Our precious Royals have hit a bit of a rough patch, not only losing, but just playing terrible baseball. For all the blather about fundamentals we heard this spring, this team has turned in some lazy defense, atrocious baserunning and odd plate approaches this season.
Fortunately, baseball teams have managers, and those managers have to say things to the media, who have to ask them questions. Even though the obsession with attitude and effort doesn't really apply to baseball at all (animalistic rage may help you in football, but it doesn't help you scoop a ground ball) we still see a fair share of it, sometimes dragged along inside the trojan horse of team chemistry. Amazingly, this week Jim Leyland mocked the idea of team chemsitry, but then his words in the same speech were still credited for "waking the Tigers up" and or "getting them going". (Why do I watch Baseball Tonight?)
So, lets delve into fantasyland and attribute this to some mysterious unseen force that has nothing to do with bad pitches, dumb as hell aggressiveness on the basepaths, and the league's worst offense.
Which do you prefer? Tell me in the comments.
Option One: They're Pressing
I think the guys are pressing a little bit right now. We just need to go out there, have fun, and remember that this is a game. It's important to let the game come to you and just let your muscle memory take over. They've been playing this game their whole lives, and they know how to play. They just need to get out of their own way. You know, baseball is like a lot of things, you can over-think it. They don't need to think, they just need to react.
Option Two: They're Asleep (More Bo Harts Needed Version)
These guys need to be reminded that they are professionals and that they have a job to do. I've seen too much sloppiness out there, which you can't have in this game. This is a hard game, and we need to realize how precious winning is. Baseball is ninety percent about focus. It comes down to being a gamer, hustling, doing the little things. Those are the guys that you win with, bottom line. We haven't done any of that. And either these fatcats start playing that way, or else we'll get some guys in here that will.
Option Three: They're Asleep (Bitter, Negativity-Based Instruction Needed Version)
You know what? I think this team got a little full of itself. We laid a great foundation in Spring Training, and really left camp hungry. I don't see that hunger anymore. Frankly, I see a lot of guys that are real happy with themselves. Thats not what I see. I see a team that hasn't done ---- yet and needs to be reminded of this. Maybe they forgot that they finished in last place last year. Maybe they forgot that they aren't All-Stars. We need some people to get their feelings hurt a little bit and if that means yelling and screaming and even some guys getting benched, then so be it. So tomorrow we go back to square one: everyone's fighting for a job, and we're building from the ground up. Doesn't matter if you're making $10 million of the league minimum.
Sprinkle in references to how the game is played in Japan as you see fit.