royalsandcelebs

Yesterday, I posted a blog about how everybody seems to go insanely and irrationally wild with optimism when the Royals go on the tiniest little stretch of good baseball (er, winning baseball).  It’s funny how the reactions run, this ebb and flow lackluster Kansas City baseball has created in its fans.  Here’s usually what I see:

6th game in a six game losing streak (”The Royals are undeniably atrocious”)

They break a six game losing streak (”You can’t lost every game.”)

They win a game after that (”Huh.  Two in a row.  Not bad, Royals.”)

They win a third straight game (”Wow!  Three in a row!  All right!  Finally!  Looks like we’ve got this thing all figured…”

 … and then they lose 8 games in a row.  It’s coasting, unvalidated, unearned coasting.  But that’s not what this column is about today.  If I wrote a blog every day about how much the Royals have disappointed me over the years, I’d never want to leave the house.  I’d be like some sort of hybrid of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh and Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street who stays in bed all day and listens to The Smiths.  “Can’t go to the ballgame today.  They’re just gonna lose.  I’m gonna stay here and watch the flowers die.  It’s nature’s plan.”

No, today’s blog is about accountability and, shock of shocks, how people have been accountable!  Amazing!  No one in society is accountable today!  Just spend an hour in a Blockbuster Video that has late fees (What do you mean I owe you two dollars?!!  I don’t owe you crap!  I thought you had no late fees?  I thought you had no late fees?  I thought you had no late fees?).  Apparently, life has late fees, lady, and the Royals are finally willing to pay them.

What do I mean when I say the Royals have been accountable?  I’m not saying the Royals front office has finally admitted they’ve done things wrong.  Heck, they admitted they were doing things wrong as they were doing things wrong.  They didn’t say exactly how they were mishandling the team, but they were very apologetic, usually as a segue into what they would label a “turning moment,” that would, in actuality, just be yet another example of how they were mismanaging the team.  “Now, I know in the past we haven’t made the wisest free agent moves, and added players that don’t fit in with our plan.  We won’t be straying away from the plan anymore.  Now, let me introduce you to the newest Kansas City Royal, the mumified remains of Benito Santiago!”  No, that accountability was actually, finally enacted when Dayton Moore took over.  Say what you will about Dayton’s regime so far, but at least he’s pumped this whole team full of new blood and a new attitude.  We draft who we need (and guys who actually will play in the Major Leagues, in at least some capacity), we’ve hired more scouts, we look in Latin America, we sign free agents and not just the ghosts of past great free agents (”King Tut” Santiago, Reggie Sanders, Juan Gone-from-the-game-after collecting-one-last-check-zalez).  The big signings, like with Meche and Guillen, seem to work out a lot better than in the past.  And the missed signings?  WE RELEASE THEM.  That’s right.  We cut our losses.  Angel Berroa, Brett Tomko, Hideo Nomo, Jorge de la Rosa.  We’ve finally figured out when to cut our losses.  We never did that before.  We would hold onto Chip Ambres longer than he warranted a Major League roster spot.  We would bring Jose Lima back into an organization and not be able to recognize when the guy was completely done.  We would keep putting Amborix Burgos, he of the 16 blown saves in 2005 and 2006, out there to close out games, no matter how many times he threw the same two pitches, really fast, that didn’t move.  Now, it seems like we move quicker, admit our mistakes, and try somebody else.

I’ve drifted yet again (I tend to do that–I’m trying not to).  My point is, in the past, our ballplayers who were having a lackluster start of the season usually wouldn’t improve too much, or too drastically.  They would just stay consistent.  At least, the young players.  The improvement would have this large spike.  Mark Teahan got sent down to Omaha in ‘06, came back, and tore the ball off the cover.  What happens in ‘07?  He flatlines.  Starts off not hitting for too much power, ends the season not hitting for too much power.  And the middle of the season?  Didn’t hit for too much power.  Dejesus flatlined last year, too, and didn’t improve.  Tony Pena hit a steady .270 (we would love a steady .270 right now) that never jumped (unless you count that first week where he hit 4 triples, which I don’t think ever happened).  But this year… this year numbers are jumping.

I think this is another reason Jose Guillen is so valuable to the club–he’s accountable.  He admitted he started off the year out of shape.  He admitted the contract made him lazy.  He admitted his numbers to start out the year were inexcusable.  And then, what did he do?  He wouldn’t stop hitting.  He’s been hotter than the wife from “The George Lopez Show,” which is pretty darn hot.  When you’re not playing like a productive ballplayer, and then you go on an offensive explosion for an entire month, that’s accountability.  So, in the middle of his offensive outburst, what do you think he felt when he saw a whole lineup of other players doing just as poorly, and not seeming to care?  Well, you heard what he felt about that.

Since his chiding, look at people’s numbers compared with the critiques we were giving them.  David DeJesus doesn’t care, is an average ballplayer, too good for Triple A, not good enough for a Major League roster (as said by the Keitz).  Since then, hitting lights out.  Accountability.  Mark Teahan, can’t hit for power, doesn’t want to hit for power, distracted the position switches.  Since then, home runs.  A lot of them.  Accountability.  On May 31st, Mark Grudzielanek only had 4 RBIs on the year–4!  Tony Pena had more.  Now, he’s got 14.  Not a miraculous climb, but still, accountability.  Alex Gordon, too.  He’s the latest example.  Everyone’s writing this kid off and I keep hearing comparisons to leisure time baseball player J.D. Drew, and how he’s not listening and being stubborn and how he won’t move his bat and can’t hit for Major League power.  There’s already talk that he’s a bust.  In the last week?  What is it, 3 home runs?  Think Guillen had something to say to the golden child?  Accountability.

Things like that, bats lighting up again, with a star player not leading by example but instructing, too.  There’s finally some accountability for the guys who are actually suiting up.  That’s why I think this team is getting better.  At last, someone has told them that they have to.

Note: Apologies for my over-the-top critique of Jeremy Affeldt yesterday.  I went a little overboard.  Although I wasn’t the greatest fan of his attitude, it wasn’t his fault that the team tampered with him so much, and he certainly didn’t wash out like Sedlacek, Hernandez, Reichert, or Durbin (who’s actually now made a decent career for himself).  However, I’m not sorry you gotta pile-driven by Kyle Farnsworth, because that was really funny.

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