Things are not going well. It’s pretty obvious. The smile and the swing you had last year seem a distant memory, and now everyone is clamoring to jump off your bandwagon from a year ago to adopt the phrase “same old Gordon”. It’s been a rough couple of months, I know, but I’m sure things will get better.

I’m not sure why it’s you, Alex, that others choose to use that phrase for. Why, there’s another player on your team that is performing exactly how he always has (not well) but everyone makes an excuse for him, because he smiles or something. You could smile too, but that’s just not how you are. People should forgive you; I forgive you. But I want my Alex back.

I want my Alex that doesn’t miss belt high fastballs. Remember when you used to get your foot down and stayed inside the ball? I do, and boy was it glorious. You were clearing the centerfield wall with plenty to spare, and lacing doubles to both gaps. You were a star; the star I always knew you could be.

Now, you’re not getting your foot down, and you’re not hitting belt high fastballs. You’re not hitting much of anything. And it’s starting to wear on people.

Sure you’ve been jerked around the lineup once you finally found a comfortable home hitting leadoff. Sure fans like to talk about how the batting order is all about comfort, and once a player finds his comfort level, the best thing a manager can do is leave him where he’s productive. But you had to know you weren’t going to hit leadoff forever, Alex. You don’t look like a leadoff hitter. Jarrod Dyson looks like a leadoff hitter. It doesn’t matter that you posted a 139 OPS+ and a .376 on-base percentage last year batting mostly leadoff, you don’t have the gift of blazing speed and singles-only power, so you were never destined to bat No. 1.

You were destined to be a star, and a star you were last year.

You were a star to the point that the team gave you a new contract worth nearly $40 million. With that kind of contract (especially in a market like Kansas City) comes expectations, the kind of expectations that cause a grown man that wears tights and a cape to berate me on Twitter.

Ignore him Alex. Ignore all of those that don’t continue to believe in you. I believe in you. I always have believed in you.

Today is the day. You’re back hitting leadoff despite Dyson’s best efforts to play his position incorrectly and knock you out of the lineup. Today is the day you get hot (as if you weren’t already. Wink.) and take back your place as this team’s best player.

Forever yours,

Kansas City

The Royalman Report, LIVE Sundays at 7 pm CST

It’s always great to get insight from baseball players, and talking with Jason Adam on the Royalman Report last night is no exception.  He discussed his preparation, his path to the big leagues and offered his personal views on the signing period after being drafted in the fifth round in 2008.

We were also joined by Jed Marshall of 810 Sports “Three Guys in a Garage” for a segment talking about the big league begginings of Johnny Giavotella and Mike Moustakas.

Also Troy and I discussed Blog to the K in greater depth.  Check out his special edition of that event, including the “we won’t out-talent anybody” quote (and its context) by Dayton Moore.

Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3 here.

If you happen to be a musician and would like to have your music featured on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email info@royalmanreport.com.  Similarly, if you would like your business to be mentioned on the air to our listeners, contact the show at the same number.

If you’re the type that prefers to see the in-studio video stream…check it out below:

(more…)

We were joined in studio by Chris Kamler (best known as @fakenedyost on Twitter) and hilarity, predictably, ensued.

Click the embedded player below to listen or you can download the mp3 here.

The Royalman Report is hosted by Troy “Royalman” Olsen with co-host Michael Engel and airs  live Sundays at 7 p.m. central time at RoyalmanReport.com as well as on Livestream.com/RoyalmanReport.

You can also subscribe via iTunes: JUST CLICK HERE (and iPad, iPhone, iTouch users can get the Livestream app here to watch live or archived shows).

Past episodes are available on our Podcasts page above or at RoyalmanReport.com.

Follow the Royalman Report on Twitter.  While you’re at it, track down Kings of Kauffman on Twitter as well.

Topics of discussion from this week’s show:

• A solid homestand.
• Eric Hosmer
• The timetable for other prospects and call-ups.
• The pitching staff
• Who stays, who goes? (tougher question than you’d think)
• Jeff Francoeur and intangibles
• Being Royalman

You can download the mp3 directly here.

You’ll definitely want to follow The Royalman Report on Twitter, as airtime updates will come from that account.

We appreciate your input and want to field some calls during the show.  Give us a ring at (816) 394-9578 when we go live.  You can also submit questions on Twitter to @RoyalmanReport.

Keep an eye on Twitter and we’ll look forward to hearing from you next Sunday.

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.