Jul 20th, 2009 | 11:51 pm |
The Royals have had four winning seasons since 1990. 2009, has been one of the most frustrating for Royal’s fans.
Fans cite strategic handling of the Royals pitching staff by Manager Trey Hillman as a reason. Others question the signing of veteran players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillien. The Royals gave Guillen a $36 million three-year contract in 2007. This season Guillen has a sore groin while batting .243 with just nine home runs and 37 RBI. Monday Guillien said he was emabarrased by his salary.
“I’m embarrassed by the money that I making,” “And playing the way I’ve been playing. I’ll swear that on my kids’. I feel very embarrassed.”
In December they signed Farnsworth to a two-year $9.25MM deal. Farnsworth will be out of the lineup with a tear in his groin until late August.
In the past the Royals were unwilling to spend big money to keep stars. ”Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, Rual Ibanez, there is a solid trio and yet our ownership won’t pay out of his pocket to keep these guys,” said Travis Garrod a Royals fan.
Today, Coco Crisp will have season ending surgery on a torn right labrum. The Royals acquired Crisp in the offseason from the Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez. Crisp makes $5.7 million this season, with a club option for 2010 for $8 million or a $500,000 buyout. Saturday Guillen took a foul ball off his left ankle and will miss a a few games.
On May 24, Shortstop Mike Aviles was put on the DL with a bad elbow. On July 8th he had Tommy John Surgery, ending his season. The Royals filled in Tony Pena Jr., Willie Bloomquist, and Luis Hernandez.
On July 10, the Royals traded two minor league pitchers Dan Cortes and Derrick Saito to the Seattle Mariners, for Shortstop Yuniesky Bettancourt. They will pay him $5 million over the next 2 1/2 seasons, plus either the $2 million buyout or $6 million club option for 2012.
Cortes came into the season as the organization’s third-best prospect by Baseball America. He was the Royals 2008 minor league pitcher of the year. A year- while with Double A-Northwest Arkansas he went 10-4, 3.78 with 109 strikeouts and 55 walks over 117 innings. At the time of the trade in July, Cortes was 6-6, 3.92 with 57 strikeouts and 50 walks over 80 innings. One report said that Cortes had lost 5 mph off of his fastball, going from the mid to low 90’s in one year’s time.
“Criticism is part of it, but we know that we’re doing things the right way in all aspects of our organization,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said. ”Are we perfect? No. Do we make mistakes? Yes. But the effort is good, the process is good, and you can’t get discouraged.”
The criticism towards Trey Hillman has increased, here is an excerpt from www.royalsauthority.com
Sunday, a real treat of an inning as three Royal relievers, none of them named Joakim Soria, combined to allow two singles, three walks and one error to hand the Rays the series on a silver platter.
Does Trey Hillman ever learn? Does he not grasp the basic concept of going to your best reliever when the game is on the line? Soria last pitched seven days ago in an eighth inning mop-up role in a 6-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Is that what he is now? A mop-up guy?
Hillman said Monday night he wants to be careful with Soria
“I want the win as bad as anyone else does,” Hillman said, “but if we run into problems with Joakim Soria’s shoulder, we’re in worse shape than we were (last weekend).”
June 16, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy for Royals faithful. That day against the Arizona Diamondbacks Hillman elected to leave pitcher Gil Meche in for 132 pitches. Meche pitched a four-hit shutout. In Meche next starts, he lasted a total of 8.1 inning, allowing 14 hits, 13 runs and four home runs. Five games later Meche landed on the disabled list with chronic back problems. Meche recent back problems was pain on his left side.
“The problems that he had with his low back previously — and to my knowledge, since I’ve been here — it’s always been on the right side,” Hillman said.
To some Hillman’s handling of Meche was clear cut evidence that he was not the manager that can make the Royals a winner. Meshe wasn’t cheap either, after the 2006 season he signed a five-year, $55 million contract.
Moore told the Kansas City Star “Trey has the chance to be one of the very best baseball men in a generation.“
Moore decided to calm speculation that Hillman will be replaced. He told the Star that Hillman will be the Manager for the rest of 2009, and beyond.
“I anticipate us having a strong second half,” Moore says. “I expect Trey Hillman to be a big part of that in the second half, and in the future. I expect him to be a big part of it. I always try to refrain from making any sort of decisions as far as on-field personnel until after the season,” Moore said
“But as it pertains to Trey specifically, Trey’s done and the staff have done and are doing a tremendous job with our baseball team.”
Concerning the criticism of some Kansas City fans Hillman stated that the masses may not understand all of his decisions.
“There’s a lot that people don’t know,” Hillman said. “I’ve got to stick to my guns and my convictions of what I’ve learned and what I know is best for the individual guys over the long haul for this organization.”
