Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12709232)

Yeah basically this


Just like 16 colored Wade a bit with his troubles, he dropped from a gawd to just really good


Matt Strahm is going to be godlike this year. Just like 2016. He gets 65 IP in high leverage if I'm managing. (Which as you know I'm not)

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla (Post 12708634)

Perhaps my memory is failing me, but Holland seemed to work into trouble a little more than I would want my closer to do. I don't recall if it was hits, walks, or a combination of the two, but he always seemed to be anything but an automatic inning.

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho (Post 12709123)

Yeah.

I have a Yankee fan at work who thought I was crazy for saying the Yankees back end wouldn't be as effective as HDH in 2014.

Then he looked up their stats. And shut up.


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Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12709281)

I sorta wanted YV in the pen after last year but now Strahm has to stay in the pen. He is a K machine. His splits weren't that crazy but i still think long term he murders LH.

I'll go crazy again, since I've gone crazy all offseason: Strahm has a lotta Chris Sale in him. (Go ahead, let me have it)

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho (Post 12709849)

I understand the Sale comparisons. He's got similar cross-fire mechanics, is also tall and lanky, and also has a big, slow slurve that has great two plane movement.

Strahm has to stay in the pen unless Glass green lights enough payroll to shore up the bullpen with Hochevar.

If they reinforce the pen a bit, Strahm instead of Young as the no 5 starter offers a. If potential upgrade.


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Originally Posted by Chiefspants (Post 12709861)

I'm thinking to be successful this season, we're going to have to strike some near golden luck.



Fortunately, when you have solid pieces on your roster, golden luck doesn't mean 2003, it means that if your team catches 2 or 3 lucky breaks, you're in World Series contention. Almost every team needs these kinds of breaks in order to win the title.



We definitely had that good fortune in 2014. We hoped that a rookie pitcher could come in and match Ervin Santana's contributions in 2013. Yordano did that and then pitched like a ace throughout the playoffs. RIP, Ace.



Due to Hoch's injury, we also fell ass backwards into the best single season performance for a reliever in MLB history. Best of luck in Chicago, Wade!



Danny Duffy and Kelvin Herrera also suddenly found themselves and gave us near dominant numbers (some BABIP help notwithstanding) which helped carry us through injuries to Hosmer, and through awful stretches by both Moose and Billy.



2015 ended up with just as many lucky breaks. Big Ken crashed into the Royals and not only replicated Billy's presence, but won the Silver Slugger after bombing in 2014. Edinson Volquez, despite every advanced website predicting regression, came in and replicated Shields production in 2014, and Chris Young, a person who no one wanted, was the most reliable starter in our rotation through the early summer and was pivotal in our playoff run. While Holland didn't end up replicating his 2014 production and ended up tearing his UCL, Luke Hochevar, and Ryan freaking Madson bounced back from injuries and combined with Danny Duffy to give us even more postseason bullpen depth than we had in 2014.



Sure, 2016 evened our luck out in a hard way, but if we get the good in season luck we did in 2014 or 2015 (ie, Gordo and Soria bouncing back, signing a productive DH, and getting good performances from a starter like Strahm or Staumont), we have the tools to make one last ride after our 14 and 15 seasons.

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho (Post 12710002)

Along these lines, I'll talk about what needs to go right for the Royals to contend in 2017:

1) SP health. Duffy, Kennedy, Vargas and Karns must stay healthy and put up 750-800 innings combined. An injury to one of these guys could be crippling.


3) Get a breakout performance somewhere. Whether that's a rotation piece emerging (Strahm, Zimmer, Staumont, Jake Junis, Alex Mills, Chris Young), or a hitter emerging (Cuthbert, Dozier, Mondesi) or a bullpen piece emerging (Withrow, minor leaguer, etc). Just something.

Supplementing the roster with at least one of (and preferably both) a DH and a reliever would also be a big boon.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 12710015)

I know where you can find a DH and can save on moving costs. Just a nice little U-Haul trek down I-70...

Originally Posted by fahrenheit (Post 12710017)

Seent this on facebook. Not sure I could handle witnessing this:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 12710015)

I know where you can find a DH and can save on moving costs. Just a nice little U-Haul trek down I-70...

Originally Posted by DeepSouth (Post 12710198)

Most of you guys will disagree with me but I think if Zimmer is finally healthy, this could be the year he makes it to the starting rotation for the Royals. He only has 222 total innings in the minors but his ERA overall is 3.24. He'll be 26 this year and some say his stuff is the best they've seen. If that's true, I hope he forces their hand and makes it to KC.