Royals Brass Should Sleep in its Bed

Local and national pundits have begun to ask if Ned Yost is on the “hot seat”.  Yost has been far more candid than usual, calling out Billy Butler, while demoting players in the line-up.  Earlier this month, David Glass made it clear he was frustrated with the Royals results.  He called the club out for its lack of consistency and insisted he was obsessed with winning.  His words were a departure from his typical ” everything is ok, we need to be patient, we have the right guys” dribble.  This week, Dayton Moore called himself out, taking responsibility for the Royals disappointing season.

What took this gang so long to become this concerned?   If f this type of performance demand had been applied all year,  would the club have a few more wins?  Doesn’t matter much at this point, because this new sense of urgency is too late.

Some say Yost should be canned now.  The Brewers axed him late in the 2008 season, and made the playoffs.  Apples and Oranges.  Those Brewers were in control of their playoff destiny.  There is a less than 10% chance the Royals are going to the playoffs, and that would be for a Wild-Card road game.  Look, Yost should not have been the manager when this season started.  This team needed every quantifiable edge, every advantage possible. Having a below average tactical manager was a mistake, and it can not be undone in July.  Why do it now?

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Why fire a manager when you have an incompetent and stubborn GM?  That’s what Dayton Moore continues to prove with his actions and his ridiculous words.  Besides taking “full responsibility” for the team’s plight this season, Moore let it be known the Royals were not sellers.  Not only were they not sellers, they won’t become sellers until the stats say they are officially eliminated.

“We’re going to keep pushing until the standings say that we’re done.  We’re going to keep pushing.”

There it is folks.  Moore has summed up his fatal mental flaws in this quote.  Regardless of logic and strategy, he’s digging his heels in with this team.  If there are smart, wise moves that could make this a better team in 2015 and 2016, he’s not interested.

Moore is cloaking his stubbornness and lack of savvy with garments made of faux grit and dedication.  It’s not a good look.

I say, let him wear it.  He should be allowed to prance about the rest of the Summer, fooling only himself.  However, Glass should not allow Moore to trade any piece of the team’s future for this year’s team. This team lacks the heart, the maturity, the leadership, and the time to play in the Fall. They have proved that since their exciting, June winning streak ended.  It’s worth pointing out again that this team is desperately chasing a post season appearance.  They are not one bat away from winning a division.  They are not the 2008 Brewers.  This is just not hot air from a long time Royals fan.  Check out yesterday’s article from SI’s Jay Jaffe, that contains this nugget.

“Selling would be the obvious move, with pending free agent James Shields (3.70 ERA) certain to appeal to contenders, but general manager Dayton Moore isn’t exactly known for his connection to reality, and he recently told Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi, “I’m not going to give up on this team.”

Yost does not deserve any upgrades either. He got a great hitting coach fired, and has coddled his “achieve nothing players”.  Yost has mismanaged the resources provided by Moore, and has never displayed the mental agility required to reinvent a team, or its approach, on the fly.

This can still be an intriguing year that moves the organization forward.  This team is slightly above average, and can stay mathematically relevant for a while. That is good experience for young players to acquire.  Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy can continue their maturation as starters.  The organization can get the proof they need that Mike Moustakas is not a viable big league starter, and get a grasp on Eric Hosmer‘s real value.  Both guys have shortened their swings as of late.  Who knows, maybe those two can have a different story next season.  It seems dumb and it will sting to miss out on the players that could be acquired by trading James Shields, but they shouldn’t trade him.  I would rather see Moore and Yost sleep in the bed they have made, begging Glass to remove them both at season’s end.

It’s July 23rd and the time for action has passed.  This team should be placed in a cast for the remainder of 2014, so it can be stronger come 2015.  For those who believe in this year’s team, you can crow your hearts out if they make it over the hump.  That would be wonderful.  If they miss the post season, those yearning for regime change may get their wish. Regardless of the final result, this is the right plan.