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 thurman merman

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this last night. How hard is it to put the right team's logo and get the guy's name right? I mean, all these dudes are pretty famous.

Maybe the Royals front office just wanted the fans to remember that other teams didn't draft those guys too. Granted the Royals only had the opportunity to draft 2 of them.

[Nightfyre]

Listening to that Keith Law segment - Yost is done after this year. I have to believe he is interfering with our hitting coaches doing their jobs. We need someone to come in and reclaim this talent.

[Prison Bitch]

Dayton starts year 8 in May. Thank you Dayton for turning this franchise around!

[teedubya]

This Royals team was 17-10... now they are 21-24. Nice work, bitches in blue.

[Mother****erJones]

White Sox moved ahead of Royals in standings. How? My Sox haven't been good except the past 10 games.

[Prison Bitch]

Dayton cant fire Ned, because he doesn't deserve a 3rd manager hire.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Dayton starts year 8 in May. Thank you Dayton for turning this franchise around!

Patience......no reason to panic


http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23...ent-slide.html


The question was simple and basic to Royals general manager Dayton Moore prior to Thursday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium

What are the Royals going to do to get out of a 4-13 slide?

Moore starts by saying what they won’t do.

“You know how people panic?” he asked. “We’re not going to panic. We’re not panicking. We are not panicking. I’m not going to make excuses for young players. I’m just not.

“I’ve seen a lot of them come up and do well. But we do have a lot of them in the lineup ... We’ll be all right.”

The Royals optioned struggling reliever Kelvin Herrera to Class AAA Omaha prior to Thursday’s game, but Moore suggested the same move is unlikely at this point for third baseman Mike Moustakas or any of the club’s underperforming position players.

“Pitchers are different from position players,” Moore said. “First of all, it’s very difficult for a position player to ever develop beyond their level of competition.

“If a position player goes down to Triple-A and has success, that doesn’t mean he’s going to come back up here and have success. For position players, a lot of it is getting to know pitchers.

“The best major-league hitters oftentimes struggle against pitchers they’ve never seen before. A lot of it is learning the league and seeing a certain quality of pitch. That’s going to develop them more than anything else.

“There is no major-league model in the minor leagues. There’s no substitute to learning to hit major-league pitching. You’ve got to face it.”

Moore also declined to offer a timetable on the club’s patience with veteran outfielder Jeff Francoeur, a pending free agent who carried a .226 average into Thursday’s game.

“You’re always looking to improve your roster,” Moore said, “but it’s still very early. It’s the same team that we left spring training with. It’s the same team that was 17-10.

“We’ve got (118) games left, we’ve got a lot of baseball left, and we’re going to remain patient with the guys we have. I like the potential of this group.”

In short, Moore intends for the Royals to stay the course.

“As long as players are working hard and remain confident,” he said, “and the coaching staff remains confident they’re going to get through it, I’m going to be very patient.

“You can’t go into spring training feeling great, if you’re honest with yourself, and then leave spring training feeling good about your team; then feel good about your team through the first 30 games and then ... in the next 15, you’re going to just panic?

“You might as well get out of the business. Get out of the game. We’re going to stay positive, and we’re going to expect to win. We’re going to expect to get better. That’s what we’re going to do.”

To reach Bob Dutton, send email to bdutton@kcstar.com . Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/23...#storylink=cpy

[Demonpenz]

Moore is done and so is Yost. People are not going out to the ball park to watch this shit.

[Sure-Oz]

How many 'best farm system in baseball' teams have actually not done well? we have to be in rare air.

Moves need to be made now. To save moustakas and hosmer they need to send them down and play alternatives. Ned should be fired within the next 2 weeks if they don't improve at all

[gblowfish]

Only 3.5 games out of last. I know they can do it! I just know it! We have history on our side. I'm not going to panic....I know we can take our usual spot in the cellar by the this time next week. Just let Ned do it!

[siberian khatru]

Today's fun stat: The Royals have played 34 games where they have had 3 extra base hits or less.

[warpaint*]

April was fun. It's over unless Yost is fired in short order and might be anyway.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Today's fun stat: The Royals have played 34 games where they have had 3 extra base hits or less.

Heh, this game against the Astros they won, had 13 hits......all singles.


http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...01305210.shtml

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by warpaint*

April was fun. It's over unless Yost is fired in short order and might be anyway.

Who hired Yost?

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Who hired Yost?

Exactly. Does anyone trust DM to hire a 3rd manager??

Royals should have pursued a proven winner like Francona.....if we had a good owner who actually cared about winning.