Quote:
Originally Posted by petegz28
Okay, okay, it was a long shot to begin with but we were making a serious run at making that long shot.
Enter the 3 Amigos: Chris Getz, Billy Butler, Ned Yost...
Backdrop:
It was a Saturday night in Detroit. The Royals had just swept the 1st place Tigers in a double-header the previous day. It was set for the Royals to take at least 3 out 5 from the 1st place team and at worst gain a game on them
It was a very playoff like atmosphere. Detroit took the early lead but Kansas City kept battling back to tie the game. Then it comes down to the last 6 outs of the game with the Royals trailing.
In the top of the 8th the Royals had scratched runs to tie the game at 5. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs, David Lough pops out to the infield. Okay, Lough has been an over-achieving 4th outfielder, it's disappointing but acceptable and somewhat expected.
That brings us Eric Hosmer in the same situation with 1 out. The Tigers wisely walk him to load the bases and get to Billy Butler. Yes, that is correct, in a tie game the Tigers loaded the bases intentionally with 1 out to face what is supposed to be the best hitter on the Royals' roster.
Royals fans are thinking "the go ahead run is sealed, Butler will come through with the Sac Fly at least, right?", or were they??? Billy Butler, the DH, the All-Star, the man whose job is to do nothing but hit the ball....lines out to the 3rd baseman making it 2 outs with bases loaded, putting the odd squarely in the favor of Detroit and making them look like geniuses for walking Hosmer. Gordon grounds out, Royals don't score the go ahead run.
Onto the top of the 9th. With 2 outs and the go ahead runner on 3rd and the odds already favoring the defense, Chris Getz, at his direction or otherwise, puts down a bunt. YES! YES! A ****ING BUNT WITH 2 OUTS! Needless to say the runner on 3rd never scored and the Royals head to the bottom of the 9th tied at 5 to face the best hitter in baseball.
Enter Ned Yost. In a 3-1 count, Aaron Crow is somehow not told to pitch around Cabrrera. Instead he grooves a 3-1 fastball only to watch the game end as the ball went over the outfield wall. Royals lose, 6-5.
Game over. Season Over.
While there were no guarantees we would have won that game using more common sense, we would have had a much better chance at doing so.
I know there is plenty of blame to go around but later in life as I look back on this season I will look back to those 2 innings and those series of plays as to what finally broke the back of the Royals miracle run at the playoffs.
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I told everyone that inning was our chance to take the lead, the series and to really crank start this team's mojo into a hot run. They pissed down their pants and took all of the wind out of this team's sails.
BUT
The season was lost back in May...we've been making a hot run climbing up a huge hill. Gordon, Moustakas, Hosmer, and Butler, who are all supposed to be 25+ HR guys and Perez and Cain are supposed to be 15+HR guys. But they weren't...and weren't even shadows of that kind of level of player. This offense was ****ING TERRIBLE. The pitching staff is amazingly has what kept this team competitive. Yes Ned Yost has about 10 losses alone on his belt just from stupid ****ing managing...when all you have to have in baseball to be a successful manager is talent and common sense.
I'll agree that Yost and injuries suspensions killed this run, but it was the core impact group of guys on this lineup that were supposed to come through and they haven't. Gordon has some, but he's been inconsistent as well. These guys collectively should be batting .295-.305 range