The Natural – Bleeding Royal Blue

Sure, Game one of the 2014 World Series is in the books, and there really wasn’t much to cheer for if you are a Kansas City Royals fan. Salvador Perez went deep for his first postseason home run, Danny Duffy removed himself from the back of milk cartons and helped the team eat some innings and …and…well, there really wasn’t much to get excited about. But more games are coming, and there is still a lot from this series I want to see before it is all said and done. Since us Royals fans have been waiting for 184 years(or something like that), here is a nice tidy list of things I would love to see happen during this Fall Classic.

1) August Alex Gordon to show up

Sure, it’s been two months ago, but do you remember Alex Gordon in August? The Alex Gordon that looked like a legit MVP candidate, the one who almost carried this Royals team offensively on his back? Since September we have only seen glimmers of that Gordon, including his huge home run in game 1 of the ALCS against Baltimore. If you listen to the national media then you would think Eric Hosmer is the main guy in this Kansas City lineup. Sorry folks, Gordon is the heart of this team and he leads by example. Having Gordon step up and get into a groove would lessen some of the pressure off the rest of the lineup and it feels at this point like he is due. I would even consider moving Gordon up in the lineup. I get that the lineup we have seen since September 21st is one that was working, but the key word there is was.We aren’t talking about a red hot Hosmer anymore and Billy Butler has been lukewarm at best. Gordon has been pitched around a lot during this span and a move up, maybe behind a blazing Lorenzo Cain could do wonders for him. Either way, the Royals need Gordon to get hot and prove why he is the most clutch bat in this lineup. What better time than on the biggest stage of them all?

2) A True Big Game From James

They call him “Big Game James” but James Shields has been anything but big during this Royals postseason, except for maybe a big disappointment. Outside of his ALDS start against the Angels where he fought through 6 innings without his best stuff, only giving up two solo home runs, he has been shaky at best, compiling a 7.11 ERA this October, not very befitting of a rotation’s ace. I guess in some ways this shouldn’t be a big shock, as he has put together a career 5.74 ERA and a 2.93 strikeout to walk ratio. But a stellar outing from Shields would be a plus on so many levels in this World Series. For one, he will most likely be going back up against Madison Bumgarner in Game 5 and if the Royals even consider taking that game they need Shields at his best. If he can match zeroes with MadBum then the Royals can win that game if it becomes a battle of the bullpens. Also, it would be nice to see Shields have one fantastic postseason start before he leaves via free agency this winter. I know, I know, there is a chance he will come back. But that is a very slim chance and I just don’t believe Kansas City will be able to offer him what he truly desires(which is just as much about years as dollars). So what better way for him to leave Kansas City then on top on this World Series stage? Let’s do it James, put a final stamp on your Kansas City career with a game we will be talking about 29 years from now.

3) One Last Big Hit for Josh Willingham

Josh Willingham hasn’t done much for the Royals during the playoffs, as he has only accumulated 3 plate appearances during that span. Injuries have limited him throughout much of his Royals tenure but he is still a dangerous bat off the bench for Kansas City. With the likelihood that Josh will retire at the end of the season, and him making his first playoff appearance during this mind-numbing run by the Royals, it seems like a true storybook ending to his career would be a big hit for Willingham during this World Series. Willingham has never been a star in the game but he has been a solid bat who you could rely on for a true professional at bat with the chance of a deep bomb always looming. Josh is one of the good guys in the game, so nothing would please me more than a big hit in this series to help the Royals get a win. The best chance would seem to be during the games in San Francisco, where he could pinch hit for the pitcher’s spot in the lineup especially late in the game. I can already hear the music from “The Natural” playing as Willingham strides to the plate. Let’s hope he gets at least one chance during this series to make some magic happen.

4)More Redemption for Danny Duffy

My heart has pained for Danny Duffy this postseason. Here is a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and has had to constantly fight throughout his career. Whether it is stepping away from the game in 2010 or Tommy John surgery in 2012, Duffy has had one challenge after another. But things finally seemed to fall in place this year, as he put up numbers that the Royals organization have been expecting from him for years. It has been glorious to watch Duffy blossom this season, but the last couple months have not been pleasant. First there was the one pitch start in New York, where most of us feared for the worst. Then there was the horrible outing in Chicago where Duffy couldn’t throw a strike from the windup and was forced to throw from the stretch. Between these things and his past injuries, the Royals seemed to back off Duffy during the playoffs and had only used him in relief in one game of the ALDS against the Angels. But then Duffy came in last night to relieve James Shields in the 4th inning. Duffy had a rough start, but soon settled down and ate some valuable innings that the Royals needed. In fact before the 7th inning, Duffy looked like the guy we had seen for a large portion of 2014. This was almost redemption for not getting to start in the playoffs, as Duffy is a total team first guy, wanting to help in anyway possible. I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen from him this postseason. I hope he gets to have one more outing to really shine again. Some have recommend him start game 5 of the World Series instead of Shields, but that just isn’t going to happen. But a solid outing out of the pen is more than possible. A chance for Duffy to show his value in this series is a feel good story for a guy who bleeds Royal blue. Let’s hope we have not seen the last of Danny Duffy in 2014.

5) The Return of Moustakas and Hosmer

So far this postseason, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have looked like the first round draft choices they were by Kansas City. But if you follow the Royals in any fashion, you know that these two have been living off of potential the last four years. I feel like I have discussed these struggles over and over, with Moose and Hos. You have heard a lot about these two turning a corner this postseason, but we won’t truly know if that is the truth until we get the 2015 season underway. What we can say is that we haven’t seen much from these two offensively the last few games in the ALCS into the World Series. Want to show us that you are truly maturing during this postseason of Royals goodness? Get some more big hits for Kansas City. Hosmer is locked into the cleanup spot in the order and has a good chance of having runners on base in almost every plate appearance he makes. His swing has looked better as of late, but I still want to see a bit more discipline and him to hit it to the opposite field a bit more. Moustakas has struggled when teams put the shift on him, so hitting it to left field more often would make me feel like he is starting to learn at the dish. No matter what, if these two can get going again, we could start seeing a bit more offense out of the Royals and comfortable leads in their future. I don’t want to say the fate of this offense relies on these two, cause it doesn’t. But it is a much better offense when they are producing.

6) #RoyalsDevilMagic

This hashtag became a fun little topic on Twitter not only during this postseason run but even before that, back when the time was just vying for a playoff spot. “Royals Devil Magic” is when the unexplainable happens, or as Denny Matthews would say, “simple, dumb luck”. Like this:

Or like Terrance Gore scoring from second base on an infield chopper. Or pretty much anything that happened in the Wild Card game against the A’s. It has been said by better men than me that the Royals are a team of destiny, and even if you aren’t someone who believes in something like fate, you have to at least acknowledge that when it is your time, things seem to fall your way. More than anything I want to see some “Royals Devil Magic” in this series. I was an 8 year old kid when the Royals won the World Series back in 1985 and there are certain moments that are etched into my memory that will be there long after I get old and start losing my mind. George Brett sliding into the dugout to catch a pop up. Dane Iorg’s bloop hit into right field to score Jim Sundberg, sliding headfirst into home. Darryl Motley’s home run in game 7 and him catching the last out in that same game to clinch the series. I would love to add some more memories to pass the time during those seasons that aren’t quite as magical. There is no reason to stop this train now. Some more devil magic would seal the deal on what has been a season of the unexplainable. There has to be some more magic left in this team for a few more great moments. It might not make any sense, but why should we start making sense of this Royals team now?

Look, this list could go on and on. Who doesn’t love the Royals outfield defense and the amazing feats they pull off? What about the back end of this Kansas City bullpen with the Cyborgs(Herrera, Davis, Holland) throwing heat? Maybe another stolen base from Billy Butler? More than anything, I want to see a good, tough series where the Royals triumph. This has been an electric postseason for Kansas City but there is still work to do. It’s time for the Royals to bring it home. Yes, more than anything I want a World Championship. I’m already making plans to view the trophy in the Royals Hall of Fame next spring. Oh, how sweet it is…

“Losing is a disease……as contagious as bubonic plague…attacking one…but affecting all.”

That famous quote is from the classic baseball movie “The Natural” as a psychologist talks to the New York Knights while they are going through a losing streak. I think of it anytime the Royals play awful baseball, which has been a lot over the last eighteen seasons. We were told by Royals management this off-season that this year was going to be different. No more losing teams, no more little league plays, no more disappointments. This was the year that the Royals were going to be a winner. Even if by that they just meant “a .500 team” that was good enough for most of us. I personally saw some holes with this team, but also knew if a few things went their way we could be looking at 81 to 83 victories this season. With the way this team got off to a hot start, it looked like maybe even more could happen. Hell, I went to the K for one great game and by the end of the weekend I started to believe a little bit more. But by that Monday, things started to change. The wheels have come off that infamous bus that Rex Hudler always talks about and at this point the Royals are looking for any moral victory they can get.

As if the losing wasn’t bad enough(and trust me, it’s plenty bad), we then get told by Neddaniel Yost, Royals manager esquire, that we Royals fans are “impatient”. Trust me, Yost said more. He also said we fans wanted “instant gratification”. So the guy who told us all off-season that the Royals were “trying to win” this year and that players wouldn’t have the same leash they had in the past if they slump is telling us NOW to be more patient? The manager who has never managed a winning ballclub in Kansas City? The guy who hasn’t been around for the last eighteen seasons, where the Royals have had only ONE year of above .500 play, told US we are impatient??? Let’s just say that didn’t sit well with most Royals fans.

I was all prepared to go on a long rant about Yost and the stupidity of his comments. It is well known my hatred for him and how for the last 13 months I have felt like the Royals should find someone else to be their manager. I was going to give a 2000 word summary of why this Royals team is worse off with him in their dugout. But then Craig Brown did a much better job than I ever would have. Brown explained in the best way possible what a foolish comment Yost made. In some ways, our anger has nothing to do with the team losing. It has way more to do with how Royals management views their die hard fan-base.

You see, it’s not just Yost that acts like Royals fans are selfish children that want everything instantly(#instantgratification). Royals GM Dayton Moore has more or less said the same thing. Funny thing is he seems way more impatient than we are. Moore is the one who traded the Royals top prospect, Wil Myers, so he could acquire the top of the rotation arm he coveted, James Shields, from Tampa Bay. He gave away six years of Myers for two years of Shields and the hope that the Royals could snag a playoff spot. At the least, it was a desperation move to save his job. If that isn’t impatience, I don’t know what is. We are in year seven of the Moore era, and not one winning season has been seen in Kansas City. We have been told to be patient, let the process play out. Problem is, his process is failing. Pitchers have scuffled in the minors, never moving past AAA(Montgomery, Dwyer). His hitters have reached the bigs, but have struggled(Hosmer,Moustakas). Trades have failed, managers have fallen to the wayside, and to be honest, the only thing the organization can hold onto like a plush toy in the hands of an infant child is last year’s All-Star game. At some point you have to admit your shortcomings. Instead, the finger gets pointed to us, the paying customer.

I’ve been a Kansas City Royals fan since 1984. Many of us die-hard’s have been around for a long, long time. We actually do remember when the team won on a regular basis and remember the tradition of the franchise. The fact that in 2013 we are still around and still cheering this team is somewhat of a miracle. It’s definitely dedication. We are the loyal of the loyal, the ones who might talk trash about the team, but would also be the first to stand up for them if an outsider talked bad about them. To say you have such passionate fans after the last eighteen seasons is not only shocking, but unheard of. We could have jumped ship. We could have found another team and started rooting for them. We could be real jerks and start cheering for the Cardinals. But we don’t. We still go to the ballpark, we still buy the merchandise. We root for Mike Moustakas even though he is in a massive slump. We still think Eric Hosmer can really be something, even if the possibility fades away a little bit every day. The Royals, after all that losing, still have a rabid fan-base. Do you think the Yankees would have that if they started losing? I don’t think so. So our reward for our loyalty is to have Royals management come out in public and tell us we are impatient and want “instant gratification”? Sorry, Dayton and Ned. You couldn’t be farther from the truth.

You see, if we wanted “instant gratification” we would be gone. We wouldn’t care anymore. We would no longer be Kansas City Royals fans. We wouldn’t make our venture to the K to take in another game. We wouldn’t sift through the gift shop, looking for a new Moustakas or Perez shirt that we could wear proudly. If we were as impatient as Dayton and Ned say we are, and have told us we are more than once over the last seven years, then this conversation would be moot. Because we wouldn’t exist. Ned can talk about about trees and Dayton could sputter something about a “process” but it would be the equivalent of when Rex is talking and you’ve muted your TV: no one can hear you. If we want to be brutally honest, we fans are going to still be here long after this two man carny show is gone. Sooner or later, Neddy and Dayton will get their walking papers, but us die-hards will still be here. Hell, we might have to sit through another rebuilding phase, but our allegiance will still be to this team. It goes beyond just cheering and crying for us; this is our team, for life. We bleed Royal blue. We are the ones you should be thankful for, despite seven years of being told to be patient while witnessing more losing. So instead of getting pissy about us clamoring for Moose to start hitting, realize you two are the ones who told us to expect more. The two of you are the ones who told us it was time to believe. You can’t just tell us to FINALLY raise expectations and then get mad when we bitch about those expectations not being met. It doesn’t work that way. You want to prove us wrong? Win. Period. Winning will not only make us happy, but make you look like you are actually competent at your job, which is very questionable with Ned and Dayton. Winning is the cure for losing; and we all know losing is a disease…

Tag: The Natural

What I Want to See in the 2014 World Series

The Kansas City Royals: Instant Gratification Can’t be Found Here

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