Kansas City Royals Aren't a Result of Bad Moves by Brewers
With the 2015 World Series getting underway Tuesday night, you're bound to hear some whine about how the Milwaukee Brewers are responsible for the Kansas City Royals' back-to-back American League Championships. This narrative really needs to stop...now!
The reference goes back to the trade for Zack Greinke prior to the 2011 season, of course, The Brewers sent Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar back to Kansas City as a part of the deal.
As luck would have it, Cain and Escobar have taken home the ALCS MVP awards the last two seasons, further stoking the fires of Brewers' fans intent on hanging onto their ire and distaste for their own club and general manager.
Revisionist history and 20/20 hindsight are valuable tools in the "angry fan" kit - or at least the ones who prefer to find any negative they can.
With that in mind, there are a number of issues with Brewers' fans having a problem with the trade that occurred so long ago.
Alcides Escobar Hasn't Been That Good
Despite the head-scratching performances he's put up in the postseason - which can be attributed to small sample, luck or fluke - Escobar has been just kinda okay, really. In fact, the shortstop Milwaukee got back when they traded away Greinke a year later, has been basically the same player.
With the Brewers, Jean Segura has a .266 AVG/ .302 OBP/ .361 SLG /.663 OPS
In his time with the Royals, Escobar owns a .264 AVG/. 298 OBP/ .346 SLG/ .644 OPS
Now it's fair to argue Escobar is the better defensive player overall. But again, Escobar maybe gets a little too much credit - depending on how you measure defense.
I'm a fan of Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) as a tool for assessment. Since 2012, Escobar has a -3 DRS while Segura is a tick better at -1 DRS. So really, they've both proven to be average in the field by this standard.
Also, if we look at FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Escobar holds the edge over Segura, but only marginally. The K.C. shortstop has an 8.0 WAR while Segura has earned a 3.5 over the past 4 seasons. Those rankings put Escobar at 13th among shortstops and Segura 27th in WAR.
For those that believe Escobar has turned into some sort of borderline MVP candidate, they're sorely mistaken.
The Teams Were In Different Places Competitively
The Brewers were coming off the 2010 season where their offense was at a World Series level. Their bats were in the top 4 in every major category, had 5 guys in the lineup with an OPS over .800 on the year.
Pitching, however, was a major problem.
With such a powerful offense, not enough funds to pay for elite pitching, and the ticking clock of Prince Fielder's free agency after the 2011 season, GM Doug Melvin "went for it."
And since the Brewers had tasted the playoffs just once since 1982, 99% of Brewers' fans had no problem trading a group of prospects for a true Cy Young caliber starting pitcher. Brining in Greinke, along with Shaun Marcum, gave the Crew a pair of top-level starters for 2 years if all went well.
The Brewers came through with the most wins in franchise history (96), a division crown and just two wins shy of the World Series.
Meanwhile, the Royals were envisioning a team that would compete in about 3-4 years with the loads of talent they already had in their farm system and at the big league level. It was the perfect move for them at the time.
Obviously, they played their cards right as 2014 and 2015 have come to fruition.
If the Brewers would have made it to the World Series in 2011 and the playoffs again in 2012, there would be less chirping I'm sure. However, just because the result wasn't all we hoped for, that doesn't mean it wasn't a great move - and the right move - AT THE TIME.
The Royals Have an All-Around Solid Team
Kansas City has prospered the past couple of seasons because of the team as a whole. Don't get me wrong, Cain has been especially terrific the past 2 years, but he's just a piece.
The Royals pitching staff has led them. They've also been aided by defense all over the field that includes 4-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon, and a pair of 2-time Gold Glove men in catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer.
The AL Champs were 4th in 2014 and 3rd this season in ERA, and the bullpen has been ridiculously good. The relievers since 2014 own a 2.99 ERA (2nd in MLB) and a 10.0 WAR (3rd).
Not to mention the lineup, which has 6 players sitting at an .800+ OPS. Yes, Cain is one of them, but he's again just one of the cogs.
Even if we look at WAR the past two seasons, Cain is 27th in WAR, but his teammate Alex Gordon ranks 13th. And although he's only been with K.C. half of this season, Ben Zobrist has the 14th-best WAR.
The point it is, the Brewers would obviously love to have Cain, but he is far from THE reason that Kansas City has reached the Fall Classic in consecutive years.
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These are just a few of the items to mention to those individuals who want to focus on the Royals being an "Ex-Brewers" team. And don't get me started with Ned Yost as the manager. You can check out my recent article about him here.
Feel free to root for the Royals if you feel some connection with Cain, Escobar, Yost or even Dale Sveum, but don't fall into the trap in believing that 2010 trade was some lopsided idiocy on the part of the Brewers.
Let's not forget what 2011 brought to a desperate fan base. Let's not forget that Milwaukee got other pieces back for Greinke. Let's not forget that Carlos Gomez roamed center field and ranked 12th in baseball in WAR the past 2 seasons - better than Cain.
It's far too easy to look back and say, "Can you imagine if we didn't do that?"
We have no idea how anything would've played out or if the Brewers ever would've had pitching or if Cain would've developed into the player he is.
It's the end of the 2015 campaign...it's time for Brewers' fans to move on. They didn't trade Babe Ruth to their arch rival and watch him win a bunch of World Series titles.