joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Well, it’s time to bring some respect back to the Royals. A team with a decent farm system, but a not-so-hot MLB team (and that may be an understatement…). I get greeted warmly by the front office as I take hold of the General Manager and coaching duties: “We don’t have the highest payroll…†Hmm… clearly they didn’t tell me the true extent of there payroll problems. With an extremely low budget of only $66.2 million, it’s no wonder they have a low payroll. At least I have a whopping $12.4 million to spend… Now, sarcasm aside, not everything is a total loss taking over at Kansas City. For instance, because they have been struggling, their goals and expectation aren’t too high: It’s time to see who I’m dealing with. The pitching staff isn’t spectacular, but a lot of them are young. The pitching is the deepest part of the Royals organization, and I can see, after looking at by batting order, that the pitching staff is going to have to win these games for us. After taking some pre-season notes on the weaknesses on my team, I decided it was time to trade for some batting/defensive strength. The biggest weakness on the Royals, in my opinion was their weakness at 2nd base. I decided to sacrifice an overrated 3-pitch starter to pick up Belliard from Cleveland. I was delighted to see that they were eager to accept the trade. Next on my list was shortstop. I had two overly paid starting pitchers, Anderson and Lima, who weren’t going to get much playing time. I decided to see what I could get for either one, or both pitchers. Philadelphia was eager to dump Rollins 5 yr / $8 million contract, and I was eager to pick up a player that can run and fields decently. The contract was a little high, but a worth while investment. And lastly, I made a greedy trade. I didn’t really need anything else, but I wanted one more bat, and I had one more pitcher I would be willing to sacrifice. I made some calls to a few GMs that owed me favors, and found that Florida was willing to part ways with Encarnacion to pick up a 5th starter. Although I was hoping to save a little money in the deal, I was willing to settle for an even exchange to pick up one more fielder. After making the new trades, I had to make some call-ups and send some people down to make sure I had fine tuned my lineups and starting rotation. After all was said and done, here’s the new team: Pitching Rotation: Lineup vs RHP: Lineup vs LHP All signs point to success this season, and hopes are flying high. With a decent line up and a decent, but young pitching staff, the Royals and their fans head into the season rejuvenated. The playoffs may still be a year or two off, but the can see it in the distance. They see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to earn their respect back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Your rosters make me feel 2 years younger! Good luck with the dynasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 Time to put my new rosters to the test. With the extra speed and batting talent I’ve brought in, I was glad the Tigers were our first opponent. The game started out as well as I could have hoped (probably better). After a quick out by Rollins, the Royals hit four straight singles and took a 1-0 lead on Encarnacion’s single that allowed Berroa to score. The bottom of the first was quick as Dessens retired the side on 3 straight pitches. This game was going well. The game continued at a fairly quick pace into the 5th inning. The Royals went into the bottom of the 5th with a 1-0 lead. All that would change with one swing of the bat. With 1 out in the bottom of the 5th, Rondell White homered to tie the game for the Tigers. In the bottom of the 6th, The Tigers' Curtis Granderson led off with a triple. Dessens pitched brilliantly after that for the rest of the 6th. He got Polanco to ground out, then struck out Rodrigez on a called third strike that may have been questionable. The third out, a close ground out by Ordonez, caused the Tiger's Manager to get upset and he argued his case. This caused him to be ejected from the game. The bottom of the 7th brought more homerun blues to the Royals as Dessens gave up his second homerun. This time, Chris Shelton was the beneficiary of the pitch. However, the Royals answered the call in the top of the 8th as Jimmy Rollins led off with a triple and Encarnacion drove him in with a sacrifice fly. No one scored leading into the bottom of the 9th. Ordonez led of the bottom of the 9th with a single. Dimitri Young and Shelton each record quick easy outs after that, but the same cannot be said for Rondell White's out. On a hanging pitch, White drove a pitch deep into right field. As the team thought this game was over, Emil Brown made an amazing diving catch to preserve the tie. The 10th and 11th innings went by quickly, as did the top of the 12th inning. The bottom, however, was a nightmare for the Royals. Dimitri Young started out by flying out. Then, the Tigers got back to back singles to have a man on first and third. The Royals got a much needed strike out, but on the first pitch to Brandon Inge, he hit a three-run homer to win the game for the Tigers. A lot was learned from this game. First, I have a team that CAN compete. They never gave up. Second, my pitching IS good. Depite giving up some ill-timed homers, there is promise. And third, this is going to be a fun season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfgiantsflgators Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 i'll check in - i got excited when rollins was picked up because i don't have to watch berroa **** you at the shortstop position. good luck! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 For the second stright game, the Royals pitched a decent game, only to be let down by a lack of offense. The game took only 2 hours 6 minutes as only 145 total pitches were thrown. The lone score came in the bottom of the 4th inning on back to back hits by Ordonez and Young. Ordonex hit a single, and was driven in on a deep double by Young. It appears we will need to acquire one more bat before too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tejdog1 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 What rosters are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 What rosters are you using? I thought I had all of this in my first post, but I must have forgotten. Level: All-Star Rosters: Patch #5 (closest to openning day I could get) Sliders: A slight modification of Hoop's All-star sliders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 In the continued efforts to improve the probability of actually getting a Royal on base, the following trade was announced after the last game: Although Guillan doesn't provide the power aspect we were looking for, he does provide consistancy with his swing. To make up for the loss of another starter, the Front Office aquired Sidney Ponson form free agency. His price was expensive ($7.50 million), so we offered him a one-year contract as to not lock ourselves into a hefty contract with such a low budget. How will these acquistions work out? We'll find out next game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 This game proved once again that the Royal's pitchers have some talent. Mike Wood pitched a 3-hit, complete game striking out 12 and allowing only one run. That run came in the bottom of the 4th as the first pitch to Ordonez was homered over the left field wall. However, that was all Maroth needed for the Tigers as he also pitched a complete game. His was a little more special as he no-hit the Royals. How will these acquistions work out? We'll find out next game! Well, I think this game answered that question... Unfortunately, I see no immediate hope for this ball club, but the season is young. We can only get better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkazo Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Nice start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unforgiveneh Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Try dangling Sweeney and a decent prospect or two out there and see what you can get by way of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshdixon1980 Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 Stop the press! Not to ruin the ending, but the Royals figured out how to play some ball! Tonight's game got off to an excellent start as Jimmy Rollins hit a triple to start of the game. The ball went to the deepest part of the field as it split the left and center fielders. The next batter, Encarnacion, singled up the middle to score Rollins and get the royals off t a quick 1-0 start. After Encarnacion stoe second and moved up to third on a Sweeney groundout, DeJesus hit a single to left bring Encarnacion home. The ball was misplayed by the fielder, which helped. The game moved quickly until the 4th when the royals scored again after hitting back to back ot bcak singles scoring Sweeney. Greinke pitched a brilliant game going 8 2/3 innings allowing 1 run (in the bottom of the 9th) and striking out 11. All signs are pointing up as we continue this road trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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