An October with no baseball means it’s time for Dayton Moore to hold his state of the franchise press conference. Things got off to a rollicking start as Moore insisted the rebuild took hold when they stopped talking about… the rebuild. You know, I think what jumpstarted the rebuild is we quit talking about the […]
Author: Craig Brown
How the Royals were built
One of my favorite spreadsheets I keep during the year is what I call “The Royals Family Tree.” Basically, it’s a list of the Royals 40-man roster, along with how they were acquired. In the past, it’s been a fun exercise. The most recent roster construction has rendered this mostly boring. That’s because the Royals, […]
Shifting on the shift
It was obvious almost from the first game of the 2018 season: The Royals were employing the shift more than they ever had in the past. Indeed, they were shifting a lot, ranking second among teams using this particular alignment through the first month of the season. Then, they decided to pull back as they […]
Estimating the arbitration eligibles
We’ve reached our first milestone of the offseason. MLB Trade Rumors released their arbitration estimates on Tuesday. With the first year of a rebuild in the books, and contention seemingly far in the future, it’s not a surprise the Royals list is thin and relatively uninspiring. All told, they have six arbitration eligible players on […]
Royals are set to cash in on their next TV deal
The Royals didn’t win much on the field in 2018, but they certainly won in the television ratings. Forbes has the numbers, and with the year-end ratings in the books for the just completed season, the Royals had a 4.89 rating, good for an average of 44,000 households. Their rating was the sixth highest in […]
Escobar is on the scene, like a second half machine
You may have noticed Royals shortstop, (or was it third baseman?) Alcides Escobar had one hell of a second half. Or maybe you didn’t. You would have been excused, given the dreadful first half that clouded his numbers. Basically, he dug himself a hole so deep he scraped up against the Great Wall. But really, […]
He’s back! Yost to return for 2019
Just ahead of Game 162, the Royals removed all the drama from their October. Ned Yost will return as manager for the 2019 season. Despite protestations from the manager that he hadn’t thought about or discussed his future with the Royals, it was clear the two sides wouldn’t let this drag out beyond the final […]
Bad contracts, a small budget and the end of the good times
“Money talks and bullshit walks.” — Bobbi Fleckman, This Is Spinal Tap God, how I love this quote. Delivered with such conviction, it’s an absolute. Money makes the world go ‘round. If the first album had been a hit, it would have been so different. Now, everything else is just the details. In Kansas City, […]
Decision to return for another season is up to Yost
What is Ned Yost going to do? One of the more underreported subplots as the 2018 season draws to a close has to be Yost and his contract situation. He’s in the final year of a two year extension signed after the Royals won the 2015 World Series. Jon Heyman from Fancred reported a couple […]
Speed thrills: Mondesi’s thievery accelerates second half breakthrough
The stolen base just isn’t sexy anymore. As the launch angle revolution has taken root and baseball has evolved into a game more about hitting dingers and less about keeping the line moving, larceny on the bases has seemingly fallen out of favor. That doesn’t mean the steal still doesn’t have it’s place in the […]