This might be an interesting off-day discussion topic: what's been your biggest mistake as a Royals fan? Many of us have been quite critical of the Royals this season, so maybe it's only fair that we also come forward with all the times that we were wrong about what we thought.
No, it isn't the same of course, at least not until we also start getting paid full time to make baseball decisions, complete with people working for us. However, in the spirit of fair play it's healthy to admit that sometimes, everyone is wrong: the professionals, the players, the media, the fans. No one is right all the time.
In all your years as a fan and an armchair general manager what's been your biggest mistake? I'll get the discussion going with some of my own.
- I thought the Royals were lucky and fluky in 2003, but that, thanks to Juan Gonzalez and some internal improvements, the Royals would contend in 2004.
- I invested way too much time and feeling into the Calvin Pickering/Ken Harvey position battle.
- I have, at various times, seriously thought that Jimmy Gobble was sent to the bullpen too quickly, that he wasn't given enough of a shot as a starter.
- I always really overrated Mike Wood.
- I hated the Bannister-Burgos trade. I was wrong about it in 2007. Then, I thought Bannister was more or less done in 2009. Wrong again.
- I loved the Shealy-Affeldt trade.
- I hated the Gil Meche signing.
- I did not hate the Guillen signing nearly enough.
- Tony Pena Jr. was way better than I thought he would be. In 2007.
- I was once pretty worried that Dayton was going to aggressively bring in Born Again Christians, when in reality, he's been incredibly willing to bring in guys who have character issues.
- I once called for Costa Now! Believing that Shane had developed a power stroke.
- I spent too long not appreciated David DeJesus enough.
- I never really believed that Greinke would blossom the way he did. Until last season, I always thought his strikeout rates were too low, and that he would always give up too many home runs to truly be an elite pitcher.
- This is more of a general mistake, but I spent way too long mostly ignoring or questioning the value of defense. As such, I raged against the Doug Mientikiewicz signing, when it really wasn't that bad.
It's hard to say which one of these has been my biggest mistake. Hating on the Meche signing is up there, surely, as is dismissing the Bannister trade. Worst overall, however, might be the misreading of the Shealy-Affledt trade. Shealy has done nothing since joining the Royals, while JA has done well for years now: a double whiff.