Who Will Be the Royal of This Decade?
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 2:23 PM EST
in News
55 comments
This decade, not next decade. Damn, it's 2010...
So who will be the Royal of this decade? We don't have a clear candidate at this point.
- Zack Greinke: Will likely be awesome for 2010 and 2011 as a Royal. Although it's uncertain how much of the decade he'll spend with us.
- Joakim Soria: Has a strong foundation of performance and fan devotion already laid, and is a good bet to be with the team much longer. Could emerge as a "Player of the Decade" type on either good or bad teams, which helps his case.
- Billy Butler: Billy has timed his ascent well, primed to really hit his stride just as the decade opens. Easy to imagine a scenario in which he has a monster decade, most of it as a Royal.
- Alex Gordon: The gap between Gordon and Butler isn't that huge, if it exists at all. I'm starting to see a Scott Rolen in Philly thing here, culminating in Gordon eventually blossoming somewhere else.
- Wil Myers: Greg Schaum answered with Myers when I broached the topic on Twitter, illustrating the significant buzz surrounding Myers, who has, you know, been a professional for about six months now. In some ways, that helps Myers, who could have a 2013-2019 run that cements him as a truly a player of the Teens.
- Eric Hosmer/Mike Moustakas: Some like one, some like the other. Like Myers, they aren't close to ready yet, but overall, they are still positioned for a well-timed run.
- Mike Montgomery: The near-consensus pick for the top arm in the system. Again, setup for a middle of the decade run.
- Wild Card: Who am I forgetting?
I guess if a large sum of money or personal harm was riding on the results of a 2019 poll conducted by kcroyals.com, I would go probably go with Soria. And I would almost certainly lose. We're talking about picking a candidate that has maybe a 20% chance versus ones that are closer to 15%. And decade perspectives tend to be latter-leaning, mean the Royals will probably draft someone this year, who'll have a monster 2016-19 stretch, and become the winner of this hypothetical poll.
ps- I had meant to do a Royal of the Decade post for the '00s, and just never got around to it. I still might, but I might not.
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is bianchi ever going to be the best player on the team?
or is it going to be more like Joe Randa career?
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
I think in a relative fashion here
relative to TPJ or Yuni, he will appear to be so great that he will get consideration. However, if Aviles is able to repeat 2008, this may change things.
"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell
If Aviles Repeats
His 2008 performance it will be in Omaha on on some other MLB team. Hillman won’t give him the chance.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Jan 4, 2010 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
true
2010: awesome play, mentoring
2011: awesome play, mentoring
2012-5: transitions to full player coach, awesome play, mentoring
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 2:36 PM EST up reply actions
All former Catchers make Awesome managers
See Scoscia, Mike; Brenly, Bob; Melvin, Doug; Girardi, Joe; Wedge, Eric; et all
Surely the success thesse managers had had NOTHING to do with their payroll, or the good farm systems that were hired into, it HAD to be because they were former Catchers.
The kendall signing lays the groundwork for DECADES of good Royals Baseball!!!!
(Oh shit, I forgot, Bob Boone was a C & maybe the worst manager ever. FAIL)
BOOM! ROASTED!
Anybody else remember KC Star's
Boone’O’Meter that tracked how many different lineups he used throughout the course of the season? Epic
BOOM! ROASTED!
bob brenly
joins Joe Girardi as Contemporary Living Proof that any moron can manage a World Champ
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 4, 2010 3:08 PM EST up reply actions
Aaron Crow should be in the discussion
Although I think he will just be a solid, not spectacular rotation guy, not unlike Gil Meche. Which may very well be our best player someday.
I’ll say Montgomery only because we have seen far to little of Myers.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
good catch
Crow’s like a dash of Myers and a dash of Hochevar in how I think about him
weird combo
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 2:53 PM EST up reply actions
I was going to bring him into this conversation.
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
I thought he was with Doug Rogalsky
actually, I didn’t think this, at all, it is just what Cots says
is he Boras?
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 2:53 PM EST up reply actions
He wasn't a Boras client when we drafted him
He signed like the night of the draft (exaggerating a little bit)
BOOM! ROASTED!
Don't worry
We’ll end up trading him for a crappy player way before he reaches free agency.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I go the other way
I see GMDM as now strongly on-board with Butler, so much so that we’ll probably end up signing him to a bad contract
the horrendous trade is coming with Alex Gordon
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 3:06 PM EST up reply actions
three unforgivable omissions
1) Paulo Orlando
2) DYSON WILL EXPLODE!!
3)
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 4, 2010 3:10 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
All Rowdy Hardy needs to do is to drop 'BABIP' or 'FIP' into a few interviews
maybe get a kinda cute wife to help him blog.
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 4, 2010 4:03 PM EST up reply actions
Farnsworth
maybe Yuni, or JoGui, heard a trade rumor about Horacio Ramirez seen around KC again and is expected to sign a 10 year $200 million contract.
Seriously
do you mean who will be the “objectively best Royal of the decade” or rather “who will be seen as the signature good player of the Royals?”
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somewhere in the middle
as in, we’re talking about this in 2019, who wins…
given that considering decades as we do is so irresistible yet also arbitrary, i’m happy with a mildly subjective discussion
for me, a large part of “signature player” is “who was best statistically”
by Will McDonald on Jan 4, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
I think Soria has the best chance to consistently put up solid numbers throughout the decade, but
I’ll go with the heart and say Zackkkkk Greinke will play 10 awesome seasons as KC’s ace in 2010 thru 2019, making him not only the Royals’ player of the decade, but maybe THE player of the decade.
Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot...buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond, I don't know...I don't know if we'll have enough time.
by SagehenMacGyver47 on Jan 4, 2010 4:11 PM EST reply actions
BEST PITCHER OF ALL TIME
after he posts a 1000 ERA+ and a 32 WAR in a season that sees him start 32 games, throw 32 nine-inning shutouts, and hit 74 HRs as a SS on his off-pitching days in 2014!
Billy Butler
That’s my subjective view. Not the most valuable, his defense blows. But I am in love with his swing, and I really think he could churn out a few .900 OPS plus years as a Royal, and they have a reasonable shot at extending him I would think.
Edgar Martinez lite. Me likey.
Or Soria, but relief pitchers don’t really excite me, as awesome as he is.
I am going with Patrick Hayenga...
Zack will be a Yankee by 2013. We will trade Butler for a no hit, no defense 1B off Atlanta’s scrap heap. Soria will be traded for Kevin Youkilis a year after “Ye Ole Kev.” has retired. This is an effort to offset our youth. With the closer spot open Patrick will take over and average 30 saves a year until he too is traded for an aging loogy. Trust the Process…baby….
do you mean patrick keating or keaton hayenga?
i’d assume keating, but who knows if hayenga will make it as a starter.
by 9il on Jan 4, 2010 6:28 PM EST up reply actions
I like Soria
but I really hope it isn’t him. Whether or not he should be traded… having a closer as the “signature player” is just depressing.
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Unless he ends up with a post-season record like Mo Rivera.
My vote is for BamBam.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Jeff Montgomery was our signature player for the mid 90s!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Let's Try Not
To repeat the mid 90’s. Even 94 didn’t end well.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Jan 4, 2010 5:43 PM EST up reply actions
If A-Gor Can
Take his 08 performance up a notch and maintain that level for 6 seasons that would probably be enough to do it. I’d like to see it anyway.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
Butler
He’ll always be more valuable to us than he would be for anyone else, so I see him sticking with the team long enough to put up some big career numbers. His decline might be pretty quick though.
A better bet might be a guy like Moose or Hosmer or Meyers, but I can’t pick a minor leaguer below AAA for this.
Butler is the safe bet.
will likely be here longer than Greinke, great potential being realized. Myers, Hosmer, Moustakas… you’d be taking a wild guess at this point to say one of those will turn out better.
I predict Zack will be dealt to the Red Sox before the 2012 deadline
and they’ll woo him into signing an extension by admiring his FIP.
I think Butler values fame and fortune too much to stay past his contract since his endorsement opportunities will be better outside KC. See: commercials he already does, random appearances on MLB Network, twittering to fans.
The Royals player of the ’10’s will be someone not yet on the Royals ML roster, as anyone who is good right now will walk before 2015 rolls around. Probably some sixteen year old in Florida. :P From the current minor league system, I’ll guess Myers, assuming he maintains production as a power hitting catcher as he advances.
Who’s the Royals player of the 00’s anyway? Dejesus? He played the most years and accumulated above average WAR for the most part.
by swing and a miss on Jan 4, 2010 6:44 PM EST reply actions
Someone we haven't drafted yet?
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
Greinke
Zack will sign another team friendly contract and retire as a Royal. Winning a couple more Cy Youngs for bad teams.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
Maybe
I understand why people say this, but I also think we (understandbly) tend to overplay the “he just wants to be left alone factor” versus all the evidence that Zack is like most extremely competitive people (like 99% of pro atheletes): he hates losing. Heck, he can get a small-market deal anywhere, why not go to Tampa Bay (home for Zack) for cheap and go the WS?
Of course, you might say that he won’t play that cheap… well, then why would he give KC a hometown discount? Let’s not go nuts on how much he “owes” the organization. He owes them effort for while he’s playing for his contract. In this season, he more than was worth his contract. Sure, he signed that contract… and that works from h is side, too.
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 4, 2010 10:29 PM EST up reply actions
this
Greinke was clearly disgruntled with the performance of the team this year and admittedly “not as optimistic” about the team’s future as he was when he signed the contract. It was an amusing exercise to read between the lines of postgame interviews when he’d be complimenting the other team on their clutch hitting and great defense and good manager. He drank Dayton’s blue koolaid last winter and has since realized that it’s toilet bowl water. “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” and all that. Roy Halladay loved Toronto, gave them every chance in the world by signing TWO team-friendly extensions, but eventually he was turned off by all the losing, and the Blue Jays aren’t even close to as bad as the Royals.
Players are by nature ultra competitive, plus the players union gets all pissy if they don’t sign for market value. That’s how quiet guys who’ve spent 10 years with the organization that drafted them end up in the big cities with the big bucks. Zack’s situation reminds me a bit of Mike Mussina’s. Mussina was a small town guy who signed an extension before he reached FA in 1997 believing he was staying on a competitive team (the Orioles had been in the playoffs two straight years) and promptly found himself on a squad that went into the tank once his new contract kicked in. After three years of bad baseball (the O’s scored two or fewer runs 14 times for him in 2000, compared to 12 times for Zack by the Royals in 2009), it was hasta la vista Baltimore and hello New York. The future is yet to play out for the Royals, but it’s not exactly looking promising, as Glass is an even worse owner than Angelos.
Greinke has an anxiety disorder yes, but all the attention heaped on him this year has conditioned him to dealing with fame. Even if he doesn’t enjoy attention, he says he’s getting used to it, and he’s even commented at the All-Star Game that he now feels he could play in any market except maybe New York. The other things is, in a big market, there are lots of stars to share in the heavy lifting, and he could blend in and be part of the team. In Kansas City, he’s The Man, The Savior, The Franchise, and it’s likely quite embarrassing for him to have 95% of the team’s coverage focused on him like it was during the last month of the season. And if he feels like he “owes” anyone loyalty, he might well go off and sign with whatever organization Allard Baird is working in at that time if they happen to be good and have money.
by swing and a miss on Jan 5, 2010 12:34 AM EST up reply actions
Like a good organization with money would ever hire Allard Baird
He never even worked for the Braves!
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 5, 2010 12:58 AM EST up reply actions
Still my favorite moment of the Greinke contract press conf
Was him laying him on the love for Baird, and Dayton sat next to him looking highly embarrassed.
Cal Pickering is back?
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by Matt Klaassen on Jan 5, 2010 10:25 AM EST up reply actions
Lough
This might seem like a long shot, but I can see a scenario where David has a very DJ-esque career. He’s good, but not flashy – the kind of guy who sticks around a while.
I would assume that the player of the decade for the 00s would likely be either DJ or Sweeney (maybe Beltran?). To me I see very similar players in Lough and Butler as two candidates for POTD for the 10s.
"Greinke and the Brain" (R) (C) TM
by SittinByTheFoulPole on Jan 5, 2010 9:22 AM EST reply actions
Sweeney as he represents it all
The highs, the lows, the joy, the hatred, indifference, and failed trades vetoed by the owner (or forced trades as the case may be).
Someone young and not yet on the MLB roster
Hope must spring eternal—the best player of the decade has to be someone who is going to play most of the decade in KC, and odds are that won’t be anyone on the current roster. At least one of the high upside guys low in the system has to pay off big, and that upside is better than anyone on the current team but Greinke. Schaum’s pick of Myers is a good one. Don’t forget the young international guys: how about Geulin Beltre or Cheslor Cuthbert?
If you look closely, it really says "CentralChamps2012."
by CentralChamps2009 on Jan 5, 2010 10:08 AM EST reply actions
Butler, because
he is more likely to accumulate more seasons in KC than Greinke.
Side note – my biggest Greinke fear, since he apparently is now willing to play anywhere other than NY: he ends up in STL kicking ass for the Cardinals.
That might be the stomach punch that would turn me off to baseball once and for all.
Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!
Carlos Beltran
I say Eric Hosmer. Although he hasn’t proven or shown anything yet, I still believe in him and I think he could be the next Mark Teixeira. Great defender and big time power.
I’m optismic but odds are he won’t even make the majors.
by Royal from Queens on Jan 5, 2010 9:15 PM EST reply actions
Based on the prospect list...
Montgomery!
Go Royals!
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