Kansas Citians rally behind Jose Guillen

The Kansas City Star's comment section usually attracts some of the most impulsive, irrational, pinheaded posters I've ever seen -- more so than the ESPN "conversationalists," but slightly less so than the YouTube people -- but the responses to Joe Posnanski's latest column have been calm, measured and even infused with a strange little thing called hope.

In brief, Poz wrote that he didn't understand the Jose Guillen signing: too old, too mediocre, too volatile. The People disagreed:

From Tug:

IF, and only IF, the Royals pull off some amazing move and land a guy like Andruw Jones I think that seals the fate of Brown and either DeJesus or Gathright. Maybe DeJesus is the odd man out since he draws the most interest from other clubs. So, with that assumption in mind, here's what the Royals lineup would look like in my opinion:
1.) Joey Gathright LF
2.) Mark Teahen 1B
3.) Jose Guillen RF
4.) Andruw Jones CF
5.) Alex Gordon 3B
6.) Billy Butler DH
7.) John Buck c
8.) Mark Grudzielanek 2B
9.) Tony Pena Jr. ss
We would strike out a lot, but that still looks like a pretty salty lineup to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gordon and Butler each smack 20-25 dingers apiece this year.
Throw in another solid starting pitcher and I would say we're a shoo-in for a .500 squad. Would sure be nice for a change.
Here's hoping!!!!!

Quik draw McFitz:

Concerning this move, Mr Posnanski you need to step away as I did & pretend youre not a Royals fan for a good hour. Then think hard about this move. Is it fair for a major league franchise to just stand pat with another year of a trio of starting outfielders who wont hit any homers once again. Then comparing Kevin McReynolds to Jose Guillen is a real reach based merely on a biological aging timeline? Give me a break youre really really reaching there. I have MPD concerning Guillen as I've been so many personalities for & against & leaning on both sides of the fence but I'm at the moment happy he's here lol.

Greg:

A big difference between Guillen and some of the other free agents the Royals signed, they were declining before they came to KC. Knoblauch was already a shell of his former self, as was Juan Gone, Reggie Sanders, etc. Guillen is at least coming in with good numbers. Plus he hits better than Brown and compares in speed and is probably an upgrade in defense. It's not a solution but it's a part we need, and if we get Jones (which after seeing what Detroit did we probably need to look at that) and can swing a deal with the Japanese starting pitcher...then we'll be in pretty good shape in a tough division.

It wasn't universally positive, of course, but it's hard not to be heartened by this response. With the Chiefs utterly unwatchable (thanks, Herm, Mike, Carl, Brodie -- who's destined to become the least accurate QB in Chiefs history... but hey, he has a strong arm, with which to arm-wrestle Vikings and Visigoths and bring pride to our village...), we need at least one of our major professional teams to give us something to look forward to.

I'm going to resist typing out a bunch of names of players who could be good next year and for years to come. Just understand that I could, and that it would make me happy.