The baseball executive sent an e-mail that included these five words: "now THATS how you build."
The agent called and said this: "he's leaving money on the table, but it's probably good for both sides."
And then the scout answers his phone and says this: "I know everyone there is probably really excited, but that's a lot of money for Kansas City that they're paying basically off one good year, right?"
OK, so the support isn't unanimous, but it's pretty damn close.
As close as you'll find for moves comparable to the Royals signing emerging ace Zack Greinke for four years and $38 million -- the $13.5 million he's set to make in 2011 and 2012 buy out his first two years of free agency and will likely be a club record.
There is risk on each side, for the Royals and for Greinke, which probably means it's a fair deal.
If Greinke pitches the next four years like he did in 2008, the Royals are making out nicely on this. If he continues to get even better, it's an absolute steal for the team.
But if Zack blows out his shoulder, the Royals are paying him an awful lot to rehab and scout amateur showcase events.
None of that is the point here.
The first part is that this is a brand-new organization.
The second part is that that's a good thing, because there are no more valid excuses in this new baseball world.
It's been 2 1/2 years since what looks more and more like an epiphany for David Glass, when he hired the game's hottest GM prospect, promised him financial backing, and made the Royals big league again.
In that time, they signed Gil Meche for $55 million and Jose Guillen for $36 million.
They put together the biggest offer to Hiroki Kuroda, had the biggest offer to Torii Hunter before the Angels blew everyone away, and offered close to $70 million over five years to Andruw Jones*.
* Oops.
They went from drafting only guys who'd sign for $1,000 after the fourth or fifth round to drafting Scott Boras clients and spending $1.25 million on a fourth-round pick and spending more on last year's draft than any other team.
Their payroll went from $47 million in 2006 (26th in baseball) to a projected club record of $70-75 million in 2009, a figure that should be close to the league median.
The Royals probably won't win the AL Central this year --- heck, they might not even win half their games --- but every Wal-Mart punchline, every the-Royals-suck-because-they-won't-spend line, every the-Royals-are-cheap-and-what's-wrong-with-small-market-teams argument, will be way outdated.
My inbox and voicemail and message boards tell me that Royals fans are underwhelmed with most every offseason move with the exception of the Coco Crisp trade.
Signing Greinke for two years into what would've been his free agency becomes the Royals' biggest move this winter, by far, and should generate this kind of reaction from fans.
And now for the second part of the point, which is to say: the scholarship program is over.
The Royals and their fans have no more excuses. No more complaints about baseball's financial structure. No more whines about "the system" holding the team down, and we can't win, and blah blah blah.
If the Moneyball A's didn't prove you can be simultaneously successful and not play in New York, then the Twins of 2002-06 did, and if not them, then the Indians of the last decade or so did, and if not them, then the Marlins of 2003, and if not them then the Rockies of 2007, and if not them, then the Rays of 2008, and if not them, well, you get the point*.
* You might notice that two of the teams in that sentence are in the Royals' division with similar resources.
The Royals control their three best pitchers for three, four, and six more seasons.
They control David DeJesus through 2011, Coco Crisp through 2010, Kyle Davies through 2011, Alex Gordon through 2012 --- the Royals just aren't in danger of losing any key players anytime soon.
They have high-priced draft picks on the way, due in Kansas City by 2010 or 2011.
If this thing doesn't turn around in the next two or three seasons, it'll be because the Royals misjudged on big investments like Jose Guillen, or mis-scouted on too many draft picks, or put what looks to be a well-below-average defensive infield on a team purported to be about pitching and defense.
The small-money thing is dangerously close to being played out. This makes three consecutive offseasons the Royals have signed deals giving out club-record salary.
They have a new stadium set to open that will only increase their resources, along with the revenue sharing check* they get from big spenders like the Yankees (who, you probably realize, have won the same number of championships as the Royals in the last eight years).
* Reports vary, but we're talking tens of millions of dollars.
The Royals aren't the Yankees, aren't the Red Sox, aren't the Mets or even the Tigers, and they never will be.
But they are officially and long out of the laughingstock category, a nice change around here, and one we should keep in mind this season when judging the franchise's development.
I have one friend who is a Twins fan, and another who is a White Sox fan. I keep telling them that the ingredients are right, it just needs to stay in the oven a little longer. If the team hits .500 in 2009, I will be fairly pleased.