Royals sign Greinke to extention through 2012.

[justanewguy]

I'd pretty much echo what KowboyKoop just said about the Sox. Their pitching staff can't possibly be as good as it was last season. It just can't, especially losing Vazquez, and with Floyd and Danks probably not capable of doing any better. Floyd probably won't repeat his performance, Danks seems more likely to do so, but can't really improve.

The Sox still have holes in CF and the middle of the infield, question marks at 3B, and the core of their offense is yet one more year older.

I follow the Sox, go to several of their games, and watch a great deal of their games on TV. They did play over their heads in '08 and they had a lot of luck. They don't exactly project to be world beaters in '09. The Twins look significantly better. I'd put the Sox in second.

[bucher34]

Floyd wasn't a fluke, Danks wasn't a fluke, Buehrle is Buehrle, Alexi wasn't a fluke, and they still have Dye, A.J. (who is really good with the pitching staff), Jenks, Konerko (a fluke season), and a respectable bullpen. I feel that they are the favorites as they have more pieces than the Twins and arguably the best "all-around" team in the division.

Why can't they better?

[HoustonGM]

Not really. Just wait...someone will criticize it. If not..then I'm wrong, but I highly doubt it.

Anybody with a brain won't criticize this move. It's an absolutely fantastic one.

Floyd wasn't a fluke

How can you be so sure? His peripheral stats point to yes, he was a fluke. His FIP was 4.77, a full run above his actual ERA. He's very homer-prone.

Danks wasn't a fluke

This is true. Note the fantastic 3.44 FIP, right in line with his ERA.

Alexi wasn't a fluke

Nor is he very good.

Chicago has Buerhle and Danks as "sure things" in the rotation. Floyd is very likely to regress. After that its a bunch of question marks. Quentin is good, but likely will regress as well. They have a giant question mark in center field. Dye is fine. Their infield is FULL of question marks. Konerko will likely bounce back some, and then, right now its...Getz, Ramirez, and Betemit. Hardly awe-inspiring.

I think Cleveland is in the best position right now. They have a shaky pitching staff, but way less question marks in the field. If I had to predict right now, I'd go with an order of Cleveland - Minnesota - Chicago - Kansas City - Detroit, but with them all very bunched up.

[bucher34]

The Twins look significantly better.

How?

[TheNamelessPoet]

I don't really think their IS a clear cut favorite for the division

[justanewguy]

How?

A more solid pitching staff heading into '09, a better bullpen, offensive players that are young and coming into or already in their primes, and the 1-2 of Mauer and Morneau is probably better than any 1-2 the Sox could claim.

It's just an opinion, I don't understand the need to grill us over it.

For what it's worth, I'll be rooting for the Sox.

[KowboyKoop]

4 years / 38 mil is what is being reported.

[HoustonGM]

I don't really think their IS a clear cut favorite for the division

There isn't.

4 years / 38 mil is what is being reported.

Rotoworld's take, and I'll leave out the "Royals bash" to spare you:

Most thought Greinke would test free agency when eligible in two years. He would have been just 27, and with the way he's improving, he could have been in line for one of the biggest contracts ever given out to a pitcher. Terms of this deal weren't revealed, but $35 million would seem to be appropriate.

[KowboyKoop]

There isn't.


Rotoworld's take, and I'll leave out the "Royals bash" to spare you:

Don't worry, I've already read about our "disastrous" offseason which has prevented us from.....uh, improving..no, that's not it...stopped us from pursuing other FAs? No...uh, not that....stopped us from locking up our own players? Uh......no, not that...what's the disastrous part?

Every move might not be a good one...but it's been far from "disastrous."

[HoustonGM]

Well, I haven't liked any moves the Royals have made this offseason, save this Greinke signing and I was indifferent on the Crisp acquisition. Given that, in my opinion, every move they've made has been a poor one, that certainly can qualify as "disastrous", even if it doesn't necessarily harm the franchise's future.

Disastrous is an exaggeration, but the point is simply that the Royals haven't made (m)any GOOD moves.

[KowboyKoop]

[QUOTE=HoustonGM;1244017]

Disastrous is an exaggeration, QUOTE]

This.

Trading Jermaine Dye for Neifi Perez, THAT is disastrous. Trading Beltran for essentially nothing in return (two mediocre players and one useless player) when he was a very in demand commodity....that's disastrous. Letting Greinke get away for nothing more than a draft pick..that would be disastrous. Making a couple financially inefficient moves......far from a disaster. It's easy to recognize that there are no ill effects of these moves and the team improves going into '09. Far from a disastrous offseason.

[RedsoxRockies]

Not a bad deal

[KowboyKoop]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/...name=Neyer_Rob


Rob Neyer's take. It's such a good move..yet Neyer can't muster anything more than a couple weak, backhanded compliments. Still does more to criticize and whine about the Royals than anything else. It must be really, really painful for this Royals "fan" to have to suffer through us making a great move. I'm sure he'll be looking to change the subject and bash the Royals for some other minor move as quickly as possible, just to get back to normal.

[KowboyKoop]

I also enjoy that the guys at fangraphs.com have written nothing about this yet. It seemed like articles were up ripping the Royals almost immediately after the Royals made other moves, like Bloomquist and Jacobs...but god forbid they say something good about the Royals locking up Greinke when they could be writing about Russ Ohlendorf or whatever crap they got up now. Funny.

[HoustonGM]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/...name=Neyer_Rob

Rob Neyer's take. It's such a good move..yet Neyer can't muster anything more than a couple weak, backhanded compliments. Still does more to criticize and whine about the Royals than anything else. It must be really, really painful for this Royals "fan" to have to suffer through us making a great move. I'm sure he'll be looking to change the subject and bash the Royals for some other minor move as quickly as possible, just to get back to normal.

Neyer's a lifelong Royal fan that seems to have been greatly disenfranchised by the long string of sucky play AND sucky management. But I do think you have a bit of a "pity complex" when you're looking and complaining about "bashing" from a fellow fan of the Royals