Royals Close To Signing Yasuhito Yabuta

for the Royals, this is going to be great, as he will be a great setup guy for Soria. 86 holds in 3 seasons. I like...also, he used to be Kuroda's roommate...nice little tidbit to help our chances of signing him.

This is a very good signing for the Royals.

http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=783

You had to figure this was coming with the new Manager spending so much time overseas. He's obviously familiar with the players, and being that he was handpicked, I'd think his chances for success over here are probably pretty good. Nice little move for the Royals, assuming they're not paying him crazy money of course.

Obviously you didn't get my post. I really like Yabuta and I'm calling it a waste because he's going to a last place team. He's one of the guys I wanted the Red Sox to sign.

Even with the "improvement" that Kansas made last year. I doubt they'll improve enough to bring any attention to their team.

I'm saying it's a shame for Yabuta cause he'll probably be stuck with a last place team for 3 years.

I doubt Okajima would be as well know right now if he signed with the Pirates.

I think it's a great move for your franchise and if he does well, he could probably be traded for some prospects.

No surprise its a Red Sox fan making a ridiculous comment like that.

Far and away the most uneducated fans in professional sports.

First of all, there is no MLB team in Kansas. Second of all, the Royals will not be a last place team in the years to come.

So by your logic, ALL players should ONLY sign with teams who are guaranteed a playoff shot. Well heck, guess New York and Boston might as well just expand the roster to 125 and let the signings begin.

A clueless fan is the type who shouldn't post. In all seriousness, your postings here give 3 valid things to discuss

1. you don't even know the proper name of Kansas City's baseball team, even AFTER we went into Boston last year and took 2 of 3. We even swept them in KC the year before.
2. You are stating a player will get no recognition from the media based on being on a last placed team. That's funny, I can name almost every player on a last place team. Then again, I am a baseball fan, not a "homer".
3. The Royals "resurgance" has begun, so no need for a 34 year old player to wait long, on a team trying to get better, much the same way Boston did during its down years. Just because you are a large market team, and KC is a small market team, doesn't mean we are in a lesser league. Both teams are major league baseball teams.

I guess I touched a nerve there. My point was pretty simple. Playoff teams tend to get more attention than last place teams. If he went to the Indians, Arizona, the Angels, or any other promising team, he would've been better off.

I said it was a good signing for the Royals but I think Yabuta should've waited to see if any other contending teams would've wanted him.

On your first point, I don't really like spelling out "Kansas City Royals" so I just went with Kansas. I didn't really have to deal with Kansas city fans before so forgive me if I didn't know calling your team "Royals" was preferable to "Kansas". (Sorry, I think I forgot those Kansas City games. Must've been because of those recent championship celebrations..)

On your second point, good for you for being able to name every player on your team. I don't really care. (And yes.. the media doesn't really pay attention to the Royals)

On your third point, I REALLY hope your right about Kansas doing better. But I won't bet on it. At 34, Yabuta has maybe 3-4 good years to make a name for himself in the US. It would be a real shame if he does well on a team that doesn't go anywhere.

Sorry for telling the truth about your team. Sometimes the truth hurts. But you don't have to be a bitter about it.

SierraM

Maybe he didn't want to play in Boston because of fans like you who don't even know what state Kansas City is in (I'm Canadian and I do). Maybe he didn't want to play in Boston. It isn't exactly a nice place to live. Maybe he doesn't like the pressure of a big team. Maybe KC is just an appealing place. Look at Mike Sweeney. Maybe none of the contenders would give him a set-up role

My point is, theres plenty of factors that go into a player signing, not just being on a winning team. Check out the situation with Russ Springer if you know who that is. Theres a real reason to stay with a team, win or lose. Hint: he plays in the same state as the Royals.

I'd say the proper term for Kansas City would be 'KC' if you're talking about the city and don't want to spell it out. That term is kind of a catch all for the metro areas in Missouri and Kansas. The Royals are very much a regional team with many of their dedicated fans driving hours to Kauffman Stadium from Western Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. I grew up 4 hours from Royals Stadium and it was nothing for us to hop in the car and go to a game.

Or the Royals sold him their ideas.

Guess what? The Royals have a chance to win. Next season hasn't begun yet. Nor has the season after that. The Tigers went to the postseason last year... something the Red Sox weren't able to do. The Rockies went to the postseason this year. There's nothing to suggest that the Royals don't have the possibility of competing sometime in the next two or three years. In fact, there's plenty of people that believe they will in two or three years. Imagine that. And they don't have to do it by outspending 28 other teams.

Well, for the sake of providing reasonable hope to KC fans out there, let's list some reasons why they would be able to contend in the next few years:

-Gordon and Butler figure to make one of the best 3-4 combos in the league

-Greinke lifted his head from his tear soaked pillow figured out he is actually a pretty talented pitcher

-The young pitching talent that figures to not suck so hard: Bannister, Soria, Hochevar, Grienke, Davies?

-They have a decent bullpen now

-David Glass is finally spending money from his dry, wrinkly ass

-They aren't paying Cap'n DL 11 million a year

-They don't have Angel Berroa anymore

See, there is indeed hope for Kansas City. Don't be too surprised if they aren't in last place next season...but then again, they're the Royals, so don't be too dissappointed if they are either.

And also how easy is it to sell a player on a team with a manager that I think speaks japanese and understands the culture.

Admittedly KC probably doesn't have a big japanese population though.

Honestly, my intent wasn't to bash the Royals. I think they are finally heading towards the right direction with their team. But I'm also a realist.

They will need much more work to be a true contender in the near future. Their chances of supplanting the top teams in that division are slim. They're chance of attracting top free agents are slim.

In the future if things keep progressing, they may be very good. I just don't think they have much of a chance in the near future.

Gil Meche reportedly took the Royals offer because he wanted to lead a pitching staff. He's also a short plane ride from his family down south.

What's the lineup looking like next year? Rotation? I'm curious because in two years I think the Twins without Santana and the Indians will be a hell of a lot weaker, and with the Sox already on the decline and the Tigers aging the Royals have a legitimate shot two years from now, though I'm not too familiar with the team.

The AL Central is a lot like the NL Central, every team has a chance to compete - except the Pirates and in this case the Royals aren't the Pirates, lucky for them they are more the Cubs... Didn't the Tigers make it to the World Series two years after a hundred loss season? It wasn't more than three, thats for sure.

Can the team spare DeJesus and if so what starting pitcher could be had for him. I know the braves are interested and have a surplus of young talented arms. It's a shame Renteria is already gone.