By CHRIS RASMUSSEN
This belly was never coming to KC.
Yesterday, in a column answering a question posed by only drunken callers of sports radio stations, Jeff Flanagan concludes that the Royals were not a contender to acquire CC Sabathia (he recently lost the initials in his first name but shed no weight in the process).
That came as no surprise for any sentient Royals fan, given that we:
1) Did not have the talent to acquire him.
The Brewers have a rich farm system, offering four minor leaguers to acquire the left-handed ace. The prize was Matt LaPorta, an outfielder hitting .290 with terrific power in AA.
The Royals? If we had a former first round pick hitting .290 with power in AA, he would be on the major-league roster. Dayton Moore is addressing the dearth of talent in our farm system, but our system is barren right now.
2) Have no reason to acquire him.
Why? To ensure we don’t finish last in 2008? To catch the Detroit Tigers to finish third? Sabathia is a free agent at the end of the year, and unless he and his agent doesn’t care about winning or is delusional, there is no way we would re-sign him.
Nevertheless, I do like the idea of a column devoted to shooting down incredibly absurd rumors. With that in mind, here are some titles for future columns:
“A-Rod Not Coming to Kansas City; Madonna Vetoes Move To Midwest.”
“Royals Unlikely To Exhume Babe Ruth; Re-Animation Technology Unproven”
“Royals Skeptical Regarding Hobbs, Consider Him Too Fictional.”
“Pitching Staff Of Large Insects Not Feasible In 08’”
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Okay, the last one is just an instant classic. Well done, sir!
This question is similar to the one about Matt Holliday. Some reporter printed a rumor that the Royals were interested. Well, I'm sure they are. But since that deal starts with Hochevar, then you need to add two other good prospects, forget it. Not because the Royals wouldn't be willing (even though they wouldn't), but because they don't have the other two guys (unless you want to go ahead and give up Moustakas).
Someone on another blog asked if Teahen and Davies would fetch Holliday. PLEASE SIR, PUT DOWN THE BONG AND STEP SLOWLY AWAY. The Rockies already have Teahen - his name is Seth Smith. Except that Seth Smith is playing in AAA where he belongs, while Teahen is making six figures to be replacement level. And why exactly would anyone want Davies?
Please people, use the interweb to look up a list of teams' top prospects before you float absurd trade rumors. Chances are every single team in baseball has a player in AAA who is better than all but four or five of the guys they would be getting from the Royals. Don't believe me and want to test it: "Joey Gathright is better and faster than any guy in the Yankees or Pirates system." False. Joey Gathright = Brett Garnder or Nyjer Morgan, respectively. "Mark Teahen has a great arm in right and some power." Nelson Cruz could play CF in a small park, has a great arm, and 836 home runs this season for the Rangers AAA team (was out of options this spring and the Royals could have claimed him, by the way). We really don't need to keep going.
Here's a suggestion. If you are a frustrated Royals fan, pay really close attention to the amateur draft. This is a long term proposition, but it's the only place they're going to get talent because right now the system is rigged in their favor (see e.g., Tampa Bay Rays).
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