Kendall in the Wind
Posted: December 12th, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball | 83 Comments »
You know, I find myself surprisingly sad about the Kansas City Royals signing Jason Kendall to a two-year $6 million deal — much sadder than I should be, really. I’m not sad because it is such a bad move. It is a bad move, but the Royals have made numerous moves in the last year or so that were worse — by worse, I mean “more damaging.”
–Trading for Yuniesky Betancourt was worse.
– Signing Kyle Farnsworth was worse.
– Trading for Mike Jacobs was worse.
– Letting Gil Meche throw a lot of pitches when he had back and arm problems was worse.
And then, going back, signing Jose Guillen was worse, trading J.P. Howell for Joey Gathright was worse, drafting Luke Hochevar No. 1 overall was worse and so on.
At the end of the day, this just isn’t a disastrous move like those. All the Royals did here was spend too much money signing a former All-Star catcher who will soon be 36 and whose slugging percentage the last five years (.321) is lower than the batting averages of Pujols, Mauer, Ichiro and Holliday. Bad move? Sure, but so what? Yes, Kendall is one of the worst hitters in baseball — his most marketable offensive skill, at this point, is his ability to get hit by pitches — and he can’t throw out base runners. But he was once really good, and baseball people talk about his various other defensive talents and there must be some truth to it because the guy plays 130-to-150 games every year. Somebody is giving him those at-bats. There has to be a reason. He figures to block more potential wild pitches than Miguel Olivo did. So would the Rosetta Stone.
I obviously don’t like this move, but I also realize that, when it comes down to it, well, this is one of those “what difference does it make” moves.
One, Kendall isn’t blocking anyone’s progress — the Royals don’t have a young catcher in the system ready to play (Brayan Pena seems like a lovely guy, but he also seems, pretty clearly, a backup catcher).
Two, yes, six million for two years is too much to pay for Kendall, but it’s too little to fret about. The Royals seem to be spending a lot of money on the draft and in Latin America — their signing of Cuban left-handed pitcher Noel Arguelles was, I thought, terrific*. This deal doesn’t hamper the way the Royals can do business — the way the Guillen deal did.
*I thought it was terrific not because I think Arguelles will become a star — maybe he will, maybe he won’t. To be honest, the scouting reports I’ve heard on him are mixed. But I think the Royals have this right — when you don’t have the resources other teams have, you want to try and outbid them on the low end. If the Royals scouts LOVE Arguelles as they apparently do, then this is the time to spend an extra million and get him. They did that — and bully for them.
Three, Kendall could offer some of that so-called leadership. It’s not impossible. It worked in Major League*.
*Brilliant Reader Johnny suggests that Kendall clearly represents one more puzzle piece in Dayton Moore’s never-ending effort to rebuild the Major League roster. Kendall certainly does inspire thoughts of Tom Berenger’s former All-Star trying to get one more season in the sun (and you could see Kendall bunting in a key situation). Manager Trey Hillman has some Lou Brown in him — or, anyway, you could see him selling tires in Toledo. Kyle Farnsworth was probably an effort to recreate Charlie Sheen’s Wild Thing. Jose Guillen, at least at one time, hit fastballs very very good. And Sidney Ponson, Brett Tomko, Kip Wells, Bruce Chen and John Thompson were just five of the recent attempts to find the old pitcher, Harris, who is just hanging on … the search goes on.
And what are the Royals searching for now? You got it: A fast center fielder. If you see a really fast guy trying out in his pajamas — you will know.
So this Kendall move is not crushing the Royals long term or even short term. I suspect his teammates will like him. I suspect he will work with some young players. I suspect he will provide enough grit to win fans. I suspect the Royals’ will lose a lot of games — but they would have done that if they had not signed him. When a team needs quadruple bypass surgery and a liver transplant — the Jason Kendall signing hardly seems worth worrying about.
And yet, the signing made me sad. And I couldn’t figure out why. And then, I read the quote from Dayton Moore that made it all clear to me. It’s a superball.
I’ll try to explain: I know some people who find this hard to accept, but I really like and respect Dayton Moore. I have not agreed with almost anything he has done on the major league level for more than a year, but I think he is a smart guy, and he has worked his way up the right way in the baseball world, and he’s extremely loyal, and he cares a great deal … and I do think that being GM of the Royals puts you in a spot where you often have nothing but bad choices to make.
I mean, look, what could the Royals do at catcher for 2010? They could have picked up the option on Miguel Olivo — bad move. They could have tried to re-sign John Buck on a lesser contract — bad move. They could have given the job to Brayan Pena — bad move. They could have signed Pudge Rodriguez — bad move. They could have overpaid in trade value for some other team’s Class AAA catcher — bad move. They could have signed Jason Kendall — bad move. Some of these moves are worse than others*, but none of these are winning moves. There are few winning moves when you have little payroll flexibility, and you come off a terrible season, and you enter the next without a catcher and center fielder.
*They also could have drafted Matt Wieters in 2007 instead of Mike Moustakas — good move, unless they did not sign him, which was distinctly possible and would have then made it a tragically bad move. Like I say, being the Royals GM is filled with potential disasters at every turn.
My point here is not to defend Dayton Moore’s baseball decisions — he deserves most of the responsibility for the Royals being in this bad spot in the first place. It is just to say that he is desperately trying to make something good happen. And it’s not happening. It’s easy to poke fun — and Lord knows I do some of that here — but something about this Kendall move feels too real to be funny. Then I read this quote from Dayton about Kendall on MLB.com and I understood. The quote came after author Dick Kaegel pointed out that Kendall often hit leadoff when he was young because of his speed and his ability (then) to get on base.
“He still runs well for catcher. You’re not going to have to pinch-run for him,” Moore said. “But, he’s not going to have the speed he once had before that severe ankle injury in 1999.”
Look at that quote again.
He still runs well for a catcher.
You’re not going to have to pinch-run for him.
But he’s not going to have the speed
he once had
before that severe ankle injury
in 1999.
I don’t know. There’s just something in that quote — of a general manager talking about the remaining speed of a 35-year-old catcher who is not as fast as he was before an injury TEN YEARS AGO — that sparks something melancholy in me. A superball.
I remember back in 1995, I went to the last Cleveland Browns game — the old Browns. I remember walking on the Cleveland Municipal Stadium field when the game ended and just looking at the lingering signs of sadness. It had been an awful day. People threw stuff, tore out seats, made signs, cried, hugged … it was like watching a scream.
And as I was waking along the field strewn with empty cups and bottles and wrappers and batteries and Lord knows what else … I saw a super ball. I’m still not sure why it struck me so that day — most of the people I have talked to about it don’t see why it struck me either. It’s hard to explain. There was just something about seeing a superball there and imagining the person who threw it on the field. What could that person have been thinking? Everyone around was tearing out seats, throwing bottles, cursing, crying … how would throwing a little rubber ball on the field — a little children’s toy you get out of a 25 cent vending machine — how would that make for any sort of protest? Who would even notice? Who would even care? There was something so helpless about it, something so earnestly helpless, that the image of that superball still captures the emotion of that day to me.
And I guess that’s what I’m thinking again. This Kendall move isn’t destructive to a team that already lost more games than any team in the decade, but it makes me sad anyway. I guess I see it as the Royals’ superball.
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Absolutely genius. I’m with you on the superball concept!
circle me Fran Healey
If we don’t have to pinch run for the catcher, then what are Josh Anderson, Tug Hulett, and the other speedy Royals that can’t hit going to do all season?
Now, we’ll probably also have to listen to Ryan Lefevre make his “John Wathan hates it when someone says he runs well for a catcher” joke 100 times this season.
This signing sucks on multiple levels.
From a Brewers fan, enjoy all the nothing Kendall will give you.
What I don’t understand is how the market gets set for someone like Kendall. I’m pretty sure no one was competing for Kendall these past few years. How is it that $6/2yr is THE number. No one’s offering $5.5/2yr, I presume. What’s the deal?
“People threw stuff, tore out seats, made signs, cried, hugged … it was like watching a scream. ”
Brilliant.
Did they already have their speedy centerfielder and let him go? Wasn’t Joey Gathright Willie Mays Hayes?
I guess there are worse moves that could be made. But did you know that Kendall, whom you’ve projected to be the 2010 Royals’ seventh-place hitter, ranked third in the 2008-09 NL in plate appearances from the nine hole?
I know, trick stat. But still….
Joe,
I’m a Reds fan, and I just want to let you know that, since I think you can probably get the ear of someone in the Royals organization, you should let them no about this speedy CF we have in Cincy. He’s fast. I mean really fast. The only thing is, they’re trying to go young, and he doesn’t figure to get many at bats. It would be a shame to let all that speed go to waste. His contract only calls for him to make $4M this year, and I’m pretty sure management, always looking out for what’s best for their players, would give him up for no more than a minor prospect. Really, we just want to find this guy a place to play so all that speed won’t go to waste.
The best part? He even has the right first name.
I don’t think you could have more accurately described this situation with Kendall.
I found myself perfectly ambivalent to this signing.
Similar to your superball analogy, my litmus test is the Benito Santiago signing. I regularly find myself asking friends “hey, what was that catcher we signed… he was really ugly, did steroids… what was his name? He was around for one year… maybe two?”
The significance of this is that most economists would agree, if the player wasn’t in any way memorable, he probably didn’t matter in the long run; good or bad.
Same goes for Reggie Sanders.
Jason Kendall will be another Santiago/Sanders, and I don’t mean in their on field contributions (or lack thereof). In five years, we will all look back and say “who was that nonfactor player we signed for two years at the end of the 2000’s?”
Who cares?
Really all they need is a former stripper to become the owner. That at least a little better eye candy than David Glass.
Um… lessee: “That would at least be a little better… Glass.”
As a Brewers fan, I’m actually very happy about Kendall signing with the Royals. NOT because it means for sure that he won’t be on the Brewers; although I’m happy about that, that’s been obvious since the Zaun signing. No, I’m happy about this because, for the last two years, the only side I’ve seen of Jason Kendall is the “bad at baseball” side, which is a naturally infuriating side for me, as it meant he was busy making his team worse. However, I hear he’s a pretty cool guy, really good at handling a pitching staff, has great insights into the game, etc. I’m hoping now that he plays for the team covered by America’s greatest living baseball writer, perhaps I’ll finally get to see an enjoyable side of him.
This signing will seem like a genius move, compared to the inevitable upcoming move of bringing in Juan Pierre to be the leadoff man and CF.
You could probably find 6 or 7 guys who are free agents who could help the Royals who will instead end up getting one year deals for little money from other teams.
another reds fan checking in to 2nd the idea of the royals taking a very fast center fielder with a fast first name off our hands. actually, i’m thinking we could change a few names, and this post could even be about the reds, pirates, or any number of bad baseball teams.
[...] Many people have already covered the fact that Dayton Moore’s belief that Kendall is an upgrade is dubious at best. No matter where you fall on that part of the discussion, you cannot argue [...]
I agree about the move. It didn’t make me angry, but just depressed. They’re like a family member that you want to see do well, but instead watch them make mistake after mistake and wonder why they didn’t know?
I was looking at that 2009 payroll, and I’m sure this is true for other teams, but I was looking at the players getting 1 mil+ and outside of Grienke and maybe Meche, none of them are what I’d consider million dollar players.
We won’t have to worry about pinch running for Kendall- and it is not about his speed.
Am I the only one against Miguel?
I would say he got along pretty good with Zack and he banged out 25 homers. Sure he couldn’t block a pitch to save his life, but man, Kendall is HORRIBLE.
I hate this move.
I would have gone with Miguel and Pena until you can find something better. And Kendall isn’t better than anyone.
And 2 years?!?!? 6 million?!??!?
I realize it isn’t a bunch of (baseball) money by itself, but start to put them together and all of a sudden you could have thrown a bunch of money at proven free agents, the draft, another year at the end of Zach’s contract, whatever.
By put “them together” I meant all of the “little” bad signings: the 2009 bullpen, Jacobs, Guillen, etc etc
Joe I think that you are missing the silver lining here. At least Kendall can take walks. The Royals have ignored that little stat up until now. I know he can’t slug, but his OBP is better than 5 of the members of last years line up. It may not be the best signing, but at least acknowledge that Dayton finally seems to have realized that walks and defense are better than 23 homers, 126 strikeouts, and terrible defense. To me it is at least a step in the right direction, although anything is a suppose in comparison to our trade for Yuniesky.
The Braves have non-tendered Kelly Johnson. Given Dayton Moore’s penchant for ex-Braves, get ready for the Royals to sign him next.
Joe, I absolutely love you and your writing. I really do. I think you’re the best sportswriter around. But I just do not get your continual references to Moore being a smart guy. Can you give us some examples of why you think that? I cannot fathom him being smart based on the moves he’s made and the brutal stubbornness he displays about his actions. I’d love to think he was a smart guy who just keeps making mistakes or something, but I don’t see it. Help me see it, Joe!
My favorite part is that they gave him two years. If it’s come down to signing Jason Kendall and he refuses to sign a one year contract, don’t you just go with some other retread or replacement level player? But then, as a Met fan, I saw the same scenario play out with Omar Minaya and Julio Franco.
The way the quote was posted made me think of poetry, so I put together a quick Kendall Haiku:
J Kendall runs well
Except for 10 years of wear
KC’s superball
I’m not good at poetry, someone who is actually good at poetry should come up with something. . . .
Joe, you may be right. You got me looking at this now…
2007-2009 –
.243/.320/.313, 69 OPS+ ~ Kendall
.246/.276/.444, 87 OPS+ ~ Olivo
.228/.305/.414, 89 OPS+ ~ Buck
.269/.297/.401, 81 OPS+ ~ Pudge
.272/.294/.388, 82 OPS+ ~ Y. Betancourt
…the best OBP is Kendall! And it’s “significantly” better…almost as good as Andre Dawson LOL
Sure he can’t slug… but if he can save just a few outs here and there by getting on a few extra times, then someone else could slug him in. I didn’t realize Kendall had a better OBP than the other easily available catchers (and I threw Yuni in there just to see how he compares).
Sadly, this might’ve been one of Dayton Moore’s best signings
Not seeing where you’re coming from on the Pena aspect of this, Joe. Link to a FanGraphs piece on the topic in my name(no real need for me to re-write…)
Re: Kendall’s on base abilities… remember, he spent a lot of time batting in front of the pitcher on an NL team. I wouldn’t bank on a .300+ OBP from the guy in the AL.
And what are the Royals searching for now? You got it: A fast center fielder.
They missed their ideal shot: the Twins have already dealt Carlos Gomez to the Brewers.
Personally, I’d have been dancing in the streets after a Gomez-for-Teahen deal.
Sidney Ponson, Brett Tomko, Kip Wells, Bruce Chen and John Thompson were just five of the recent attempts to find the old pitcher, Harris, who is just hanging on
Well, his character just got written out of the show on Mad Men, so maybe they can get him for real now…
Jason Kendall will make less in 2010 than John Buck would have (especially since his contract is allegedly back-loaded).
Of course, John Buck was also an above-average hitter — not above-average for a catcher, above-average period — last year. And that was despite his hideous OBP.
Jason Kendall was… umm… how to put this politely…
…not?
Really, let’s be honest: it’s not like whether your catcher can hit or not is that crucial to your team’s success. That is to say, if there’s one position in today’s game where you can accept poor offense in return for defense and/or intangibles, catcher is it.
For that matter, you know how many perennial all-star catchers couldn’t hit their way out of a wet kleenex? The Royals had TWO: Jim Sundberg and Bob Boone. Bill Freehan wasn’t exactly the second coming of Yogi Berra. Bunch of other guys had a good season or two before their careers ended up looking like a longer version of John Buck’s, including Butch Wynegar, Terry Kennedy, Rich Gedman…
…and Jason Kendall.
Anyway, this is a financial move with the only tangible performance benefit being, perhaps, Kendall working with the pitching staff.
Red @3: Well, I know what Tug Hulett will be doing.
Anything the Red Sox want him to.
Haiku Party!
For Jason Kendall
Time stops in Dayton’s mind
It’s 1999!
Bouncing superballs
On the diamond of the soul
Kendall signed today
Thirty dervishes
One whirling ever backwards
Will he ever learn?
Joe,
Can you reprint or link to some of the stuff you wrote after the Browns left Cleveland? I’d love to read it.
If I’m a Royals fan, what irks me the most is the fact that it’s clear that Kendall’s a pretty weak (to put it lightly) ballplayer.
Mike Jacobs was coming off a season with a .299 OBP, true. But he had also hit 32 homers and slugged .514, higher than any Royal regular since Teahen in 2006. And he was only 28 years old this year.
Yuni? Well, Yuni was never really much of a ballplayer. But he had hit for a decent average (before ‘09). He was just 27. Orlando Cabrera is his fourth-most similar batter through age 27.
But Kendall? He’s been in decline since Bush became president (the second one – I think). He hasn’t hit double-digit homers since ‘01, slugged .400 since ‘03, and he’s going to be 36 in June? Essentially no upside!
Remember how weak the Royals offense was last year? Well their catchers were actually among the most productive in the league. .814 OPS, 31 HRs, 99 RBIs.
With Kendall starting 135 games they won’t approach any of those numbers. If you thought Zack Greinke didn’t get run support in 2009 just wait til next year.
What makes this a truly terrible signing is the fact that it’s a two-year contract. I mean really, two years? As someone else mentioned, how does the market get set at 2 years/$6M? What competition is there for Kendall? And if Kendall balks at a one-year deal (which is all old useless catchers like him should get – the Nationals made the same mistake with Ivan Rodriguez), don’t you just move on to the next replacement-level catcher?
What makes me sad is the fact that the Royals even considered this move. Shouldn’t the Royals be getting younger? Aren’t there ANY younger catchers available with some potential? I realize they can’t pull Joe Mauer out of a hat, but there has got to be a younger catcher available who could potentially help the Royals in the long run. I mean, how does Jason Kendall even become part of the discussion?
“We need an old, light-hitting catcher who hasn’t run the same since an injury back in 1999. Someone who slugs as well as Ichiro hits. Someone with no discernable quality whatsoever, but we can sell the media on the BS that he brings “veteran leadership” and whatnot to the table.”
“I got it – Jason Kendall!”
“Brilliant! Do you think he’d accept a one-year offer? Better not risk it, let’s offer him $6M over 2 years. We can’t afford to lose out on a player of Kendall’s non-quality.”
That’s how the conversation must have gone right? How else do you land upon Jason Kendall, and how else do you land upon a 2 year contract for him.
I’m sorry Joe and other Royals fans, but that is one awful organization you root for. I realize the Royals are limited in what they do, but that doesn’t excuse the absolute idiocy that goes into their every move.
I think the sadness comes from seeing the Royals get their version of nickle and dimed–they get millioned and yeared to death. An extra million here, and an extra year on a contract there. It may seem trivial in a vacuum. Then you go back and add up all the questionable moves that were clearly questionable at the time, chasing hope instead of likelihood, and you might have gotten to a pretty good player or two if the organization adopted a stars, young guys, and cheap replacement level approach.
Joe, I second Bret’s demand for a few examples of Dayton Moore being a “smart guy.” Maybe you mean he’s really great at Jeopardy!, or he speaks a bunch of languages, but there is absolutely no evidence that Moore has an ounce of baseball intelligence. Not only does he make astoundingly boneheaded moves that cripple his ability to build a team, but when he attempts to defend those moves, he sounds like a front-office version of Jeff Francouer: not only dumb, but hostile to the very idea of intellect. So what’s the basis for saying he’s smart? Or is this constant reference to Moore’s supposed intelligence just a way to keep him from kicking you out of the press box?
Fans, we are going to have to survive on less than great talent for a couple of years until our farm system begins to consistently produce key pieces for our team. I am still a fan regardless. Got to let Mr. Moore work through a few rough years until then. Great article by Joe P.
Seems to me he is going to clog up the bases.
Chris @ 35 couldn’t have written it any better. I’ve never understood in any industry of a physical nature how someone’s salary does not decline as they age into oblivion. I’ll cut them a good bit of slack for them being a veteran of their profession so that’s worth some dough but it can’t keep climbing until they die, can it?! It’s just stupid – Kendall must have one heck of an agent – or, at least one smart enough to go to Dayton Moore to find another payload for his client.
Yeh, Kendall will clog the bases about once a week – when he gets on base!
I’m starting to think Dayton Moore’s actually a comic genius. The Kendall’s not as fast as he was ten-going-on-eleven years ago line made me laugh. There was a good one about how Yuni makes Callaspo a better defender recently too.
While I wish Kendall had been signed for just one year, instead of two, this is the kind of move I’ve been expecting and I hope will continue. For too long Moore has been acquiring position players with no overall theme or plan in mind. In this respect he reminds me of his predecessor, Al Baird. Like Baird’s teams Moore’s Royals don’t do anything particularly well, except lose a lot more than they win.
Moore said after this last season that he wanted to develop a more defensive oriented team/organization. I agree. And if this move is the first in a cohesive plan towards that goal, I’m all for it. It fits the ballpark and their budget. In my opinion it’s the only way a small market team can hope to be competitive.
As laughable as it sounds I want a fundamentally sound defensive team that gives us a fighting chance for mediocrity. A team that can flirt with .500 for most of the year, keep the stands relatively full, and give our minor league system a chance to develop talent down the road.
Is this sad? I guess so…but so be it. I think this is the best plan to be competitive, year end – year out, and maybe sneak into the playoffs every once in a while.
When you think about it, that superball HAD to be on that field. Think of all the superballs walking around in the pockets of men, women, and children on any given Sunday. Think about the likelihood that a superball would be in the pocket of at least 1 person out of 75,000. Now think about the likelihood that a Browns fan would jettison onto the field everything in his/her possession not of significant value. If the superball made it into the stadium, it was highly likely to end up on the field.
The thought about a catcher whose main positive attribute is his speed (which was severely restricted 10 years ago) is unbelievably funny.
One question though. One post pointed out that Kendall’s OBP is actually not totally ridiculous (compared to the alternatives). Every is using OPS instead of weighting OBP more than slugging . If you use runs created ( win shares?, WAR?, something else), how does the Kendall signing look?
Probably still bad, but I’m curious.
#26″Re: Kendall’s on base abilities… remember, he spent a lot of time batting in front of the pitcher on an NL team. I wouldn’t bank on a .300+ OBP from the guy in the AL.”
His splits the last 2 seasons show that he can still get on base more than 30%. The #’s do include Interleague games.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=kendaja01&year=2009&t=b#lineu
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=kendaja01&year=2008&t=b#lineu
I was on vacation with my family in San Diego this summer, and we went to a Padres game. The Brewers were in town, and Kendall, of course, was their catcher. When his face was displayed on the big scoreboard at Petco Park, my wife asked, “Who’s that?”
“That’s Jason Kendall. He’s the Brewers’ catcher.”
“Well,” she replied, “he looks like a serial killer.”
I looked again at his picture, and I had to admit that the way he was intensely staring at the camera, it did look like the mugshot of some kind of murderous maniac.
Flash forward four months to the day the Royals signed Kendall. I read about and said to my wife, “The Royals’ signed the serial killer to be their new catcher.”
So for presenting me with the unique opportunity to utter a sentence that I never even considered before, I’d like to thank Dayton Moore. Feel free to use that last quote in your 2010 marketing campaign.
2012: Trust. The. Process.
It’s a shame the Royals haven’t been in the playoffs since 1985. They used to be such a proud franchise and then steroids and the strike occurred and now they’re an endangered species.
I think the whole of America would love to see a team like the Royals successful again. The colors, the city, the stadium, the fans. It’s a magical part of Kansas City that is just overwhelmed by being the smallest market in the league.
There’s a chance that the newer drug testing will practically eliminate drug cheats, this could really help the Royals.
However, right now the lineup is pathetic, I don’t know why they spent so much money on Meche if they’re not going to make other moves to improve the team. It’s like they’ve thrown in the towel for the next few years, just when the fans were getting exciting.
It’s going to suck losing 100+ games this year, it’s definitely going to happen with this sad sack of a team.
Paul White: “The Royals’ signed the serial killer to be their new catcher.”
Now that was funny!
When you have a rotten team then at the end of the season you go out and get a few guys that can change it around. Unfortunately, the Royals don’t do this. They go out and waste millions of dollars on a has been catcher.
Remember when the Royals got that old Steroid cheater catcher from S.F.? I think the guy was 38 or 39 at the time. Comeon, why do this to yourself?
I hate to say it but I think I could do ten times better as a GM. I’d save money and build a decent team. If the Yankees are spending 200 million and then the next top 5 teams are spending 120 million then I’d have the Royals spending 80 million. You got to spend at least 75% of the top teams (not the Yankees but the other top teams) in order to have any chance to compete. If you don’t want to compete then either have a 25 million team or sell it.
Greinke and Soria are NOT enough. You can’t have 2A players at the plate and 2 pitchers. Don’t even bother watching the pathetic Royals in 2010. And OMG I forgot! The Royals have the worst Free Agent in History – Jose Guillen. Another worthless roid cheat who doesn’t add anything to the team but disgust. God, bring back John Wathan to manage and have me be the GM. This is ATROCIOUS!!!!!!!
On the signing, what did anyone expect? There aren’t many options out there. Catchers are a home grown commodity and the team is ‘hoping,’ as usual, that their catching prospects pan out in 3 years. Problem is, Greinke will be off to greener pastures after the inevitable trade.
Now some will say that this signing goes against the stated goal of populating the roster with as many “0-3 service time players” as possible, but I would disagree. This is in line with that goal. Cost cutting. They let Olivo go simply because of money. If money wasn’t a factor, they most certainly would have stuck with Olivo (who has power, speed and can throw runners out) over giving $6MM to Kendall (none of the aforementioned) for 2 yrs. I’m not saying Olivo is good (he’s not) but he knows the staff, handled Greinke well and can provide as good of an option as anything out there. Why tie youself to another old has-been for 2 more years, further wasting the limited window you have with Greinke, Soria & Butler. But like many have said already, it’s really a nothing move anyway. The Royals’ commitment to agonizing ineptitude and cheap bargain basement baseball is simply entering it’s 2nd full decade.
I know Moore’s moves have been akin to a grandfather clock, oscillating between one extreme and another depending on what year it is. But in the end, isn’t he just doing what his predecessors have done before him? This is the Royals’ philosophy:
Populate the roster with as many (cheap) c & d grade players in an attempt to avoid 100 losses while they wait and hope that the minors will produce talent in a ‘few more years,’ at the same time hope that the fan base will remain engaged. In other words, instead of making it happen, they “hope.”
A team as pathetic as the Royals finally has a decent nucleus in Greinke, Butler, Soria and DeJesus to build around. Do they go out and try (overpay) for real MLB talent to bridge the gap between now and when this supposed talent that sits in the minors is ready in 3-4 years? Nope. Do they get back on the horse after spending some modest money last season and failing due to injuries and bad signing chalking up the 2009 season as simply “the cost of doing business in the 21st century?” Nope. Instead they throttle back on the payroll after ONE failed attempt. Like a coward, they simply retreat after the baseball gods punch them like has been done to so many other teams. No stomach to jump into the fray. Moore, like his predecessors, has been asked to win when the real culprit for this mess has set him up for failure at every turn.
David Glass is a coward that has not a single ounce of competitiveness in him. He has the money (don’t kid yourself) to give Moore the financial resources in a short 3 yr window, to go after players in free agency that can make a difference. Spend money over the next 3 years while the minors are rebuilt and give this nucleus a chance to compete. If Moore does his job and gets the minors rebuilt, in 3 years the team payroll can fall back to a more reasonable level for a market the size of KC because the influx of young, low-salaried players will take over for the short term (3 yr) FA’s. If it works, the organization will have done 3 things at once. 1). Prove to a weary and disgusted fan base that they are interested in more that money 2). Prove to the league that they are a player and not simply a refuge for the castoff/on-there-way-out-of-the-league players thereby enhancing the probability of future signings that won’t require overpaying. 3). Throttle back their payroll by utilizing home grown, low-salaried talent and keep the talent (Greinke, Butler, Soria) they already have who will be more likely to re-sign for the Royals.
The “sad” part Joe is that the Kendall signing is simply more insanity from an organization that does not know how to operate any other way.
Hillman said toward the end of the season that the team was 7 yrs away from being competitive. Now I think Hillman is nothing more than a minor league manager but he hit the nail on the head with this statement. The current philosophy by Glass & Moore to build solely through the minors will take at least 7 years and that’s if they hit on nearly every one of their high draft picks and get a few lucky ones in the lower drafts as well.
This is one pathetic excuse for a professional sports franchise. I wish I could quit them but since that will never happen (as long as they don’t move) I guess I’m reduced to ‘hoping’ that fate will step in and save us all from David Glass.
Well is seems to me the Royals live their life like a Kendall in the wind.
Can I just go on the record to say how annoying I find the phrase “the Heartland”? What’s wrong with “the Midwest”?
According to the Heisman map last night, MO, KS, and Nebraska were “southwest”
Hey, and Kendall still sucks. Unless he is walking like Bonds (he’s not) then it isn’t enough to make up for his .300 SLUG.
It’s hard to be that bad.
Kendall’s talent burned out long before his legend ever did.
Kendall’s OPB in 2008: .327. In 2009: .331. He can still bat leadoff for the Royals.
Devon,
You do realize that while Kendall has the highest OBP of the group, he has the lowest OPS+? He’s so bad at hitting for any power, that his one advantage is taken away. There is no silver lining, Kendall’s just horrible. So I’m sure the solution is to bat him leadoff what with all his excellent catcher speed and OBP skillz.
If Dayton (or is it Clayton) Moore is so smart, why did he take the Royals’ job?
To stpat @ post #51:
Excellent post – you echoed what I’ve been thinking for a long while now.
To answer your plea for fate to intervene regarding Glass – well, they man has to die some day, right!
Oh, wait – his son will probably take over.
Shit.
This is the kind of move that baffles me. Take all the money wasted on several bad players, and sign one good to great player to add to your roster. Your bullpen should be 1-3 well paid guys, a 6th starter, and a bunch of minimum salary guys.
IF your MLB coaches are good, your bench should mostly be guys that make the minimum (until you are competitive, when you’ll want 1 guy that can hit a HR occassionally). Your 5th starter should make the minimum. One of your OFers should make close to the minimum. Your catcher (unless you have one of the great ones) should make near the minimum (after all, what is the marginal benefit between the 15th and 25th best catcher).
That mean you really only need to seriously pay 1-3 starting pitchers, 2 OFers, and your infield (of which, for most teams, one MIF should be low paid, again, like the catchers).
It shouldn’t be that hard for a team with little payroll (the Pirates?) to sign 1-2 guys making $6-9MM to make their team better. Heck, you could probably sign 3 OFers that were non-tendered this weekend for about $10MM total, and be better than many OF groups out there right now, if only teams valued defense and walks…..
Yes, that makes your team “replacement” level or just above. But, that doesn’t need to make your team old. It doesn’t need to make your team bad.
I just don’t get the two catchers signing with bad teams for this much money, when there are so many better players available for the same money…..
What, Benito Santiago wasn’t available?
Great site at kingsofkauffman.com — with great analysis of how hole remains at catcher.
BUT, while it is sad that the Royals are reduced to bringing in a 35 year old over the hill punch and judy hitter as their catcher, it also is true that it is tough to see other better options. Buck and Olivo both apparently stunk at defense (I really can’t tell). Moore claimed in today’s paper that the “market” for catchers went up – although who else was going to sign Kendall? In any event, Kendall will not be an embarassment and, who knows, maybe there is something to be said for a veteran willing to “mentor” young pitchers and catchers, but it sounds pretty weak.
The only real answer at catcher is for the Royals to develop their own. The available catchers are in the same mediocre neighborhood as Kendall.
I just don’t see how this signing advances the superball down the field. I can see that, when compared to resigning Olivo, the Royals are saving money, but Buck just signed a one (1) year deal for 2 million dollars with the Jays. Side note – the Jays have a bright future with two (2) former Royals – Buck and Gathwright.
I used to really like Dayton Moore, but I have grown increasingly disenchanted with his moves and am left to wonder if he has a clue. If the Royals are just going to toss money away signing slugs like Kendall why not just let Pena start for the season. Sure, he’s not an upgrade, but would you rather invest the innings in a younger guy with at least some upside or waste the innings on a guy that is by all accounts done.
So…Jason Kendall
doesn’t look like a Ken doll
no angst to kindle
Pre-season consensus:
2001: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2002: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2003: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2004: “This is our year.”
2005: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2006: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2007: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
2008: “We might compete this year.”
2009: “We won’t be able to compete for 1-2 years.”
Jason Kendall = Jake Taylor. Trust the Process!
To Shelby @ post 65:
Looks like you have found Mike Judge’s next satirical Royals cartoon.
Normally, he sticks to one-year calendars, such as the one with “Royals opening day”, followed by 179 days noted with “Rebuilding”.
Perhaps he can go with a decade calendar of some kind, using your pattern.
@63 weptiger,
I understand the fan’s ‘disechantment’ with Moore, but really he’s just towing the company line. Cut cost. Not to bang my own drum but look at my post on #51. I know it’s long winded and for that I apologize, but if you can get through it, it lays out what I believe the Royal’s philosophy is and what I and others believe it should be. The fact is, that this signing is the inevitable endgame when the owner has given up any attempt to compete.
After years of putting has-beens, minor leaguers and c & d grade players on the roster while letting the minor league system dry up, David Glass wants us to wait another few years while Moore rebuilds the minors so he can cheaply recreate the Twins operations. The time it will take to create the farm system depth needed to provide major league ready talent in the numbers to supply ALL of the Royals’ MANY needs will be YEARS. I would guestimate at least another 5-10 years. After what this man has put this fan base through over the past 10-15 years, it is a travesty that he would even consider putting us through another 5-10 years of this disaster simply because he’s unwilling to pay for the mess he’s caused. This year’s payroll was $70MM (before incentives). The payroll in 1994 (15 YEARS ago) was $47MM. He’s graciously raised the payroll a whopping $23MM over a decade & a half (or $1.54MM per year). This man has NOT changed. He’s still the same skinflint, cheap, bargain basement rube that ruined this club back in the late 90’s. The sooner fans understand this and continue to apply the pressure to him the better. Nothing’s changed except that he’s realized that the fan base has wised up to his neglect of the farm system so he hired Moore to try and reconcile before the remain fan base leaves.
This man will NEVER put a winner on the field. The goal of NOT losing money is more important than winning. He thinks he’s doing KC a favor by keeping baseball in KC, even if it is a sorry product like the Royals. At this point, I’d rather the city of Kansas City buy the name & history off Glass (similar to what Cleveland did with the Browns) and let Glass move the team and let KC find an owner that wants to win, build a team and rename them the Royals. Glass has embarrassed this city long enough.
Sorry for another long post. This subject is very infuriating.
“They could have drafted Matt Wieters instead of Mike Moustakas.” Having failed that, they could have drafted Buster Posey instead of Eric Hosmer. It’s not as if they haven’t had chances to plug this particular hole before.
I can’t even get worked up enough to be sad about the deal. I suppose if there is anything positive to be said of this deal, it is that the Royals can be a laboratory of sorts; is there anything to the “catcher that works well with pitchers possibly helping to develop a pitching staff” theory? Watch the Royals in ‘10 and ‘11 and find out. So in essence, the only chance for Kendall to have a positive impact (given his lack of offense) is if we see Hochevar and Davies (and maybe Bannister) improve greatly over the next two seasons.
So that’s it. The Royals are now the Kansas City Pitcher-Catcher Chemistry Lab of MLB. Hey, it’s something.
#69. Another lab experiment is to determine the effects of replacing a player with a God-awful OBP but good SLG (Olivo) with a guy who has a God-awful SLG and an average OBP (Kendall). It’s not the ideal experiment, as Olivo’s SLG is above average but Kendall’s OBP is below average. But it’s hard to find a guy with a good OBP skills while maintaining a .305 SLG.
Maybe Jason “Superball” Kendall will bounce back with a fresh start in new surroundings, did you ever think about that huh?
To mrcasual @ post 71:
Seriously?
What exactly are you expecting to happen this winter?
Is Kendall going to hear a knock on his door sometime in January, followed by a slimy salesman offering him a “deal”, ala Joe Hardy?
As to Kendall making a miraculous return the level of his play ten years ago, never underestimate the power of human growth hormones, although with a two year deal, Kendall would be more likely to juice up in year two.
When I hear the Royals talk about speed these days I just think of what real speed they once had–namely Willie Wilson–and I want to cry. I would guess Wathan and Healy in their prime were about as fast as the fastest Royal these days, and of course they were catchers.
I am starting to tear up already.
I don’t understand the 2 yrs/$6 mil when Toronto just signed former Met, former White Sock Ramon Castro for 1 yr/$1 mil. Castro has less defense but more power.
I know the Royals are bad and all, but it’s not like Kendall had his pick of teams. And isn’t Toronto supposed to be overpaying for talent since they’re up in a French speaking frozen furrin country?
Have you re-signed Chuck Knoblauch yet?
I agree with the feeling of malaise but I disagree with the idea of “Sure, but so what?” Of the six or so options the Royals had for catcher next year, one of them will be a little better than the others. And making the best move here may win you a game or two more. What was the difference in wins from this year to last year? Six. For GM’s, it is that mental toughness in making the shrewdest moves (and not overpaying eg. 2/$6m) that make the difference in a season. Maybe Kendall is a win or two or more better than Olivo/Buck/AAA catcher/Pena/Pudge/etc.? You can’t give up or be lazy. We complained about defense and baserunning last year and the Royals seem to be purging themselves of those problems and finding replacements (Getz) and keeping at least reliable (but offensively challenged) players (presumably Bloomquist over Callaspo). It seems that if they are going to lose, they at least don’t want to be booting easy ground balls or having too many passed balls.
The Royals also could have drafted Buster Posey instead of Hosmer. At least for now, that seems like it would have made a lot of sense.
I’m just waiting for 2011 to roll around when Moore signs Francouer to 3/30.
In all seriousness Moore made a decent trade with Teahen. Why doesn’t he try that route instead of horrible free agent signings? Oh yeah Betancourt……
How about this trade Collaspo to Oakland (who will move him to third) for Ryan Sweeney. After that move Davies for Towles in Houston. Sign Bedard base 7 with incentives. Sign Ohman 1/3
Cf Sweeney/Maier
lf DeJesus
1b Butler
3b Gordon/Fields
rf Guillen
Dh Kila
SS Aviles/Betancout…I hate you
C Towles/Pena
2b Getz/ Bloom
Sp Greinke, Bedard, Meche, Banister, Hochevar, Lerew
Rp Soria, Farnsworth, Cruz, Tejeada, Ohman
This team is significantly better. All while adding only 4 million to what the Royals currently have tabbed.
I’d like to know why they gave up on John Buck so quickly. This will come back to haunt them.
First time reading your stuff, and I have to say, you are one of the most entertaining sports writers. The superball analogy was great
As a life-long, self loathing Cleveland Sports Fan (I grew up in Lakewood in the 1970’s), I remember the O.G. Jason Kendall signing when a washed-up Keith Hernandez signed for that 2 year, 3 million dollar contract w/ The Tribe and then proceeded to tank the season.
That’s my Superball.
I’m not from KC and not a Royals follower but I got linked to this article and it sucked me in. Fantastic writing.
[...] Royals, behind Zack Greinke’s pitching, Alex Gordon’s untapped potential, and Jason Kendall’s $6 million dollar intangibles. This will bring joy to Royals fans everywhere before they can go back to their comfortable regular [...]