Fair point. I think the main thesis here is that when Petro says something about MLB (esp a trade proposal), start laughing the second he begins. Just laugh at him. He's a clown who deserves nothing more.

Then that's a reason to trade Santana: It addresses 2014 and takes advantage of high prices on deadline day.

I'm OK with that. I'm not OK with doing nothing.

ONLY to the extent that they say "we need this guy for 2013, but while we're at it, make sure he's here for 2014 also" Thats it.

If, as was suggested last page, this team is .500 as-is, then we're done. We stand pat and wait for the winter, because prices for 2014 are lower in the winter than they are right now.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

Petro is actually very knowledgeable regarding baseball, he can go a bit over-board on his "stance" sometimes, though.

And... boom.

Myers' had a down 2011 (while injured and transitioning to a new position) but was still a consensus top 25-30 prospect who was about 1.5-2 years away from MLB.

Correct. For baseball reasons, we should trade Santana. He's not being traded basically for business reasons.

edit: unless we can somehow re-sign Santana for a reasonable deal, of course.

with a good organization I would agree, but this is not a good organization. We don't develop talent very well. He wants to use prospects to maximize their "hype" in acquiring wins for the short window we have.

I laugh more at people that want to do nothing and expect to win games at some point.

Message boards are known for their clear and rational thoughts however. He is a baseball nerd just like all of us.

And that mindset is how a half-season of Doyle Alexander gets swapped for John Smoltz or a 1/2 season of Larry Anderson gets swapped for Jeff Bagwell or a 1/2 season of Mark De Rosa turns into Carlos Santana.

I'm fine with trading prospects to improve the major league team when appropriate (makes sense when you're .500 or better but does not when you're going to lose 100 games regardless), but saying willy-nilly you'll trade off any prospect for a guy who can help the big league club without also taking into consideration long-term loss (prospect) vs. short-term gain (the major leaguer) ... no way.

Of course the previous 4 years he has a War of over 3.1, wouldn't need that at second now.

I have no issue with that, as long as the players that are coming back are actually "good."

Jair Jurrjens, Martin Prado, Erick Aybar, Rickie Weeks, etc. are not actually good.

This is what makes MLB trade deadline day fun.

From mlbtraderumors.com -

Fun rumor:
D-Backs shopping Ian Kennedy and looking for bullpen help.

Royals give:
Luke Hochevar
Tim Collins
Kyle Smith?

Royals get:

Ian Kennedy

Immediate thoughts? Kennedy is having a bad season, but his peripheral suggest he has been really unlucky. His walk rate has increased slightly, but the main issue is that his strand rate has dropped like a rock. HIs LD% is up a bit, but his BABIP is still about the league aveage (.306). His strikeout rate has dropped about one percent. Velo charts don't show anything to be concerned about.

He's in his first arbitration year. You'd have two years of control, and he'd probably cost about $5.5-6 million next year and about 7-8 million the year after (assuming he bounces back).

How much would you be willing to sweeten the pot?

I'm sure you already figured, but I would do it in a heartbeat. Kennedy in the rotation, Davis to the 'pen.

I'm probably simplifying things, but it seems to me that while Davis has been suspect at best, Shields has been unlucky. Not since Greinke have I seen bats routinely freeze. Either that or the pen shitz the bed after a good start by James.

Angels want Kennedy pretty bad is the other rumor, lets get a three way going.

Hochevar to AZ
Kennedy to LA
Kendrick to KC

Let's all make some calls.

Petro suggested that we have the personnel (coaches) to make weeks better.

LMAO

I like how you think.

It seems they want Luke Gregerson and Joe Thatcher from the Padres.

Hochevar and Collins would be a similar value, Smith is a nice sweetener (and buried in KC's SP prospect chart ... Zimmer, Mondesi, Duffy, Almonte, Manaea all rank higher than him, at least).

I would spend the entire day laughing maniacally if that actually happened.

MLB Network is saying right now that the Padres are closing in on Kennedy.

Thank God its almost over. I can stop mainlining twitter.

Because he likes Ned Yost? I don't know that Ned can make him magically lose 15-20 pounds.

Back to Kennedy...

Young, cheap, buy-low opportunity. He'd be a nice piece to move to LA if you really want Kendrick, but I think it also makes sense to buy him low with the intention of slotting him in the No. 2 or 3 spot in your rotation next year and the year after.

Dbacks don't want much for him. Joe Thatcher is a solid veteran LH reliever, and he's supposedly the key piece in their deal. He's tough on lefties but not dominant and gets rocked by righties. Gregerson is a good reliever, but not exactly Kimbrel or Rivera, either.

I'm confident KC COULD beat any package the Padres offer for Kennedy, but WILL it?

Booo. Booo.

Pick up the phone, Dayton!

Would you go Crow? Coleman? Herrera?

I guess we'll see what the next couple hours bring. Sure seems like the second wild card has taken some of the steam out of the trade deadline in general. Too many teams still in it, and some of the teams that aren't don't want to give away too much.
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Any of them.

Hochevar and Wade Davis to their 'pen for Ian Kennedy!

Thought you would.

Our friends at RR are saying Holland for Kennedy straight up. I pass on that.

I would pass on that, too, because it's underselling Holland.

Plus, you're overselling the market. Gregerson and Thatcher are good, but not THAT good. That's the compensation you're competing against.

No need to offer that much. Would be like bidding for something in an auction and going 25 percent over your budget for the item... when the current bidding was at 50 percent of your budget.

Double-A pitcher Matt Stites is in the Padres' offer for Kennedy, tweets Darren Smith of XX1090.

Stites is from Mizzou btw.

Stites is a small reliever.

Royals could counter that by offering someone like Kyle Smith, Jason Adam, etc. Even Will Smith.

Looking to beef up a late-innings relief corps that is tied for second in the majors with 19 blown saves, the Diamondbacks are close to sending starter Ian Kennedy to the Padres for lefty set-up man Joe Thatcher, according to CBSSports.com sources.

The Diamondbacks also would receive other players – likely two minor-leaguers – in the deal with Thatcher.

The Angels and another unidentified team or two also have been engaging the Diamondbacks in trade discussions for Kennedy, 28, who is in the midst of a rough season.

A 21-game winner in 2011, Kennedy is 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA in 21 starts for the Diamondbacks this season. He also has a 1.419 WHIP, the worst of his career for a full season.

Among the reasons he is attractive to the Padres is that he is controllable through 2015.

Thatcher, 31, is 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 50 games for the Padres this summer and has been a dependable bullpen piece for them since 2009.

Only the Cubs, with 22 blown saves, have coughed up more save opportunities than the Diamondbacks, who now stand 3 ½ games behind the scorching-hot Dodgers in the NL West.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/sc...in-trade-talks

if we were good at making players better we wouldn't need to trade for anyone

hey, I'm all on board the "closers are overrated" theory, but one of the exceptions is when you are chasing down 4 teams from 5 games back with 2 months to go and you are staring down the barrel of needing to win a bunch of 1-run games because of our light offense. If its 2015 and our window has closed and we can't win then sure, sell off the closer.

Agreed. I was fully in favor of trading Soria because we weren't going anywhere soon. But if you have a two-year window to compete, I think you hang on to Holland.

Saw this on Deadspin and it made me laugh -

Chad Qualls Celebrates Like A Marlin Should.

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18vi...f/k-medium.gif

The Marlins are a gift.

I think the bigger issue is the guy who is replacing him hasn't 100% proven he will keep the ball in the park. If Herrera was destroying worlds I'd consider the idea.
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Sounds like Kennedy is San Diego bound.

This could end up being a deal we look back at and wish KC had gotten involved in. Strong candidate to bounce back, I think. As long as he stops throwing at guys' heads.

If you made that trade, it would give you the wiggle room to deal Santana (and hope Kennedy is a replacement for Santana's '13 production)......and get a legit 2B.

FYP

We haven't flirted with .500 this late in the season since 2003, and we are literally going to sit on our hands today. I just don't understand.

Yes. And allow you to focus on adding a 2B or RF bat in FA and stay out of the thin SP pool.

2014 rotation:

Shields
Kennedy
Guthrie
Duffy
Davis (Zimmer, Ventura breathing down his neck).

Kennedy would have an excellent bounce-back chance in KC's park and with KC's defense behind him. And would be controlled through 2015, giving you a better bridge to post-Santana and post-Shields life.

I think GMDM is making the right move. The only way I could see it being worth while for the Royals if they were able to acquire someone for the long run. It's not worth mortgaging the future for a PO run for a team that is on the fringe of being in the hunt. A month from now could be a different story, which could lead to Santana being dealt if they fall out of the hunt or see them acquire a rental if they are a game or 2 back from a WC or the division.

I agree.

I think the wrong approach is to say, things are going pretty good right now. Lets not rock the boat.

I think most of us are advocating trading for players who help us in 2014 at least, if not also 2015 (such as Kendrick or Kennedy). I agree, I'm not interested in a two-month rental unless it's basically a giveaway for a lottery ticket prospect.

Reports seem to indicate we have inquired about Kendrick so we can at least know he wants to improve the 2B position. How badly is the question.

I think the Royals are also in a much better position than the Indians. They won't be able to keep it up and the situation they are in pretty much forces them to be buyers.

i want MOARRR WINS!!!!

ROFLROFLROFL

Do you have a link? I want to share this.

Yep, this.

Frankly I feel like us winning 9 of 11 to start the second half completely sent GMDM into a tailspin. We play well and show signs of life at a time he totally didn't expect it, and he is caught with his pants down in regards to improving the team THIS season to make a run. Maybe (hopefully) I'm completely wrong and we'll make a move soon, but it just doesn't have the "feel" of us getting anything done.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 5m

Deal official: Kennedy from #DBacks to #Padres for Thatcher, Stiles and compensation-round pick.

Right click and 'copy image location' is a fine place to start

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 54s

Sources: #Angels likely to keep Kendrick. Can’t find the right match for a starting pitcher. Could revisit in off-season.

"Can't find a team willing to deal a legit top-20 pitching prospect and willing to swallow 9M/year in the process"

Could have matched/topped that. Crap.

The trading deadline is in 90 minutes. We can't deal Santana later unless he clears waivers, and there's no way that happens.

I wonder if DM was even sniffing it.

Balls.

SO excited for a little over .500, no playoffs, and a comp pick heading into 2014!

Yeah, but that's how it's felt across the board today ... it's weird. So far today's highlight is a guy with a 5+ ERA getting traded to a 50-58 team.
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Per Jim Bowden


Angels have had alot of action on Kendrick including: Blue Jays, Royals & Dodgers...they expect talks to continue thru day

Detoilet winning 9-1.

Kendricks agent says he hasnt talked to anyone about waiving the no trade clause though.

@Ken_Rosenthal Sources: Angels likely to keep Kendrick. Can’t find the right match for a starter. Could revisit in off-season.

welp

Well, lets keep it in perspective. As of this morning, the odds of making the playoffs were still roughly 2%. (which is why some people wanted to give up 2013, trade Santana, and focus on 2014)

We're in no-man's land. Close enough so that for business reasons we can't sell because the fans would freak, but we're not close enough to do anything too crazy for 2013 because statistically we're just not there, barring a lot of luck.

Typical Royals: Even when things are going unusually good, they're also going bad.

Scored 10 ER off Gio Gonzalez. With Cabrera getting the day off. Any doubt they're the best team in the AL?

Something to remember.

We have played three less games than Cleveland. Four less than Baltimore. Three less than New York. Four less than Texas.

We may be five games back of the lead but we also more games to play to make up the difference.

Man, sometimes I hate thinking about Kevin Towers and Dayton Moore and other guys like that and how they do their jobs.

When I moved to KC and left sports journalism, I had a few friends and colleagues who strongly suggested I get into scouting as my next career. I did some initial work for it but decided I didn't want to live that lifestyle.

Then I look at guys like Towers and Moore and start fantasizing about actually trying to make trades with them, and it makes me wish I had stuck with scouting/front office track.

We have 31 games in August. 10 of them are against the Red Sox, Tigers, and Rays. The rest are against teams under .500. We have a fairly manageable schedule to make up some ground.

Doubt? Yes I think there is doubt. I don't agree that they are without a doubt better than TB or BOS. Gio had been scorching though.

Or fall further back.

Justin Maxwell?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Sources: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Royals&amp;src=hash">#Royals</a> acquire OF Justin Maxwell from <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Astros&amp;src=hash">#Astros</a>.</p>&mdash; Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/statuses/362649379376611328">July 31, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If the Royals keep their average month winning percentage expect for May, which is around .580. By Labor Day, the Royals should be about 70 wins and 65 loses, with at the end of that week - 12 straight against the Tigers and Indians.

Of course.... of ****ing course... royals...