Seems like a million years ago sports pundits were tripping over themselves to finger the Royals woeful ways based on our small market economics...
That more-or-less went away with revenue sharing and the galling fact that other small market teams like Oakland managed to find their way into the playoff picture.
Could it be management maybe?%2520500px.jpg&imgrefurl=http://snapshots.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/04/&usg=__7xqwOTgUtchyqiZgEmS6LKP-4F8=&h=291&w=500&sz=74&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=Td9Pw8_yK5LnfM:&tbnh=76&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMoustakas%2BRoyals%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 "Moustakas_Mike 5190.jpg")
Now ESPN the Magazine is revisiting the subject in a story titled, “System Failure; For Small Market Teams The June Draft Is Broken. Here Are A Few Ways To Fix It.”
Uh, naturally the Royals are batting leadoff in the story…
“Imagine Royals ace Zack Greinke pitching to catcher Matt Wieters, both of them wearing the throwback powder-blue jerseys
MoCrash
You need to work on your “Moneyball” vocabulary:
“Translation: the Royals cheaped out, opting for the bathwater rather than the Bonus Babies.”
It wasn’t that the Royals’ “cheaped out,” it was that they went for the high school kid whose skills are subjective rather than a college player who could be more accurately measured. Plus, they went for a power bat (aluminum) — both expensive and ridiculous for a team which plays in expansive Kauffman Stadium — instead of the kind of hitter which most impacts run production, those with high on-base percentages who see a lot of pitches (and wear pitchers out). Dayton Moore’s draft philosophy hasn’t been so much about cheap “signability,” but is opposite of the A’s in preferring high school players — who have a lower probability of ultimate success than those from college programs.
jojo
when the angels are paying more money for
tori hunter than the royals can afford…
when yankees/mets/cubs/tigers/red sox etc. have
the ability to have 120million dollar payrolls
and still make money…small market teams
are still just a second thought in becoming
big time teams.
Greinke/meche and guillen are 55% of the
payroll. theres not much left for the other
21 players. Moore has no ability to evaluate
talent but if those 2guys wanted huge signing
bonuses and the royals couldnt afford it
then why would he draft them knowing their demands couldnt be met.
Now, glass learns what its like tobe the
small guy. For years, he and sam destroyed
smaller businesses by literally stealing
their business and closing down all the mom
and pop stores in small town america.
Now that glass ain’t the giant, he sees what
the giants will do to him…eat him up.
I didn’t know the draft was set up like that or
that moore had to pass on better choices but
the major market teams will continue to dominate.
You’ll have some break throughs but once an
owner wins something he’ll fire sale his team
to get it back making a profit.
Also..oakland is not a small market team.
Its part of the 5th largest market in america.
ManDshagger
MoCrash: GRAND SLAM! History shows that overall college players do better in the bigs than high school players. Salary cap will never come into play in MLB unless the Feds get involved which is a possibility with this administration. We are destined to be a drinking town with a sports problem.