KC Royals: Oops Ned Did It Again In Cleveland Loss

More Bad Decisions By Ned Yost

There’s where more of Yost’s decisions come into play. To be fair, Paulo Orlando may have been due a night off. His 14-game hit streak ended Wednesday night, and Yost made comments that he had wanted to give Orlando a break  but not during his streak.

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That’s probably good management. But why bring him into a game in the ninth inning? Orlando’s mistake in right field proved to be crucial in Cleveland’s win.

Finally, there is the matter of Wade Davis. This subject is a little touchier and Yost said after the loss if there is any hesitation in a reliever, he will not use him. Fine. Davis had thrown in the previous two games and three of the past four games. Then again, that’s his job with the KC Royals and he does it as well as anyone in the game.

Instead, Yost went with Joakim Soria. A guy we cringed at after a rough April, Soria settled in with a 1.35 ERA in the month of May and a shutout inning to open April Wednesday night. Unfortunately, his streak of nine-straight shutout innings came to an end with not one but two runs against Cleveland to pick up the loss.

Perhaps Soria should get some of the blame because he did not exactly do his job. But neither did Infante, and neither did Yost. And when you boil that down, it’s all on Ned. Yost took one of the hottest players out of his lineup and inserted one of the least reliable. Yost chose to keep his super-reliever parked in the garage. Yost inserted a cold Paulo Orlando in right field as a defensive replacement for a player (Reymond Fuentes) who is by not stretch of imagination  a bad fielder.

I hate to bring up bad memories, but Thursday night’s game is the reason why KC Royals fans created the #Yosted! hashtag. Though Yost is a big part of the reason why the team has enjoyed two and 1/3 years of fabulous success, he can still make some rather puzzling decisions for the Kansas City Royals. Thursday night, those decision cost the KC Royals a winnable game.

Next: Royals Report: Three Things About The Crash In Cleveland

“We basically gave a game away today,” is a proper sentiment. Unless giving games away is part of the job description, perhaps that’s something Yost should strive to cut back on.