Buster Writes Best

Buster Onley’s column is daily reading for me. 

Today he best sums up Gil Meche’s retirement:

“Gil Meche walked away from $12.4 million and retired. All he had to do to be paid that $12.4 million was to show up in spring training and go through a summer of shoulder rehabilitation work — and heck, along the way, the Royals might’ve even told him to just go home and not worry about checking in regularly.

But Meche wasn’t comfortable with that.” 

Gil Meche Retires

Honestly, I am stunned and I am still processing this retirement. Read Dick Kaegel’s story here. 

I remember when the Royals signed Meche four years ago. I had just brought mlb.tv for the first time either that off-season or the one before, and I watched probably 5 or 6 starts of Meche’s from his last year in Seattle, to see who the Royals had signed. 
I also remember watching what I think was his second Opening Day start for the Royals, where on a unseasonably warm Spring day, the Royals took down the Tigers in what was a great start by Meche. 
I should also note it probably took me a year to learn how to correctly pronounce his name. 
But in all seriousness, Meche is a class act and always has been. I understand why he is retiring, but it says something that he would forgo $11 million dollars that he would have received even if his shoulder did not make it through the season. 
So, just let me say thank you Gil Meche. 

Gordon and Francoeur Separated at Birth

Rustin Dodd has a great piece up at Ball Star. It does a great job tracking these two young stars into their difficult major league careers. Success by the Royals will likely be put on the shoulders of these two and Billy Butler. But just a great post by Rustin Dodd. 

Also the Royals signed Jeff Francis. More thoughts on that later.  

The Royals of 2011

I am not going to lie, I am not excited. I know, I know we will be good in 2012 or 2013 when all of our prospects come up, but that is what we thought in 2009. 

I do think Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur are decent pick ups. You can read my thoughts on Francoeur from long ago. The big thing is that both add the combination of youth and experience. They are low cost players who have played in the playoffs and Cabrera has been in the World Series. But what does it say when we are home to a starting outfield which is made up of other team’s fourth outfielders. I am not sure. 
What I do know and what I am excited about is baseball starts again in a month. Regardless of whether the Royals surprise the world or whether 2011 is like 2010, baseball starts soon. 

One Year Later

I do not harbor an illusion that I will start posting a lot, but I am going to try again. We’ll see. 

New Year, New Royals

Here is what we know thus far. Mark Teahen, Miguel Olivo, John Buck, and Mike Jacobs are gone. Chris Getz and Josh Fields are in and Zack Greinke is awesome.

But questions still remain. Will Alberto Callaspo be traded? What will happen to Mike Aviles? Will Jose Guillen be traded? Will Gil Meche be traded? Will Billy Butler play first or go back to being DH?

I want to be optimistic about this year, but I am not sure yet. This team will be younger, better defensively, and most likely faster. But I have been optimistic the last two new years and have been let down both times. So this time I will at least wait until Spring Training to get excited about the Royals’ chances.

Alex Gordon Returns Tonight

I know, I know Alex Gordon’s return will be much like A-Rod and Mike Lowell’s slow and steady, but I am excited that finally after months of waiting Alex Gordon will be back.

I am not sure if I will get to catch the game on my computer but I am enjoying reactivating Gordon on my fantasy teams.

Which Royals is Most Likely to Get Traded?

Here are my rankings of the Royals most likely to get traded:

#1 Mark Teahen- Teahen himself said he expects to get traded. I hate the idea of giving him up but he is earning the recognition he is getting. He is a good fielder, good hitter and its versatile. Places he is most likely to end up, Boston or San Francisco.

#2 Brian Bannister- Banny is pitching well and there are a lot of contenting teams looking for pitching now. Trading Bannister would be a mark the Royals have little expectations for this year, but most likely they don’t. Bannister isn’t going to command great prospects in return but could warrant a couple of “B” level prospects. Most like places to land, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or Florida.

#3 Juan Cruz- The Royals gave up draft picks to get Juan Cruz and likely will want a good deal to let go of him, but too many teams out there need bullpen help. Most likely places to land, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida, or New York Yankees.

#4 Jose Guillen- If the Royals are willing to eat a good portion of Guillen’s contract he would be much higher on this list. Without knowing that, it is hard to say if he will get moved. He has a good bat and is tough but he rarely is at 100%. If the Royals really want to move him they can, but they have to eat a lot of contract and probably will not get a ton in return. Most likely places to go, Texas, Florida, or Los Angeles Angels.

#5 Robinson Tejeda- I don’t think the Royals want to move him, but lots of teams need bullpen help and the offer for Tejeda could be too good to refuse. Most likely to end up with Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, or Florida Marlins.

#6 David DeJesus- DeJesus’s name always gets around that this time of year but the deal never goes anywhere. I doubt he will get moved this year, but if he were it would most likely be to Texas, New York Yankees, or Los Angeles Angels. 

All Star Week

Not much blogging happening on my end. Busy time. I wish Zack had been named the AL starting pitcher but that happens. The Red Sox series this past weekend was a crusher. Thursday and Friday were good outings by the Royals but Saturday and Sunday was awful.

Oh and the Royals added a new shortshop last week. More on that later.

No Francoeur for the Royals

As you probably heard, Jeff Francoeur was traded to the Mets for Ryan Church. By far one of the oddest trades in history. Sitting here during the all-star break I guess we just wait. 

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