Archive for the ‘Kansas City Royals’ Category

You Don’t Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson

Posted by Scott Lewis under Getting Blanked Special, Kansas City Royals on Dec 07, 2012

You Don’t Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson is the final film in the latest burst of ESPN’s 30-for-30 project. The documentary debuts Saturday December 8th at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPNHD, immediately following the conclusion of the Heisman Trophy Presentation.

Director Michael Bonfiglio’s You Don’t Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson makes no bones about perpetuating the mythos of its subject. This is kind of the point, though. Bo Jackson was far from a perfect baseball player; he struck out a tonne and couldn’t draw a walk to save his life… but man, could he hammer the ball and make nice plays in the outfield. Bo Jackson spurned professional football when he was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986, only to partake in an NFL career as “a hobby” when the Los Angeles Raiders came knocking in 1987. A hobby, “like fishing and hunting” Jackson told a gathering of reporters. Bonfiglio presents Jackson as a super hero, which is an embodiment reinforced by the countless former teammates, coaches, and media members interviewed throughout the film.

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This is All Mike Trout’s Fault

Posted by Drew Fairservice under James Shields, Kansas City Royals, Scorn on Dec 06, 2012

You know how Mike Trout gave basically every baseball fan in America a show this summer? A nonstop thrill ride of skills and excitement, literally hours of fun and entertainment when he put his big box hardware store full of tools on display on a nightly basis? You’d think he earned himself some good will. You’d be wrong.

You see, Mike Trout has effectively ruined baseball. Not only does his every act in the future now invite comparison to his magical 2012 season, Mike Trout’s unparalleled excellence tipped the scales on prospect watching among fans and all non-industry types.

For now, every single team not only thinks their prospects are going to be All Stars and Buster Posey‘s — winning World Series titles falling out of bed and wooing entire regions with their winning smiles — the top prospect in the farm system of each and every Major League franchise is now the Next Mike Trout. They, too, will produce more WAR in a single season than most players muster across their pedestrian careers.

When “word” hit that the Kansas City Royals were mulling a trade for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields, rather than jumping out of their skins with joy, many Royals fans were distraught. The player reported to be heading out of Kansas City in any James Shields trade hasn’t actually played a single game for the Royals – it would be their top prospect Wil Myers. The same Wil Myers mentioned in R.A. Dickey trade talks earlier this month.

Giving up Myers is a huge price to pay but the revulsion expressed by many Royals fans highlights an undeniable truth: coveting prospects and years of control has gone too far.

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The Monster Stirs: Blockbuster Trade Lives Again?

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Justin Upton, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers on Dec 05, 2012

As exciting as Jeff Keppinger signing for three years is, there are rumblings coming from Nashville about a potential three or even four team blockbuster trade. Many moving pieces but Jon Heyman speculates that Arizona, Cleveland, Texas, and perhaps Tampa Bay are in deep discussions regarding some big names.

The latest from Heyman on twitter has Justin Upton going to Texas, Asdrubal Cabrera going to Arizona, Rangers prospect Martin Perez and more headed to Cleveland. Other (likely baseless) iterations of the same trade feature names like Trevor Bauer headed to the Rays with James Shields moving, possibly to Texas. Wow.

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Jeremy Guthrie Gets Three Years, Royals Punt on Season

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Kansas City Royals, Trades And Signings on Nov 20, 2012

There are a lot of things one could say about the Kansas City Royals. Boring is certainly one of them, but I prefer to think of their front office decisions as reliable. The Royals reliably stock up on number four/five starters, hoping for mass inning consumption as their offense batters the opposition into submission.

This hasn’t really work out for KC, as four straight 90 loss seasons attests. Which doesn’t mean the Royals are going to change a damn thing, however. Fresh off acquiring Ervin Santana from the Angels, Kansas City opted to re-sign starter Jeremy Guthrie for three years and $25 million dollars.

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The Royal We: Kansas City Adds Ervin Santana

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, News And Notes on Oct 31, 2012

While it seemed all but inevitable that Ervin Santana threw his last pitch for the Angels this September, where he would next ply his homer-prone trade remained up in the air. Well, consider this crashing down to Earth, as Ken Rosenthal reports the Kansas City Royals acquired the right-handed starter from the Angels in exchange for minor league lefty reliever Doug Sisk.

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Fogging the Measure: The Injury Halo

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Fogging The Measure, Kansas City Royals on Sep 13, 2012

Get this: injuries are bad for baseball players and their teams. It is a tough and shocking truth, but I’ll be brave enough to put it out there.

Recovered yet?

I don’t think I need to elaborate on that point, at least not on the obvious dimensions: the lost playing time, the (usually) inferior replacements, and so on. However, something quite different has struck me this year: the way season-ending injuries can make players look better than they should. I call it the “injury halo.”

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Baseball America’s Minor League Player Of The Year Is Wil Myers

Posted by Dustin Parkes under General, Kansas City Royals, Wil Myers on Sep 04, 2012

Wil Myers of the Kansas City Royals was named the Minor League Player Of The Year today by Baseball America. A quick glance at the 21-year-old’s numbers over 591 plate appearances at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, and the news should come as no surprise.

Myers bashed 37 home runs, slugged .600 and got on base in almost 39% of his plate appearances across both levels. He will most likely be listed atop the majority of  the prospect ranking lists that come out ahead of the 2013 season, and no, your favorite team will not be able to acquire him for your three least favorite bats off the bench.

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