Royals Rumblings - News for December 22, 2014

Royals Rumblings - News for December 22, 2014

Vahe Gregorian writes that Dayton Moore has earned our faith and trust.

It doesn’t say that Moore and his brain trust are infallible and didn’t make mistakes along the way and won’t make them again. There’s no sequel to "Moneyball" about to be released in tribute to him … as far as we know.

But it says that Moore and his staff’s conscientiousness, diligence and smarts are real and effective and credible.

And it says that "the process" he touted and was at times mocked for had direction and clarity and oomph behind it.

Especially when it called for the true leadership of not worrying about appeasing the masses, such as with an unpopular action (surrendering Wil Myers in the trade that brought James Shields and Wade Davis), or ridiculed non-action: essentially standing pat at the 2014 trade deadline.

Alex Rios was officially introduced by the Royals last week, and yes, he did receive a mutual option.

Injuries contributed to the power decrease last year. Rios played most of the season’s second half on a sprained right ankle. He also missed time late last season because of an infection in his thumb.

"I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but it did affect my performance in the second half," Rios said.

Rios declared himself "100 percent," and will now join an outfield that performed at a remarkably high level defensively last season...

"He’s going to blend in naturally," Moore said. "He’ll provide us with leadership and experience, and the athleticism really fits our style of play."

Best shape of his life?

Jim Bowden of ESPN thinks the Alex Rios and Kendrys Morales signings were two of the worst transactions of the winter.

It's not a bad idea to take a chance on Rios having a rebound year; after all, he certainly has proved in his career that he's capable of a 15-homer, 70-RBI season. But for $11 million? Really? The Royals will spend $29.5 million this year on Rios, Kendrys Morales and Edinson Volquez. Why not just try to sign Max Scherzer instead? Or why not outbid the Mariners for Cruz or the White Sox for Cabrera. I would have understood a $5 million base with incentives, but this contract is terrible after the year Rios just had.

So now that Bowden disapproves, I automatically think they might be good moves.

The Royals had trade talks about Braves third baseman Chris Johnson as a potential platoon partner with Mike Moustakas.

Before signing Alex Rios on Monday night, the Royals showed some interest in Upton, and it appeared they were at least contemplating a package that would have included Johnson. A person familiar with the details of these discussions indicated Kansas City was toying with the idea of having Johnson platoon with Mike Moustakas, who batted .172 against left-handed pitchers this year.

The Royals spent some scratch to win a pennant this year.

AL champion Royals ranked 19th in payroll this year, behind Mariners, Brewers and Cubs, using formula for luxury-tax purposes, per @AP.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 21, 2014

The Dodgers also ended the Yankees fifteen-year streak for highest payroll in baseball. So at least they won something.

The Royals are rumored to be one of a handful of teams planning to exceed international amateur spending limits.

Jeremy Guthrie has picked sides in the local college athletics rivalries.

Well @CoachBillSelf this was only time I touched the court today,sigh....But thank you for having us out! #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/UBjZMz42l6

— Jeremy Guthrie (@TheRealJGuts) December 21, 2014

Maybe he feels pity on the Jayhawks after his Stanford team beat them last March?

The Royals are still shopping for depth - at the mascot position.

Some of the highlights from the job listing...

▪ Ability to be trained, coached, and critiqued to perform "in character."

▪ Must be creative and understand non-verbal acting and communication.

▪ Must be in a physical state that allows you to perform under extreme conditions.

And, of course:

▪ Must posses a basic knowledge of Major League Baseball.

What about "must be expert marksman with a hot dog cannon"?

The agent for Trea Turner, the "player to be named later" in the Wil Myers deal is threatening legal action if his client is required to stay with the Padres organization until June, as per MLB rules.

Tyrell Jenkins, traded this winter from the Cardinals to the Braves in the Jason Heyward deal, talks to Viva El Birdos about what its like to be involved in a blockbuster trade.

You can buy at auction the money owed to Darryl Strawberry by the New York Mets (there is no guarantee that checks from the Wilpons won't bounce).

The Chiefs playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. Here is their playoff scenario - they need to beat San Diego, have Baltimore lose to Cleveland, and Jarrod Dyson needs to steal third base.

The best of the bowl season thus far, if there is such a thing.

The smaht kids couldn't shoot against Virginia.

Mark Lisanti of Grantland has his 2014 TV power rankings.

An annotated version of the star-studded final farewell send-off song on the final episode of "The Colbert Report."

Craig Ferguson ended his late night show as well, and ended it pretty spectacularly.

Your song of the day is Neutral Milk Hotel with "Holland, 1945."