41 Comments
Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Great article. Like you I was disappointed with Dayton's comments in reference to solid work by 3 of the best baseball journalists in the business (BTW - all 3 have long-standing deep knowledge of the Royals). There's an old saying - "nothing changes if nothing changes" and I hope Mr. Sherman subscribes to this philosophy. I agree that come Oct. 6 we will find out what kind of ownership we have and we can only hope that the goal is excellence and not mediocrity. Significant change is required top to bottom and it could not be more obvious.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

It gets harder and harder to watch this mis managed team on a daily basis. I could drive an hour and watch a ream with half the talent play a lot better in Baltimore, haven’t like them since Angelos took over. I miss Earl and his masterful management. I can’t wait to see Matheny, Eldred and the rest of this staff canned. Why didn’t they just DFA O’Hearm and keep Pratto up. Will they suck up the 2 years left on Dozier contract. This team is playing with no heart, desire, motivation and soul, just going through the motions. Moving forward, no shift- averages and ERA’s on the increase, roboumps - more walks. Pitching clock - force a rhythm into some pitchers. I honestly believe with better coaching the younger pitchers would be throwing better.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I’m tired of hearing Dayton speak. Every time he’s talked this year its been something where you scratch your head and say “really”? Appreciate the teams he put together in 13-16….but its time for some new blood in it.

Not a lot to add at this point other than thank you for the reminder that change “should” happen in a few weeks. I’ll be very, very disappointed if it doesn’t include change in all levels at this stage.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Thank you, David, for your piece on Dayton Moore. Great stuff as always. I hope Mr. Moore, comes to the realization (and his senses) that for the Kansas City Royals and Royals fans, it's time for him to step down (or be fired) and put some new blood in his place. Mr. Sherman, what do you really want? It seems as though you have had time to evaluate this team and top management.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Great article as always! Mr. Sherman, as a business man, your success has been result oriented. By not seeing results after a billion dollar investment, what are you going to do? Mr. Moore may be a quality human being, but the overall lack of success, excluding 2 WS appearances, dictate change. When pitchers leave the organization and find success, Jorge Lopez becoming an all star, or other teams stating Royals pitchers would be successful under other tutelage, will changes be made or continue using the excuse your a small market team. Mr. Sherman, I surely hope we begin to see what was accomplished in Cleveland. Pretty sure that won't happen under the current leadership.

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I loved this recap and the critique of Dayton's words. I could find no fault with McCullough, Lewis and Dodd's work in the Athletic. Whether it's you or those other writers, you put the games into words and you make help me feel closer to the game, and you reveal its culture--the good, the not-so-good and the seamy underbelly.

When I first became a Royals fan (so sue me, yes, it was 2014!), I hung out online with a bunch of people who hung on Dayton Moore's every word. I thought he did a lot of magical thinking, and was a little too religious for my tastes, but becoming a fan and watching the team was so exciting, I figured I could stand him. It felt like having an in-law whom I could sort of tolerate. Well right now, he sounds like someone who wants to take his leave and I wish he would.

It really hurt my pride as a fan to learn that in the minors, data and coaching, the information you would need was not accessible. Whether the team needs people who can interpret the numbers and data in way that can be understood, internalized, or just better technology, Sherman needs to -- and I hope because he understands the business -- make a lot of changes.

I'm not voting for downtown stadium until I see those changes.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Not sure any manager wins with this roster, particularly the pitching. Not exactly sure what people want Matheny to do here when everyone is awful. He's had 1 normal year. Don't really understand the hate.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Nothing like a .400 winning pct over 5 years to bring out a spirit of criticism.....

Professional sports are about results. And not results from 7 years ago. The results speak for themselves. Its time someone is held accountable.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

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With the exception of Brady Singer, who in my view pitches with tremendous focus since his recent return from Omaha, the other young pitchers on the Royals always seem somewhat deflated, i.e., broken down a little bit. Some of the comments in the Athletic commentary spoke to this issue and representatives of other teams inferred that under the guidance of other/better organizations our young pitchers would be doing much better than they are under the tutelage of the Royals coaching staff.

Given what I've seen after trading away Jacob Junis and Jorge Lopez and their productivity with other teams as compared to their respective performances with the Royals there must be significant truth to this. I really hope that John Sherman makes the changes that you allude to in your excellent commentary. Look at the organizations that consistently develop young pitchers that become successful and hire one of their assistants, someone that could help our guys starting this off season. It has to be better than what we've witnessed this season, especially this last road trip.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I agree with you.

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Excellent article!

DM is the guy whose credit for being a good guy has blurred the ability of others to assess his ability at actually doing his job. Nothing he has said this year is accurate, rather it is insulting "well those complaining about Cal have to also give him credit for Lynch" (when Lynch was hot), "anonymous sources lack integrity", all of it has been hullaballoo. It's almost as if he thinks well if I'm a good enough dude and talk about things like character, integrity, etc., then if I keep telling them the King is indeed wearing clothes, they will eventually believe me.

I hope you're right and that my prayers are finally about to be answered so I can get back to being interested in the only team I've ever cared enough to watch.

Meanwhile, Brady Singer, if you're reading - way to go kid - helluva a year and way to turn it around!

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I think the only thing Dayton missed in his pile of nonsense was yelling "FAKE NEWS!!!!" & running away. He could've saved everyone some time & hassle if he had.

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Sep 19, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Brilliant work today, David!

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Sep 20, 2022Liked by David Lesky

Personally, I feel it's unfair for JJ & Matheny to be judged until they've had a chance to perform without being under Dayton Moore's thumb. I have no doubt Dayton is a fine man who cares & works hard. While he brought us 2 World Series appearances & one title, he's also only given us 3 nonlosing seasons out of 16. That's not good enough for a franchise that went nearly 30 years without sniffing the postseason. There's too many small market/low revenue teams succeeding in being consistently competitive and not taking a decade+ to go through the rebuilding reloading cycle. Quite frankly, Dayton's meager success indicates his way is too slow & behind the times. His hand needs to be taken off the tiller. How long is he supposed to live off of 2013-2016? The club has also plunged to seldom seen depths under him. The illogical defense of his good friend, Cal Eldred defies explanation. Early season pitching & hitting were horrendous so they fired Bradshaw, improving the hitting while retaining Eldred. Meanwhile, little has improved on the pitching side as the pitching overall, remains pathetic with Dayton seizing on the slightest meager success by any of their pitchers as proof it's all fixed. It's preposterous! Eldred seems to have a negative effect on pitchers new to him. You never hear ANY of the pitchers say something was fixed because Eldred helped them. Guys are always bringing up someone outside the organization that they worked with to discover & fix flaws or teach them new pitches. Never from Eldred. He should be SO gone. JJ & Matheny might do things exactly the same with Dayton gone which would rightly punch their tickets. However, removing Dayron MIGHT result in them doing their own thing and getting desirable results. I think they deserve a chance. Also, the organization simply has to get with the 21st century and make data readily available to hitters along with increased video study & strategic ingredient. This is ridiculous! I don't have another 30 years to wait for a winner.

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Sep 20, 2022Liked by David Lesky

I've been on the record in other venues about my disappointment with how to Royals organization failed to seize the moment after 2014-'15. After the title, the Royals were a national darling & finally the "IT" team. I have to believe that period of competitiveness provided the organization with record revenues. Taking into account the team won with exciting, pedal to the metal that relied on putting the ball in play coupled with aggressive baserunning, excellent defense & a historic bullpen, to win, it was illogical to count on historic performances to continue. Back then, I felt the best way to extend the window of competitiveness was to spend some of that revenue to add to the club. Specifically, in '16, I see no reason that free agent, Max Scherzer wouldn't have signed with the defending world champion in his home state to anchor the starting staff with a beast. I also felt there might have been just enough left in the minors, coupled with cash & maybe a major leaguer to wrest Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins to add true terrorizing power to a solid lineup. If we'd gotten the desired results of extending our competitive period, we'd have had a chance to defend our crown. If it was a horrible failure, then trade those guys along with Moose, Hosmer, Cain, Escobar, Davis, etc. at the deadline and begin the next rebuild with a fully stocked minor league system. If we were in the race the entire season, you either unload during the offseason or give it until the next trade deadline to decide what to do. Instead, the organization decided to do it the Walmart way, stand pat, sit on all the increased revenue and squander their national darling status, descending into our current spiral of futility. Just my opinion but I've never been able to get any real feedback on my thoughts. I feel we finally need to start acting like we're actually in the major leagues and can maintain a level of competiveness like the Cardinals, etc.

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