Hodges: Royals’ Moore gotta go
GM DAYTON MOORE HAS STRUGGLED TO BRING TOP TALENT TO KC, by Wayne Hodges
KANSAS CITY – Ok, it’s time to pull the plug on the Kansas City Royals. On Monday night, franchise pitcher Zack Greinke and the boys in blue got their behinds kicked, 19-1, by the Minnesota Twins. “It was bad. It was bad the whole time,” said a disappointed Greinke. “Every fastball was hit hard.” No diggity? Folks, skip bad. This game was ugly. Ooh, it was ugly. And when I say ugly we’re talking Flava Flav, Jack Nicholson, Herman Munster, Shabba Ranks, Jimmie Walker type ugly. To add insult to injury; obscure Twins third baseman Danny Valencia, fresh up from the minors, hit his first career homerun (a back-breaking grand slam in the first inning). Can you believe that? The dude didn’t even homer in the minor leagues.
Yet, Valencia found both the strength and guts necessary to pimp slap our hapless major league baseball franchise. Afterwards, he poured salt in the wound by talking a little smack. “What better way to start it off?” Valencia said with a big grin. “Not just hit a home run, but a grand slam, and off a guy who’s an accomplished big leaguer and won the Cy Young. It was great.” Then, on Tuesday night, Valencia pounded out 4 more hits in an 11-2 smackdown of KC; becoming the first Twins rookie to collect as many in back-to-back games. Yes, records are being broken in KC. And not in a good way. Valencia’s production confirms the Royals are officially the biggest joke in baseball.
Speaking of jokes, the real reason for KC’s on-field futility is owner David Glass. You know it. I know it. And old ladies shopping at the grocery store know it. Unfortunately, the owner won’t fire himself. I guess that’s one of the perks of being the head honcho in charge. So, for sanity purposes, it’s imperative the blame be placed elsewhere. Scapegoat #1 was former manager Trey Hillman. Scapegoat #2 should be general manager Dayton Moore. I’m serious. Time for Dayton to pack his bags and go. Look, Moore looks real cool in his sunglasses. He gives the perception he knows what he’s doing. But let’s face it. The guy has failed miserably in acquiring legitimate major league caliber talent.
Even worse, Moore is primarily responsible for screwing up the promising career of the reigning American League Cy Young winner. Pretty sad. First, Moore inexplicably shipped Greinke’s favorite catcher, Miguel Olivo, out of town at the conclusion of last season. Then, as an encore, Moore parted ways with longtime signal caller John Buck who promptly transformed himself into an All-Star catcher with Toronto this year. As a byproduct of Moore’s ineptness, the Royals are stuck with broken-down, 37-year-old has been, catcher Jason Kendall.
Trust me; Greinke has certainly noticed the difference in catchers. EXHIBIT A: In lasting only 4 innings, Zack coughed up his worst effort of the season; giving up 6 runs in the first inning alone. He was mercifully removed after serving up two more runs in the fourth. Greinke (4.01 ERA) is scheduled to become a free agent in a couple years. It would be foolish to re-sign with KC. Although a perennial loser, former GM Allard Baird, fired prior to the hire of Moore, offered something in the form of consolation to fans by delivering All-Star caliber players to KC’s roster in a list that includes the aforementioned Greinke, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon.
Yes, the team stunk under Baird. But at least he gave us a reason to visit the ballpark. Moore, on the other hand, hasn’t brought diddly squat to KC. And this year’s roster serves as a painful reminder of that. Hate to say this. Really, I do. But Moore has to go. Plain and simple. Time for Glass to hand him that one-way Greyhound Bus ticket out of town. Because in the words of R&B group Rose Royce: “Love don’t live here anymore.”
Wayne Hodges, an MBA from St. Mary University, is the Editor-in-Chief of “Mass Appeal News.” He is also a candidate for Kansas Senate District #7, an adjunct professor, and legislative intern with the Kansas Senate. Wayne welcomes your comments at whodges@massappealnews.com
July 28th, 2010 at 8:18 am
like i said before… the royals can fire all the coaches and GMs they want but until Glass gets off his butt and start spending some money the royals will continue to stink. the royals remodeled the stadium to bring in more $$$ — why are they being so cheap?
July 28th, 2010 at 8:44 am
KC Dave makes some good points but the Royals will never be a big money spending team because of the small market. I agree with Hodges in that Moore has to do a better job of evaluating talent and keeping good players. Hodges makes a great point about the catcher position. Olivo and Buck are better players than Kendall but Moore let them go anyway. Greinke has not been the same since Olivo left.. This is Moore’s fault.
July 28th, 2010 at 10:31 am
so you sayin we stuck with david glass as owner??? damn the royals are gone lose forever. that dude is cheap as hell
July 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am
the royals cant hit, cant pitch, and cant coach – why are they still in business?
who is CRAZY enuff to buy tickets?
July 28th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
f the royals
July 29th, 2010 at 11:29 am
ditto LOL
August 29th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
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