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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014
PAGE 7
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THE DAILY DEBATE
Should the Kansas City Royals re-sign James Shields?
By GJ Melia
@gjmelia
"YES"
The 2014 Kansas City Royals' season has come down to
Game 6 of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Regardless of what happens Tuesday, starting pitcher James Shields' season is over.
Shields pitched well Sunday in his 2014 finale, a 5-0 loss to Giants' ace Madison Bumgarner. Shields gave up two runs on eight hits, with four strikeouts in six innings pitched. Though it was a loss, it was a strong performance to end what has been a shaky five postseason starts. With an ERA of 6.12, Shields' playoffs haven't been the best. He's pitched 25 innings, giving up 17 runs on 36 hits.
With his contract ending after the season, management has to decide if Kansas City should spend the money to re-sign Shields.
When he was brought to Kansas City in December of 2012, his job was not only to be the Royals' ace, but to change the overall mantra of the clubhouse. In 2012, the clubhouse was filled with an
exuberant amount of young talent. The lone veterans on the team were designated hitter Billy Butler and left fielder Alex Gordon, who had zero postseason experience in their careers.
Shields' job was to take the Royals to the postseason for the first time since 1985 with his pitching, leadership and experience. In 2013, the team fell short of the playoffs by six games. The 2014 team exceeded expectations, clinching a playoff spot and sweeping its way to the World Series.
Shields' numbers have been dropping since he's arrived in Kansas City, but Royals fans shouldn't forget, he's one of the biggest reasons why they have a chance to win their first World Series in 29 years.
It doesn't matter if the Giants
win Game 6 on Tuesday, because the glory days of Royals greats George Brett and Bret Saberhagen have been recreated in one postseason
you want to thank one player on this team, thank James Shields. Sure, he's not nearly as dominant as he once was. Sure, he's had a poor postseason. He's probably had the worst playoffs of the Royals' four starting pitchers.
That being said, thank him for teaching one big talent pool how to win. His confidence throughout his two years in Kansas City rubbed onto the young guns of the Royals, which is why they sit two games away from a World Series Championship.
If you're a Royals fan, and
Regardless of what happens in the rest of the World Series, and how much money he'll ask for next year, Kansas City should re-sign James Shields.
Edited by Rob Pyatt
By Connor Oberkrom
@coberkro
"NO"
Whether you agree to place him in the top stratosphere of major league ace pitchers or not, James Shields was the Royals' best pitcher for the past two seasons.
Shields pitched his last game under the contract the Tampa Bay Rays gave him in 2008, and now the Royals will decide whether to extend his contract or explore his options in the more lucrative free agent world.
If Shields were to command more than three years, the most prudent thing would be to let him walk away and venture off to another team.
The Royals' model has always been discount spending -- trying to get below market value for its free agents. Signing Shields to a 5-year, $125 million contract would prove an exception to that model.
Shields has accumulated eight straight seasons of 200 innings and will turn 33 years old in December. The track record of pitchers coming off this type of workload doesn't bode well if the Royals do stick with him. C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander are two prime examples of that.
If they were scant in their farm system, keeping Shields on might make some sense. However, highly touted pitcher Kyle Zimmer, on paper, is everything you want in a frontline starter. Royals
also have two other prospects in the top 100 in Sean Mannea and Miguel Almonte.
end starter. This gives the Royals several options and offers a chance to gain experience as a starting pitcher.
Just a few years ago, trusting pitching prospects was seen as a sin by Royals fans because, with the exception of Zack Greinke, there was no precedent to be found of the Royals' developing pitchers. Each one that came up fizzled out. Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy are two examples of pitches who outperformed expectations in both of their first full seasons as regular starters in the MLB.
The Royals can either chase another pitcher in free agency or rely on 21-year-old Brandon Finnegan to be a quality back-
The last aspect is that Shields wouldn't fit in the realm of the Royals' salary cap. While this fantasy-world Royals run might compel them to expand their budget, there are several other holes that need to be filled besides its starting pitching. In the event of Nori Aoki's departure, Kansas City will have to add another outfielder. The team also may lose designated hitter Billy Butler.
Shields did more than what was asked of him in his time as a Royal, but instead of paying for past performance, the right thing to do is to part with him.
the top spot in the East. Now, two losses later, the team sits at No. 5.
KC FROM PAGE 10
It went 2-2-7 against the East ern Conference playoff teams this year, with neither of those wins coming against New York or D.C. United, who Kansas
If the team wants to make a
City will have to defeat to make the Eastern Conference final. Sporting KC has been outscored 18-9 when facing those playoff teams. These second-rate results which set Kansas City as massive underdogs for Thursday's game in New York.
- Edited by Rob Pyatt
run — or even advance into the conference semifinal — it's going to need as much rest and regeneration as four days can give a team. It's going to need Juliao at left-back, Gruenebaum between the pipes and Feilhaber controlling the midfield. It's going to take a complete game from all facets
MATT BESLER Sporting KC team captain
of this depleted Kansas City team to advance to the next round.
The locker room believes it can do it, and if the team is in better shape, there's reason to think the defending champions can pull off an upset.
"We are in the playoffs," midfielder Paulo Nagamura said.
"It's a whole new tournament right now. We still believe we have enough to go all the way. The good thing is we are in the playoff, and we can start from zero on Thursday."
—Edited by Ben Carroll
OPPRESSION OR PROTECTION? The Militarization of Police in America Monday, Nov. 10, 7:30 PM @ the Dole Institute
Fall 2014 Student Advisory Board program
War zone gear, combat vehicles, assault rifles - Is this equipment, traditionally used by the military, appropriate for operations by American police departments? What are the sociological complexities of commandiles seeing military gear from the battlefield used in their neighborhoods? Join our panelists as they discuss different perspectives of this timely and nationally debated question.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: program cancellation
Panelists:
Charlies Huth, KCMO PD
Pedro Irigonegaray, ATTY
Ronald Miller, US MARSHAL
Other, TBA
ROBERT I. DOLL
INSTITUTIONAL EDITOR
Is It Time to Recognize Cuba? scheduled for Wed., Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas regrets that due to the potential conflict with Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, the Institute will postpone the Cuba recognition program.
Institute leadership, in consultation with co-sponsor, Pan American Association of Kansas City (PANAM-KC), concluded that the potential conflict would make it difficult for interested community members to attend and therefore severely affect the program, depriving the topic,the speakers,and the public who would attend,a full opportunity.
The Dole Institute plans to reschedule the program.
For more information on this statement or any Dole Institute programs & offerings, please contact us using the channels listed below.
All programs are free, open to the public located at the Dole Institute
All programs are free, open to the public & located at the Dole Institute Dole Institute, University of Kansas, 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045 www.Doleinstitute.org 785.864.4900 Facebook/Twitter
will host a visit Feb. 9-11,2015,with a team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.
The public is invited to submit comments regarding the university Public Comment on the University of Kansas The Higher Learning Commission 230 South LaSalle St., Suite 7-500 Chicago, IL 60604-1411
the University of Kansas
The team
will review the institution's ongoing ability to meet the commission's Criteria for Accreditation. KU is seeking comments from the public in preparation for this 2015 periodic evaluation.
KU has been accredited by the Commission since 1913.
The public may also submit comments on the commission's website. https://www.ncahlc.org/HLC-institutions/third-party-comment.html
Comments must address
substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Comments must be in writing.
All comments must be received by Jan.9,2015.