2 years! No ####### way! You go, Dayton Moore.

please please please please release TPJ now

I'm officially counting this off-season as a huge ball of suck. The Coco trade was forgiveable and I actually kinda liked it the more I thought about it. The Jacobs deal was stupid, but I can't fault a GM too much for wanting to add a 30 HR bat to the lineup, terrible OBA and defense notwithstanding. The Farnsworth deal was stupid. No justification for that. Giving Horacio Ramirez $1.9 mill in guaranteed money was dumb. And this just puts me over the edge. $3 million guaranteed to Wee Willie Bloomquist? Are you friggin kidding me? That makes as much sense as giving Ross Gload a two year guaranteed deal. Oh wait, Dayton did that too!

I think DM ultimately has this organization headed in the right direction with the draft and player development, but I'm not at all convinced once he gets us back to respectability he can get us anywhere near contention. His trades are underwhelming, his free agent acquisitions are plain baffling and his roster management is pretty lousy.

Kyle Farnsworth at $4.5 million
Mike Jacobs at $3.5 million
Horacio Ramirez at $1.9 million
Willie Bloomquist at $1.5 million
=$11.4 million

Probably coulda signed an impact free agent (not a guy like Jose Guillen) for that kinda money. This is Allard Baird redux.

Looking at it from afar, DM really reminds me of another former Braves exec in over his head, Dean Taylor. Did some nice things with player development, but as far as spending money on the big league club and knowing what teams actually need to win, a mess.

Kyle Farnsworth at $4.5 million
Mike Jacobs at $3.5 million
Horacio Ramirez at $1.9 million
Willie Bloomquist at $1.5 million
=$11.4 million

Yup. Pat Burrell, or Adam Dunn and 3 AAAA castoffs look like a much better use of the $$.

If you're going to spend the money, why not offer Dunn 3/35 and see if he's desparate.

Probably coulda signed an impact free agent (not a guy like Jose Guillen) for that kinda money. This is Allard Baird redux.

Yikes. You could have had Furcal for something close to that and moved Aviles to second with Callaspo as the back up.

Probably coulda signed an impact free agent (not a guy like Jose Guillen) for that kinda money.

Who?

EDIT: So a couple of posts have now made some suggestions. Why would Burrell or Furcal have signed for that? They got more money from contenders.

$3 million guaranteed to Wee Willie Bloomquist?

AHAHAHAHA.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
WOO!
[gasps for breath]
AHAHAHAHA.

- signed, a Mariners fan.

This is flat out retarded. If you can't find a Willie Bloomquist clone in your minor league system you aren't looking hard enough. There have to be middle-infielder types floating around that can "play" the OF, hit for crap and suck up a roster spot for $400,000. There is no need to pay a premium for this type of "production".

Egads, I am sure glad I am not a fan of this team.

Who?

Pat Burrell just signed for $16M over 2 years.

Giambi signed for peanuts.

Abreu and Dunn are still out there and have extremely limited suitors.

You can't put a price on scrappiness

EDIT: So a couple of posts have now made some suggestions. Why would Burrell or Furcal have signed for that? They got more money from contenders.

Furcal got 3/30 and Burrell 2/16. Sould Furcal have taken say, 3/36 to play for the Royals? I have to think he might have.

Pat Burrell just signed for $16M over 2 years.

Giambi signed for peanuts.

Abreu and Dunn are still out there and have extremely limited suitors.

Well, if I were Pat Burrell, I'd prefer $16M per year from the Rays to $11.4M per year from the Royals.

Giambi I'll give you, but 1B/DH is rather clogged for the Royals already.

It remains to be seen what Abreu and Dunn will get, so we'll see...

Sould Furcal have taken say, 3/36 to play for the Royals? I have to think he might have.

Maybe. Given what actually did happen with Furcal, I have no idea what he would do. Maybe he'd have taken a 3/36 offer from the Royals, crossed out "Kansas City Royals," and written "Los Angeles Dodgers" in with orange crayon, and called it a day.

Clear case of Nick Punto envy.

Well, if I were Pat Burrell, I'd prefer $16M per year from the Rays to $11.4M per year from the Royals.

Burrell is getting $8M per in TB, 2/16.

Well, if I were Pat Burrell, I'd prefer $16M per year from the Rays to $11.4M per year from the Royals.

Actually, it was $8 million / year for 2 years.

Oh, wow. Hmm. I wondered why everyone was so worked up about that deal. Well I'll have to reconsider, then.

Is Dayton the worst GM in baseball right now?

For the Royals fans out there, I just wanted you to know that Lookout Landing scientists have finally quantified the magnitude of Bloomquist's "hustle"

Is Dayton the worst GM in baseball right now?

I haven't gotten around to shooting Brian Sabean yet, so no.

Is Dayton the worst GM in baseball right now?

Probably not, but he does seem to be adopting the Dave Littlefield approach to FA signings.

I haven't gotten around to shooting Brian Sabean yet, so no.

Sabes has been surprisingly OK this offseason.

Is Dayton the worst GM in baseball right now?

If you evaluate him just by free agents, he'd be near the bottom (Ned Coletti is still worse, and perhaps Sabean as well), but in overall terms, I don't think he is. He took a miserable franchise and took them to 75 wins. His drafts have been well received. He should get some credit for that.

If you evaluate him just by free agents, he'd be near the bottom (Ned Coletti is still worse, and perhaps Sabean as well), but in overall terms, I don't think he is. He took a miserable franchise and took them to 75 wins. His drafts have been well received. He should get some credit for that.

He does seem to be better suited to be "VP of player development" or something.

Well I still haven't gotten over the whole Michael Tucker thing.

But as for this offseason, I would have preferred just signing Fuentes rather than Affeldt and Howry (about the same amount of money). Not a fan of the Renteria signing either (would have preferred signing Hudson, with Burriss at SS rather than 2B). Can't believe that we lost Denker to waivers while keeping a half dozen lesser players on the 40 man roster.

Also not happy that he's apparently still interested in Crede.

There's no Zito-level type screwups--yet--but I wouldn't call Sabean's work in the 2008/09 offseason "OK."

EDIT: for clarity

The final piece!

Well I still haven't gotten over the whole Michael Tucker thing.

I don't think anyone has.

I don't think Fuentes would have ever signed with the Giants, apparently he preferred the Angels from day one. I actually love the Affeldt/Howry deals, both short-term and pretty good value. Affeldt could be the best reliever on the team by the end of 2009.

Renteria was a good deal, he's probably around a +2 win player and the Giants were 2nd to last among all teams in OPS last season for shortstop. If you look at the players who got major time at the position for the Giants: Vizquel, Bocock, Ochoa, Burriss, it's a bad group of players. I'm not big on Hudson, I'd rather just play Burriss at 2B and hope he can defend like Mark Ellis. Losing Denker was pretty stupid.

OK, I'll stop rambling about the Giants in a Willie Hustle thread.

He does seem to be better suited to be "VP of player development" or something.

Give him some more time. He still doesn't have a huge budget to work with, and he's also having to make trades using the depleted system which was left for him by his predecessor - you have to remember what he was starting from. He's also got to do at least something to create the impression of progress and action, in order to help keep people buying tickets. In terms of his recent trades and free agent signings, a lot of them haven't exactly been blockbuster moves, but they've filled small needs here and there for small costs. Even this one (as wasteful as it may be) isn't going to cripple the franchise (unlike the Guillen overpay).

Basically, the organization is making progress under him, even if it's not in the exact manner most of us would like to see.

He's also got to do at least something to create the impression of progress and action, in order to help keep people buying tickets.

I kinda agree with this, but are people going to come out to see Farnsworth, Bloomquist, and Jacobs?

Did you know that Willie Bloomquist set a record last year?

Since the advent of the modern pitcher's distance, he has the most hits in a season (46) with only one extra base hit.

Play-Index link

Looking at it from afar, DM really reminds me of another former Braves exec in over his head, Dean Taylor.

I wonder what happened to him?

*Furcal got 3/30 and Burrell 2/16. Sould Furcal have taken say, 3/36 to play for the Royals? I have to think he might have.*

There's incentive in the Dodgers contract that boosts Furcal's contract to 3/36 if he reaches it. A million per year if he stays with this back strengthening program, and another million per year if he stays healthy. And then there's the option year tacked on. Furcal wasn't going to make that much more with the Royals.

I kinda agree with this, but are people going to come out to see Farnsworth, Bloomquist, and Jacobs?

Jacobs probably will, as casual fans tend to like to watch players who hit home runs.

Besides, fans are more likely to come out to see a team which increases from 75 to 78 wins than a team which drops from 75 to 72 wins. Jacobs (and some of the other bit parts that they've added) probably increase the likelihood of that improvement when compared to the guys that they're replacing.

If Fuentes had gotten a guarantee that he would close, then I think he might have signed with the Giants. But at the time that Sabean was signing Affeldt (11/17) and Howry (12/03), the FA market hadn't quite settled. I think conventional wisdom at the start of the offseason was that Fuentes would sign for ~$10M/yr for at least 3 years. When K-Rod signed for just $12.5M/yr and for just 3 years guaranteed, the market on closers shifted down a bit.

Anyway, Affeldt's interesting, but $4M/yr guaranteed for 2 years seems a bit steep for a guy who isn't that far removed from being waiver wire fodder.

As for Howry, hopefully he's a buy-low proposition and he bounces back in 2009. But he looked pretty hittable last year, with a huge rise in HR rate along with a drop in K's. At least it's just a one year contract. It's a good gamble, but I'm not counting on him to be a force in the bullpen.

I'm officially counting this off-season as a huge ball of suck. The Coco trade was forgiveable and I actually kinda liked it the more I thought about it. The Jacobs deal was stupid, but I can't fault a GM too much for wanting to add a 30 HR bat to the lineup, terrible OBA and defense notwithstanding. The Farnsworth deal was stupid. No justification for that. Giving Horacio Ramirez $1.9 mill in guaranteed money was dumb. And this just puts me over the edge. $3 million guaranteed to Wee Willie Bloomquist? Are you friggin kidding me? That makes as much sense as giving Ross Gload a two year guaranteed deal. Oh wait, Dayton did that too!

I think DM ultimately has this organization headed in the right direction with the draft and player development, but I'm not at all convinced once he gets us back to respectability he can get us anywhere near contention. His trades are underwhelming, his free agent acquisitions are plain baffling and his roster management is pretty lousy.

Change the details and that could easily describe Bavasi's tenure in Seattle.

Since the advent of the modern pitcher's distance, he has the most hits in a season (46) with only one extra base hit.
Unfair - Bloomquist hit a bonafide gapper, but since it was the game-winner he didn't bother rounding first to pick up the XBH.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA200807010.shtml

Furcal got 3/30 and Burrell 2/16. Sould Furcal have taken say, 3/36 to play for the Royals? I have to think he might have.
IIRC, the A's offered him around 3/36 and he declined. If Oakland didn't excite him, I can't imagine Kansas City would have either.

Sabes has been surprisingly OK this offseason.

As a couple others have pointed out, that Renteria contract is basically unjustifiable. I want to know what the second-place bid for Renteria was (if there was one): 1/$5m?

(edit: oops, missed a word)

Change the details and that could easily describe Bavasi's tenure in Seattle.

Hey now, the Royals haven't yet sign a pitcher like Carlos Silva to a 4 year/45 million contract yet.

IIRC, the A's offered him around 3/36 and he declined. If Oakland didn't excite him, I can't imagine Kansas City would have either.

From what I've gathered, the A's offered around 4/36 to 4/40. Furcal's side claims it wassn't even that much. I'm fairly confident the AAV of the A's offer was never more than 10 million a year.

Change the details and that could easily describe Bavasi's tenure in Seattle.

Hmm...

I'm officially counting this off-season as a huge ball of suck. The Dickey trade was forgiveable and I actually kinda liked it the more I thought about it. The Bedard deal was stupid, but I can't fault a GM too much for wanting to add a young lefthander to the rotation, shaky health and high cost notwithstanding. The Cairo deal was stupid. No justification for that. Giving Brad Wilkerson $3 mil in guaranteed money was dumb. And this just puts me over the edge. $48 million guaranteed to Carlos F'n Silva? Are you friggin kidding me? That makes as much sense as giving Willie Bloomquist a two year guaranteed deal. Oh wait, Bavasi did that too!

I think BB ultimately has this organization headed in the right direction with the draft and player development, but I'm not at all convinced once he gets us back to respectability he can get us anywhere near contention. His trades are underwhelming, his free agent acquisitions are plain baffling and his roster management is pretty lousy.

Edit: Silva's wikipedia article includes

He is known for his relatively quick pace, as he takes very short breaks between pitches, so as to return quickly to the dugout and its ample food supplies.

Bloomquist was pretty good for a 2008 Mariner.

I can't imagine that too many "impact free agents" would be super-excited to play for the current incarnation of the Kansas City Royals, especially if you surround him with AAAA scrubs. It would take more than a couple extra million to entice a top guy to come to Kansas City at this point. Tampa has something that Kansas City doesn't - a really good team to play on.

That doesn't make the Bloomquist signing too great, though.

He is known for his relatively quick pace, as he takes very short breaks between pitches, so as to return quickly to the dugout and its ample food supplies.

Ha. I have little doubt someone from Lookout Landing added that.

Clear case of Nick Punto envy.

Don't insult Nick Punto like that.

From what I've gathered, the A's offered around 4/36 to 4/40. Furcal's side claims it wassn't even that much. I'm fairly confident the AAV of the A's offer was never more than 10 million a year.

Oops, you're right. My bad.

It would take more than a couple extra million to entice a top guy to come to Kansas City at this point. Tampa has something that Kansas City doesn't - a really good team to play on.

Yeah, but if Burrell and Dunn are getting 2/16 offers, KC can easily offer them 3/30 or 3/35 without overpaying. That's a lot more than a couple of million.

I think DM ultimately has this organization headed in the right direction with the draft and player development, but I'm not at all convinced once he gets us back to respectability he can get us anywhere near contention. His trades are underwhelming, his free agent acquisitions are plain baffling and his roster management is pretty lousy.

So he's essentially (post-2000 or so) Chuck Lamar with a bigger budget. Under Lamar the foundation was laid for a good team in the future but he wouldn't have had the slightest clue of how to put it together himself.

Between Lamar, Moore, Wren so far, and Taylor the John Schuerholz GM tree is bearing some lousy fruit, though Wren was a crappy GM for the Orioles before becoming a Braves AGM for a while.

But he looked pretty hittable last year, with a huge rise in HR rate along with a drop in K's.

You have a gift for understatement. Howry was flat-out atrocious last year.

Yeah, but if Burrell and Dunn are getting 2/16 offers, KC can easily offer them 3/30 or 3/35 without overpaying.

I'm not sure that Burrell or Dunn takes that deal. I think Burrell wanted a two-year deal, so he can hit the market again when he's relatively young and the situation may look better for him.

Now, if the Royals wanted to offer 2/25 or 2/30, then they're talking.

think Burrell wanted a two-year deal, so he can hit the market again when he's relatively young and the situation may look better for him.

I agree. But wouldn't his numbers have looked better if he spent two years teeing off against AL Central pitching rather than having to face Boston and New York (plus Halladay in Toronto) so often?

Also, how did Kauffman become a pitchers' park? Did they tweak the fences or something? A few years ago it was one of the more hitter friendly stadiums in the AL.

Kyle Farnsworth at $4.5 million
Mike Jacobs at $3.5 million
Horacio Ramirez at $1.9 million
Willie Bloomquist at $1.5 million
=$11.4 million

Probably coulda signed an impact free agent (not a guy like Jose Guillen) for that kinda money.

You aren't looking at this logically. What's more? 4 or 1?

You aren't looking at this logically. What's more? 4 or 1?

I'm saying you could fill the other roster spots with freely available talent. Jacobs is the best example. The Royals already have a couple of 1B they could take a look at in Shealy and Kaaihue and Butler at DH. Farnsworth and Ramirez are relievers - Dayton has been pretty shrewd at finding decent relievers pretty cheaply. The Royals already have two utility infielder types in Pena and German. You could also fill that role with a Rule 5 guy or a minor league FA and probably get about the same production as Bloomquist.

Just seems like they spent $11.4 million without upgrading the team.

I'm saying you could fill the other roster spots with freely available talent.

I know. It was a (bad) joke.

Jacobs is being underrated by people who ignore the difference between hitting in Dolphin Stadium and Kauffman Stadium.

Bloomquist is slightly more "worth it" if Dayton dumps Pena Jr., Bloomquist is an overpaid utility guy in that case. But if TPJ and Bloomquist make the roster, than Moore is nuts.

I'm saying you could fill the other roster spots with freely available talent.

You know, after I posted it, I thought "he's probably kidding", but I just came back from a Royals board where people were defending this move, so my mind was not thinking straight.

Bloomquist should divide the blue jeans grit fan sympathies enough to allow for Ross Gload to be unloaded quietly.

His drafts have been well received.

And then he fired the scouting director.

This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. No more waiting and seeing on Moore. He's a clown.

USSM's post on this signing is up (naturally), but Dave Cameron really let loose on the Royals with his Fan Graphs post, tying it in statistically with Replacement Level, and monetarily with the Farnsworth, Jacobs, and HoRam pickups:

A Royal Dump

WFB will look good in a clean white-and-blue uni, no doubt.

What happened to Garth Sears?

Bloomquist should divide the blue jeans grit fan sympathies enough to allow for Ross Gload to be unloaded quietly.

But... But... Ross Gload has a Hall of Famer on his through-age-32 comps list!

I thought WFB was RIP.

I haven't gotten around to shooting Brian Sabean yet, so no.

I'd rather have Sabean than Moore. Sabean has his faults but Sabean's Giants have a better farm system stocked with young pitching and at least Sabean spunks up his money on real baseball players and not Willie Bloomquist and Horacio Ramirez. Forget the problems with playing for a derelict franchise, the $11 million he's blown could have signed Adam Dunn, a great player who would sell more tickets than these clowns and for a team that hit 120 home runs last year could really give them some pop.