From: camden@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu (Rany Jazayerli)
Subject: Re: Jose Lind to the Royals for prospects - WHY?
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Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 19:57:00 GMT

In article <1992Nov20.081733@mccall.com>, scott@mccall.com (Scott D. Davis) writes...
> 
>Rany writes about the Royals.
> 
>Local news says that Miller maybe moved to 3rd.  KC doesn't
>want to lose his offense or base running.  Herk and Carter
>went out to lunch yesterday and "talked".  On top of all this,
>the Royals are supposedly talking to Ozzie Smith.  

	Whoa.  Wait a second.  Miller to third????  Aside from the fact that
Miller has never played 3rd base regularly (at least at the major-league level),
I have just one slight problem with that.  His name is Gregg Jefferies.  Calling
him a third baseman may be a stretch (calling him a Lansford may be more 
appropriate), but he's the best hitter on the team, and he's only 25.  What the
hell would you accomplish by moving Miller to third?  I guess that means 
Jefferies would head to left field or something.  In my opinion, moving Miller
to third and Jefferies to the outfield is exactly the same as moving Miller to 
the outfield, which I've already harped on as being stupid.  Miller can't be
that much better defensive than Jefferies defensively (he has to learn a new
position), and as shocking as it may sound, I really think that if Jefferies
continues to play third for a few years, he will improve into at least an
average third baseman.  He has the speed and natural agility, he just needs to
learn to use his head...

	The is the Royals 2B/SS/3B/RF at the end of this season:

	2B: Miller	SS: Howard	3B: Jefferies	RF: Unknown (Koslofski?)

	Here it is after the Lind trade:

	2B: Lind	SS: Howard	3B: Jefferies	RF: Miller

	or alternatively:
	
	2B: Lind	SS: Howard	3B: Miller	RF: Jefferies

	I honestly think that the new arrangement(s) are a little worse than
the old one.  Defensively there is an improvement, as Lind is great on D, but
Miller can't be that great at third, and I honestly have no idea how Jefferies
would do in the outfield.  But offensively this sucks.  Lind can NOT hit,
nowhere near the level of a replacement-level right-fielder (Kevin Koslofski,
by the way, is a 24-year-old prospect who hit around .300-.310 in AAA this year-
could probably hit .270 with some walks and doubles.  Better than Lind, anyway.)

	As for Herk taking Carter out to lunch, well, if Carter so much as tries
on a Royals uniform, I'm defecting and becoming a Rockies fan or something.  
Carter, playing in Royals Stadium, WOULD NOT BE A QUALITY MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER.
He's already borderline, because he's never learned the value of getting on 
base.  But in Royals Stadium, he would lose a lot of his power too - while
Skydome is one of the best home-run parks in the American League, Royals 
Stadium is the worst.  I'd peg him at around 22-25 next year in Kansas City,
assuming that he's healthy and plays about like he did this year.  He'd 
probably put up numbers like .260/.295/.440 or so.  Furthermore, the deep
outfield would make his defensive shortcomings more apparent, further
lessening his value.  In short, if Herk decides to blow some more of Ewing
Kauffman's money on Carter, he would be shelling out $5 million a year for
an average (at best), aging right-fielder.

	Your comment on Ozzie Smith perks me up a little.  I've been saying
since the end of the season that the Royals should try to sign him.  I know he's
38, but he can still field his position wonderfully (better than DAVID *&%^$#!
HOWARD, anyway), and he would be a MUCH better hitter in Royals Stadium than
Joe Carter.  A long-term deal would be a risk, but I would have no problem in
giving him a 2-year, or maybe even a 3-year, deal.  In the meantime, I only 
hope the Royals can develop or acquire somehow a legitimate major league 
shortstop within the next few years.

>--
>Scott D. Davis <scott@mccall.com>       The McCall Pattern Company
>(uucp: ...!widener!depot!mccall!scott)	615 McCall Road
>(800)255-2762, in Kansas (913)776-4041  Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
	
	Rany Jazayerli			camden@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu
	---------------------------------------------------------
	Kevin Appier: 1993 Cy Young	George Brett: 1998 Cooperstown

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