Open Mouth, Insert Foot
My stupid mouth
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
--John Mayer, My Stupid Mouth--
You know, the excitement offseason baseball news in Kansas City generates usually rates a Dick Cheney on the boring-o-meter (which is to say really boring), so it isn’t all that unusual for any story that has teeth behind it to turn the city’s fans and sportstalk radio pundits on edge. Last Thursday, Mike Sweeney gave KC its first talking point since the ever-so-thrilling Eli Marrero acquisition, so you’ll have to forgive those people if they seem to be going a little bit over-the-top with their takes on the issue.
In case you aren’t familiar with what Sweeney said and what his statements mean when considering his background with the Royals, here’s a crash course: Apparently fed up with the Royals’ lack of activity in the free agent market, Mike said that he’d been “misled” by David Glass into believing that the team’s payroll would be steadily increased towards the $60 million mark. That was one of the promises Glass made, Sweeney said, when he and the team were negotiating his current five-year, $55 million contract in spring of 2002. As expected, Glass denied making such a commitment to Sweeney, which, of course, means that somebody’s lying.
It’s important to note that Sweeney, while on the Royals Caravan in the winter of 2002, made similar comments after the Royals decided to slash payroll and drop expensive and under-performing veterans like Roberto Hernandez, Chuck Knoblauch, and Neifi Perez from the roster. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski wrote that the Royals should actually plan an annual Mike Sweeney “Rip the Royals” press conference. That isn’t such a bad idea; reporters could munch on chips and salsa while Sweeney has an airing of grievances Festivus-style. Anyway, the payroll is expected to be around $47 million at the very most in 2005, which means that on the surface, Sweeney might have a point about being misled.
However, things always lie below the surface, and I think those things are what actually matter here. To me, whether or not Glass promised Mike a $60 million payroll isn’t all that important. No matter what was said during negotiations, Sweeney’s in the wrong on this, and is a prime example of why baseball players (and baseball fans, to an extent) shouldn’t have any say in how their teams are run. Apparently, Mike’s determined that having a higher payroll equals more success, which has been disproven time and time again in recent years. As those of you who’ve read Moneyball know, from 2000 to 2004, the Oakland A’s won more regular season games than the Yankees did, all while spending significantly less money. Maximizing your resources make it easier on a team to win in the short term, but it’s certainly no guarantee of a playoff appearance, and could have disastrous long-term effects, especially for a small-market team like the Royals.
It’s for that reason Sweeney needs to take a step back and accept that building a base through player development is the way things have to be for the Royals. If he was told the payroll would escalate to a figure much higher than it is now, that’s something he’ll just have to deal with. The Royals of 2005 are a much different (and much better) baseball operation because they’ve dropped the payroll and, as a result, have been forced to make smarter personnel decisions from a financial standpoint. For example, keeping loyal Joe Randa around would’ve been nice, but with Mark Teahen knocking on the door, giving The Joker $2 million to play for two months and then be kicked to the curb wouldn’t have been a smart (or realistic) decision. The kids are on their way up, and this time, the rebuilding project looks like it’s going to generate winning baseball at Kauffman Stadium.
The bottom line is that Sweeney needs to get on board with what the Royals are doing, or request a trade if he can’t. Just like Glass, I hope he wants to be a part of The Next Good Royals Team, because he’s a heck of a good guy and a good hitter. Unfortunately, his mind might be made up, making the likelihood of him finishing his career as a Royal about as high as Mike not missing 50 or more games next year.
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
--John Mayer, My Stupid Mouth--
You know, the excitement offseason baseball news in Kansas City generates usually rates a Dick Cheney on the boring-o-meter (which is to say really boring), so it isn’t all that unusual for any story that has teeth behind it to turn the city’s fans and sportstalk radio pundits on edge. Last Thursday, Mike Sweeney gave KC its first talking point since the ever-so-thrilling Eli Marrero acquisition, so you’ll have to forgive those people if they seem to be going a little bit over-the-top with their takes on the issue.
In case you aren’t familiar with what Sweeney said and what his statements mean when considering his background with the Royals, here’s a crash course: Apparently fed up with the Royals’ lack of activity in the free agent market, Mike said that he’d been “misled” by David Glass into believing that the team’s payroll would be steadily increased towards the $60 million mark. That was one of the promises Glass made, Sweeney said, when he and the team were negotiating his current five-year, $55 million contract in spring of 2002. As expected, Glass denied making such a commitment to Sweeney, which, of course, means that somebody’s lying.
It’s important to note that Sweeney, while on the Royals Caravan in the winter of 2002, made similar comments after the Royals decided to slash payroll and drop expensive and under-performing veterans like Roberto Hernandez, Chuck Knoblauch, and Neifi Perez from the roster. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski wrote that the Royals should actually plan an annual Mike Sweeney “Rip the Royals” press conference. That isn’t such a bad idea; reporters could munch on chips and salsa while Sweeney has an airing of grievances Festivus-style. Anyway, the payroll is expected to be around $47 million at the very most in 2005, which means that on the surface, Sweeney might have a point about being misled.
However, things always lie below the surface, and I think those things are what actually matter here. To me, whether or not Glass promised Mike a $60 million payroll isn’t all that important. No matter what was said during negotiations, Sweeney’s in the wrong on this, and is a prime example of why baseball players (and baseball fans, to an extent) shouldn’t have any say in how their teams are run. Apparently, Mike’s determined that having a higher payroll equals more success, which has been disproven time and time again in recent years. As those of you who’ve read Moneyball know, from 2000 to 2004, the Oakland A’s won more regular season games than the Yankees did, all while spending significantly less money. Maximizing your resources make it easier on a team to win in the short term, but it’s certainly no guarantee of a playoff appearance, and could have disastrous long-term effects, especially for a small-market team like the Royals.
It’s for that reason Sweeney needs to take a step back and accept that building a base through player development is the way things have to be for the Royals. If he was told the payroll would escalate to a figure much higher than it is now, that’s something he’ll just have to deal with. The Royals of 2005 are a much different (and much better) baseball operation because they’ve dropped the payroll and, as a result, have been forced to make smarter personnel decisions from a financial standpoint. For example, keeping loyal Joe Randa around would’ve been nice, but with Mark Teahen knocking on the door, giving The Joker $2 million to play for two months and then be kicked to the curb wouldn’t have been a smart (or realistic) decision. The kids are on their way up, and this time, the rebuilding project looks like it’s going to generate winning baseball at Kauffman Stadium.
The bottom line is that Sweeney needs to get on board with what the Royals are doing, or request a trade if he can’t. Just like Glass, I hope he wants to be a part of The Next Good Royals Team, because he’s a heck of a good guy and a good hitter. Unfortunately, his mind might be made up, making the likelihood of him finishing his career as a Royal about as high as Mike not missing 50 or more games next year.