Uninspired to the hilt
Let me go on record and proclaim Kansas City’s baseball team as the official second-favorite team of Mr. Faded Glory. (Sider: When I was a child, I used to sit down and craft long lists, ranking my favorite teams in order, specific to each sport. This made for inane rankings like the Cleveland Indians at No. 17, or the Golden State Warriors at No. 9, or even the New York Yankees at No. 666. But I digress.)
In any case, MFG wants to congratulate the Royals on a totally meaningless hire today, Buddy Bell as their manager. It’s been said once, twice, but, well, WHO CARES?
It’s so pathetically, well, Royals, to worry about the choice of a manager for a team that is destined to lose 100 games. And it’s so pathetically, well, Royals, to hire a retread like Bell. I don’t mean to diminish Buddy Bell — I’m sure he’s no better or worse than most managers. Still, he’s not exactly groomed for success, here. This team needs a ton of work. So what’s the point in making a big deal of a hire? Why hire a name? Why not a young guy, around to see whatever rebuilding plan through? Hell, why not leave Bob Schaefer to take the fall for this season? He’s respectable enough to do so, and it’s a lost year, anyway. That sound is the KC metro area pounding their heads against their keyboards.
And it’s mainly due to an inept organization that includes a skinflint owner and a heavyhanded GM, reshaping plans daily according to the free talent they can lift off a scrap heap. Sometimes this works out in their favor (Denny Bautista, Andy Sisco, Ryan Jensen), but most times it does not. The front office wants to bemoan the losses of Beltran, of Dye, of Damon, but, you know, they could have kept one of those guys — they just chose the wrong representative of the fab four to lock up long-term.
And as such, they now do not attempt to overpay for talent, as rebuilding teams occasionally have to do – just to overpay for bad talent. So (1) They’re cheap, and (2) they’re clueless. Not the best combo.
I don’t want to harp on the Royals brass here and I don’t want to trivialize the uphill playing field that is baseball’s revenue sharing. But I’m not even a diehard, and I’m sick of hearing it as an excuse.
If the Twins, Marlins, A’s, and, hell, Brewers can win with a lower payroll, than why not the Royals? It’s a halfhearted attempt to reload, and “go young” every year, but a last-ditch attempt to stay respectable, somehow trying to salvage 60 games, and say, “Hey, at least we’re not the 2003 Tigers.”
Well, guess what? The 2003 Tigers are now turning into a rapidly-improving franchise. It happens. Years are lost for small-market teams, but it’s a fact of life. If a 110-loss season would predicate the arrival of actual, young, competent talent, then I’m sure Royals fans could stomach it.
And, as Joe said, as Rob and Rany say, this week the Royals decided to search high and low for an irrelevant manager. When, oh-by-the-way, the draft is coming up. Let’s hope they plan to spend as much time on that.
Regardless, I’m going to be away from the site the rest of this week — and as the only regular poster of the DSV Network, I can’t tell you how saddened I am. Thursday night I’m taking a mini-vacation to, of all places, KC, to watch the Royals battle their polar opposites, the New York F.N. Yankees. Go Royals — but please, please, get a clue.