Saturday Night Mitch Maier Justin Huber Fan Club
Meeting

post from Royals Review on 14 January 2012 10:01:11 PM. © Royals Review

Saturday Night Mitch Maier Justin Huber Fan Club Meeting

Only fans of obscure Royals allowed

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have added quantity over
quality this winter

post from Pittsburgh Pirates MLB News - Pirates Baseball Blog on 14 January 2012 07:39:02 PM. © Pittsburgh Pirates MLB News - Pirates Baseball Blog

The Pittsburgh Pirates struck quick in free agency in landing catcher Rod Barajas, shortstop Clint Barmes and lefty starting pitcher Erik Bedard. Since then they have been trolling for bargains in the basement. Here is a look at the players they have added for the 2012 season so far:In the field: The [...]

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Ricketts hopes Castro issue settled soon (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 14 January 2012 07:03:39 PM. © MLB News Blog

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts hopes the sexual assault allegation against All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro gets settled soon. Ricketts had little to say Saturday at the Cubs Convention other than “we all hope it gets resolved as quickly as possible.” The 21-year-old Castro released a statement Friday saying he has cooperated with authorities investigating an allegation [...]

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A.J. Burnett should fire his agent, or get lost

post from lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog on 14 January 2012 07:03:03 PM. © lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog

Either he should fire his agent or he should find another team that will take his attitude.I just caught wind of what Darek Braunecker, A.J. Burnett's agent, told the Daily News (h/t BBD) and felt obligated to share it with you.?I haven?t[...]

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Quote: Burnett expects to be in the Yankees
rotation

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 14 January 2012 05:45:57 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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Kevin Kouzmanoff and Mike Moustakas's Service
Time

post from Royals Review on 14 January 2012 05:01:15 PM. © Royals Review

Silent running. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

The Royals signed Kevin Kouzmanoff to a minor league deal (that becomes a $1 million dollar contract if he's on the roster) earlier today, in the kind of typical Dayton Moore move that no one saw coming. I should say first that I like the move, though I'm not entirely sure how it is going to actually benefit the Royals barring a strange combination of events. So maybe I don't like it that much.

Here's what we know:

Kevin's struggles with the bat are firmly established. In 2011, with the Rockies and A's, he posted a cumulative .284 OBP. His career line in the majors is .255/.300/.420, though the bulk of that number has come in either San Diego or Oakland. There's a touch of power -- 23 homers in Petco in 2008 is no small feat -- and really not much else, which makes in him many ways a typical third-baseman of the old design. He showed some life in AAA last season (.302/.341/.550 in 272 PAs) which is only a mildly warmed comfort, but one that we'll take. (Weird fact, his slugging numbers have declined every year since 2007.)
He's very good defensively, though it is unclear how good. By baseball-reference WAR, he's been about a 1.5 win player, by fangraphs WAR, that number jumps to about 2.8 on average. A huge difference.
There's probably some scenario in which the Royals could use Kouzmanoff as a late game defensive sub for Moustakas, perhaps after Yuni has pinch-hit for him. (As Jeff pointed out this week, actually having Yuni hit for Moose is bizarre, but hey...) However, this is more maneuvering than I really seeing Yost employing often enough to generate any value. In Game Seven of the World Series, with the Royals up 3-1 in the 7th inning, I might like the idea of using Kouzmanoff as a defensive sub, but let's get to that bend in the river first.

So as a bench player that really never plays, Kouzmanoff wouldn't really be that exciting. He's better than Yuni, in so much as he can actually do one thing well, but it's basically a different version of that whole argument. As a baseball fan and wannabe analyst, I like thinking about depth and tactics and all that, but the reality is that isn't the way the game is managed, not regarding position players in an era of huge bullpens.

So the only other angle here, as Retro mentioned earlier today, is that Kouz is some kind of Moose insurance or Moose motivator. I'll add another: a scenario in which the Royals delayed Moose's service time clock at the start of 2012, using Kouzmanoff to do so.

Moose hit .263/.309/.367 last season, accumulating 111 days of service time in the process. If this were a computer simulation, I would 100% start Moose in AAA to begin the year. For one, I'm not sure he's actually earned a starting job in the Majors from a purely performance based standpoint. Two, the Royals have the incentive by the structure of MLB's CBA to delay and stagger his emergence as a regular player. Overwhelmingly, the chances are that whether Moose is a Royal on Opening Day or sometime in May this season won't alter his arbitration and free agency schedule, there's a case to be made that for insurance reasons the Royals should be conservative. If Moose breaks his arm and misses a year in Omaha, the Royals lose nothing, if he does so on a rainy night in Cleveland in April, he accumulates an entire year of Major League service time. Readers with an extremely good memory might note that I've made this argument before. While the big cutoff dates (Super 2, etc) get the most attention, the trajectory of players' careers is unpredictable. Look at Alex Gordon's ups and downs. Who is to say the Royals won't randomly demote Moose for three weeks in 2013? We just don't know.

And rounding back to the first thing we mentioned about Moustakas, he's far from a polished product.

Of course, none of this will happen. And perhaps, it shouldn't. The Royals have a human relationship with Moustakas, who is legitimately a major part of their future. They need to nurture him and make him feel like an integral part of the organization. Nickel and diming him (which would be the perception, if not the reality) by sending him back to AAA to start 2012 is likely not something that would be good for the relationship. Nor with their relationship with other players, or for their marketing position with the fans.

Nevertheless, Kouzmanoff gives the Royals the ability to do this thing that they would never do. Which I guess is fun.

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Jack Morris

post from Baseball In-Depth on 14 January 2012 03:43:00 PM. © Baseball In-Depth

160+ Wins, .570+ W-L% (per decade, since 1940)
40's: Hal Newhouser
50's: Warren Spahn, Robin Roberts, Early Wynn
60's: Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson
70's: Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Steve Carlton, Fergie Jenkins, Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, Don Sutton
80's: Jack Morris
90's: Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux
00's: None

Does this mean that Jack Morris should be in the Hall of Fame? No, but it is interesting. A better illustration of how he compared to other pitchers from his era is that from 1979-1992, he had 233 wins with a .590 W-L%. The closest in wins during that time period was Bob Welch with 192 wins, followed by Dave Stieb with 174 wins.

Most wins, 14 year span
1956-1969: Don Drysdale 209 Wins
1960-1973: Juan Marichal, 238
1965-1978: Gaylord Perry 251, Fergie Jenkins 231
1974-1987: Steve Carlton, 212

This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but it shows that 233 compares well with some other time periods in recent times.

There are serious problems with Morris' Hall of Fame candidacy, although it seems to be finally picking up steam. His ERA was high (3.90), never finished higher than 3rd for a Cy Young award, didn't have dominant walk or strikeout numbers, etc., but winning 233 games over a 14 year period (with a .590 W-L%) is impressive and unusual in modern history.

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Royals give Kouzmanoff minor league deal (AP)

Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training. The team announced the deal Saturday. Terms were not disclosed. Kouzmanoff hit .235 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 73 games for Oakland and Colorado last season.

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Fergie Jenkins 2010 Panini Century Collection
Ballpark Game Used Jersey Card YUCK!!!

Fergie Jenkins 2010 Panini Century Collection – ‘Ballpark’ – Game Used Jersey Card – YUCK!!! OK, this is the last one. I have tried a few times, but I just don’t find these card appealing. I have made a few … Continue reading →

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lection-ballpark-game-used-jersey-card-yuck/

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Ryan: Fielder talks very preliminary (AP)

Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan describes the team’s discussions with free agent slugger Prince Fielder as “very preliminary.” Ryan publicly acknowledged Saturday that he and other Rangers officials had an initial meeting with Fielder and his agent, Scott Boras. During a question-and-answer session with fans at the team’s annual winter FanFest, Ryan said the meeting [...]

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