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On Valentine’s Day, the love comes out for the greatest game in the world -
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter: “I think because everybody can relate. You don’t have to be seven feet tall; you don’t have to be a certain size to play. Baseball is up and down. I think life’s like that sometimes, you know. Back and forth, up and down, you’re going through this grind. I think people like watching it. Baseball’s like a soap opera every day.”
Ernie Banks, Cubs legend and Hall of Famer: “It’s just life. When I think about baseball, it’s just life. It’s really the way life is. It requires a lot of mental capacity to be involved in it. It creates a lot of joy for people and memories for people who follow it. It’s a family. You like it because it’s a family. You started with it and know all these people — it’s family, it’s friends, it’s fun, it’s a beautiful game. All in all, baseball is amazing.
Joel Kweskin, 56, White Sox fan based in Charlotte, N.C.: “It’s unique unto itself. Football, basketball and hockey are variations of the same concept — back and forth in a linear progression to score a goal. Baseball, however, is mapped out on the field unlike any other sport. A running back or return specialist can run 100 yards, tops; a baserunner legging out an inside-the-park homer runs 20 yards farther. Baseball is the most democratic of sports — any size can play, and because the ball is not controlled by the offense but rather the defense, every player at any given time is involved in a play. Along with the anecdotally accepted premise that hitting a pitched baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sports, so might be fielding a 175-mph line drive or grounder down the line. I love baseball because it is the greatest game ever invented.”
Former Royals star Willie Wilson: “The first thing is, I don’t think there’s any criteria for size, so anybody can play. I think people can relate. A lot of people never played football; basketball, you’ve gotta be tall and be able to jump. But baseball is a game where you pick up a bat and a ball, and you catch it, you swing the bat and you hit the ball. Most people have played softball or some kind of baseball, so they can relate to the sport. For me, that’s why I think America just embraces baseball, man.”
Baseball Blogger Travis G.: Where to start? I think better when I make a list.
1. Players. The requirements to be a good baseball player are very undefined. You can be short, tall, thin, chunky, anything really. You name the greats and you get tall and chunky (Ruth, Ortiz), short and chunky (Yogi, Gwynn), tall and thin (Sizemore, Jeter), short and thin (Reyes, Ichiro). They may not be the best athletes (e.g. David Wells), but when they’re playing the best game in the world, who cares?
2. The Mentality. Baseball requires more intelligence than any other sport (save for NFL QB). Simply put, every hitter that steps to the plate is trying to out-think the pitcher, and vice versa. 4-5 times a game, focus has to be completely on the man in front of him. Will he throw a fastball, curve, change? If you take an at-bat (or even a pitch) off, you’re toast. Same thing with the pitcher. The only other sport that comes close is football, but mainly just for the QB. Baseball requires every single player to have good mental capacity.
3. The Field. Football, hockey, basketball and soccer all use essentially the same type of field/playing surface: a rectangle. Baseball uses a diamond. It’s not only unique in that aspect, but every single ballpark is unique amongst the sport. Each park has its own quirks and intricacies that make it special. Not a single other sport can say that. Yankee Stadium has Death Valley, the short RF porch, and the facade. Fenway has the Monster. Shea has the apple. Wrigley has the ivy-covered brick. Pac Bell (or whatever it’s called now) has the bay in RF. Houston has the hill in center. Imagine if the RCA Dome’s field was only 95 yards; that’s the equivalent of Death Valley or the Green Monster.
4. One on One. Basically the speech DeNiro makes in The Untouchables. Baseball is a team game: 25 men. But each of them takes one turn – by themself – to help the whole team. Then the next batter gets a chance. Because of the batting order, a team can’t simply send its best hitter up every at-bat. You can’t just give the ball to Jordan or Shaq (Pujols or Ortiz) every time. A team’s best hitter will get 4-5 chances a game to help his team. That’s it. You need a complete team to win.
5. Substitutions. Once a player is removed, he’s done. You can’t just sub in the best defenders when you have a lead. You can’t take out Santana for an inning because he’s tired, then re-insert him. Could you imagine the way baseball would be played if there were no substitution restrictions? It would be bedlam. Players don’t get any breaks (outside of the DH) during the game. Even late inning defensive replacements are a gamble if the trailing team comes back. And substitutions play an ever bigger role in the NL.
6. No Clock. No running out the clock. It doesn’t matter what inning and what score it is, you still need 27 outs to complete the game. There’s no easy way to ‘seal’ a win. You still have to face every batter, and record every out.
7. History. When Japanese kamikaze pilots flew their planes into American ships, they would often yell ‘Fuck Babe Ruth!’ No other American sport has the history baseball does. Some of the most iconic figures in our culture are Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Ripken, McGwire, Bonds, Aaron, Clemens, Jeter. It’s goes all the way back to the 1830′s. The ‘Junior Circuit’ (AL) had been going strong for over 45 years before the NBA ever started. The Yankees had already won 20 World Series before the first Super Bowl was ever played. I just love that feeling of history when I watch a game.
8. Summer. What better sport to exemplify the feeling of summer than baseball. The only summer sport we have. Warm weather, kids are out of school; remember the day games with your dad, drinking a soda, eating a hot dog? No other sport lets you enjoy the weather. Hockey and basketball are indoors. And the football season lasts from September to February, nuff said.
9. Connection. This ain’t football where the most ardent fans get to see a maximum of just 24 games (including the pre and post-season). Baseball is 3 hours a day, 6 days a week for 6 months. You get a minimum of 162 games. That’s double basketball and hockey, and 10 times that of football. Not only do you get to see your ‘guys’ 162 times a season, but you actually feel close to them. They’re not wearing masks to cover their faces (football, hockey), so you see (and often share) their reactions and emotions. You don’t get that feeling of ‘closeness’ from other sports. And then when you add the fact that baseball plays 162 games, it’s easy to understand where the connection comes from. When the season is over, it’s like you not seeing your family for 5 months.
10. Home-field Advantage. Having the home team hit in the bottom of each inning assures that every team, every season (even Kansas City) will have its share of thrilling, bottom of the whatever, walk-off wins. It’s nothing like football where you squib kick it or have the QB kneel down, or in basketball where you dribble out the clock or foul the opponent 10 times.
Your thoughts?
As the march toward daylight savings time continues, we continue our look at the players who will be competing for spots on the Kansas City Royals opening day roster.
Previous profiles: Catchers
Since 2003, the likes of Ken Harvey, Matt Stairs and Doug Mientkiewicz have all spent time chasing down Angel Berroa’s errant throws and subbing for Mike Sweeney. Who will be the lucky contenders for that role this year?
Mike Sweeney
258/349/438
OPS+ 97
Any discussion about the Royals 1B/DH situation begins and ends with Mike Sweeney.
When healthy, he has easily been the most productive hitter on the team over the last eight years. Of course, even the casual observer can tell you that Sweeney has hardly been healthy since he became the highest-paid player in team history.
Just to recap: While Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Carlos Beltran found riches elsewhere, Sweeney signed what many agreed was a good deal for the Royals in 2002.
His numbers since the signing:
Year Games OPS+
2003 108 115
2004 106 123
2005 122 127
2006 60 97
Sweeney will be 33 this season. His offensive numbers should rebound from last year, but he is definitely entering the decline phase of his career. He will be the designated hitter whenever his back is up to it; when it isn’t, the remaining names on this list will be vying for his time in the lineup.
Ryan Shealy
277/333/450
OPS+ 95
Shealy came to the Royals last year as part of a mid-season trade that sent pitchers Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista to Colorado to breathe the mountain air and search for their lost potential.
A strong performer in the Rockies farm system, Shealy was stuck waiting for Todd Helton to catch Mike Sweeney’s back virus so he could have a shot at playing time in the major leagues.
After a short adjustment period, Shealy really started raking for the Royals in the final months of the season.
Dates AVG OBP SLG OPS
8/01–15 255 328 309 637
8/15-31 339 371 525 896
9/01-15 333 393 686 1.079
9/15-24 107 194 143 337
His last week was marred by illness and he was benched permanently with a case of hives to end the season.
Assuming the mystery hives don’t come back with a vengeance, Shealy should have a lock on the first base coming out of spring training.
Ross Gload
327/354/462
OPS+ 107
Another off season pick up for the Royals, Gload gives the franchise four of the top-eight finishers for Rookie of the Year voting in 2004.
I haven’t decided yet whether this is a good or a bad thing.
In the minors, Gload has always hit for average and power. In two full seasons in the major leagues, he lost a little power, but still managed to keep his batting average up.
As a role-player backing up first base and the outfield, there is really nothing wrong with Gload. However…
Gload Player X
Age Lev OPS Lev OPS
19 N/A RK 943
20 N/A A 878
21 A 712 A/AA 830
22 A 865 AA 901
23 A 793 AA/AAA 953
24 AA 827 AAA 838
25 AAA 845
26 AAA 852
27 AAA 873
28 MLB 854
29 AAA 1073
30 MLB 816
Wow! Who’s that wonderful Player X that showed he could handle professional baseball at such a scorching pace? I sure wish my team would give him a shot at a big league job!
Justin Huber
200/273/300
OPS+ 45
By age 22, Justin Huber looked like he was capable of taking Mike Piazza’s place as the best-hitting catcher in all of baseball. (He’s Player X, by the way.)
A trade to the Royals, a knee injury and two years later, Huber has become another player lost in the logjam at 1B/DH.
If he can bounce back from a disappointing season with Omaha last year, then the Aussie may become a valuable trading chip later in the season.
As it stands now, he is probably going to be manning first base in Omaha come April. The team has moved Huber from catcher to first base to occasional stints in the outfield since acquiring him in 2004. Most likely, he’ll be called up ahead of Billy Butler in order to save some time on that young man’s service clock.
Geeks like me who routinely check in with the home team’s website can tell you that we are only 3 days, 19 hours and 4 minutes away from the opening of spring training.
There are twenty new faces on the Kansas City Royals forty man roster since the last time pitchers and catchers were asked to report, so I’d like to acquaint you with the men who will be vying for playing time under the Arizona sun.
Each player name will link to his stats from baseball-reference.com, followed by his 2006 numbers (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging average and OPS+).
Let’s start with the men behind the dish.
John Buck
245/306/396
OPS+ 76
Not long ago (2004), Buck finished tied for 8th place in rookie of the year voting, behind fellow teammates David DeJesus (6th) and Zack Greinke (4th). No doubt, his single vote was probably cast by Jeffrey Flannigan.
Buck’s OPS by Year:
2004 704
2005 676
2006 702
Buck’s OPS by Month:
Apr/Mar 553
May 683
June 780
July 552
August 680
Sept/Oct 864
That June number is helped by his .993 OPS in June last year.
Buck’s MO is to start off slow and then figure things out. Unfortunately, aside from the aforementioned June and August of 2004, he has only posted an OPS over .800 in the month of September.
If I were Buddy Bell, I’d hire several “players†to stand around Buck at all times, wearing thermals, complaining about how cold it’s getting and talking about their fantasy football drafts non-stop.
Jason LaRue
194/317/346
OPS+ 65
LaRue was making steady progress as an offensive threat over the course of his career…
OPS+ by year:
1999 77
2000 74
2001 82
2002 85
2003 92
2004 103
2005 105
2006 65
… until last year, when pre-season knee surgery kept him out of the opening day lineup and rendered him relatively ineffective.
That’s one scary hole his productivity fell into, but there is hope for a rebound this year.
Here are some of LaRue’s numbers from the last three seasons, courtesy of The Hardball Times:
AVG OBP SLG LD% GB% BA/BIP
251 334 431 19.7 42.3 .313
260 355 452 22.5 41.6 .325
194 317 346 20.0 43.6 .220
For reference, that’s line drive (LD%) and ground ball percentages (GB%), as well as batting average on balls in play (BA/BIP).
A quick glance at those numbers shows that one of these things is not like the others.
Despite the knee surgery zapping his power, LaRue still hit line drives with the same consistency as previous years. Even a terrible player will have their BA/BAP regress to the mean (the NL average BA/BIP was .301 in ’06), and LaRue was not a terrible player before his knee injury, which could mean a nice bounce back for the man slated to back up Buck.
Paul Phillips
277/284/369
OPS+ 63
In seven minor league seasons, Phillips has put up a marginal 280/326/392 line in 532 games. Seeing action at the major league level almost exclusively during the September call-up period, he has hit 270/279/380 in 50 games.
After missing two entire seasons to injury, Phillips has done well to find himself a home in Omaha and will probably continue to work with the pitchers who aren’t quite ready for prime time yet.
I’ll be back with a look at the tall, slow guys standing by first base tomorrow.
I’m a little late getting this posted, but there’s a good article in the KC Star regarding the Kansas City Royals plans to install a new video system this season.
[T]he Royals find themselves in a controversy regarding their upgrade to a more state-of-the-art video system next month at a cost of $900,000. The team wants the system to be paid for by taxpayers as part of the $250 million renovation of Kauffman Stadium — something to which Jackson County officials object.
I’m not a fan of publicly funded private enterprises, and I can see how the county officials would be a irritated by this move.
I don’t recall ever seeing an itemized report on how the $250 millon would be spent, but it certainly seems the team could foot the bill for the video upgrade. Of course, I’m sure much more than $900k will be spent on “improvements” that have little to do with what voters imagined when they cast their ballots last year.
The Royals were among the innovators in using video technology to test and eventually strengthen players’ eyesight. The original system was patented in the 1970s before Royals owner Ewing Kauffman allowed other teams to use it.
It’s getting easier and easier to forget that the Royals were once considered among the best-run teams in any professional sports league. Innovative and aggressive at every turn.
This paragraph is what had me rolling on the floor, though:
Mark Redman, with his underwhelming stuff, used video more than any other pitcher last year and was chosen Royals pitcher of the year.
Mark Redman
W-L: 11-10
ERA: 5.71
ERA+: 85
Maybe a new video system isn’t such a great idea.
Sports Illustrated finished publishing its list of the top 75 prospects for the 2007 season today.
Alex Gordon from the Royals farm system grabs the top spot, one ahead of Delmon Young, who was the consensus top pick last year before he went all Al Capone on a minor league umpire.
Here’s the SI.com Top Ten:
10. Adam Miller, 22, SP, Cleveland Indians
9. Billy Butler, 21, LF, Kansas City Royals
8. Cameron Maybin, 20, CF, Detroit Tigers
7. Justin Upton, 19, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Chris Young, 23, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Brandon Wood, 22, SS, Los Angeles Angels
4. Philip Hughes, 21, SP, New York Yankees
3. Homer Bailey, 21, SP, Cincinnati Reds
2. Delmon Young, 21, RF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
1. Alex Gordon, 23, 3b, Kansas City Royals
Both the Royals and the Diamondbacks land two prospects in the top ten. Tampa Bay and the Colorado Rockies each has six farmhands listed in the top 75, so the fan bases of both teams can look forward to more top prospects underachieving at the major-league level soon.
Now that Dayton Moore has satisfied fan lust for more minor-league depth at shortstop by signing Alex Gonzalez, the Kansas City Royals offensive unit is pretty much set.
One could reasonably expect the following players to take the field on April 2nd, 2007:
DeJesus CF
Grudz 2B
Teahen 3B
Sweeney DH
Shealy 1B
Brown LF
Sanders RF
Berroa SS
Buck C
By taking the average on-base and slugging percentages from two of the better freely-available projection systems on the net (ZIPS and CHONE) and plugging them into David Pinto’s very cool lineup analysis tool, we find that this lineup should produce about 4.70 runs a game.
More info on these calculations can be found through Pinto’s site.
Last year, the Royals scored 4.67 runs a game, so the above projection seems reasonable given the modest offensive activity this offseason.
This isn’t to say that Buddy Bell doesn’t have options.
Simply sitting Angel Berroa and plugging Esteban German in at shortstop would boost the production to 4.91 runs a game.
Also, as has been discussed before, there are reinforcements coming from the minors.
If Alex Gordon makes his case this spring and Mark Teahen moves to the outfield, pushing Reggie Sanders to the bench, then the lineup puts up 5.03 runs a game.
In an ideal world, the Royals will put their best foot forward with the following fellows:
Player Pos Age
Gordon 3B 23
Sweeney DH 33
Teahen LF 25
Gload RF 31
Shealy 1B 27
DeJesus CF 27
German SS 29
Buck C 26
Grudz 2B 37
This lineup should score 5.11 runs a game.
So, what’s the big difference between 5.11 and 4.70 runs a game?
Pitcher projections are much less accurate, so let’s take a leap of faith and assume that Moore’s many pitching moves this off season have given the Royals staff a chance at mediocrity.
Rather than giving up a league-leading 5.99 runs a game like last year, let’s say the staff regresses to the mean and only allows five runs a game. (The American League average in 2006 was 4.87, so this shouldn’t be too much to ask.)
Now, using the pythagorean method to predict a final record, here is how the team would net out over the course of the season:
R/G RS RA W L
4.70 762 810 76 86
4.91 796 810 80 82
5.03 814 810 81 81
5.11 827 810 83 79
Unfortunately, even a team that is capable of winning 83 games needs a lot of luck, some shrewd moves during the season and the National League West as it’s home to have a chance at the playoffs.
However, even sniffing .500 would be a major improvement for the Kansas City Royals in 2007. This team is capable of putting a legitimate major league batting order together, featuring only a few players past their prime, and that hasn’t been the case for quite a few years.
The Royals have traded Jeff Keppinger, an infielder that most people have never heard of, to the Cincinnati Reds for a pitcher nobody has ever heard of.
With Mark Grudzielanek locked in as the starting second basemen and Esteban German seemingly able to field grounders without using his face, Keppinger had become a superfluous asset for the team.
Russell Haltiwanger is the prize for GM Dayton Moore. Yet another pitcher added to the stockpile, Rusty will probably be hanging out in Wilmington to start the season, maybe Wichita if he really impresses.
Aside from having a last name with the word “wanger†in it, here’s a quick run down on what else Haltiwanger brings to the organization.
Here are his rate stats since college:
Year Team Level Age IP ERA H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP
2004 Newberry NCAA 20 62.1 6.06 9.71 0.14 4.20 8.41 1.55
2005 Newberry NCAA 21 52 3.29 8.83 0.00 4.33 10.21 1.46
2006 Dayton A 22 82.1 4.15 7.87 1.09 4.92 8.53 1.42
2006 Sarasota A+ 22 4 2.25 2.25 2.25 9.00 4.50 1.25
For the uninitiated, the “9†stats are hits, home runs, walks and strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
The two best things about Haltiwanger are his age and his ability to strike out almost a batter an inning. He was able to keep his ERA respectable when moving from college to the pros last year and according to this profile from May, his goal is to some day pitch for the Cincinnati Reds.
I guess he’ll have to give up on that dream now.
One final tidbit. Check out this interesting split from his time pitching for Single-A Dayton in ought-six:
IP OPS WHIP W/9 K/9 HR/9
None on 39.7 .729 1.71 7.03 8.39 1.36
Men on 42.7 .650 1.08 2.53 8.44 0.84
With men on base, he walked fewer batters, gave up fewer home runs and clamped down on the overall offensive output of his competition.
It looks like Rusty might be a little clutch.
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees have reached a tentative deal with first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, according to reports in the New York Daily News and the New York Post.
The addition of Mientkiewicz, a left-handed hitter better known for his defense at first, would allow Jason Giambi to be the Yankees’ full-time designated hitter.
Mientkiewicz hit .283 with four home runs and 43 RBI bats for the Kansas City Royals last season before season-ending back surgery sidelined him on Aug. 29. He is a career .270 hitter in nine seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and the Royals and won the 2001 AL Gold Glove at first base.
The signing of Mientkiewicz would give the Yanks one of the best defensive 1B in the league. This would help young Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez with dome throwing errors.
Mientkiewicz also has great plate discipline. He sees about 4 pitches per plate appearance and puts the ball in play with a good average. He won’t hit many homers, although the short porch in New York could help.
All-in-all this is a good signing for the Yanks.
Since the crickets are chirping on Royals coverage while the Chiefs make their “miracle†run into the NFL playoffs, let’s take a moment to examine what General Manager Dayton Moore has done with the offense this off season.
Given that the team finished near the bottom of the league in runs scored last year, you’d think Moore would be stockpiling bats in the same manner he’s been picking up arms.
However, the only additions so far have been 1B/DH Ross Gload and Catcher Jason LaRue.
Of course, Moore did spruce up the lineup a bit during the season, and a look at the OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging average) month-by-month does show some modest improvement.
Apr 681
May 732
Jun 743
Jul 760
Aug 764
Sep 762
Unfortunately, their best month was barely average.
David Cohen over at The Good Phight has posted a list of the stats for each lineup position on every team and here is how the Royals stacked up in 2006:
Rank Pos AVG OBP SLG OPS
47 5 .293 .365 .498 .862
122 3 .280 .355 .425 .779
126 1 .289 .351 .423 .775
128 6 .273 .338 .437 .775
145 2 .290 .342 .416 .758
152 4 .253 .319 .436 .755
218 7 .262 .312 .375 .687
240 9 .258 .309 .346 .655
251 8 .236 .289 .327 .616
The overall OPS in 2006 was .765. That means that over half of the Royals lineup was worse than league average, and in the case of the #8 spot, barely better than the pitchers hit in the National League.
Ross Gload and Jason LaRue? Really?
Okay, let’s not panic just yet.
Here is a look at some 2007 projections using Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections:
Name P AVG OBP SLG OPS
Shealy 1b .288 .349 .479 .828
Teahen 3b .277 .349 .461 .810
Sweeney dh .275 .338 .470 .808
DeJesus cf .287 .355 .431 .786
Brown lf .281 .343 .438 .781
Sanders rf .252 .312 .438 .750
Buck c .251 .307 .432 .739
Grudz 2b .288 .327 .382 .709
Berroa ss .252 .288 .365 .653
BENCH
Gload dh .302 .350 .467 .817
German 2b .290 .359 .386 .745
LaRue c .234 .331 .411 .742
Gthrght cf .269 .335 .330 .665
MINORS
Gordon 3b .275 .361 .473 .834
Huber 1b .272 .337 .456 .793
Butler lf .292 .339 .447 .786
First of all, simply keeping Sweeney healthy and having Mark Teahen not turn into a pumpkin will help the Royals offense tremendously next season.
Hopefully, having Gil Meche make as much money as he does will stave off the pressure that seems to land on Sweeney’s bad back every season.
The jury is still out on Joey Gathwright, but Ryan Shealy looked like a good addition in the second half last year, and Szymborski’s system seems to like Gload’s potential.
However, the biggest reason for Moore’s focus on the pitching staff is that there is real promise coming from the minor leagues.
Alex Gordon, Justin Huber and Billy Butler all project to hit better in the big leagues than almost the entire 2006 lineup.
With all of that potential piling up at triple-A and Emil Brown and Reggie Sanders both on the wrong side of the age curve, I imagine there will be a few more deals before the season is over.
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| Wednesday, January 3, 2007 |
 This kid can flat out hit. His ’05 was a combined line of .340/.404/.611 with 30 homeruns and 39 doubles in just 540 plate appearances at two different levels. This year he mashed some more to the tune of .331/.388/.499 with 15 homeruns and 33 doubles in his first full season at AA. Throw in a nifty turn at the Futures game, where he won MVP, and the Royals have someone to keep an eye on. He has the traditional old player skills, good plate discipline and power. Oh yeah, and an iron glove. The Baseball Cube has a full rundown on his hitting prowess and fielding liabilities.
What makes Butler alluring to the big club this year is their lack of impact bats in the outfield. Mark Teahan, Ryan Sheeley and Mike Sweeney can hit, but they can’t make up for Joey Gathwright, David DeJesus, Emil Brown, Angel Berroa, Mark Grudzielanek and the aging Reggie Sanders. Rumors have begun to crop up surrounding a trade of Sanders or Brown, which lends credence to the idea that the Royals want to get Butler (who turns 21 in April) into the lineup. He can’t field, but will he hit?
The short answer is yes. Butler’s transition from AA ball to the majors would have some growing pains and slumps. Wichita has a mild negative effect on hitters. Meaning those excellent numbers are a little better than first appearance. And since his skill set is already developed for what hitters need to succeed at the big league level, he should step right in.
Royals GM Dayton Moore has made some unexpected moves signing Gil Meche to a big contract and inking Octavio Dotel to a one year deal, even though the Royals have minimal chances of contending in 2007. Don’t mistake those moves for confusion with the Royals chances next season. Moore knows he has time with Butler and fellow grip and rip prospect Alex Gordon. And he intends to use that time to leverage his aging assets into the best possible talent in return. That means midseason deals to contenders looking for experienced hitters can be expected. Reggie Sanders and Mike Sweeney have minimal value in January. But in June when someone’s DH is struggling or their right fielder just went down, they are veritable gold. So is Dotel. And in a couple of years Meche will be too.
But remember Billy Butler. His ticket is punched for Omaha, at least for now. He’ll be putting up big numbers in Kansas City soon.
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