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In Part I of this series, we looked at where the Royals were on this date in 2014, what was going on at the time, what the trade deadline should be, what they looked like compared to other recent Royals teams, what they had to do to make the playoffs, and what they would have to do in 2016 to do the same.
Here, I collected comments of the mood around the team at the time. I tried to get at least one good quote from anyone I could find while not repeating any. The goal of these quotes is to not show just how wrong we all were but to remind us how similar the mood was then to today (two pennants and a ring ago). And these were all rational beliefs (mostly- some may have been in the heat of the moment) but then the irrational happened.
I’ll start off with myself and I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t find a good quote- I just wasn’t posting much that week. I remember badly wanting Moore fired. I was absolutely done and certain his far too lengthy tenure was a failure. I remember being more ambivalent towards Yost as I just don’t care that much about the manager- he was (is?) a bit of a tactical train wreck but his "dome management" seems pretty good and that’s probably more important. However, down the stretch, I swear it felt like every loss in 2014 had his fingerprints on it and he would "learn" something new. Like a child continuously putting his fingers on the stove, only to learn it’s hot. Over and over and over again. I think this best sums up my feelings there.
After games in the Red Sox series (mostly after the Downs game):
Fixed Your Headline: Royals Blow.
We're all playing checkers, John Farrell is playing chess, while Ned is playing banana.
This should put the season to rest. David Glass, the owner of the Kansas City Royals, seems convinced that the current makeup of his team has a shot to make it to the post-season in 2014. As a result, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, the team is not likely to make a significant trade at the July 31 deadline.
About the team’s status:
the royals are in 9th place in the AL
Fangraphs has the Royals finishing 81-81 and 3rd in the AL Central, now. A not unreasonable prognostication, methinks.
To get to even 87 wins, which still might not win the second wild card spot, KC has to finish 39-26. Anybody think this team can do that? And that’s setting aside the merits of whether winning the second wild card should be considered making the playoffs (I don’t think so unless they win the game). Time for Moore to fall on his sword and trade Shields and others.
This season isn't slipping away...it's over.
Totally on-board for a losing streak in the teens at this point.
Burn it all down. I know we won’t get it but we need a massively shitty end to the season. Just a losing run to end all losing runs and get us near the 90 loss mark. Sadly, even that probably wouldn’t be enough for ownership to wake up. Regardless, they’ll float around .500 and next year will be more of the status quo I’m sure.
You guys just want instant gratification. The Royals have been over .500 every single year in this century that ends in a 3. Why can’t you wait nine more years for another winning team like everyone else?
About the trade deadline
Shields and Davis should definitely be dealt. Holland probably, too. Butler could be dealt, though he has little value. Figure out a way to jettison Moustakas. Aoki is pointless. Infante and Vargas probably have some value to another team. I’d deal Duffy because he probably arguably has value, and I don’t believe in him at all.
I think this team could be competitive for the division as soon as 2016. Trade Gordon, Holland, Davis, Herrerra, Escobar for minor league talent. Take on reclamation projects for LF, SS, DH, SP, closer in 2015. I like Duffy/Ventura/Zimmer/Manea a lot more than Lamb/Montgomery/Dwyer/Crow. There’s still a lot of minor league talent; a quick reload at the expense of 2015 would place the Royals on a good path.
Fire GMDM. After he’s fired, get someone with some little bit of understanding of metrics in.FIresale the team. Get rid of everyone but Salvy, Duffy, Cain, Dyson and Ventura (and try to ink them to extensions as your "core") and maybe Esky. Maybe keep Gordon on through his last year, but trade him if you can get anything good for him (and you should be able to). Unfortunately, even doing this wouldn’t work really… You’d still either have to keep Guthrie, Infante and Vargas or eat huge pieces of their contracts.
We should be sellers, but we won’t be. I am not saying we should give people away, like we did in the early Glass years, but we should definitely actively be seeking ways to make this team better (and possibly free up money at the same time) next year. (and beyond) Because right now next year, on paper, looks like a big crash and burn. I actually think it likely that DMGM makes another minor acquisition or two, and then yells "full speed ahead" to an engine room already filling with water on a sinking ship.
Glad to see normal Royals talk again, how to win three years from now...
Management and Ownership?
I'd like to think it's officialYost/Moore Watch ’14 is in full swing. I want to believe.
Fire Yost. That is all.
I'd applaud that. Firing Dayton, on the other hand, would send me on a two week celebratory bender. Holy shit, why do these people still have jobs?
I don't want Mr. Moore to trade for anybody. Who trusts him to do the right thing? Not me. -kcstengelSr
Until recently, Glass has spent too little and taken too much in profit for a guy who owns an historically bad professional sports franchise. And he hired and extended twice a horrible GM. Glass and Glass have done an horrendous job as owner and President of the Royals.
Beating that horse, again and again and again and hoping it turns to dust. He obviously doesn’t have the creativity, vision, or confidence to make the kinds of moves that are the hallmark of well run teams. He just doesn’t possess ALL the positive qualities necessary to compete for playoff baseball in this era of the MLB. The rubes are getting harder and harder to spot, and KC is saddled with one of them. Granted, the rube bar has moved up considerably over the past decade, but make no mistake, GMDM is a rube. The water got too deep. This isn’t the 90s when his shit might have very well been plausible. His shit ain’t plausible no more.
Jesus Christ, this team is awful. I can’t be the only one who is kind of hoping that the Kansas City Royals go 0-68 in the 2nd half, so Glass has no choice but to clean house, right?I am just SO done with GMDM, Nedgar, and The Process™. Eight years of work should not look like this complete and utter shitshow.
fuck this