Royals 2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread - Page 79

duncan_idaho · 10:01 AM

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?

Walrus · 03-04-2013, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

As for the Royals... a 20-game jump would be a large surprise. I think my expectations as of Day 1 break in around 84-85 wins. Which is probably enough to keep them in the wild card race all season.

If they don't make the playoffs in 2013 or 2014, the trade is a failure.

Reasons for optimism:

1) Better than their record a year ago. The Royals were unlucky, winning about 4-5 games fewer than their pythag suggested was normal.

2) Salvador Perez for 120 games as C and likely 15-20 as DH, rather than 75.

3) Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas improvement/rebound potential. The huge upside is still there for both. Early reports are good, and they're focused on things they should be - what pitches they're taking, what pitches they're driving, etc.

4) Stronger overall pitching staff. It's not likely to all work out as sunshine and roses. If it does, the Royals will challenge the Tigers legitimately. But it's still going to be a massive improvement, even if Davis is just league average, Santana is only OK, and Guthrie and Shields take small steps back from their performances last year.

(Of course, it could go south. Guthrie could pitch an entire season like he did in Colorado, Santana could be just as bad, Davis could get hurt, and Shields could do what he did in 2010)

5) Strengths are still strengths. The bullpen is still young, strong, and stacked with hard-throwing, strikeout artists. The defense is still young, and good (And could be much improved with Perez and Cain healthy).

I think Francoeur will have a bounce back year. Very exciting times to be a Royals & Chiefs fan!

**gblowfish** · 03-04-2013, 01:53 PM

I think Francouer will suck worse than last year. But that's just me.

Codered · 03-04-2013, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I think Francouer will suck worse than last year. But that's just me.

And hopefully released.

mr. tegu · 03-04-2013, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I think Francouer will suck worse than last year. But that's just me.

Maybe that would finally get him off the field. But I am hoping he reverts to two years ago or at least plays at replacement level. I don't really hate the guy, I just hate that he goes up there to the plate with the same amount of grace and rythym that a lumberjack goes up to a giant redwood.

CaliforniaChief · 03-04-2013, 02:03 PM

Brett's comment to Francouer was awesome:

duncan_idaho · 03-04-2013, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I think Francouer will suck worse than last year. But that's just me.

It would be hard for a player to be statistically worse than Francoeur was last year. His negative 2.7 WAR is one of the worst totals in recent memory. Amazingly, a big portion of this negative value was driven by his defense, not his bat.

It's not out of the realm of possibility. But Francoeur was especially awful last year, even for him.

Even a rebound to replacement level adds 3 Ws of value...

duncan_idaho · 03-04-2013, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Maybe that would finally get him off the field. But I am hoping he reverts to two years ago or at least plays at replacement level. I don't really hate the guy, I just hate that he goes up there to the plate with the same amount of grace and rythym that a lumberjack goes up to a giant redwood.

I don't hate Jeff Francoeur individually. What I hated was the stubborn reliance they showed with him last year. Way too slow to sit him. Way too slow to move him out of a critical spot in the batting order.

That's more about Ned and Dayton than anything else, though.

I can't hate too much... I agree with the decision to extend him at that time, even though I figured he would regress some. I didn't expect a complete fall off the cliff, though.

Walrus · 03-04-2013, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I don't hate Jeff Francoeur individually. What I hated was the stubborn reliance they showed with him last year. Way too slow to sit him. Way too slow to move him out of a critical spot in the batting order.

That's more about Ned and Dayton than anything else, though.

I can't hate too much... I agree with the decision to extend him at that time, even though I figured he would regress some. I didn't expect a complete fall off the cliff, though.

I was wondering why they didn't bring up Myers last year? Maybe to keep his value as high as possible? Shields better be good!

mr. tegu · 03-04-2013, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walrus

I was wondering why they didn't bring up Myers last year? Maybe to keep his value as high as possible? Shields better be good!

That and even if he was still with us he wouldn't have been up for the first few months to keep him that extra year.

**alnorth** · 03-05-2013, 04:16 PM

Royals are winning again, up 7-2 in the 8th inning

AndChiefs · 03-05-2013, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

Royals are winning again, up 7-2 in the 8th inning

and won.

Chief_For_Life58 · 03-05-2013, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndChiefs

and won.

ballin!

**ChiTown** · 03-05-2013, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

Royals are winning again, up 7-2 in the 8th inning

Who pitched today?

Discuss Thrower · 03-05-2013, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Brett's comment to Francouer was awesome:

Frenchy should be in the cage hitting off a tee?

Guarantee you set that tee up 24inches lower than normal and in the opposite batter's box and he'd still swing at it.

AndChiefs · 03-05-2013, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown

Who pitched today?

Chen and Hoch.

12-11-2012, 09:59 AM
duncan_idaho M-I-Z-Z-O-U Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $-1889692	2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread 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? Last edited by duncan_idaho; 07-15-2013 at 10:01 AM..
Posts: 22,310

03-04-2013, 01:53 PM	#1172
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16896178 VARSITY	I think Francouer will suck worse than last year. But that's just me.
Posts: 41,011

03-04-2013, 02:03 PM	#1175
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $10715899	Brett's comment to Francouer was awesome: Your browser does not support iframes.
Posts: 17,443

03-05-2013, 04:16 PM	#1180
alnorth . Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $57156239	Royals are winning again, up 7-2 in the 8th inning __________________ how many emo kids does it take to change a lightbulb? HOW MANY?! none they just sit in the dark and cry
Posts: 36,130