The Royals took a big chance in signing Gil Meche to a 5-year, $55M deal. Gil Meche took a big chance on the Royals, as well, writes Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan:

As much as [Dayton] Moore wanted to talk about Meche's fastball and curveball and how he's just 28 years old, none of those things resonate anymore, not with a Royals fan base that watched them lose at least 100 games for the fourth time in five seasons. So Thursday, and all along the rest of the trip, he'll opt instead for something that hasn't been heard for a long time: Gil Meche really wanted to be a Royal.

"Gil knew that he would be second-guessed for this decision," Moore said. "At the end of the day, he believed in what he believed, and he believed the Kansas City Royals are going to win."
. . . .
"That's what some of the teams tried to sell me on: That I wouldn't be a No. 1 guy and wouldn't have to live up to much," Meche said. "I like being one. Go ahead. Think I'm overpaid. Think what you want. I know what I can do, and the Royals believe it."

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