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.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Literature

So we can afford Jurjens?

you shut your whore mouth.

[noa]

Originally Posted by Strongside

Through my work, and I won't say how, I've had the opportunity to meet the Glass' over the past several months and on several different occasions. You have no idea how hard it is to be in the same room with these gentlemen and not speak your true feelings. Or jump across the conference table.

I just don't understand it. #1 Don't buy an MLB franchise to turn a profit. Buy it as a luxury item you can afford to blow money on. #2 Don't expect anyone, especially the fans, to have any pity on you when discussing finances. The fans will rightly respond that if it's a financial hardship, sell the freaking team.

I would love to be able to say that to him, but I imagine it's not in your best interest.

[Cephalic Trauma]

Originally Posted by Strongside

Through my work, and I won't say how, I've had the opportunity to meet the Glass' over the past several months and on several different occasions. You have no idea how hard it is to be in the same room with these gentlemen and not speak your true feelings. Or jump across the conference table.

Please do. We will all support you. If it ends poorly, you can always price a banner, and we'll support you through that too.

[Deberg_1990]

And the good people of KC helped finance the stadium renovations.....Glass is a criminal.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Jenson71]

SaveOurRoyals

[Unsmooth-Moment]

Quiet ****ing week.. Hopefully we hear something good tomorrow (probably not)

[clyde05]

Does Glass not realize how passionate this fan base is? If he actually put some more money in the team, where we contend for the division, the K would be sold out and he would be making a butt load of money. I miss the atmosphere of the 70's and 80's where the games would be sold out and people were excited.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Literature

SaveOurRoyals

Do it.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by clyde05

Does Glass not realize how passionate this fan base is? If he actually put some more money in the team, where we contend for the division, the K would be sold out and he would be making a butt load of money. I miss the atmosphere of the 70's and 80's where the games would be sold out and people were excited.

I doubt it. He's a businessman.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Mentally fragile?

Yes...I know you're not aware of this as an Cards fan who's barely watched Snider play over the last five years or knows really much of anything about him beyond broad generalities ascertained by his stat line, but that much came out in the interview he did after he was traded where he essentially admitted as much. Snider talked about how much guys like Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace affected him early in his MLB career when he shouldn't have let them and referred to how contract extension talks at the beginning of the 2011 season weighed on him and even got into his head while he was at the plate.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/201...burden_lifted/

Read that saga of events (all three parts) and tell me this kid isn't more full of self-doubt than your average major league player. Tell me he doesn't dwell on negative things way more than he should and that he doesn't become distracted by minor things. The fact that he would even grant that interview just two months after he was traded and give all those details about why he failed (while criticizing both his own immaturity and the organization at the same time) is a bit of an odd red flag in itself.

The kid never learned to hit a breaking ball. Ever.

Breaking balls were not his problem by the end of his stint in Toronto. He had screwed his swing up so much that he wasn't catching up to fastballs in the zone anymore. By the end, he looked nothing like the kid that came up in 2008/2009 with the promising hitting ability and power.

You were ignoring a fundamental flaw in his game because you were a homer. It's no big deal, everyone does it. But don't sit here and act like it took a psychiatrist to figure out why he'd fail. All you needed to have was an open mind and some understanding of history. Guys that can't find the strikezone rarely locate it.

Ignoring would imply that I wasn't aware of it or that I didn't acknowledge it. Which, if you read the thread you cited, wasn't the case at all. I just know that players, especially players as young as Snider (21-22 at the time), often improve their skills as their careers go on (and yes, such skills even include plate discipline). Especially when they have as impressive a minor league track record as Snider had at such a young age. That didn't happen (and if you read the story I posted, there are seemingly quite a few reasons for it that nobody knew about at the time). Based on his MILB numbers, Snider was also not the Frenchy or Delmon Young type player you attempted to paint him as. He took his fair share of walks at all levels. There's a reason why more knowledgeable people about prospects than you or I believed the kid would eventually be a very successful MLB player despite his high K total. Unfortunately, even prospect experts don't have access to all of the bits of information necessary to determine if a player will be successful at the next level. Most importantly, they don't have access to what is going on in a player's mind.

Speaking of left-handed hitting outfielders who haven't reached their potential, have problems with the strike zone, and are seemingly being held back because of their mental games, what's the deal with Colby Rasmus? He's getting close to reaching the end of his rope in Toronto. Unlike Snider, you've seen this kid more than I have. Is he ever going to reach his potential? Is he ever even going to become a dependable MLB player? He had a great 1st half last season before completely falling off a cliff. There's just no consistency there. I suspect the Jays are willing to give him another season to figure it out (as they should for lack of a better option), but it's probably his last chance as a full-time starter in CF for them.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by tyton75

Paulino was the guy I couldn't remember. We definitely need someone to push Hochevar out of the rotation somehow. Chen, IMO, is a good #5 pitcher in the rotation.

I'm also really hoping one of the young guys can break out of Spring Training with the club

When Paulino is healthy he is a borerline legit number 1 starter. Hopefully he comes back in July after the All Star break.

[Archie F. Swin]

I'm guessing no team will make a big SP move until Greinke moves...

[Unsmooth-Moment]

Originally Posted by Archie F. Swin

I'm guessing no team will make a big SP move until Greinke moves...

That would be my best guess. Sanchez will get overpaid once Greinke signs.

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

When Paulino is healthy he is a borerline legit number 1 starter. Hopefully he comes back in July after the All Star break.

Wonder if they tried to fix his shoulder too. That was always the problem with him, a "loose" right shoulder

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

Wonder if they tried to fix his shoulder too. That was always the problem with him, a "loose" right shoulder

Paulino is found money and should be treated as such. Anything he gives you before getting injured is bonus.