#1 reason not to root for the Royals - Page 3

Hootie · 04-20-2006, 08:51 PM

Quote:

the Pittsburgh Pirates, Royals and Twins each earned more than $20 million.

and we can't field a better team than this disaster?

ChiefsCountry · 04-21-2006, 10:10 AM

The lack of developing starting pitching has been the organization's down fall. We have had the offense talent for some time.

KCTitus · 04-21-2006, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beavis

Nice. No one has ever used that one before.

Given the rolling eyes, you disagree or just dont like the truth. Either way, arguing otherwise is ludicrous.

chiefqueen · 04-21-2006, 11:18 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/14391960.htm

Baird is a decent man, but he must be fired

JOE POSNANSKI
The Kansas City Star
Notes from a columnist held hostage (again):Here’s the deal: I’m not supposed to be writing this column. I’m supposed to be off column-writing for six weeks to finish my book on Buck O’Neil. If I were like Truman Capote (and I’m not), I would be by the water in Italy right now drinking exotic drinks and admiring the waves and writing the book by moonlight.Instead, I’m being dragged back from a nearby Starbucks to write about the Royals’ losing. Again. My mailbox is filled with rage and pleas from angry Royals fans who, at this point, don’t know whether to boycott games, change their names or move to another country. My computer is filled with staggering and odd Royals observations that I’ve been keeping as a diversion. Stuff like this: The Royals, this season, are hitting .219 with a .273 on-base percentage and .357 slugging percentage. That’s not good.The Royals’ opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .305, with a .399 OBP and .508 slugging.Observation: This means, based on the statistics, the Royals are essentially sending nine A.J. Hinches to the plate every day (remember A.J. Hinch?). Opponents are sending up nine Bobby Abreus.Also, my editor called. Apology filled his voice. “Buddy …,” he began.And you know where that call ended. Here I am, hostage to another Royals losing streak. A year ago, I was held hostage through the Royals’ 19-game streak, the longest losing streak in baseball in 30 years, a stretch of baseball so bad that I had to watch game six of the 1985 World Series a dozen times just to cleanse myself.This season, I figured if nothing else, I wouldn’t have to deal with double-digit losing streaks. It’s hard to lose 10 games in a row. Before last year, the Royals had had only two of them. Last season, other than the Royals, it happened only twice. This season, I figured the Royals would tread water. I wrote on opening day that, if nothing else, the Royals would be a professional unit this time, a team with competent veterans. They would not embarrass themselves.For the Royals fan who writes in every day to ask, “Are they embarrassing yet?” here are three words dedicated to you: “I … was … wrong.”Here are the losing streak totals: The Royals have lost 10 games in a row and have been outscored by the lovely mirror score of 72-27. That means, on average, the Royals have been outscored by 4.5 runs per game. Nice.Buddy Bell is now the first manager in Royals history to have two double-digit losing streaks, which is impressive considering he’s managed only 126 games for Kansas City. If you throw in the eight-game losing streak he had early last year, Bell has spent almost 30 percent of his time as Royals manager mired in long losing streaks.And when you saw the ridiculous lineup he threw out there Wednesday (Doug Mientkiewicz hitting third? Esteban German in center field?) you could understand why.The Royals have given up an astounding 11 unearned runs in the 10-game losing streak. So I also might have been wrong about the improved defense.Buddy quote of the day: (I don’t know how long this losing streak will go on — maybe it ends tonight and I can go back to my book — but in the meantime, I think it is worthwhile to have a regular feature that includes an uplifting Buddy Bell quote.) Here’s today’s quote, spoken after the Royals’ 10th straight loss: “I never say it can’t get worse.”OK, so now that that’s out of the way, we can get to the part of the column you were waiting for — the part where I say the Royals have to fire general manager Allard Baird.Here goes: The Royals have to fire Allard Baird. Everyone who would care knows how much I like and respect Baird as both a baseball man and a person, but we’re way past all that now. Business is business. And this team is a Royal disaster.You know all this: The pitchers can’t or won’t throw strikes. The lineup has no speed, no power, no patience and no hope. The two young pitchers the Royals needed to succeed — Zack Greinke and Runelvys Hernandez — are both dealing with serious issues and might never make it back. Veterans like Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders and Scott Elarton have played like expected, but that has made no difference at all. The team has been absolutely horrible. As one baseball person told me: “This team is drifting beyond our ability to capture it in words.”It just hasn’t worked. Why? I don’t think it’s just one thing. Royals ownership has not spent much money (even while Forbes says the team made $20 million last year). Baird has swung and missed with free agents. He traded stars Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Carlos Beltran and has not secured even one above-average everyday player. The Royals have done a miserable job developing pitchers, despite the hiring and firing of a half-dozen pitching coaches. And there has been some bad luck.Perhaps more than anything, though, Baird has not figured out a way to create a winning climate in Kansas City.It’s not an easy job. But it is the job.There was a little magic in 2003, and that was fun for a while, but looking back it’s clear that was a fluke, it was all about a fast start and the outrageous charms of Tony Peña. In five full years, the Royals have set team records for losses four times. I obviously couldn’t be a general manager. But I also couldn’t have done much worse than that.Anyway, everyone knew the deal: The Royals had to improve dramatically this year or everything had to change.Well, we’re only three weeks in, and normally I would say that’s not enough time to judge. But the Royals have been so bad in those three weeks — so amazingly, astonishingly, infuriatingly, shamefully and historically bad — that we’ve all seen enough.Allard Baird is one of the most passionate and decent men I’ve met in sports, and I will miss him, but he will get fired soon, very soon, probably in three or four weeks.And there’s really no way around this. It just has to happen.

To reach Joe Posnanski, call (816) 234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com.

chiefqueen · 04-21-2006, 11:22 AM

MODS........you have my permission to edit that (or recopy it so the hard returns come back).

SORRY!!!

**Dave Lane** · 04-21-2006, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hootie

I'm just glad the Royals are making money!!!!!

20 million!!!

And we couldn't afford Beltran!!!

They did not make $20 million thats absolute bull. They only had revenues of $50 million. Anyway the payroll needs to be seriously dropped like Florida and get rid of some of these vets they brought in at $5 mill plus and put the money in player development and scouts and signing the best players regardless of what they want $ wise out of college.

Dave

greg63 · 04-21-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefqueen

MODS........you have my permission to edit that (or recopy it so the hard returns come back).

SORRY!!!

Mods need permission these days??

chiefqueen · 04-21-2006, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg63

Mods need permission these days??

That was a sneaking way of trying to get somebody to do my dirty work for me. For some reason when I try to copy article onto the Planet, the hard returns don't copy over. I'm at work right now & I didn't want to take the time of comparing what's posted to the actual column and inserting the hard returns at the end of paragraphs.

**alanm** · 04-21-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

So I would say the number 1 reason to hate the Royals is that they clog my favorite forum every day for half the year.

That goes double for the stupid fucking Chiefsmadness threads. They needed to go a week ago!!

Dr. Johnny Fever · 04-21-2006, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawkchief

The Twins were getting in the playoffs because they were winning a division full of low-end teams including the Royals. Someone had to win the division. The A's have had limited success, but if you think that long-term, any small market teams can sustain competitiveness against teams with payrolls 4-5X larger, you are simply delusional. How about I take $100,000 and you take $20,000 and we each buy a car and have a race. Guess what, my Mercedes will beat your Focus most every time. Yes, I might blow a tire once and a while, but odds are, I will torch you. That's what baseball has become. The owner that spends the most money and acumulates most of the talent, over time, will usually win.

It's the 8000-12000 "fans" attending games, like youself, buying tickets, souveniers, $6 hot dogs and sodas that help MLB perpetuate this charade they attempt to disguise as a game.

Good points all well taken.

kcfanXIII · 04-21-2006, 12:25 PM

i was a royals fan before both glass and baird got here. just cause they can't field a competitive team, dosen't mean i'm going to run off. however that i am embarressed by the royals makes me want to jump ship. they will always be number one in my heart, but i think i'm gong to be a STL fan, untill kc can do something. pujols did play high school ball right down the road from me at fort osage.

Hootie · 04-21-2006, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

They did not make $20 million thats absolute bull. They only had revenues of $50 million. Anyway the payroll needs to be seriously dropped like Florida and get rid of some of these vets they brought in at $5 mill plus and put the money in player development and scouts and signing the best players regardless of what they want $ wise out of college.

Dave

According to Forbes they did. Boston and New York pretty much lost money so the small market teams could make money.

What the Royals need to do now is trade all of their veterans for absolute nothing in return. Sweeney, Sanders, Grudz, etc...

Eleazar · 04-21-2006, 12:56 PM

Yay, another Royals dumping thread! Because the 20 we have every day aren't already enough!

KCTitus · 04-21-2006, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

Yay, another Royals dumping thread! Because the 20 we have every day aren't already enough!

Feel free to talk up 2-12...Im typically and optimist by nature so I welcome the attempt.

Hootie · 04-21-2006, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

Yay, another Royals dumping thread! Because the 20 we have every day aren't already enough!

Yay, another guy complaining about a thread he doesn't have to read if he doesn't want to! Yay!

shakesthecat · 04-21-2006, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

Yay, another Royals dumping thread! Because the 20 we have every day aren't already enough!

Yeah, but they all piss off Skip, so it's worth it.

04-21-2006, 10:10 AM	#31
ChiefsCountry The Insider Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lake of the Ozarks Casino cash: $2328752	The lack of developing starting pitching has been the organization's down fall. We have had the offense talent for some time.
Posts: 49,594

04-21-2006, 11:18 AM	#33
chiefqueen On my throne Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $8192060	You know its bad when he agrees http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/14391960.htm Baird is a decent man, but he must be fired JOE POSNANSKI The Kansas City Star Notes from a columnist held hostage (again):Here’s the deal: I’m not supposed to be writing this column. I’m supposed to be off column-writing for six weeks to finish my book on Buck O’Neil. If I were like Truman Capote (and I’m not), I would be by the water in Italy right now drinking exotic drinks and admiring the waves and writing the book by moonlight.Instead, I’m being dragged back from a nearby Starbucks to write about the Royals’ losing. Again. My mailbox is filled with rage and pleas from angry Royals fans who, at this point, don’t know whether to boycott games, change their names or move to another country. My computer is filled with staggering and odd Royals observations that I’ve been keeping as a diversion. Stuff like this: The Royals, this season, are hitting .219 with a .273 on-base percentage and .357 slugging percentage. That’s not good.The Royals’ opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .305, with a .399 OBP and .508 slugging.Observation: This means, based on the statistics, the Royals are essentially sending nine A.J. Hinches to the plate every day (remember A.J. Hinch?). Opponents are sending up nine Bobby Abreus.Also, my editor called. Apology filled his voice. “Buddy …,” he began.And you know where that call ended. Here I am, hostage to another Royals losing streak. A year ago, I was held hostage through the Royals’ 19-game streak, the longest losing streak in baseball in 30 years, a stretch of baseball so bad that I had to watch game six of the 1985 World Series a dozen times just to cleanse myself.This season, I figured if nothing else, I wouldn’t have to deal with double-digit losing streaks. It’s hard to lose 10 games in a row. Before last year, the Royals had had only two of them. Last season, other than the Royals, it happened only twice. This season, I figured the Royals would tread water. I wrote on opening day that, if nothing else, the Royals would be a professional unit this time, a team with competent veterans. They would not embarrass themselves.For the Royals fan who writes in every day to ask, “Are they embarrassing yet?” here are three words dedicated to you: “I … was … wrong.”Here are the losing streak totals: The Royals have lost 10 games in a row and have been outscored by the lovely mirror score of 72-27. That means, on average, the Royals have been outscored by 4.5 runs per game. Nice.Buddy Bell is now the first manager in Royals history to have two double-digit losing streaks, which is impressive considering he’s managed only 126 games for Kansas City. If you throw in the eight-game losing streak he had early last year, Bell has spent almost 30 percent of his time as Royals manager mired in long losing streaks.And when you saw the ridiculous lineup he threw out there Wednesday (Doug Mientkiewicz hitting third? Esteban German in center field?) you could understand why.The Royals have given up an astounding 11 unearned runs in the 10-game losing streak. So I also might have been wrong about the improved defense.Buddy quote of the day: (I don’t know how long this losing streak will go on — maybe it ends tonight and I can go back to my book — but in the meantime, I think it is worthwhile to have a regular feature that includes an uplifting Buddy Bell quote.) Here’s today’s quote, spoken after the Royals’ 10th straight loss: “I never say it can’t get worse.”OK, so now that that’s out of the way, we can get to the part of the column you were waiting for — the part where I say the Royals have to fire general manager Allard Baird.Here goes: The Royals have to fire Allard Baird. Everyone who would care knows how much I like and respect Baird as both a baseball man and a person, but we’re way past all that now. Business is business. And this team is a Royal disaster.You know all this: The pitchers can’t or won’t throw strikes. The lineup has no speed, no power, no patience and no hope. The two young pitchers the Royals needed to succeed — Zack Greinke and Runelvys Hernandez — are both dealing with serious issues and might never make it back. Veterans like Mark Grudzielanek, Reggie Sanders and Scott Elarton have played like expected, but that has made no difference at all. The team has been absolutely horrible. As one baseball person told me: “This team is drifting beyond our ability to capture it in words.”It just hasn’t worked. Why? I don’t think it’s just one thing. Royals ownership has not spent much money (even while Forbes says the team made $20 million last year). Baird has swung and missed with free agents. He traded stars Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Carlos Beltran and has not secured even one above-average everyday player. The Royals have done a miserable job developing pitchers, despite the hiring and firing of a half-dozen pitching coaches. And there has been some bad luck.Perhaps more than anything, though, Baird has not figured out a way to create a winning climate in Kansas City.It’s not an easy job. But it is the job.There was a little magic in 2003, and that was fun for a while, but looking back it’s clear that was a fluke, it was all about a fast start and the outrageous charms of Tony Peña. In five full years, the Royals have set team records for losses four times. I obviously couldn’t be a general manager. But I also couldn’t have done much worse than that.Anyway, everyone knew the deal: The Royals had to improve dramatically this year or everything had to change.Well, we’re only three weeks in, and normally I would say that’s not enough time to judge. But the Royals have been so bad in those three weeks — so amazingly, astonishingly, infuriatingly, shamefully and historically bad — that we’ve all seen enough.Allard Baird is one of the most passionate and decent men I’ve met in sports, and I will miss him, but he will get fired soon, very soon, probably in three or four weeks.And there’s really no way around this. It just has to happen. To reach Joe Posnanski, call (816) 234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com.
Posts: 4,179

04-21-2006, 11:22 AM	#34
chiefqueen On my throne Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $8192060	MODS........you have my permission to edit that (or recopy it so the hard returns come back). SORRY!!!
Posts: 4,179

04-21-2006, 12:25 PM	#40
kcfanXIII Ride on! Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Galaxy far far away Casino cash: $10013172	i was a royals fan before both glass and baird got here. just cause they can't field a competitive team, dosen't mean i'm going to run off. however that i am embarressed by the royals makes me want to jump ship. they will always be number one in my heart, but i think i'm gong to be a STL fan, untill kc can do something. pujols did play high school ball right down the road from me at fort osage. __________________ Faster, faster, until the thrill of speed, overcomes the fear of death.
Posts: 5,470

04-21-2006, 12:56 PM	#42
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	Yay, another Royals dumping thread! Because the 20 we have every day aren't already enough!
Posts: 80,659