Is there a direct message option on here? Lets just say he enjoyed 'locker room' talk. This was years ago, so he may have changed, but the interaction rubbed me the wrong way.
I'd say big time pass on that. The love for Seitzer is kind of crazy to me. As a hitting coach, his teams have had an average or better wRC+ four times out of 14 years. They've been in the top third of the league four times and in the top half of the league just seven times. I think his work as a hitting coach is way overrated, and I'm not sure there's anything he's ever done that would lead anyone to know one way or another if he'd be an even decent manager.
Interesting you feel that way about Seitzer. He sure did a good job getting Soler to turn the corner.
Don't tell me that was coincidence and not his mentoring and coaching?
Ron Washington- No thank you
Pedro Grifol- no one from DM Regime
Astros Asst- what do you like about him?
Matt Quattero- I can entertain that possibility.
Carlos Beltran- haven't liked what I've seen from managerial career so far. First ballot HOF potentially but not so sure on the coaching side.
I think Jeff Montgomery would be a good option to get involved with the minor leagues/ and pitching side of things. He would have to make that decision to step away from media side but I love Monty's intensity, passion, and knowledge of the baseball side of things. Would be an interesting hire but gotta be better than Cal Eldred.
Would Billy Beane ever leave Oakland if he were given ownership stake in another MLB team?
The idea that Soler was trash for the Royals and then immediately turned things around with the Braves is one of the more puzzling things I see out there consistently. He went to Mike Tosar with the Royals at the break and then hit six homers in 12 games which is what allowed the Royals to trade him at all.
I like Espada because he has forward thinking ideas and has been there with both AJ Hinch and Dusty Baker who are successful managers but go about things in very different ways. He's been able to relay analytical messaging while also getting nothing but rave reviews from those who works with and his players.
As for Beltran's managerial career, it lasted exactly zero games, so there's nothing to like or dislike about it, but many people smarter than me are still very high on him as a manager and I'd be curious to see it.
And I'd never say never, but I'd have a very hard time believing Beane would leave Oakland for KC, even if they offered him the whole team.
Soler had a huge ceiling and that is the reason why Dayton made the Move in 2017.
That being said....we would have made the playoffs again in 2017 if Wader would have been on our roster.
It was a mystery what Happened to Soler outside of the 2019 season. That trade was a big dud.
Mike Boddicker was very telling in the BP this morning. He said the organization(coaches and front office Personnel)have been Pouring WAYYYYYY TOO much information to the players everyday for them to consume it and actually perform on the field at a winning level.
Hearing that from someone that was very successful in the big leagues for longer than a cup of coffee is a good sign that there needs to be changes made sooner rather than later.
Honestly the answer to the Royals failures is simple. This game is a simple game.......You throw the ball, field/catch the ball, and hit the ball.
It's Simple.
Love your content man. Would love to have a beer with ya and pick your brain out at the K.
You're really into the analytics side of things which I respect immensely.
Hard for an old bum college ball player to adjust to what the game has become but you've a student of the game for as long as I've listened to you on radio or read your material.
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.
Yeah, I mean if they can pry Snyder away, sure, but that's a lateral move that I wouldn't even consider if I was him. In some ways it feels worse, but in others, it feels like if they can get the right people in place to get the most out of the talent, it could be a quick turnaround. I mean you can think about a lineup with BWJ, Melendez, Pratto, Pasquantino, Salvy and some others and a pitching staff with very real talent and see how it turns quick if they can just get the guys moving in the right direction like this group doesn't seem to be capable of.
You're right -- "worse" is the wrong descriptor, "frustrating" is a better term. The 2004-06 teams had NO talent whatsoever, but the building blocks are here now with the right leadership and development (which is the frustrating part).
Regarding Snyder, surely we could outbid the notoriously cheap Rays to bring him home -- not saying that we should, just that it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
I'm sure they could outbid them and maybe that's all it would take, but I would rather make what is surely still hundreds of thousands of dollars and be seen as a guru just by being there than risk my reputation some by leaving for a little more money.
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.
Sure, that's absolutely true that teams not scoring look listless and losing isn't fun in any way. But they don't have to be manager-less. Salvy and Whit seem to be writing their names in the lineup, so just let them handle it all.
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.
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.
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.
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. :)
While I understand what you're saying about losing the faith in the talent, who has a shot to be a part of, let's say, the 2024 Royals who you don't think is talented? Witt and Melendez have shown quite a bit. We haven't seen Pratto or Pasquantino yet, but they're big parts in our minds. I think Rivera, Isbel and Olivares are still incomplete, but they've all shown something. Pitching-wise, you mentioned Lynch and Singer. That's a start. Bubic and Hernandez were the best of the young pitchers statistically in 2021. I don't think that just disappeared. I think anyone who doesn't see "it" in Dylan Coleman isn't watching. Maybe he doesn't get there because of control, but you can see how you'd want to give him every chance in the world.
Santana is bad. He'll be gone soon enough. O'Hearn is bad. He'll be gone soon enough. Whit Merrifield is in big-time decline, though he has played well enough lately. If Dayton is around, Whit probably will be too, but if not, I can't imagine a new GM holds on to Whit. Like I said, to question the talent is understandable, but there's not a single player younger than 27 who I would write off at this point and many of them are showing or have shown they belong.
It’s not that there isn’t talent. It’s that is “our” talent better than the other MLB clubs that all have talent as well. If that makes sense. I’m not trying to be negative actually or disagree. I’m just saying I’ve heard a lot of people say they should be better or the expectations going into the year were warranted (which isn’t even that dang high). Which might be all completely fair…but is our talent better than Clevelands, or Chicago, or Minnesota? We have talent coming but maybe we don’t have enough yet? I’m not sure I’m really making sense on my point. It’s just if we are more talented than last year how do you have the worst record in baseball? Or how can you be in the bottom five in pitching, bullpen, AND offense? I have 100% confidence improvement can come from new coaching. But does that just get you from 70 wins to 75? We still need more talent. OR the talent doesn’t work on the roster and players need to be moved. It’s a jumbled mess of a thought, but the record doesn’t reflect what people are still thinking. So maybe the thinking needs to be adjusted?
To recap in one sentence summary: If the talent is there how are they the worst team in baseball record wise closing in on half way through the year (which you have masterfully informed us HOW they are all year…but its made me start to question the consensus view).
They obviously need to add more good players but all of this points to a leadership issue and that’s why I think there needs to be a change. And by doing it nowish, it allows you to see how much is actually needed to get to the next level.
Yep. I know Sherman said he doesn’t want to panic but for gods sake we have to be better than the Reds who are trying to lose. If I’m Sherman you have to sit and look at this and say….It’s front office, its coaching, AND its the players. And you’ve actually got to do something to show that this isn’t acceptable. Replacing all now, AND moving a piece or two on the roster certainly sends that message in a clear way. They won’t, its the Royals….but you’ll have more material at least. One day, you’ll have good things to write about again….one day.
May be a bit early yet. But have you heard anything on attendance concerns from people around the Royals? 10-12k during the summer can’t be sitting well with Sherman.
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.
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.
I think the hate for Sherman has gone way too far personally. I wrote this the other day, but everything he's done to this point has made sense. If he wasn't going to clean house immediately and wanted to spend time evaluating, 2020 was a waste of a year and there was an awful lot to like in 2021, at least in the front office and organizationally. They improved their record, played a tough schedule well down the stretch and the minor leagues were taking off. The change in offensive development was apparent and they were winning up and down the minors. So now we're roughly one-third of the way through the next year. That's not very much time for the big picture. If this continues, and by this I mean anything, and Sherman doesn't make a move, he's disinterested. We'll have a much better idea about him on December 7 than we do on June 7 is my point here.
Also, they're not moving from Kansas City. I'd bet you any sum of money or any worldly possession about that.
I agree with your comments on Sherman. Hate is too strong of a word. I don't think he is hated, but as I mentioned, he seems disinterested. A reassurance from him that he is on it and evaluating the situation would go a long way. Any chance Dayton will just resign? Work out a severance package to save face and go away? I think you are probably right about the team staying in KC, but stranger things have happened. In any case, there is no reason to stay the course and suffer till everybody concerned has their contract just expire. Thanks for your reply.
He did do an interview with Vahe a few days ago talking about how he wanted to be patient but is also evaluating. I just don’t think it’s fair to say he’s even disinterested and I’m partially to blame for that thought as I didn’t really consider everything before I wrote last week. I would say the only way Dayton resigns is if he’s told he can either resign or be fired.
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.
Neither would I care, but really if he was let go now, he wouldn't have had much of a chance to change things. Eldred is the main one who has to go!!!!!!!
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.
His point, which I actually agreed with, isn't that it's not hard, but that it's not the same work most people do. They work very hard, but they get to play baseball for a living.
Billy Owens would be a big NO from me. Coming from someone that has been around him before.
Interesting. I assume it'd be tough to elaborate on that?
Is there a direct message option on here? Lets just say he enjoyed 'locker room' talk. This was years ago, so he may have changed, but the interaction rubbed me the wrong way.
You can respond directly to the email, but also it's not a huge deal. I'm just curious! That's interesting to know.
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.
I'd say big time pass on that. The love for Seitzer is kind of crazy to me. As a hitting coach, his teams have had an average or better wRC+ four times out of 14 years. They've been in the top third of the league four times and in the top half of the league just seven times. I think his work as a hitting coach is way overrated, and I'm not sure there's anything he's ever done that would lead anyone to know one way or another if he'd be an even decent manager.
Interesting you feel that way about Seitzer. He sure did a good job getting Soler to turn the corner.
Don't tell me that was coincidence and not his mentoring and coaching?
Ron Washington- No thank you
Pedro Grifol- no one from DM Regime
Astros Asst- what do you like about him?
Matt Quattero- I can entertain that possibility.
Carlos Beltran- haven't liked what I've seen from managerial career so far. First ballot HOF potentially but not so sure on the coaching side.
I think Jeff Montgomery would be a good option to get involved with the minor leagues/ and pitching side of things. He would have to make that decision to step away from media side but I love Monty's intensity, passion, and knowledge of the baseball side of things. Would be an interesting hire but gotta be better than Cal Eldred.
Would Billy Beane ever leave Oakland if he were given ownership stake in another MLB team?
The idea that Soler was trash for the Royals and then immediately turned things around with the Braves is one of the more puzzling things I see out there consistently. He went to Mike Tosar with the Royals at the break and then hit six homers in 12 games which is what allowed the Royals to trade him at all.
I like Espada because he has forward thinking ideas and has been there with both AJ Hinch and Dusty Baker who are successful managers but go about things in very different ways. He's been able to relay analytical messaging while also getting nothing but rave reviews from those who works with and his players.
As for Beltran's managerial career, it lasted exactly zero games, so there's nothing to like or dislike about it, but many people smarter than me are still very high on him as a manager and I'd be curious to see it.
And I'd never say never, but I'd have a very hard time believing Beane would leave Oakland for KC, even if they offered him the whole team.
Soler had a huge ceiling and that is the reason why Dayton made the Move in 2017.
That being said....we would have made the playoffs again in 2017 if Wader would have been on our roster.
It was a mystery what Happened to Soler outside of the 2019 season. That trade was a big dud.
Mike Boddicker was very telling in the BP this morning. He said the organization(coaches and front office Personnel)have been Pouring WAYYYYYY TOO much information to the players everyday for them to consume it and actually perform on the field at a winning level.
Hearing that from someone that was very successful in the big leagues for longer than a cup of coffee is a good sign that there needs to be changes made sooner rather than later.
Honestly the answer to the Royals failures is simple. This game is a simple game.......You throw the ball, field/catch the ball, and hit the ball.
It's Simple.
Love your content man. Would love to have a beer with ya and pick your brain out at the K.
You're really into the analytics side of things which I respect immensely.
Hard for an old bum college ball player to adjust to what the game has become but you've a student of the game for as long as I've listened to you on radio or read your material.
GodSpeed for Our Royals man
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.
Yeah, I mean if they can pry Snyder away, sure, but that's a lateral move that I wouldn't even consider if I was him. In some ways it feels worse, but in others, it feels like if they can get the right people in place to get the most out of the talent, it could be a quick turnaround. I mean you can think about a lineup with BWJ, Melendez, Pratto, Pasquantino, Salvy and some others and a pitching staff with very real talent and see how it turns quick if they can just get the guys moving in the right direction like this group doesn't seem to be capable of.
You're right -- "worse" is the wrong descriptor, "frustrating" is a better term. The 2004-06 teams had NO talent whatsoever, but the building blocks are here now with the right leadership and development (which is the frustrating part).
Regarding Snyder, surely we could outbid the notoriously cheap Rays to bring him home -- not saying that we should, just that it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
I'm sure they could outbid them and maybe that's all it would take, but I would rather make what is surely still hundreds of thousands of dollars and be seen as a guru just by being there than risk my reputation some by leaving for a little more money.
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.
Sure, that's absolutely true that teams not scoring look listless and losing isn't fun in any way. But they don't have to be manager-less. Salvy and Whit seem to be writing their names in the lineup, so just let them handle it all.
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.
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.
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
Best image of the day. Thank you!
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.
Great article. How much fun would it be if the Royals replaced Matheny with interim coach Rusty Kuntz?
Oh that would be incredible. Don’t see it happening, but it would be very fun.
"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.
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. :)
While I understand what you're saying about losing the faith in the talent, who has a shot to be a part of, let's say, the 2024 Royals who you don't think is talented? Witt and Melendez have shown quite a bit. We haven't seen Pratto or Pasquantino yet, but they're big parts in our minds. I think Rivera, Isbel and Olivares are still incomplete, but they've all shown something. Pitching-wise, you mentioned Lynch and Singer. That's a start. Bubic and Hernandez were the best of the young pitchers statistically in 2021. I don't think that just disappeared. I think anyone who doesn't see "it" in Dylan Coleman isn't watching. Maybe he doesn't get there because of control, but you can see how you'd want to give him every chance in the world.
Santana is bad. He'll be gone soon enough. O'Hearn is bad. He'll be gone soon enough. Whit Merrifield is in big-time decline, though he has played well enough lately. If Dayton is around, Whit probably will be too, but if not, I can't imagine a new GM holds on to Whit. Like I said, to question the talent is understandable, but there's not a single player younger than 27 who I would write off at this point and many of them are showing or have shown they belong.
It’s not that there isn’t talent. It’s that is “our” talent better than the other MLB clubs that all have talent as well. If that makes sense. I’m not trying to be negative actually or disagree. I’m just saying I’ve heard a lot of people say they should be better or the expectations going into the year were warranted (which isn’t even that dang high). Which might be all completely fair…but is our talent better than Clevelands, or Chicago, or Minnesota? We have talent coming but maybe we don’t have enough yet? I’m not sure I’m really making sense on my point. It’s just if we are more talented than last year how do you have the worst record in baseball? Or how can you be in the bottom five in pitching, bullpen, AND offense? I have 100% confidence improvement can come from new coaching. But does that just get you from 70 wins to 75? We still need more talent. OR the talent doesn’t work on the roster and players need to be moved. It’s a jumbled mess of a thought, but the record doesn’t reflect what people are still thinking. So maybe the thinking needs to be adjusted?
To recap in one sentence summary: If the talent is there how are they the worst team in baseball record wise closing in on half way through the year (which you have masterfully informed us HOW they are all year…but its made me start to question the consensus view).
They obviously need to add more good players but all of this points to a leadership issue and that’s why I think there needs to be a change. And by doing it nowish, it allows you to see how much is actually needed to get to the next level.
Yep. I know Sherman said he doesn’t want to panic but for gods sake we have to be better than the Reds who are trying to lose. If I’m Sherman you have to sit and look at this and say….It’s front office, its coaching, AND its the players. And you’ve actually got to do something to show that this isn’t acceptable. Replacing all now, AND moving a piece or two on the roster certainly sends that message in a clear way. They won’t, its the Royals….but you’ll have more material at least. One day, you’ll have good things to write about again….one day.
May be a bit early yet. But have you heard anything on attendance concerns from people around the Royals? 10-12k during the summer can’t be sitting well with Sherman.
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.
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.
I think the hate for Sherman has gone way too far personally. I wrote this the other day, but everything he's done to this point has made sense. If he wasn't going to clean house immediately and wanted to spend time evaluating, 2020 was a waste of a year and there was an awful lot to like in 2021, at least in the front office and organizationally. They improved their record, played a tough schedule well down the stretch and the minor leagues were taking off. The change in offensive development was apparent and they were winning up and down the minors. So now we're roughly one-third of the way through the next year. That's not very much time for the big picture. If this continues, and by this I mean anything, and Sherman doesn't make a move, he's disinterested. We'll have a much better idea about him on December 7 than we do on June 7 is my point here.
Also, they're not moving from Kansas City. I'd bet you any sum of money or any worldly possession about that.
I agree with your comments on Sherman. Hate is too strong of a word. I don't think he is hated, but as I mentioned, he seems disinterested. A reassurance from him that he is on it and evaluating the situation would go a long way. Any chance Dayton will just resign? Work out a severance package to save face and go away? I think you are probably right about the team staying in KC, but stranger things have happened. In any case, there is no reason to stay the course and suffer till everybody concerned has their contract just expire. Thanks for your reply.
He did do an interview with Vahe a few days ago talking about how he wanted to be patient but is also evaluating. I just don’t think it’s fair to say he’s even disinterested and I’m partially to blame for that thought as I didn’t really consider everything before I wrote last week. I would say the only way Dayton resigns is if he’s told he can either resign or be fired.
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.
I'm fine with just DM going and letting JJ have a shot, but honestly I don't really care either way if it's one or both.
Neither would I care, but really if he was let go now, he wouldn't have had much of a chance to change things. Eldred is the main one who has to go!!!!!!!
Eldred obviously, but if this clubhouse stuff is as bad as it sounds, Matheny might actually be the more important one to go.
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.
His point, which I actually agreed with, isn't that it's not hard, but that it's not the same work most people do. They work very hard, but they get to play baseball for a living.
I would add Raul Ibanez to the managers list.