Comments on: Kansas City Royals 2007 Preview

By: Tao

Tao — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:02:50 +0000

Faith is what sustains us, of course. Keep up the good work here.
–Tao

By: Zach

Zach — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:47:56 +0000

i dont think they were confident in their ability to determine the papelbon’s value considering his shoulder and transition to the rotation. remember, he struggled the second time through the order during his 2005 cameo. if they were to give him a contract based on last year’s performance they’d likely be overpaying.

regarding youkilis, he’s never going to be an expensive sign. i think he played to just below his ceiling last year and the club will ride out his arbitration years at the lowest possible cost. he’s not a great value at third base, and even worse at first.

while it might have been a nice show of good faith to sign each to a longer deal, the chances of it being a money-saving move are slim.

By: August Menchini

August Menchini — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:15:58 +0000

hey zach,

good column, as usual. I want to get your opinion on the soxs giving papelbon and youklis short term contracts worth a pitence of each of their value.
I know they did not have to do more but I think a smart move would be to sign each of them to three year deals with increases to merit each of their contribution and thereby locking each into a long term deal at a reduced rate.