As bad as a situation like this may be, what would you think about this individual if he had made almost the same exact mistake previously, and learned absolutely nothing from the experience?  You might say he was a mad lunatic, hell-bent on self destruction.  You might think he was a subversive implant on a mission to destroy.  You might say his name is Dayton Moore.

Let me take you back a few years to explain how we got to Dayton Moore’s last stand.  No doubt you are aware that Dayton Moore spent the first several years of his administrative baseball career with the Atlanta Braves.  After becoming the Royals General Manager in 2006, he made three trades with his former organization within about a year, sending a couple of guys you never heard of plus Octavio Dotel to the Braves in exchange for another guy you never heard of plus Tony Pena, Jr. and “dum, dum, DUMMMM!” (that’s my weak attempt at ominous movie mood music), Kyle Davies.

You remember Kyle Davies, right?  He’s the guy that many believe is possibly the worst starting pitcher in the history of the major leagues, by a long shot.  And what normally happens when a team brings up a pitcher who goes down in flames on the mound?  If he’s had success in the minors, as Davies did, they’ll probably give him a few chances, several more starts to get accustomed to the speed and talent level in the majors.  If he still isn’t successful, the player will soon be demoted back to AAA or released.  But that’s not what happened with Kyle.

In 2007, Davies came to the Royals in mid-season, pitched 50 innings and posted a 6.66 era.  Let that soak in for a moment – a 6.66 era.  To put that in perspective, the Royals current embarrassing group of starting pitchers all have era’s of 5.50 or less.

What do you think was the result of Davies near historically poor performance in 2007?  Was he chased out of Kauffman and demoted to Omaha?  Was he placed on the waiver wire?  No, he was shockingly rewarded with another season in the Royals rotation.  And another.  And another.  And another, until July 2011 when the Royals finally gave Kyle and his 5.59 lifetime era his walking papers.  And by the way, Luke Hochevar’s lifetime era is 5.29 – don’t get me started.  That will need to be the subject of a future story.

Do you remember how Dayton Moore was mercilessly vilified for his decision to keep running Kyle Davies out to the mound year, after year, after year?  Kyle had only one somewhat promising season in 2008 when he threw for a 4.06 era, and Dayton rode that train of possibility all the way to the end of the line and beyond.  There really is no explanation for the blinders DM wore when reviewing Davies unless you believe he simply could not admit he had made a mistake.  He was like the man who keeps doubling down at the roulette wheel thinking the odds have to land in his favor eventually.

Dayton Moore will need to make a decision soon about Jeff Francoeur (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

History appears to be repeating itself with Jeff Francoeur.  If you don’t know this already, Frenchy is another product of the Atlanta Braves system that DM is so fond of.  I think Moore believes so strongly that the Braves talent evaluation process is infallible that he refuses to give up on any product of their system until his reluctance to do the right thing drives the Royals fan base to the brink of insanity.

Jeff Francoeur was a first round pick of the Braves in 2002.  He was relatively successful in the minor leagues, although he never lit the world on fire anywhere he went.  He eventually received a call-up to the majors in 2005, as all first round picks eventually do, whether they deserve it or not.

Francoeur has shown flashes of promise, particularly in his 2007 season when he batted .293 with 105 RBIs.   However, “flash” is a particularly accurate description of Frenchy’s talent.  For example, during a couple of his full seasons in the majors, he has batted .239 in 2008, .249 in 2010, and he strikes out a whopping 118 times per year.  Aside from the fact that he may have the greatest outfield arm of our generation, there is very little to like about Francoeur’s performance.  Yes he has a great attitude, yes he is a clubhouse leader, yes he purchases pizza for the fans in the bleachers, yes he had one respectable recent season in a Royals uniform, yada, yada, yada…  But you know what?  That simply isn’t good enough.

Wil Myers will eventually be the Royals right fielder. Well, someday, right? (Credit: Mindy Haas)

I am sick and dang tired of the Royals settling for mediocrity.  If a player isn’t cutting it, then trade him, demote him, or DFA him – I don’t care what you do and I don’t care how much money you’re paying him, just get him off the field.  Particularly when he’s blocking the path of a young stud like Wil Myers.  I know Wil has struggled since the All Star break, but you might struggle too if you had put up super-human numbers, led the minor leagues in home runs and done everything expected of you to receive your call-up, and then the promotion never came because Dayton Moore’s favorite son inexplicably continues to play every day.

Once upon a time, Dayton Moore made a stand with Kyle Davies.  I don’t think any of us truly understand why he did it, or why he didn’t learn anything from the experience.  It appears that he is making another stand now with Jeff Francoeur.  Except this time, based on the teams’ underwhelming performance and lack of any real direction or focus, it could be Dayton Moore’s last stand.

• On Sunday C-John Buck was placed on the 15-day DL with a lower back injury. To take his place on the roster the Royals called up C-Brayan Pena from Triple-A Omaha. I’m hoping Pena tears the cover off the ball so he sticks on the roster and Buck is the one sent packing when he’s ready to come off the DL. The Royals got Pena through waivers once already this season. I doubt it will happen again. Buck, on the other hand, will almost assuredly clear waivers if he’s put out there. Buck was hitting .226/.313/.452 at the time of his injury which is actually a slight improvement over the previous 2 seasons, but he has never hit higher than .245. On top of unimpressive offensive numbers, he is making $2.9 million this season and is throwing out less than 10% of baserunners on the season. He has no business remaining with the Royals at this point.
• Speaking of players who have no business on the ML roster, Tony Pena Jr. was activated from the 15-day DL on Tuesday. Pena takes the place of Coco Crisp who was placed on the bereavement list following the death of his great-grandmother. Unable to resist the charms of TPJ, Hillman has started him 2 straight games and Pena has responded by going 1-6 and raised his average to .059. As far as Crisp goes, it sucks that his great-grandmother died, but the extra time off should help him rest his shoulder. Since Hillman apparently refuses to hit DeJesus at leadoff, the Royals need Crisp back as soon as possible. I cannot handle another game with Bloomquist or Maier hitting leadoff.
• Also coming off the DL on Tuesday was Joakim Soria. Based on the team’s performance since he hit the DL, it would be easy to overstate what Soria means to the Royals pitching staff. Whether he is completely healthy or not, I’ll take the Mexicutioner at 75-85% over the rest of the pen at 100%. To make room for Soria on the roster, the Royals placed Sidney Ponson on the 15-day DL with a “right forearm strain.” Ponson said he felt the pain during his appearance against the White Sox last Friday. Whether or not he is really hurt, and I doubt he is, this injury does not excuse the fact that he has been flat-out terrible for most of the season. Ponson is yet another example of a player that should not be on a major league roster.
• Mike Aviles traveled to Los Angeles on Tuesday to get a second opinion on his right forearm. You may recall that I questioned the legitimacy of Aviles’ injury a few weeks ago. Well, I was wrong and I formally apologize to Mike Aviles and the Royals for questioning their motives in this instance. Aviles was to be seen by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum. Anytime a player goes to see Dr. Yocum or Dr. Andrews things are not looking up. Hopefully they can figure out what the problem is and get it fixed. The Royals need Aviles on the field and playing at a high level. When he is playing well he is the spark that this team is desperately missing right now.
• Saturday’s TBA starting pitcher figures to be Luke Hochevar. Since he was sent down he has pitched 8.0 innings giving up 13 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, and 6 SO. I’m still a big believer in Hoch, but I can’t help but wonder if bringing up Lenny DiNardo to take the bullet would be the better long-term move. In 52.0 IP for Omaha this season, DiNardo has a 3.29 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 3.90 SO/BB. We might be seeing DiNardo anyway since Bannister got rocked again tonight. On May 7th BB’s ERA hit 1.48. Since that night it has steadily climbed and now sits at 4.80. He has now allowed 57 H and 19 BB in 52.0 IP for the Royals this season. For the most part he kept it together for 5 starts this season, but he has been destroyed ever since.
• In tonight’s 9-0 loss the Royals were down 4-0 after 2 innings, 8-0 after 4 innings, and managed only 2 hits in 29 AB. Ugh!