It makes you wonder how much of having more than a week off played a part in it with guys.
I’m not going into vaccine stuff so don’t delete this comment. Lol. That said…..am I the only one ready for a complete clean house. I’m not sure I’m talking about manager and pitching coach anymore. After Merrifield’s comments I’m pretty much ready for a entire clubhouse clean out. The leadership within the clubhouse is clearly not on par with the rest of the league. It’s just the losing, little pitcher improvement across the system, clear clubhouse issues, trade assets getting hurt pitching, players saying they’d get the shot if they played for a winner……I mean come on already. Merrifield, Dozier, Taylor, Benny, O’Hearn, Cam, Keller, Barlow, Staumont. All good players, but I’m good with a move on. Just start with the guys under 25 and move forward. And I’ve stopped watching them regularly and still amazed that they lose the day on a day they win. Lol.
I know we're talking about ownership billionaires here, but if the Royals had put MAT, Whit on the IL, they'd have to pay them. Now, they save a few bucks by putting them on the restricted list and get the free callup as you'd mentioned.
Nice comments. Honestly, my first response to the news so many won't make the trip to Canada is lets dump the lot before next season. There are many on that list I am a fan of, but turning your back on teammates who are making the trip says so much. When you put your own personal issues ahead of the greater good of your team, it show lack of commitment to the cause. Winning and bringing another championship to KC.
That said, I guess pitchers can be worked around, but losing BOTH catchers can't. Any continuity between them and pitchers is lost for the entire time they are across the border. How can you have a unified vision of future success, if you can't count on more than a third of your active roster to show up and play. Especially because their own personal interests are more important to them than the success of the team. The fact we have one of the worst records in baseball doesn't matter. Their recent winning record and fan interest be damned. They don't care!
Am I the only guy who has gained quite a bit of appreciation for Ryan O'Hearn in the past 18 hours or so? I mean, yeah, he sucks, but he at least seems to be the one member of the team's boys club that put the team first here.
I was sad/embarrassed/shocked when this news came out yesterday, considering no other team had more than four players that couldn't make the Canadian trip. I'm just not sure what this says about the leadership both in the organization and the clubhouse. I have advocated getting a look at some of the young guys like Garcia, Pratto, Massey, Hicklin or whoever, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.
He has only walked 18 in 71.2 IP this year, but he has two different starts in which he's walked five and only eight walks throughout the rest of the season. That's weird; I guess that on the rare occasions that he's wild, he's REALLY wild. I wonder whether there's something, mechanically or otherwise, that Brady or the coaching staff should be able to recognize that will help him in those "wild" times.
As Hunter Dozier continues to slowly but steadily drive his OPS towards .800, a familiar dilemma presents itself: Do you assume he's returning to the form of the "real Hunter Dozier," believing that last year's horrible season really was injury-driven? Or do you think "better trade him now before the next bad thing happens, because his value will likely never be higher"?
Predicting when the downslope of any particular player's career will begin is an uncertain business at best. Yes, we know what the averages are, but those averages are compiled from thousands of players, most of whom are NOT average in this respect. (Think "Billy Butler" and "Zack Greinke" at opposite ends of that continuum.)
I believe that the Royals will be able to contend for a playoff spot no sooner than 2025. Hunter will be 33 years old at the start of that season. You can make a case that he'll be a versatile and still-productive veteran and a valuable team leader at that age. You can make an equally persuasive case that his inevitable decline will be in full swing by then.
So - extend him now? Trade him now? Wait until the off-season to decide? Stand pat and hope for the best? Viewed objectively I don't think there's an obvious, clear-cut "right" answer to this question. What I do know is that it's Dayton's and JJ's job to get it right anyway.
I know that some fans have already decided one way or the other, and no amount of evidence will ever persuade them that they were wrong. But Dayton and JJ can't afford to be so arbitrary.
Jul 14, 2022·edited Jul 14, 2022Liked by David Lesky
David - thank you SO MUCH for your policy re vaccination comments! I don't know if you've seen the dumpster fire in the comments over at The Athletic or not. Never in my time as a subscriber there have I seen a topic generate so much heat and so little light!
The three articles posted there have generated more than 830 comments in less than 18 hours. None of which will change anybody's mind about anything. Meanwhile, Nate Taylor's outstanding article about the Chiefs young LB's has generated just a dozen comments in more than 24 hours. I don't think that's because there are more hardcore Royals fans than Chiefs fans right now.
I apologize if this is “vaccine related” but thank you for providing a space during this time where Royals fans can go to just discuss the baseball implications only of what this week will be like.
Until a few years ago I thought that the distance from Arrowhead to the K was just a few hundred feet. That distance seems to have been growing ever since. This latest fiasco has me convinced it should be measured in light-years.
Sorry, but players value lots of things above the team -- and they should. Nobody calls out a player who misses a series due to the birth of a child or the death of a family member. Everybody in that clubhouse knows the effectiveness of the shots.
It makes you wonder how much of having more than a week off played a part in it with guys.
I’m not going into vaccine stuff so don’t delete this comment. Lol. That said…..am I the only one ready for a complete clean house. I’m not sure I’m talking about manager and pitching coach anymore. After Merrifield’s comments I’m pretty much ready for a entire clubhouse clean out. The leadership within the clubhouse is clearly not on par with the rest of the league. It’s just the losing, little pitcher improvement across the system, clear clubhouse issues, trade assets getting hurt pitching, players saying they’d get the shot if they played for a winner……I mean come on already. Merrifield, Dozier, Taylor, Benny, O’Hearn, Cam, Keller, Barlow, Staumont. All good players, but I’m good with a move on. Just start with the guys under 25 and move forward. And I’ve stopped watching them regularly and still amazed that they lose the day on a day they win. Lol.
I know we're talking about ownership billionaires here, but if the Royals had put MAT, Whit on the IL, they'd have to pay them. Now, they save a few bucks by putting them on the restricted list and get the free callup as you'd mentioned.
Nice comments. Honestly, my first response to the news so many won't make the trip to Canada is lets dump the lot before next season. There are many on that list I am a fan of, but turning your back on teammates who are making the trip says so much. When you put your own personal issues ahead of the greater good of your team, it show lack of commitment to the cause. Winning and bringing another championship to KC.
That said, I guess pitchers can be worked around, but losing BOTH catchers can't. Any continuity between them and pitchers is lost for the entire time they are across the border. How can you have a unified vision of future success, if you can't count on more than a third of your active roster to show up and play. Especially because their own personal interests are more important to them than the success of the team. The fact we have one of the worst records in baseball doesn't matter. Their recent winning record and fan interest be damned. They don't care!
Am I the only guy who has gained quite a bit of appreciation for Ryan O'Hearn in the past 18 hours or so? I mean, yeah, he sucks, but he at least seems to be the one member of the team's boys club that put the team first here.
I was sad/embarrassed/shocked when this news came out yesterday, considering no other team had more than four players that couldn't make the Canadian trip. I'm just not sure what this says about the leadership both in the organization and the clubhouse. I have advocated getting a look at some of the young guys like Garcia, Pratto, Massey, Hicklin or whoever, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.
10 players in-eligible for playing in Canada seems like it's higher than any other team.
Looking forward to see what the call-ups would be. Maybe someone will get Wally Pipp'd.
My comment is steering back to Brady Singer:
He has only walked 18 in 71.2 IP this year, but he has two different starts in which he's walked five and only eight walks throughout the rest of the season. That's weird; I guess that on the rare occasions that he's wild, he's REALLY wild. I wonder whether there's something, mechanically or otherwise, that Brady or the coaching staff should be able to recognize that will help him in those "wild" times.
I'm very impressed, David. A frogger reference! That's strong stuff. Makes me wonder if Doc fired up the DeLorean to help out a little....😁
As Hunter Dozier continues to slowly but steadily drive his OPS towards .800, a familiar dilemma presents itself: Do you assume he's returning to the form of the "real Hunter Dozier," believing that last year's horrible season really was injury-driven? Or do you think "better trade him now before the next bad thing happens, because his value will likely never be higher"?
Predicting when the downslope of any particular player's career will begin is an uncertain business at best. Yes, we know what the averages are, but those averages are compiled from thousands of players, most of whom are NOT average in this respect. (Think "Billy Butler" and "Zack Greinke" at opposite ends of that continuum.)
I believe that the Royals will be able to contend for a playoff spot no sooner than 2025. Hunter will be 33 years old at the start of that season. You can make a case that he'll be a versatile and still-productive veteran and a valuable team leader at that age. You can make an equally persuasive case that his inevitable decline will be in full swing by then.
So - extend him now? Trade him now? Wait until the off-season to decide? Stand pat and hope for the best? Viewed objectively I don't think there's an obvious, clear-cut "right" answer to this question. What I do know is that it's Dayton's and JJ's job to get it right anyway.
I know that some fans have already decided one way or the other, and no amount of evidence will ever persuade them that they were wrong. But Dayton and JJ can't afford to be so arbitrary.
David - thank you SO MUCH for your policy re vaccination comments! I don't know if you've seen the dumpster fire in the comments over at The Athletic or not. Never in my time as a subscriber there have I seen a topic generate so much heat and so little light!
The three articles posted there have generated more than 830 comments in less than 18 hours. None of which will change anybody's mind about anything. Meanwhile, Nate Taylor's outstanding article about the Chiefs young LB's has generated just a dozen comments in more than 24 hours. I don't think that's because there are more hardcore Royals fans than Chiefs fans right now.
I apologize if this is “vaccine related” but thank you for providing a space during this time where Royals fans can go to just discuss the baseball implications only of what this week will be like.
Are all of the minor leaguers who you mentioned fully vaccinated and can get into Canada or is that still unknown?
Until a few years ago I thought that the distance from Arrowhead to the K was just a few hundred feet. That distance seems to have been growing ever since. This latest fiasco has me convinced it should be measured in light-years.
Sorry, but players value lots of things above the team -- and they should. Nobody calls out a player who misses a series due to the birth of a child or the death of a family member. Everybody in that clubhouse knows the effectiveness of the shots.
At 2:30 today, Dayton said on the radio - in regard to the front office and coaches - that "all of our key leaders are vaccinated."
2 hours later came word that Cal Eldred is not vaccinated. Draw your own conclusions.