Yamaico Remembered

Yesterday was a day that will endure in a famously bad way. First, there was Pearl Harbor; then Yamaico “the Yam-man” Navarro got shipped out for more “prospects.”

Like all of you, I am shocked and disillusioned by management’s callous decision to jettison Yamaico, a fan favorite and one of the organization’s cornerstones. I don’t know who is responsible, but the usual cast of suspects includes David Glass, Ned Yost and possibly Stephen Baldwin. Whoever is to blame, management’s sudden decision to scuttle Yamaico’s playing days in Kansas City is cowardly.

While I can’t come up with more boat references, we all remember where we were when we heard that Yamaico made the team and the joy that followed. All of us have his stats memorized. When you hear the number “.304,” you automatically think, “Yammie’s career average as a Royal, duh.” That’s not just one fluky year, but his average over his entire career as good old no. 24, so don’t whine about “small sample size.”

Why the Royals would want to banish one of their most exciting players is beyond comprehension. Maybe he was too “negative.” Maybe they were worried that he would command too much money as a free agent. Maybe George Brett was concerned that the Yamster would overtake his .305 career average.

The Royals just keep pissing off and pissing on the fans by sending off the Beltrans, the Dyes, the Damons and the Navarros. I am done with Dayton's precious process.