Saturday, December 16, 2006

Help!

So this Monday's feature is going to be a bit different. I need your help. Tell me in 10 words or less what it's like to be a Royals fan. You can mention a player, a moment, or just a general feeling. It can rhyme, be a half sentence, whatever. E-mail them to me at btefan@yahoo.com. I need them by midnight EST Sunday. Submit as many as you want with your name(only your first name and last initial will be printed).

Now, on to baseball. Two of the more talked about signings in the last few weeks have been Gil Meche(5 year/$55 mil) by the Royals and Daisuke Matsuzaka(6 year/$52 mil) by the Red Sox.

The two have more than just their contracts in common. Meche is 28 and Matsuzaka is 26. Neither have proven themselves to be all-star caliber pitchers, yet both commanded two of the larger salaries for a pitcher during the offseason.

I see the reasoning behind Meche. He's got potential, and he has been at least average. The money was the only way to get him to KC. He could be a solid starter, but he'll never win 20 games.

Here's where the two differ: For the most part, we know what we're getting out of Meche within a few wins and strikeouts. He probably won't be a disaster, but I don't think they'll be etching his name on the Cy Young anytime soon.

Matsuzaka though is anyone's guess. Will he win 18 games? Or will he be another Hideki Irabu? The potential is there for both possibilities. He has this gyro-ball pitch that everyone's talking about, but he has also never faced major league hitting.

Since the two contracts are so similar, you have to wonder whether the Royals picked the right guy.

I absolutely think they got the right pitcher in this case. You're trying to build a team not bring in a circus act. Meche will pitch 150-185 innings and win at least 10 games. I can't even predict what Matsuzaka will do.

So, you've read about both guys. Did the Royals make the right choice?
Posted by Joe :: 12:21 PM ::

|

---------------oOo---------------