Butler, Davies, Jacobs, Project Prospect, Baseball Beginnings, and Negativity

In this edition of Sluggerrr Snacks; Billy Butler, Kyle Davies, Mike Jacobs, Project Prospect’s top-10, the latest from Baseball Beginnings, and some thoughts on negativity.

I’m trying to find a good name for these “collection” posts that relates to my last name and my avatar (see the image to the right) but thus far I haven’t come up with anything I’ve really liked.  Thanks to the existence of the Florida Marlins, some of the obvious ones like; Fish Bites, Fish Chunks, Fish Guts, and Fish Stripes have been spoken for.  I started with Crown Gems, which I thought was okay.  Inspired by Michael Jong’s Fish Bites, I switched to Sluggerrr Snacks which I like better but it still isn’t quite right.  If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to contact me or drop a comment.

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Sam Mellinger took a look at the follow-up seasons of the members of “The List.”  If history is any guide, we can look forward to a big year from Billy Butler.  I’ll be taking a look at The List from a different perspective in the coming days.

Kyle Davies is the latest Royals player to come up in David Pinto’s Players A to Z series.

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The Washington Nationals are apparently interested in former Royals DH/1B-Mike Jacobs.  I don’t know what to make of this unless the Nats have a feeling they can get him at a very reasonable price to be a bench off the bat.  As long as he doesn’t have to face LH pitching, he probably has some value in that role.

Jacobs vs RHP in 2009:  0.243/.311/.447 in 333 AB with 3-1 SO to BB ratio
Jacobs vs LHP in 2009:  0.178/.252/.248 in 101 AB with 4-1 SO to BB ratio

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Project Prospect recently published their top 10 prospect list.  The Kansas City Royals aren’t represented, but on the bright side only one player is from an organization in the AL Central.  The Cleveland Indians power hitting prospect C-Carlos Santana checks in at number 5.  Six of the ten players are from AL organizations.

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Baseball Beginnings:

Report:  Tim Ferguson, INF, Ole Miss
Report:  Jarrett Parker, OF, Virginia
Report:  Yordy Cabrera, INF, Lakeland (FL) HS
Report:  Nathan Foriest, LHP, Harpeth (TN) HS
Video:  Spencer Davis, 3B, The Woodlands (TX) HS

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Some Closing Thoughts on Negativity:

Jordan Bratt sort of took me to task over my reaction to his post Staying Podsitive.  Take the time to read his latest article (the first link).  I personally enjoyed it a great deal.

My world really isn’t all that negative, but everyone is free to form their own assessment of my work and my feelings about the Royals and baseball as a whole.  Regardless, I can say two things with certainty.  First, we both clearly love the Kansas City Royals, and love them to such a degree that we feel compelled to write about them.  Second, he is far more optimistic about the short-term chances of this organization to compete organization than I am.

Despite the fact that my article on the Rick Ankiel signing was one of the most positive reactions that I’ve come across, I suppose some people will always look at my work as negative or pessimistic.  I’m good with that.  Optimism and pessimism are products of perspective, and I’d venture to guess that most people view my work as falling somewhere in between the two.  My goal is to be fair and honest in my writing.  I don’t set out to be positive or negative, funny or clever, irate or complacent.  I just set out to write about baseball, and specifically the Royals, on a daily basis.  The tone tends to takes care of itself.

Anyway, keep on reading and keep on spreading the word if you deem my work worthy on both counts.  Whether you find what I publish to be too positive, too negative, or somewhere in between, I’ll keep writing.

(Wally Fish is the lead blogger for Kings of Kauffman and FanSided’s MLB Director.  Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)