December 12, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Wade Davis displays his jersey during the press conference at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Royals have a fantastic defense, solid offense and above average starting pitching…
However, there’s ONE superstar player that the Royals must have to win the division and compete for a third trip to the World Series.
Eric Hosmer, some say.
Others point to Sal Perez or Lorenzo Cain. Nope. Those are all very good position players and no doubt important to the Royals winning, but the one player this team must have all season is relief pitcher Wade Davis.
And Davis is not even one of the Royals highest paid players.
We’ve all been hearing about how important it was to sign Alex Gordon and the concern about Eric Hosmer leaving the team after this season. Or how happy fans are about signing Perez to a longer term deal.
And that’s all true.
However even if one of those guys goes down – and they’ve all been out for parts of the last two seasons – it’s Wade Davis who is a MUST.
As I mentioned recently, recently our best sports franchise is the men’s KU basketball team, even though it’s lacked that one great player almost every season.
Many KU fans feel that’s why they fell short this past month.
And for at least two years, the Royals have been playing the, “Let’s get the game to the fifth or sixth inning with a lead or close and our bullpen will win it for us.”
A few times some of our relievers didn’t get the job done, but one pitcher always gets it done and that’s Wade Davis.
The man is lights out.
In 2014 Davis had an ERA of 1.00 and last year 0.94 was baseball’s best.
When Davis takes over a game and the Royals have a lead, it’s over and you can put a W in the Royals column.
It happened again Sunday.
In the Royals opening day game against last year’s National League Champ New York Mets the Royals up 4-3 coming into the 9th, reliever Joacim Soria got drilled and gave up 3 runs late -and then in comes the stopper Wade Davis – game over.
So in Wade Davis our Kansas City Royals does have that one guy.
Wade Davis is the most important player on this team today.
It’s fair to say that without Davis, this Royals team would be in big trouble.
Hey, you have to score runs and have great defense to win and go deep in the playoffs,
Timely hitting is a must as well, however if you can’t close the door in the 8th or 9th inning, the rest won’t matter.
With the George Brett Royals, it was a lack of a great closer that prevented them from beating the New York Yankees until a guy named Dan Quisenberry showed up. Wade Davis is that guy today.
He is the Royals MVP. Lets hope he can still do it all year long.
no doubt wade is the best in baseball…but to say he’s indispensable shows you
lack any analytical knowledge of what makes a team a winner.
Put another catcher behind the plate besides perez and see what happens.
Replace the outfield of the royals and see how many uncatchable hits get caught.
Hosmer…how many saves has he made of throws from the other players that
another first basemen would not make.
The stats prove davis is beyond great…but someones got to score the runs
so he’s in a position to come pitch. Someone has to play great defense to
keep the other team from scoring.
We’ll just consider this entire article a “senior moment” for you.
Did you watch Villanova last night? One great star didn’t make that
team. Jenkins….aridianco (sorry spelling isn’t right) and 6 other players
won that game….with Jenkins scoring the last second shot.
Please hearne…we have enough foolish b.s from kerowacky and glaze
about sports. We don’t need another one. For ideas look to
tony’s site (not the comments) for things you can effectively write
about. KC is having growing pains….write about that.
Or the coming tsunami (it’s already arrived) of diversity in joco.
You can do better.
Your friend
Harley
Harley and not that it matters…the article makes it clear there are many moving parts to the Royals…many outstanding players…just that Wade Davis is the one who most needed all season. Unless another shut down reliever shows up. A guy who doesn’t lose a game and has an ERA of 1.00 or less.
I think what Harley is trying to say is that he understands what the article makes clear. He’s saying what it makes clear is B.S.
SORRY HEARNE….THOUGHT YOU WROTE THIS
ARTICLE.
Should have known it was glaza. Just too much
b.s. and mistkes for hearne to write it.
And I know if hearne wrote it the story would contain
elements of a phony jewel heist or suv’s with large
antennas like space aliens.
But instead we find glaza wrote this so we undersand
why its so filled with shall we say b.s.
Thanks frank…I value you as a reader/disciple and
follower of my comments and you hit the nail
on the head….good work.
CG, I love Davis. Dude’s a warrior and a cold-blooded closer. But, you must not have learned much from the Royals last 2 seasons. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There are no real superstars on this team. Davis doesn’t even get a chance to close if all the other guys don’t do their job. That means getting a lead, being able to bring in a bridge guy to do his job and then a set-up guy to do his. Without all that, Davis is a useless weapon.
No real squabble with your opinion. Just pointing out that the Royals are wired a tad different than all the rest of MLB.
Aptly put, Jim.
METS 2 @fraudroyals 0
: )
It’s one game. Big deal. Who got the rings?
🙂
The St. Louis Cardinals, NY Yankees, SF Giants, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox….
Mets? Ah, no …
K you aren’t going to do this every game are you? I mean the Royals will lose 60 or more games for sure…not every game! Hah. P.S. they will win plus 80 or 90 as well.
In the finest tradition Milli Vanilli, Sidd Finch & Miss Columbia:
1969*, 1985* and 2015* – 61+ years of no legit Championships Kansas City
Nah CG, not every game – just the first thing every morning, and the last thing every night…
🙂
K EXPLAIN HOW THE ROYALS OF LAST YEAR WERE A ‘FRAUD’ THEY WON IT IN FIVE GAMES FROM THE METS..wtf do you want from them. THEY ARE WORLD CHAMPS.
CG, you’re getting trolled. Don’t feed the trolls.
Always happy to reconnoiter and enlighten, CG. Wins, losses, Championships and individual player stats are neither created nor earned equally. Despite an ‘at face value’ review using results sans studied analysis of the factors therewith.
The simpleton refrain of ‘all that matters is we won’ the prime example of a ragamuffin compared a connoisseur. The former’s ‘any means justifies the end’ take suffices for them, doesn’t matter ‘how’ a destination was arrived at or what level (or lack thereof) competition was faced, only that ‘we won’. That concession may work for some, but it doesn’t work for Kerouac and never will.
For example, on its face, some would claim that since Barry Bonds hit 762 career home runs, he was better than Babe Ruth who hit 714. For those who value just quantity it might, but Ruth needed 836 fewer at bats reach 714, while Bonds needed every one those extra 836 at bats to merely tie Ruth. So who was the better home run hitter? Not the guy listed as MLB’s all-time home run champion, who needed many more at bats, more years& ‘got by with a little helP from his friEnDS’
Teams similarly.
That the Oakland Raiders won the AFL West Division in 1969, and twice that season beat the Chiefs to an bloody pulp (that made seven wins for OAK vs KC the previous 8 games between the two) seems to affirm that the ‘best team’ was the Raiders. That a special one-year only wild card format allowed Kansas City even reach post season, should have been embarrassing to the Chiefs & to their fans – it was a case of dollar$ replacing merit pro sports – the more teams involved the more revenue be made… to hell with integrity of the game… pro football $old out.
Given enough chances, KC finally managed to edge OAK for only the second time in four years. Even then, it took an injury to Lamonica and a blown call by an official, who allowed an out of bounds catch by Taylor to stand. Even with all that, it was but a one-score difference until near the end of the game. KC fans know the Chiefs were very lucky to get to post season at all and luckier yet to get by the Raiders. ’69 Chiefs were & remain ‘frauds’ as such.
As Bonds ‘extra’ at bats earlier referenced, 1969 was the year that sports also ushered in ‘extra chances’ due to an expanded post season criteria both AFL/NFL and MLB. Thus, every season and the teams since then have been compromised variously sports, winning a regular season division outright no longer rewarded, replaced ‘no team left behind’ tack, over-expanded post seasons, watered down teams/talent due over-expansion and results are of no renown or merit, when compared teams that won legitimate Championships pre-1969. Every team since, football and baseball including the 1985 & 2015 Royals, but frauds.
In essence, teams/players have it easier today than did those of yesteryear, due to the factors mentioned afore as well liberalized rules (the no bump rule since ’78 and pass blocking rules/use of hands offensive lineman ”73 among them) that make stats since largely bogus.
Nod ‘Color of Money’s Fast Eddie Felson, “money won is twice as sweet as money earned.” To wit, for those who embrace such and the ‘we won & that’s all that matters’ concession to merit, such reward pales comparison the earlier teams/players who won Championships without any need of assist.
That the Royals & Mets were both mediocre in 2015, neither team to be confused with the truly deserving Champions of the past, affirming. Neither team was better than the other, one just happened to be more fortunate than the other.
🙂
K as always well done. However there are many teams in the NFL and MLB that ‘surprised’ the league and won titles with far worse records than the Chiefs or Royals had. Recently the NFL New York Giants and St. Louis Cards had just over .500 seasons and won it all. Happens. It doesn’t take away from them being CHAMPS, those years.
The Chiefs were underachievers under Stram and Marty. Both should have had a couple more titles. The George Brett Royals also were good enough to win another title or two..so it happens.
I don’t agree that last years Royals were just ok, they played a new brand of baseball, leaning on the bullpen, defense and timely hitting in games that mattered…that’s all. It’s happened before.
As I’ve said ad nauseam, ‘every team’ since 1969 is a fraud due the changes in sporting formats, to include the fraudroyals and their older brothers the swiss. The case in all profe$$ional sports: it’s about the Benjamin$ – has been for a long, Long, LONG time now. Like shows in Vegas, sports is a nice distraction but it as truly legit, great teams as formerly ruled, secondary to the powers that be’s prime directive: taking your money.
We disagree that it doesn’t take away from what they (any teams) did – more so did not do. Paper champions are nothing more than frauds, in fact, the modern era of squeezing the $ports turnip in lieu squeezing out truly legit teams. As I said, all teams/records/stats are not equal re: how they were created or end up, regardless how number or kudo looks on the surface (a Championship(s), stats, etc.)
~
Chiefs could’ve won as many 4 more Superbowls under Stram (Schottenheimer no – he ALWAYS blinked in post season, and was not an upper tier coach any more than a Marv Levy or Bud Grant or George Allen etc, likewise perennial also-rans.
Too, Marty’s offenses were nigh on impotent in comparison other NFL teams of that time, and coupled with his philosophy required too much perfect execution ever advance to a Superbowl. His Chiefs were as the early 70s Miami Dolphins: Kiick, Csonka & Griese – alas no Warfield (or the inclination to use him even had he had Warfield.) Marty’s teams were like ‘the little boy who cried wolf’: after awhile, you knew the Chiefs were not ever going to get it done under him.
I place more blame upon Marty than I do those characterized as scapegoats, an Elliott, Grbac & Lowery etc. Marty’s Chiefs played games as if they had one arm tied behind their back… too afraid to lose, to win.
The 2015 Royals were ‘best of the worst’, as NY Mets same. Neither belongs in any conversation legit/memorable Championship teams any more than Kerouac’s ’88 Dodgers, latter’s huge a fraud then as the Royals of ’15. The only thing that set KC apart from NY: their bullpen & good fortune on defense, and horrid D from NY. Those added to breaks makes for a scenario where one team has to win by default, despite it being no better than the other and both teams mediocre overall.
We agree on some things but not re: others, CG, and that’s what makes discourse informative as well entertaining.
You as many embrace local teams just because the’re local… Kerouac does not, and has always (nod Cosell) ‘told it like it is’ whether re: Chiefs (who I embraced upon their arrival in 1963) & the Dodgers (who I did same LA, 1958) . I have never been/never will be a ‘homer’ for any team.
Ready for another swiss chiefs disappoint 2016? Stay tuned… it’s coming.
🙂
The guy who places the W in the outfield is indispensable. Without him, we have 0 wins, or at best a bunch of wins with a Kerouac asterisk next to them for the missing W. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have 0 wins than a bunch of wins with a Kerouac asterisk next to them.
Does the W guy have any other responsibilities like running the scoreboard or such? The Royals have too much money to spend if this is the guys only responsibility. “Hi I’m the W guy” Wow your awesome. How much do they pay you?
http://www.kansascity.com/living/article25998445.html
Gassedup. Pretty clear from your comments that you have no idea about the type of person that Dave Webster is.
I first met Dave and his wife over 20 years ago when their son was involved in youth sports. He has always been a shy, quiet guy that was committed to young people but did it behind the scenes. If you are lucky enough to have Dave consider you a friend then he’ll always be there if you ever need him. I’ve crossed paths with him a number of times over the years, usually at events where he will volunteer for causes relating to helping young people and supporting causes with that goal. He worked one such event a few months ago and will be volunteering at another one early this summer. Nothing to do with the Royals and he will not be getting paid. Dave is one of the good guys that inspires those around him to step up and do more.
KayCee Baseball, thanks for the link !!
Thanks for putting the gassy ignoramus in its place.
Glazer, once again you’ve put your ignorance on display. PEREZ is the indispensable Royal, as anybody with a modicum of baseball knowledge will tell you.
Thanks for the kind words as always. P.S. we sure mentioned Perez as very important, however in ‘my’ opinion its Wade Davis that is tops. Perez is way up there number 2.
Perez AND Alcides Escobar, the reigning Gold Glove shortstop. The guys behind them are sharp dropoffs.
Davis? He’s great. But that bullpen is still so deep (even with Greg Holland out), that you got three other guys capable of closing games in the major leagues — Herrera, Hochevar and Soria. Would it hurt to lose him? Sure, but not nearly as much if Perez or Escobar go down.