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.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

We could all get behind that rotation. Then take a look at Duffy and Paulino in the second half for a big push while Odorizzi is waiting in the wings.

I'd actually prefer:
Sanchez
Haren
Guthrie
Mendoza
Odorizzi

I think as the season went on, you'd see Odorizzi and one of Duffy/Paulino replace Mendoza and Chen. Mendoza would slide into a long-relief role.

I think Odorizzi still has a little ways to go and would benefit from some more time refining his approach. A little more time at Omaha wouldn't hurt him, especially if the Royals bring in two guys in addition to Guthrie.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Right. Comes down to Chen being fine/usable as long as you know what he is and handle him accordingly.

He had a similar number of starts (10) in which he breezed through his last inning with no problem, and five more in which he was yanked at the first sign of trouble (team escaped with no damage). He averaged just over 6 1/3 innings in those instances.

In the starts where he was left in "too long," 4 were starts where he ran into trouble in the 7th and, 8 were in the 6th, and one was in the 5th.

I'm not trying to say he's a stud or anything. Just that he's fine IF you monitor him carefully and hook him quickly once he runs into the first sign of trouble. About 1/3 of the time, he's good for 5 innings. About 1/2 the time, he was good for 6 innings.

Better management - and being able to slide him to the 4 or 5 spot, where he doesn't need to eat as many innings - would maximize Chen's effectiveness and minimize the times he hurts the team.

To me, it's similar to giving a lefthanded hitter who is hopeless against lefites a day off against them. You have the data that tells you the guy is likely to be a negative factor with the bat that day, and respond to it.

That's a lot easier to do when you've got a legit number one pitching the next day. When your one through three starters pitch a total of 16 innings, you're screwed.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I think as the season went on, you'd see Odorizzi and one of Duffy/Paulino replace Mendoza and Chen. Mendoza would slide into a long-relief role.

I think Odorizzi still has a little ways to go and would benefit from some more time refining his approach. A little more time at Omaha wouldn't hurt him, especially if the Royals bring in two guys in addition to Guthrie.

I like Paulino, but we can't count on him to ever be healthy. Any starts he gives us are bonus.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Saul Too

That's a lot easier to do when you've got a legit number one pitching the next day. When your one through three starters pitch a total of 16 innings, you're screwed.

Exactly.

That's why guys like Sanchez and Haren would be so beneficial. They're durable guys who can eat innings. Same with Guthrie, the way he has pitched since joining KC, and the way he pitched in Baltimore.

The terrible twosome of Luke Hochevar and Jon Sanchez bombing out early in so many games tied Yost's hands to a certain degree this season.

It's a lot easier to finagle good starts out of your 4 and 5 guys if you can have a quick hook on them.

With the rights move in the rest of the rotation, Chen could bounce back with a very strong season next year. Which is why I'm OK with keeping him around and projecting him as part of the rotation.

We've talked about him a lot on here... Chen isn't the problem. He'd be fine/good if asked to do what he is capable of, but the team has been trying to get more out of him.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Exactly.

That's why guys like Sanchez and Haren would be so beneficial. They're durable guys who can eat innings. Same with Guthrie, the way he has pitched since joining KC, and the way he pitched in Baltimore.

The terrible twosome of Luke Hochevar and Jon Sanchez bombing out early in so many games tied Yost's hands to a certain degree this season.

It's a lot easier to finagle good starts out of your 4 and 5 guys if you can have a quick hook on them.

With the rights move in the rest of the rotation, Chen could bounce back with a very strong season next year. Which is why I'm OK with keeping him around and projecting him as part of the rotation.

We've talked about him a lot on here... Chen isn't the problem. He'd be fine/good if asked to do what he is capable of, but the team has been trying to get more out of him.

Agreed. Yost catches so much shit for the way he handles the bullpen, but I don't know what people expect him to do. Our starters give us fewer innings than just about any team in the league, our closer misses the entire season, and our bullpen still leads the league in ERA.

I get that people would like to pull pitchers at the first hint of adversity, but our bullpen can't absorb another 120 innings of work.

[Deberg_1990]

Royals now have the longest Postseason drought in all Pro Sports since the Nationals/Expos/1981 made the postseason this year.

[Ebolapox]

Royals now have the longest Postseason drought in all of Pro Sports since the Nationals/Expos/1981 made the postseason this year.

[Ebolapox]

Royals now have the longest Postseason drought in all of Pro Sports since the Nationals/Expos/1981 made the postseason this year.

[Jenson71]

Every second, the postseason drought gets longer, but I don't think we need up-to-minute reminders.

[cookster50]

Royals now have the longest Postseason drought in all of Pro Sports since the Nationals/Expos/1981 made the postseason this year.

[ChiefsCountry]

We would have a few more postseason appreances if the new playoff rules were in effect. I want to say in 1989 we finished with the second best record in MLB behind the A's who won the AL West.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

So am I to understand it's not actually our time just yet?

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

So am I to understand it's not actually our time just yet?

We're on the yearly renewed '5 year plan'

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

We would have a few more postseason appreances if the new playoff rules were in effect. I want to say in 1989 we finished with the second best record in MLB behind the A's who won the AL West.

That team would have been a really interesting matchup in the postseason. Under the current format, the Royals would have won the American League Central by12 games, and they would have probably won more than 92 games, as the Tigers, Indians, and White Sox ALL blew chunks that year (59, 79 and 69 wins, respectively).

Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen, backed by Mark Gubicza as your 1-2 punch. Charlie Liebrandt as your No. 3, and then you have either Tom Gordon or Luis Aquino as a your No. 4 guy (probably Gordon).

The offense wasn't great, but there were plenty of bats there (Jackson's best year, Tartabull, Brett). They would have faced the winner of the Angels/Orioles elimination game.

The A's were great that year, but a 7 game series with two starts each from Saberhagen and Gubs... would have been tough to knock the Royals out.

Looking at that, it makes me remember just how shocking the way the Royals fell apart was.

Saberhagen and Gubicza were just 25. Kevin Appier was about to burst onto the scene. Brett was almost finished, but Jackson was in the process of becoming a star. Tartabull was entering his prime.

Crazy how quickly it can fall apart, especially if you're talking about young pitchers who have been somewhat abused early in their careers.

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by Zeke

We're on the yearly renewed '5 year plan'

Is that like a 60 month balloon?