a need SS is for you guys.

Could be. I liked Seitzer and believe Francouer had a hand in his dismissal along with Leadheaded Ned. Guess we will see what happens with the new batting coaches.

If I'm being optimistic about the offense, here are best case scenarios:

7 - Alex Gordon: .310/25/80 RBI/110 R/10 SB/.380 OBP/.500 SLG
6 - Escobar: .300/8/50/85 R/.340 OBP/.390 SLG/40 SB
3 - Eric Hosmer: .300/30/110/100/15 SB/.350 OBP/.500 SLG
DH - Billy Butler: .325/30/100/85/0/.375 OBP/.500 SLG
5 - Mike Moustakas: .280/35/90/80/3/.340 OBP/.500 SLG
2 - Sal Perez: .300/22/85/75/0/.330 OBP/.500 SLG
9 - Jeff Francoeur: .280/25/75/75/.315 OBP/.450 SLG
8 - Lorenzo Cain: .280/20/75/75/.320 OBP/.450 SLG/25 SB
4 - Chris Getz: .260/0/40/65/.300 OBP/.375 SLG

If you get max upside years from EVERYONE (not going to happen), then you can talk about elite offense.

I think 720 R is a pretty good mark to shoot for. And that's with Hosmer and Moustakas being quality producers, if not elite guys (though if Moose puts up a .270/30/80 line, with his defense, that makes him an elite AL 3B).

JIMP

ROFL

Go take a look at how many runs the Royals scored in 2011. Hosmer and Moose had significant sophomore slumps.

The "we might make the playoffs" scenario presumes their 3rd years, which is not an unreasonable assumption at all, will be like or better than their 1st years. And Butler/Gordon/Perez/Escobar wont regress.

Frenchy had an .805 OPS in 2011. Shocked everyone, but he did it. He's not likely to repeat that because his babip was really high in 2011, but it was really low in 2012, and he's probably a low-700 OPS guy. If we're talking "maximum potential" for Frenchy, thats not an outrageous call. (what is probably unreasonable is presuming everyone maxes out)

If we actually do that, we're probably closer to 770-780 runs than 720.

Don't think for a minute that duncan was projecting our lineup in its totality. He simply listed all of the major pieces and their individual best-case scenarios.

Some might make this; some won't, and some will disappoint.

In sum, have to hope that the roster as a whole is significantly more talented, and this is the million-dollar question.

RUSH Sucks!!!

I'm by no mean saying that's what I expect the lineup to put up (And if that did happen, I'd expect them to be over 800 runs).

Just listing best case scenarios, IMO, from each of them. Not what I actually expect to see ...

No way Mo our GM can expect a Calixte for a utility player. Nor anything less than a Meyer + more for any of those other pitchers you mentioned.

Kelly or Lynn maybe. For crissakes Lynn won 18 games last year.

I think DJ was talking about throwing in Kelly and Shumaker. Thats too much for me. I think Kelley would be your #2 or #3 starter. He throws in the high 90's and doesn't walk a lot of hitters. He's a top notch talent. And he's the grandson of Machine Gun Kelly. Think of the marketing.:hmmm:

Shumaker would be way better for you guys at 2B than Getz. No way they are asking a lot for Shu.

DM has decided that this is your 2 year window to make a run. I hope is pans out. You loyal Royal fans deserve to root for a winner. Deserve to experience playoff baseball in KC.

The ****?

Agree with all of this, dude. Thanks for the kind thoughts.

Everyone of those pitchers have potential to be #1 or #2 starters on a playoff team. They all have 6 years of control left to their "owners". Thats as expensive as trades get.

Over-rate much?

Suppose they did?

*close eyes*

*drool*

Cleveland getting Stubbs and Trevor Bauer for Choo. Pretty nice haul.

**** Choo

Equating any "pitching prospect" to Myers in terms of value is very flawed.

That is a nice deal for Cleveland. NOw they need to move Cabrera who is a really nice trade chip. Choo is a very good player however, very similar to Billy Butler in player value, so this does prove yet again that acquiring pitching is very expensive. I wouldn't trade Butler for Bauer but I think the Royals are a much better team the next two years overall than Cleveland looks to be.

The Academy thinks you might be full of shit.

Maybe but its a moot point now.

Anyway, I hope you fans get to have some fun this summer. Let's have the I-75 Series II.

That would be cool as long as we win again, otherwise it would suck.

:)