A Voice of Reason Regarding The Alberto Callaspo Trade Rumors

Sunday night, Bob Dutton reported that the Royals are rumored to be interested in shipping Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 28-year-old (29 in April) catcher A.J. Ellis. Seeing as though Ellis has worked his way up to a grand total of 13 plate appearances in two September call-ups at that advanced an age, it is hard to get overly excited about the prospect of that deal.

It is that exact lack of excitement that has permeated the Royals blogosphere in the last day-and-a-half.

Now, if a deal were to be completed consisting solely of Alberto Callaspo and A.J. Ellis, then the Royals will unequivocally have been taken to the cleaners.

The thing is I really can't imagine that Dayton Moore would pull the trigger on a deal in which the Royals only net a soon-to-be-29-year-old minor league catcher whose AAA stats benefit from having been inflated by playing in the PCL with his home games in Las Vegas and then Albuquerque.

While playing for the Isotopes in 2009, his road split was .262/.369/.315/.685 while his home split was an absurd .359/.492/.425/.917. Moreover his road split from this past season is very much in line with his career lines at his stops along the lower levels of the minors, all in climates less arid and at elevations a lot closer to sea level. Despite his consistently high walk rates, the sudden statistical leap forward all reeks of being the minor league equivalent of the pre-humidor Rockies' numbers.

If Dayton Moore were to trade Callaspo for Ellis straight up, he would be trading an admittedly defensively challenged second baseman who is two years younger than Ellis, still one year away from arbitration-eligibility*, and carrier of an OPS+ of 114 last season for an entirely unproven, light-hitting catcher who is supposedly defensively sound.

*Apparently Callaspo has fallen six days short of the requisite service time to qualify as a "Super Two."

It is probably fair to say that a large segment of the Royals fan base is losing or has already lost faith in Dayton Moore after a disastrous offseason heading into the 2009 season.

It probably is not fair to think that Dayton Moore is hapless enough to pull the trigger on a one-for-one deal like this.

Last year offseason left us scratching our heads, as did the trades of the troubled pair of Daniels this summer, but even I cannot imagine that Dayton Moore would send Callaspo to the Dodgers for only A.J. Ellis.

That deal, even after taking into account the likelihood that Callaspo's power numbers are likely to come back down a bit next season, would be absolutely moronic. So moronic that I refuse to believe Dayton Moore would pull the trigger on a trade that ridiculous.

Failing to get at least two replacement-level Major Leaguers with some upside (or one legitimate big leaguer) back for Callaspo, one of the only desirable trading chips the Royals have, would be an unmitigated disaster.

Dayton Moore may have made a bunch of questionable moves lately, but he couldn't possibly be that insane.

I hope.

Initial Reaction To The Rumored Mark Teahen Trade To The White Sox

As I begin writing this piece, a deal has not been finalized. That being said, rumors have been swirling surrounding a deal with the Chicago White Sox that would potentially send Mark Teahen packing. In return, the Royals are purported to be receiving second baseman Chris Getz and third baseman Josh Fields.

Continuing on under the assumption that this deal ends up getting completed, my initial reaction is a bit on the tepid side. Dave Cameron makes the very valid point that the move frees up about $5 million that Mark Teahen is more than likely going to end up making after going through arbitration. The Royals certainly shouldn't be paying a player who is simply a league-average hitter that kind of money in this economic climate.

As Royals fans, we have a pretty good grasp on who Mark Teahen is. When looking at the pieces Moore may be acquiring, one would hardly say they are sexy.

At a glance, Getz would only seem to be a marginal defensive upgrade at second base from the horrid Alberto Callaspo. In 2009 (and I do not have John Dewan's Fielding Bible, so this analysis is sorely lacking), Getz held a 5.0 RF/9 to Callaspo's 4.4. Callaspo's -7.5 UZR/150 was only slightly worse than -6.7 that Getz managed. Their Fielding Percentages: Callaspo .973, Getz .986.

Offensively, Callaspo was the best second baseman in the Central, as detailed here, so it is not his bat that needs replacing. While it was only his rookie season, Getz does not have a bat that can be instantly inserted into even the Royals' measly lineup and do much of anything that Callaspo cannot do.

The one thing that Getz does bring to the table is an element of speed, as his 25 steals in 27 attempts are testament to. Whether or not Getz brings anything to the table past having an actual Major League player on the Royals' Major League roster come Spring Training is debatable, but he did make $401,000 last year and is not yet arbitration eligible.

Of slight consolation, while Getz' Major League career split of .262/.323/.346/.669 is underwhelming, his minor league experience (.286/.362/.380/.742) would indicate that he can get on-base at the very least. While it would appear that there is little to no power, he is just 26 years old, so there is not a zero percent chance that he ever hits for middling power, positionally speaking.

As for Josh Fields, it would appear that hopes for a replication of his 2007 power explosion are about as likely as Mark Teahen returning to the hallowed ground that he stepped into in 2006.

Unfortunately for the Royals, Fields is yet another OBP-deficient bat. Despite his 23 home runs in 418 plate appearances in 2007, Fields' OPS+ was a mere 101, largely because he walked an alarmingly low 35 times. That was good for an OBP of .308.

Insofar as his defense is concerned, let's just say his glove not be forcing the admittedly sub-par glove of Alex Gordon to another spot on the diamond. The last season in which Fields logged a significant amount of playing time at third, he had an RF/9 of 2.7 and a UZR/150 of -13.9. By comparison, Teahen's RF/9 at third in 2009 was 2.5 and his UZR/150 was -10.9, while Gordon had an RF/9 of 2.6 and a UZR/150 of -3.6 in his regressive 2008. No matter the position (he has also logged nominal time in left and at first), Fields is below average.

In short, Fields is your typical free-swinging power-hitter who brings little to the plate past his prodigious power and brings nothing to the field. It is a little unfair to look at his offensive numbers from the past two seasons, as he's garnered a whopping 93 games played since his 2007 breakout, but he is sporting a paltry .214/.292/.328/.621 line in that time.

Perhaps a change of scenery will do Fields good. He did talk of leaving baseball last off-season, so he clearly hasn't been happy. Whether or not that dissatisfaction can be traced to playing in Chicago cannot be unequivocally answered, but his mere $410,000 salary is meager enough that the Royals can afford to take chance on him. Especially since Fields is not yet arbitration eligible as well.

What this boils down to is the Royals cutting costs while acquiring marginal Major League talent with discernible upside. Unlike the Mike Jacobs acquisition at this time last year, this deal makes financial sense.

With their payroll stretched thin as it is, perhaps Moore has learned a lesson or two from last year's disastrous off-season (Greinke extension notwithstanding).

Moreover, hopefully the acquisition of Fields shows that Mike Jacobs will be sent packing. After all, he is basically Mike Jacobs at a tenth of the price tag. Combined, Fields and Getz will likely earn one-fifth of what Teahen is likely to get in arbitration.

Now, whether or not Trey Hillman would actually be able to utilize Fields and Getz properly is another beast entirely, but if this deal gets completed the Royals have successfully gotten legitimate talent back for an average hitter who would be making entirely too much money next season. With as much irresponsibly allocated money as was committed to the likes of Kyle Farnsworth and Yuniesky Betancourt, these kind of cost-cutting measures need to be taken, and Mark Teahen is probably not an irreplaceable piece of the Royals' puzzle.

At the very least, this would mean "Superhero" (the theme song from "Entourage", which was presumably chosen because Kevin Connolly is Mark Teahen's doppelganger) would not be heard at the K, a future I am personally all right with.

A Restless Royals Ramble That Ends Up In Surprise

As Royals fans, we have very little to talk about right now.

Hell, most of us checked out sometime in June when it had become more than clear that the fast start was a mirage and that the air of respectability we thought was going to accompany the Royals resurgence had been knocked from our lungs.

Regardless, I would imagine that the bulk of Royals fans can only bring themselves to stop by this post-season in random passing glances. There isn't much joy that can be derived from watching a turncoat left fielder who used to wear Royal blue* try one more time to get a ring in New York. Was the 75-year-old Matt Stairs a Royal long enough to for us to root for him?

*And, yes, I can't remember him ever actually wearing a uniform that was Royal blue, but you know what I mean.

No. Right now, we can only be envious of fans who - let's be honest - aren't exactly starving for a successful baseball season.

Well, that and rooting against the Evil Empire.

Since free agency is still a ways down the road, and no trades or re-signings can be announced until after the World Series is completed, we bloggers have little of worth to write about. Well, unless you want to include fabricated trades that are all but completed involving Cy Young winners-to-be for 28-year-old has-beens and a bunch of never-will-bes*.

*I agree with what Sam Mellinger said about not wanting to tear into this writer too hard because he's not getting paid to do this and it is a labor of love (or "Labour of Love" for all you UB40 fans reading this blog), but I have to say that as a writer whose blog also appears on Bleacher Report I feel like this blogger has given the rest of us a bad name. I would like to think that my column never veers toward this reckless type of rumor-mongering, but part of me feels like my involvement with the same site somehow makes me slightly guilty by association.

Luckily, I have another blog that is not dependent upon my fandom of a horrible baseball team to turn my attention to. One only dependent on my consumption of pop culture. Needless to say, the subjects for entries there present themselves much more readily.

Here, I am left to write about what? Well, Clark Fosler has found his niche for October columns, and his work has been great thus far (who'd have thunk that the Royals third basemen collectively out-produced all other third basemen in the Central?).

So, I guess I can reflect about the limited Royals-relevant baseball action that is going on right now. Over at Kings of Kauffman, Wally Fish is doing a bang-up job of staying on top of any developments with the Surprise Rafters.

Aside from the slightly discouraging displacement of David Lough (one of the only offensive bright spots in the Royals minor league system this year) on the roster due to some hamstring issues, there is a little good news. After a year marked with significant struggles at the plate in an admittedly hostile hitting environment, Mike Moustakas has begun to alleviate some of my concerns.

Moustakas scuffled his way to a .250/.297/.421 split with 16 home runs and 10 steals in Wilmington. While those numbers are not encouraging, the 20-year-old (he just turned 21 in September) worked a worrying 32 walks in 530 plate appearances. In 30 plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League, Moustakas is hitting .276/.313/.483 with a 1:3 BB:K, one home run, one steal, three doubles, six runs, and nine runs batted in.

I am well aware of the fact that this is an absurdly small sample size, but we don't have a lot to talk about right now, do we?

The average is clearly up here, and it was looking a lot nicer before a one-for-eight stretch in his last two games. Four extra-base hits in 29 at-bats is also encouraging. Now, another pair of games like his on Thursday and Friday, and the picture is a little less hopeful. He'd be hitting .216 were that to happen, and then the reactionaries among us are crying that the sky is falling again.

Right now, we can only hope that this season in High-A was an aberration, that he does know the difference between a ball and a strike, and that (as a 21-year-old this coming season, presumably most of which will be spent as a Natural), he begins to live up to the hype that goes along with being a high first-round draft pick. But if he wants to do me a solid, he'll work his way on base three times via the base-on-balls in his next game, and I'll run with that small sample size screaming into the hills announcing to all the flora and fauna that Mike Moustakas has arrived.

Until then, I get to bite my nails to the quick, hoping that he isn't the next wasted number two pick of the draft, further setting back a franchise that cannot afford to be so wasteful.

The Machine by Joe Posnanski

I feel like I should set this entry up just a little by stating that before I go anywhere else on the internet I check my RSS tab on my browser to see if Joe Posnanski has written anything new. More often than not, he has. If there isn't a new entry in the feeder, I go to the blog anyway to make sure the RSS is up to speed. If the first step fails to turn up a fresh entry, the second step almost always does.

This is somewhat remarkable in that he is so prolific in his writing that one would think the quality would suffer under the burden of his hyperproductivity. I can categorically state that it does not.

Seemingly each day, Joe* gives his loyal followers a blog entry like this, or this, or this, or this. And those are just a few that go back to the U.S. Open (tennis, not golf). To think that he does this while juggling being a husband and father of two, writing for Sports Illustrated (and before that he was a two-time AP Sportswriter of the Year as a columnist at the Kansas City Star), and writing his second book is mind-blowing to me.

*And I read his blog so voraciously that I really do feel like I am on a first-name basis with him despite the fact that there is no way he has more than a fleeting idea as to who I am--although it was my question about The Catcher in the Rye that led to a poll question a couple of weeks ago... Hell, it's even where I took this use of the asterisk (Pozterisk) to off-set tangential trains of thought.
So with that rather lengthy and not entirely relevant introduction reeking of self-indulgence perhaps only paralleled by a Harry Knowles review, I finally get to the reason behind this blog entry:

Joe Posnanski's newest book is available in bookstores (and presumably at your public library). His first book was the deeply affective The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neill's America, which you can find a review of here. You certainly wouldn't need to start there, but if you haven't read it yet, do so immediately.

As for that newest book I mentioned, it might just be as good as TSOB. Briefly titled The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, Posnanski recounts with colorful detail (and language) the storied season of one of the greatest teams to ever take the field.

Now, I am not a Reds fan. I have no feelings about them one way or the other. My level of interest in the subject matter going into the book was limited to being vaguely intrigued by the figure of Pete Rose and hoping that Joe Morgan came off as at least a bit of a jerk (thus further validating the disdain I feel towards Joe Morgan, the Color Commentator).

The returns I got from this book exceeded my expectations one-hundred-fold. Posnanski shapes the on- and off-the-field goings-on into an immensely entertaining and compelling narrative. Where some baseball books come of as a bit dry and over-burdened with clichés and purple prose, The Machine achieves an seemingly effortless engagement of the reader's attention. With only vague notions as to who these men were, I found myself often deciding that I would read five more pages and then do whatever task I needed to do only to grant the commencement of that chore another reprieve when I felt like I needed to know what happened next for Don Gullett or Ken Griffey.

The preseason stage-setting pitting the Los Angeles Dodgers against Sparky Anderson's Reds is perhaps the most surprisingly compelling section. Without any games being played, Posnanski sets the stage for the season at hand masterfully, pitting their failures up to that season against the continual expectation that the supremely talented Reds should be winning it all.

Posnanski also captures the fascinating duality of a successful clubhouse, with its friction and its camaraderie. Imbuing the book with a healthy dose of blue language (these are ballplayers we're talking about here) to insert the book comfortably into the appropriate time and place, he gives the reader the sense of actually being a fly on the wall in the '75 Reds clubhouse.

In all, this book is about as far from a chore as possible and makes for an enveloping journey from the beginning to the end of a baseball season culminating in a hard-earned and long-awaited World Series win filled with drama and suspense.

For the doubters, all you need to do is read the Prologue in which Pete Rose storms up and down the length of the dugout in Game Seven with his Reds on the ropes, feverishly cussing his teammates out. If that passage does not grab you, you have got a serious character flaw.

Regardless, the book is a fantastic read, one that should appeal to even the most casual of baseball fans.

Trey Hillman: Doing Us A Solid, Better Late Than Never

I've been pretty hard on Trey Hillman this year.

We all have been.

While I do not think the criticism levied against him is baseless or without cause, I will say that I am completely behind his decision to bring Joakim Soria in for a two-inning save behind another gem of a Zack Greinke start.

I am not even especially upset that Hillman let Soria throw 46 pitches en route to closing it out. After all, he is not going to be needed until Greinke's last start.

At this point, there is only one thing that matters for the Royals (the reasons behind that fact are too depressing to dwell on today): Zack Greinke getting the Cy Young he so rightfully deserves (even if he doesn't seem to want the recognition).

Thankfully, Trey seems to sense that we all need this.

At the end of Sam Mellinger's aforelinked article, Greinke's manager acknowledges the problems the Royals have had supporting their ace:

“Just look at the statistics,” he said. “This is an individual award. It should not be held against you if you’re the individual going for the award because you’ve lacked a severe amount of run support. Zack could have 20 wins, easily.”

While it may be too late*, it is nice to see the effort on Trey's part to assure that a victory seemingly in hand was not going to slip away as so many others have.

*I am still not sold on the BBWAA actually awarding the CY to the best pitcher in the game. Hopefully, this win over his Twins pushed that 'number' into a realm in which Patrick Reusse could fathom voting for Greinke...

The gesture, as simple as it may have been, should not go without a little acknowledgment.

The Royals Front Office Has Won The Battle of Who Could Care Less

- I've got this great idea. Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin fuckin' Mint?

I'd like to preface what I am about to say with a short qualification. What follows could very likely come across as being self-aggrandizing. It may even seem like I am trying to add a degree of importance to this thing that I do as a hobby.

Let me assure you, I have mixed feelings about this blogging thing that I have taken to. It is a medium by which we (by "we", I mean "I") can say virtually whatever we want with little or no repercussions. In anger, I am sure I have crossed a line here or there.

Furthermore, when I tell people that I write a blog about the Royals, it is not without a more than proportionate amount of shame and embarrassment. Not all of those negative feelings have causes that can be attributed to the shameful team that I unfortunately am a fan of.

I certainly have no delusions of grandeur insofar as my status in the world is concerned.

Now that I have hopefully made all that abundantly clear, I will say that amongst a sports franchise's fan base, there are not that many who feel so strongly about their team that they elect to write at length about that team. It is an endeavor that is not for the weak of heart. The dedication it takes to spend countless hours expounding upon the performance of a franchise both on and off the field is nearly immeasurable.

For fans of some teams, the time and dedication is rewarded by success in the win-column. It wouldn't be difficult to find the time to write about a team like the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Cardinals. Their on-field performance warrants such dedication.

Admittedly, this is an inexact exercise, but the simple google search of "Boston Red Sox blog" turns up 8,080,000 results. When interchanging "Kansas City Royals" for "Boston Red Sox", 1,240,000 hits pop up.

This is no coincidence.

While Kansas City is certainly a smaller market than Boston, its fan base has been depleted by years of neglect and losing.

Despite this September surge, this has been the most disappointing season I can remember. The losing has been hard to handle, to be sure. More disturbing by far has been the fact that it would seem no one is at the helm of this aimless ship.

When combining the atrocious roster moves, the wasted money, the squandered start, and the lack of vision, it is not surprising that many of those dedicated Royals bloggers have lost interest.

The vitriolic, anti-stat Dr. Thunder and Southern Lightning at Hapless Royals have jumped ship.

The thoughtful Michael A. Molde over at Undying Royalty hasn't been able to bring himself to write an entry since May 22nd.

Levi "Tug" Payton over at Everything Royals essentially hung everything up on August 2nd.

Only six of H.G. Miller's 28 posts this year over at Royal Reactions have come since June.

The stellar Jeff Parker at Royally Speaking (who also writes for Dugout Central and Hardball Cooperative) hasn't passed the 10 post mark in a month since May.

Guys like Joe Bomello at New Blue Tradition, Royals Nation at The Royal Treatment, and Clint over at Royal Report Card haven't posted in months.

I could keep going because there are many others (The Tao and Keith to name but a couple more) who have fallen by the wayside as this Royals team has made us question everything our fandom means to us. But surely no one has summed up our collective discouragement as the most prominent Royals blogger, Rany Jazayerli, did on what is to be his last post for quite some time.

Through all of this one thing becomes increasingly clear. While Dayton Moore & Co. continue to take umbrage with any criticism lobbed in their direction, many of the Royals most dedicated and passionate fans are simply giving up.

While Billy Butler's season has been cause for a little hope, and Joakim Soria has still been The Mexicutioner, there is really only one reason to watch this team ever. Meaningless September wins are not going to change this.

Dayton Moore, this season has worn your fans out. As much as we know you want to win, we no longer have the belief that we will ever see that happen. We are collectively giving up.

So if your goal was to defeat the Royals fans who might be voices of dissent when things have gone so far awry, you have won that battle, Mr. Moore.

It seems clear that we've all lost steam.

Another Greinke Start, Another Royals Letdown

Honestly, this article could write itself after almost any Greinke non-win this season.

The awful team on the field behind him finds a way to squander another Greinke gem.

Two hits and no runs allowed through six are proven to be immaterial, as the hapless Royals strand runners, ground into double plays, fall astray on the basepaths, and subvert his best efforts on defense.

There was Miguel Olivo getting caught in a run down between third and home after getting greedy on the basepaths on a DeJesus single to second. Of course, he also fell down after rounding first on the single that landed him on base in the first place. And that single on which Olivo tried to score from second base may or may not have actual crossed a line drawn directly from first to second base.

Then in the bottom half of that same inning, "Gold Glover" David DeJesus misplays a ball off the wall in the left field corner. As Shin-Soo Choo rounded second base, DeJesus further screws Greinke by attempting to pick the gently rolling ball up with his glove rather than his bare hand, flipping the ball about ten feet further away, and allowing Choo to reach third with ease on a "triple".

After inducing a weak pop fly just into foul territory at first base, Greinke was further undermined by the aforementioned left fielder. Diving nearly directly forward, DeJesus found a sinking liner off the bat of Travis Hafner making its way past his glove and onto the grass.

Choo scored with ease, while Greinke had to resign himself to striking out the villainous Luis Valbuena.

Shockingly, Trey Hillman exercised restraint in not bringing Greinke back out in a tie game in the eighth. Unfortunately, that special stat that could have helped Greinke in his quest to convince some of the more antiquated CY-voting mindsets was already out the window.

With each game that this writer watches, it becomes increasingly harder to find reasons to not outright loathe this team.

Only some of those reasons are derived from how the rest of this team (Jack Soria notwithstanding) is directly responsible for there even being a conversation about who the Cy Young Award should go to in the American League. I think the poll I put up a few articles ago answers that question.