Willie Wilson Comes Home

Yeah... that title blows. My original title was "Speed Kills" but with the celebrity death of the weekend, I thought it was inappropriate. I probably shouldn't have said it here either. Oh well. I recently did a trade with a new friend of mine named Roger. The trade involved this Willie Wilson relic from 2005 Donruss Champions for that 2013 Topps Update Max Scherzer SP I pulled. I was happy with the trade as it was, but Roger also threw in plenty of Royals goodies with some of my favorites below. 

EJ had one of the weirdest seasons on record. It began in Tampa before the Royals claimed his as the PTBNL from the Wil Myers trade. Johnson showed up and impressed with stellar defense at 2B and a decent bat. That fell apart in mid-August when the Royals cut him after an 0 for 31 streak at the plate. The Braves then grabbed him up (role reversal) and he caught fire for them, infamously replacing Dan Uggla on the playoff roster.

As I'm writing this this morning, today could be the last day that former #1 overall pick Luke Hochevar is a Royal. By midnight the Royals have to decide if they'll tender him a $5 million contract to be our 7th inning setup man. I like Luke in the pen, but the Royals are supposedly tight on cash, so I'd hate to see him on our Opening Day roster. In the unlikely even he is non-tendered, he'll instantly become a top bullpen arm on the FA market.

Slugger was so much happier in his pre-assault charges days. He'll enjoy his day in court... the Supreme Court.

Oh boy... what can be said about Ken Harvey.

Kila was the ultimate AAAA star, elite at AAA and worthless in the majors. Fun Fact: I've seen Kila's brother Kala Ka'aihue and Ken Harvey both play in Kansas City! Not for the Royals, but for the independent Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association. 

Roger did me in with this cookie.

The best part of this deal isn't the trade itself with Roger, it's that he's committed to the Typhoon Haiyan Charity Break AND he's agreed to donate another box! It's a big one too... I'll hold off on the announcement because it deserves its own post. 

I've also received some goodies from Nomo's Sushi Platter and Brad's Blog to tackle some set needs and spoil me with Royals. Thanks fellas, keep your eyes on your mailboxes!