Comments on: The Royals may want to rethink the way they talk about the Greinke trade

By: The Rabbit

The Rabbit — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:31:00 +0000

@Jimmy
I’ve seen Cain play and I agree completely with your description.
There are very few really first rate ML shortstops these days. Betancourt is clearly not in that category, so it will be interesting to see how Escobar develops.
Minor league pitchers are always a question mark. Hell, most major league pitchers are a question mark with the potential for injury.

For Royals fans, I hope that the kids pan out. I’m just not convinced that ownership with a WalMart value system (Sell lower quality, make lots of money for shareholders and management) is committed to putting a real winner on the field. That mindset is not restricted to the Royals. (See: Pirates and Marlins)

By: paul1990

paul1990 — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:38:13 +0000

I think this is a great move for the Royals. I wouldn’t want someone around who wasn’t 100% into the organization and what they are doing. Let’s be honest…Dayton Moore has done a wonderful job with the farm system. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t know baseball. That being said, I can see why people are skeptical of him given the fact he signed Gullien, Ankiel, Podsednik. But, they got Francouer and Melky for next to nothing and they’re very young. The Royals have some power arms in their farm system who are about a year or so away. The kids they got from the Brewers have a great upside. I think you have to give the Royals 2-years to really judge them. I’m a Royals lifer and excited to see what’s on the horizon!

By: smoothjimmyapollo

smoothjimmyapollo — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:51:52 +0000

@The Rabbit: Look at it like this. Offensively, the Royals break even on Betancourt, but defensively, Escobar is going to be something special. Cain is a very good defensive outfielder who will probably be a guy who hits around .270, but can steal 30 or more bases in a season. Jeffress will probably be a closer-type, but the kid can hit upper 90s with his fastball. He is, however, one substance-related infraction away from a lifetime suspension. Odorizzi is probably the most-even aspect of the trade talent-wise for Greinke, but he’s a few years away from being a big leaguer.

As far as developing talent, I’ve always said Yost would be an excellent minor league manager because of his willingness to stick by a struggling player. He inherited a 106 loss team and in 3 years he had them at .500. I’m sure Royals fans would kill for a .500 season as they’ve had 3 in the last 20 years.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 04:15:20 +0000

The Royals could have done worse in their trade for Zeinke – they could have traded him for Francouer and Melky, or the package that the Twins got. They could have also gotten the guys the Vikings got for Herschel Walker. They gave away the only reason to show up to watch them in 2011, but I happen to be one of those guys who like to watch great pitching. I’ll root for Zeinke wherever he goes because he is a great talent and human interest story. Posnanski sold me on him a long time ago. He’s one of the rare talents who I will root for against my own team – as long as his bullpen can blow it.

By: The Rabbit

The Rabbit — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:46:03 +0000

I haven’t commented on the Greinke trade as yet; however, this post may be as good a place as any.
If I have followed the Royals post season roster moves, the team signed Francouer and Melky Cabrera and traded Zack (and Betancourt) for some prospects. Even a master BS artist like Karl Rove would have difficulty spinning this to the Royals advantage.
In addition, if the way the organization handled Alex Gordon is any indication of its ability to develop young talent, I’m not encouraged by the influx of prospects.

By: Paul White

Paul White — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:15:29 +0000

FWIW – Toby Cook used to be a local newscaster here in KC before leaving that gig to take his current role with the Royals. I can pretty much guarantee that he knows the not-so-great outcome of the Santana trade for the Twins, because during his time on television and his appearances on local talk radio since taking the Royals gig he’s come across as a pretty knowledgeable baseball fan in addition to being a team spokesperson. On top of that, while I’ve never met him personally I know many people who have, and he is considered, pretty much city-wide, to be one of the nicest people alive. Put that all together and it’s fair to say that he’s earned the benefit of the doubt on this one.