Does KC give you hope?

[gowazzu02]

Listening to the radio on the way in. They had an interesting topic. Does seeing KC do what their doing give you hope as a M fan?

Most replies were positive, they are built similar to us, dominate bullpen, good defense, not a bashing team, need timely hitting....

I being a half empty type of guy actually go the other way. KC has a great team sure, but they are on a hot streak like you read about. Even then it took them coming back from 4 down in the one and done play in game. The east is down, can't figure the yankees/redsox/rays to stay down....... Missed opportunity.

For a KC/Sea you need SO much to go right.....

 

[cezero]

It would give me hope if we had minor things like right handers who could hit anything at all and anything resembling a KC outfield.

Add in an ownership group that cares anything at all about baseball, and who wouldn't be optimistic?

 

[Msfann]

It would give me hope if we had minor things like right handers who could hit anything at all and anything resembling a KC outfield.

Add in an ownership group that cares anything at all about baseball, and who wouldn't be optimistic?

 

[SeattleCoug]

It would give me hope if we had minor things like right handers who could hit anything at all and anything resembling a KC outfield.

Add in an ownership group that cares anything at all about baseball, and who wouldn't be optimistic?

This pretty much. It doesn't make me feel more hopeful about the M's chances.

 

[wazzu31]

As Cezero pointed out there is a huge difference between the Mariners organization and the Royals organization. The Royals have to have things go right because they aren't as financially stable at other teams, the Mariners on the other hand are not but prefer to run it like a small market while not having small market guys in the developmental department. If Jack were the Royals GM and made the same type of deals he has for the Mariners then the Royals would be the Astros.

I'd like to be optimistic but until something drastically changes it is hard to be. They have us fans by the balls, they want us to spend a crap ton of money for an average product but since the stadium is generally half empty they have the built in excuse of they are poor even though they have two of the highest paid players at their respective positions and the most expensive big screen in the league.

 

[cezero]

I listen to the same guys on the radio every morning. My commute is from 7-7:20ish, and I heard them say the same things about KC giving them hope for Seattle.

Those guys are very enjoyable to listen to most of the time, but their baseball commentary is not so great. Love what they say about football, but baseball not so much.

I will say that I'm more optimistic than I was 9 months ago by a good deal.

 

[dude82]

I think that, because of the disparity in payroll flexibility and difference in market size, the Royals might not be the best comparison to our situation. I think Toronto is a more apt comparison. I believe the Blue Jays currently have the longest playoff drought of any team in baseball now that both Kansas City and Pittsburgh have made it back there within the last couple of years. The Jays haven't made the playoffs in more than 20 years now and the highest they've finished in that time was 2nd place in 2005.

I'll grant you that the last time they made the playoffs, they won back-to-back World Championships, which is a good way to soften the blow of missing the playoffs for the next 20 seasons, but given their market size (huge) and the fact that they've been the only team in that entire country for close to a decade now, there's no logical reason for them to have failed to make the playoffs even once since 1993 ended with a championship.

 

[gowazzu02]

I think that, because of the disparity in payroll flexibility and difference in market size, the Royals might not be the best comparison to our situation. I think Toronto is a more apt comparison. I believe the Blue Jays currently have the longest playoff drought of any team in baseball now that both Kansas City and Pittsburgh have made it back there within the last couple of years. The Jays haven't made the playoffs in more than 20 years now and the highest they've finished in that time was 2nd place in 2005.

I'll grant you that the last time they made the playoffs, they won back-to-back World Championships, which is a good way to soften the blow of missing the playoffs for the next 20 seasons, but given their market size (huge) and the fact that they've been the only team in that entire country for close to a decade now, there's no logical reason for them to have failed to make the playoffs even once since 1993 ended with a championship.

Yeah good point. I think the Jays are a cautious tale of when "larger" markets try to spend with NYY, Boston and LA. Toronto has the money, but when it busts they can't buy out their mistakes like the other teams mentioned.

I sort of also blame the skydome. Hard to build a winner around hitting bombs. You need pitching and pitching there is tough.

 

[Destroydacre]

No, Howard Lincoln is still CEO.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

No, Howard Lincoln is still CEO.

I think KC has hit lightning in a bottle but at the same time they have talent within the organization after being so bad for so long. David Glass from all I've read is a cheap bastard so I don't expect KC to be this good for a long while.

 

[wazzu31]

The Blue Jays-Mariners comparison is good in another way, with the way the franchises are ran they have certain windows that they can achieve success. The Mariners choked the best chance they had this year when Texas was injury plagued and Oakland collapsed. Can't imagine the division will ever be as weak and perfect for the Mariners to make the playoff for quite some time with Houston getting better and the unlikely chance Texas or the Angels have enough injuries to allow them to make it.

From afar it kind of seems like Toronto is like Seattle in that they do not have an identity for the franchise. They don't spend enough as the big boys but don't seem as farm oriented as Baltimore and Tampa Bay. But I could be completely wrong.