Royals Fan With some Questions.

1. I think the Royals org has a lot of potential, but it seems like the window is always X years away. It probably shouldn’t be treated as a surprise when/if they start winning, but it will be because it’s been so long.

2. I think every team has a few guys they keep around despite limited at best tangible contributions. We certainly spent enough time this season berating decisions to overuse/misuse guys like Craig Counsell and Mark Kotsay.

3. I think there’s a fair comparison between the 2005 or so Brewers and this Royals team, but there have also been a lot of young teams that peak at that level. The similarities really have more to do with narrative (longtime losing franchise with a collection of young players) than actual style of play comparisons.

4. There’s absolutely no way the organization will part with Gallardo, as he’s the only pitcher of the three you mentioned signed long term. Between Marcum and Greinke, it’s a toss up and would really depend on what the team is getting in return. Greinke has a clearly higher upside, but also could net much more in trade. All told, I’d be surprised to discover they’re openly looking to move any of these guys. Randy Wolf might be a stronger possibility.

5. The Brewers started to show signs of life in 2005, took a step back in 2006, were over .500 and in contention in 2007 and made the playoffs in 2008 (before taking steps back in 2009 and ‘10 again). The Royals probably won’t resurface overnight unless the front office adds some pieces to complement their young stars. But they probably will have a nice long window once it opens.

6. I really don’t know enough about most of those pitchers to make a fair comparison to a Brewer staff. There appears to be some talent there but not a lot of depth and some reliance on players that haven’t done a lot as big leaguers.

7. The Brewers were over 2 million fans in 2004-06, but jumped to 2.8 million in 2007 when the team led the NL Central for a big chunk of the season. They took another step forward and were over 3 million for the first time in 2008.

And wasn’t following the Brewers too closely in ‘05-’06, at the point where the Royals are now, so I can only answer a couple of these.

To numbers 3 and 5, I do see a similarity between the current Royals and mid-2000s Brewers, and as someone who knows a lot of Royals fans, I’m excited to see them compete. I think a lot of it has to do with exactly how well these young guys turn out (duh, I know). It’s not enough to have all these players to develop into solid regulars; at least two of them need to be superstar-level players to make a playoff run, let alone a sustained one over several years.

The other aspect is how well the team fills around them with veterans and castoffs, which, unfortunately, is not something I trust Dayton Moore to do that well. The 2008 Brewers had Braun, Fielder, Hart, Weeks, and Hardy, but they still needed Mike Cameron and CC Sabathia to pull off a playoff run. Likewise with this year and Greinke, Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, etc. Melvin also worked around some massive missteps (Suppan, Jason Kendall, Bill Hall’s extension, etc.), so that’s encouraging for Royals fans. But for a small market team, a lot has to come together just right for a couple of playoff appearances, which is why they’re so satisfying when they finally happen.

Regarding #4, I agree with Kyle that the Brewers aren’t getting rid of any of those three this year. That said, though, I’ll be much less broken up when Marcum leaves than the other two. He’s just not quite in their caliber.

First of all, hi. You seem to have a pretty good baseball head on your shoulders for being as young as you are.

Francouer does seem to be pretty well liked in the clubhouse; at least that’s the line I get from the media. As for leadership, perhaps you could speak to his skills in that area better than any of us. The veteran presences of Craig Counsell, Mike Cameron, and Trevor Hoffman, to name a few, seemed to have been instrumental in the Brewers return to competitive relevance over the last few years. An important note, however, is that all of these players contributed not just through on-field performance, but also off the field as mentors and role-models to the Brewers young talent such as Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Axford etc. This young, homegrown core has become the team’s true leadership. If Francouer and other vets are willing to lead both on the field and off, they can be a valuable part of Kansas City’s return to relevance. If, however, the front office is giving playing time to and spending resources on mediocre, near replacement-level veterans at the expense of their young future core (Rick Ankiel, Melky Cabrera, Francouer from recent years come to mind) than I’d have to question that front office’s ability to create a truly competitive franchise. Weeks, Fielder, Hart and others were allowed to learn and grow (and sometimes suck) on the field at the Major League level.

I get the sense that the level of excitement among the Royal’s fanbase is pretty similar to the way we felt around 2005, with a farm stocked with young talent promising to bring an end to years of major league mediocrity. In reality, however, the Brewers didn’t make the playoffs until 2008, and even that required a combination of shrewd trades and acquisitions, and also luck. Such is the plight of building from within with a small-market budget. It is still a really exciting time, though, to be a Royal’s fan. A large part of Milwaukee’s recent success has been do to the tremendous support of its fanbase—strong attendence has allowed the franchise to spend the money necessary to play competitve baseball. I wish you all the best of luck, and am rooting for you (unless you’re playing the Brewers.)

1. The Royals now kinda remind me of how the Rays were a few years back: a perennial doormat team who drafted high for so many years and got so many good players that they just couldn’t help but be good. The Royals aren’t quite as set in that respect because you don’t have anyone in place who’s Carl Crawford good, but Gordon finally looks like a good player and Hosmer had a solid rookie season. The added benefit is that the AL Central is a pretty lousy division with a lot of yearly turnover so the Royals could potentially make a quick ascent to the top.

2. Was Greinke really viewed THAT poorly? Although I guess he nearly quit on you guys a few years back, but still, he’s got legitimate issues that he had to work out and seems to have done so. Clubhouse stuff always seemed kinda overrated to me… things are always gonna be good when the team is winning and molehills are gonna look like mountains when the team is always losing (like the Royals). The Brewers definitely felt comfortable taking risks on questionable characters this year though with Greinke and Nyjer Morgan and it definitely paid dividends.

3. Yeah, I can see some similarities, considering the Brewers were a doormat team which hoisted itself into the playoffs on the back of home grown talent.

4. Out of those three, Marcum, hands down. He’s the oldest (I think) and has by far the worst medical history. Lots of scouts seem to think his delivery is horrid and just inviting arm trouble. He seemed to make it through this year without major issues, but he was godawful in the playoffs so you never know what was going on there.

5. Probably when Braun came up and destroyed the league. You never expect a rookie to come up and immediately do that kind of damage. With him, Prince, and Weeks in place, you could start to see the foundation for a solid team (offensively at least, we didn’t care about newfangled stats like defensive WAR or UZR back in the day).

6. Brewers haven’t had very many decent home grown starters. Sheets and Gallardo are the only two that come to mind. I don’t think anyone on that list will turn into that caliber of player, but Duffy had flashes and seems like he’ll be the best of the bunch. Hochaever looks like an innings eater at best. I’d try Aaron Crow in the rotation, if he can become a useful starter, he’s got a lot of potential too. It’s probably too early to just send him to the pen for the rest of his career, at least give him a shot. There’s certainly a lot more potential for a good home grown rotation with the Royals, however.

7. See Kyle’s answer.

I get the impression a lot of Brewers fans (including myself) like Zack Greinke because he’s so unlikeable. There’s no pretense, he says what’s on his mind, and he pretty much keeps to himself and expects people to respect that. I think we were so well-prepared for the type of person he is that no one expected him to be any different. Royals fans probably had to change their expectations along the way with him.