I have no idea what is going on with the Royals right now. Seriously, what is happening?
First the Royals ditch Yuniesky Betancourt and flap their gums to the media saying Betancourt was whining about playing time. This is an organization which is more tight-lipped than MI-5 and then the day after dumping a guy they come out and say that he was complaining about playing time and wasn't a good clubhouse presence? And they just figured this out NOW? After acquiring him twice?
How about just admitting that the guy was an utter failure as a baseball player? His defense was bad, his offense was worse and he didn't even seem to try very hard. Most fans knew all of this stuff by watching him the first time he showed up in a Royals uniform. The Royals continue to ignore the fact that he wasn't good and instead take pot-shots at his character now? Nothing like an ex-girlfriend scorned I guess.
On the bright side Yuni is gone, regardless of how the organization spins it. Then, they give away Jose Mijares, a lefty who has a better strikeout rate and walk rate than Jonathan Broxton in more innings. Did I mention that he was still under team control next year? If pitching is the currency of baseball, then Dayton Moore just walked into a San Francisco strip club and made it rain.
These actions are beginning to look like a General Manager desperate to prove that he's doing something, anything, to get things on the right track and to shift blame elsewhere. When you blame things like effort and caring about individual performance you're casting it off to those selfish ballplayers.
I promise, Mr. Glass. These guys are good! I did my job, but they won't try very hard. Yuniesky is a great player but how was I supposed to know he was going to whine about playing time? We're working really hard here at the offices, but these ballplayers won't adapt to our culture.
Poor Dayton is acquiring great ball players, it's not his fault that they keep turning into poor clubhouse guys who won't even try and take advantage of their talent. Scouts can't see that kind of thing, remember, it's an intangible. You can't blame a General Manager for intangibles, they're, you know...intangible.
Pushing off a good player in Mijares is just the kind of misdirection that might lead to people believe that things really are different. Even good players who don't have a winning attitude will be cut. It's more than cutting off your nose to spite your face, it's cutting off the noses of all of your neighbors so you look good by comparison.
Moore and company are again talking about the "long-term" plan. If it's anything like the short-term plan, I'd rather not see it. Another year. Another failure. Another new plan which places all of the eggs in the basket of intangibles rather than actual talent. Unfortunately for the Royals teams win and lose by scoring runs, things which are tangible.
- Nick Scott