Here we go, again:
15. Tyler Sample, RHP, 20 years old, Low-A Burlington Bees- A giant on the mound at 6'7", Sample is viewed as a big time relief prospect with Closer written all over him. He already throws in the mid-90s, an impressive feat for a 20 year old. The only reason he isn't higher on this list is major injury concern. He had Tommy John surgery as a sophomore in high school. He's still several years away as he still has control issues, he's already walked 33 batters this year in 42.1 innings pitched. He's also struck out 32 batters though...
14. Danny Duffy, LHP, 21 years old, Currently Inactive- Duffy made headlines this offseason by announcing that he would be taking a leave from baseball. He's a top five prospect if he's playing. But since he decided to step away from the game, he takes a little dip on our list. He's a big lefty hurler who has posted ERAs under 3.00 in his first three professional seasons. He's struck out 290 batters in 245.2 professional innings pitched up against just 83 walks. Here's to hoping Danny returns soon to the Royals organization.
13. Blake Wood, RHP, 24 years old, MLB Kansas City Royals- He's blown us all away this year. He's only allowed one run so far (Home run to Corey Patterson, welcome to the big leagues kid.) and showcased outstanding control in his 6 innings pitched, walking just one batter. His fastball moves down and in on hitters and has a great slider. He had been struggling before getting his call to the big leagues, posting a career 4.26 ERA in the minors, but blew everyone away in the Pacific Coast League with a 2.16 ERA in 2010. He's definitely going to be showcased on the big stage this year as he earned a call to the big leagues earlier this month.
12. Chris Dwyer, LHP, 22 years old, High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks- Curveball, curveball, curveball. That's all you will see when you look at scouting reports on Chris Dwyer. He's going to rise fast in the minor leagues with his breaking stuff, his changeup still needs work, but he is a big time bullpen prospect. He's being called a sleeper by many scouts and Royals fans should definitely look forward to seeing this lefty come up through the ranks.
11. Jordan Parraz, OF, 25 years old, AAA Omaha Royals- A contact hitting outfielder that is drawing comparisons to David DeJesus. Originally from the Astros organization, Parraz absolutely raked in AA Northwest Arkansas last year, batting .358 in 64 games. He's struggled thus far in Omaha in 2010, but a .342 OBP next to his .242 batting average shows that he is willing to work the count and lay off bad pitches. He is definitely a guy who will be getting a September call-up or compete for a spot on the 25 man roster come Spring Training in 2011.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Royals Kingdom Prospect Review 16-20
Alright, I'm gonna take a stab at this. A true test of a baseball bloggers mettle is how well they can rate and analyze their organization's prospects. Here is my attempt at it.
20. Reynaldo Navarro, SS, 21 years old, High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks- Most people may scoff at Navarro being this high on my list. But shortstop is a position that this franchise has been shallow at all decade. Navarro's skill set is still very raw, but for a 21 year old shortstop in his fourth season of minor league duty, time may be short for him as he is eligible to become a minor league free agent after the 2012 season.
19. Derrick Robinson, CF, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- Robinson was a question mark entering Spring Training. A speedster with an athletic build, he showcased his speed in 2009 with 69 stolen bases at High-A Wilmington, but lacked the ability to make solid contact. He's climbing the prospect ladder quickly though, posting a .300/.391/.415/.806 line in Northwest Arkansas this season after tweaking his batting stance. If D-Rob can keep putting up these numbers, he may be making a case for himself as a potential leadoff man or number 9 hitter.
18. Kila Ka'aihue, 1B/DH, 26 years old, AAA Omaha Royals- Kila has been languishing down in the minors, he's a long shot to even be considered a prospect anymore as he is entering the stage where he can no longer be considered a prospect, but rather a career minor leaguer. He has the best plate discipline in the entire Royals organization, but the Royals have a big time roadblock standing in his way in Jose Guillen. He is easily the most readily available player on this list as he has dominated the upper minors for the past three seasons and provides the potential for an immediate offensive impact in the middle of the order if the need arises. It is apparent that the Royals aren't too high on him, as the Royals to cite his "slider speed bat" as the reason for his lack of Major League service time.
17. Edgar Osuna, LHP, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- A strike thrower who has showcased outstanding control in AA this year after being the Royals Rule 5 Draft pick in 2010. He's walked only SIX batters in 39.1 innings pitched this year and is sporting an outstanding 1.051 WHIP. He is definitely turning into a big bullpen prospect and even a guy who could see time in the starting rotation if the need for a lefty starter arises. His star is rising fast and is making a strong case to be considered for a September call-up. I am sure we will see him sooner than that.
16. Johnny Giavotella, 2B, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- His stock is starting to drop, but with the Royals organization pretty shallow in middle infield talent, Giavotella has a lot resting on his shoulders. He has good plate discipline, but lacks pop and has never hit over .300 in the minors. He shows good range and seems to handle the glove pretty well, but if he is ever going to make a push for the big league club, his defense will be the reason.
20. Reynaldo Navarro, SS, 21 years old, High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks- Most people may scoff at Navarro being this high on my list. But shortstop is a position that this franchise has been shallow at all decade. Navarro's skill set is still very raw, but for a 21 year old shortstop in his fourth season of minor league duty, time may be short for him as he is eligible to become a minor league free agent after the 2012 season.
19. Derrick Robinson, CF, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- Robinson was a question mark entering Spring Training. A speedster with an athletic build, he showcased his speed in 2009 with 69 stolen bases at High-A Wilmington, but lacked the ability to make solid contact. He's climbing the prospect ladder quickly though, posting a .300/.391/.415/.806 line in Northwest Arkansas this season after tweaking his batting stance. If D-Rob can keep putting up these numbers, he may be making a case for himself as a potential leadoff man or number 9 hitter.
18. Kila Ka'aihue, 1B/DH, 26 years old, AAA Omaha Royals- Kila has been languishing down in the minors, he's a long shot to even be considered a prospect anymore as he is entering the stage where he can no longer be considered a prospect, but rather a career minor leaguer. He has the best plate discipline in the entire Royals organization, but the Royals have a big time roadblock standing in his way in Jose Guillen. He is easily the most readily available player on this list as he has dominated the upper minors for the past three seasons and provides the potential for an immediate offensive impact in the middle of the order if the need arises. It is apparent that the Royals aren't too high on him, as the Royals to cite his "slider speed bat" as the reason for his lack of Major League service time.
17. Edgar Osuna, LHP, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- A strike thrower who has showcased outstanding control in AA this year after being the Royals Rule 5 Draft pick in 2010. He's walked only SIX batters in 39.1 innings pitched this year and is sporting an outstanding 1.051 WHIP. He is definitely turning into a big bullpen prospect and even a guy who could see time in the starting rotation if the need for a lefty starter arises. His star is rising fast and is making a strong case to be considered for a September call-up. I am sure we will see him sooner than that.
16. Johnny Giavotella, 2B, 22 years old, AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals- His stock is starting to drop, but with the Royals organization pretty shallow in middle infield talent, Giavotella has a lot resting on his shoulders. He has good plate discipline, but lacks pop and has never hit over .300 in the minors. He shows good range and seems to handle the glove pretty well, but if he is ever going to make a push for the big league club, his defense will be the reason.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Quick Thoughts on the Beginning of the Yost Era
Hey what do you know the Royals are 3-1 under new manager, Ned Yost, and have won four out of their last five games. There are some pretty obvious changes that have been made. First, Yost has moved Jason Kendall into the 9-hole, which is awesome, considering most National League pitchers are better hitters than Jason Kendall.
The best part of NedBall is his apparent disdain for small ball. The Royals have tried to play for the big inning in nearly all of the games, which is encouraging, especially when Trey Hillman played the game like it was always the 8th inning of a National League game.
And a non-Yost thought quickly. I am sick of Jose Guillen. He is a curse. A nasty scab on this franchise. He is blocking Kila Ka'aihue. He costs this team runs and contributes very little to the success of the team. After being demoted, Kila refused to give an interview with reporters and why should he? He got treated like garbage, like every other Baird-era draftee has been treated by Dayton Moore. I think that Dayton Moore believes that Baird draftees can't play every day at the big league level until they're 28 years old.
Gotta swallow the pride Dayton. Baird drafted the Polynesian Powerbolt in the 15th round and you gave the Dominican Deficient $36 million buckaroos.
The best part of NedBall is his apparent disdain for small ball. The Royals have tried to play for the big inning in nearly all of the games, which is encouraging, especially when Trey Hillman played the game like it was always the 8th inning of a National League game.
And a non-Yost thought quickly. I am sick of Jose Guillen. He is a curse. A nasty scab on this franchise. He is blocking Kila Ka'aihue. He costs this team runs and contributes very little to the success of the team. After being demoted, Kila refused to give an interview with reporters and why should he? He got treated like garbage, like every other Baird-era draftee has been treated by Dayton Moore. I think that Dayton Moore believes that Baird draftees can't play every day at the big league level until they're 28 years old.
Gotta swallow the pride Dayton. Baird drafted the Polynesian Powerbolt in the 15th round and you gave the Dominican Deficient $36 million buckaroos.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Hillman's Firing Means Dayton Moore is Likely Next to Go
Today, the stunning but not-so-surprising news struck the Kansas City area today. Trey Hillman is out as manager of the Kansas City Royals and consultant Ned Yost is in.
The news here isn't the firing itself, but rather the undertones displayed during the press conference.
This wasn't Dayton Moore's decision- Showcased by his emotion, it's obvious that Dayton Moore didn't want this to happen. I feel for the guy, but it is unacceptable to cry in professional settings, especially when your professional setting is a major league baseball stadium. He broke rule numero uno of all business: never hire your friends, especially in a position that has an incredibly high failure rate. It was known from the start that Hillman and Moore were close. It raised a few eyebrows but many people around baseball (including Peter Gammons) thought that Trey was an outstanding hire. Eventually, Hillman didn't seem to be working out and many feared that Dayton Moore wouldn't be able to pull the trigger when it came to Hillman's job security. Some of those fears were realized after the disastrous 2009 campaign and Moore continued to back Hillman. Just a month and a half into the 2010 season and David Glass was rumored to be in town for the current homestand. I guess all it took was three games of this garbage for him to decide what needed to be done that Dayton Moore couldn't do himself.
Dayton Moore is the next to go- It's never a good thing when the owner steps in and fires the manager. Look, I'm not saying that this is the exact thing that happened, but there's a high probability that it did. Believe it or not, David Glass has been a good owner the last 4 years. He signed the biggest General Manager prospect at the time, signed a new lease with the city for 25 years, got renovations for a stadium that this city is absolutely in love with, stepped away from personnel decisions and has signed the checks. Now, he's holding people accountable. Something that this organization hasn't done in 20 years. Everyone should be looking over their shoulders now that David Glass has ensured that no one's job is safe.
Dave "The Windmill" Owen is gone- Trey's boy and third base coach will likely exit stage left with Trey after today. Obviously, he's not the biggest problem in the organization, but he was a problem and another sign of incompetence that the Royals blogosphere loved to scapegoat.
This starts the search for a new manager- Who will it be? Ned Yost is not a long term solution. It was blatant that he was brought in as a safety valve if this situation happened. Most Royals fans will be clamoring for Frank White and Hal McRae. Frank White has made it obvious that he doesn't want the position anymore and it would put the Royals in a very sticky situation if a situation arose where White would be under scrutiny. I doubt McRae would want to come back after the way he was ushered out by Herk Robinson in the 1990s. I see the Royals going outside of the organization and we may see names like Terry Pendleton, Bobby Valentine, Willie Randolph or as Greg Schaum suggests Torey Luvollo, current manager of the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. My vote is for Freddie Gonzalez who has worked miracles for the Florida Marlins in South Florida. Gonzalez doesn't get along with Marlins' owner Jeffrey Loria and has experience with young ballplayers and is considered a big managing prospect. But this is a thought process for a later time.
So where does this leave the Royals? Well, Ned Yost's reputation isn't the greatest. Some are saying this is a lateral move. Obviously, the track record for replacing managers midseason isn't the best, but the Rockies circled the wagons and rattled off an incredible second half to qualify for the playoffs after firing Clint Hurdle and replacing him with Jim Tracy. That likely won't happen with the Royals, but maybe Yost has a plan for this team. Hopefully, Yost sees some potential with the pieces that this team has. Maybe we see more playing time for Kila Ka'aihue, Brayan Pena and Chris Getz. Maybe Yost has a plan for Alex Gordon. We may see a shakeup in the Royals lineup tomorrow, we may not. I hope that Yost plans to inject the lineup and roster with more youth and return to a true rebuilding process. Yost oversaw the Brewers' overhaul that included the insurgence of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks.
I'm not saying that the season is saved, but there is certainly some reason to hope that our owner has decided that enough is enough. Everyone is on watch now. From the players to the front office, it's good to see that the Glass family will not tolerate failure.
There isn't much reason to hope, but this is a good sign moving forward.
The news here isn't the firing itself, but rather the undertones displayed during the press conference.
This wasn't Dayton Moore's decision- Showcased by his emotion, it's obvious that Dayton Moore didn't want this to happen. I feel for the guy, but it is unacceptable to cry in professional settings, especially when your professional setting is a major league baseball stadium. He broke rule numero uno of all business: never hire your friends, especially in a position that has an incredibly high failure rate. It was known from the start that Hillman and Moore were close. It raised a few eyebrows but many people around baseball (including Peter Gammons) thought that Trey was an outstanding hire. Eventually, Hillman didn't seem to be working out and many feared that Dayton Moore wouldn't be able to pull the trigger when it came to Hillman's job security. Some of those fears were realized after the disastrous 2009 campaign and Moore continued to back Hillman. Just a month and a half into the 2010 season and David Glass was rumored to be in town for the current homestand. I guess all it took was three games of this garbage for him to decide what needed to be done that Dayton Moore couldn't do himself.
Dayton Moore is the next to go- It's never a good thing when the owner steps in and fires the manager. Look, I'm not saying that this is the exact thing that happened, but there's a high probability that it did. Believe it or not, David Glass has been a good owner the last 4 years. He signed the biggest General Manager prospect at the time, signed a new lease with the city for 25 years, got renovations for a stadium that this city is absolutely in love with, stepped away from personnel decisions and has signed the checks. Now, he's holding people accountable. Something that this organization hasn't done in 20 years. Everyone should be looking over their shoulders now that David Glass has ensured that no one's job is safe.
Dave "The Windmill" Owen is gone- Trey's boy and third base coach will likely exit stage left with Trey after today. Obviously, he's not the biggest problem in the organization, but he was a problem and another sign of incompetence that the Royals blogosphere loved to scapegoat.
This starts the search for a new manager- Who will it be? Ned Yost is not a long term solution. It was blatant that he was brought in as a safety valve if this situation happened. Most Royals fans will be clamoring for Frank White and Hal McRae. Frank White has made it obvious that he doesn't want the position anymore and it would put the Royals in a very sticky situation if a situation arose where White would be under scrutiny. I doubt McRae would want to come back after the way he was ushered out by Herk Robinson in the 1990s. I see the Royals going outside of the organization and we may see names like Terry Pendleton, Bobby Valentine, Willie Randolph or as Greg Schaum suggests Torey Luvollo, current manager of the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. My vote is for Freddie Gonzalez who has worked miracles for the Florida Marlins in South Florida. Gonzalez doesn't get along with Marlins' owner Jeffrey Loria and has experience with young ballplayers and is considered a big managing prospect. But this is a thought process for a later time.
So where does this leave the Royals? Well, Ned Yost's reputation isn't the greatest. Some are saying this is a lateral move. Obviously, the track record for replacing managers midseason isn't the best, but the Rockies circled the wagons and rattled off an incredible second half to qualify for the playoffs after firing Clint Hurdle and replacing him with Jim Tracy. That likely won't happen with the Royals, but maybe Yost has a plan for this team. Hopefully, Yost sees some potential with the pieces that this team has. Maybe we see more playing time for Kila Ka'aihue, Brayan Pena and Chris Getz. Maybe Yost has a plan for Alex Gordon. We may see a shakeup in the Royals lineup tomorrow, we may not. I hope that Yost plans to inject the lineup and roster with more youth and return to a true rebuilding process. Yost oversaw the Brewers' overhaul that included the insurgence of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks.
I'm not saying that the season is saved, but there is certainly some reason to hope that our owner has decided that enough is enough. Everyone is on watch now. From the players to the front office, it's good to see that the Glass family will not tolerate failure.
There isn't much reason to hope, but this is a good sign moving forward.
Monday, May 10, 2010
TreyBall: It All Happens Here
Well, I had the fortune of being away from the Royals this weekend after spending a lovely weekend in Chicago.
I opened my computer on Sunday evening to expect the usual snark and tongue-in-cheek humor from my fellow Royals bloggers on Twitter and was amazed at the monsoon of outrage over the Texas series. After a quick scan of several trusty Royals websites, there I sat, 500 miles away, my mouth gaping wide open at the absolute catastrophe that was Treyball in Arlington.
Luckily, I wasn't able to see or hear the Yuni pop-up, the Maier at 1B inning, the Kila batting cleanup or now infamous phantom "tag-up and advance" play. I can only imagine the thoughts that would have gone through my head if I were to have watched these games live. Of course, I would have thought "these are my Royals..." But I had the blessing of distance and perspective. My thoughts were "Did. That. Really. Happen."
Oh yes it did. It happened. It's not just losing with the Royals. It's finding new ways to make yourself lose. This isn't young rookies making silly plays. This isn't players trying to play injured. It's Treyball. It's like MartyBall, except you never win. Kila Ka'aihue is Rich Gannon and Jose Guillen is Steve Bono. The Royals offense is Lin Elliot. Hey, did you hear the one about the Royals offense? They tried to hang themselves, but when they tried to drive the runner in from third the chair, they missed.
It's comical. The Royals have gotten worse over the past three seasons. 58-104 in their last 162 games.
Now people are calling for David Glass to take action. I'll admit, I posted a pretty big knee-jerk post a week or so back. But after gaining perspective, I thought to myself: none of this is David Glass' fault.
He gave the reins to Dayton and Co. He's taken a step back and invested money back into the franchise. It's easy to point the finger at the guy with the fat wallet. He's doing his part. I would like to see him at more games and interact more with the local media, but that isn't who he is. If the team started winning, I'm sure he would be at most games.
Dayton has given Trey another vote of confidence, saying that Trey has done a "terrific job". I'm sorry. He hasn't.
He's done an awful job. If I were to rank the previous five Royals managers, Trey would come in last. No wait, if I were to rank ALL Royals managers, he would come in last. He has lost the team once again. It is obvious that he plays favorites. Jason Kendall is the new Ross Gload having played in 31 of the 32 games so far at the catcher position. A ridiculous notion for a 35 year old catcher who had had lower body injuries throughout his career.
The fans are grumbling and word has it that David Glass is none to happy about the current situation at One Royal Way.
The season is lost already, but some are still pumping sunshine. The Royals seem set on losing with overpriced veteran talent rather than losing the "right way" with our cheaper in-house talent.
The longer this continues, the longer we have to suffer.
I opened my computer on Sunday evening to expect the usual snark and tongue-in-cheek humor from my fellow Royals bloggers on Twitter and was amazed at the monsoon of outrage over the Texas series. After a quick scan of several trusty Royals websites, there I sat, 500 miles away, my mouth gaping wide open at the absolute catastrophe that was Treyball in Arlington.
Luckily, I wasn't able to see or hear the Yuni pop-up, the Maier at 1B inning, the Kila batting cleanup or now infamous phantom "tag-up and advance" play. I can only imagine the thoughts that would have gone through my head if I were to have watched these games live. Of course, I would have thought "these are my Royals..." But I had the blessing of distance and perspective. My thoughts were "Did. That. Really. Happen."
Oh yes it did. It happened. It's not just losing with the Royals. It's finding new ways to make yourself lose. This isn't young rookies making silly plays. This isn't players trying to play injured. It's Treyball. It's like MartyBall, except you never win. Kila Ka'aihue is Rich Gannon and Jose Guillen is Steve Bono. The Royals offense is Lin Elliot. Hey, did you hear the one about the Royals offense? They tried to hang themselves, but when they tried to drive the runner in from third the chair, they missed.
It's comical. The Royals have gotten worse over the past three seasons. 58-104 in their last 162 games.
Now people are calling for David Glass to take action. I'll admit, I posted a pretty big knee-jerk post a week or so back. But after gaining perspective, I thought to myself: none of this is David Glass' fault.
He gave the reins to Dayton and Co. He's taken a step back and invested money back into the franchise. It's easy to point the finger at the guy with the fat wallet. He's doing his part. I would like to see him at more games and interact more with the local media, but that isn't who he is. If the team started winning, I'm sure he would be at most games.
Dayton has given Trey another vote of confidence, saying that Trey has done a "terrific job". I'm sorry. He hasn't.
He's done an awful job. If I were to rank the previous five Royals managers, Trey would come in last. No wait, if I were to rank ALL Royals managers, he would come in last. He has lost the team once again. It is obvious that he plays favorites. Jason Kendall is the new Ross Gload having played in 31 of the 32 games so far at the catcher position. A ridiculous notion for a 35 year old catcher who had had lower body injuries throughout his career.
The fans are grumbling and word has it that David Glass is none to happy about the current situation at One Royal Way.
The season is lost already, but some are still pumping sunshine. The Royals seem set on losing with overpriced veteran talent rather than losing the "right way" with our cheaper in-house talent.
The longer this continues, the longer we have to suffer.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Dayton Moore, You've Got a Big-Time Gimme Putt Here...
With Rick Ankiel going to the DL with a lower body injury, Dayton Moore has a big opportunity to gain favor with a fanbase that is about as happy as 18th century France. A roster spot has opened up and there is only one choice that the fans will be happy with: Kila Ka'aihue.
All he's done is be the most prolific OBP guy in AAA the last 3 seasons. The Royals tried him out as a September call-up in 2008 and he hit one of the most impressive home runs that I've ever seen. It looked like a high flyball off the bat that would drift foul, but the ball carried and carried and found its way into the right field bleachers. Hell, the guy even got a curtain call. That's what we thought of him in 2008. Our first baseman of the near-future. A guy with awesome power, great plate discipline, decent glovework at first base and a plethora of nickname opportunities (even though "The Flyin' Hawaiian" is taken).
So Dayton, you've got a serious gimme right here. The fans are REELING. Seriously reeling. Like we're-not-going-to-buy-tickets-anymore-this-year reeling. You've got Kila. He's your Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card. You can fix so many things about your reputation with this move. For one, you can somewhat stymie the belief that you only pay lipservice to OBP. You can "practice what you preach" and call up the best OBP prospect we've had in awhile.
And guess what? If Kila sucks, then the egg is on our face and you can laugh at us as we Huberize Kila on the message boards and blogs. If he's awesome, or hell if he's even ABOVE AVERAGE, you're viewed as a genius and KC fans have something to get excited about. Oh and he also fixes that little problem you have that I like to call Battingjasonkendallsixthitis.
DO IT.
All he's done is be the most prolific OBP guy in AAA the last 3 seasons. The Royals tried him out as a September call-up in 2008 and he hit one of the most impressive home runs that I've ever seen. It looked like a high flyball off the bat that would drift foul, but the ball carried and carried and found its way into the right field bleachers. Hell, the guy even got a curtain call. That's what we thought of him in 2008. Our first baseman of the near-future. A guy with awesome power, great plate discipline, decent glovework at first base and a plethora of nickname opportunities (even though "The Flyin' Hawaiian" is taken).
So Dayton, you've got a serious gimme right here. The fans are REELING. Seriously reeling. Like we're-not-going-to-buy-tickets-anymore-this-year reeling. You've got Kila. He's your Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card. You can fix so many things about your reputation with this move. For one, you can somewhat stymie the belief that you only pay lipservice to OBP. You can "practice what you preach" and call up the best OBP prospect we've had in awhile.
And guess what? If Kila sucks, then the egg is on our face and you can laugh at us as we Huberize Kila on the message boards and blogs. If he's awesome, or hell if he's even ABOVE AVERAGE, you're viewed as a genius and KC fans have something to get excited about. Oh and he also fixes that little problem you have that I like to call Battingjasonkendallsixthitis.
DO IT.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Hope Is a Funny Thing
Remember when Dayton Moore was hired in 2006? People rejoiced. We were dancing in the streets. He promised parades on the Plaza and a contending team by 2010! He used words like "process", "grit", "responsibility" and "hope".
Hope. It's a funny word. We hope it won't rain today. We hope that our car starts. We hope that our fledgling-no-better-than-an-expansion-franchise of a team can be led by competent leadership. That's what we had. It is in short supply now in KC. The Chiefs 1990-2004 dynasty was over. Kansas City sports fans were reeling. Then came our white knight. Waving the Atlanta Braves flag and proclaiming that he would save us.
And here we are.
Nearly 5 seasons later and nothing. Dayton Moore made the promise. He promised to spend money wisely. Eliminate waste. Spend money in Latin America. Nothing. There is nothing to show for it except for an 8-14 team with a roster that has been filled rather than constructed. We had a lights out bullpen in 2008 that led the team to its highest win total since 2003 and an 18-8 September. Then it was demolished to make room for high risk, expensive veteran talent. A 97 loss season followed.
Now we're being told to be patient. Guess what? We've been patient. Most diehards are ready to jump ship. But we can't. We're tied down. Held at the mercy of incompetence and "processes". Our young fans are being told that carousels, dollar hot dogs and fireworks are reasons to go out to the ballpark. Our young fans are being told that 97 loss seasons are okay because we have a Cy Young winner. People are settling for less. That is the worst thing that can happen.
Settling for less means that the Glass family can get away with it. They can get away with signing Dayton Moore to a 5 year extension because the bottom line is growing. We just paid $250 million dollars out of pocket to renovate your stadium so you could generate more revenue. Now we're being told that we need 2 million fans to show up to watch this awful product before we can spend more money. Guess what? We can give you more money to spend. But throwing money at your problems doesn't solve your problems. Just look at Kansas City Public Schools. $2 billion dollars down the drain and we just closed half our schools and fired half of our teachers.
Money isn't the problem. Leadership is the problem. We want to go to the ballpark and cheer. We want our owner to be at most of the games. We want to know we will win everytime Zack Greinke toes the rubber. We want to high five strangers after that big late inning home run to win a big divisional game. We want our manager to storm out of the dugout after an umpire makes a brutal call that loses the game for us.We want to cry tears of joy when that final out is made in October.
We've done our part. We've done it for 25 years. You've been here for 10 years. They've been the worst 10 years in Royals history. It isn't a coincidence. The time for change is now.
Hope. It's a funny word. We hope it won't rain today. We hope that our car starts. We hope that our fledgling-no-better-than-an-expansion-franchise of a team can be led by competent leadership. That's what we had. It is in short supply now in KC. The Chiefs 1990-2004 dynasty was over. Kansas City sports fans were reeling. Then came our white knight. Waving the Atlanta Braves flag and proclaiming that he would save us.
And here we are.
Nearly 5 seasons later and nothing. Dayton Moore made the promise. He promised to spend money wisely. Eliminate waste. Spend money in Latin America. Nothing. There is nothing to show for it except for an 8-14 team with a roster that has been filled rather than constructed. We had a lights out bullpen in 2008 that led the team to its highest win total since 2003 and an 18-8 September. Then it was demolished to make room for high risk, expensive veteran talent. A 97 loss season followed.
Now we're being told to be patient. Guess what? We've been patient. Most diehards are ready to jump ship. But we can't. We're tied down. Held at the mercy of incompetence and "processes". Our young fans are being told that carousels, dollar hot dogs and fireworks are reasons to go out to the ballpark. Our young fans are being told that 97 loss seasons are okay because we have a Cy Young winner. People are settling for less. That is the worst thing that can happen.
Settling for less means that the Glass family can get away with it. They can get away with signing Dayton Moore to a 5 year extension because the bottom line is growing. We just paid $250 million dollars out of pocket to renovate your stadium so you could generate more revenue. Now we're being told that we need 2 million fans to show up to watch this awful product before we can spend more money. Guess what? We can give you more money to spend. But throwing money at your problems doesn't solve your problems. Just look at Kansas City Public Schools. $2 billion dollars down the drain and we just closed half our schools and fired half of our teachers.
Money isn't the problem. Leadership is the problem. We want to go to the ballpark and cheer. We want our owner to be at most of the games. We want to know we will win everytime Zack Greinke toes the rubber. We want to high five strangers after that big late inning home run to win a big divisional game. We want our manager to storm out of the dugout after an umpire makes a brutal call that loses the game for us.We want to cry tears of joy when that final out is made in October.
We've done our part. We've done it for 25 years. You've been here for 10 years. They've been the worst 10 years in Royals history. It isn't a coincidence. The time for change is now.
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