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?

[Pitt Gorilla]

I assumed they were hoping Hoch looked good enough to move him in a trade.

[siberian khatru]

Uh-oh:

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke was scratched from his scheduled start Monday due to elbow irritation and flew back to Los Angeles to be examined by the team's physician.

Greinke, who signed a six-year, $147 million contract in December, threw a bullpen session Friday, but reported the irritation after playing catch on Sunday. He was scheduled to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache and to return to the Dodgers' spring training facility in Arizona later Monday afternoon.

The Dodgers said the exam was precautionary.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Greinke had a MRI last week that detected no ligament damage.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/s...or-check-elbow

[gblowfish]

"I think Hoch has electric stuff!" - Kyle Davies

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Hochevar's spring line:

8 IP
8 Ks
6 BBs
6 ER
1.88 WHIP
6.75 ERA

Kid might pitch JUST awful enough to be able to cut him and win the grievance. Maybe.

Of course, the team would have to be willing to cut him, first...

Mendoza has to be the 5th starter.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

1) Because the Royals don't believe in him, 100 percent.
2) Because the Royals think he's a long reliever, optimally
3) Because Luke Hochevar is still on the roster and they continue to believe he can be "fixed"
4) Because if they can't fix Luke, Bruce Chen is available (who actually is fine at the No. 5 spot).

Mendoza as the long reliever/Chen as the 5 would be fine with me. I fully expect Mendoza to get a handful of starts filling in for Chen and another handful filling in for others in the rotation (Likely candidate: Wade Davis)

Mendoza has to be the 5th starter!!!!!

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Mendoza has to be the 5th starter!!!!!

Davis is ailing so Hoch gets bumped to four. AND YOU GET YOUR WISH!!!

[Shogun]

It really only matters until Duffy/Paulino come back. Both guys will be great additions once they're back. Especially if Paulino can come back to how he was last year, because he was flashing some ace stuff to start the year.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Uh-oh:

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke was scratched from his scheduled start Monday due to elbow irritation and flew back to Los Angeles to be examined by the team's physician.

Greinke, who signed a six-year, $147 million contract in December, threw a bullpen session Friday, but reported the irritation after playing catch on Sunday. He was scheduled to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache and to return to the Dodgers' spring training facility in Arizona later Monday afternoon.

The Dodgers said the exam was precautionary.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Greinke had a MRI last week that detected no ligament damage.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/s...or-check-elbow

Remember a few years ago, when he basically stopped throwing his slider because he wanted to save his elbow for when it mattered?

Hmmmmmmm...

[CaliforniaChief]

At this point, a best case scenario is a Hoch DFA (if that's what it would be called), but that's probably not happening.

I do think Chen has pitched well enough to fetch some value (say a 4th outfielder) in a trade, and would love to see Mendoza start the season as the #5 starter.

Shields
Santana
Davis
Guthrie
Mendoza

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Mendoza has to be the 5th starter.

I agree that Mendoza should be the guy, based on last-season. Though I wouldn't raise a fuss if they went with Chen (contract, change-of-pace in a rotation, better overall track record) to start the season.

But the worst possible alignment is giving Hochevar 5th starter status and relegating both Chen and Mendoza to the 'pen. That's probably what will happen, though.

I find it weird that Dayton Moore is so convinced there is a huge market for Luke Hochevar, should the Royals cut him. I mean, I'm sure a few teams would be interested in taking a flyer on him. But it's not like they're going to create a bidding war for him or anything.

Makes me envision rival GMs sitting in a room, waiting for Dayton to call, then all laughing as they talk up Hochevar. "15-game winner." "Great stuff." "I love his attitude and work ethic!"

Either that, or there are just a lot of dumb guys in baseball who can't get over a pitcher with the classic build who looks good in side sessions. I mean, Rick Porcello has been practically as bad as Hochevar (and at times, worse) and apparently there still is a huge trade market for him despite terrible indicators (career k/9 of 5 flat at age 24 with 4 years of MLB experience is just an atrocious sign).

Scout's Eye! (Even if the stats make it clear that the eye lies on a guy).

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

At this point, a best case scenario is a Hoch DFA (if that's what it would be called), but that's probably not happening.

I do think Chen has pitched well enough to fetch some value (say a 4th outfielder) in a trade, and would love to see Mendoza start the season as the #5 starter.

Shields
Santana
Davis
Guthrie
Mendoza

I think you keep at least two of those guys. At least until Duffy and Paulino are healthy and ready to start in MLB again.

You want to make sure you have quality depth in case one of the other 4 guys gets hurt. I'd feel a lot better about adding Mendoza or Chen to the rotation if Davis or Santana or Guthrie (not even going to mention the possibility of the other) makes a DL trip than adding, say, Will Smith.

But hey, maybe Yordano Ventura blows through AA and AAA and makes the whole thing moot by the all-star break. About time something like that happens for KC, right?

[Shogun]

So, Am I the only one who thinks Paulino has a good chance to repeat what he started last year? Watched his repetition and it looked really fluid and corrected his mechanics a lot over last offseason. I have good expectations for him

[sedated]

Originally Posted by Shogun

So, Am I the only one who thinks Paulino has a good chance to repeat what he started last year? Watched his repetition and it looked really fluid and corrected his mechanics a lot over last offseason. I have good expectations for him

I was under the impression that Paulino was anything BUT fluid, hence all the injuries.

I don't expect a damn thing from Paulino or Duffy this year.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Shogun

So, Am I the only one who thinks Paulino has a good chance to repeat what he started last year? Watched his repetition and it looked really fluid and corrected his mechanics a lot over last offseason. I have good expectations for him

If his arm stays healthy, he has dynamite stuff and the body to handle a big workload.

His fastball/slider combo were pretty impressive last year. I'm hoping he comes back strong from that.

It will be interesting to see what happens if BOTH Paulino and Duffy come back strong. The rotation this year and next will get crowded.

1 - Shields
2 - Guthrie
3 - Santana/open spot
4 - Davis
5 - Menchechen/open spot

With the following all knocking on the door. Not enough room for everyone...
Duffy
Paulino
Ventura
Zimmer
Lamb

[sedated]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Greinke had a MRI last week that detected no ligament damage.

Why would he have had an MRI last week? Either he felt something then or they just give random MRIs now.

This could be a case where they rest him and then throw him back on the mound and wait for the elbow to give out. It could be his first start back (Liriano) or a few years from now (Duffy).