So heres our Royals quandry: we're bored, its the off-season and theres lots of cool signings, trades and rumors going on. Naturally, we want to be involved, we want something to chew on, something to talk about, and maybe, just maybe, something to be excited about. On the other it, its KC. I honestly can't imagine a really good move, save maybe trading away Sweeney for like two A-level prospects (which would never happen). Even then, we've learned to have no faith in the leadership anyway, so ultimately, the best move is no move.

And so we march on towards 60 wins. Ok, I got ahead of myself. 55 wins.

Honestly, I see no upside, yet amazingly I see downside. Hmm...Lets lock up Jacque Jones through his decline phase at a easy position to fill, continue to ruin our young pitchers -- minors, who needs the minors -- and hope with baited breath that Mark Teahen can top a .700 OPS and make the Beltran deal look OK.

Hey, where do I sign up?

Dennis Tankersley, we hardly knew yea...

And just think, we traded D.A.R.Y.L. May for that dude... Ohh, you're saying something about a fellow named "Long". Him too. So, lemme get this straight, we gave up D.A.R.Y.L. for T-Long and a years worth of O-Royals pitching from Tank?

Really, how do you even begin to analyze a trade like that? Depending on your mood, T-Long's blackhole performance is either the best or worst entry in the deal, considering its being measured against a guy who flamed out for two teams in one season, and another who never even showed up. This is like a three-way swap of an expired coupon, a losing lottery ticket and a weeks vacation in Syria.

And so it goes.

Did you know Gary Gaetti is now eligible for the Hall of Fame? His bizarre 35-homer performance at age 36 ranks as one of the most forgotten power surges of all-time. Utterly un-remembered and really not even all that interesting. Like most of what we saw in the '90s.

Or now.