The new Kauffman Stadium

by Rays4242 on Jan 10, 2009 3:14 PM EST

http://www.kansascity.com/baseball/story/970183.html

Sorry if this doesnt belong here, I am kind of retarded and couldnt figure out the fanshots. I dont know if anyone has been to Kauffman Stadium before but its one of my favorite stadiums in baseball. They are working on huge upgrades right now...

- new sports bar and restaurant in right field

- 100 inch plasma tv

- team hall of fame in left field

- new bar in left field

- new fountain seats in left field

- new fountain seats in left field,

- behind right and center field will be a new little league field that will be used during games, a carousel, 5 holes of miniature golf, a batting cage, a pitch speed radar so you can see how hard you throw, and a way to time yourself from home to 1B and see how you compare to MLers

- wider concourses, more concession stands, a food court on the view level and new bars on nearly every level

- addition high-end seating options behind home plate

- nearly twice as many suites are being built

- 500 high def TVs around the stadium (copy cats)

- more ribbon boards, an additional board for out of town scores

and I have a story from Kauffman. I went there a few years ago with my dad, it was the middle of the summer and they were having a George Brett t-shirt jersey give away to the first 10,000 fans or something. They were pretty sweet shirts too. Sitting in front of us was about 10 college kids and the next section over was a little league team of probably 12 year olds. This girl that was with the college kids was pissed when she realized she didnt get a George Brett shirt, so she goes to the group of little league kids and for about 20 minutes they are talking about something. Finally she leaves with 2 or 3 of the kids and comes back 10 minutes later with a George Brett shirt. These kids come back with huge smiles on their faces and you could hear them talking to their friends about how this chick took them to the bathroom and flashed them for a t-shirt. George Brett you da man!

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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* new fountain seats in RF also

by Rays4242 on Jan 10, 2009 3:16 PM EST reply actions

Last time I went to Kauffman, it was Carlos Beltran bobblehead day

That was a scorching hot afternoon in August 2002 vs. the Rays. Jorge Sosa got bombed and the D-Rays were 2-hit. 40 games below .500. Those were the days.

by RATW on Jan 10, 2009 11:20 PM EST reply actions

Now if only they could field a MLB team

Seems like they are stuck in AAAA mode now signing deadbeats like Farnsworth and Bloomquist to contracts.

Devil Rays World Series 2009

by Japhei on Jan 11, 2009 9:43 AM EST reply actions

we shall see

They have managed to gather and develop a decent collection of young talent, a couple right moves here or there and they could be competitive

It’s funny not too long ago some shortsighted people criticized our owners for putting money into stadium renovations when our team was still struggling in the win/loss column. That doesnt mean KC is doing what we were able to do, but I think they have made some serious headway the past 5 years and could get back to the success their fans deserve

by Rays4242 on Jan 12, 2009 1:58 AM EST up reply actions

I thought so too

but increasingly it seems to me that Moore is making exactly the wrong moves. I do think there is some fine young talent emerging. It is far too early to write off Butler and Gordon for example. And the almost universal disdain for the Meche signing has died down as he has performed well so far. But Moore’s other moves have been anything but right; rather than building around a promising core, he seems to be adding name players who have little value, especially to a team like KC.

Actually, it is true that in most cases (not all), a couple of right moves would make a team competitive. But what right moves has Moore made?

by bobr on Jan 12, 2009 8:20 AM EST up reply actions

a couple right moves here or there

The problem is this off-season they’ve maxed out payroll ($70 mil +) and filled their roster with a team that looks like it’s upside is .500. There is very little in the way of wiggle room for any more moves. Even worse, these same bad contracts will limit the payroll and roster flexibility to make moves next year as well.

So barring some incredibly shrewd trades between now and next season, a shrewdness so far mostly unseen, the Royals are likely to tread the waters of mediocrity for the next two years at least.

Maybe several very good major league ready prospects fall in their hands in exchange for Greinke and/or Soria at the same time the next wave of prospects matures, but that is still at least a couple years away. In the meantime, they’ve wasted $20-30 mil. on slightly above replacement players with little to no trade value and have been unable to lock up Greinke.

It’s true Moore inherited a mess and he’s begun the process of building a potentially fruitful farm system, but he’s just not doing himself any favors at the major league level.

by RATW on Jan 12, 2009 10:18 AM EST up reply actions

In the meantime, they’ve wasted $20-30 mil. on slightly above replacement players with little to no trade value…

GMs fawn over the trade-deadline scraps that the Royals have assembled this offseason – (speedy Crisp, home-run slugger Jacobs, bullpen-arm Farnsworth, scrappy Bloomquist) because they don’t cost much. But ask Epstein about the Gagne trade or Shapiro about the Lofton trades from two years ago, and you’ll find that even the best can be reamed by the skill-specific trade to put somebody over the top.

While these contracts aren’t exactly overwhelming, they aren’t exactly damning. It’s not like Moore is setting his club up for imminent disaster. ’09 is essentially the Royals auditioning for Greinke anyway.

They are essentially another good draft and one Greinke trade away from having one of the best farm systems in baseball.

by oc on Jan 18, 2009 1:55 AM EST up reply actions

If the best possible outcome from spending $20-30 mil. is receiving Kason Gabbard and Max Ramirez at the trade deadline -- sign me up.

A mounting track record of overspending on marginal talent when GM of a small market team (perhaps the smallest) – if that’s not damning – it certainly does not bode well for the long run when building a roster on limited resources. See also the Rays under Mr. LaMar. There are much more efficient ways of making improvements with an eye towards both the short-term and long-term.

by RATW on Jan 19, 2009 1:02 AM EST up reply actions

"It’s funny not too long ago some shortsighted people criticized our owners for putting money into stadium renovations when our team was still "

We call these the dumb people.

BobR/ RATW have covered it, but there’s a difference in what the two teams did for their personnel. The Rays were trading cash for Brendan Harris, the Royals sign Willie Bloomquist for 3 million.The Rays traded their overrated veterans for young talent, the Royals have young talent, but still trade/sign overrated veterans based on the premise of roles. The Royals apparently were considering Grienke for Francouer. That’s like the Rays trading Evan Longoria for Noah Lowry.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:46 AM EST up reply actions

I didnt realize their payroll was 70+ mil

I thought they were around 50-60 mil maybe

that kind of makes their assortment of young talent not look as good when the payroll is that high and they still lack a handful of core players

Im not sure I see where 20-30 mil is being “wasted”. How much is Guillen making? Bloomquist was a bad way to spend 3 mil. I sort of like the Jacobs trade and I think it will prove to be a decent deal for both sides, and I think Meche is pitching well enough to deserve 10-12 mil per year or whatever he is making.

I just dont see where all that money is going.

by Rays4242 on Jan 12, 2009 6:32 PM EST reply actions

Gullen's getting 12 mil

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2004/12/kansas-city-royals_28.html

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

Farnsworth

a.k.a. Farns not-worth-anywhere-near 4.5 million.

Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!

by cmkeller on Jan 15, 2009 12:24 PM EST up reply actions

oh god...

guillen 12 million
gload 2 million
bloomquist 1.5 million
farnsworth 4.5 million
olivo and buck at about 3 million each…1 fine…two unnecessary
horacio ramirez 1.8 million
jacobs 3 millionish…a likely lateral move from shealy/kila

thats a TON of money to be just flushed down the toilet for a team like the royals…

TPJ...you're dead to me

by billybeingbilly on Jan 15, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions