When the Kansas City Royals released Ryan Braun on November 17th, I thought of a lot of things:  "That's unfair!" "Jeez Dayton, you have done it again", and finally "Who will be the brilliant GM who signs this minor league free agent?"  Since Braun has been a FA for less than a week, he hasn't been signed yet, but any GM should take a look at Braun.  I wouldn't say that he would be my pick for the 2009 Comeback Player of the Year (Nelson Cruz anyone?), but Braun is an obvious guy who could turn out to be a diamond in the rough.  But hey, this wouldn't be the first time I have seemingly started blabbing away about an unknown little pitcher.

Lets take a look at Braun's career statistics shall we?  A 1.06 ERA in AAA?  Only Jason Bulger can beat that.  The catch is that he did what he did in 2007, and missed all of 2008 due to undergoing right elbow surgery.  Maybe he should look into Dr. Mike Marshall's school.

Anyway, after dominating in Omaha to start 2007, Braun got called up to the Royals and struggled, displaying a 6.64 ERA in 26 games.  He was 26 then, but now he's 28 and it's time for him to prove to everyone in baseball that he is not a Four-A player.  I believe Braun will be a good pitcher next year, and I don't see any reason why Braun cannot bring a little of his dominance from the minors to the bigs.  I'm preparing to applaud the GM who signs Braun.  I may be at a crossroads though, considering I have bashed so many GMs on this blog before (ex. ex. ex.). 

I really hope I am not jinxing Ryan.  What if nobody signs him?  I guess he will just sign with an independent team and I'll probably just praise the GM of that team. 

Speaking of independent ball, it makes me sick when people refer to non-affiliated baseball as "minor league baseball".  It's not minor league baseball!  Minor league baseball is when that team is affiliated with a major league franchise.  Independent baseball is a professional league (where players get paid), but is non-affiliated.

Another misconception about independent baseball is that it is at a lower level than the lowest level of the minor leagues.  That's not true at all.  Take Matt LeCroy for example.  He played in the major leagues for eight years, and was an important part of the Twins teams between 2002 and 2005.  But last year he played for the non-affiliated Lancaster Barnstormers.  Does that mean he isn't good enough to play rookie ball?  No.  The Barnstormers pay much better than what a team will offer a free agent to play in Double-A and if you watch a 'Stormers game it be at a quality better than that of AA. 

I have to imagine LeCroy didn't get any teams that could offer him a roster spot in AAA, so he signed with Lancaster.   The Barnstormers of course, are part of the Atlantic League, the premier independent league in the country.  Leagues like the United League could be considered lower than rookie ball but that is a rare case.  Most independent leagues hold a higher quality of baseball. 

And while we are on the case of misconceptions, it grinds my gears when people don't distinguish Low-A ball, A ball, and High-A ball.  Most people are aware that they exist, but just don't distinguish them when writing or talking.  The difference between Class-A Short Season, and Class A Advanced is huge.  Players who are in Class-A Short Season generally are players that were drafted that same year out of college.  Players in Class A and High A are usually in their first or second full professional season. 

Man, how did an entry that started out about Ryan Braun end up being about minor league class level distinguishers?

Well, while I'm discussing the Royals, I might as well give my take on the Coco Crisp/Ramon Ramirez trade.  Do you want it simple?  I hate for KC, love it for Boston.  A little more analysis?  Dayton Moore has traded yet another great and young reliever for another so-so position player that is just barley good enough to be a starter. 

The Royals' bullpen will suffer big time, and as result will look like this:

Joakim Soria (CL)

Robinson Tejeda

Ron Mahay (They need to trade him NOW)

Doug Waechter

Chris Hayes (gotta read this post)

Devon Lowery

That's a really poor 'pen, and it includes Ron Mahay who should be traded for prospects in my opinion.  Plus, if you noticed, those are only six pitchers.  Who will the seventh be?  I don't know; maybe Jimmy Gobble (8.81 ERA), Joel Peralta (5.98), or possibly Matt Wright (5.47 ERA in AAA).  The vastly over paid Kyle Farnsworth will be added in their if he passes his physical.  Maybe the strong 2008 Wilmington bullpen (Hartsock, Swaggerty, De La Vara {who has been taken in the Rule 5 draft}, Holland, Nicoll) will hold some answers to the Royals' bullpen pains.  They just need more relievers. 

At least the Royals have players to trade.  Personally, if I took over the Royals right now I'd attempt to flip over Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp to another team.  But seeing how that won't happen, the Royals probably are looking to trade Jose Guillen, Mark Teahen, and at least one of their young first basemen.  I've enamored enough about Kila Ka'aihue in this post, but if the Royals are keeping onto Jacobs then they can't hold on to both Ka'aihue and Butler.  One of them has to go.  Oh yeah, and there's that guy who had 29 homers and a .363 OBP this year (111 G in AAA, 20 G in MLB), Ryan Shealy. 

Trading Teahen and Guillen will be a tough task because there are no perfect fits.  Teahen makes sense for a team that has a lack of depth at third base and right field.  The Mariners make the most sense, but that doesn't mean much.  Even if they trade Ichiro and Adrian Beltre, they have Wladimir Balentien and Michael Wilson to join Franklin Gutierrez in the outfield, with Michael Saunders waiting in the wings.  It wouldn't hurt young third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo to play another year at AAA in which case Teahen could play third base next year for the M's, but it is obvious Seattle doesn't need him. 

New reports are suggesting that the Cubs are offering Mike Fontenot and Sean Marshall for Teahen.  It's just in the rumor phase, but I really like it for both teams.  Fontenot would be more valuable to a club that can let him start unlike the Cubs.  Marshall has never had a consistent role with the Cubs even though he has proven he is a reliable, steady pitcher.  Although I think Marshall is more valuable as a starter, the Royals would love to have him in the bullpen.  Their rotation is pretty set anyways, with Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, and Luke Hochevar.  Although if Bannister and Hochevar bring their 2008 struggles into next season, they'll probably find themselves in Omaha.  I'm not sure Teahen is the type of player the Cubs need in order to find that next level, but he is a young affordable who may benefit from escaping a pitcher's park like Kauffman Stadium.  However, despite his injuries, Milton Bradley is the best fit for the Cubs, not Mark Teahen.

As far Jose Guillen, I have know idea where he could go.  People are saying the Mets are an option.  That could be true, but you could say any starting OF would be a good fit for the Mets.  Guillen is not that great of hitter, as he probably will never hit 30 home runs again, and struggles to keep his OBP above .300.  Dayton Moore may find a taker who is willing to give up a mid-level prospect but Guillen isn't the player that can turn a team around.  In fact, he has the ability to do the exact opposite with his attitude and occasional fights with upper management. 

I feel bad for Royals fans, they have had dumb management, a lousy team, but at least they have one of the most underrated ballparks in the country: