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.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Greinke (just playing along)
Acquisition No. 2 (Garza, Marcum, Brandon McCarthy, etc.)
Chen
Hochevar
Mendoza/Teaford/Adcock/filler while waiting for Paulino or Duffy. They can and should actually try Crow as a starter at least in the offseason and ST, but we'll see. If Montgomery or Dwyer or Lamb is ready, they could be in the mix here, too.

You didnt mention Odorizzi.

It seems likely that Lamb and Dwyer are most likely to be 2nd behind Odie. Lamb is jst getting back from injury and Dwyer was just moved up to AAA after well-documented struggles.

Im not expecting Duffy or Paulino at all in 2013. Montgomery is basically an afterthought at this point.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

I think Duncan is right. We've got the ammo to acquire someone now. We probably have more ammo than any of the contenders, plus it won't hurt us long term with the depth we have in the minors.

I really like McCarthy, following that strategy. And I agree...that would have to figure in Greinke's mind. I would add that Duncan, I think Odorizzi would be in the mix for the 3 spot next year...which would be ironic to convince Greinke that we've become a lot more competitive with 3 pieces we acquired...for him.

Meant to put Odorizzi in the 3 spot and have the filler guys listed as depth. Oops.

McCarthy could be a free-agent sign, or a deadline acquisition. Whatever it takes. I like him, though his injury problems are a concern.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by sedated

You didnt mention Odorizzi.

It seems likely that Lamb and Dwyer are most likely to be 2nd behind Odie. Lamb is jst getting back from injury and Dwyer was just moved up to AAA after well-documented struggles.

Im not expecting Duffy or Paulino at all in 2013. Montgomery is basically an afterthought at this point.

Yeah, just a slip as I was typing. Was listing those guys as No. 6 starter/depth types.

It sounds like Lamb is going to report to NWA (he's on their disabled list) once he's ready, so he could be a factor if he comes back really strong from the Tommy John.

Just thinking about the depth of the rotation, which can be just as important as who guys 1-5 are.

[eazyb81]

We're going to know pretty quickly what we have in Lamb once he starts pitching later this month.

If he gets back to his 2010 form, he could be in KC to start the 2013 season. He will probably have an innings limit next year (150-160 IP seems to be the norm), but it may time perfectly for when Duffy and Paulino come back.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

We're going to know pretty quickly what we have in Lamb once he starts pitching later this month.

If he gets back to his 2010 form, he could be in KC to start the 2013 season. He will probably have an innings limit next year (150-160 IP seems to be the norm), but it may time perfectly for when Duffy and Paulino come back.

It SOUNDS like he's been working extremely hard and took this as a bit of a wake-up call. Laser-focus.

He was always my favorite out of the prospect group, so I'm maybe a little more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the guy has major potential.

He, like Montgomery, was viewed as a potential ace. His raw stuff isn't quite as good, but it's good enough - and he KNOWS how to pitch. Great feel for the game.

[DeezNutz]

Anyone else hear DM with Kietzman yesterday?

Said that Odo will likely stay down most if not all of this season. Problem being that he tires at about 60-75 pitches. Frankly, this scares the hell out of me because it sounds way too close to describing a guy who is best served coming out of the pen.

More cagey in discussing Myers. Pretty obvious, reading between the lines, that Moore realizes that the kid is ready and wants to get him up. Danced around the question about whether or not someone would first need to be moved to free up a spot for Myers.

[OmahaChief]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Anyone else hear DM with Kietzman yesterday?

Said that Odo will likely stay down most if not all of this season. Problem being that he tires at about 60-75 pitches. Frankly, this scares the hell out of me because it sounds way too close to describing a guy who is best served coming out of the pen.

More cagey in discussing Myers. Pretty obvious, reading between the lines, that Moore realizes that the kid is ready and wants to get him up. Danced around the question about whether or not someone would first need to be moved to free up a spot for Myers.

I heard it and was not too happy with the Odo comments. His 60-75 pitches are better than then 100 Sanchez would throw in the same amount of time.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by OmahaChief

I heard it and was not too happy with the Odo comments. His 60-75 pitches are better than then 100 Sanchez would throw in the same amount of time.

Not sure how anyone justifies running Sanchez out, except for blind pride.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Anyone else hear DM with Kietzman yesterday?

Said that Odo will likely stay down most if not all of this season. Problem being that he tires at about 60-75 pitches. Frankly, this scares the hell out of me because it sounds way too close to describing a guy who is best served coming out of the pen.

More cagey in discussing Myers. Pretty obvious, reading between the lines, that Moore realizes that the kid is ready and wants to get him up. Danced around the question about whether or not someone would first need to be moved to free up a spot for Myers.

I think Moore is mailing in this season and doesn't want to waste service time for Myers or Odorizzi.

I bet both stay down until September call-ups, and then start in Omaha next year for the first two weeks so they gain another year of team control.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

I think Moore is mailing in this season and doesn't want to waste service time for Myers or Odorizzi.

I bet both stay down until September call-ups, and then start in Omaha next year for the first two weeks so they gain another year of team control.

I sincerely hope that you're wrong. Not so much about what their call-ups would mean for this season, but more about what it means about how the Royals do business.

Keeping them down simply for reasons of team control would be extremely chicken shit and smell of "typical Royals."

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

I sincerely hope that you're wrong. Not so much about what their call-ups would mean for this season, but more about what it means about how the Royals do business.

Keeping them down simply for reasons of team control would be extremely chicken shit and smell of "typical Royals."

I guess so, but the Rays do the exact same thing and everyone claims they are a model franchise. Matt Moore and Jeremy Hellickson were both obviously ready for the majors but Tampa left them down to gain an extra year.

[DeezNutz]

Oh yeah, other piece of news that sucked ass from yesterday's interview:

Not particularly interested in trading our ML players for young prospects due to the state of our farm system. Wants advanced talent or ML-ready players.

****. ****. ****.

[duncan_idaho]

I listened to the DM interview this morning, as well.

He seemed more concerned about an innings cap for Odorizzi than anything else, to me at least. After seeing him pitch in the Futures Game and seeing a few games on tape, I'm actually OK with leaving him down a bit longer. He doesn't scream "I'm ready!" to me at this point.

Myers, though, is a different story. If brought up now, they'd control him through 2019. He would make a significant impact in the lineup and help the team win quite a bit.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

I think Moore is mailing in this season and doesn't want to waste service time for Myers or Odorizzi.

I bet both stay down until September call-ups, and then start in Omaha next year for the first two weeks so they gain another year of team control.

They didn't wait on Hosmer and Moustakas so maaaayyyybe there's hope they won't wait on Myers at least. We'll see.

[Nightfyre]

If you go to a four man rotation with ~80 pitches a start, Odo would fit into that mold quite nicely. Use the extra roster spot to carry another reliever. Plus we can drop Sanchez from the rotation, which would be nice.