(New NEW) 2014 Royals Repository

[SPchief]

Let's get back sole possession tonight.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by SPchief

With Ventura, wouldn't you want to wait until after next year to see how his elbow holds up? His clock just started this year right?

You could do that. He's a good extension candidate because he's a Latin America kid who signed for very little.

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Hosmer is the one they need to lock down

Not going to happen. Boras won't let him trade prime-career years for a little extra money now. He's going to make good money in arbitration the next few years then hit the market.

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

You could do that. He's a good extension candidate because he's a Latin America kid who signed for very little.


.

Which is why I think it's a good idea to wait until next year to extend. As shitty as it is to say, lets see how the elbow holds up. But if it stays healthy, you could then extend him at probably a bigger pay, but maybe a little less risk.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Hosmer is the one they need to lock down

Ya know, he's a great guy who seems to be doing it right with our fans, and I'd love to keep him around...

But the cold hard reality, which we don't need to look at beyond this postseason, beyond even 2015 and 2016 is, Hosmer is just not a big priority for us unless he becomes a ridiculous hitter, and if he were that, we might not be able to keep him anyway.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Not going to happen. Boras won't let him trade prime-career years for a little extra money now. He's going to make good money in arbitration the next few years then hit the market.

The problem I'm seeing out of Hosmer is that, while he has put up good post-season numbers, he hasn't really put together a monster regular season numbers that would indicate to me that he's going to get majorly paid.

I'm aware that he is only 24, but if we were to use baseball reference guide (again, very not a predictor), this is who Hosmer is similar to.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...osmeer01.shtml

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[Hootie]

Hosmer is gonna be a Yankee. It's cold, hard reality

[Hootie]

No one is putting up monster seasons anymore. Pitchers are TOO GOOD now and hitters can't even take greenies anymore. Offense is dead.

[mr. tegu]

I see no reason to break up the bullpen after this season. They are worth every penny. Even the Orioles, whose bullpen had a good season, showed that even a little bit suspect bullpen at times can cost you big in the playoffs even with a really good offense.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Seems about right. Maybe a little higher if he flat-out wins the arb case.

As for Escobar, they have him signed for 3 more years at a little less than $5 million a year. I'm not sure I'd go deeper than that, as most defensive SS start to decline in their 30s (and, conceivably, you'd have RA Mondesi ready by then).

I could see them working through another extension for Alex Gordon that perhaps defers some of his big numbers in 2015 and 2016 and spreads things out a bit.

Ventura is a great extension candidate, as is one of Davis/Holland.

I'd like to see them extend Gordon so he finishes he career in KC. And, since Gordon is already 30, in a couple years, after Hos has moved on because KC can't afford him, you let Gordon finish his career as KC's 1st baseman. AKA, George Brett.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Think about what you just said: we can "fool" the market. If what you say about closers is true, won't other GMs know this and hence: discount Hollands value too?

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Trading a closer always sounds great on paper, but unless you're trading with Kevin Towers (who unfortunately does not have a job right now), the return you get is usually lower than what you'd think, and it is difficult to find a deal that truly makes sense.

For the Royals to trade Holland, they'd have to find a trade partner that's willing to part with PRESENT or MLB-ready position talent of high caliber.

If they can't find someone to plug in every day in RF and make an above-average contribution, is it worth it to trade Holland next year? Probably not, especially with the extra shakeup on the roster.

Hard to argue with either of those. I agree. They should only trade Holland if they are lucky enough to find a team that will overpay to get him.

[siberian khatru]

Hope this hasn't already been posted, but this is AWESOME. Footage taken by a fan who sneaked into the Royals clubhouse during the 1985 WS celebration.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Hope this hasn't already been posted, but this is AWESOME. Footage taken by a fan who sneaked into the Royals clubhouse during the 1985 WS celebration.

Who is that talking to Willie Wilson at 3:30?

[Toadkiller]

So with San Fran winning I will be going to games 3, 4, 5 in San fran. I will then, if needed fly into KC for games 6 and 7. If we don't sweep them please let us get back to KC for those last two games!

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

I see no reason to break up the bullpen after this season. They are worth every penny. Even the Orioles, whose bullpen had a good season, showed that even a little bit suspect bullpen at times can cost you big in the playoffs even with a really good offense.

Well, there's some question about whether the Royals can afford to spend:

$9 million (closer - Holland)
$7 million (setup - Davis)
$2.5 million (setup - Herrera)
$2 million (4 other minimum guys)

If you're a small market team, can you really afford to spend $20 million+ on your bullpen? It's a tough call (but maybe the Royals' young starters make it possible by balancing out the costs).

[Kidd Lex]

This has been an amazing ride, truly unbelievable. Growing up I couldn't wait to read the sports page, the box scores, and then go out back and throw a tennis ball against the dog house pretending to be Appier or Flash Gordon. So many years of let down and suffering and now this...

Simply outstanding.

The cynic in me wants to enjoy this ride exclusively with all the other long suffering fans who continued to watch this team lose 100 games year after year and still watch September games, read about the "next George Brett" only to be let down, or having our Cactus League champions hopes be crushed by a long early season losing streak. From that end it's strange sharing this moment with fans who haven't paid much mind or lost portions of their soul to the Royals these last 29 years, but really who could blame them for losing interest? There were times I hated myself for loving the Royals above all else, GMDM rants that should have ended with my admittance to the psyche ward.

I guess it's a bit like the movie Major League where the guys are banging the drum early in the season amongst only a scattered thousand in the stadium, the awesome experience when Wild a Thing enters the stadium wouldn't have been the same without the other 35k screaming Tribe fans.

For that I'm thankful the city and the nation (except for red assed Bmore super fans) have fallen in love with this years team of destiny. Let's attack like Jack and go kick some Giants ass.

tl;dr

Bandwagon fans make the ride sweeter, although the cynic in me took some convincing

[Archie F. Swin]

Olbermann is not a believer