FanPost

Do you believe in miracles?

Jamie Squire

The Will To Win, The Will To Win, The Will To Win?

Ned Yost is currently the manager of a Kansas City Royals baseball team that is contending for a playoff spot for the first time since (insert mid-1980's reference here) and has led us to a moment of panic and despair with only two weeks left in the season due to a poor offensive output in the last 17 or so games. Lots of sports writers are comparing this Royal collapse to Ned Yost's final moments in Milwaukee, rightly so. Ned Yost deserves the scrutiny because he seemingly cannot make the correct decisions when the game is on the line. Also, he says really dumb shit in post game press conferences when someone addresses his shortcomings. He, to me, does not fit the description of a successful manager solely because I don't think he understands how to motivate his players in a professional fashion. I sat back today, coffee cup in hand, and attempted to picture what the clubhouse setting would be like after getting pushed around by the last place Red Stockings.

I thought it would be quiet with a lot of disappointed ballplayers sort of milling around at half speed, a few chuckles here and there when Dyson attempts to lighten the mood by cracking a joke about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a pissed off Lo Danger Ox with his head in his arm leaning against his locker, Moustakas sitting in a chair staring into space with his mouth agape, Hosmer checking his hair in the reflection of his smart phone and Ibanez standing at the front of the room, on the cusp of speaking to give the guys some motivation before he realizes no one has even glanced at him in quite some time so he resorts to sitting quietly at his locker, thinking about how his great grand children are doing without their great grandpappy present to give them caramels and ask them about what they learned in history class at school. I imagined Ned Yost sitting in his manager's office, browsing through TV channels before happening upon an episode of 'Gunsmoke' he hasn't seen in a while which brings a bright smile to his face, allowing him to settle into his leather desk chair, giving him a moment of relaxation. Jirschele would then walk into his office and begin saying something like, "Ned, I think the players need a little pep-talk and a bit of reflection of what just occurred so we can begin the White Sox series with a sense of-- oh is this 'Gunsmoke'? Mind if I pull up a chair?" To which Ned looks Jirschele right in the mouth and whispers, "yes."

The players then go their separate ways, perhaps to their homes filled with their loved ones to rest for the night. Their spouses may ask how the game went and they'd most likely answer 'fine' or 'yeah I guess it was cool'. Moustakas would respond by giving a thumbs up or writing down 'I'M OK, SLEEP NOW' on a piece of scratch paper he keeps in his back pocket. Lo Danger Ox would walk into his son's bedroom and sit on the end of his son's bed, look longingly at him slumbering, then begin to sob. His son would wake up sleepy eyed, console him and say, "don't worry papa, you're still my hero." Salvador Perez would arrive in his bachelor pad with about 20 or so half-naked women vacuuming and doing the dishes. One woman, who appears to be the leader of this pack, would shake Salvador's hand and welcome him to his home. Salvador would then toss his leather jacket on the couch and turn on 'Finding Nemo' and fall alseep about halfway through. Kelvin Herrera would return to the meat shop he owns to balance the check-book, losing hours of sleep because his cashier forgot to record credit card transactions. Jayson Nix would walk the streets of Kansas City, asking everyone he encounters how to find a Drury Inn nearby so he can get a nights rest for the first time since arriving in Kansas City. Ned Yost would toss and turn all night until his wife finally rolls over and asks him, "What's wrong, dear?" To which Ned Yost would reply, "I don't know. I think I should paint the shed out back but I don't want to make the neighbors jealous. I saw Jerry got a new John Deere so I think I'd be able to re-paint it without much ruckus. I just don't know." "Ned Yost, we don't have a shed out back and Jerry died 2 years ago," his wife would reply.

Go Royaks. The Hunt for Blue October is still on, fellas. Our boys in blue are true believers, and they've got the grit and determination to make us proud. I will stand with you on the first of October, perhaps a little teary-eyed and a little chilly, as we witness what playoff baseball in the modern era is like in the fair metropolis of Kansas City, MO.

I believe in this team, in the manager, in coffee and in Dayton Moore. The process has us on the brink of a potential world-series.

Don't give up hope.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.