Sanders Settles For KC, Mays Enjoys Christmas Miracle
Allard Baird has worked his magic again, as he hammered out the final details of a two-year contract with free agent outfielder Reggie Sanders, one of the more curious journeyman outfielders around, in that he constantly posts reputable figures in the power and speed departments. I like the player, but the move miffs me, if only because it makes my astute Chip Ambres bio useless. Also soon to be donning the Royals cursive is Joe Mays, coming off a very rough campaign for the Twins. We'll start with Reginald. By the way, did you know his middle name is Laverne? I love it! Joe, we're putting 'Shirley' on all your uniforms.
Reggie has bounced around like you wouldn't believe, as Kansas City will be his eighth big league club. However, this will be his first rendezvous with an AL club, so we'll have to hope he's not too set in his ways. Sanders has always had the raw physical attributes to shine, racking up 292 HR and 297 SB while shuttling around the country. He'll enter the 300/300 club as a Royal, hope we have a little celebration or somethin'.
Reggie's most public weakness is fastballs up and in, a strategy that was used with particular effectiveness in his time in Arizona and San Francisco. However, that tells me he'll have a really hot start; few pitchers would think to come inside on a veteran outfielder who they haven't faced before. Beyond that, I'm really not certain. I would expect strikeouts no matter what, since he's averaged one less than every four at-bats in his tenure. I'm not sure where Reggie fits in the lineup, though; he fits more as a 5/6 hitter than in the cleanup role he seems to assume. Honestly, I'd bat Mientkiewicz fourth, honestly. Why not bat doubles spray hitters back-to-back?
Sanders will lead the team in stolen bases. By a lot. That's about all I have to say about that.
The defense sure gets a shot in the arm! Move over Matt Stairs, move (to left) Emil Brown, this guy is .. okay. Still, compared to some of the leadfoots and iron gloves we were being faced with running to the outfield, this is a defensive epiphany! I'm glad to see we have upgraded the defense, it was a big reason Zack Greinke was so damned awful in 2005.
In the big picture, I've heard several colleagues (i.e., dumb friends of mine whose opinions I shouldn't take seriously, anyway) think Sanders is just blocking a younger player who could use the experience. To that I say, please, point me in the direction of the youngster Sanders is holding up! We don't have an outfielder in sight, ladies and gents. Butler, sure, but he could just as easily become a DH or 1B as stay in the outfield. Gordon? He might end up sticking at third, if Teahen doesn't win back the organization.
In a move that was supremely overshadowed by the Sanders deal, Joe Mays lept at one-year, one million dollar major league offer. I don't dislike the move, I actually think Mays could translate rather nicely to Kauffman, especially with the new defense at his back. But based on the level of non-interest this guy was making, why did we give him guaranteed money? As much as I like his low-risk, mid-reward projection, he was pretty crappy last year, even for a first year back from Tommy John. He might be worse in '06, for all I know.
Thankfully, this move further cripples any chance Jeremy Affeldt has of sniffing the starting rotation. Conversely, it bumps Denny Bautista and J.P. Howell further from rotation consideration. Don't know how I feel about that just yet. Even if Mays isn't a joke, he couldn't be better than what Denny and J.P. might eventually be.
I've read a lot of hooplah pointing to Joe Mays K/9 ratio, which is absurdly low, to be fair. But it's been a long time since he's been legitimately healthy, and hey: Not his thing, plain and simple. I for one am more than willing to see what he does in a new environment before crucifying him for not sending guys down swinging. That said, if he comes out in April and posts an ERA in the teens, we should sell his rights to the freakin' Seibu Lions.
I do think these moves make us a better team, if only by an increment that isn't worth much excitement. Still, with how sparse our minor league reserves look to be for the next two years, especially in terms of pitching, it's gonna be little signings like these that determine if we take the road toward reconstruction, or crumble all over again. Remember, only 30% of rebuilding efforts are successful. I like those odds.
Reggie has bounced around like you wouldn't believe, as Kansas City will be his eighth big league club. However, this will be his first rendezvous with an AL club, so we'll have to hope he's not too set in his ways. Sanders has always had the raw physical attributes to shine, racking up 292 HR and 297 SB while shuttling around the country. He'll enter the 300/300 club as a Royal, hope we have a little celebration or somethin'.
Reggie's most public weakness is fastballs up and in, a strategy that was used with particular effectiveness in his time in Arizona and San Francisco. However, that tells me he'll have a really hot start; few pitchers would think to come inside on a veteran outfielder who they haven't faced before. Beyond that, I'm really not certain. I would expect strikeouts no matter what, since he's averaged one less than every four at-bats in his tenure. I'm not sure where Reggie fits in the lineup, though; he fits more as a 5/6 hitter than in the cleanup role he seems to assume. Honestly, I'd bat Mientkiewicz fourth, honestly. Why not bat doubles spray hitters back-to-back?
Sanders will lead the team in stolen bases. By a lot. That's about all I have to say about that.
The defense sure gets a shot in the arm! Move over Matt Stairs, move (to left) Emil Brown, this guy is .. okay. Still, compared to some of the leadfoots and iron gloves we were being faced with running to the outfield, this is a defensive epiphany! I'm glad to see we have upgraded the defense, it was a big reason Zack Greinke was so damned awful in 2005.
In the big picture, I've heard several colleagues (i.e., dumb friends of mine whose opinions I shouldn't take seriously, anyway) think Sanders is just blocking a younger player who could use the experience. To that I say, please, point me in the direction of the youngster Sanders is holding up! We don't have an outfielder in sight, ladies and gents. Butler, sure, but he could just as easily become a DH or 1B as stay in the outfield. Gordon? He might end up sticking at third, if Teahen doesn't win back the organization.
In a move that was supremely overshadowed by the Sanders deal, Joe Mays lept at one-year, one million dollar major league offer. I don't dislike the move, I actually think Mays could translate rather nicely to Kauffman, especially with the new defense at his back. But based on the level of non-interest this guy was making, why did we give him guaranteed money? As much as I like his low-risk, mid-reward projection, he was pretty crappy last year, even for a first year back from Tommy John. He might be worse in '06, for all I know.
Thankfully, this move further cripples any chance Jeremy Affeldt has of sniffing the starting rotation. Conversely, it bumps Denny Bautista and J.P. Howell further from rotation consideration. Don't know how I feel about that just yet. Even if Mays isn't a joke, he couldn't be better than what Denny and J.P. might eventually be.
I've read a lot of hooplah pointing to Joe Mays K/9 ratio, which is absurdly low, to be fair. But it's been a long time since he's been legitimately healthy, and hey: Not his thing, plain and simple. I for one am more than willing to see what he does in a new environment before crucifying him for not sending guys down swinging. That said, if he comes out in April and posts an ERA in the teens, we should sell his rights to the freakin' Seibu Lions.
I do think these moves make us a better team, if only by an increment that isn't worth much excitement. Still, with how sparse our minor league reserves look to be for the next two years, especially in terms of pitching, it's gonna be little signings like these that determine if we take the road toward reconstruction, or crumble all over again. Remember, only 30% of rebuilding efforts are successful. I like those odds.
posted by KC Luke @ 12:34 AM
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