• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

MLB '12-'13 OffSeason OT: Magic is the New Market Inefficiency

Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
jman2050 said:
Because there's no value in getting better unless you get good enough to make the playoffs.
Click to expand...

Well... It's like this. I have some grim news from Kansas City. This statement:

Dave Cameron (and I don't even like the guy!) put it as succinctly as one possibly could: The Royals mortgaged their future to be mediocre in 2013.
Click to expand...

And the one I made:

The Royals are better today than they were yesterday.
Click to expand...

...are in no way mutually exclusive. Mediocre is an improvement for us. That has been true for decades. This is not an exaggeration. This team, this current Royals team, is probably the best team the Royals have had since the early 90's. The 84-ish million payroll is for sure an all time team record.

"Good enough to make the playoffs"? HA! IF the day comes that the Royals make the playoffs again for the first time since 1985, even if it's only to lose the ALDS, the city will come unglued. There will be people trying to watch from the highway.

But nobody expects that. Finishing above .500 will be cause for huge celebration around here. Coming in second below the Tigers will make this town happy. Beating them and somehow going to the postseason would be a complete vindication of this trade and anything else Dayton has ever done. And nobody expects it in any way.

Yes, getting better by 8 wins and nearly making the playoffs does indeed have value. Sad, maybe, but that's how it is.

Joe Posnanski puts it best, as only a fellow Kansas Citian could:

There is a sports syndrome that, as far as I know, doesn't have a name. You might call it "The Last 30 Seconds of SportsCenter" Syndrome. It's something that fans in all sports in different part of the country feel at different times -- probably the best way I can describe it is this: You just don't feel part of the big leagues. I don't mean that you're depressed because your team is lousy; that's a given. I mean that you're depressed because nobody even knows your team exists.

There are many examples, but, for a moment, look at it through the Kansas City Royals' eyes. Your team never wins. Your team never contends. Your team is never talked about. Your team is never involved in cool trade rumors and your team is never a bidder on the most expensive free agents. Your All-Star selection is always an afterthought, and your team's best players are not known outside the city limits.

It's bad enough to lose all the time, but it's this constant reminder of your team's irrelevance -- always waiting until the end of SportsCenter to get your obligatory few seconds of highlights (usually focusing on the other team) -- that makes being a Kansas City fan somewhat close to insufferable. You get this strong feeling that if the Royals abdicated from the major leagues, it would take the bulk of the country two and a half weeks to notice. Some would never notice.

All this provokes a different kind of hopelessness. The Royals have not made the postseason since 1985 -- almost 30 years ago -- but the truth is that only Royals fans care about this. There is no lovable loser Cubs thing going there. There is none of the pent-up angst and foreboding that, for so long, marked the Boston Red Sox. There is none of the "baseball is just a better game when the Dodgers are contending" emotion. There is not even the "Hey, wouldn't it be great if the Pirates or Blue Jays or Orioles were good again," sentiment.

Nobody except Royals fans seem to care if the Royals ever get good again. Ever.
Click to expand...


We now have a mediocre starting rotation. Trust me, it's the best baseball news I've heard all year!
 
Z

zulux21

Member
Duane Cunningham said:
But nobody expects that. Finishing above .500 will be cause for huge celebration around here. Coming in second below the Tigers will make this town happy. Beating them and somehow going to the postseason would be a complete vindication of this trade and anything else Dayton has ever done. And nobody expects it in any way.
Click to expand...

Finishing second below the tigers would put you as finishing third, White Sox all the way!
hey I can dream lol
 
R

rekameohs

Banned
2vBXV.png


Repping that iconic Mannywood number well
 
Dominican Power

Dominican Power

Member
Duane Cunningham said:
Well... It's like this. I have some grim news from Kansas City. This statement:



And the one I made:



...are in no way mutually exclusive. Mediocre is an improvement for us. That has been true for decades. This is not an exaggeration. This team, this current Royals team, is probably the best team the Royals have had since the early 90's. The 84-ish million payroll is for sure an all time team record.

"Good enough to make the playoffs"? HA! IF the day comes that the Royals make the playoffs again for the first time since 1985, even if it's only to lose the ALDS, the city will come unglued. There will be people trying to watch from the highway.

But nobody expects that. Finishing above .500 will be cause for huge celebration around here. Coming in second below the Tigers will make this town happy. Beating them and somehow going to the postseason would be a complete vindication of this trade and anything else Dayton has ever done. And nobody expects it in any way.

Yes, getting better by 8 wins and nearly making the playoffs does indeed have value. Sad, maybe, but that's how it is.

Joe Posnanski puts it best, as only a fellow Kansas Citian could:




We now have a mediocre starting rotation. Trust me, it's the best baseball news I've heard all year!
Click to expand...
I know where The Royals are coming from. The Central was real shitty last year and they actually gave The Tigers and White Sox trouble, so maybe some better pitching and their young players stepping up might put them over in the division.
 
L

Little Green Yoda

Member
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dodgers-spend-starter-money-on-ryu-hyun-jin/

The comp that comes up most of the time is David Wells. And hey, it’s not a terrible comp. Wells had a four-pitch mix, threw with his left hand, didn’t have plus-plus velocity, and oh yeah, he was “stout” and quirky. Ryu checks in over 220 pounds even though he’s two inches shorter than Wells, and tales of his velocity have begun to tail off, up from he ‘maxes out at 95‘ to he ‘sits 88-91‘ from Keith Law most recently.
Click to expand...
B-R lists David Wells as 6'3", 187 pounds so Ryu is 6'1", 220 pounds? FWIW B-R says C.C. is 6'7" and 290 pounds.
 
T

Talon

Member
Branduil said:
Racist.
Click to expand...
Do you know what we Korean-Americans went through when Chan Ho Park and Byun Hyun Kim were in the league?

That one summer in '97, I was in Seoul, and, literally, I was reading and seeing news stories saying "CHAN HO PARK, BETTER THAN GREG MADDUX."
 
Z

zulux21

Member
Dominican Power said:
I know where The Royals are coming from. The Central was real shitty last year and they actually gave The Tigers and White Sox trouble, so maybe some better pitching and their young players stepping up might put them over in the division.
Click to expand...

I will give the royals 12-6 record against the white sox a giving them trouble check but I have problems giving their 5-13 record against the tigers as giving them trouble. The only trouble they gave the tigers was the single series that they swept in late august, beyond that the tigers destroyed the royals :p

for reference from baseball reference the royals 2012 stats
2771f29a1a1d4d6c879174d.png
Click to expand...
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
evil solrac v3.0 said:
see, I don't agree with that because when the Yankees and Royals were both good back in the days of George Brett, that was a fun rivalry.
Click to expand...

Oh man, yeah it was so good. Some of the hijinks between the teams are just legendary, especially when Billy Martin was the Yankees manager. The Pine Tar Incident is such an amazing series of events, and really the perfect ending to it.

Bummer though that it's been so long. Only those in their mid 40's or older would be old enough to remember the rivalry first hand at this point. It would be great if it ever truly came back.
 
M

Maxim726X

Member
Cody Ross is apparently too expensive for the Mets.

And the team has cut payroll significantly... Maybe the Wilpons will finally sink. It's all I want for Christmas.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Link said:
Wow, that really just says it all right there...

If anybody needs me, I'll be drinking while watching my 1986 World Series DVD set.
Click to expand...
If anybody needs me, i'll be drinking while watching my 1995 World Series DVD set. Oh wait no i won't because it does not exist. Fuck You MLB.
 
L

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
Askani said:
http://www.royalsreview.com/2012/12...orecast-it-is-not-about-the-starting-pitching

Royals win projection:
94-68!!!

My reaction:
Bwahahahahaha! No way in hell. I mean really, c'mon son. I know it's just a projection, but I don't see it at all. I seriously hope I'm wrong though.
Click to expand...
No way in hell does KC win 94 games next year. Shit, no way in hell any AL Central team wins 94. Win 85 and you've got a shot at the division. With the Twins locking up Kevin Correia yesterday, it's our time to shine again!

End me.
 
K

[KoRp]Jazzman

Member
What are your guys thoughts on the WBC and if its worth a trip down in March to Phoenix? Canada is playing the 8th-10th and tickets are actually far more reasonable then I thought they would be (60-100 for the Italy game and 60-200 for Mexico/USA games in Chase).

Just thinking if I can get a decently cheap flight down (shouldn't be that bad in March) and only have to drop like $100 a game, that could be an awesome mini vacation. I honestly can't remember watching the last one all that much, so I cant remember the quality of the games.
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Maxim726X said:
Cody Ross is apparently too expensive for the Mets.

And the team has cut payroll significantly... Maybe the Wilpons will finally sink. It's all I want for Christmas.
Click to expand...

They can't even give a reasonable extension to Dickey. Dude is asking for Joe Blanton money and the Mets can't even match it. It's honestly pathetic.
 
Link

Link

The Autumn Wind
Windu said:
If anybody needs me, i'll be drinking while watching my 1995 World Series DVD set. Oh wait no i won't because it does not exist. Fuck You MLB.
Click to expand...
I'd trade it for a highlights VHS tape if it meant my team was actually good again.
 
Z

zulux21

Member
Lambtron said:
No way in hell does KC win 94 games next year. Shit, no way in hell any AL Central team wins 94. Win 85 and you've got a shot at the division. With the Twins locking up Kevin Correia yesterday, it's our time to shine again!

End me.
Click to expand...

White sox are going to win 100 and then be promptly swept out of the playoffs by the second wild card team :p

I am a dreamer during the off season what can I say
 
L

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
zulux21 said:
White sox are going to win 100 and then be promptly swept out of the playoffs by the second wild card team :p

I am a dreamer during the off season what can I say
Click to expand...
Dreamer isn't the word I'd use. I'd say you were on very hard drugs. Pass some this way!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

CNET hands on with the PS5 Pro
2 3 4 5
200
15K
Katatonic replied
  • Locked
MLB Playoffs 2019 |OT| Juiciest Balls Since 2001
Sports 2 3 4 5
240
20K
GreatnessRD replied
MLB The Show 19 | OT | Baseball is the most important thing in the world, but MLB The Show is pretty good, too.
|OT| 2 3
119
10K
Fox Mulder replied
MLB Regular Season 2018 OT – I believe in the Church of Baseball
2 3 4
153
15K
Schattenjäger replied
MLB Post Season |OT| BYOB
2 3 4
178
11K
Musky_Cheese replied
Top Bottom