FanPost

1985 DVD Contest: GoBabies!! Style

Those of you that read my responses to others FanPosts, and my increasingly rare FanPosts know that I am one pragmatic SOB. There are very few decisions that GMDM has come to in the past couple of seasons that GMDM took a lot of criticism for that I couldn't at least see where GMDM was coming from when he made said decision. While I naturally view pragmatism as a positive personality trait, it can be taken too far at times. Our @beloved@ GMDM needs to be entirely less Pragmatic himself in the coming months before Opening Day 2012, and these are a few chronological steps that I for one would like to see him take in his journey to the Country Club Plaza Parade...

June 16, 2011

9:45 AM, I make a call to Scott Boras, and make sure that Bubba Starling, as well as Mom & Dad Starling are on the call as well. I make Bubba a one time, take it or leave it offer for a deal that includes a $7.5M signing bonus. I calmly, and rationally explain to Mr. & Mrs. Starling that while I really want Bubba to take the deal, we as an organization feel that it is imperative to his development that he doesn't miss an entire summer of baseball, and this deal has to get done quickly, or not at all because I feel strongly that with a player of Starling's immense upside, yet relative inexperience on the diamond that missing 4 months of playing time is potentially that damaging to his future value. I will give them until Midnight on Sunday, June 19 to decide if they want to take the deal.

June 18, 2011

Activate Kyle Davies from the DL, option Blake Wood to Omaha. I insert Kyle Davies into the bull-pen, as something of a Robinson Tejeda circa 2009 hail-mary in an effort to find any value from Kyle Davies. Best case scenario is that he has 6 or 7 scoreless outings in a row, and I can move him before the deadline for a minor prospect since he will be a FA in 4 months anyway. Worst case scenario is that he is still full of suck, and we DFA him by the end of July.

June 19, 2011

I make every attempt possible to trade Matt Treanor to Pittsburgh for anything of value they will give me. It doesn't even have to have that much value. I really try to sell them on his immense levels of grit and clubhouse leadership. I send them a DVD of his walk-off HR from this April. I really hope to accomplish this so I can move Brayan Pena into the starting Catcher spot, so I can see 300 AB's out of him from this point forward, so I have a better idea if I need to find a FA catcher for next season. Manny Pina, despite struggling with a low average in Omaha, is serviceable as a 1-2 game a week guy until Jas

June 20, 2011

Whew, I almost caught myself making an old mistake there. Instead, I'm turning over a new leaf. I am asking Jason Kendall to stay on with the organization as a roving Minor League Instructor, specializing in the area of Grit, but I am making it clear to him that I intend to leave him on the DL as long as humanly possible, and if he is able to return he will be DFA'd shortly thereafter.

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At the end of a very busy first week, I ask Jason Kendall to teach our Minor Leagers about Grit, but I don't let him catch in KC anymore. - via cdn0.sbnation.com

July 1, 2011

Wow, it's July already?! Time to really start shopping the guys that I think I can convince another GM have value in a pennant run. The two guys at the top of this list are Melky Cabrera and Wilson Betemit, but the list also includes Jeff Francis (although I do want to have a talk with him about a 2 year, relatively club friendly deal...I'm thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 2yrs/$11M, maybe with a mutual option for a 3rd year @ $7M w/ a $500K buyout?), Chris Getz, Mike Aviles & Francouer (but I'd like to have a similar talk w/ Frenchy that I had with Francis, at similar numbers).

I feel confident in my ability to get something in return for Melky. That would open up a spot for Cain to come up, and it would maybe even open up a few more AB's for Mitch Maier to get, since I really do think he should get more laying time than he currently receives. Getting something for Betemit will be a little trickier, since he's sat on the bench 6 days a week since Moustakas has arrived in KC, but I think I can still get a B prospect from a team that has suffered an injury, or that needs a switch hitting bat off the bench late in games.

I was able to get something for Willie Bloomquist last year, so I should be able to do the same this season with Chris Getz, as they are similar players. Getz isn't quite as gritty, and he doesn't dive for a ball in the outfield as gracefully as Willie, but I think I can move him. If I am able to move him, he would be replaced on the roster by Johnny Giavotella, and the innings at 2B would be pretty evenly split between him and Mike Aviles (who replaced Betemit on the roster).

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I think Getz would have more trade value if he made diving as graceful as this guy did last year. What Grit! - via cdn.bleacherreport.net

September 1, 2011

Now it is time to decide on what to do with the expanded rosters. This is tricky, because I want to get a look at some guys, but I don't want to base too much of my opinion on what I see. I'd like to bring up the following guys, with a little bit about what I am looking for from each.

1) Clint Robinson - I need to find out if this guy can hit LB pitching becuase it is pretty clear that he can hit AAA pitching. I will instruct Ned to start Clint, either as 1B or DH against top of the rotation MLB pitchers in order to make that evaluation. This will give some rest to Hosmer late in his rookie season, and will also give him more AB's to pad his stats in his ROY drive.

2) Jarrod Dyson - Dyson may or may not be up in KC already (depending on if Frenchy AND Melky get traded), but I really need to see him hit and play defense at this level. We know he can be this generations Ron Washington already.

3) Jeremy Jeffress - I need to see him throw strikes.

4) David Lough - I need to see him in all facets of the game to see if he will be ready to be a 4th/5th OF type in KC next season or not.

5) Kila Ka'aihue - Hopefully he'll come up & show the scouts on other teams something so I can move him for SOMETHING this offseason (doubtful, since I've got more answers to 'Who's on first?' than Hardy, but I can dream right?)

Winter, 2011

This is going to be a busy offseason.

1) Fire Bob McClure as pitching coach. I'm not sure who is out there as a replacement, and I've got nothing against McClure per se, but it is becoming obvious that he isn't the man for the job after we led the league in walks this year. We just aren't developing the power, strikeout pitching that can make up for a high # of walks. He hasn't had a 'success' story since Greinke's '09 season, and that was probably due more to Greinke being a phenomenal pitcher than anything McClure was doing with him.

2) Off Season Free Agent Priority List - Pitching, Pitching, Pitching, Catcher, 2B (if Johnny G. falls flat & I trade Getz...I'm expecting Johnny G. to not fall flat for purposes of this exercise). I really need to take our payroll up to the $60+ million dollar range* which should give me somewhere in the $20M range to spend on acquiring new talent for the 2012 season. My wish list for SP

* GoBabies!! personal thought - If KC has less than a $70M payroll next year, I'll be a little ticked...they are going to see major profits from the All-Star game, and the bump in attendance from higher season ticket sales in order to get AS game tickets, not to mention the fact that the majority of the 'kids' will be here in 2012, and we should be a competitive team all season long. I'm using $60M for purposes of this exercise, but I think it could/should be higher (assuming of course that we can get anybody to sign here)

  • My first target would be via trade, and that would be Shaun Marcum. He is a fly ball pitcher that would really excel in the spacious K. He only has 1 year of team control left, so I would have to do some homework to make sure he'd give us a chance to sign him for 2013 & beyond. He is a hometown kid, so I think we could get him signed. The Brewers are going to lose Prince Fielder this offseason. I'd be willing to part with Billy Butler to get Marcum if the Brewers would allow me to negotiate a contract extension w/ Marcum before pulling the trigger. If Billy wouldn't get it done, I'd see if they'd have any interest in a package including Clint Robinson and one or more of my good, younger prospects, possibly Arguelles or Montgomery (especially if Monty doesn't get his control under control). This doesn't mean I hate Billy Butler, but the value of Billy Butler compared to his replacement (Clint Robinson/Kila) is much lower compared to the value of Shaun Marcum to his replacement (Sean O'Sullivan/Hochevar)
  • My top targets in the FA SP market (and my offer); C.J. Wilson (5 yr/$70M) - I may even be willing to go higher, especially if I am unable to coax Marcum away from Toronto. I think C.J. has the stuff to be a #1 for a WS team. Aaron Cook (1 yr/$4M mutual option for $5M on a 2nd year) - The Anti-Marcum, he is an extreme ground ball pitcher that could be pitching in front of a very good defensive IF. I'd be signing him to come in & be a #3/#4 type starter, it isn't a sexy sign, but there isn't a ton of FA pitching this off-season, and I don't want to see a pitcher as bad as SOS or Mazzaro in the rotation ever again. I need someone else at least for the 2012 season. Edwin Jackson (3 yr/$24M) - This is probably a guy that will be signed to a big market team for much higher, but I think his value is somewhere in this range. I'd like to be able to make a higher offer, but with our resources, I just can't do it for such a high risk sign. Mark Buehrle (3 yr/$30M) - Another guy that will probably be out of my price range, but he would be a great influence over Duffy/Monty/Lamb/et all, and I think he has at least 3 good years left in that left arm.
  • My top targets in the C market (and my offer); I have NO Idea - Brian Schneider? I mean seriously, there just isn't much out there in the Catcher market. I may have no choice but to explore the over the hill market again, and kick the tires on Jorge or I-Rod on a 1 year deal, at least until Salvador Perez ready (hopefully by 2013), but it looks like Brayan Pena/Manny Pina may be in the future for 2012.

Spring Training, 2012

I break camp with the following 25 Man Roster

SP - Shaun Marcum, Danny Duffy, Jeff Francis, Luke Hochevar, Aaron Crow (Started stretching him out in ST with emphasis on developing that ever important 3rd pitch)

RP - Joakim Soria, Tim Collins, Louis Coleman, Felipe Paulino, Greg Holland, Everett Teaford, Mike Montgomery (I plan on using him in 2012 similar to how Crow was used in 2011)

OF - Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Jeff Francouer (I think he signs a 2 year/$13M deal w/ mutual 3rd year option), Mitch Maie, David Lough/Jerrod Dyson (I lean towards Dyson...he was a hell of a weapon off the bench early in 2011)

IF - Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Johnny Giavotella, Alcides Escobar, Mike Aviles (Utility role)

C - Brayan Pena, Manny Pina

DH/IF - Clint Robinson

Obviously my 2012 roster includes nobody that we got in return for Melky/Betemit. I don't meant to take the fun out of the game, but I think it is impossible to try to figure out which team(s) would have ANY interest at this point, and I'm not much of a dart thrower when it comes to things like that. I'm sure that guys like Teaford, Lough/Dyson, Pina, Aviles if not more could be bumped off the roster with relative ease (but seeing as those are the 19-25th guys, it shouldn't make much of a difference in the long run)

So, there is it, your 2012 version of the GoBabies!!/GMDM scenario. I'll be honest, I had NO idea what I was going to write when I started. When I started poking around with the FA to be, ther just isn't much there that matches up with what we need (specifically SP & C). I think it is entirely possible that we don't resign Francis, and sign a Cook/Buehrle type, but for the $$ difference, I didn't think that was that big of an upgrade. Basically, I'm bringing everybody back with the addition of Marcum, and i think that with the maturity we expect to see from Moose/Hosmer/Duffy/Monty/et all, that the team, as I have assembled it could compete all season long. I don't think I did enough to turn us into WS contenders, but I don't think GMDM is going to be able to do that w/ the 2012 crop of FA. 2013 will be the much more interesting off season when a TON of SP hit the market, and we should be starved for an $80M payroll.

Anyway, lay it on me, I'm sure I will be the dumbest poster on RR for the next 12 hours - or at least until BillybeingBilly posts his submission ;-)

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Soon my friends...very soon - via cdn.bleacherreport.net

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.