Goodbye, Joker
Joe Randa’s career in Kansas City officially ended on Tuesday, although everyone saw the writing on the wall when the Royals signed Chris Truby. Randa agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.15 million with the Reds, allowing him to continue to play in the Midwest and stay reasonably close to his home in KC. I’m not surprised Randa chose to play where he did, because he’s a real hometown, family-first kind of guy, traits Royals fans loved him for.
However, fans can, at times, become too attached to a player for reasons outside of baseball. It happens all the time in St. Louis; the Redbird faithful fell hard for "hard-nosed" guys like Joe McEwing and Bo Hart, who just shouldn’t see regular playing time in the major leagues. That kind of an attachment can be a good thing if the player actually earns his paycheck with his play on the field too, like Nomar Garciaparra did in Boston. Although Randa stopped earning his $3 to $4 million salary long ago, the fans continued to love the guy because of his personality, and a mutiny came damn close to happening when Allard Baird announced the team was probably going to cut bait with The Joker. To his credit, Baird never wavered, and made the decision that was in the best interest of the Kansas City Royals, not its fans. As steady as he’d been since 1999, there just wasn’t any sense in bringing Randa back for millions again with Mark Teahen being one push away from shoving down the door to the major leagues.
Baird didn’t opt for Truby over Randa because he viewed Truby as even Randa’s equal; he clearly is not. But Truby was the more attractive option financially, and will be far easier to kick to the curb once Teahen completes his apprenticeship in the minor leagues. It’s things like that – the business side of baseball – that most fans will never be able to understand. Sometimes, the horse simply leaves the barn, and it was time for Randa and the Royals to part ways. The sooner Royals fans can get over it and accept that 2005 is going to be a horrible year with or without the face of mediocrity taking the field again at third base, the better off we’ll be.
With that being official, the Royals’ lineup is becoming less and less foggy with each passing day. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you, but it’s clearing up either way. Here’s the lineup I’d like to see on Opening Day if the Royals do nothing else this winter:
David DeJesus – CF
Tony Graffanino – 2B
Calvin Pickering – 1B
Mike Sweeney – DH
Matt Stairs – LF
John Buck – C
Terrence Long – RF
Chris Truby – 3B
Angel Berroa – SS
Of course, I’d love to see Baird acquire a young, power-hitting outfielder with good on-base skills, but teams tend to want to hang onto guys like that. My lineup has a pretty nice left/right/left thing going, and the first five batters all have shown the ability to get on base previously in their careers. The wild card is Pickering, who I think could have a monstrous home run hittin’ year if the Royals will just give him a chance, and trade Ken Harvey in the process.
However, fans can, at times, become too attached to a player for reasons outside of baseball. It happens all the time in St. Louis; the Redbird faithful fell hard for "hard-nosed" guys like Joe McEwing and Bo Hart, who just shouldn’t see regular playing time in the major leagues. That kind of an attachment can be a good thing if the player actually earns his paycheck with his play on the field too, like Nomar Garciaparra did in Boston. Although Randa stopped earning his $3 to $4 million salary long ago, the fans continued to love the guy because of his personality, and a mutiny came damn close to happening when Allard Baird announced the team was probably going to cut bait with The Joker. To his credit, Baird never wavered, and made the decision that was in the best interest of the Kansas City Royals, not its fans. As steady as he’d been since 1999, there just wasn’t any sense in bringing Randa back for millions again with Mark Teahen being one push away from shoving down the door to the major leagues.
Baird didn’t opt for Truby over Randa because he viewed Truby as even Randa’s equal; he clearly is not. But Truby was the more attractive option financially, and will be far easier to kick to the curb once Teahen completes his apprenticeship in the minor leagues. It’s things like that – the business side of baseball – that most fans will never be able to understand. Sometimes, the horse simply leaves the barn, and it was time for Randa and the Royals to part ways. The sooner Royals fans can get over it and accept that 2005 is going to be a horrible year with or without the face of mediocrity taking the field again at third base, the better off we’ll be.
With that being official, the Royals’ lineup is becoming less and less foggy with each passing day. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you, but it’s clearing up either way. Here’s the lineup I’d like to see on Opening Day if the Royals do nothing else this winter:
David DeJesus – CF
Tony Graffanino – 2B
Calvin Pickering – 1B
Mike Sweeney – DH
Matt Stairs – LF
John Buck – C
Terrence Long – RF
Chris Truby – 3B
Angel Berroa – SS
Of course, I’d love to see Baird acquire a young, power-hitting outfielder with good on-base skills, but teams tend to want to hang onto guys like that. My lineup has a pretty nice left/right/left thing going, and the first five batters all have shown the ability to get on base previously in their careers. The wild card is Pickering, who I think could have a monstrous home run hittin’ year if the Royals will just give him a chance, and trade Ken Harvey in the process.