Royals Rumblings - News for February 3, 2016

Royals Rumblings - News for February 3, 2016

Craig Calcaterra is skeptical about claims the Royals will lose money.

Assertions that any team will lose money should always, always be taken with a mountain of salt given how opaque team finances are. For as large as they seem, most baseball teams are still closely-held companies, often run not terribly different from a local, family-owned car dealership, and revenues, debts, executive income, consulting fees and a dozen or two other balance sheet items can be allocated in almost any way you can imagine....

Do I know that the Royals won’t make money absent a deep playoff run this year? I have absolutely no way of knowing. Am I skeptical that a World Series champ riding a surge of popularity, ticket sales, merchandise sales and marketing agreements will be in the red the following year? Yup.

Jason Martinez, writing for ESPN Insider, uses the Royals as a model for how he would build a roster.

As such, targeting starting pitchers who are proven innings-eaters for the back end of your rotation, even if they're not top-of-a-rotation caliber, can pay off in a big way. The "steady yet unspectacular" starter will also be much more affordable.

The Kansas City Royals and general manager Dayton Moore have taken this route in back-to-back seasons. Jeremy Guthrie (202 2/3 IP, 4.13 ERA, $8 million salary) and Jason Vargas (187 IP, 3.71 ERA, $7M salary) played major roles in helping the 2014 team to their first playoff berth in 19 seasons.

In 2015, with Guthrie having his worst season, Vargas lost to Tommy John surgery and youngster Yordano Ventura struggling with consistency, it was Edinson Volquez (200 1/3 IP, 3.55 ERA, $7.5M) to the rescue. His signing last offseason was heavily criticized at the time, but proved to be one of the savviest moves of the entire offseason.

Joakim Soria is looking forward to his Royals reunion.

Soria said Friday that the club has not discussed his specific role or designated inning as of yet, but according to him, when he pitches is of little concern. "It’s important to have shutout innings in the sixth or the eighth or the fifth or the ninth," Soria said. "In order to win, you have to keep the score at zeros. It’s better to have zeros than anything. So yeah, (my role) might change a little bit. But it’s nothing — not a big change."

Sam Mellinger doesn't get the kvetching over Buck Night moving to Thursdays.

If this is a thing people are complaining about, I would advise them to stop. I have some hesitation here, because who am I, and we’re all free to feel and say whatever we want, particularly when it comes to rooting for our teams, but this is a little much. Teams are businesses, and fans are customers, and when a team stinks it has to put its best promotions on the weekends to attract fans. But when a team wins, supply-and-demand shift, and this is what happens.

It’s a bit like the outrage from some that their 20-game season ticket package wouldn’t guarantee them the same seat for playoff games. In many places, you aren’t guaranteed any playoff games with a 20-game package. Similarly, in many places, the idea of a Buck Night on any night would be like a unicorn who poops rainbows. When you root for a crap team, the good part is you probably get convenience and low prices. When your team wins the World Series, the bad part is the ticket prices go up a little and your favorite promotion might move to a different night.

Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com writes about how the Royals overcame the odds.

Former Royals outfielder Raul Ibanez joins the Dodgers front office.

The Royals sign right-handed pitcher Bruce Kern out of the Atlantic League. The 27-year old once pitched in the Rockies system.

The Baseball Prospectus podcast tries to explain that awful FOX "worst World Series team" article on the Royals.

The White Sox are after free agent outfielder Dexter Fowler.

Marc Normandin makes the Hall of Fame case for former Royals pitcher Bret Saberhagen.

Which teams are in it and which teams are playing for later?

MLB owners are concerned with teams intentionally tanking.

Is an NBA work stoppage looming?

This is how Puppy Bowl gets made.

Sports Illustrated adds another former Grantland writer.

Six Iowa Democratic precincts had to be decided by a coin flip, and Hillary Clinton won each time.

Say goodbye to CFL light bulbs.

The most and least popular interests on Facebook.

Your song of the day is The Stooges with "Search and Destroy."