Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
Was out most of the weekend... not much to say about that sweep other than: "It was ugly."
Random thoughts:
1) It's funny that Yost spends so much time worrying about "getting in his guys' dome" ... because it's pretty goddamn clear they spend plenty of time getting in their own domes.
2) The complete collapse of the 3-5 hitters is really dooming this team right now. Alex Gordon is not the player, right now, that he was two years ago. Neither is Billy Butler. Eric Hosmer hasn't hit the ball with the authority this season he displayed late last year, 8th inning 2B against Minnesota aside. (MOAR OF THAT, PLEASE)
3) The time for being uber-patient with this squad is past. Guys need to be rewarded/punished accordingly. Mike Moustakas has a .386 OPS right now. If he doesn't turn things around in the next 10 days, it's time to demote him, his "dome" be damned. Salvador Perez is producing. Butler gets another week or so. If he still isn't hitting, he and Perez flip.
4) The entire announcing team is just awful. Hudler and Lefevre are bad enough when the Royals are winning. It's made worse when they and Physioc and Stewart start trying to shift blame, make excuses and cover for the team.
Physioc's gaffe of blaming the players' problems/struggles on the impact of social media is a moronic statement bordering on Jack Maloof "we can't try to hit home runs" territory. That's instant-fire bad.
And if the Royals players truly are weak enough mentally to be bothered by what they see on social media... well, Jesus titty-effing Christ, how do they respond when they're in an opposing ballpark and get heckled?
Actually, considering the complete inability to hit the ball on the road so far this season, maybe I have my answer?
5) It makes me wonder if they're missing something in the minor league development program. When you've got an entire roster full of home grown guys, and an entire roster full of guys who can't handle pressure at all, there almost has to be some sort of connection there.
It's got to be something behind the scenes, if true, because many teams in baseball try to build waves and play their best players together on the same team, to create an atmosphere of winning.
6) The season is long, and there's time to save it. Heck, there's time to save this stretch (sweep a different team and win 2/3 of the other series, and you avoid a complete disaster).
That's what the Royals have been unable to avoid under Yost in the past, though. So this will be a real test. Everything that's happening right now has the feel of the disastrous, impossible-to-recover-from losing streak.
7) I think I've made no secret of the fact that I think two things about Ned Yost:
a - He's the best manager the Royals have had in a long time
b - He's not good enough tactically to skipper a team to a pennant. It would have to win in spite of the 2-3 games a year his poor tactical managing costs them.
Yost is a pretty solid developmental manager because of how loyal he is to guys and the atmosphere he creates in the clubhouse. It's good for young guys. He's not good at holding those guys accountable when it's time to do so, though.
Yesterday's game provides just another example. His team rallies for a critical 3-2 lead in a game it needs to salvage, desperately. And instead of going to the guy he's deemed his 8th inning guy (who actually has been OK when on normal rest and starting a clean inning, the situation he faced yesterday), he decides to use Aaron Crow because "he was already warmed up."
Why? Why?
There is just no rational baseball explanation for that, especially from a guy who is SO reliant on using guys in the roles he sets up for them. Yost is all about setting things up for his 8th and 9th inning guys. He had that in the bag yesterday. And then inexplicably doesn't go to it.
This is what is most frustrating about Yost. He zigs when he should zag. He sticks to his guns when he should explore another option (i.e. Continually trying to use Tim Collins as a LH specialist). He deviates when he should use the standard approach.
He's the baseball equivalent of a blackjack player who can't decide if he hits on 16, and changes his strategy hand-to-hand based on "His gut..."
8) Like I said, the season is long. There's more than enough time to turn things around. But the hopeful optimism that they will... it's pretty tough to summon right now, and getting harder by the day/game.
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