Royals showing their true colors?
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Last month I posted a blog titled "Good luck with this mess, Dayton Moore". The general theme in it was that Moore, the Kansas City Royals' new general manager, had inherited a cesspool of a baseball team that had sunk to such miserable lows that the spoof newspaper " The Onion" had begun poking fun at them.
Well, Moore has been on the job for about a month now, and that's not enough time to really tell what sort of difference — if any — he has made within the organization. After all, you oftentimes see teams go on winning streaks immediately after hiring a new manager before reverting back to their losing ways about a month or two later.
Anyway, getting to the point: Just a few weeks ago the Royals were by far the worst team in Major League Baseball. They were 17-48 and fighting hard to stay on pace to set baseball's all-time futility record. They were doing their darndest to AT LEAST tie the 1962 New York Mets' record of 120 losses in a season.
Then, out of the blue, something crazy happened. The Royals began interleague play. They won three straight series as they took two out of three from Houston, swept Pittsburgh and won two of three against Milwaukee. After losing two of three to Cincinnati, Kansas City won two more series against St. Louis and Minnesota.
During that span, the Royals went 12-6 and resembled a competent, competitive baseball team. Not only that, but they also climbed out of baseball's cellar. At 29-54, the Royals no longer are baseball's worst team. That distinction belongs to the 29-57 Pirates. And at 31-53, the Royals are close to overtaking the Chicago Cubs.
The question remains: Is this a typical Royals fluke? Or are the Royals simply showing their true colors now?
And if this is how the Royals really are capable of playing on a regular basis, why did it take 50 losses before they finally figured it out?
Perhaps the cupboard really isn't as bare for Dayton Moore as it once seemed. Perhaps the new GM has more to work with than we realized. If that is the case, what would you like to see Moore do to shake things up a bit and help the Royals realize their potential in, say, the FIRST week of the season instead of at the All-Star break?
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Posted by KUColBond (anonymous) on July 6, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Clean out the pitching staff and hire a new bullpen. There are a few bright spots on the current staff, but not enough to keep them afloat for an entire season. The offense put up 7 runs against one of the best, Santana, a few nights ago. The pitchers are getting the run support necessary, but about once a game they have a pitching breakdown and let the opponents get back into it. A good shut-down closer would be a huge asset to that team right now.
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on July 6, 2006 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Baseball is a subtle game, and the Royals' surge of the past month isn't "out of the blue" or an accident. He acquired a center fielder (which Baird decided we didn't need while DeJesus was hurt) and a castoff starter, and bingo, things start clicking. Baird was, by all accounts, a crackerjack scout; but it seems he continued to view the game as a scout while GM -- breaking everything down in the tiniest, quantifiable parts, player by player, without ever assembling the whole. It's clear from my view that Moore is looking the whole picture. i'm not saying the Royals haven't had a good bit of luck -- they have -- but they are playing better, they are competitive, and, well, they're in postion to be lucky. Which isn't an accident. They're no longer a joke. Just ask the Twins, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates and Astros, all of whom lost their series against the Royals since June 16. If not for the one-run victory (winning run scored in botton of eighth) by the Reds June 29, the Royals would have won six consecutive series. As it is, they've taken five of their past six.
Posted by logicsound04 (anonymous) on July 6, 2006 at 3:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Royals did something like this last year upon hiring Buddy Bell--they swept the Yanks for the first time in forever--and we all know how last season turned out...That being said, it does seem like something is different. Our younger players (DeJesus, Teahen, Buck) are starting to perform decently by MLB standard, not just by prospect standards.
It also seems like Moore intends to put together a team rather than compiling oodles of prospects and then getting worthless veterans with the hope of trading them for more prospects. I will be very intrigued to see both how this season ends and how the team looks next April.
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on July 6, 2006 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good comment, logicsound. I'm with you, and here's what I'll be watching for through the end of this season and the start of next: Be competitive.
it all just comes down to that. Play like you expect to win, and make the plays that can make that happen. Everything else follows. Obviously we'll not be competitive for the playoffs, and probably not next year, either. But the Royals CAN be competitive, in the general of sense of going out every game and doing what must be done to be in position to win, and not embarrass themselves and their fans.
That's SUCH a huge step ...
Posted by ellyn (Ellyn Angelotti) on July 6, 2006 at 5:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One of the best rec baseball sites I've seen...
www.lswbl.com/
Posted by DavidRose (anonymous) on July 6, 2006 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
NL = AAA
Royals still suck, tho.
Posted by cwrist (Chris Wristen) on July 7, 2006 at 1:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If the Royals can finish the season with just 90 losses, that would indicate a major improvement over the last 60% of the season and be a real indicator of how competitive they can be. Still, I have a hard time getting hopes up for next year given what the "next year" have ammounted to for most of the last 15 years or so for KC.
Just like the rest of you, I am curious to see what strategy Dayton Moore brings to fixing the KC baseball mess. I just hope David Glass won't stand in the way of improvement anymore because Moore has learned from the best in the business.
Posted by cwrist (Chris Wristen) on July 7, 2006 at 1:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh yeah, somebody proposed the idea to me about a week ago of the Royals basically giving Moore complete control of the organization. Curious what you all think about that. Would "complete control" be a good idea, or do you trust any of those in positions of power within the franchise to do anything right in terms of oversight?
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, Moore certainly has "complete control" over all baseball matters, or he wouldn't have taken the job. That doesn't mean -- I assume -- he gets to set the high-water mark for salaries, or that would mean he's essentially the owner, as well.
The Glass family has, without question, cheapskated thiis franchise into a sink-hole -- towards which it was listing anyway. But they certainly helped the process along.
I can sit 'n' bitch with the best of 'em and cry about KC being a AAA club, or about to head to Portland or Vegas or Austin or Memphis or wherever, but if we would care to be OBJECTIVELY HOPEFUL, perhaps we can hope that if the Royals can indeed keep their losses to 90 or fewer (great observation cwrist), or otherwise show daily competitiveness, and the Glasses have full confidence that their baseball guy is giving them great advice and leadership for the club, then perhaps they'll start paying the dough. Who knows --- could be a vicious cycle where they saw how awful this club was, with zero effective baseball leadership, so they didn't want to pump out tons of bucks that they know would swirl the drain, so therefore the club just continues to implode ... well, PERHAPS with the right leadership in place, they can be convinced to prudently spend money to build a great mix of vets and young up-and-comers and do things to get us excited about rooting on the Boys in Blue ...
that's as rah-rah as I'll ever get, trust me, but it feels appropriate at the moment ...
And just for the record: A very good friend of mine (and KU grad) is the Braves beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: He was STUNNED the Royals were able to get Dayton Moore. He made it clear that it was a huge, huge move that suddenly made the Royals respectable. From all indications, I think he's right.
Posted by Shelby (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Can we get a link to the onion.com spoof?
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/491...
if the link doesn't work, just go to the onion search panel, type in Kansas City Royals, this is the one from June 1.
Posted by Shelby (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice.
So what opinions do you guys have of Mark Teahen? Is his recent decent-ness attributable to him suddenly "getting it" or is this just a fluke? I honestly don't know what to think about it...I've always been rooting for him, even though early this season he seemed to have given us no reason to hope for his future.
Posted by cwrist (Chris Wristen) on July 7, 2006 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
lazz, great observations. And that's interesting about the Journal-Constitution writer's observation. Moore must have made some serious demands from the Glass family before agreeing to come here, and he would've been smart to do so. I've always thought about Buddy Bell that he isn't necessarily a bad manager, rather he simply has picked bad jobs where there essentially was no plan in place for success. I think that was the case when he got here. It'll be interesting to see how his overall results as a manager improve now that he has a GM that honestly knows what he's doing.
Posted by lazz (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, right? GM/Manager definitely need to build off each other's success, and when one isn't getting it done, it's nearly impossible for the other to succeed, either. I like the spirit Moore seems to be building along the lines of the whole All-For-One thing ... Interviews I've heard with him sounded promising -- he said it wasn't his job to find great players, it was his job to build an organization that allows the people whose job it IS to find great players do that job well. And help players play well and coaches coach well and front-office contract guys do business well ... an interesting take on it. Say this much -- the guy is all about leadership, and Royals SORELY needed it.
TEAHEN -- sort of the magic question, eh? Sort of a crystal ball into what we might expect of other young guys acquired in the past year or two? Either hold out hope they can improve or throw 'em out with the castoffs. We'll see. I honestly have no idea. My gut tells me he's a longshot, but hey, he's been clutch lately ...
Posted by cvillehawk (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"That being said, it does seem like something is different. Our younger players (DeJesus, Teahen, Buck) are starting to perform decently by MLB standard, not just by prospect standards."
Even reading a positive statement like this one gives me an itchy feeling. It makes me want to look up each player's contract status so I can prepare myself for the fact that they'll leave us X years down the road when they are finally ready to play like stars. Is this what being a Royals fan has done to me? I've watched former Royals stars win Championships everywhere else but here. Please just tell me we'll keep some of these guys, and I'll start to feel better.
Posted by Shelby (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.robneyer.com/robrany.html
Posted by eakers (anonymous) on July 8, 2006 at 1:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The resurgence isn't because of a new GM, but rather some timely hitting and a couple of additions in the bullpen, Duckworth and Wellenmeyer (even though Moore brought them in). Teahan's surge is a great help as well. I had hope that our hitters would not hit around .200 the entire year after all.
Another possible boost for the bullpen is when McDougal returns to the closer role as Burgos is a total head case on the mound, and sometimes refuses to throw anything but a high fastball. I like Burgos, but he needs some more work before he has closer like stuff (And he needs to start throwing his damn slider to go with his split finger).
The bullpen does not need to be redone either (as suggested previously) as the starting rotation works the snot out of it on a regular basis. Burgos, Sisco, McDougal can be the core of the bullpen for a long time (I hope). With the team finally starting to play (improved pitching, hitting, and new found speed in Gathright) and two key players coming off the DL soon, I think the 100 loss season is definitely gone. But I have been disappointed before, ala 2004. And maybe 1994-present as well.
Posted by MjA (MJ Allen) on July 9, 2006 at 1:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Being a genius and having analyzed baseball for many years now, I can tell you, without question, the reason for the Royals recent turn-around is, undeniably, 100% due to the fact that Dayton Moore is magical. It's true. In his case "GM" is actually short for "FGM" or "Fairy God-Manager". Dayton Moore will make sure that our little Cinderella team gets to go to the ball again. I love him.
2007 predictions:
-The glass cleat fits! Royals win the pennant!
-I finally get to makeout with David DeJesus!
-At last! Sluggerrrr is neutered!
Onion be damned!
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