The Royals Show How a Pennant is Won

In my main fantasy baseball league consisting of dear lifelong friends and their offshoot, we keep it loose. We have a trade policy that basically says "Do whatever the fuck you want" The folly of trying to legislate fantasy baseball trades is legendary, can't be done, so we don't. We do have a position known as the Trade Czar. His sole job is to assess publicly each trade usually ripping it to shreds. Public shaming is our weapon of choice.

So, looking at the series of blockbuster moves the Wal Mart gang has pulled off this month, I asked our Czar (Mike Taylor) to break down each moves as if one of our contending teams had made the move. I think he nailed it.

Czar Please partake in an exercise 

Posted by Bart Ewing (Just a Small One) on 7/29/2014 12:10 PM 
I would like you to do your trade commentary on the following Royals moves as if they occurred in our Roto league by a team in similar situation as Royals, a team on the fringe of making a money push and going for it- Teams in this vein would be Suckass or Small Ones or Strangeglove, team that mathematically could do it bit it will take a move or two. How would the Czar respond to these playoff push moves
1. Signing R Ibanez on a FAAB
2. Signing S Downs on a FAAB
3. Trading Spencer Patton farm player for Jason Frasor
4. Trading D Valencia for E Kratz and L Hendricks

Here goes

Posted by Mike Taylor (Snakes Huckleberrys) on 7/29/2014 2:40 PM 
Czar says:
1. Signing R Ibanez on a FAAB:
Royals attempt to intimidate the competition by demonstrating they have a roster so tight and a budget so large they can piss on both by signing a player they refused to sign when he was a solid return on the dollar. It pains the Czar to bag on a player he has always liked, but damn, the man is done done done. And although he can’t quite get around on the fastball, he makes up for it by not being ableto cover any ground. On the plus side—seeing him on the field makes me feel a little less decrepit. Done deal. 
2. Signing S Downs on a FAAB:
Goddammit! I should not have to put down my drink to enter a Fucking (yes that is his first name) Scott Downs signing. Downsy was irrelevant even when he was relevant. But I suppose it is S.O.P. for major league teams to use up a roster spot for those games when you are having your ass handed to you and you don’t want to damage a human being by submitting him to a two-fisted beating. ..enter Fucking Downs, the human punching bag. If this “man” enters a game that is closer than 14 runs I will have to shove the neck of a full bottle of Wild Turkey down my throat and inhale at a rate fast enough to send me into a protective coma. Done deal.
3. Trading Spencer Patton farm player for Jason Frasor:
Waittaminnit…didn’t I already enter this move?!? No, wait, that was Fucking S Downs. No matter how badly this deal makes me feel, imagine poor Patton. You go to work one day and they tell you that you are packing your bags because the organization has decided they would rather have a pile of regurgitated whiskey, semen, and Taco Bell from the toothless mouth of a 47 year old methwhore, than you. Done deal (but I am feeling a little violated).
4. Trading D Valencia for E Kratz and L Hendricks:
Clearly The Royals have identified the last missing pieces to a become a bona fide juggernaut—a backup catcher with the potential to blossom into a backup catcher (although he was 3rd on the ‘ol depth chart of his last team) and a pitcher who was released by the Twins—yes the same twins that are running out Kevin Correia and Logan Darnell every 5 days. These guys better be giving blow jobs in the locker room or otherwise I just don’t get it. Maybe Moose had an eye transplant and all of a sudden he can see the ball coming out of a lefty’s hand. 
One thing is for certain—with this flurry of game changing roster moves the Royals are demonstrating a level of commitment that should inspire the fan base. I understand they have announced a new between inning contest for the stadium faithful: one lucky fan will be handed a luger with one bullet—the rest of the crowd gets to guess if he’ll shoot one of the New Royals or stick the barrel in his mouth and remind the world what it means to be a Royals fan. Done deal.
And now my head hurts. 

1973 Season -it's the little things

I put my Royals career replay on hold 2 years just to wait for the 73 caddy version after I completed the 1972 replay. Well worth it though it was a tough 2013 winter. What separates Strat from other games is how it teaches you about history and context in any given year. You get a true feel of the essence of what that year in baseball was all about and what any given manager was thinking about and dealing with. I also love to look back at a season when sabermetrics was nowhere to be seen and apply in hindsight if a manager was onto something in his gut that was actually statistically supported and of course vice versa where managers got it so wrong and a move made absolutely no sense in any historical context.

Start with the good- I salute you Ken Aspromonte skipper of the not so hot 1973 Cleveland Indians. The tribe could mash but had iron gloves especially in the outfield. Only Frank Duffy at SS and a young Buddy Bell could field their positions. Outfield had Charlie Spikes  in LF (4-17) George Hendrick in CF (3-4) and The Fro Oscar Gamble in Rf (5-10), all hit over 20 home runs slugged .400-.460. Aspromonte also predates Earl Weaver's platoon discovery of John Lowenstein who partnered with Walter "No Neck" Williams at DH and outfield, they couldn't  field either. Enter our subject Rusty Torres, a career utility player. Strat shows us how a player like Torres (.205 7 homers in 312 at bats) has value especially in context with the team he plays on. This team could score some runs, and Torres makes a perfect late inning defensive sub, plays all 3 outfield positions 2 e9 with a -2 arm. Offensively he has a little pop if needed and walked 50 times which makes him a little extra solid. On many teams Torres is an end of bench guy but Aspromonte needed him and he has value in that replay if played correctly.

Unfortunately this story does not end well for Rusty as apparently he is now a convicted child molester.

Bad Saber 1973 version:
The Royals are my replay and at the time they were the most successful expansion franchise ever. 1971 they were very good, slipped in 72 but the nucleus (thank you Cedric Tallis- a post on him coming up) was young and strong especially up the middle and with John Mayberry taking over at first. Bob Lemon was an excellent manager for this young team. He especially was adept at balancing a staff of young developing arms and castoffs. In 72 they lost more (though I got them to finish 12 games over .500 tied for third 9.5  out behind Oakland in my replay) and Jack McKeon was promoted from Omaha for his first job. Jack McKeon went on to become a very good manager (specialized in expansion teams on the cusp of doing big things) but his first gig had some hiccups despite the Royals finishing a strong second.

1973 was also the first year of the DH. The Royals made a typically (Cedric's MO) bizarre trade with Cincinnati. We trade Richie Scheinblum  and Roger Nelson for Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson. Sure now it's McRae's name that stands out but then, it was a huge gamble. Scheinblum had a fluky from nowhere 1972.385 on base and .803 OPS- terrible fielding in right but hey the DH was coming, he's your man right? Roger Nelson was no slouch either, 11-6 2.08 era (lead the league) while McRae off a serious injury and shoulder surgery, only had 93 at bats in 72 and hit .278 with nice small sample power against leftys. Simpson had a great rookie year but was also very ineffective after his own injury problems. McRae hit poorly and Simpson pitched poorly in their first year. One of them turned it around.

The poor managing decision is what McKeon did at DH and RF. I used as played lineups and I am stunned McRae was started not just in LF but RF and not DH. This is more than just second guessing history. It was widely known McRae could throw due to his shoulder surgery. I remember Buddy Blattner and Denny Mathews saying this on radio frequently. Officially he is rated 4 e12 +4 arm and that is in RF! Worse yet McKeon had better options. Ed Kirtpatrick and Steve Hovely both good to decent fielders were not played in the field. They DH'd! with McRae in RF. I can't figure out what advantage McKeon was considering setting it up the way he did. He eventually figured this out but April he was consistently putting out the wrong lineups. I could conject that with the DH being a new phenomenon there was a mindset not to assign 1 player to a non fielding role but rotate it among several. McKeon did rotate his DH early on, but there is no way to justify starting Hal McRae in the outfield 64 times.

Jack will have better days but with other teams