MLB: Jose Guillen goes off
- Thread starter garn91
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If anyone thinks the Royals are struggling because of financial reasons, they are sadly mistaken. If you followed this organization day in and day out you would understand that the problems are everything BUT money. Now, can KC win year in and year out? No. Not a chance, not with that kind of payroll. But you can do like Oakland, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay and contend occasionally.
If anything, spending more money has greatly hurt this team.
For example.....
We had 2 younger relievers who were very good for us last year- Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. They have a combined $850,000 salary for 2009. We traded them for Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp. Neither of which have done a damn thing for this team, and now Coco is out for the year. Those guys combined 2009 salary is over $8 million.
Then you have to factor in the salary of Ramirez and Nunez' replacements. Who did we sign? Kyle Farnsworth ($5 million) and Juan Cruz ($3 million). So essentially we traded away 2 young talented pitchers making $850,000 combined and brought on $16 million of salary to replace them with WORSE players. That doesn't include the $1.7 million we wasted on Horacio Ramirez for no apparent reason........he lasted all of 2 months with this team.
We also signed Jose Guillen last season to a 3-year $36 million contract when NO ONE was even offering him close to that.
Then there's that little JP Howell trade for Joey Gathright a few years ago that Dayton made. OOPS!! Or the fact that Tony Pena Jr has been allowed to play on a somewhat regular basis while batting about .150 the past 2 years. And then adding on another relatively big contract in Yuniesky Betancourt, which makes absolutely no sense because he is a TERRIBLE shortstop with an even worse bat. We have one of the lowest OBP's in all of baseball and so he trades a talented young pitching prospect for a guy with a horrible OBP and a hefty contract. Brilliant!
Now, I'll give Dayton credit for finding Joakim Soria and then signing him to a long-term deal. Too bad The Mexicutioner does not ever get to pitch because Moore hired a complete and utter moron to be manager and so we continually blow games in the 8th inning since IDIOTrey refuses to show any sort of intelligence and let Soria at least finish the 8th and then pitch the 9th. I've lost count, but I think the current streak is at 3 games in a row we have blown it in the 8th because of this EXACT scenario. As you all have probably guessed, the reason for all these blown 8th inning leads are because of what I said above- he traded away our good relievers for some crappy hitters and replaced them with high priced and crappy pitchers. Why did he do that? Because, as Dayton has openly said, "relievers are easy to find". I guess not, dolt!
What a lovely organization we have here! Screw you Dayton and IDIOTrey. It's no wonder Dayton found Hillman. Idiots attract idiots.
If anything, spending more money has greatly hurt this team.
For example.....
We had 2 younger relievers who were very good for us last year- Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. They have a combined $850,000 salary for 2009. We traded them for Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp. Neither of which have done a damn thing for this team, and now Coco is out for the year. Those guys combined 2009 salary is over $8 million.
Then you have to factor in the salary of Ramirez and Nunez' replacements. Who did we sign? Kyle Farnsworth ($5 million) and Juan Cruz ($3 million). So essentially we traded away 2 young talented pitchers making $850,000 combined and brought on $16 million of salary to replace them with WORSE players. That doesn't include the $1.7 million we wasted on Horacio Ramirez for no apparent reason........he lasted all of 2 months with this team.
We also signed Jose Guillen last season to a 3-year $36 million contract when NO ONE was even offering him close to that.
Then there's that little JP Howell trade for Joey Gathright a few years ago that Dayton made. OOPS!! Or the fact that Tony Pena Jr has been allowed to play on a somewhat regular basis while batting about .150 the past 2 years. And then adding on another relatively big contract in Yuniesky Betancourt, which makes absolutely no sense because he is a TERRIBLE shortstop with an even worse bat. We have one of the lowest OBP's in all of baseball and so he trades a talented young pitching prospect for a guy with a horrible OBP and a hefty contract. Brilliant!
Now, I'll give Dayton credit for finding Joakim Soria and then signing him to a long-term deal. Too bad The Mexicutioner does not ever get to pitch because Moore hired a complete and utter moron to be manager and so we continually blow games in the 8th inning since IDIOTrey refuses to show any sort of intelligence and let Soria at least finish the 8th and then pitch the 9th. I've lost count, but I think the current streak is at 3 games in a row we have blown it in the 8th because of this EXACT scenario. As you all have probably guessed, the reason for all these blown 8th inning leads are because of what I said above- he traded away our good relievers for some crappy hitters and replaced them with high priced and crappy pitchers. Why did he do that? Because, as Dayton has openly said, "relievers are easy to find". I guess not, dolt!
What a lovely organization we have here! Screw you Dayton and IDIOTrey. It's no wonder Dayton found Hillman. Idiots attract idiots.
Actually, Ramirez and Bannister had been up in the bigs. Ramirez was in his 3rd year when we traded for him. The problem with Dayton being able to identify young talent is that he just goes and trades them so his ability to find them is pointless. He found Ramirez.....traded him. He traded for Dan Cortez......then traded him. He had a young JP Howell, then traded him. Bannister is apparently on the trading block, but who knows.
He comes from the Braves organization and they were known for not being afraid to trade away young, top prospects because they felt they could get proven players instead of hoping their prospects would pan out. You can't do that in KC, though and that's the problem. Dayton tries to copy the Braves of the 1990's. Heck, half our team is former Braves players that they didn't want!
So, you're saying that you'd rather have Pena as the starting SS rather than Betancourt? But you were complaining about Pena too (which I also do). So maybe you think Aviles should be the starting SS. But wait, he's out for the season. So you're choice is either Betancourt or Pena, and any sane person would take Betancourt any day of the week.
You would be correct.. if that was the actual choice. But that was not the choice, unless you think Tony Pena Jr. and Betancourt are the only two shortstops in the world available? The choice is not between those two. Besides, if your choice is between Pena and somebody else, there are dozens of players in the minors who would outproduce Pena for the major league minimum. TPJ is the worst offensive regular in the past 50 years, and most pitchers in the NL hit for a higher average then him.... which is pretty unbelievable.
Best decision would have been to leave Bloomquist at short this year, and sign/trade for a shortstop in the offseason. This season is a bust. No reason to give up young talent AND take on salary for a player who plays at Betancourt's level. Heck we could have Julio Lugo (who is playing much better than Betancourt) and Boston would have taken his entire salary, if rumors are true, and we would not have had to give up Cortes.
Now, Dayton Moore of course believes a change of scenery will magically allow Betancourt to capture his talent and exceed his past production.... but that has not worked out very well with his other signings, and in most cases it is a bad bet to make.
It is somewhat of an empty .278, since he only walks about 15 times an entire season (man that sounds familiar to Royals fans).... however he does have a little pop in his bat for a SS though. To me it comes down to his defense, because he has been rated as one of the very worst defensive SS in the game the past couple of years.... however he looks like he has talent but he has just lacked concentration/effort.
I guess in the end it comes down to faith in Dayton Moore... whether he traded for a shortstop on the decline (whose offensive numbers and range have been dropping significantly the past 2 seasons) who is on the verge of turning it back around and becoming a good player, or whether he traded 2 pitchers and took on salary for a player rated among the worst starters in all of baseball in 2009.
At his production the last 2 seasons it is a bad trade, but if he turns it around and realizes his potential (that's turning into a swear word for me) it could be a good deal for the Royals. 2 years ago I would have trusted Moore and had faith in him, but after watching so many of his signings and deals blow up, I guess I have lost most of my trust and faith in him.
Between Pena and Betancourt, I would choose Bloomquist! I'd almost just put Teahen at 2nd base along with Callaspo and have Gordon cover the entire left side of the infield before I'd let Tony Pena Jr or Yuniesky Pena Jr play!! I'm only half kidding too.....!
There is no good option, only a best choice. I would have kept Bloomy at short and had Tug Hulett as a backup. Never would have called up Luis Hernandez (Tony Pena Jr Jr or TPJJ) and TPJ would have been gone from my team midway through last year.
Why would I NEVER trade for YPJ? Because of his contract. If he's got a small contract.....maybe. But this season is over. Let's just patch things up with Bloomquist since he's already on the roster and either hope Aviles comes back healthy next year (I haven't given up on him) or sign a serviceable SS free-agent in the offseason. Instead we've got Yuseless for the next couple of years at $3.5 million per.
I will give Dayton some credit for actually addressing a need on this team. Usually he does not. But once again........he failed in how he addressed that need. This also means the end of the Aviles era and I think that's unfair. I would just bring back Bloomy next year, and if Aviles isn't healthy you just keep Willie there. I'm no Bloomquist fan but I would rather have him than YPJ, TPJ, or TPJJ. Bloomy will hit .265, steal 20 bases and play respectable defense, along with taking some pitches.
That .278 career average is very misleading. First, his defense is terrible. He's lazy. He can't steal bases. He swings at every pitch. He has no power. He doesn't drive in runs. He has a horrible OBP. He's always done these things. And on top of all of that........his numbers are on a steady decline. Every single offensive statistic has gone downhill for him since 2006.
Dayton Moore thinks YPJ just needs a change of scenery. Oh please, give me a break. He actually offered the Mariners Billy Butler for him a couple years ago. That's how dumb the guy is. Now the only question is who is dumber.......Dayton for offering it or Seattle for declining the offer? Dayton has wanted the guy ever since he got here and that just proves his stupidity.
Dayton said when he came to KC that he was going to build this team around pitching, defense, fundamentals, and guys that can go 1st to 3rd. The problem is, every offensive player he's brought in lacks fundamentals, swings at every pitch and can't field. And he's traded away good pitching to get those players. Talk about a freakin' hypocrite, right??
Sorry, I just looked up and noticed I basically reiterated what CloneIce said in that last post. I swear I was not copying as I hadn't even read what he wrote until after I posted it!
But good take Ice.........I 100% agree.
I also had faith in Dayton because of all the good things I heard about him. "In Dayton We Trust", right? WRONG!
But good take Ice.........I 100% agree.
I also had faith in Dayton because of all the good things I heard about him. "In Dayton We Trust", right? WRONG!
Can't the same be said about ISU football??? We suck.......so what? I still root for the Royals. Do you still support ISU football despite them being one of the worst programs of all-time?????? Judging by your football board, apparently a lot of people still do care about the team so maybe you outta take that comment back.
Well yes I'm a fan of ISU, but I don't get my panties in a twist when someone says we suck, because as of late we havent done much to prove that wrong. Talk to me when Royals prove that they dont suck.
I didn't get my panties in a twist. I just thought that a fan of ISU football saying something like "who cares, (insert team) sucks anyways" was a bit hypocritical. You root for the Kansas City Royals of college football dude, you've got no room to make a comment like that. Just sayin'........
Hmm. yes comparing a pro sports team to a college team. Well different sports. Also by you being a Royals fan, its undoubtedly hypocritical to say Iowa State sucks if you're a royals fan because basically, they are the Iowa State of the MLB.
Interesting comment from someone with your moniker. I assume you excel in all aspects of life.
Please keep the focus on-topic.
