Adios, Goodbye

Although we still have the rest of this week left to determine if the Royals will be playing in the playoffs, I have already been looking ahead. Not to any potential playoff matchups, such as who might be the starting pitcher(s) in the postseason, or who the Royals might be playing. Rather, I am looking ahead to the release or departure of several players who will (hopefully) no longer play for Kansas City.

Please keep in mind that I love these Royals, no matter how negative I may come across on this blog. I tend to view my negativity as realistic observation, coupled with shrewd and insightful cynicism. For instance, I have absolutely hated on Mike Moustakas this season. He could not hit water if he fell out of a boat in the middle of Table Rock Lake, and as a result, he has probably cost the Royals several wins. If the Royals fail to make the playoffs this season, I will forever blame him for at least partially keeping them out. However, I recognize his value as a pretty decent fielder and do believe he can still have a good career as a slightly better than replacement level ballplayer. Does that mean I want him on the Royals next year? Read on below…

The Royals that I wish to see take a hike are listed below, in order of who needs to leave the team the most:

1. Billy Butler. His hitting struggles this season have been well documented and I do not feel like I need to re-hash them here. However, I will point out that in addition to his terrible hitting and lack of value anywhere else on the field (except as a BACKUP first baseman), he is scheduled to earn  $12.5 MILLION DOLLARS in 2015. In hindsight, that contract looks AWFUL, but in all reality, Butler was on an upward trajectory when he signed. He was also only 24 years old, so there was a lot of hope he would contribute to the Royals finally making the playoffs, but since signing that contract in 2011, he has only had one good year (2012) and has bottomed out more or less since. More and more teams are getting rid of traditional designated hitters in favor of platoons and/or players who have some value in the field, and the Royals need to do the same. Billy Butler probably has some value as a backup DH and first baseman but NOT FOR $12.5 MILLION DOLLARS. Good riddance Billy.  

2. Scott Downs. I don’t have any real good data to back up my opinions on him, but Downs just sucks. I cringe every time he enters a game, just knowing he will blow any lead the Royals might have, or will contribute to making a deficit even worse. Looking at his 2014 stats, he has given up 21 earned runs, 20 bases on balls, and produced only 25 strikeouts. Pretty sh*tty for a reliever. The Royals can find a better lefty reliever or LOOGY than Downs. Easily (hint: Brandon Finnegan, if he is not yet ready to  be a starter yet). I miss Will Smith. *Sigh*

3.  Raul Ibanez. I will freely admit that I was excited when the Royals signed Ibanez after he was released by the Angels. I had missed those crazy pull dingers he used to blast when he burst out in the early 2000’s. However, he has been virtually worthless in his second stint with KC, putting up only 2 home runs and a measly .329 slugging percentage in 32 games. At 42 years old and the second oldest player in the MLB (Jason Giambi is 43), it is probably time for him to hang up his cleats. Maybe he could be a batting coach for Moose/Hosmer? I would welcome that

4. Bruce Chen. I know that technically Chen is a free agent and no longer plays for the Royals but I have this feeling that GM Dayton Moore will try to sign him this offseason, perhaps if one of the other projected starting pitchers (Vargas, Guthrie, Zimmer, Ventura, Duffy) gets hurt or needs surgery after this season. I always liked him even though he was mediocre at best, but please stop pitching for the Royals. If they offer you a contract, turn it down for Kansas City's' sake.  

Below are some Royals who are “on the fence,” by which I mean that they have overall been crappy this season, but put up enough statistics in some way to provide “value” to the team. If they provided some super strong assurance that they would not suck major a$$ in 2015 (possibly in the form of a pinkie square and giving back a portion of their contract to KC in the event that they fail again), then I might find it in my heart to bring them back. But If they want to be stubborn and remain stuck in their poor baseball ways, then they can make like a tree and GTFO.

1. Nori Aoki. Another player that I was excited about when the Royals announced his signing, he has been the prototypical Royal this season: a solid mess up ups and downs and highs and lows and big at-bats followed by getting hit in the nuts multiple times this season. It is hard to characterize him easily. He started the season slow, sort of got mediocre, then got hurt and disappeared and then came back after the All Star Break and was En Fuego. He currently has one home run (career low for him) but leads the Royals with a .350 on-base percentage. Bring him back only if he PROMISES to hit more home runs and get on base at a .350 clip for the entire season. Without costing too much.
2. Mike Moustakas. Ah, everyone’s favorite punching bag besides Billy Butler. At least Moose is fan friendly though. Butler just seems moody this season. Moose has been freaking awful all year. He has not really had any stretches where he hit well for more than maybe 2 at-bats at a time. Somehow he blasted 15 home runs (third on the team) but is sixth on the team in RBI’s. What a joke. Moose has been given many opportunities to earn his stripes, and was even demoted earlier this season to try to find his confidence/swing/swagger again. He beat up the Minor League pitching for a little while then came back to the Big Leagues and hit worse than you or I could. The Royals traded his backup, Danny Valencia, to the Blue Jays before the July 31 trade deadline, meaning we were stuck with Moose the rest of the season. He has been mostly decent at third base, but has cost the Royals a few runs in the past month or so with some crappy fielding. I am willing to give Moose one more chance. But the Royals have to provide more competition than Valencia to push Moose harder.

3. Greg Holland. Whoa, don’t be so taken back by this. I love Dirty South. Some of the best moments these past two seasons have been watching him pitch. And it feels like the only things certain in life are Death, Taxes, and Greg Holland closing out games. Except lately. Whether he has been more hurt than he lets on, or teams have finally figured out how to hit him, he has been less dominant this last month or so. Either way, despite the fact that he has been an integral piece of the Royals success the last two seasons, it is time for him to move on. First of all, he is going to command a lot of money in arbitration next year.  Second, the Royals already have Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, and Luke Hochevar should be ready to reprise his role as eighth inning set up man in 2015. There is less of a need for Holland and even though I would love to have him around forever (like Mo Rivera for the Yankees), I also realize that relievers are a dime a dozen and the Royals need to use their money for a slugger more than another reliever. If only they could trade Holland (and Moose) for say, Nick Castellanos or Torii Hunter. IMO, that is a fair trade that helps both the Tigers and the Royals.

That is about it. I really like everyone else. Before this season, we were all in agreement that at least two out of Moose/Hosmer/Perez and Butler needed to show some progress this year in order for the Royals to be successful and make the playoffs. None of them did and they have still been a decent ballclub. Can you imagine if Moose and Hosmer had 20 home runs and batted at least .275 all year? The AL Central would have been wrapped up weeks ago. While it is nice to dream, I think I will be fine with the players above leaving KC and/or promising to NEVER EVER EVER suck again. And this is the longest post I have ever made on these Royals so I hope I still have some readers. I welcome any comments.

Go Royals.