50 Comments
Jun 7, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Billy Owens would be a big NO from me. Coming from someone that has been around him before.

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KEVIN SEITZER for manager. He needs the opportunity and resides in leawood. When we get a new President/GM.....we need to go after Kevin.

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Well-said, agree with every word. I know there are those that want to burn it all down immediately, but it is really hard to make front office moves at this time of year (although I am in favor of them at the end of the year). BUT, Matheny and Eldred need to be gone immediately, and I like the Grifol as interim approach and then let the new front office hire the permanent candidate in the off season.

Another pitching coach candidate would be former Royal Kyle Snyder with the Rays.

This feels way worse than the 2004-2006 period, because at least then you knew it was because we had a cheap owner and a hamstrung GM, the organnization was in shambles and the Moneyball approach was just starting. Now, we have a good ownership group (I think) and know what is possible because lots of well-run small-market franchises are competitive consistently and the Royals reached the pinnacle in 2014 and 2015, so it just feels like stubborn incompetence and refusal to change.

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Seventeen wins exactly two months into the season can't be fun for anyone, and I know that a team that isn't scoring usually looks listless (chicken-and-egg, perhaps?). But man, these dudes look really down, and I think that a completely manager-less clubhouse would be better than what's going on now. Of course, MLB won't allow that--see what they did when Ted Turner tried to manager the Braves in 1977.

But you're spot on, and you put it down in words the way that I couldn't think to do: I'm concerned that the current state of the organization will actually have a negative, and not zero, impact on players upon whom we are depending to carry fandom back to the promised land.

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Jun 7, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I always brought up the Soler trade when it came to the issues with the coaching staff (at least until this year now that the problem very clearly resides with Cal). In KC, through 94, he was hitting .192 with 13 HRs and a .658 OPS. For being the HR leader the year before, what happened? At that point it was kind of unclear, at least to me. So he gets traded to Atlanta: through 55, just over half of what he played in KC, .269, 14HRs, .882OPS. Some people argued that mentality may have been the issue, hard to get motivated to try for a team on pace to win 70 games, but what I saw was different coaching. Yeah, motivation might account for a .050 increase in BA and .100 in OPS; but Soler went from HR king in 2020, to basically a warm body on the bench in '21 *cries a little realizing our current bench has about a half dozen of those "warm bodies"* to getting traded to Atlanta and becoming WS MVP in 55 games. I'm sorry, that's not a change of scenery, that's coaching. All that being said, that was the first shade of red I saw to realize who was to blame and it certainly wasn't the talent. What I like even more, and actually hadn't even thought about, is you pointing out the improvement from several of our guys *just by going up to Omaha for a bit.* Literally is the damning-est piece of evidence against our coaching staff right now (Eldred needs to be gone, like, yesterday, and I agree Matheny needs to be circling the drain as well). These guys are staying in the same organization, just changing who they talk to every day and who "helps" them, and they're coming bacn refreshed and, well, not *fixed* but definitely better off than they left and that should tell anyone everything they need to know about where the problem lies *hint hint* it's clearly not up in Omaha. The anecdote about Keller and the camera in Boston was kind of funny, if not painfully so. The dejected dugout is definitely a concern too. Last night, sitting a handful of seats away from it in crown club, you could feel the mood shift from Lynch's first three shutout innings to the 7th or so when our offense wasn't producing at all. Even Perez's seemingly permanent smile had turned into a bit of a scowl. What Matheny said *should* be right. It's a game, have fun playing it, but it's extremely hard to have fun when you're a hair's breadth away from being resigned to losing a game before you've even played it, which, even with mediocre coaching, to use the semi-famous words of Mike Polk: "it is statistically harder for a team to be this consistently bad, than it is for them to ocassionally, accidentally be good." There's a reason for that.

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I 'member the 2003 team. Only decent team from late 80's to 2014. Matheny backfired, and I dont think Boone is really that good. We have no pitching! Sometimes luck be the Lady... in meantime Matheny is trying but everything is backfiring. Maybe a change is what is needed - NOW, GM too.

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Jun 7, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Imagining Matheny like David Puddy getting himself fired up for the New Jersey Devils playoff game in that one Seinfeld episode.

LET'S GET IT ON! LET'S GO ROYALS! LET'S GO ROYALS!

https://youtu.be/MrqieNRwD10

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Jun 7, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I say start at the top. Then get rid of the pitching coach. Then let Matheny put his own players on the field and see what happens. And if there are issues in the clubhouse he has to go and we have to get someone in there that the players can play for.

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Jun 7, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Great article. How much fun would it be if the Royals replaced Matheny with interim coach Rusty Kuntz?

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"The Royals are bad. I’m sorry. I probably should have braced you for that before I just dove right in."

Who you think you're talking to, here? We're used to them being bad. Too used to it.

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I don’t know that it really matters who the replacement is for pitching coach or manager to be honest. Put in a fill-in and figure it out in the offseason. I guess the part I’m beginning to question the most is the talent level overall here. We are getting to the point where while I believe they should be better as well……enough proof is out there to show that maybe they are what they are. I’m not saying there isn’t talent. I’m not saying they get any help from development/coaching etc. And I respect yours and other peoples opinions about what you think and hear from more sources than I’d ever have. But…they won 74 last year and are on pace for over 100 this year. I’m being oversold on the talent level of these guys or almost every player that I thought was good is having a bad year at the same time. Lol.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I also think there is talent. I’m beginning to question myself on that notion with every continued loss. I honestly am not sure if a pitcher will step forward anymore. Lynch and Singer are the most hopeful but the pitching overall is terrible. Bobby Witt, he will be good. Melendez has the talent. Salvy….but we are talking about 4-5 players in a lineup on some level and then a pitching staff full of hopefuls right now and a bullpen that is somehow not good. Besides Staumont and Barlow….IDK if they do have the talent. It’s just been a dumpster fire of a season and to the point that I want to believe they have the talent for a quick turnaround…but I’m losing faith in that quickly. :)

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KEEP THE PRESSURE ON IT WILL TAKE A GUY LIKE YOU TO KEEP THE HEAT ON AND MAYBE THERE WILL SOME BE LONG OVER DUE CHANGE. BEEN A ROYALS FAN SINCE DAY AND THIS IS THE WORST MANAGED TEAM I HAVE EVER SEEN.

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Good article David and very exploratory as well. There is no one right way to go about fixing this, but many ways that would be a big improvement over the status quo. Why fix it at all you ask? Because when a GM has been on the job 16 years and has worked on this rebuild into the 6th year, if he was any good, he wouldn't still have the worst team in baseball. He wouldn't be blocking young, exciting stars the fans want to see, but that is just the warm up. Here's the real reason he has to be let go: He has completely alienated the fan base. They hate him and by extension the entire management team. Sherman looks very much the part of the disinterested owner, and the fans are not impressed with him in the least at this point. Here's the biggest reason of all to run Dayton and friends out of town this very night. When the Royal's lease runs out at Kaufman Stadium in a few years, they can move downtown, true, but they can also move to San Antonio or Charlotte, or Nashville. Moore's alienation of the fans has driven the attendance down to probably the lowest level since they have been in Kaufman. That is one thing Sherman should care about. Hit the road Dayton and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more, hit the road Dayton.

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I would love to see DM go. That would let JJ have his chance without DM looking over hi shoulder. Fire Matheny and let Pedro run the team the rest of year and see what happens. Fire Eldred and bring up the guy from AAA. He seems to work magic when the young guys go down to Omaha. Leave hitting coaches alone for at least the rest of year. This team shouldn't be this bad.

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I don't think it's not work to play a game. 162 in all kinds of weather. I think that is the worst thing I've ever heard from Matheny. Sorry, I have to finish reading your article before I comment more, but thanks for this. I didn't catch Flanny's posts last year, thank you for adding them in.

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Jun 8, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I would add Raul Ibanez to the managers list.

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