All wrapped up in their Sluggies, the Kansas City Royals have finished another dismal season and are ready to hibernate in the American League Central cellar for yet another off-season.
Although the team's 67-95 record wasn't too surprising, it certainly had some memorable moments. Not necessarily the good kind of memorable, but memorable nonetheless. Let's take a grimace-filled trip through the season that was.
The firing of manager Trey Hillman didn't exactly come as a
surprise. He complied
a 151-207 record over his two-plus years at the helm. What was
surprising was the club's reaction to letting Hillman go. General manger
Dayton Moore choked up and got misty eyed like he was announcing his puppy had died. Adding further
strangeness to the manager shuffle were Zack Greinke's bizarre
comments after Moore announced Ned Yost would take over. "I'm guessing he was the manager of the Rockies, but I guess it could
have been the Brewers because he looks like he would be a manager of the
Brewers," the
hurler remarked.
"So that's how much I know about him."
The Yost era was off to a confident start.
The former ace's mouth earned him even more attention (his pitching
sure wasn't) in August following Moore's decision to trade away
veteran players Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farsworth. Disgusted by
facing his third rebuilding cycle/towel tossing, Greinke put on his pouty
pants and let The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton know he
wasn't pleased.
"This is at least the third full
re-start/rebuilding phase since I've been here," Greinke told Dutton. "And, obviously, none of
them have worked. This one hasn't even really started yet."
The 2009 Cy Young Award winner went on to hint that he might not return
when his contract is up.
As Greinke crumbled and grumbled, starter Bruce Chen proved his
career wasn't finished yet. The journeyman
lefty racked up a team-leading 12 wins with an acceptable 4.17 ERA. What
makes Chen's performance even more surprising though is that he says he
actually wants to return to Kansas City when he becomes a free agent
after this year. "I like everything about this organization," he told the Star last month. Maybe he doesn't check the standings.
Finally, some of the best Royals news this season came
out of the minor leagues. Which is sad. But touted third baseman Mike Moustakas
lit up the minors all season, and snapped up the Texas League
Player of the Year award. Moore, however, is being almost painfully patient
with the 22-year-old slugger, and declined
to give fans a taste of what the future could hold when rosters
expanded in September. It's a fair strategy, but catching a glimpse of
club's offensive future would have been invigorating. A raved-about but
constipated farm system is cold comfort for fans facing another empty
off-season.
All things considered, we're glad it's over. Really glad.
Picture by Keith Allison.
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