The Royals Must Re-Acquire James Shields

Danville, Kentucky -- Folks, few experiences are as magical as reuniting with a childhood friend. In 1999, the stars aligned for a chance meeting between myself and my childhood best friend, Rhett. Rhett and I go way back. As kids, we'd play stickball out in an old alley on weekends. As teenagers, we rose through the Danville baseball system together, eventually playing together in High School. Rhett was reliable both on and off the field. Rhett was the best 3rd baseman a pitcher like myself could ask for. I could rack up Ks by reaching back for 89 miles-per-hour in a pinch, but more often than not I trusted Rhett and my other teammates to convert batted balls into outs. Rhett dutifully manned the hot corner behind me for years, including during my no-hitter. When I encountered Rhett at an old Danville watering hole one day in the Winter of '99, I was dumbstruck. We talked for hours over watery beer and pretzel crumbs, about our life ventures that worked and the many more that didn't. Our lives had come full circle.

The World Series Champion Kansas City Royals™ have a chance to bring their story full circle by making a man from their past part of their future. Unfortunately for the good-natured, barbecue-loving people of the greater Kansas City area, the boys in blue have stumbled out of the gates in their journey to re-retake the crown. As of writing this, they are second to last in the American League in runs scored, only 3 runs ahead of the lowly Twins. The Royals starting pitching staff eats innings like I eat kale, hummus, and other liberal foods: not at all. The Royals starting pitchers have pitched the 3rd fewest innings in entire MLB, beating only the Twins and my pathetic Cincinnati Reds. They trail both the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox in the standings. Something needs to be done. Fortunately, there is a move the Royals can make to instantly fix these problems and boost their chances of appearing in their 3rd straight World Series.

Why the Royals Need Big Game James

The Royals need a man to anchor their rotation. They need a man to go deep into games to give the bullpen a rest and prevent the three-headed monster from blowing out their arms mid-season, Greg Holland-style. The Royals need James Shields. James taught the Royals how to win on their way to a World Series appearance in 2014. Now he can take them to winning post-graduate school. Big Game James has pitched more than 200 innings every year since 2007. In 2015, the only Royal pitcher to hit the 200 inning mark was Edinson Volquez. In the past, the Royals have had reliable innings eaters like Jeremy Guthrie, who pitched 200+ innings in 2013 and 2014. No such relief appears to be on the horizon in 2016. With playoff hero Chris Young and intriguing bounceback candidate Kris Medlen on the disabled list, the Royals need stability in their rotation. The Royals don't need the ace-level Shields of 2011-2014; the young Yordano Ventura and Ian Kennedy will eventually round into form to form a potent #1 and #2. Big James, a 10+ game winner every year since 2007, will be a stabilizing presence in both the clubhouse and on the diamond. 

Fortunately for the Royals, the San Diego Padres have a man who could fix Kansas City's run-scoring woes as well. Dayton Moore should inquire about proven slugger Matt Kemp, whose 29 RBIs so far in 2016 would lead the team were he to join the Royals (Salvador Perez has 21, while Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain have plated 20 runs each). The Royals need a man who can drive in leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar and clear the bases with extra base hits. Kemp, who has already hit 10 home runs this year, could provide power hitting from a corner outfield position, which the Royals have lacked so far in 2016. Moreover, Kemp would offer insurance at the Designated Hitter position in case Cuban bomber Kendrys Morales continues to struggle. Importantly for the Royals, trading for Matt Kemp would solve their DH dilemma for years to come, as he is signed through 2019. I personally think the Royals should make a move for Billy Butler, but landing Big Game James and perennial MVP candidate Matt Kemp in one deal is more enticing than the Aussie Chicken Tacos at Outback Steakhouse.

Everyone knows to get something, you have to give something. It's true of divorce settlements and also true of baseball. What could the Royals offer baseball genius A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres for James Shields and Matt Kemp? Unfortunately, the Royals don't have Wil Myers to offer this time around, although the Royals might inquire if Mr. Myers could be thrown into the deal as well. The Royals could start negotiations by offering Raul Mondesi; the Padres will need young power-hitting bats as they rebuild for the future, and Raul has shown he is determined to chug as much cold medicine as it takes to reach his dinger-blasting potential. 

CONCLUSION 

My own reunion with Rhett was not as magical as a potential Royals-Shields reunion would be. In 1972, Rhett left me awed by his ability to nimbly dance around the hot corner, converting hard-hit ground balls into outs. In 1999, he left me outraged and burning with jealousy when I discovered him dancing with my wife, singing romantic Barry Manilow songs together during a Karaoke night at Applebee's. I found myself crying into a plate of quesadillas and onions rings that night. But this sense of failure and inadequacy doesn't have to be the fate of the 2016 Kansas City Royals. If they pull the trigger to land Big Game James and Matt Kemp, the only rings they're likely to encounter will be of the championship variety. 

Shields & Kemp: the 2016 Royals saviors

Alcides Escobar Must Bat Lead-Off

Danville, Kentucky -- Folks, it didn't take long, but the spreadsheet gazers of the world are already questioning the wisdom of World Series Champion™  Ned Yost. Overreacting to a couple of games of lukewarm offensive production in April, folks are calling for ALCS MVP Alcides Escobar to be demoted from the lead-off spot of the batting order. The calls are growing louder and louder.

Royals have left 300 men on base tonight, oh and Escobar is NOT a leadoff hitter Ned!!!!!!

— Rob - Vegas34 (@RebelRob34) April 28, 2016

Even Omar is a better leadoff hitter than Escobar.

— Adam (@barretta816) April 28, 2016

Escobar should not be batting leadoff. Cute story in the playoffs. Get serious.

— Brian (@BrianMcGannon) April 28, 2016

For the love of God, get Alcides Escobar out of the leadoff spot. #Royals

— Ryan Landreth (@ryan_landreth) April 27, 2016

The fine folks at Baseball Prospectus KC are demanding it. Some dude from Topeka is demanding it. Even Jesse Newell, a great man and lover of Kansas Football, has criticized Mr. Escobar. But they're wrong.

It's a bigger over-reaction than the Dodd-Frank legislation passed by Congress in the aftermath of the '08 financial crisis. Like Dodd-Frank, any rash decision to displace Esky from the top of the Royals' lineup would both stymie productivity and introduce massive uncertainty.

Let's look at the likely alternatives, for starters.

JARROD DYSON

Folks, I love Jarrod. The man has speed. The man has swagger. He isn't afraid to bunt, steal, and stunt on fools; an all around nasty old-school player with an attitude that's hard to come by in the age of moneyball. However, putting Dyson in the lead-off spot makes no sense. Keeping Dyson's lefty bat in the #9 spot, Esky's righty bat in the #1 spot, and lefty Moose's bat in the #2 spot gives opposing managers headaches when it comes time to make late-game relief pitching changes based on righty/lefty match-ups. That's a huge edge for the boys in blue. Moreover, Dyson is right at home in the #9 spot -- it's like having a second lead-off hitter after the 1st inning. Dyson is putting up great numbers from the #9 spot this year, and looks very comfortable. It would be unwise to move Dyson away from a role where he is currently excelling.

ALEX GORDON

Putting Alex Gordon in the #1 spot would be a real Terry Francona move. Francona recently promoted DH Carlos Santana to the lead-off spot, citing his ability to get on base via plate discipline and walks. Terry Francona's team, the Indians, are currently in 3rd place. There's a reason why Ned just won a World Series while Terry is most well-known for running the Indians into the ground for several straight seasons. Folks, I know Gordon has a shinier OBP than Esky. But leadoff hitters aren't supposed to chase walks and clog the bases. The top of the lineup needs to be quick, and put the ball in play. Do the Royals win Game 1 of the 2015 World Series if Esky draws a walk instead of hitting a first-pitch inside-the-park home run? I doubt it.

I love Mr. Gordon. But he Ks too much for the lead-off spot, and the Royals need Gordon's power bat lower in the lineup, where he can drive in runs. Don't move Gordon. OBP is overrated. Give me a quick guy who can put the ball in play any day.

OMAR INFANTE

Folks, I'd defend Omar to the death. He's got more World Series experience than just about any player in baseball not on the San Francisco Giants. But Omar is a doubles machine. The Royals need Omar's doubles later in the batting order, to cash in base-runners and score runs.

CONCLUSION

Being a baseball player is just like any other job: a man needs certainty. I once worked on an oil rig. I loved drilling black gold, and I was damn good at it. I had great hand-eye coordination and could implement the drilling plans our petroleum engineers drew up, no matter how complicated or risky. But if you had changed my role -- taken away my job as a driller, and made me a Service Unit Operator, for instance -- I'd have failed miserably. I just don't know how to read and interpret all those thermometers, gauges, and pressure indicators, folks. A baseball team is like an oil-rig: it's a finely-tuned machine. You can't go switching key parts of a machine willy-nilly, unless you're trying to cause Deepwater Horizon 2.0. You could inadvertently destroy the entire chemistry of the Royals lineup if you take Esky out of the lead-off spot.

Alcides Escobar is an MVP, an All-Star Game starting shortstop, and a fantastic lead-off man. You'd have to have a very short memory to flirt with removing Esky from a role he thrives in.

Do these people not remember Alcides' clutch single in the 8th inning of ALDS Game 4, which kept the line moving and ultimately led to a season-saving rally?

Have the critics forgotten about Escobar's RBI single in the 3rd inning of ALCS Game 1, which ended up being the only run the Royals needed in a 5-0 victory?

What about Esky's sublime bunt single in the first inning of ALCS Game 4, setting the table for a Ben Zobrist 2-run bomb? That's prototypical lead-off man stylings, folks.

The first-pitch inside-the-park homer wasn't even Esky's finest offensive contribution in last year's World Series. Don't forget his RBI single and RBI triple in World Series Game 2. Or his RBI double -- a crucial insurance run -- in the decisive Game 5 of the 2015 World Series.

In the past two postseasons, Mr. Escobar has posted a .311 batting average, with 9 doubles, 3 triples, and 14 RBI. He's earned his spot as the lead-off hitter.

Fortunately, Ned is a man with patience. Ned knows that if Esky was good enough for the World Champion 2015 Royals, he'll be good enough for the 2016 Royals too. Just give him time. Don't mess with something that works. Batting Alcides Escobar at the top of the Royals lineup made Kansas City great. Those that want to make Kansas City great again should hope he stays there.

Clubhouse Chaos: Why I Don't Believe in the 2016 White Sox

Danville, Kentucky -- The year was 1998. NAFTA had all but emptied the heartland of good-paying union jobs, and I was left on the outside looking in at the benefits of globalization. I was between jobs, and working at a Dave and Busters in the metro Cincinnati area. Dave and Busters was a lone beacon of hope in a sea of despair, lay-offs, and unemployment. The burgers were plump, juicy, and generously adorned with high-quality condiments. The beer was golden like the locks of an ambrosial blonde German lass, foamy like the oceans across which my job had been outsourced, and affordable to boot.

Best of all, it was the perfect place to take your kid. The claw machines weren't rigged, like the type you might find at a lesser sports-bar/arcade complex. You could take your child to Dave and Busters without fearing that they'd sink $20 into an unwinnable arcade game, laboring for tickets and prizes in a Sisyphean manner. There wasn't a better way to provide affordable food and family-friendly entertainment.

But like all good things, my job at Dave and Busters was not meant to last. With my own kids having recently left the nest to pursue college degrees, I took my employment at this fine establishment as an opportunity to bond with one of the last children left in my life: my nephew. My nephew loved Dave and Busters. Who doesn't?

My boss first approached me about the inordinate amount of time my nephew spent around my workplace in June of '98. I paid him no heed, until I was dismissed from D&B in August of '98. Did I occasionally give my nephew free appetizers? Yes. Did the 9-year old kid make a habit out of patrolling the restaurant for half-empty beers to finish? Yes. Did my nephew get so skilled at several of the arcade game that it hurt D&B's bottom line? Perhaps. Did my facilitation of these behaviors warrant firing me? Probably. But I'd rather lose my job than lose the respect and love of my nephew. I put family first that day, and lost my job because of it.

If Dave and Busters is a great place to raise a kid, an MLB clubhouse is even better.

Adam LaRoche in 2013: “I told my wife, ‘He’s going to learn a lot more useful information in the clubhouse than he will in the classroom.'"

— Chris De Luca (@ChrisDeLuca) March 16, 2016

Folks, it's not everyday that a wise old slugger like Adam spits truth like that. An MLB clubhouse is a veritable treasure trove of wisdom and veteran experience. It's why Little Victor Martinez spends so much time around the Detroit Tigers clubhouse.

It's why young Prince Fielder spent so much time around the Detroit clubhouse when his father, Cecil Fielder, was on the team.

You don't learn how to be a good person or how to succeed at life in a classroom. There are some lessons that only the world can teach you. The world is not in your textbooks -- it's out there. God bless Adam LaRoche for trying to be the best father he could. None of us are in any position to criticize his parenting. He knows what is best for his child.

If only the White Sox front office knew what was best for the team. Most franchises would kill to have guys like Adam LaRoche -- high-character guys, father figures, mentor figures -- in their clubhouse. Yet the White Sox have driven him into retirement by heavy-handedly banning his son, Drake, from the clubhouse.

Why I Can't Buy Into the White Sox

I don't care to engage in the he-said/she-said about these events. We still don't know alot of the details. Did another player complain to a higher-up about Drake's excessive presence? Did the GM or owner unilaterally ban Drake without being bidden to do so by a player? This Danville man doesn't pretend to know.

But let me say this: when representatives of the liberal mainstream media report that White Sox players complained to higher-ups about Drake, and home-run derby hero Todd Frazier says "no players asked Sox to remove Drake LaRoche," I'll believe the Todd-father nine times out of ten.

We may never know what exactly happened. What I do know is that the White Sox have done a bad job of managing their clubhouse. For a couple of years now, the White Sox have made flashy off-season acquisitions: Melky Cabrera, Jeff Samardzija, Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, etc. Yet, they have perennially under-performed. This may sound quaint in an era of fangraphs and analytics, but I think it's because of clubhouse chemistry. How can you be a contender when the clubhouse is such a dramatic mess? At the very least it's a huge distraction, over-shadowing the hard work that needs to be done on-the-field.

Hear me out: the White Sox have made a habit out of neglecting clubhouse chemistry. They've let too many players with character problems onto their team. We all heard the rumors about the dubious deeds of Avisail Garcia in his Detroit Tiger days. Reports that he slept with Prince Fielder's wife and scrapped with 2-time MVP Miguel Cabrera should've been a red flag. In 2015, Rant Sports documented the 15 biggest jerks in the MLB. Three of them are current or former White Sox: Brett Lawrie, Jeff Samardzija, and A.J. Pierzynski.

We all saw Brett Lawrie's dirty slide at Alcides Escobar.



We all saw Chris Sale instigate a benches clearing incident vs. the Tigers in 2014, and we all heard about him storming the Royals' clubhouse spoiling for a fight after being ejected in 2015.

There are too many examples to ignore. The White Sox front office has systematically failed to bring high-character players into the organization. When your clubhouse is in a constant state of chaos -- because your players are starting brawls, getting ejected, having attitude problems -- it's hard for your team to stay mentally focused and win.

Conclusion

Don't get me wrong -- I have great respect for the White Sox franchise. Hawk Harrelson is the greatest living baseball announcer, except for Vin Scully. RBI-machine Frank Thomas is one of my favorite players of all time. I love many current White Sox players: Tyler Saladino is one of the grittiest guys in the league. I just wish the White Sox would do a better job identifying hard-working, decent men like Tyler. They appear to have found one such man in LaRoche, only to drive him from the game.

The White Sox have their work cut out for them. Upgrading the roster with flashy signings and trades doesn't matter if the pieces don't gel inter-personally. The White Sox need to attend to the human element of roster construction. Landing Todd Frazier is a good first step: as a Cincinnati Reds fan, I assure you, Todd is an excellent player and an excellent person: just a humble kid from Jersey trying to make a name for himself. It's a good sign that the White Sox players, despite all their character flaws, are circling the wagons by rebelling against the front office for the unfair treatment of Adam LaRoche.

With LaRoche retired, the White Sox need a designated hitter. I think it's time to give Paulie Konerko a call. Paul Konerko was a premier slugger, and a classy man. He led the team to a World Series title in 2005. At 40 years old, he's only slightly older than LaRoche was. He's family. In the game of baseball, like Dave and Busters, family should come first.

Thank u Lord for the game of baseball and for giving me way more than I ever deserved!#FamilyFirst

— Adam LaRoche (@e3laroche) March 15, 2016