2012 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[alnorth]

2012 Slogan: Our Time

A better, more accurate 2012 Slogan: It is Finally Next Year
(from Great Expectations)

An alternative slogan if you don't like that one: Someone has to win this crappy division
(from alnorth)

With the beginning of a new year, it is time for the 2012 version of the Royals Repository Thread. We've got Hosmer, we've got a 2011-dominating Gordon, we've got Moose, we've got hopefully a killer bullpen, we've got a stereotypical slow slugging DH, we've got easily one of the best defensive shortstops in the AL, we've got a promising catcher in Salvador Perez. Hell, we've got offense and promising prospects galore.

We do not have starting pitching.

Oh yeah, we've also got this:



Get ready for, (as of January 2012 anyway), one of the most confusing puzzles of a baseball season in recent Royals history. Will they suck? Maybe, I don't know. Will we be given a year of 0.500 baseball? Possibly, I don't know. Will they win the division and go to the playoffs for the first time in 27 years? For the first time in a long time, it could happen, I don't know. 92 losses, 92 wins, or anything in between would not surprise a lot of us.

Everything goes here except Gameday threads and really big news. If a giant story breaks, the Royals achieve some awesome milestone, or we sign/lose a highly significant player/coach/mascot/whatever, then it might also deserve its own thread. This being Chiefs Planet, please do not clutter the board with new threads about trivial Royals news or you will only annoy those who come here for just Chiefs football. If you aren't sure and its not a Gameday thread, it goes here.

What sort of stuff often goes here? SPchief explained it well, so I'll just copy that:

If you locate something of interest.. ANYTHING.. deals on apparel, best ways in/out of the stadium, giveaways, great stories from this season or from seasons gone by, rumors, trades, anything.... feel free to post it here.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Why? We control him for six more years, don't we?

I believe CaliforniaChief was trying to make a point or just didn't understand that. I could be wrong.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

You know, I actually don't really have a connection to KC means I live right up in IOWA. I actually started liking KC when I was about 2 months old ... Been one my whole life. ...!!

I'd go through the whole fan "service time" thing, (wonder if I should hire Boras, and sell my fandom back to the Royals) but suffice to say, that I've spent countless days and nights in the RFGA and LFGA back when it was $1.50 and a race to to the front row.

I knew all the beer men personally, and on hot days Clem and Darcy would allow us in the stadium to sit and drink beer in the big cooler. Those were the days my friends. Those two guys got me and my brothers into sold out playoff games as SRO. Was a parking lot hack for a few summers just to see the games for free as often as I could. You meet a lot of players and ticket takers that way.

I traded Peanuts for baseballs with just about every pitcher that sat in the RF bullpen. I have heckled some the best opposing pitchers in the AL from the LF GA seats. So much so that Bill Singer of the California Angels after a game of being denigrated mercilessly took out his wad of chewing gum and tobacco and whizzed it past my brothers head.

My brother turned to Singer and yelled: "You couldn't hit me from that distance? No wonder you got sent back to Tacoma" (AAA affiliate of the Angels at the time). I've never seen a player so mad in my life. Funny as hell.

Those were great days we were living my bros. We were jolly green giants walking the earth with vicious barbs. These players we wasted today are the finest baseball players we will ever know. When our franchise turns to shit we're going to miss not having opposing players we can heckle any longer.

[WilliamTheIrish]

I posted this in the Gary Carter RIP thread. But since they had many similarities as the early Royals franchise and I wanted Sib Khat to see it, I'm posting it in here too.


RE: Gary Carter

It took me a little longer to post in this thread because I wanted to be sure of what I remembered about the guy, his original team and how my view of him changed after he was traded to the Mets.

I have some very old VHS tapes from the 1981 NL playoffs. It was really shitty footage now and I had to go to pawn shop to buy a player for the tapes. It was on NBC with Tony Kubeck and Bob Costas doing PbP and color. Great commercials.

Anyway, I always thought that franchise would break out and win. I followed that team as they used the Royals "blueprint" from the inception of the franchise. They drafted better than any team and found players everywhere.

Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Ellis Valentine. At the time that was the best outfield in the NL as far as range. Infield was Cromartie, Larry Parrish, (Tim Wallach - was listed as an OF at the time) Rodney Scott and they had signed Cris Speier from the Giants. Very solid gloves all through the middle, especially with Carter behind the plate.

They had an "Ace" in Steve Rogers and closer in Jeff Reardon who would gain more fame for his ability to close games for the Twins when the Expos dismantled the franchise.

1981 was the strike shortened split season where two teams who had the best overall records (Cards and Reds) didn't make the playoffs. One team had a combined record of under .500 (Royals) but won the second season and made the playoffs.

Carter was the player I really enjoyed watching behind the plate. I don't think there has been a catcher since Johnny Bench who made the position look so simple. He was big and strong, but was fluid behind the plate. And the guy could hit for power and average. Seemed to be the catcher of his generation. Always waited for Mel Allen and This Week In Baseball to come on to see any highlights of Carter (and the Royals of course).

It looked like they were going to be the NL team of the 80's. But for some reason it just never happened for that franchise. The Expos got by Philly and opened in LA for the NLDS. They got a split, losing to Burt Hooten but beating Fernando (mania!) Valenzuela 7-1 in game two. Steve Rogers beat Jerry Ruess in game 3 and it looked for all the world that the Expos would be in the WS. But game 4 was dominated by Hooten, Bob Welch (who would gain some fame in the 81 WS by K'ing Reggie Jackson) and Steve (junkie) Howe.

Game 5 was Fernando vs Ray Burris. I'll never understand why Jim Fanning didn't start Rogers, but it was a gut wrenching pitchers duel the entire way. The Expos scored in the first on a Raines double and two infield groundouts. Burris pitched well but gave up the tying run on two singles, a WP and 4-3 groundout in the 5th.

And as the game wore on into the 9th, Fanning brought in the ace starter Steve Rogers instead of Jeff Reardon. (Sounds like somebody we all know and remember from 1977, eh Siberian Khatru?)

Rogers got two quick outs. And then Rick Monday hit the HR to straight away CF that I was certain was a lazy fly ball, that sent LA to the 1981 World Series.

Carter was pretty graceful in defeat. But I wondered if he knew then that it may never happen with that franchise. I know they traded him in 84, and in 86 he was part of a team that was so damn good but needed Bill Buckner and Bob Stanley and divine intervention to give them the WS.

Too young for Gary Carter to die. When boyhood heroes are put into the ground, my own mortality comes to the forefront.

*raises glass* Salute.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

If he has another great year, the Royals can just set his salary and he has no recourse? I guess I never followed all the new rules last time they all changed

The first 3 years (or 2 if he qualifies as a "super 2", which Hosmer might because he was up for a lot of 2011), there is really no negotiation. The team could literally give them the league minimum and say take it or leave it, and the player has no choice.

Before the full 4th through 6th year (or 3rd through 6th year if super 2), the player is arbitration-eligible. He still wont get paid like a free agent, but he'll start to get serious raises similar to other arbitration-eligible players around the league who have similar stats and with the same amount of service time.

After 6 years, you are a free agent. Right now, Hosmer has zero full years, but his fraction of a year is big enough that he may qualify as a super 2 and get to arbitration 1 year early before the 2014 season. (he earned 146 days of service time, but a full year is 172 or more (you can't earn more than 1 year per season, so don't worry if he's up for 180 days per season), so he missed getting a full year by less than a month) That he gets more than league minimum this year and in 2013 (and 2014 if he's not a super 2) would be due solely through a gesture of goodwill from the Royals. (throwing him an extra few hundred thousand is easy, and if there's any chance that he appreciates it, its worth it)

We've got him for at least the next 6 years through the 2017 season unless we trade him, so a 7 year deal right now would just buy out one year of free agency.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

OUR TIME Signatures and Avatars are now coming! Get yours before the new season gets underway to support your young, talented Royals!
Request what you want NOW!
Form for the request=
Signature or Avatar:

Player:

Batting or In the field:

Any additional quotes(OUR TIME will be on by default):

Avatar

Moose

Batting

The Moose is Loose




Thanks.

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by alnorth

The first 3 years (or 2 if he qualifies as a "super 2", which Hosmer might because he was up for a lot of 2011), there is really no negotiation. The team could literally give them the league minimum and say take it or leave it, and the player has no choice.

During the 4th through 6th year (or 3rd through 6th year if super 2), the player is arbitration-eligible. He still wont get paid like a free agent, but he'll start to get serious raises similar to other arbitration-eligible players around the league who have similar stats and with the same amount of service time.

After 6 years, you are a free agent. Right now, Hosmer has zero full years, but his fraction of a year is big enough that he may qualify as a super 2 and get to arbitration 1 year early before the 2014 season. That he gets more than league minimum this year and in 2013 (and 2014 if he's not a super 2) would be due solely through a gesture of goodwill from the Royals. (throwing him an extra few hundred thousand is easy, and if there's any chance that he appreciates it, its worth it)

We've got him for at least the next 6 years through the 2017 season unless we trade him, so a 7 year deal right now would just buy out one year of free agency.

Thanks

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

I knew al would have the answers.

[Demonpenz]

[DeezNutz]

I love DozeNutz, they're not bad...

[Demonpenz]

I love Deeznutz...he's not bad
I love The Royals Repsitory Not bad.

[DeezNutz]

Royals game threads, at times, are the single most entertaining threads on CP, especially when the ****ing circus rolls into town.

I'm so fearful that Betancourt will see far too much field this season and force me to go '09 on his ass.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

I love Deeznutz...he's not bad
I love The Royals Repsitory Not bad.

Who sucked dick? I listened a few times but couldn't understand.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Dr. noonanbeermefever

Who sucked dick? I listened a few times but couldn't understand.

Kind of slurred NooNeffeeffbbeermePerzezzz.

[lewdog]

Where do I get me some jersey shirts of these young guns we got!?

[lewdog]

I wanna move to Arizona just so I can see them at spring training every year.