Sunday, October 20, 2013

28 Years and Counting: I-70 Envy

So it's been a few weeks now, but we decided that it was finally high time the PBR got around to putting a bow on a season that will most likely amount to either  a forgotten blip like the 2003 season, or the most important season in 25+ years. Now that the season officially ended in pretty much the way we all expected, we know that it will ultimately be judged by the success of next season. It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of the best season in 20 years, but the reality is that this season is exactly what we should have expected. Do we applaud the team for actually doing what it was supposed to do? All of this came as a result of a team record payroll, the third season from two of the highest regarded position player prospects our farm system has produced, the magical 27 year old season from Billy Butler, swapping the ROY for another team's Ace pitcher, giving $13 mil to another #2-type pitcher and giving $30 mil to another #3-type, so really this season actually deserves more like a golf-clap than a standing ovation. All of the good things came with some bad: an 8-20 May, the firing of one hitting coach in order to hire two minor league hitting coaches, then promptly firing those two for saying stupid things, then begging our team icon to suit-up and coach the young hitters, then having him resign after a couple months of mixed results. All of this led to one of the worst offenses in baseball spearheaded by easily the worst left side of the infield in baseball, a big regression from Alex Gordon, less than nothing from RF for two months, very little from Lorenzo Cain (other than defense), more of the same from Getzie (that is to say one of the worst offensive players in baseball), the fewest HRs in the AL and overall a boring team to watch at the plate. There is no denying the great step forward made by the Royals this year, but it still leaves us envious of the others:

Envy #1 - The Cards: Who else. They are just a few hours down I-70, but it's like their living in a parallel universe where everything goes right. This year is a perfect example: before the year even begins they lose one of their best pitchers (Carpenter) and their starting veteran SS (Furcal); no problem their best pitching prospect will actually pitch like that (Miller) and of course their 13th round draft pick (Matt Carpenter) will step up and lead the NL in hits, runs, and doubles. Problem Solved. When their star player walks away, guess what happens to the Cards? He gets worse, and the supplemental draft pick received from the team who signs him turns into the pitcher who leads them to the Worlds series (Wacha), this pitcher was also drafted 15 rounds after the Royals pick who is not in the majors. They sign a veteran RF to a modest contract, and low and behold this player (Beltran) is actually worth the money and then some. We could go on, but I think we've made our point. Here the Cards are going to yet another World Series, they've been to the playoffs twelve times since that 1985 series, Since 2003 when the Royals had their last winning season, they've had only ONE losing season, which means that they have had exactly as many losing season in the last 10 years as we've had winnings seasons. They manage to get 1.5 million more people to show up to their games, they get to sign whomever they want, they are seemingly impervious any kind of bad luck, it's just not fair. The gap between us and them is what makes it so difficult to even get mad, but this is the team to which we should be comparing ourselves. Just 28 years ago, they were jealous of us.

Envy #2 - Cleveland Indians: We were supposed to finish 2nd this year! They couldn't even let us do that; we haven't been able to finish a season in 2nd since the strike year of 1995. That same year Cleveland had one of the best teams in the history of baseball and has made the playoffs nine times while the Royals haven't finished better than 3rd once. So how did they do it this year? By getting lucky and winning 11 games in a row to finish out the season? Maybe. By making strategic signings and trades designed to help them now and in the future? Possibly. By signing a manger who has actually been successful before? Doesn't hurt. A combination off all of that? Most likely. However, the point is that they've been down and out just like the Royals, but they find a way to get back to the playoffs and the Royals keep talking about progress. There is no real Cleveland way, and that is probably one of the best reasons to point to when asking how they have been so much better than the Royals during this period of time. They have been flexible and just not done so many things wrong like the Royals. It also doesn't hurt that they've got their trades right, while the Royals have managed just okay results in both directions; nobody can pronounce the Grienke deal a real win for the Royals and Shields cost us the ROY and maybe a cheaper version of the 5th starter they thought they were getting. The best path to success this season for the Royals might be to play the third-times-a-charm strategy with a big trade, only this time they have to fleece someone instead of the both teams win approach.  

Envy #3 - Tampa Bay: We took their most reliable veteran #2 starting pitcher, their best set-up man and gave them 90 games of a 23 year old right fielder and 30 innings of an emergency starter and long reliever. Still they finished 5 games better than us. We had a better starting Rotation, better Bullpen, better LF (maybe), better catcher, wait that might be it. The difference here is that they Rays didn't have sink holes in their team, everyone was an above average contributor. This is an extremely important lesson for the Royals next season, don't have any positions where you are HORRIBLE! If you are going to have a light hitting, good defensive SS, that's it.  You can't also have a light hitting good defensive 3B, 2B, CF and RF too.

Envy #4 - Pittsburgh Pirates: It was a good relationship for a while. We were both extremely pathetic for very long periods of time; the Pirates with their lack of winning seasons and the Royals with their lack of Playoff appearances in 20+ years. We always had each other to comfort us on long winter nights dreaming about miraculous turn around seasons only to be woken up again by the next season's pitiful reality. Then it happend, Pittsburgh didn't suck, they didn't blow it down the stretch, they actually made the Playoffs. It was short lived, but still they did both things in one season and the Royals didn't. We're still talking about next season as THE SEASON when we break the streak and they aren't. Now we're all alone, I guess we could try to include the Cubs in our company but they've been much closer to breaking that streak than us. It is lonely, but I guess we're happy for you Pittsburgh.

Envy #5 - The Tigers: I guess we have to be envious of them, they won the division. However, they just seem so much better that it is difficult to be too envious, but it wasn't so long ago that they were actually WORSE than us. During the season of our last winning record, they almost set a record for most losses with 119. Since then they have gotten better and now are clearly the perennial favorites in the Central. Since that time the Royals have gotten worse and only now can they finally at least say they're winners again. The difference is blatantly obvious: they have real stars and we don't. The gap between Miggy and our best hitter is about the production of Mike Moustakas; if you combined the HRs, RBIs and Walks of Hosmer and Moose you still wouldn't even be close to Miggy. James Shields actually outpitched Justin Verlander this season, unfortunately both Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer were better than that. Prince Fielder had a really down year, but it was still better than Hosmer's season. Torii Hunter is still a very valuable player at 37, Jeff Francouer is done at 29. These are the differences that the Royals have to make up this offseason. Good Luck.

The Royals still aren't playing meaningful October baseball, but they did manage a few interesting weeks in September and that is a good thing no matter how far away they still might be. Yes, we are jealous of these teams, but we are now close enough to at least throw our name out there as challengers. We can't wait see what happens this offseason, as we said earlier this season only means something if next season is better.

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