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It’s just my opinion
but…
That’s it, I can’t it take any more! It’s bad for the game and something must be done. Exactly how it is to be accomplished is up to wiser men than me but one thing has become abundantly clear. David Glass must be made to sell the Kansas City Royals. IMMEDIATELY!
It’s been three weeks since the Royals Owner and CEO angrily
vowed to make “significant changes” and three weeks later, the former Wal-Mart
mogul has done nothing. In that time,
the Royals are just 3-15 and are currently riding a 13-game losing streak after
blowing a 6 run first inning lead on Thursday.
Their overall record has dropped to 10-35, an abysmal .222 winning
percentage that puts them on pace to lose a whopping 126 games. They lost 12 in a row to start the season on
the road, one off the major league record, and have lost 20 of 22 away from
home overall. The only roster
transactions of note over the last three weeks: the release of Joe Mays (at 0-4
with a 10.27 ERA, an obvious no-brainer), claiming Chris Booker off waivers
from Philly (and placing him on the DL three days later), recalling SS Andres
Blanco from the minors, optioning 1B Justin Huber out and sending Kerry
Robinson outright to
“What's happened is just
unacceptable. We're going to change some things to make it better,” Glass said
back on May 5. I ask you Mr. Glass, are
Joe Mays or Chris Booker “significant changes”?
Glass became the Owner of the
Royals in April of 2000 when the board of directors accepted his bid of $96
million for the team despite having a bid $24 million larger on the table. Baird took over as GM in July of that
year. KC finished off the 2000 season
with a record of 77-85 after spending the 90’s in the 64-84 win range (725-825,
.468). Since then, the Royals have gone
324-486 (.400), averaging just 64 wins a year with three 100+ loss seasons and
another with 97. If not for their
miracle ’03 team (83-79) piloted by Tony Pena, this ship would be even more of a complete and utter
wreck. Not since 1989 have the fans of
Baird, with a dumb look on his face
As a fan of the game, it pains me
to see a once proud franchise struggle so horribly. Growing up in the 80’s I watched as guys like
Frank White, Hal McRae, Willie Wilson, U.L. Washington, Mark Gubicza, Bret
Saberhagen, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Mays Aikens, John Wathan, Dennis Leonard
and of course, the great George Brett grace the beautiful fields of Kauffman
Stadium (known back then as Royals Stadium, the name changed in 1993 to honor
the man responsible for baseball in Missouri).
The Royals in 1975 were owned by
Ewing Kauffman, who bought the expansion team in 1968 and owned them until his
death in ’93. They then began a run of
15 seasons in which they won 90 or more games 9 times, including 102 in
’77. They won 7 division championships,
2
The ever patient fans in KC
deserve better than this. The game
deserves better than this. With Vince
Naimoli now out of baseball after (thankfully) having sold the Devil Rays this
past off-season, Glass is now undisputedly the worst owner in the game. And with the L.A. Clippers’ recent success in
the NBA, Glass may have even edged out Donald Sterling as the worst owner in
pro sports. Firing Baird, hands down the
worst GM in pro sports, would be a step in the right direction, but let’s face it, in business it all starts at the top. And in
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Elarton: Not the answer |
Though
At the same time, Kauffman was not
afraid to spend when it was needed to make the team better. He once signed Dan Quisenberry to a lifetime
contract and made sure that George Brett never wore anything other than Royal
blue. Under Glass’ stewardship, the team
has seen such rising stars as Carlos Beltran, Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye
abandon ship because the small market Royals supposedly could not afford to keep
them. Undoubtedly free agency has
changed the game dramatically since Kauffman’s days, but nonetheless, where is
the hope for the future when you know the future will be wearing pinstripes in
a few years?
Of course some credit must be
given for trying recently. Baird was
given $25 million extra to spend on payroll this off-season and on March 10,
the Royals signed David DeJesus to a five year deal, though the 26-year-old CF
has spent most of this season on the DL with a strained hamstring. Again, it’s not how much you spend, but how
well you spend it.
There have been rumors that Glass’
first choice to replace Baird spurned him and that Glass has since been
assailed for promising changes before he was ready to make them. Leave it to the Royals to bungle “significant
changes.”
“I'm not willing for us to sit and
wait to see if it gets better,” Glass told The Associated Press back on May 5.
“We've got to figure out what we've got to do to make it better. And that's
what I'm working on.”
That’s just great, you work on
figuring it out while three weeks later the rest of baseball sits and
waits. Well I’ve got your answer Mr.
Glass. SELL THE TEAM! Do baseball, its fans and the entire City of
But that’s just my opinion.
Disagree with something? Got something to add? Wanna bring up something totally new? Richard lives in San Francisco and can be reached at richard@baseballevolution.com.