Royals Rumblings - News for January 1, 2015

Royals Rumblings - News for January 1, 2015

Christina Kahrl of ESPN thinks the Royals could repeat as contenders in 2015.

I’ve been critical of Moore in years past; it was certainly easy to be. Even with their pennant in the history books, the Royals’ window to win is now. While I’m optimistic Hosmer is young enough to break out and be great for years to come, and hopeful Salvador Perez won’t get worn out by his workload, and Moustakas might somehow blossom into a Graig Nettles knockoff, their other regulars aren’t young. They only control Alex Gordon for two more years (counting a 2016 option), and he’ll be 31. Late development possibilities aside, Lorenzo Cain is almost 29 and Jarrod Dyson is 30. Adding Morales (32) and Rios (34) isn’t about overvaluing veterans, it’s about adding someone who can keep their window to win now open.

The good news is it’s going to involve contention for more than the crapshoot of the wild card’s one-game play-in.

Jesse Spector at The Sporting News names Alex Gordon's three-base single in Game Seven of the World Series as "Moment of the Year."

Triangulating Crawford’s position when he catches the ball, he is about 225 feet from home plate. A throw from there, at 90 miles per hour, would reach the plate in 1.7 seconds. Gordon, a little more than four seconds from the plate at the time Crawford gets the ball from Perez, would be dead to rights at the plate.

Or would he? Being out by two seconds is a lot, but it also assumes perfect execution by the Giants. What if Crawford hesitates because he cannot believe that Gordon is actually running home? He does take a moment to check and see if Gordon is going to try to score before throwing the ball to Belt. What if the throw is inaccurate? What if Posey has trouble reeling in the throw at the plate?

We will never know. Gordon probably would have been out by plenty, but in a year that had been so improbable, why couldn’t the impossible happen? That’s what makes the best World Series memories, after all.

Grant Brisbee looks at each American League's team biggest hole as of right now and finds third base to be the closest thing to a hole he can find on a solid Royals ballclub.

In 2010, Moustakas hit .322 with 36 homers in the minor leagues, remember. The plate discipline wasn't atrocious. He was goin' places, baby. Goin' places. We're on year three of him being disappointing, long enough to assume this is the new reality.

Except, Moustakas doesn't hold the team record for sub-.300 OBPs in a season with 500 or more plate appearances. He's several behind Frank White, which is actually an interesting comp. It took White until he was 27 to turn from an all-defense frustration into something more well-rounded. Just because the two players have worn the same hat, it doesn't mean they're going through the same development portal. It's just worth remembering that sometimes, players develop late, and they don't have to reach their once-thrilling ceilings to be valuable.

Darin Watson at Pine Tar Press has his Royals New Year's resolutions.

Resolution #2: Every game counts

This is for the whole organization. I don’t want this to be a wet blanket, but the Royals really weren’t the best team in the American League last year. That doesn’t mean I won’t where my "American League Champions" T-shirt until it’s in tatters, but let’s be honest: a six-month regular season showed the Royals were only the fourth-best team in the league. That’s still very good, and the Royals deserve all the credit for getting hot in October and having a terrific plan for winning games in the postseason (I hesitate to call it a "blueprint" since I firmly believe there’s more than one way to win in October). However, right now I would expect the Royals to be right around the 85-89 win range again. The other four teams in the AL Central appear to be better. So 2015 is going to be tougher than 2014 was. The margin for error is slim.

Sports Illustrated names the Wild Card game one of its top games of 2014.

Grant Brisbee has his fake Hall of Fame ballot.

The Cubs sign outfielder Chris Denorfia, a Royals Review favorite, to a one-year deal.

The Reds acquire outfielder Marlon Byrd, who the Royals were said to be interested in last summer.

This is Trey Griffey's father. You may have heard of him. His name is Ken.

The best of the Sports Internet in 2014.

Deadspin has their worst sportswriting of 2014, and how I didn't make the list is a miracle.

Bills coach Doug Marrone got $4 million to quit.

TCU proved they don't belong in the college football playoff.

Harry Enten of Fivethirtyeight fesses up to what he got wrong in 2014.

Google already knows what your New Year's resolutions are.

Obnoxious things we'd like to leave behind in 2015. Rex Hudler is not on the list.

Happy New Year's everyone. Your song of the day is U2 with "New Year's Day."