Has Anyone Seen Billy Butler Lately?

Remember, remember, the Eighth of September!

Okay, so maybe that does not have the same cadence that the English folk verse commemorating Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up British Parliament in 1605, but it serves our purposes. So, why is it that we are remembering this date? Well, because that marked the last time that Billy Butler was seen upon the field of play for the Kansas City Royals.

Yes, Butler has been struggling as of late, with only one hit in his last twenty at bats. He appeared to be wearing down after a hot stretch once he began playing at first base, and with the return of Eric Hosmer and the presence of players such as Josh Willingham and Raul Ibanez, was likely to see a decrease in his playing time. However, Butler has had all of four at bats since the fifth of September, when he was 0-4 with an RBI.

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Billy Butler has certainly struggled over the past few weeks, posting a .151/.237/.283 batting line since August 20th. However, he is hardly the only member of the Royals lineup to go into a prolonged slump. It practically took an act of Congress to get Mike Moustakas out of the lineup at the start of the year, and that was with Danny Valencia n the roster.

Of course, it may be that Butler has some undisclosed injury which is keeping him out of the lineup. That would certainly explain his struggles, and why he has all but vanished into the nether realms. Or, it could just be that Butler is not one of the perceived sacred cows, and therefore finds himself in the doghouse more frequently than Snoopy.

Even though the Royals have plenty of options at designated hitter, they need Billy Butler to be back in the lineup producing as the Butler of old. They need to get Butler going once again before the postseason begins. That is not going to happen with him wearing a hole on the bench and picking splinters from his backside.

If someone has located Billy Butler, please return him to the Royals lineup and remind Ned Yost that he exists. The Royals need him.