As the weather starts to get cooler and Royals-news starts to slow down...
-Dick Kaegel has another mailbag posted over at the official site. Question number one raises the possibility of a Zito signing, as the weird upsurge continues to build on this pie-in-the-sky possibility. As "theDude925" notes in the diaries, Zito has some, umm, happy memories from KC. But I doubt this could seriously influence him to sign with the Royals. Who knows though, maybe she was a special one.
-Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of Frank White's move into the Front Office. I'd rather have Frank in there than a random ex-Braves crony. Yes, I'm looking at you Dean Taylor.
-This is a bit of a blast from the past (OK, June) but its worth a looksie if your still interested in evaluating the Royals' 2006 draft.
-In Christina Kahrl's chat today at BP a Royals question (by our own "daveyork") led things off:
Christina Kahrl: If everyone else can forgive the incongruity, I mean, yes, we're in playoff season, but if even the Royals rooters are already looking forward to next year, is this a great game or what?
That's three positions and five hitters; we're probably overlooking Emil Brown given his allergy to leather. If I were the Royals, barring a crazy offer for Teahen this winter, I'd let it ride. Sweeney's no sure thing, Huber's not in favor with the new regime, and if the same post-demotion Teahen shows up in camp or into April, not only will the Royals have the virtue of bringing Gordon up after the Opening Day microscope has been packed up for a year, they'll be able to shop Teahen to the highest/neediest bidder.
At which point, Dayton Moore would owe Allard Baird another thank-you note.
-Do you think Buddy Bell is glad Torre wasn't fired? Not the most flattering comparison, eh? Although, in reality, Torre's more or less a robo-manager at this point. Well, other than throwing Arod under the bus. You bat him 8th in an elimination game?
-As "firebell" noted, the 2006 data is up on baseball-reference. The Royals multiplicity of lineups is truly incredible. The most common lineup was used 5 times? I think you'd be hard pressed to top 142 lineups used in 162 games. Anyone know what the record is?