2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[duncan_idaho]

Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner
Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play
A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise.

Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk.

At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor.

Burning questions updates below.

Burning Questions for 2013:

1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation?

Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory.

2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door?
Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster.

3) Does Hosmer bounce back?
Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far.
4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012?
Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go.
5) Who regresses?
Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years.
6) Who plays 2B?
Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it.
7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level?
Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha
8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014?
Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014.
9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse?
Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before.
10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers?
Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it?

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Great! Aviles has averaged 2.1 WAR/162 games in his career. And he's cheap. Alcides by comparison only gets 1.4 WAR/162 games and he cost us our best pitcher in 20 years.


So to recap: Aviles for free, Alcides for a lot. When Aviles is the better player. Awful. Small markets depend on guys like Lough delivering above avg WAR so you don't have to trade for it or pay for it.

It's worth noting that Aviles has only played 85 games while Escobar has played 109.

[CaliforniaChief]

The Indians DFA'd Mark Reynolds today. Thought that was interesting.

Just throwing Pence out there, as he gives us more power than Lough. But yeah, I'm not freaking out there like I was earlier. Same at 2B since Tejada has grabbed that job by the testicles.

Are we set to make a run, or would you guys do anything?

[DeezNutz]

Calculating Escobar's worth is a little harder because defensive metrics are difficult to quantify and assess, even for the most staunch sabermatricians.

Last night there was a perfect example. Ball up the middle, deflects off Duffy's glove, playing into an incredibly difficult in-between hop to Escobar, who handles the play beautifully.

Aviles, physically, is simply incapable of making that play. But now how do we evaluate the "worth" of these moments, which happen more frequently than we're even aware?

[mr. tegu]

I still don't get this whole idea that we need to upgrade RF. If Lough finishes the season around .290 with his little bit of pop I think that is perfectly acceptable for us to roll with. We don't need to spend money to get a very slight offensive upgrade and likely downgrade on defense.

This is his first season and he is performing pretty well. I would rather take a chance that he could improve beyond this season with the expectation that he will continue to produce like he is now. His BABIP is .333 which isn't crazy for a speedy hitter so I don't think his overall BA will regress too much over a large sample size. I would love to see him learn to take more walks though, but that patience will hopefully come with experience.

He has quickly turned into one of my favorite players. Just because we didn't expect this production doesn't mean it is a fluke. Players adjust, learn, and improve and he has done just that and earned his place on the team so far. Nothing has been given to him a la Frenchy and Getz.

[Archie F. Swin]

I'm going to remin optimistic that Bulter, Gordo and Escobar will find their bats between now and septmber and our starters will keep us in games.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

The Indians DFA'd Mark Reynolds today. Thought that was interesting.

Just throwing Pence out there, as he gives us more power than Lough. But yeah, I'm not freaking out there like I was earlier. Same at 2B since Tejada has grabbed that job by the testicles.

Are we set to make a run, or would you guys do anything?

Pence's slugging percentage is only 0.05 points higher than Lough's this year, and Pence has been sliding for a while now. I think his name is carrying him a bit right now.

[CaliforniaChief]

What about a starting pitcher? I mean, make the strength even stronger.

At this point, Bruce Chen is pitching very well. But will that last? Do we trust Duffy? Wade Davis is the weakest link. Adding a SP gives us an advantage almost every time we take the field.

Let me just toss 2 names out there from teams who are out:

Jorge DeLaRosa
or....
Tim Lincecum

Maybe Colorado would never trade a pitcher to KC again (even if he used to be our pitcher). And yeah, Lincecum has been up and down. But he's got plus stuff and at the back end of a rotation with a good defense could still be effective. And isn't he a free agent at the end of the year?

Just throwing out crap. I know.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

What about a starting pitcher? I mean, make the strength even stronger.

At this point, Bruce Chen is pitching very well. But will that last? Do we trust Duffy? Wade Davis is the weakest link. Adding a SP gives us an advantage almost every time we take the field.

Let me just toss 2 names out there from teams who are out:

Jorge DeLaRosa
or....
Tim Lincecum

Maybe Colorado would never trade a pitcher to KC again (even if he used to be our pitcher). And yeah, Lincecum has been up and down. But he's got plus stuff and at the back end of a rotation with a good defense could still be effective. And isn't he a free agent at the end of the year?

Just throwing out crap. I know.

I would take a chance on Tim Lincecum all day long.

[duncan_idaho]

Just saw Peter Gammons say the Twins were likely to place Josh Willingham on waivers (MLB Network).

KC should be ALL over that, if that's the case. Willingham is signed through next season ($7 million) and offers big-time RH pop.

The teams Gammons mentioned - Rays, Tigers, Rangers - all would be below KC on the waiver list. So you're not just improving your team... you're blocking one of the teams you're trying to catch from improving, too.

[Mr. Laz]

it would be nice to have a guy that can give Esky a break once in awhile


somebody with a decent bat


i would still rather have Tejada as a Utility guy instead of starting

[CaliforniaChief]

Willingham would be nice. Cuddyer would be great, but COL isn't trading him.

Plus it gives another viable DH option if Billy's struggles linger.

[Prison Bitch]

Really I think the team is set for this year and next with the exception of 2B. That's why I wanted Kendrick so badly, too bad it iddin't happen.

[WhawhaWhat]

Alex Rios has been claimed off waivers, not sure by who yet.

[siberian khatru]

I was disappointed to see the Blue Jays pull DeRosa off waivers last night. One rumor was the Braves claimed him, but KC is above them in the pecking order.

DeRosa would be an upgrade over Johnson. He can play multiple positions, and although he doesn't have Johnson's glove he'd be a much better bat. He's someone who could spell Moose vs. tough lefties and give Tejada a couple of days off a week. He'd cost $230K the rest of this season, and he's signed for $750K next year. The Jays say that's why they're keeping him.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Alex Rios has been claimed off waivers, not sure by who yet.

My guess: The Rangers. They talked to the Sox about him earlier this year.