Royals turn to Moore
Coming off a third consecutive 100-loss season, the Kansas City Royals have no way to go but up. And new GM Dayton Moore intends to take them that direction.
Once the model for how to build a contending team from scratch, the Royals are now the AL poster child for ignominy and defeat. And with the other four clubs in the AL Central so far ahead of them now, it’s likely to be some time now before Kansas City can even start to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and escape the division’s basement.
And it’s a shame, a lousy shame. They have a very nice ballpark and sit in the middle of America with some great, down-to-earth folks who love baseball. And the demise of this once proud franchise can be traced directly to the death of the club’s original owner, Ewing Kauffman, in 1993.
From their inception through Kauffman’s final full season at the helm (1992), the Royals amassed a 1975-1841 (.517) record, appeared in seven postseasons, won a pair of pennants and one World Series (1985). The club was already on the down slope in Kauffman’s final years, but they were rebuilding and beginning in 1993 there were signs the club was coming back around. And they looked to have finally turned the corner in 2003 behind then-manager Tony Peña.
Since the start of the ’93 season, Kansas City is 959-1240 (.436), has three winning seasons, including the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, and have now suffered three consecutive 100+ loss seasons, and four times in the last five years.
But enough with the history lesson. The future is at least brighter in KC now - - It couldn’t get much darker - - that David and Dan Glass have brought in Dayton Moore as GM. And in his first full season on the dugout’s top step, manager Buddy Bell did get the team to improve six games in the win column despite the lack of talent at his disposal.
OFFENSE
Some of that potentially brighter future in KC should be on the field together this season and taking up a third of the batting order, if not to open the slate at least before the season is over. One of those three is Ryan Shealy who came over from the Rockies in a deadline deal last July. The former Florida Gator has 30-HR potential, maybe 40, with strikeouts his biggest drawback at this time, as it is for a lot of young power hitters.
Mark Teahen’s 2006 season went largely unnoticed, thanks in large part to playing for a poor KC squad. The portside swinger raised his OPS nearly 100 points from 2005, and banged out 18 flies, and increase of 11 from his previous season despite playing 21 fewer games.
Where Teahen will play is still up in the air at this time as his defensive spot in the mix will be determined this spring by Alex Gordon, the second overall pick in 2005. The world is Gordon’s oyster after he hit .325 with 29 bleacher bombs and 22 base thefts at the Double-A level last season. If he can make the jump to the majors this spring, he will be at third with Teahen moving to one of the outfield corner spots.
With Teahen, Gordon and Shealy the young studs, the Royals will look for veterans like Mike Sweeney, Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders and Jason LaRue to provide a little veteran leadership around them. Sweeney and Sanders are often DL moves waiting to happen, so they have to stay healthy. Kansas City is also reportedly shopping Sanders who is coming off some knee trouble.
LaRue was acquired from the Reds in the winter, and along with John Buck the Royals have a very capable catching duo.
Grudzielanek led the everyday regulars with 85 runs scored and a .297 average lat year, missing the last couple of weeks with a groin injury. He should be steady at second. His doubleplay partner at short, Angel Berroa, might be the key for the offense. Berroa has never been able to build on his outstanding rookie campaign of 2003, and KC’s patience is running out. If he can’t make it this time, the Royals could turn SS over to Alex Gonzalez, who has un-retired, Andres Blanco or Angel Sanchez, the ballplayer, not the fashion designer.
Emil Brown will be part of the normal outfield mix, and is coming off a quiet, 15-HR, 80+ RBI season. David DeJesus and Joey Gathright figure into the outfield mix, as does Sanders if he stays and Teahen if Gordon sticks at third.
PITCHING
Last year’s lone Royals rep at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh was southpaw Mark Redman. A lot was written about him being undeserving with a somewhat bloated ERA. But that aside, what does it tell you about the shape of the entire mound in 2006 if your All-Star pitcher isn’t even offered arbitration in the winter and remains unsigned?
What it tells me is new GM Dayton Moore is doing his job.
Of course some will argue that Moore isn’t doing a very good job if he thought giving Gil Meche a 5-year, $55 million deal was a good idea. And they have a point with that argument, especially since Meche has had shoulder and arm issues in the past.
While Meche’s deal might have many scratching their heads, the Royals do appear to have more pitching entering this season than they did last when Redman was backed up by the likes of Joe Mays and Scott Elarton. Odalis Perez, Luke Hudson and Brian Bannister won’t rekindle memories of Bret Saberhagen, Charlie Liebrandt and Danny Jackson from the 1985 World Champions’ rotation, but they are better than what KC entered 2006 with.
Zack Greinke, a right-hander, and Jorge de la Rosa from the left side will be the leading contenders for the fifth starting slot entering spring. And the Royals will also have Dewon Brazelton in camp vying for a spot. Also a possibility at some point this year is Luke Hochevar.
The bullpen is revamped and will enter the season with Octavio Dotel in the closer’s role. Dotel, whom Moore picked up on a relatively cheap 1-year deal, is now more than a year removed from his Tommy John surgery and, if he’s healthy, should at least give KC that ninth-inning arm the Royals lacked so badly in 2006.
There will be a lot of competition for the setup and middle relief jobs. David Riske should enter as the primary setup arm and closer insurance if Dotel fails. Two left-handers, John Bale who returns from a 2-year stint in Japan, and Jimmy Gobble, who finally started to realize some of his potential in relief last year, give Bell options from the left side. Joel Peralta, Joe Nelson and Todd Wellemeyer are pretty fair right-handers who figure into the bunch, as well as Ryan Braun (the Ryan Braun who is a pitcher out of UNLV, not the Ryan Braun who was a third sacker out of Miami-Fla).
Several veterans will also compete, including Ken Ray and Jason Standridge. And keep your eyes open for how Joakim Soria fares in the spring or down in the minors to start the season.
Key Player(s): Meche and Dotel hold the keys, at least early on. If they both falter miserably, it could mean trouble from the fans for Moore. But if Meche can make it through 30-32 starts with a decent ERA and Dotel can actually nail down the few victories KC will have a shot at, Moore will come off looking like a genius.
Futures: Pinnacle has KC 75:1 to win AL Central, VIP has them at 16:1 for the ALC, which doesn’t sound too inviting at all, and 100:1 to win the American League, and over at The Greek you can lump KC with the Tribe at +305 to win the AL Central. I have them down for 64 wins until I see just how Dotel is and until I see if Gordon will make the Opening Day squad. If Meche, Dotel and another starter all come through, the low 70s for a win total would be possible, though the mid-60s is more probable.
Coming off a third consecutive 100-loss season, the Kansas City Royals have no way to go but up. And new GM Dayton Moore intends to take them that direction.
Once the model for how to build a contending team from scratch, the Royals are now the AL poster child for ignominy and defeat. And with the other four clubs in the AL Central so far ahead of them now, it’s likely to be some time now before Kansas City can even start to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and escape the division’s basement.
And it’s a shame, a lousy shame. They have a very nice ballpark and sit in the middle of America with some great, down-to-earth folks who love baseball. And the demise of this once proud franchise can be traced directly to the death of the club’s original owner, Ewing Kauffman, in 1993.
From their inception through Kauffman’s final full season at the helm (1992), the Royals amassed a 1975-1841 (.517) record, appeared in seven postseasons, won a pair of pennants and one World Series (1985). The club was already on the down slope in Kauffman’s final years, but they were rebuilding and beginning in 1993 there were signs the club was coming back around. And they looked to have finally turned the corner in 2003 behind then-manager Tony Peña.
Since the start of the ’93 season, Kansas City is 959-1240 (.436), has three winning seasons, including the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, and have now suffered three consecutive 100+ loss seasons, and four times in the last five years.
But enough with the history lesson. The future is at least brighter in KC now - - It couldn’t get much darker - - that David and Dan Glass have brought in Dayton Moore as GM. And in his first full season on the dugout’s top step, manager Buddy Bell did get the team to improve six games in the win column despite the lack of talent at his disposal.
OFFENSE
Some of that potentially brighter future in KC should be on the field together this season and taking up a third of the batting order, if not to open the slate at least before the season is over. One of those three is Ryan Shealy who came over from the Rockies in a deadline deal last July. The former Florida Gator has 30-HR potential, maybe 40, with strikeouts his biggest drawback at this time, as it is for a lot of young power hitters.
Mark Teahen’s 2006 season went largely unnoticed, thanks in large part to playing for a poor KC squad. The portside swinger raised his OPS nearly 100 points from 2005, and banged out 18 flies, and increase of 11 from his previous season despite playing 21 fewer games.
Where Teahen will play is still up in the air at this time as his defensive spot in the mix will be determined this spring by Alex Gordon, the second overall pick in 2005. The world is Gordon’s oyster after he hit .325 with 29 bleacher bombs and 22 base thefts at the Double-A level last season. If he can make the jump to the majors this spring, he will be at third with Teahen moving to one of the outfield corner spots.
With Teahen, Gordon and Shealy the young studs, the Royals will look for veterans like Mike Sweeney, Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders and Jason LaRue to provide a little veteran leadership around them. Sweeney and Sanders are often DL moves waiting to happen, so they have to stay healthy. Kansas City is also reportedly shopping Sanders who is coming off some knee trouble.
LaRue was acquired from the Reds in the winter, and along with John Buck the Royals have a very capable catching duo.
Grudzielanek led the everyday regulars with 85 runs scored and a .297 average lat year, missing the last couple of weeks with a groin injury. He should be steady at second. His doubleplay partner at short, Angel Berroa, might be the key for the offense. Berroa has never been able to build on his outstanding rookie campaign of 2003, and KC’s patience is running out. If he can’t make it this time, the Royals could turn SS over to Alex Gonzalez, who has un-retired, Andres Blanco or Angel Sanchez, the ballplayer, not the fashion designer.
Emil Brown will be part of the normal outfield mix, and is coming off a quiet, 15-HR, 80+ RBI season. David DeJesus and Joey Gathright figure into the outfield mix, as does Sanders if he stays and Teahen if Gordon sticks at third.
PITCHING
Last year’s lone Royals rep at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh was southpaw Mark Redman. A lot was written about him being undeserving with a somewhat bloated ERA. But that aside, what does it tell you about the shape of the entire mound in 2006 if your All-Star pitcher isn’t even offered arbitration in the winter and remains unsigned?
What it tells me is new GM Dayton Moore is doing his job.
Of course some will argue that Moore isn’t doing a very good job if he thought giving Gil Meche a 5-year, $55 million deal was a good idea. And they have a point with that argument, especially since Meche has had shoulder and arm issues in the past.
While Meche’s deal might have many scratching their heads, the Royals do appear to have more pitching entering this season than they did last when Redman was backed up by the likes of Joe Mays and Scott Elarton. Odalis Perez, Luke Hudson and Brian Bannister won’t rekindle memories of Bret Saberhagen, Charlie Liebrandt and Danny Jackson from the 1985 World Champions’ rotation, but they are better than what KC entered 2006 with.
Zack Greinke, a right-hander, and Jorge de la Rosa from the left side will be the leading contenders for the fifth starting slot entering spring. And the Royals will also have Dewon Brazelton in camp vying for a spot. Also a possibility at some point this year is Luke Hochevar.
The bullpen is revamped and will enter the season with Octavio Dotel in the closer’s role. Dotel, whom Moore picked up on a relatively cheap 1-year deal, is now more than a year removed from his Tommy John surgery and, if he’s healthy, should at least give KC that ninth-inning arm the Royals lacked so badly in 2006.
There will be a lot of competition for the setup and middle relief jobs. David Riske should enter as the primary setup arm and closer insurance if Dotel fails. Two left-handers, John Bale who returns from a 2-year stint in Japan, and Jimmy Gobble, who finally started to realize some of his potential in relief last year, give Bell options from the left side. Joel Peralta, Joe Nelson and Todd Wellemeyer are pretty fair right-handers who figure into the bunch, as well as Ryan Braun (the Ryan Braun who is a pitcher out of UNLV, not the Ryan Braun who was a third sacker out of Miami-Fla).
Several veterans will also compete, including Ken Ray and Jason Standridge. And keep your eyes open for how Joakim Soria fares in the spring or down in the minors to start the season.
Key Player(s): Meche and Dotel hold the keys, at least early on. If they both falter miserably, it could mean trouble from the fans for Moore. But if Meche can make it through 30-32 starts with a decent ERA and Dotel can actually nail down the few victories KC will have a shot at, Moore will come off looking like a genius.
Futures: Pinnacle has KC 75:1 to win AL Central, VIP has them at 16:1 for the ALC, which doesn’t sound too inviting at all, and 100:1 to win the American League, and over at The Greek you can lump KC with the Tribe at +305 to win the AL Central. I have them down for 64 wins until I see just how Dotel is and until I see if Gordon will make the Opening Day squad. If Meche, Dotel and another starter all come through, the low 70s for a win total would be possible, though the mid-60s is more probable.