Royals Review, a Kansas City Royals community

This is a nice article. The premise, or thesis, is that the team composition of this year's playoffs proves that "it's all Moneyball now." The Greinke trade is mentioned, but the Royals current status is not referenced. I particularly liked this passage: Thanks partly to the cultural phenomenon of "Moneyball," which demonstrated that teams didn’t need a big payroll to win, we’re all small-market fans now, no longer rooting for the hapless underdog — sorry, Mets and Cubs — but for the team that is doing more with less. It’s a subtle but significant distinction and it has unmistakable political overtones, especially during this time of rising class resentment. You didn’t have to spend the day dancing around the drum circle in Zuccotti Park to see Game 5 of the Yankees-Tigers division series in New York — with its constant cutaways to those slick-suited men hunched over their BlackBerrys in the Legends Suites — as more than just a baseball game. (It may be time to update the old cliché that rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for U.S. Steel. Today, it’s more like rooting for Goldman Sachs.) Discuss. - TL

The link is to an article by the sometimes maligned Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. While Rogers gets off track sometimes, I think he's spot on with this analysis. The Royals received a great deal of potential from the Brewers. Greinke will most definitely exceed expectations in the National League (his 2009 season would've been top 5 all-time if he'd been in the NL, I'd wager). But Escobar and Cain should mature with good coaching (something I trust Yost with more than Hillman). In addition, one should always weigh the value of a trade against what the trading team would receive if the free agent chose not to re-sign(two late first round sandwich picks, yes?). It looks like any of these 4 prospects meet or exceed the two-first-round-pick criteria. - TL

"The Royals are on the verge of making the biggest mistake in franchise history. And that is saying something!" "Johnny Damon for a bucket of chicken was downright embarrassing." "The problem is young pitching rarely comes up to the Major Leagues and has immediate success. The exception to this rule is when you have established veterans on the team to help groom them and shorten the learning curve. "

Guess what? There are three in the modern era, and none of them won the Cy Young (or an equivalent "best pitcher" award), including Pedro and Clemens. Cause for concern, or just a fluke? Greg Maddux won in 1994 with only 16 wins, but his ERA+ was 271 that year.

From AOL Fanhouse. Guess who is the most valuable?

Has its moments.

Anyone see SNL last weekend? They had a really awful skit where Kristen Wiig played a mischievous kid named Gilly. It was so unfunny, but yet I find myself saying "Gilly" the way Will Forte hectored her. Gilly! Gilly? Gilly.... Anyway, I have a feeling I will be using this when Meche pitches. Back to baseball, Rotoauthority thinks Gil is AT RISK for 2009 due to being part of the 3400 Club, which I imagine is more exclusive than being part of the 700 Club. Planet Zack is listed as among the most risk averse pitchers next year.