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.

[gblowfish]

I was thinking about this whole mess this AM on the way to work.

Baseball teams are built up the middle. Look at our middle. Our starting catcher goes down a week before the season starts. We lose our CF four games into the season. Our 2B of the future doesn't make it out of spring training.

Pitching? Lose your closer to Tommy John. Lose Paulino, who was a decent #3 or #4 guy. Your best starter is Chen? Seriously? Chen is a #5 at best for 3/4ths of major league teams. Hoch continues to under-perform. Duffy is sitll a pup.

Your "future guys" Hoz, Moose and Alice, all hitting under .230. Team can't get a hit with men in scoring position to save their asses.

This is just a typical Royals team. They'll suck until they're about 20 games out, then start to play well enough to give us hope for next year.

The elusive "Next Year."

Same as it ever was.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I was thinking about this whole mess this AM on the way to work.

Baseball teams are built up the middle. Look at our middle. Our starting catcher goes down a week before the season starts. We lose our CF four games into the season. Our 2B of the future doesn't make it out of spring training.

Pitching? Lose your closer to Tommy John. Lose Paulino, who was a decent #3 or #4 guy. Your best starter is Chen? Seriously? Chen is a #5 at best for 3/4ths of major league teams. Hoch continues to under-perform. Duffy is sitll a pup.

Your "future guys" Hoz, Moose and Alice, all hitting under .230. Team can't get a hit with men in scoring position to save their asses.

This is just a typical Royals team. They'll suck until they're about 20 games out, then start to play well enough to give us hope for next year.

The elusive "Next Year."

Same as it ever was.

But we have the All-Star game

[gblowfish]

Moose has started hitting a little, his average is up to .269, so we'll give him a pass. Hoz, Alice and Frenchy still sucking it though.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Moose has started hitting a little, his average is up to .269, so we'll give him a pass. Hoz, Alice and Frenchy still sucking it though.

Hoz has more than enough talent and brains... you pretty much know he'll get it going. Alex has more than enough talent, you wonder about the brains. Frenchy has a nice smile... but also talent, brains I'm unsure of.

[sedated]

Maybe Hoz will freak and sign a long term deal now.

[AndChiefs]

Originally Posted by sedated

Maybe Hoz will freak and sign a long term deal now.

I doubt it. You can see how unlucky he's been getting. A lot of ropes hit right at someone.

[gblowfish]

How's our All Star Chances looking?

Pretty bleak.

At this point, Escobar and Butler are the only ones who deserve even a brief look:

[ChiefsCountry]

Hoz is hitting the ball hard, he is just hitting into some bad luck. Like the outfielder falling down and landing in his glove. That shit only happens to the Royals.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

How's our All Star Chances looking?

Pretty bleak.

At this point, Escobar and Butler are the only ones who deserve even a brief look:

If they they both it made we'd double our usual participation.



Maybe with the game in KC Washington will throw us a bone. Heh.

[KCUnited]

How big is one error?

Since the Escobar 9th inning error in Oakland:

-Jonathan Broxton becomes first pitcher in 46 years to hit 2 batters to end a game.
-Worst home start in franchise history.
-Royals have a triple play turned on them in an inning Yuni Betancourt draws a walk.

Staggering.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

How big is one error?

Since the Escobar 9th inning error in Oakland:

-Jonathan Broxton becomes first pitcher in 46 years to hit 2 batters to end a game.
-Worst home start in franchise history.
-Royals have a triple play turned on them in an inning Yuni Betancourt draws a walk.

Staggering.

Next up... with two outs and two strikes, Getz hits a game tying grand slam in the bottom of the 9th today (over the fence, into the fountains)... Royals lose on a balk with a guy on 3rd in the 19th inning. Excuse is that Maier isn't really a pitcher.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by petegz28

The problem is not Yost. We haven't had much difference in the lineup from game-game save CF which is due to injury. The problem is Yost was dealt a shitty hand for a pitching staff. Couple that with our players offensively choking which I think is coming from pressing too much. Yes Yost has made some questionable decisions as to when to pull a pitcher, etc., but that's really nothing new for most managers.

The bottom line is we have dick for pitching and that ain't Yosts' fault. We have 1-2 decent starters in Duffy and Chen, we have 2 1-inning wonders from the Pen in Crow and Collins and that's it. The rest of this pitching staff sucks asshole.

If this play continues to mid-may, Yost will be fired. He has to be. There has to be some change to shake things up. Its not like you can send Hos, Alice and Frenchy down.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Dave

If this play continues to mid-may, Yost will be fired. He has to be. There has to be some change to shake things up. Its not like you can send Hos, Alice and Frenchy down.

If Frenchy continues his current trajectory, you trade him for a bag of balls, bench him, or outright release him.

.246/.295/.333
OPS+ 73 (seventy-****ing-three!!!)

He's been a giant ball of shit thus far this season, and he can shove all the free pizzas he wants up his unproductive ass. Nice guy? Absolutely. Shit player this year? Absolutely. He must pull out of it.

[ChiefsCountry]

Well Myers is getting closer to getting ready so we don't have to put up with Frenchy too much longer.

Myers is batting .298 with 4 homers so far in Northwest Arkansas.

[DeezNutz]

As a point of comparison, when Frenchy was run out of NY, his OPS+ was 80.