Dayton Moore's Sisyphus

“We’re pushing forward. We’re pushing up the hill. We’re not going to stop.”

This is per Dayton's ill advised, poorly worded and borderline insane comments to the KC Star that have driven Royals fans to the brink of rioting. There is a lot of truth in this comment, but not the kind Dayton seems to think  he's getting at. In the article Dayton thinks he's being the power of positive thinking, leader of men-type that his Tony Robbins books tell him he needs to be, but he's actually the guy who refuses to get it. The Royals are done this year, they just lost 5 games in a row and they have only 70 games remaining in which to make up a seemingly insurmountable lead in either the division behind both the Indians and the Tigers or the Wild Card behind even more teams. The Royals had been hanging around, just barely dodging extinction and then came the pre-All Star break sweep at the hands of the Indians. The best we can hope for is that this is Dayton Moore putting on his best poker face and that he is just waiting for the best offer to come in on Ervin Santana. However, anyone who thinks Chris Getz should get one more ONE MORE CHANCE to prove that he can´t hit major league pitching doesn´t get the benefit of the doubt with the PBR. This type of comeback has happened before in recent memory just down I-70, but if we're the 2011 Cardinals then this blog can officially retire in Peace.

With the Royals opening back up today against the Tigers, there is only one thing that can happen to get things turned around: a sweep, either by us OR them. If they go out and get swept then Dayton can no longer make these types of comments, Ned Yost will have to start putting a resume together and Dayton can be free to trade Ervin Santana and hope to get a minor league player than can help in 2014. If the Royals are the ones who sweep the Tigers, then we restart the Bandwagon and resume talks of 2013 contention and Ned Yost being manager of the year, Dayton Moore being lauded for his brilliant trades for James Shields and Ervin Santana, Hosmer and Moustakas as the new Bash Brothers, etc. However, like Dayton says there is likely more uphill pushing in the future of the Royals and the remainder of the season will be marked by more delusions, so here are the Top 5:

#1 Ned Yost Loves Hot Guys:  He said it: “In fairness to (Giavotella),” Yost said, “he only had 35 at-bats. I understand that. But we’ve got to go. It’s time to go. We want to make sure we’ve got as many hot guys in that lineup that we can get in it.” This is Ned's justification for the recall of Chris Getz. Getz is SO HOT right now there should be a warning label on the back of his jersey instead of his name. A .313 hitter in AAA, that kind of bat has to be in the line-up, never mind the guy who in just shy of 1,500 major league plate appearances has a slugging percentage of .313. I'm done.

#2 Hosmer is Awesome:  All of this Eric Hosmer is on-fire, George Brett unleashed the monster, he's back talk needs to slow down. Yes, he finally started hitting home runs again and now has almost as many as Vernon Wells! However, he still trails Chris Davis by 28 so lets hold off on the excitement until it is really warranted. He's about an average offensive player, he still has a long way to go until we can get excited about him in the future. Don't get me wrong, I like to see those HRs as much as anyone, but he's not even Mike Sweeney yet.

#3 Mike Moustakas is coming around: Yes, Since June 1st he's raised his average from below .180 all the way to .215. Sorry this isn't progress, just going from being really bad and having really bad luck to just being really bad. I'm really not sure who Mike Moustakas is going to be, but right now he's quite simply one of the top 5 worst hitting everyday players in baseball.

#4 Alcides Escobar, short stop extraordinaire: He's right there with Moustakas for worst everyday hitters in the AL, but he hits second in the line-up because he is really good at bunting. Ned Yost and the 2-hole is probably some of the most overworked territory on the Royals Blogger circuit, but it's because IT IS STUPID to have the guy with a .277 OBP getting the second most ABs in the line-up. If this doesn't change in the second half, we know Ned Yost is certifiable. Bunts, good speed and nice backhanded plays on defense, don't allow you to bat in one of the most important places in the line-up, this is just wrong. Alcides Escobar is an average major league SS, nothing more, no matter how many times Rex Hudler calls him a ballerina dancer.

#5 The Royals can compete in 2013: We covered this briefly in the outset, but it's not going to happen. The Royals need to be realistic and actually open the local newspaper or any one of a hundred internet websites and look at the standings. Sorry Dayton, it was a nice try but the Tigers better; Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera make Alex Gordon and Billy Butler look like Chris Getz and Jeff Francouer. It's over, be smart make the right moves for 2014 and keep with your perpetual testing of our patience year after year, but I'm sure NEXT year we'll really, really, finally be ready to win.