Coming into spring training, the Kansas City Royals had very few position battles to work out as the 2013 season approached—which is remarkably odd for a team coming off a 72-win season.
Other than the perennial lobbying for bullpen spots, the Royals were primarily focused on who would be the team’s No. 5 starting pitcher and who would emerge as their starting second baseman.
The Royals were somewhat hamstrung by the fact that neither Getz nor Johnny Giavotella play anywhere other than second base. Keeping both around would severely limit roster flexibility, so Kansas City saw its best move as being to send the 25-year-old Giavotella down to Triple-A Omaha where he would receive more consistent playing time.
Elliott Johnson (brought over with James Shields and Wade Davis in the Wil Myers trade) and Miguel Tejada will more than likely serve as Kansas City’s utility infielders.
Whether or not going with Getz was the correct decision will work itself out over the course of the season, but it does little to hide the fact that the Royals still have a huge void at second base.
While Getz has shown at times that he can handle the job, staying healthy is his biggest challenge. The 29-year-old appeared in only 64 games last season.
Giavotella has failed to capitalize on his few chances with the big league club, batting just .242/.271/.340 over parts of two seasons and not displaying the hitting ability that has teased the organization over the years.
If Giavotella is ever going to be a regular with the Royals, his offensive production will need to be stellar, as his glove leaves much to be desired.
There was no question as to who actually won the battle this spring, with Getz outhitting Giavotella by a not-so-close margin while playing a more consistent brand of defense (via MLB.com).
Competition is healthy in sports, but the Royals must eventually find a better option at second base, however.
Former first-round pick Christian Colon could be a good fit, but he, too, has been hampered by injuries that have stunted his development. The other options for the Royals simply aren’t close to being ready at the major league level.
While Getz could serve as a capable stopgap, the others around him will need to perform in order to highlight his strengths on the field.
It is clear that the Royals are banking on Getz being healthy, providing solid defense at a key position and doing just enough to complement the rest of their lineup. It is his track record, however, that keeps the overall optimism at bay.
Kansas City is one more year away from beginning their slow, inexorable climb up the standings. While Royals fans have heard similar promises for years, their patience is finally (mercifully) about to pay off. GM Dayton Moore and his front office staff have developed a farm system that is rated tops in the game – stocked with prospects who are expected to make a significant impact in the major leagues within the next two or three years. They will start to feed those prospects to the parent club in full force this year.
In anticipation of the impending influx of talent from the minors, Moore & Company have stocked the club’s roster with journeymen and retreads… guys who are little more than place-holders until the minor leaguers arrive, and who will be expendable at that point in time. The roster is due for a substantial overhaul in the next two seasons, with Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Will Myers and several pitchers (notably Jeremy Jeffress, John Lamb, Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi) due to join the major league club.
The Royals are on the brink of credibility, KC fans, but you’ll have to endure one more year of struggles before hitting paydirt.
Notable additions: OF Melky Cabrera, OF Lorenzo Cain, SS Alcides Escobar, 3B Pedro Feliz, LHP Jeff Francis, OF Jeff Francoeur, RHP Jeremy Jeffress
Notable subtractions: SP Brian Bannister, SS Yuniesky Betancourt, OF David DeJesus, RHP Zack Greinke
The offense
Catcher: Brayan Pena
Infield: Kila Ka’aihue (1B), Chris Getz (2B), Alcides Escobar (SS) and Mike Aviles (3B)
Outfield:Alex Gordon (LF), Melky Cabrera (CF) and Jeff Francoeur (RF)
Designated Hitter: Billy Butler
Butler is the undisputed leader of the offense – at just 24 years of age – which both speaks highly of him and underscores the plight of an otherwise punch-less offense. He is one of better hitters in the game, yet doesn’t qualify as a true power hitter. Last year, he set career highs in BA, OBP and OPS, yet he was still perceived as having underachieved due to the fact he hit only 15 home runs.
Once upon a time, Alex Gordon was thought to be the future of the Royals franchise. He was named the College Player of the Year in 2005 and Minor League Player of the Year in 2006, but somewhere between Omaha and Kansas City his power was short-circuited. He was moved from third base to left field last year, but he has failed to demonstrate the productive capacity needed from a corner outfielder. He could be on his way out of KC before long.
Similarly, Francoeur was once considered the future of the Atlanta Braves franchise. He was the organization’s top prospect in 2004 and thought to have a tremendous career on the horizon… but his overall production hasn’t matched his potential. He hit 29 HR in his first full season in the big leagues (’06) and won a Gold Glove the following year, but his career has been on a downward spiral since. He was shipped to the NY Mets in 2009 and then traded to the Texas Rangers in August of last year. It seems unlikely his career will suddenly revive itself in Kansas City.
Melky Cabrera enjoyed a career year in the New Yankee Stadium softball field back in 2009, taking advantage of its cozy dimensions to post a respectable OPS. But after being cast out of the Bronx, he has regressed to a rather poor skill set. He will begin the 2011 season as the starter in center field, but it is likely Lorenzo Cain will take over by June 1st – at the latest.
Around the infield, four younger ballplayers will vie to have substantial roles with the team once the top minor league prospects start arriving. Ka’aihue will undoubtedly be displaced by Eric Hosmer at first base, but it’s possible he’ll provide more power than Butler – forcing the front office to make a hard decision between the two. Mike Aviles will start the year at third base, but he will soon be moved off the hot corner by Mike Moustakas no later than mid-season. He and Chris Getz will spend April, May and June trying to lay claim to the second base job after Moose’s arrival.
Alcides Escobar was acquired in the same deal that sent Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. He was long on glove and short on bat last year as a rookie. His minor league stats suggest he will be a productive shortstop in the major leagues… with the departure of Yuniesky Betancourt, the job is his for the immediate future.
Brayan Pena will hold down the primary responsibilities behind the plate until veteran Jason Kendall returns from shoulder surgery in mid-to-late-May. Pena should produce nicely with the increased playing time he will receive while Kendall recovers.
The pitching staff
Rotation: RHP Luke Hochevar, LHP Jeff Francis, LHP Bruce Chen, RHP Kyle Davies and RHP Vin Mazzaro
Closer: RHP Joakim Soria
The staff won’t be especially good in 2011, but with the arrivals of Lamb, Montgomery and Odorizzi (Milwaukee’s stop prospect prior to the Greinke deal) the rotation is on the verge of becoming formidible.
With the trade of Greinke, Hochevar will assume the role of staff ace – at least until the young guns make their way to KC. The big right-hander has been a BIG disappointment since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, but his skill set shows marginal growth – so there is some hope he could develop into a consistent performer at the back of the rotation. That said, his strand rate continues at well below-average – a factor that now seems to be a chronic condition, not just bad luck.
Francis won 17 games for Colorado when the Rockies went to the World Series in 2001, but he has battled an assortment of injuries over the last three years. He has been pretty good when he has been healthy – compiling a nice strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.5 and an improving ground ball rate (47%).
Mazzaro could become the second-best performer on this staff pending the arrival of the young guns. His fate in 2011 and beyond will be determined by how he transitions from the relatively spacious playing field of Oakland Coliseum to the smaller area of Kaufman Stadium. He has a friendly ground ball to fly ball ratio – so the ballpark factor shouldn’t exert a dramatic impact on his performance (unless he has the same kind of bad luck he had last year, when his home run rate (HR/fb) was 12%).
Chen led the ballclub by recording 12 wins last year, but his peripherals clearly disclose he was the beneficiary of good luck as opposed to the owner of an outstanding skill set. His K-BB ratio is less than 2.0 – my minimum standard for an effective starting pitcher and well-below my desired threshold of 2.5. He walks too many batter (3.5 / 9 IP) and surrenders far too many fly balls for a pitcher who issues so many bases on balls.
Davies is a right-handed version of Chen. He has a substandard K-BB ratio, largely due to the fact he walks too many hitters. While his ground ball to fly ball ratio is friendlier, he tends to allow a higher than league-average home run rate – a fact which can be very dangerous for a pitcher who issues four walks for every nine innings pitched.
Soria recorded 43 saves in 46 save opportunities last year and has cemented himself as one of the premier closers in the game. He regularly posts a K-BB ratio in excess of 9.0 and benefited from better control in 2010 (2.2 BB / 9 IP) than he had previously in his career. He will almost certainly produce another 40+ save season, with an ERA around 2.00 and a WHIP in the neighborhood of 1.00 – 1.10. Behind Soria, the bullpen has been brutal for the last several years, but that could change in 2011. He could have improved support as the Royals have some young power arms on the verge of breaking through at the big league level. RHP Jeremy Jeffress, acquired in the Greinke deal, may be the heir apparent to Soria as closer. Lefty Tim Collins is a fire-baller who has been compared to Billy Wagner. Otherwise, RHP Robinson Tejeda is the best of a marginal collection of veteran relievers.
Prediction for 2011: Fourth place (75-87)
The Royals will be better this year and should improve as the progresses as some of the prospects make their way to the parent club. By mid-season, Moustakas will be playing third base and Hosmer c-o-u-l-d be stationed at first base – though his promotion that early is less certain due to the presence of hard-hitting Ka’aihue in the Royals lineup. In the second half of the season, pitching prospects like Lamb and Montgomery (and even Danny Duffy) could force their way onto a pitching staff that will be devoid of stars.
Top Five Prospects
1. Mike Moustakas, 3B 2. Wil Myers, C/LF 3. Eric Hosmer, 1B 4. Mike Montgomery, RHP 5. John Lamb, LHP
Depending on which publication you read, the top three on this list are interchangeable, but my preference is Moustakas. Myers is still a ways away from The Show and has to endure a position switch to the outfield, while Hosmer may be blocked by Ka’aihue for the next year or two. Meanwhile, Moustakas’ road to Kansas City is clear, and while the organization appears committed to giving him another couple of months in Triple-A, he will be in the big leagues by the all-star break. He was the Royals first-round pick (No. 2 overall) in the 2007 draft. He was outstanding in his first full year of professional ball in 2008, but struggled quite a bit the following year after making the jump to High-A. Any worries about his potential were cast aside last year as he bludgeoned Double-A pitchers to the tune of .347/.413/.687 and then barely missed a beat after his promotion to Triple-A Omaha, posting an impressive .293/.314/564 line in 52 games.
He has become more selective at the plate, allowing himself to consistently work better pitch counts where he can exert his plus-power on the baseball. He generates exceptional bat speed and can hit the ball out of the park to any field. Defensively, he continues to be a work in progress, as his footwork and mechanics are erratic, but he has good hands and a strong arm… his deficiencies are nothing that a lot of hard work can’t correct. He will prove to be everything Alex Gordon wasn’t – he is the Royals 3B-of-the-future.
Just because you’ve slipped behind in the Stolen Base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up. Here are some reasonably available SB threats.
Coco Crisp, OF, Oakland A’s
If steals are what you’re looking for Coco is your guy.
He had seven SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .250 with seven runs and one RBI. On the year he’s hitting .237 (which explains his 11 percent ESPN and 24 percent CBS ownership) with 14 SBs, 24 runs, three HRs, and 18 RBIs in 34 games.
Will Venable, OF, San Diego Padres
Venable had four SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .179 with five runs, one HR, and six RBIs. On the year he’s hitting .231 with 18 SBs, 40 runs, nine HRs, and 38 RBIs. Will is owned in four percent of ESPN and 13 percent of CBS leagues.
Jason Kendall, C, Kansas City Royals
Kendall had three SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .213 with seven runs. On the year he’s hitting .263 with nine SBs, 35 runs, and 33 RBIs. Jason is owned in eight percent of ESPN and 42 percent of CBS leagues.
Daric Barton, 1B, Oakland A’s
Barton had three SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .255 with six runs and six RBIs. On the year he’s hitting .271 with four SBs, 46 runs, five HRs, and 38 RBIs. Daric is owned in three percent of ESPN and 25 percent of CBS leagues.
Chris Getz, 2B, Kansas City Royals
Getz had three SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .265 with four runs and one RBI. On the year he’s hitting .240 with 11 SBs, 18 runs, and 13 RBIs. Chris is owned in 0.3 percent of ESPN and eight percent of CBS leagues.
As I watch the entirety of the Royals team fail to support their ace for just the latest in what has been a career of having been let down for Zack Greinke, one thought keeps returning to me. I actively loathe half of this team. From The Yunicorn to Guillen to nearly all of the bullpen, this Royals team plays baseball in a manner that is not befitting a Major League baseball team.
Chronicling the ways in which the team undermined last year’s American League Cy Young Award Winner this afternoon could take a while. I am electing to do this in spite of the fact that team may very well have won this afternoon. Having worked until what I would imagine to have been at least the sixth inning, I recorded the game and returned home to queue it up. I got part way through the third before going back to the beginning–my frustration mounting with each passing moment of ineptitude.
After being given a free out after Erick Aybar foolishly tried to stretch a lead-off double into a triple, Chris Getz committed a two-out error on a grounder that took a tough bounce off the lip of the grass. Zack then followed with six-pitch walk to Torii Hunter, a four-pitch walk to Hideki Matsui in which three of the balls were strikes according to FoxTrax, and finally a five-pitch fielder’s choice (Callaspo to Getz) to Mike Napoli. These fifteen pitches (borderline strikes be damned) basically ate an inning of work.
I have no idea how this game will turn out (well, I’m assuming that the rest of the Royals will find a way to totally fuck Zack Greinke in the ass, but that is just based on the fact that I know these Royals), but I’d imagine that the Royals could have another inning’s worth of pitches out of Zack Greinke.
In the bottom of the first, Scott Podsednik leads off a four-pitch (all strikes) strikeout with the fouled off third pitch leading to an altercation between Mike Scioscia and home plate ump, Mike Estabrook. Kendall works a full count before feebly flying out to right. After DeJesus gets a base hit that could just as easily have been ruled an error on outfielder-turned-first-baseman-by-necessity Michael Ryan, Billy Butler waves over a slider low in the zone (at best) in a full count. It was seemed like it was close enough that Butler probably had to take a hack at it to avoid being a strikeout victim looking, but I think we would all love to see the Royals best hitter do something with a runner on base here.
With Zack back on the mound to start off the second, Michael Ryan rips the first pitch he sees off the wall in deep right-center. Mitch Maier plays the ball off the wall, turns to hurl it in to second (or possibly third, but the ball comes within a few feet of second), skipping Getz who should be* the cut-off man, only Yuniesky Betancourt is somehow not covering second at all, so Ryan is standing up at second as the ball skips toward third base. Ryan was going to be safe regardless, but if memory serves me correctly from little league baseball the second baseman is the cut-off for a fly-ball to right, and short should be covering second.
*Well, really, Aviles should be the cut-off man because Aviles should be playing, not Getz, but whatever.
As Getz was the cut-off for the gunning down of Aybar at third in the first with Batter Nine, You Sucky ducking out of the way of the throw to third standing right next to second base, I think memory does serve me correctly. Betancourt seems to be backing up the cut-off rather than covering second. Is that not playing out of position? To add to the fundamentals failure, Billy Butler isn’t backing up the throw to second, which Frank White called him out on. At the very least, Butler is slow to back up the throw to second. Very possibly (I would even say likely as the example from the first inning backs this up) we have two Royals not where they are supposed to be on one play. It didn’t lead to a run that wasn’t going to score anyway, but there is a lack of sound fundamentals on display here.
After Frandsen drives in Ryan and Willits hits into a dubious bunt fielder’s choice in which Estabrook allows Kendall to throw out the lead runner at second on a bunt that never actually ends up in fair territory (it rolled horizontally from the dirt across the plate never touching any part of the dirt in front of the plate), Zack strikes Aybar out looking on a back-door slider and Kendall guns Willits down attempting to take second on the full count with a good jump.
To the top of the second… Jose Guillen, who is slumping so horribly that he should not be in the lineup regardless of his career numbers against Jered Weaver, strikes out on a ball high enough that it goes to the backstop. Of course, the play isn’t even close at first, as Guillen hadn’t even mounted his Rascal idling half way up the first base line. The struggling Alberto Callaspo grounds out to first, and Mitch Maier looks at one, takes a big cut at another, watches a ball high, watches another outside, and finally strikes on a pitch thrown in what appears to be the same place as the ball he watched for ball two.
The third sees Mitch Maier make a nice sliding snare of a Howie Kendrick liner to center only to have Big Head Bobby Abreu beat out a Betancourt throw from the grass right up the middle. In Hunter’s at-bat, Yost gets tossed after Estabrook called time to show up Jason Kendall after Kendall calmly asked where a pitch was. Clearly this is not Estabrook’s finest hour, as he looks like a crazy Napoleon. Yost seems completely correct in ripping Estabrook a new asshole. Kendall didn’t even turn his head from the crouch to ask, and Estabrook walked around in front of Kendall to dress him down. Amateur hour, Estabrook. Amateur hour.
Hunter ends up striking out. Matsui destroys Tokyo, defeats Mothra, and guides a grounder past the diving glove of The Range-Deficient Yunicorn. Then Callaspo has a liner ripped directly into his glove, and Greinke escapes the top of the third inning unscathed, down 1 – 0.
To start the bottom of the third, Yuni swings at the first pitch, pops it foul into the sun, and has Aybar gift him with a blown catch because he wasn’t wearing his shades. Then, apparently intent upon driving Mike Scioscia to have a coronary incident in this inning, Aybar airmails a throw to first on a routine grounder, pulling Ryan off the bag, and Betancourt finds himself standing on first. Since everyone knows that nobody Getz out alive, Yuni gets picked off at first with no outs and the inimitable Chris Getz chomping at the bit, just waiting to drive in what could have been his first RBI on what could have been his first extra-base hit of the season.
All right, I know… Getz has to have an RBI this season right? (The total is seven, by the way.) But does he have and extra-base hit? Survey says: Yes. One double. In 80 plate appearances.
Jesus Christ.
Oh, Getz strikes out.
Podsednik singles. If Betancourt wasn’t drunk, he’d be standing on second.
Two outs. Runner on first. Kendall up. 11 RBI on the season. Will he make it 12? Well, obviously Kendall is not getting an extra-base hit here. If it were possible for a player’s SLG to be lower than his AVG, Kendall would be the man that would challenge it. Kendall has played in so many games this year that he’s starting to log games played for the Royals in 2009 because he has run out of games this season to play. If he were even remotely good, this would be awesome. Instead, John Buck and Miguel Olivo are killing the ball in their respective new homes, and Jason Kendall blows ass every day in Kansas City. At least he’ll lead the Majors in games played this season with 240.
Oh, what did Kendall do? Well, after Podsednik takes second on Napoli’s awful arm, Kendall works a full-count walk. David Of The Son of God steps to the dish with two gritty veterans on first and second, and grounds out to first.
Whew. Run scoring averted.
Goddammit.
In the fourth, Zack makes Michael Ryan his bitch in a four-pitch strikeout with the payoff pitch being his slider. It registers at 88 MPH, and it was said that Zack hit 99 MPH in the first, so you can rest assured that the gun is hottt today. Two fastballs from Zack, and Frandsen has popped out to DeJesus in right. Quickly ahead 0 – 2 on Willits, Zack can’t induce #77 to chase three straight balls out of the zone before a pitch is fouled off and the home broadcast misses the strikeout pitch to Willits.
Determination seems to have set in for Greinke here in the top of the fourth. Great inning. Unfortunately, the oddsmakers in Vegas would set the odds of the Royals scoring at least two runs today at about 350:1.
Bottom of the fourth sees Butler leading off with a ground out to third. I’m just going to go ahead and assume Guillen strikes out here. Glad he’s in the lineup today. Eye-high, and he laid off. Shocking. Chased a slider in the dirt. Thrown out after the K. Embarrassing. You make me ashamed to be a Royals fan, JoGui. Bert Calypso comes up, passes it to the man, and boom goes the dynamite. In this case, the dynamite is a fly ball reeled in by Aybar in center field.
Sad showing. Two hits thus far. The end of this commercial is the result of your shite showing, Royals position players.
As Zack takes the mound to start the fifth, I can’t help but wonder if the Royals should forgo the DH if their choice is Jose Guillen. Just let Zack hit. There’s no fucking way he’s going to be happy with the team that’s constructed behind him. Let him hit and he might stay when his contract is up.
Tangent aside, I’m waiting for Betancourt to boot a double play ball and assume that it will happen this inning. The Aybar single through the first base side of the infield sets up the prediction. Kendrick lines to Of Jesus. Double play would get them out of the inning. Abreu, whose massive head rivals that of Kevin Mench, steps in, takes three balls, marvels at the fact that the size of his head hasn’t crippled him with its ridiculous weight, finds himself in a full count, and fouls off what seems like 17 pitches before striking out as Aybar takes second.
Torii Hunter crushes cutter for a two-run shot into the fountain in left-center.
Three runs is obviously insurmountable for these awful Royals. To continue is an exercise in futility, but I am a glutton for punishment.
Hideki Matsui singles and eats a fishing vessel while humming some BOC on the way to first.
With the citizens running around frantically hoping to be saved from such an awful fate, Zack picks up his sixth K, owning Napoli.
In the bottom of the fifth, Maier strikes out on a 1 – 2 change-up before Betancourt finally gets the third hit for the Royals–a double into the left field corner. With a runner in scoring position and one out, Getz singles through the hole between first and second, but the RBI was not meant to be. If The Windmill were still employed, Getz would be at first with two outs. Some things have gotten better, I guess. Scott Podsednik’s hot wife surely looks on wondering who that man is that is milling about in the box because he’s not the same guy that hit those two postseason home runs in 2005 as he goes down swinging at a ball level with his chin. Kendall grounds to third, and they get the force at second. Base runners (plural!) wasted. Greinke’s hopes for something other than a quality start ending in a loss are dashed.
Inning six. Will to live waning. Two pitches, Michael Ryan flies out to DDJ. Callaspo runs by a grounder up the third base line that is clearly not breaking foul, and Zack’s got a runner on first and a ball that rolled about 80 feet from the plate is good for a hit. Frandsen stands at third after Willits dropped a double up the right field line. Free-swinging* Aybar steps in with hopes of driving in two more Angels’ runs, works the count full, and draws a walk to load the bases.
*Weirdly, I looked at Aybar’s FanGraphs page, and his O-Swing% is down to a much more respectable 30.4%. Yes, his career O-Swing% is still 35.0%, but he’s showing a slightly more discerning eye now that he’s leading off in Anaheim. It’s probably just a product of small sample size, but maybe a tiger can change its stripes.
With a grounder to third, Callaspo steps on third, eliminating the force at home, throws home with time to spare, and the wizened veteran Jason Kendall elects to simply act as if the force is in effect stepping on the plate but not applying the tag. Run scores. Jason Kendall adds another bullet point to my reasons he’s on my shit list. Zack Greinke gets another “earned” run.
A double steal is successful but ultimately in vain as Abreu lines out to right.
For those keeping track at home, Abreu’s entirely extraneous at-bat here in the top of the sixth goes for five pitches. That is 20 pitches that Zack Greinke should have been able to use later in the game were his defense remotely fucking competent. If I knew the tag needed to be applied in that situation as it was happening, shouldn’t the consummate veteran know that as well?
If three runs was insurmountable, it would take the Royals eight weeks of Zack Greinke starts to score four.
Fuck.
Back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers would tie the game. Weaver has an 8:1 K:BB. DeJesus won’t be in on the four straight, as he flies out to the warning track in center. Butler flies out to Hunter just a step in from the warning track. Substantive contact for Guillen is a pipe dream. Predictable strikeout. Farnsworth is warming up as Greinke is set to sit down for good with 116 pitches, 20 of which should have been avoided. Four runs scored. The fourth shouldn’t have at all. Kendall somehow doesn’t get tagged with an error for the complete fuck-up at home. If ever there were an instance in which an error in its purest form is committed, it is this. Yet Zack gave up four “earned” runs.
Have I mentioned that I hate this fucking team. At second, Chris Getz. At short, Yuniesky Betancourt. Behind the plate, Jason Kendall. Your designated “hitter,” Jose Guillen. In left, Scott Podsednik. All of them awful. Three of them with gaffes today. Guillen with three Ks while Zack was in.
Apparently, May 18th is the last time that the Royals scored a fucking run in support of Greinke. It is June 3rd today.
Ryan “Catch the” Lefebvre jumping in on the Godzilla stuff I was on about earlier (well, technically later, as I’m watching this on tape delay).
Fuck it. I’m not watching this anymore. Everyone’s favorite reliever is on the mound. His fate is to ride his lawnmower to his dying brother’s house in Wisconsin and then be nominated for an Oscar.
Furthermore, the Royals made a decent pitcher, Jered Weaver, look like a fucking world-beater. Put him on the same list as guys like Jeff Niemann (yes, I’m going back to last year for that one, but does it matter?), Ervin Santana, Jeff Francis, a struggling Jake Peavy, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Matt Garza, and Carl Pavano. Ridiculous. This team is so inept that it makes me want to go insane, just so that I can have some plausible justification for actually being a fan of this godawful team.
And yes, things are looking up in the minors. The question marks that were present heading into the season have been nearly entirely erased, but that doesn’t make watching this team thwart any shot Greinke had at a respectable season any easier. I know Win/Loss records are horseshit, but last year’s Cy Young Award Winner is staring at a 1 – 7 record now. He is the best and brightest thing the franchise has going for it, and their ineptitude could send him to a Mike Maroth-like season (W/L-wise) and very well drive him away.
Coming into spring training, the Kansas City Royals had very few position battles to work out as the 2013 season approached—which is remarkably odd for a team coming off a 72-win season.