Royals Links: Dayton Moore, Job Security, and Losing

May 30, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (right) and interim hitting coach George Brett (left) watch batting practice before a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been an angsty week as a Royals fan, and there has been rampant speculation about the security of Dayton Moore’s job as well as Ned Yost‘s. The Royals have already made a change by naming George Brett and Pedro Grifol as the team’s new hitting coaches.

Ken Rosenthal wondered how secure Yost’s job is and thinks that the Royals are just in denial about development problems.

Danny Knobler of CBS Sports went a step further, suggesting that Jim Fregosi could be a potential replacement for Yost if he were to be fired. Fregosi’s son works in the Royals front office. Fregosi last managed for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000. So far, this is just speculation.

It’s fair to say that Yost could be replaced, but Dayton Moore would still be on the hot seat. Royals Review looked back on some choice quotes from his first press conference as General Manager.

Billy Butler is obviously frustrated as evidenced by quotes he gave to USA Today:

"“Where I’m at in my career … I’m saying, ‘Am I ever going to get to the playoffs?'” he says, his voice almost plaintive. “‘Am I ever going to be on a team like that? — Billy Butler"

But how about a shift from the losing? A Royals fan who lives in St. Louis raced Cardinals fans towards a plate at a new Flying Saucer in St. Louis. Patrons at the Flying Saucer get a ceremonial plate on the wall if they complete the drinking of 200 beers (though no more than three new selections at a time). Fan Joe Hoffmann wanted to commemorate the Royals victory over the Cardinals in the 1985 World Series with his plate.

Previously, Yost had said that the Royals can’t just go get a player off the third baseman tree, but they’ve at least tried by signing Chase Lambin out of Sugar Land in the Independent League. Lambin was a third baseman hitting .305 and is being assigned to Omaha, according to Bob Dutton.

It’s not all fun and games, though. Sam Miller at Baseball Prospectus has a thorough analysis and comparison of Eric Hosmer‘s swing from 2011 to now. He’s not going so far as to say that it’s beyond repair, but the worst case scenarios aren’t fun to think about.

Finally, I was invited to talk about the Royals with the guys at the Podcast to Be Named Later and touched on the subjects of Ned Yost, Dayton Moore, Bubba Starling, as well as the Mike Sweeney contract extension (an unexpected walk down memory lane) and Royals luck.