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| This work thing.. geez.. |
| 07.29.05 (11:14 am) [edit] |
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. This is my first weekend when I'm not vanishing somewhere or have some vital task to accomplish.
The trade deadline is fast approaching and the market appears to be flush with buyers. Aging veterans and niche relievers(LOOGY alert) are seeing their values soar as they are targeted as the missing piece of every team's playoff puzzle. Allard Baird flipped Tony Graffanino when his value peaked to Theo Epstein and the Sawx. Returns on the trade are positive. Chip Ambres, who looked for the life of me like the second coming of Abraham Nunez, is actually a very solid defender with plus range in the OF. His arm induces Johnny Damon flashbacks but he will cut a lot of doubles into singles when he's in the game. The 'target' of the trade was supposedly Juan Cedeno, a young flamethrower from the dominican who tosses mid 90's heat with control problems. He'll be converted from starting duty to middle relief and sent to Double A. Baird sort of misguidedly believes that he can trade one of the young flamethrowers we have in the pen now because he has the Cedeno kid ready to go. He should give Cedeno at least half a season before he's ready to ride the AA express to the majors that the Royals have become addicted to. I almost feel sorry for the Omaha team.. they are like hobos drifting along the tracks as prospects are rushed to the show to fill jobs that they could probably do adequately in the mean time just as cheaply.
I really need to work on my transitions.. I want to write how we should move Mike Sweeney NOW! His OPS is over .900 and he has at least shown that his wrist isn't a problem no matter how many times it gets drilled. But, his pricetag is too high and the Royals lack the vision to see what Mike Sweeney could be. The Royals look at Mike a lot differently than other teams:
To the Royals, Mike Sweeney is 11 million dollars per season already spent. He keeps their payroll from falling to embarrassingly low levels and since the royals will likely never make a large investment on the free agent market again, he really doesn't limit their decision making.
To other teams, Mike Sweeney is a boondoggle. His iffy back makes him a gamble in the extreme. He's an attractive hitter as a powerful righty who does not slump unless he is hurt. Unfortunately he seems to be hurt more and more often. A team like the Mets or Halos would kill for even 3 months of Sweeney's bat in their lineup at maybe 7 million per season.. But they won't bite at 12.5.. the bump that Sweeney gets in the event of a trade.
The royals will not eat salary on Mike Sweeney.. because they don't view him as a sunk cost already. The smartest thing that the Royals could do would be to agree to the pro-rated split of Sweeney's salary this season. The Angels pay the remainder of his salary this year.. 5 million or so. Negotiate with Sweeney to waive the 1.5 million dollar bump(He likes the West Coast) and agree to take on 4 million per season over the next two years. In return the Royals could get Casey Kotchman(who's mystery performance has a Top 30 prospect at his lowest value ever) and a Jeff Mathis or Ervin Santana.
The royals will not do this.. Not necessarily because Allard Baird lacks vision, but because the goose-stepping Walmart fascists that own this team do not believe in paying for something that is not directly in their service. As a business, Walmart has steamrolled the competition in a way that would make George Steinbrenner blush, but for whatever reason, the razor sharp business acumen and ruthless efficiency displayed by former CEO David Glass as a Walmart king has not translated to his ownership of the Royals. Well.. Dan Snyder is a failure too so apparently it takes more than a business degree to run a baseball team.
I've given up on Angel Berroa. I'm sick of watching him. His entire offensive approach is misguided. He started taking first pitch strikes.. purposely to keep the organization happy. Now he does that, and then swings at ball 1,2, and 3. Berroa's defense has actually improved and he could hack it in the pitchers circuit on a steady diet of fastballs. Berroa should be a Washington National and I really don't care what we get in return.. as long as it isn't Christian Guzman.
I'm really torn on John Buck. He looks like he's actually getting through to our pitchers that don't suck. His defense is superb and he has a strong enough arm to keep the running game down. Simultaneously, he's got a slow bat and he has trouble making contact. His plate discipline isn't abysmal, but he has a hard time not striking out when a pitcher gets 2 strikes. I can live with a catcher that can't hit, but the royals should not resign themselves to only one vision of the future with John Buck behind the plate.
Donald Murphy vs. Ruben Gotay... Damn it all. I gotta give the edge to Murphy. Gotay doesn't have the power to justify his flyball swing. He's gonna end up as the warning track king if he doesn't adjust that. Murphy's defense has been questionable at best in the early going.. But so was Teahen's and Mark has been lights out since then. If a nice trade offer comes along.. I wouldn't be sad to see one of these guys go. Affeldt + Gotay for Hermida? A guy can dream can't he?
Finally.. Is Buddy Bell a moron?.. Well.. pretty much. The royals are playing harder but this seems to reek of Tony Muser redux. However, Bell won't shred our young pitcher's arms and the bullpen is actually being managed somewhat decently.. So I'll just have to live with things like Joe McEwing at 1st base and incorrect lineup cards.
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