I know who to blame: Us. The fans. For actually buying into all the foundationless hype about the new coaches and the "new approaches" to hitting and pitching. We should have known better.
In a season where the Central division is truly awful, that is of course when MLB changes the schedule so the Royals don't get the benefit of playing more "competitive" games against the ChiSox, Detroit, and Cleveland. Yeah, its depressing..... Gentry, one of the few bats that has a chance of being impactful, has struggled. Cross is in a huge slump. It's bad. Really bad...pitching and offense. There are a few pitching bright spots in the minors, but few of them are at upper levels.
29 games way too early (notwithstanding comparisons to prior 'bad through 29 game' seasons you noted on Twitter) ... realize no one in this space will disagree, and concede it isn't the total picture, but at risk of choir preaching, at least part of a more stats based approach is that sample size has to be big enough to let the metrics work themselves out, so would be counter intuitive in the extreme to make judgments at this stage (unless you happen to be a fan who was expecting a playoff run this year, in which case you should be given a ticket straight into the rose-colored glasses hall of fame). Your 'who to blame' analysis is on point -- would be somewhat ridiculous to jettison the new management / coaching staff before they've had a year (or three) to work things out. Also, 2 games this year were lost because of horrific defensive play in the outfield, which is beyond coaching staff control, at least 1 game was played in really bad conditions (Saturday v Braves - wind chill was 38 at one point, and felt even colder), etc. Not to excuse anything, but those are the kinds of events that will work themselves out over a larger sample. Yes, the record will be terrible, but the 2003 Tigers were in the WS by 2006 (albeit, sadly, without Trammel, a path that the Royals hopefully don't follow -- stick with the staff that does the work and let them reap the rewards). A year from now maybe there will be more clarity one way or the other; hopefully, at the very least, the 2024 Royals won't show up in the same Google searches as the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. In the meantime, let's hope for some better strike calls, better outfield defensive play, better RISP at bats, better pitching, and more walks from certain swing happy Royals. I would also hope for more luck, but probably should save all the good luck for a season in which there is a realistic shot at playing beyond September. Also, fwiw, I find that a very well-chilled lager or IPA makes the games significantly more watchable.
Ugh.
I know who to blame: Us. The fans. For actually buying into all the foundationless hype about the new coaches and the "new approaches" to hitting and pitching. We should have known better.
In a season where the Central division is truly awful, that is of course when MLB changes the schedule so the Royals don't get the benefit of playing more "competitive" games against the ChiSox, Detroit, and Cleveland. Yeah, its depressing..... Gentry, one of the few bats that has a chance of being impactful, has struggled. Cross is in a huge slump. It's bad. Really bad...pitching and offense. There are a few pitching bright spots in the minors, but few of them are at upper levels.
29 games way too early (notwithstanding comparisons to prior 'bad through 29 game' seasons you noted on Twitter) ... realize no one in this space will disagree, and concede it isn't the total picture, but at risk of choir preaching, at least part of a more stats based approach is that sample size has to be big enough to let the metrics work themselves out, so would be counter intuitive in the extreme to make judgments at this stage (unless you happen to be a fan who was expecting a playoff run this year, in which case you should be given a ticket straight into the rose-colored glasses hall of fame). Your 'who to blame' analysis is on point -- would be somewhat ridiculous to jettison the new management / coaching staff before they've had a year (or three) to work things out. Also, 2 games this year were lost because of horrific defensive play in the outfield, which is beyond coaching staff control, at least 1 game was played in really bad conditions (Saturday v Braves - wind chill was 38 at one point, and felt even colder), etc. Not to excuse anything, but those are the kinds of events that will work themselves out over a larger sample. Yes, the record will be terrible, but the 2003 Tigers were in the WS by 2006 (albeit, sadly, without Trammel, a path that the Royals hopefully don't follow -- stick with the staff that does the work and let them reap the rewards). A year from now maybe there will be more clarity one way or the other; hopefully, at the very least, the 2024 Royals won't show up in the same Google searches as the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. In the meantime, let's hope for some better strike calls, better outfield defensive play, better RISP at bats, better pitching, and more walks from certain swing happy Royals. I would also hope for more luck, but probably should save all the good luck for a season in which there is a realistic shot at playing beyond September. Also, fwiw, I find that a very well-chilled lager or IPA makes the games significantly more watchable.