A year of evaluation

Royals owner John Sherman throws his support behind leadership and extolls a partnership with the Chiefs as they continue to work toward public financing for a new stadium.

Disaster.

If I were to pick one word to describe the 2023 season for the Royals, it would be disaster.

Of course, there are varying degrees of what constitutes a disaster. Especially in baseball. The A’s are a disaster, but they were built for that purpose. Mission accomplished! Across the state, the Cardinals calibrated their expectations per usual, where a spot in the postseason is the minimum. So when, at the season’s midway point, St. Louis owns the third-worst record in the NL and the best fans in baseball are yearning for the days of one Mike Matheny, well…that’s a different kind of disaster. If I’m being honest, it’s kind of fun.

The Royals are a disaster in that, yes expectations for the 2023 season were modest, but they’ve somehow managed to sink below any level of that. And there’s scant sign that things will improve in the second half of the season.

This week (after just two games), one could be tempted to invoke the Bell Axiom (“Never say it can’t get worse.”) at least twice. Once when they held a slim lead going into the ninth inning they let slip away and again when they were absolutely shellacked by the Guardians. These Royals don’t lose in a certain way. They lose in every way.

So as owner John Sherman met with the media in what was billed as a mid-season state of the franchise type of chat, I wasn’t surprised when he acknowledged the shortcomings of the 2023 Royals.

“The results are worse than we thought they would be. We knew it would be challenging…but I did think we’d be further along.”

I could get ripped for this, but the honesty is refreshing. The Royals had expectations for this season that were probably fairly low and they can’t even meet those. It’s been a dumpster fire and it’s good that ownership is clear-eyed in the assessment. I feel like that was something that didn’t happen under old ownership.

Then there was this…

“I feel accountable for where we are right now. I would just tell you that we are committed to do what it takes to return to form, to develop a playoff caliber team here in Kansas City. We made meaningful changes both on and off the field last year that were necessary. This is a real year of evaluation and that evaluation right now is painful.”

I realize that your take on the above quote will vary, but I continue to believe what Sherman is saying when it comes to this franchise and results on the field. The talk of commitment from ownership is oftentimes a sentiment that is detached from reality. Yet I do think Sherman is committed to building a winner. If you asked him (and if he could be so candid), I would bet that those changes he spoke of that were made last season, Sherman wishes he made probably two and a half years ago.

Being slow on the removal of Dayton Moore, as we know, only served to delay any meaningful—and necessary—change. I think it’s safe to say that Sherman is happy that he eventually made the move. Yes, it was too late and it’s indirectly led us to this point, but it remains a positive and important move.

“Until we start producing better results, those are the things that Q (Matt Quatraro) and JJ (Picollo) are focused on. I have total confidence in both of them. I think this is a challenging year for them, a challenging year for our players…But Q and JJ knew what they were taking on here. What I appreciate about their approach, particularly with a young group like we have today, is really the growth mindset, keeping these players even and focussing on their processes and continuous improvement.”

While I may not share the same confidence, I am willing to give Quatraro and Picollo the time they deserve to make improvements. It’s rash to pull the plug on new hires this quickly.

I guess that’s why I’m patient in my own assessment of the team. It’s completely understandable to want to blow things up, to tear everything down and start from scratch, but that’s pretty much what they’re doing right now. Even if they didn’t mean to. My largest concern is that losing is a rot that can take hold in even the most conscientious of organizations. It’s particularly concerning when the team is stocked with young talent. I’m not going to get all Uncle Hud and start talking about losing being “contagious,” but I will acknowledge that teams can find themselves in a cycle that is difficult to break from.

Good grief, it has been difficult at times to watch this team.

“I think we have a core of young talent. I think how deep that is something…perhaps we thought it was deeper. I think we need to continue to find them, how deep that is, who are the players who are going to be the core of the next playoff team, and then we’re going to have to go get some more. Via trades, via free agency…we have to develop more.”

Sherman and the rest of the front office clearly miscalculated the depth of the talent pool. It’s good to hear him admit that because that’s been a stumbling block for this franchise in the past. However, I find myself wondering about said core. I may not have written for a while but my stance on Bobby Witt Jr. remains unchanged. He’s a talent. Same for Vinnie Pasquantino. Beyond that…I’m not so sure. Two players do not make a core. And there’s just not much help on the immediate horizon.

That’s where any frustration over this rebuild stands. You could accept the stumbles if there was help that would be incoming. But there’s not. Thinking back to 2006, at the time Dayton Moore was hired, I think many underestimated the overhaul that was required. While the organization as a whole is in a better place now than they were back then, the lack of viable major-league talent is frustratingly similar.

In the sixth season of a rebuild, that’s unacceptable.

So the Royals are in a familiar place. While a better foundation is in place, quite a bit has to change in this organization. From scouting to player development to the implementation of analytics. We’re seeing some of these changes in real-time, and while the results at the major league level aren’t encouraging at all, Sherman said this amounts to a year of evaluation. That’s not something you may not want to hear if you’re plunking down cash to go watch this team, but I appreciate Sherman’s candor. The removal of Moore was a watershed moment for this organization and his presence was enormous. It’s going to take some time to recalibrate. That’s not to say they’re going to get everything correct moving forward, and this season has been incredibly underwhelming due to that lack of depth in the talent pool, but I do believe that the guys in charge deserve the chance to get things moving in the right direction.

Yet as I watch the Guardians and Twins hover just beneath the .500 mark yet still battle for supremacy in the Central, it’s annoying that the Royals are stuck in this state of perpetual rebuild. If Sherman has found the people to dig this organization out of this hole, he has to make damn sure they never stumble into it again.

The topic of a new downtown (or north of downtown) stadium remains the elephant in the room. I describe it as such because it’s been a topic for over a year, with seemingly little movement or new information coming forth from leadership. Because of the lack of substantive developments, it’s just there…hanging over the franchise.

The thing that stood out the most for me from the Sherman press conference was that he’s now tying the Royals stadium initiative (at least when it comes to asking for public funds) to the Chiefs’ situation with Arrowhead. (Or whatever they are calling it these days.)

“We did scientific polling…the simple extension of the sales tax for both teams is overwhelmingly positive. As you start to separate that, it becomes a little choppier.”

The taxpayers of Jackson County will support the Chiefs. Little surprise given their successes over the last few years. Support for the Royals? Not so much. So if you combine the two on an initiative, which competing emotion wins? Support for the Chiefs or ambivalence toward the Royals? I think you would get a lot of voters who would pull the lever for yes because they want the Chiefs to be happy. I could be wrong, but I think this was the first time Sherman publicly hitched his wagon to the Chiefs. It’s probably the only winning strategy as long as the Royals are a 100-loss team.

Beyond that, Sherman remains frustratingly light on details regarding the new stadium. The most concrete thing he said was “It’s time to leave The K.” He’s expecting money from the city and the state, but he won’t say how much. He says it will be a private/public partnership, but won’t give a split. He says there will be a positive economic impact, but he can’t in what way. He says The K is fine from a “fan-facing perspective” but isn’t that an argument in favor of staying put?

I can’t help but feel the Royals are losing the PR battle on this. They tried to build some momentum over the winter with a couple of highly managed “listening tours” that failed to resonate. They are trying to play Clay County to get a sweeter deal from Jackson County. And the stadium remains a gem to those who pay for tickets. It’s a difficult sell for an organization with a solid plan and competent public relations. The Royals seem to lack a plan (at least one they are willing to share) and have really failed at the PR aspect.

While Sherman stresses the long-term plan, you can’t fault fans who are looking at the team’s record, their lack of immediate upside and a farm system that is largely devoid of impact talent and wonder why they’re being asked to finance part of a plan that will benefit an organization, that today, feels hopeless.

Last winter, there were rumblings that this could be on the ballot as early as this August. That’s not happening. The timeline would appear for the location to be settled on by late summer and then a ballot question in April. A site announcement, along with a concrete plan gives the Royals the opportunity to reset the stadium process and regain momentum. If they can carry that into the winter and make some tangible roster movement, that would generate a little more goodwill at the ballot box in the spring. They’ll still need the Chiefs on board, but if they can pull it off they can at least generate some excitement around their plans. That could make a “yes” vote a little less distasteful and could swing a few fence-sitters. We’ll see.

It’s been a bit since I’ve written. That wasn’t necessarily by design. Rest assured, it wasn’t because this team is awful. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have lasted beyond the 2005 season.

Going forward, I don’t know how frequently I’ll be posting. It could be a little. It could be more than a little. I’m still around, though. (I just realized the last time I posted was when Freddy Fermin walked off with a bunt against the White Sox. He walked it off on Thursday. Maybe that’s really what I was waiting for.)

I appreciate your subscriptions, the fact that you read my ramblings on a hopeless baseball team and your continued support. Thanks.