Congratulations -- It's a Blog!

It's late on a Friday evening here in Seattle, Washington, some eight days from Christmas, which is certainly an impromptu setting for a blog inception. But, considering the happenings of late, I couldn't help myself.

With what had already been a questionable free agent herd thinning, the Royals consolidated their signing announcements into a single day, I suppose to generate the maximum amount of attention for the club at once, as opposed to blips on the radar, individually. Let's build to a crescendo, instead of starting off with a bang.

Paul Bako. Thirty-three years of age, left-handed bat .. .330 slugging percentage, career. Yeah, this is a guy whose impact 'can't be measured by numbers', I'm sure. Even for a backup catcher, he's iffy. Think Mike DiFelice. Remember him? Yeah. He'll make 700K.

Allard and Muzzy also cornered and held down Doug Mientkiewicz 'til he signed a contract on Friday, this one to the tune of 1.85 million. 'Vitch has been all over the map offensively the last couple of years, but he also hasn't been given anything close to steady playing time. And, hello, a guy who is supposed to be a slap hitter had 11 homers in 275 at-bats for the Mets in '05? All right, only three of those taters were in Shea Stadium, but that's still an interesting spike for a guy who never showed much pop in Minnesota. You'll see him as a starter, a late-inning defensive replacement .. Doug catches balls dead.

Mark Grudzielanek, who will finally be on a team where his last name is not the biggest pencil-killer. They talked him down from a two-year deal! Actually, it was a market fluxuation more than it was general managerial moxy, plus, the clause for the second year is very likely to kick in (500 AB, which he'll get.) He'll be decent, but in all honesty, what is this meant to accomplish? Four million bucks is a lot for this club, although if we trade him at the deadline, it will only be a little over half that. This strikes me as a move to keep Baird's head above water, in terms of employment.

Scott Elarton, who once won 17 ballgames in a season, and once posted an ERA near 10 before being mercifully dealt, is probably the best signing of the bunch. There's not much reason to think he'll fall apart coming to a worse team; similar ballparks, both his former catcher (V-Mart) and his future catcher are young game-callers. He's a big guy, and if he stays on the field, he'll win 10 games. But he'll also give up 30 home runs, tendency to get lazy when the pressure's off, hangs fastballs. He'd be a #4 on most teams; he could be the Opening Day starter, here.

In summation .. we're not going to accomplish a lot by signing any number of free agents, this particular winter. The parts aren't there, and even if they were, our needs our too vast and deep. Time will mend the Royals (I hope), not a checkbook.

To abruptly switch gears, I think Billy Butler needs to be handled a little more delicately. Alex Gordon and Justin Huber are fine prospects, but they don't compare to Billy's 100-floor ceiling. He's going to be a terror with a bat in his hands. But it's the glove that may end up traumatizing him! LEAVE HIM ALONE IN LEFT! Where he plays is not going to matter! Just let the boy hit, guys. Let him do what he's really, really good at. Honestly, that should be the organization's tip-top priority. He's the biggest piece of years 2007-2012, and hopefully beyond.

As for the upcoming campaign, I've given the starting pitching the most attention, as that's the most important thing for a rebuilding team to cultivate. Here's what we're probably gonna end up with one through five, if there are no more signings. This ISN'T what I want, but knowing KC management, it's what they'll give us.

1. Scott Elarton
2. Mark Redman
3. Runelvys Hernandez
4. Zack Greinke
5. Mike Wood

Denny Bautista and J.P. Howell both have more talent than either Runelvys or Wood, but they're both candidates to start the year in Omaha. While Howell might be a year away, it's particularly moronic to make Bautista wait, since he's the only power pitcher in the organization at the moment, and most successful teams have one in their rotation. There has been no word on what the team's plans for Andrew Sisco in the immediate future are, but I think he'd be better off in relief or the minors (KC can send him down without offering him to the Cubs, now). He has yet to learn how to pitch, but his potential is exciting. Jeremy Affeldt remains a fantastic candidate to get traded, which would make me positively giddy. He's had his shot, screw 'em. Kyle Snyder and Jimmy Gobble are extreme darkhorses .. again.

But the intriguing name is Bobby Madritsch. He'll be down 'til June (bad shoulder), but he could feasibly step in at the All-Star Break and be the team's best pitcher in the second half. He was extremely effective for the Mariners in 2004, to the tune of a 3.27 ERA over 88 innings, where he gave up just three(!) home runs. He's a peculiar specimen, in that he's the inverse of most left-handers: he has a great fastball that usually sits at 92-94, but his breaking ball is lousy. He does have an effective changeup, though.

I think that's gonna do it for our premier post. It wasn't picturesque, but I think it had it's moments. Call it a learning process. Oh, and R.I.P., Ken Harvey. You stunk.