For the first time since the 1980's, people were actually feeling better about the Royals than they were the Chiefs. The Royals had totally revamped their pitching staff and were supposed to finally start to make strides towards respectability and have a .500 season this year. But in recent weeks, after a promising start, it has all broken down. There have been recent seasons in which the Royals have teased fans with a fast start, only to go down the toilet once other teams adjusted. But this was supposed to be different -- the pitching was finally there, the hitting was supposed to come around, and the team was supposed to be able to hit for more power.
But now, it has all turned into a fundamental breakdown of discipline. For all his shortcomings, this one cannot be blamed on GM Dayton Moore. He did his part this year, bringing in the pitching needed to turn the Royals into a contender. The responsibility lies with the manager, Ned Yost. The hitting has been a liability all year. The pages of Lee Judge's "Judging the Royals" have become a broken record -- not enough hitting, fundamental lack of plate discipline, and the inability to get the big hit when it matters. But the breakdown of team discipline cumulated last night in pitcher Luis Mendoza's celebration after he got a hit to the wall against the Cardinals. What could have turned into extra bases and a big inning instead turned into a single and one run.
Excuse me, but what does a team that has lost seven straight and 19 out of their last 23 have to celebrate about? This is similar to the times the Chiefs were showboating and celebrating their way to a 2-14 season last year, one of the worst in franchise history. If it had been a World Series win, or a Division Title, or even a winning season, that would have been something appropriate to celebrate about. It would even be appropriate to celebrate a walkoff win. Yet we see Mendoza showboating and celebrating over a single hit.
It's like the immortal Len Dawson says -- let the scoreboard do the talking for you. The long-time color commentator for the Chiefs knows a thing or two about winning; he was part of their winning Super Bowl team. What Mendoza did is not appropriate in Little League or T Ball, let alone the big leagues. Yet it is a perfect symbol of the kind of breakdown in team discipline that Ned Yost has allowed to fester this year.
It's not always a matter of wins or losses; it's how you win or lose that matters. Two nights ago, Yost got testy and defensive when asked questions about his team's performance. He sounds for all the world like a man who is out of answers for this team. He can say all he wants that he doesn't listen to speculation about his future in Kansas City. But the fact of the matter is that management listens to fan discontent much more than they would care to admit. That is why managers and coaches frequently do not last very long in professional sports. That is why the Yost Watch is officially in high gear.
Last night, he said:
“Once we start to swing the bat,” he said, “that’s where you’ll start to
see everybody start to relax. Now, you start to put a win streak
together. It all comes back to where it should be.”
But the problem is bigger than a matter of a team being in a slump. The team is showing a lack of plate discipline, swinging at pitches they should be taking and taking pitches they should be swinging at. The hitting is so bad that the Royals were only able to win one game out of three at tailender Houston, one of the few teams having a worse year than the Royals.
And the lack of discipline is not limited to the players. The coaches are sending different messages to the public. On the one hand, Ned Yost said that his team was capable of hitting for more power when he fired Kevin Seitzer as hitting coach last year. Now, his own hitting coach, Jack Maloof, predicted that the team would finish last in home runs this year.
The heat on Yost has been building over the last year, given that he has fired three of his coaches. This is a clear sign that management has been leaning on him to make changes. But now that Yost has his own people in charge, he is running short of options. This year, he set his own standards for the team by saying that his players were capable of hitting for more power. However, his coaches and his players have not lived up to his own standards that he set. It's not just a matter of coming out of a slump. It is a matter of the manager bringing discipline to an organization that has too long lacked it.
No comments:
Post a Comment