Thursday Crown Gems and Some Thoughts on Michael Vick

Covered in this edition of Crown Gems:  Michael Vick, second chances, Sidney Ponson, Ryan Freel, Doug Waechter, Gil Meche, Kyle Farnsworth, Chris Dwyer, Aaron Crow, Ken Williams, Adrian Beltre, and Hamfighters Softball.

Unless you live under a rock or care absolutely nothing about football, you are probably already aware that Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles today.  If you are so inclined, click here to read the NFL.com article.  I know this Royals related or baseball related, but I wanted to state my thoughts, not just on Vick but also on the all too often stated belief that everyone deserves a second chance.  I’ll try to keep this short and sweet since it is late and I’ve got a long morning ahead of me as I once again attempt to keep up with my 5 and 2 year old boys.

Regardless of the off the field issues, I have always been a fan of Michael Vick on the field.  He was an exciting and unique talent that I have always enjoyed watching, and I sincerely hope he can recapture some of his previous glory.  I am glad he is back in the NFL, I am glad he is getting a second chance, and I think he is going to have a great deal of success with the Eagles.  I was selfishly hoping he would sign with the Vikings or Chiefs, but that just wasn’t meant to be.  I really have no problem with how any of the Vick saga has played out.

What I do have a problem with is this notion that everyone deserves a second chance.  Personally I think that is a load of crap.  Don’t get me wrong here, we all need chances to succeed in life, just as we all need support from others to get ahead, but no one deserves any of it.  Chances are sometimes earned and sometimes they fall in our lap but none of them are deserved.  Simply put, we don’t have a right to first chances, let alone second chances.  I’m probably in the minority on this, just as I am in the minority in my belief that you don’t have to win a championship in a given sport to have a successful season, but now is not the time to go down that road.

Now lets get back to our beloved Kansas City Royals and the recent roster events.

• Not surprisingly, RHP-Sidney Ponson cleared waivers and was released yesterday.  Sir Sidney’s time as a member of the Royals organization is finally at an end.  Thank god!
• Another turn of events that was completely devoid of either shock or awe, today the Royals released OF-Ryan Freel.
• RHP-Doug Waechter was placed back on the 15-day DL today with a strained right shoulder.  Since his return to the team this month he managed to pitch just 1.1 innings while giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks.  When it was announced back in December that he had been signed by the Royals, I thought that it was a smart low risk move.  I still stand by that assessment, but it is a shame that he has spent almost 4 months on the DL.  Gil Meche was activated from the DL to take Waechter’s place on the roster and started tonight’s game.  Meche got the win, but didn’t exactly impress in his return with a stat line of 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, and 1 HR allowed.
• While on the topic of the DL, RHP-Kyle Farnsworth made an appearance in Triple-A last night and one in Double-A tonight.  He “hopes” to be able to return to the ML team in about a week.  His return is eagerly anticipated since he can’t possibly pitch any worse than the collection of the non-Soria bullpen “talent” Trey Hillman is able to call on these days.
• Jim Callis of Baseball America was reporting today that the Royals signed 4th round pick LHP-Chris Dwyer.  Sam Mellinger, on the other hand, was reporting that the deals aren’t done, but they are getting close.  Rumors are swirling that the Royals offered 1st round pick RHP-Aaron Crow $3 million, but he turned them down.  I am 100% confident that Dayton Moore and co. will get Dwyer and Myers signed on or before Monday’s deadline but I’m not sure what to make about Aaron Crow.  I think he should sign, and I think $3 million is a fair offer to get the deal done.  I can’t believe he wants to waste another year of development just to go back into the 2010 draft.  The Nationals offered him $3.5 million last year, and the Royals have reportedly offered him $3 million.  To me, that says his market value is pretty much set and that value can only go down as he sits on the sidelines and doesn’t pitch in affiliated baseball.  I’m hoping the Royals give him a hard deadline sometime this month and if chooses not to sign by that point, they should move on.  This team has too many issues to deal with outside of “negotiating” with Aaron Crow for the next 10 months.  I still believe he will sign this month, but it wouldn’t completely surprise me if he is back in the draft next year.

A few other news items to share that aren’t directly related to the Royals:

• My man-crush on White Sox GM-Ken Williams got a bit more intense after seeing him on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption yesterday.  Oh if only he was OUR GM.  Damn you Chicago!!!
• Seattle Mariners 3B-Adrian Beltre was placed back on the DL with a contusion to his right testicle.  I can’t think of a more legitimate reason to go on the DL than anything testicle related.  Actually I can, but seriously … Click here for the details via MLB.com.

It saddens me to report that the KC Hamfighters co-ed team fell to 1-2 on the season after losing 17-7 in 6 innings.  Defensive lapses were again the primary cause of our defeat.  Fortunately our opponents on this night understood the concept of co-ed softball and were actually swinging at close pitches instead of trying to draw walks.  Losing by 10 is a lot more fun when people are swinging and hitting the ball.

I’m exhausted and downright punchy at this point so I better sign off for the night.