Thanks for all your work during the season! And those are some playoff predictions (but certainly not as ridiculous as those of us who thought the Royals might win more than 70 games this season).
I was at the freezing cold rainy April 15th game which was the last game for Chris Bubic. The Braves quickly put up runs with a bunch of homers and I told my brother since I was shivering so much it was time to find a warm barbecue restaurant! The Braves can hit! As I live in ArIzona and was an original Diamondbacks season ticket holder, I will be rooting for the Diamondbacks!
The coldest I have ever been at a MLB game since living in Boston and walking home in snow flurries! On the other hand, it sure made that burnt ends sandwich taste especially good after I got unfrozen!!!
Thanks David for your thoughtful and well educated opinions on the Royals season. I am a baseball lifer, grew up with the Big Red Machine and could use a cheat sheet on the new statistics proliferating the game. A quick tutorial on the acronyms and which numbers are good: Top 75% and which are great: Top 10% would be very helpful to make today's baseball reading and analysis a bit easier.
Thanks for the ongoing commentary, David. Your efforts are appreciated. Glad I finally had the opportunity to support your writing financially. Looking forward to the off season.
First off David, great work this year. Thanks for dealing with my comments. It is so much easier and more fun to write about a winning or even a team that is okish but in it for most of the summer. So writing about a 106 loss team as much as you have is commendable.
Couple nuggets I thought were interesting. Are we sure the expectation is that more is to come from Bobby Witt Jr? I agree that I think that is what people think…but should we be is more the question. Or is it just going to look different in coming years. I was really hoping for a 30/40 to be honest. But I don’t think I’m “expecting” that next year if you know what I mean. I’m not sure anyone should really be expecting that. I can definitely see the OBP going up in coming years yet….but I can see the speed coming down. Not yet…but in a couple years here as age comes in. He should hit for more power at that point though. IDK, I just caution a little bit that people are expecting more. I think he can…but if we are expecting Acuna here….we might have our expectations out of whack.
Grienke. Love him. Glad he came back. But I do hope he retires if for no other reason than I don’t want the Royals to be tempted in bringing him back again. I don’t know if that is fair or not. Just want this team to give that spot to some people that have higher upside at this point even if it doesn’t work out. It is weird to write, but also, I feel like it’s time to let that one go.
I think the expectation for Witt isn't necessarily more than what he did from June to the end, but for him to not take two months to get going. If you look at the overall numbers, I think the expectation should be for more. I don't mean to get in a spot where I'm crapping on his numbers, but a 114 wRC+ isn't enough for $350 million. The 131 wRC+ with great defense at shortstop? Absolutely. So I think it's more about getting 90% of what he did for four months for all six.
I'm honestly fine either way on Greinke, so long as the role is what he had the last couple of months and not a guy who is going to start every fifth day and be expected to go five or six innings. You've commented on depth many times. Having a pitcher capable of giving five to eight innings a week in some capacity is very helpful. I mean look at this year. I thought (and most agreed) that the Royals bullpen went 12-14 deep and by the end of the year, Collin Snider was asked to get key outs. That said, I'm not going to be upset for the 2024 Royals if he retires or upset if he doesn't and the Royals don't sign him.
Ah yes, I too went into the year thinking the bullpen was a strength. Those were the days….So this may be weird to say but part of the reason I don’t want them to bring back Greinke is because I think if they used Lyles like they used Greinke towards the end you’d get the same production. So in some ways, they already have an in house replacement. But your point on depth is well taken. Still to the just get depth and figure it out later stages here. Shoot, still in the just get guys that can get anyone out stages. Lol.
Yeah, Lyles might not be bad in a role like that, but I mean if there are pitchers who can help them get some of the 4,400ish outs they need, I'm good with any and all of them on the team.
Thanks for sticking with it through the ups and downs! Brewers are my NL team so I'll have some semblance of a rooting interest, but I have doubts about that offense in the playoffs
Yeah, that's my biggest issue with them. And Josh Donaldson being there makes them a bit less likable. I just have a tough time with a team having to go through Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta and coming out on top, but the playoffs are a different beast.
Well, after the all star break was definitely more fun to watch than before it. I watched approximately 80-85% of the 162 games and very often it was quite painful. After the all star game I saw a team start to play like a team. The bullpen was still horrible but that can be fixed. I watched Hernandez go from big nasty to big useless. I never stopped watching. I have been a Royals fan since 1972 and I’ve been disappointed before. 76-78 was gut wrenching to say the least. But I’ve seen something no cubs fan alive has seen and that’s TWO world championships. I still think they should’ve sent Gordon in 2014, but 2015 was sweet. No bad call at first to spoil the high. These are my boys and always will be. I live smack dab in the middle of Yankee country and taking the series finale from them was so sweet. The good lord willing and the creek don’t rise I’ll be watching again next year. One final note. Don’t trade Salvy, the prospects they would get would never equal his leadership and tutelage. Let him retire a Royal. He deserves it and so do the fans. Peace out ✌️
They did look much better after the break. I'll continue to say that the coaching staff did a heck of a job in keeping guys interested even if some of them were playing for their careers and had every reason to be pushing hard to the end.
As for Salvy, I don't think it's a lock he's traded, but, especially if the White Sox hire Dayton Moore, I'd say it's more likely than not. You may be right that they won't get enough back to make it worth it, but I think the Royals see this as Witt's team now. And the other side of it is that if Salvy wants to go (which I don't know if he does or doesn't but playing for Pedro Grifol and Dayton probably wouldn't be too upsetting to him), the Royals will make it happen to do right by him. We'll see how it goes!
I think right now that Salvy is borderline (could go either way) for the Hall of Fame. Another couple of good years could put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Can he do that best in KC or Chicago? I think he needs to get his weight down and expect to only catch 60-80 games next year but he proved to me that he can play first base. Who was the first Royal to give BWJ a big hug after homer #30?
I don't think he's borderline yet. I wrote about that a few months ago in a mailbag (that I need to do again), but he's working on getting there. I'm not saying he's not valuable in Kansas City. I'm just saying be emotionally prepared to see him go.
I think catchers get a break on the HOF statistics because the job behind the plate is so tough! Salvy breaking Bench’s record for homers by a catcher was huge! Waiting for your detailed analysis of Salvy’s chances of getting into the HOF!
The Royals’ season really improved when I started reading your newsletter, David.
As for the playoffs, I tend to root for the underdog when I watch a game with teams I don’t know well or I base it on geography: I have friends in Toronto; relatives in Minneapolis. When it comes to the World Series, I have a dear friend who is a Houston fan and while I’d hate for her to be disappointed I’m just tired of seeing Houston overpower everybody else.
Thanks for the insights all year, definitely made the season more tolerable (even enjoyable at times). Like everyone, looking forward to the offseason.
David, thanks for all the great insight, wit, and being the guide for this little community of Royals fans as we slogged through this season together. Very strange in that our team was out of it about three weeks into the season and yet, as soon as the game ended yesterday, I was already sad that it’s five months before we start this up again. I think I speak for a lot of us in saying it’s a privilege to financially support your writing and is a heck of a deal for us. Looking forward to the off-season content and thanks again!
Great job all year David!!!!! Looking forward to next year already. I was a little more than irritated that the team didn't make a way for Grienke to get a couple of at bats Sunday. I would have done an Ohtani move and DH him.
Good for Grienke! Nice to see him go out with a win!...that said, watching him pitch through two 15+ loss seasons in one lifetime is enough for me....please retire.
Whatever the royals do in free agency they gotta focus on quality....not sprinkling 20 million dollars across a couple of pitchers who have already played their best baseball and hope they "find it" again....it time to get serious about winning.
And the pressure is really on thier pitching brain trust to get the arms they have pitching up to thier potential....on the position side I think all thier problems can be solved from within...
Don't worry about your predictions.... I had singer morphing into Tom Seaver at one point and Lynch into Steve Carlton...now that's delusion!
David, I began sports blogging in late 1998, about the time that the term blog was coined and entered the zeitgeist. I've probably published over 10K posts, in addition to being a sports talk show host and TV host. I know how difficult it is to gain traction, and the most important ability is availability, or in this context, consistency. I have been reading you for years and your breakdowns, regardless of the frequency, are must reads for me...even in a year like this, I still watched over half the games, but I never missed one of your blogs. The Royals are like family to me, and you are in that family, too. Thanks for all the hours, the things you might have missed IRL (I know there are things you missed) and I hope you find the perfect work/blog/life balance where all three phases provide you great contentment and joy. Take care and thank you.
Thanks for all your work during the season! And those are some playoff predictions (but certainly not as ridiculous as those of us who thought the Royals might win more than 70 games this season).
I know? Who in the hell could imagine the Royals winning more than 70 games? Please don't look at my predictions.
I was at the freezing cold rainy April 15th game which was the last game for Chris Bubic. The Braves quickly put up runs with a bunch of homers and I told my brother since I was shivering so much it was time to find a warm barbecue restaurant! The Braves can hit! As I live in ArIzona and was an original Diamondbacks season ticket holder, I will be rooting for the Diamondbacks!
I don't know that I have a rooting interest in this year's playoffs other than to win money. But the Diamondbacks are as good as anyone to root for!
Was at same game ... don't remember anything though bc basically frozen by time we left.
The coldest I have ever been at a MLB game since living in Boston and walking home in snow flurries! On the other hand, it sure made that burnt ends sandwich taste especially good after I got unfrozen!!!
Thanks David for your thoughtful and well educated opinions on the Royals season. I am a baseball lifer, grew up with the Big Red Machine and could use a cheat sheet on the new statistics proliferating the game. A quick tutorial on the acronyms and which numbers are good: Top 75% and which are great: Top 10% would be very helpful to make today's baseball reading and analysis a bit easier.
Thanks.
I've actually been working on a glossary page that life has just gotten in the way of, but keep an eye out for that!
Brilliant idea Bob...I usually just sail threw them looking for batting average!
Thanks for the ongoing commentary, David. Your efforts are appreciated. Glad I finally had the opportunity to support your writing financially. Looking forward to the off season.
Thanks Don! I'm looking forward to it too. A lot more hope without the ability to lose any games haha.
First off David, great work this year. Thanks for dealing with my comments. It is so much easier and more fun to write about a winning or even a team that is okish but in it for most of the summer. So writing about a 106 loss team as much as you have is commendable.
Couple nuggets I thought were interesting. Are we sure the expectation is that more is to come from Bobby Witt Jr? I agree that I think that is what people think…but should we be is more the question. Or is it just going to look different in coming years. I was really hoping for a 30/40 to be honest. But I don’t think I’m “expecting” that next year if you know what I mean. I’m not sure anyone should really be expecting that. I can definitely see the OBP going up in coming years yet….but I can see the speed coming down. Not yet…but in a couple years here as age comes in. He should hit for more power at that point though. IDK, I just caution a little bit that people are expecting more. I think he can…but if we are expecting Acuna here….we might have our expectations out of whack.
Grienke. Love him. Glad he came back. But I do hope he retires if for no other reason than I don’t want the Royals to be tempted in bringing him back again. I don’t know if that is fair or not. Just want this team to give that spot to some people that have higher upside at this point even if it doesn’t work out. It is weird to write, but also, I feel like it’s time to let that one go.
I think the expectation for Witt isn't necessarily more than what he did from June to the end, but for him to not take two months to get going. If you look at the overall numbers, I think the expectation should be for more. I don't mean to get in a spot where I'm crapping on his numbers, but a 114 wRC+ isn't enough for $350 million. The 131 wRC+ with great defense at shortstop? Absolutely. So I think it's more about getting 90% of what he did for four months for all six.
I'm honestly fine either way on Greinke, so long as the role is what he had the last couple of months and not a guy who is going to start every fifth day and be expected to go five or six innings. You've commented on depth many times. Having a pitcher capable of giving five to eight innings a week in some capacity is very helpful. I mean look at this year. I thought (and most agreed) that the Royals bullpen went 12-14 deep and by the end of the year, Collin Snider was asked to get key outs. That said, I'm not going to be upset for the 2024 Royals if he retires or upset if he doesn't and the Royals don't sign him.
Ah yes, I too went into the year thinking the bullpen was a strength. Those were the days….So this may be weird to say but part of the reason I don’t want them to bring back Greinke is because I think if they used Lyles like they used Greinke towards the end you’d get the same production. So in some ways, they already have an in house replacement. But your point on depth is well taken. Still to the just get depth and figure it out later stages here. Shoot, still in the just get guys that can get anyone out stages. Lol.
Yeah, Lyles might not be bad in a role like that, but I mean if there are pitchers who can help them get some of the 4,400ish outs they need, I'm good with any and all of them on the team.
Thank YOU, David. I have enjoyed your comments throughout the season. I hope you return for another year with those crazy Royals.
Oh I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry!
Thanks for sticking with it through the ups and downs! Brewers are my NL team so I'll have some semblance of a rooting interest, but I have doubts about that offense in the playoffs
Yeah, that's my biggest issue with them. And Josh Donaldson being there makes them a bit less likable. I just have a tough time with a team having to go through Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta and coming out on top, but the playoffs are a different beast.
Well, after the all star break was definitely more fun to watch than before it. I watched approximately 80-85% of the 162 games and very often it was quite painful. After the all star game I saw a team start to play like a team. The bullpen was still horrible but that can be fixed. I watched Hernandez go from big nasty to big useless. I never stopped watching. I have been a Royals fan since 1972 and I’ve been disappointed before. 76-78 was gut wrenching to say the least. But I’ve seen something no cubs fan alive has seen and that’s TWO world championships. I still think they should’ve sent Gordon in 2014, but 2015 was sweet. No bad call at first to spoil the high. These are my boys and always will be. I live smack dab in the middle of Yankee country and taking the series finale from them was so sweet. The good lord willing and the creek don’t rise I’ll be watching again next year. One final note. Don’t trade Salvy, the prospects they would get would never equal his leadership and tutelage. Let him retire a Royal. He deserves it and so do the fans. Peace out ✌️
They did look much better after the break. I'll continue to say that the coaching staff did a heck of a job in keeping guys interested even if some of them were playing for their careers and had every reason to be pushing hard to the end.
As for Salvy, I don't think it's a lock he's traded, but, especially if the White Sox hire Dayton Moore, I'd say it's more likely than not. You may be right that they won't get enough back to make it worth it, but I think the Royals see this as Witt's team now. And the other side of it is that if Salvy wants to go (which I don't know if he does or doesn't but playing for Pedro Grifol and Dayton probably wouldn't be too upsetting to him), the Royals will make it happen to do right by him. We'll see how it goes!
I think right now that Salvy is borderline (could go either way) for the Hall of Fame. Another couple of good years could put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Can he do that best in KC or Chicago? I think he needs to get his weight down and expect to only catch 60-80 games next year but he proved to me that he can play first base. Who was the first Royal to give BWJ a big hug after homer #30?
I don't think he's borderline yet. I wrote about that a few months ago in a mailbag (that I need to do again), but he's working on getting there. I'm not saying he's not valuable in Kansas City. I'm just saying be emotionally prepared to see him go.
I think catchers get a break on the HOF statistics because the job behind the plate is so tough! Salvy breaking Bench’s record for homers by a catcher was huge! Waiting for your detailed analysis of Salvy’s chances of getting into the HOF!
You can see what I wrote before the season here at the end - https://insidethecrown.substack.com/p/itc-mailbag-kansas-city-royals-questions
The Royals’ season really improved when I started reading your newsletter, David.
As for the playoffs, I tend to root for the underdog when I watch a game with teams I don’t know well or I base it on geography: I have friends in Toronto; relatives in Minneapolis. When it comes to the World Series, I have a dear friend who is a Houston fan and while I’d hate for her to be disappointed I’m just tired of seeing Houston overpower everybody else.
Unless it’s the Yankees.
See you around the hot stove?
The good news is we don't have to worry about the Yankees this year at least!
And you know I'll be here!
Thanks for the insights all year, definitely made the season more tolerable (even enjoyable at times). Like everyone, looking forward to the offseason.
Thanks for reading! I'm ready to start looking ahead.
Thanks David ! I agree Salvy is in the neighborhood of the HOF, it it would be very beneficial for him to have at least 2 more good seasons!
David, thanks for all the great insight, wit, and being the guide for this little community of Royals fans as we slogged through this season together. Very strange in that our team was out of it about three weeks into the season and yet, as soon as the game ended yesterday, I was already sad that it’s five months before we start this up again. I think I speak for a lot of us in saying it’s a privilege to financially support your writing and is a heck of a deal for us. Looking forward to the off-season content and thanks again!
I really appreciate that, Scott! Thanks so much for being part of this community!
Pine Tar Press? Never heard of it. :)
Thanks for a great season of coverage, David. Here's to a busy offseason because this roster needs about 15 new players.
Yeah, it's some website with a bunch of nobodies writing. Gone and forgotten!
Great job all year David!!!!! Looking forward to next year already. I was a little more than irritated that the team didn't make a way for Grienke to get a couple of at bats Sunday. I would have done an Ohtani move and DH him.
Yeah, I don't know why they didn't, but maybe Zack had something to do with it? I don't know. It happens, I guess.
Good for Grienke! Nice to see him go out with a win!...that said, watching him pitch through two 15+ loss seasons in one lifetime is enough for me....please retire.
Whatever the royals do in free agency they gotta focus on quality....not sprinkling 20 million dollars across a couple of pitchers who have already played their best baseball and hope they "find it" again....it time to get serious about winning.
And the pressure is really on thier pitching brain trust to get the arms they have pitching up to thier potential....on the position side I think all thier problems can be solved from within...
Don't worry about your predictions.... I had singer morphing into Tom Seaver at one point and Lynch into Steve Carlton...now that's delusion!
David, I began sports blogging in late 1998, about the time that the term blog was coined and entered the zeitgeist. I've probably published over 10K posts, in addition to being a sports talk show host and TV host. I know how difficult it is to gain traction, and the most important ability is availability, or in this context, consistency. I have been reading you for years and your breakdowns, regardless of the frequency, are must reads for me...even in a year like this, I still watched over half the games, but I never missed one of your blogs. The Royals are like family to me, and you are in that family, too. Thanks for all the hours, the things you might have missed IRL (I know there are things you missed) and I hope you find the perfect work/blog/life balance where all three phases provide you great contentment and joy. Take care and thank you.
Thanks for the subscription and the kind words, Jon! That balance is always elusive but we’re all doing our best to get there!