KANSAS CITY, MO (December 31, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals today announced the club has signed outfielder Endy Chavezto a minor league contract for 2013. The Royals plan to announce the club’s Major League camp non-roster invitees at a later date.
Chavez, 34, is an 11-year Major League veteran. He made his debut in 2001 with Kansas City after the Royals selected him from the New York Mets organization in the 2000 Rule 5 Draft. The 6-foot resident of Valencia, Venezuela, is a career .269 hitter with 118 doubles, 32 triples, 26 home runs, 229 RBI, 341 runs and 100 stolen bases for the Royals (2001), Expos (2002-04), Nationals (2005), Phillies (2005), Mets (2006-08), Mariners (2009), Rangers (2011) and Orioles (2012). The left-handed hitting and throwing outfielder appeared in 64 regular season games with Baltimore last season, also playing in three Division Series games against the Yankees.
Every once in a while we reach a point in our lives when our next action will dramatically affect our lives. The string has been tightened as far as it will go without snapping. There is no in between. We either do or we don’t. It’s time for action, and that action will have long-reaching consequences.
That’s where the St. Louis Cardinals were Friday night in Washington, D.C., down 7-5 in the ninth inning to the Nationals with two strikes on catcher Yadier Molina. The next strike would’ve ended the Cardinals season. Period. But Molina worked a walk and kept the season alive.
Then the Nationals had two strikes on second baseman Daniel Descalso. The next strike would’ve ended the Cardinals season. Period.
But Descalso hit the next pitch up the middle and two runs scored to tie the game, and the Cardinals went on to win 9-7 in one of the greatest postseason comebacks in the history of Major League Baseball.
Wait, didn’t this just happen last year? The Cardinals were down to their last strike twice against the Texas Rangers in Game 6 of the World Series before coming back to win on a walkoff homerun by third baseman David Freese.
Stuff like that isn’t supposed to happen. Even if a team pulled off a miracle in one instance, the chances of that same team recreating that miracle the following season are so incredibly small that people who even think it is possible would be considered crazy.
That’s part of what made Friday’s win so amazing. Winning a close playoff game is always exhilarating, but the Cardinals won these two games under historic circumstances. The string couldn’t be pulled any tighter without breaking. As the Nationals’ fan said during Descalso’s at bat, “Just one more” would’ve completely changed the rest of the playoffs.
It’s also what makes baseball such a great sport. Within the last 12 months, baseball fans have seen the greatest final night to end a season when the Cardinals won, Atlanta Braves lost, Tampa Bay Rays won and Boston Red Sox lost. Every game ended in a walkoff except for the Cardinals, who beat the Houston Astros 10-0.
Then all of the magic rested with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 in Game 5 to win a series in which they were serious underdogs. And then Game 6 of the World Series turned out to be arguably the greatest World Series game ever played.
To have all of those moments wrapped up in one team within the span of a year is an incredible blessing for that team’s fans. The Cardinals might not have a dynasty the way the Yankees did in the late 1990s, but they now have a dynasty of great moments.
People will surely talk about the last two seasons long into the future. What Cardinals fans are experiencing right now is absolutely as good as it gets. Please remember that, because there will be tough times at some point in the future.
But right now soak it all in. These are days we will remember for the rest of our lives.
The St. Louis Cardinals have just come off a road trip, a key one, at 4-6. They still have the second Wild Card spot, thanks to the Pirates and Dodgers having some rough series of their own (up by 1/2 a game on LA and 1.5 on Pittsburgh, as of 10 AM Mon. 9/3), but it’s safe to say that the Cards probably didn’t get the job done.
Carlos Beltran slides in an attempt to field a ball hit by Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond. The play would result in a 2-run RBI single. (Source: AP)
After taking 3 of 4 from Cincinnati, the Cardinals went 2-5 in their last seven games. In a four-game stretch on the road trip, the Cardinals were outscored 32-1 by their opponent. Thankfully the Cardinals didn’t lose much ground in the Wild Card chase, but the team definitely could have used a little more breathing room heading into September.
The expanded rosters may just be the kick that the Cardinals need to push on to the playoffs. Reports are flying that top prospect Shelby Miller will be called up, and Chris Carpenter has begun throwing again and feels good.
In their remaining schedule, St. Louis faces just three teams with winning records: the Dodgers (Sept 14-16 in LA), Nationals (Sept 28-30) and Reds (Oct 1-3).
The narrative seems now to have pushed from a bad bullpen and streaky offense to bad pitching, a severely-slumping offense, and injuries with bad timing. Rafael Furcal may be out for 4-6 weeks or the rest of the season, no matter how long that happens to be. Whoever replaces him will be a downgrade, and just another hole that the Cards can’t fill.
Only time will tell what happens now, whether the Cardinals right the ship and stay in the playoff hunt or play themselves out of it. There aren’t any signs pointing in either direction at the moment, but it shouldn’t take long to find out what the rest of the season has in store for our beloved Redbirds. Where’s the Rally Squirrel when you need him?
The biggest story of June could be decisions facing the club regarding whether or not to call up any of their top prospects. Rookies called up in June or after do not qualify for “super two” status, thus delaying arbitration eligibility down the line. It will be an exciting month if one or more of the heralded prospects make their debut.
Besides that, the second half of the month will be entirely inter-league with series against the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Cubs and Padres.
June Breakdown:
Total Games: 27
Home: 15
Road: 12
Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 14
Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 10
Vs teams in the AL Central: 4
Inter-league games: 12
Key Series:
June 2-5 vs. Minnesota – This is the only series against an AL Central opponent all month, but it will only be a key series if the Royals have a surprising start and are having dreams of contention.
June 17-19 @ St. Louis – After hosting the Cards in May, the Royals head across the state for the second part of the 2011 I-70 series.
Key To a Hot Start:
The first nine games of the month are home games, so the Royals will have to take full advantage of home cooking.
At the end of June:
If the Royals are above .500… The Royals will have beaten up on the National League, something that is not entirely out of the question.
If the Royals are .500… They will have significantly over-achieved.
If the Royals are below .500… No one will be surprised.
People are always quick to say Dayton Moore is a bad GM. The problem with that statement is people don’t look at the full GM work that he does. Moore has built the Baseball America number one minor league system, which prevents him from being a bad GM but also something people around here are tired of talking about. GM has made some of the most boneheaded moves at the pro level, which everyone wants to crucify him for, which keeps him from being a good GM. So let’s except for this blog that Dayton Moore is an average GM.
Isn’t that what you should have for an average team, ran by an owner who wants an average return from exceptional fans. Well, being exceptional fans we just can’t accept things around here being average or really below average as they have been. What stinks is Baird conditioned an entire fan base to expect us to build great minor league systems and sell them off. Some say we saw it again this year with the Greinke trade. I disagree. There is a great chance 2 of the 4 prospects start in the majors and a good chance another one does. That is the kind of trade a small market team needs to make. At best we picked up instant impact at short and center and a lock down 8thinning guy to get us to Soria. We all know what the worst is. More realistically, we now have a good piece for a bad pen, someone probably better defensively than Yuni, but not as good offensively. A Triple-A centerfielder and a potential third starter in three years. I consider this trade a win, when all we gave up was two diva filled years of unhappy Greinke. Never forget Greinke blocked a great deal for the Royals from the Nationals, NEVER FORGET THAT.
The Royals also acquired Jeff Francis. A 30 year old, former 19 game winner who has had arm trouble but has also showed signs of greatness. I am personally invested in this signing because the Rockies are my National League team and Francis brought me plenty of happiness when I lived out there. I feel Francis will get some of his form back and be a 12-14 game winner, which is a heck of a lot better than what we had there. This is a win. The Royals acquire Jeff Francoeur. Come on, we knew this was going to happen. We got our hopes up it wasn’t but let’s be real. So Jeff Francoeur is a Royal (Who’s name I will misspell at least 50 times on twitter this season).One thing about Francoeur I took away from the Digital Digest interviews was, he is making a difference on the difference makers. Butler seems happier with him here and hopefully that will spell out a big year for him. I will keep this as a loss but if he is the difference maker in the clubhouse then it could be a win
Oh but then there’s Melky Cabrera. The guy all Yankees fans told me was the next Yankee legend… Um Yankee legends don’t end up with the Royals… Not even in the 80s…. I guess he’s not that bad. In his last full season in the AL, he hit 13 HRs which would be tied for fourth on last year’s team. His .274 batting average puts him behinds DDJ and Pods, tied with Gregor Blanco and ahead of the rest of the potential Royals outfielders. So if you look at the team of last year, the move makes sense, I guess, but I think everyone around here would have actually been happy to see GMDM throw out some of the kids at Omaha instead of signing another maybe outfielder. So let’s think like we can only imagine GMDM was thinking.
‘Melky is better than anything we currently have and I just did a pretty good flip on Farnsworth, Pods and Ankiel. I should be able to do as well for Melky and Franny.’
Well GMDM I can’t jump on board here. You have a good young, center fielder that you got when you traded the best player on the team and now don’t have anywhere to play him. Loved the Ankiel/Pods signing, I was wrong. Hated these signings and I hope I am wrong again and that you flip them for good AA or AAA talent, however this is a big loss for GMDM. Sorry.
Now at 2 wins, 2 losses, we get to the move to my favorite move. I started #BringbackChen on twitter as soon as he was a free agent. Boras wanted 2 years; GMDM said no way….So did everyone else. Bruce came back for one more year. I am such a sick fan that this made me happier than anything that has happened on this team all last year and this off season. He led the team in wins even though he started in Omaha. Why can’t he do it again? This time for a full season. This time to the tune of 15 plus wins. We could get thirty wins from two free agent signings. That’s more than we got from our Cy Young Winner and our $55 Million Dollar Man. This is a win! Another thing that is very positive for GMDM is, according to Greg Schaum, he has never had to go to arbitration with any player. He got another clean sweep this year! For now, even giving Kyle Davies $3.4 Mil, GMDMs ability to avoid arbitration is a win.
Billy Butler’s 4 year contract is another HUGE win! It was really cool that this story broke during fan fest and lifted all the Royals fan spirits at the Overland Park Convention Center. It’s a step in the right direction to say the Royals are going to try and contend. It allows some of us to say, ‘look they are spending money! We are getting better. Quit being Negative Nancy’s!’ I am so excited for this season!
I went in to this offseason expecting the Royals to trade Greinke and lose 100 games. Now I feel like the royals could win 70 or so and finish out of the cellar. No fan should be happy for 4th but if fans expect low and wish high, you are much happier when the team over performs rather than underperforms. Billy is coming in happy. He’s going to be the leader this team needs. Maybe they’ll surprise us and win 82 maybe they won’t but we still have baseball and a little something to look forward to.
Troy “KCRoyalman” Olsen can be heard on 810 Radio Wednesdays and Fridays from 9-11pm as part of 3 guys in a garage. Follow him at twitter.com/kcroyalman and facebook.com/kcroyalman.
This week the Cardinals travel to Pittsburgh for three games and then Washington for a four game set. As always the Cardinals have plenty of fantasy help and especially this week against the weaker National League opponents.
Albert Pujols hit .333 with two home runs, three RBI’s, and scoring five runs last week. Against the Pirates and Nationals this season he is batting .367 with two home runs and three RBI’s. In August Pujols is batting .412 with eight home runs, 17 RBI’s, and scoring 21 runs through 17 games. If you want to throw your league away, go ahead bench him but there is no need for that. Do the smart thing and keep him active in all formats. It is always the obvious decision week in and week out.
Matt Holliday has not hit a home run since Aug 3 against Houston. Last week he batted .190 with no home runs, two RBI’s and scoring two runs. This season against the Pirates and Nationals he is batting .347 with one home run and three RBI’s. Even though Holliday is in the middle of a slump, he is batting .317 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI’s on the road this season. This will be a week he gets back on track and should be active in all fantasy formats.
Jon Jay tore up San Francisco pitching last weekend. He batted .462 with three RBI’s. Jay continues to be a fine rookie season. He is batting .362 on the season while scoring 32 runs and hitting 17 doubles. On the road he is batting .391. He remains a low end fantasy option because he will not give you the power numbers. As long as he is batting above .350, hitting doubles, and scoring runs he is a nice option to have.
Colby Rasmus is currently injured with a right calf strain. There is no time table when he will return. He could be placed on the disabled list. No need to start Rasmus until he can come back and prove he is healthy. Bench him until further notice.
Adam Wainwright is scheduled to be a two start pitcher this week. He will pitch Tuesday against the Pirates and Sunday against the Nationals. He is 17-7 with a 2.06 ERA and 165 strikeouts this season. Wainwright has not pitched against the Nationals yet but against the Pirates he is 2-0 with 12 strikeouts and 2.08 ERA. Continue to start Wainwright through the rest of the season. He is an elite fantasy pitcher and there is no reason not to pitch him every time he starts.
Chris Carpenter is scheduled to pitch Thursday against the Nationals. In his last 4 starts, he is 3-1 with 2.60 ERA, 15 strikeouts, eight walks, and giving up eight earned runs over 27 2/3 innings pitched. Back on May 18, Carpenter pitched against the Nationals taking the win over eight innings pitched, striking out five and walking none. In 11 career starts against the Nationals, he is 6-1 with a 3.03 ERA and is a must start option in all fantasy formats.
Jaime Garcia is scheduled to pitch Friday against the Nationals. He is coming off his best pitching performance on the season Sunday against the Giants. He is now 11-6 while lowering his ERA to 2.42. In his last two starts, Garcia is 1-1 with no earned runs and 12 strikeouts over 15 innings pitched. He is 6-3 on the road this season and should be a viable option this week.
Ryan Franklin has not allowed a run since August 7. Last week he only had two appearances with one strikeout. I would expect more from a closer. Franklin only has 21 saves on the season. He remains a good option in most mixed leagues but no longer a must start in all fantasy leagues.
The latest additions of Jake Westbrook and Pedro Feliz have no fantasy value right now.
The Royals have been one of the least successful franchises in baseball over the past two decades. They’ve been so bad that it’s hard to believe the team has only one No. 1 overall draft pick to its name.
Luke Hochevar has been the Kansas City Royals' only No. 1 overall draft pick.
(That would be Luke Hochevar. We’ll talk more about him in a minute…)
Fortunately, the future is looking brighter for the Royals. Strong young players like Mike Moustakas are on the way up. But how much better would the outlook be if the Royals had been just a little bit worse the last few years?
Instead of drafting Eric Hosmer, Aaron Crow and Christian Colon with their three most recent first-round picks, they could have had Tim Beckham, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper with No. 1 overall selections.
The Major League Baseball Draft, just like drafts in all other sports, is designed to help the weaker teams build from the inside with the best amateur players available.
If the season ended today, the Royals would have the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft.
That’s right. There are six teams with worse records than the Royals this season. But it would be hard to argue that any team could a No. 1 overall pick more than the Royals.
So what would be wrong with the Royals laying down the rest of the season?
They wouldn’t have to do anything blatant. Just small things – like playing Jose Guillen in right field instead of DH – that would ensure the Royals lose as many games as possible.
So instead of a situation like the 2010 draft, where the Royals had the fourth overall pick in a field with only three great prospects, the team could be sitting pretty at the top of the draft.
Would such a move be unprecedented? Who’s to say? Maybe the Nationals have taken a dive on purpose the last couple years. If they did, it was a brilliant strategic move; it netted them the best pitching prospect (Strasburg) and the best hitting prospect (Harper) of all time.
Why not the Royals?
There are some drawbacks, of course. For one, the Royals might just screw it up and select a dud with a No. 1 overall pick. (See: Luke Hochevar, selected over Tim Lincecum and Evan Longoria).
Also, if the league discovered that the Royals were doing this, there could be a sizable amount of backlash. As well as copycatting. The Orioles, for example, could probably play far worse than the Royals if they tried hard enough.
The most compelling reason, though, is that fans may have trouble living with themselves if they knew their team tanked the season on purpose. The Royals can’t afford to have any more fans lose faith.
To steal from Herm Edwards: You play to win the game.
