Believe it or not, I don't want to break this article down "Steve style".
I have always thought that a head coach, regardless of the sport, deserved 5 years to implement his or her plan, and then be judged on the results. The sole exceptions to that being either (a) gross incompetence that requires immediate action, or (b) off field conduct of a criminal nature that requires immediate action.
Often times, this leads me to be at odds with the sporting community, with fans of the team, and with my friends. And even more often, I'm proven wrong in hindsight for defending the coach and arguing for another chance.
And for most of this season, I have defended Trey Hillman, and Dayton Moore, and the entire leadership of the Royals, because let's face it. Things were so bad in this organization that it would take at least 3 years to reach competence, and 2010 was always the year targeted for contention.
But after reading this article, and after witnessing not one, not two, but three mind-blowing 8th inning meltdowns that our manager did nothing, not one damned thing, to prevent ... I'm done.
Trey Must Go.
Because he's not competent enough to do the job.
Let's break down Sam Mellinger's prop-up-the-manager piece from the Star this morning, as only I can do it.
(note: I like Mellinger, a lot. I think he's a tremendous writer. I am just damned sick and tired of the media in this town playing the "oh, poor Royals, they try" card. Screw trying. Show some freaking results already.)
"Another heads-up came in a few days ago. These can put Trey Hillman in a bad mood. They seem to be coming more often now.
Here’s how it usually goes: someone close to Hillman reads or hears something bad, something critical, someone saying the Royals have an ineffective manager and, well, wouldn’t the team be better off with a change?
Hillman swears he doesn’t read the newspaper, doesn’t listen to sports talk radio, doesn’t check out any blogs or message boards. But much of what’s out there gets back to him.
Some of it he wants to hear, it’s part of his job, he says, a way to monitor what fans are thinking and what reporters may be asking. Some of it, though, he’d rather do without. It’s tough to read that people want you fired.
“Does it bother me?” he says. “On occasion? Yeah.”
sk: As someone who is routinely tossed under the proverbial bus at my job by management and fellow co-workers seeking to look good, I get what Hillman is saying. Yeah, warrantless criticism sucks. But we all have to deal with it. You've got one of only 30 jobs in the country pal. You're managing a $70 million plus payroll with incredible incompetence. Sorry to be mean. But only a brain-challenged manager would not have used his all-world closer even once this weekend, holding a one run lead each damned day in the 8th inning. Let's continue before I start slamming the scorecard against the seat in front of me and dropping "god f*cking dammit" bombs again ...
"A year-and-a-half into the job, Hillman is trying his best to block out the growing criticism from fans and media around one of the most disappointing Royals seasons in recent memory.
This was the year the Royals were supposed to compete in a weak AL Central, remember? Sure looked that way when the team started 18-11, in first place and with starter Zack Greinke the talk of the bigger baseball world.
That’s all been swallowed up in a remarkable fall, losses in 42 of 61 games, turning a three-game division lead into an 11 1/2 -game deficit, turning May hopes into July anger. Much of that has been directed at Hillman, fueling speculation about his job security."
sk: make that 43 of 62. Seriously, this team is 19-43 in its last 62 games. 19-43! Do you realize that's basically the exact same winning percentage as Herm's Chiefs (15-34)? Royals .30645, Chiefs .30612. The difference, of course, is two fold. (a) We enjoyed at least a year and a half of excitement, and a playoff berth, with Herm (remember, we opened 4-3 in 2007 before the roof caved in). And of course, (b) Herm was fired for his inability to win. Will Trey suffer the same deserved fate?
"So it’s interesting that general manager Dayton Moore — who is taking criticism himself — now tells The Star that Hillman will remain with the Royals not only this season, but next season as well.
“Absolutely,” he says. “We’re all in this thing together. You can’t keep changing managers and coaches. Continuity is very, very important. If you’ve got people who work hard and people who care and are smart, you stick with them. Because if you stick together through the tough times, we’ve got a chance to win here and do something special long-term.
“You just can’t keep reshuffling.”
sk: that statement is so utterly retarded, so utterly clueless, that I don't know where to begin. Truly. I'm dumbstruck.
Really? "Continuity is very, very important". Not when you aren't winning! This team has posted one -- one! -- season above .500 since I graduated from high school. They have been in position to reach the playoffs (within 3 of a playoff berth) on Labor Day twice -- twice! -- since I graduated high school. Have I mentioned that my 15th year high school reunion is next year? You don't need continuity when you're consistently this bad. You need HHH to bring his sledgehammer in and start cleaning house.
And what's this "If you've got people who work hard and people who care and are smart" line? Where's the proof? I don't doubt that people in this organization work hard, that they care about their tasks, that they have at least a national average IQ, and that they want to win. But where's the proof they know how to do that?
Seriously, do you realize that EVERY team in baseball, save for the former Expos / current Nationals, have made the playoffs since we last did? That's utterly incredible. There's even been 4 effing expansion teams since 1985, and all 4 have made the World Series!
Oy. Moving on.
Fan bases of most every team in baseball criticize their manager, of course. It’s part of the job. The list of criticisms of Hillman is long.
He’s been knocked for bunting too much, bunting too little and bunting in the wrong situations.
sk: nobody, and I mean NOBODY, hates bunting in the American League more than me. Its ridiculous. Its a horrendous waste of resources. I wish our field general understood this.
He’s taken hits for his handling of Joakim Soria’s shoulder injury, for leaving Gil Meche in games too long and taking Greinke out too soon.
Meche, who struggled early in the season with back issues, threw 132 pitches in a complete-game shutout. He then complained of having a “dead arm,” struggled through a couple of terrible starts, thought about skipping his turn in the rotation, and then was allowed to throw 121 pitches in his next start. He is now on the disabled list.
sk: any manager who doesn't understand the concept of a pitch count needs to resign. And any manager who not only fails to grasp a basic concept like the pitch count, but instead trots out Meche to the scenario described above, deserves a pink slip.
Hillman’s substitutions have started arguments among fans. Once in Cleveland, he used Luis Hernandez as a pinch hitter when he had Mark Teahen available. Teahen later came in as a pinch runner.
sk: how can anyone defend that move? Either that's an incredible brain fart on Trey's part, or he's dumber than I'm giving him credit for. That's a "sit on 14 against a 10" kind of screw up.
The bullpen was supposed to be one of the team’s biggest strengths this season. Even with Soria’s shoulder problems, most observers thought there was enough depth to be one of the AL’s better units. Instead, the Royals already have nearly matched last year’s total of blown leads in late innings.
sk: its really very simple. You have one reliable reliever, Soria. You entered the 8th inning with a small lead all three times this weekend. Soria never left the bullpen. Explain that, Trey. Explain how the hell your best reliever NEVER takes the field in 3 one-run games? How? How does this happen? Other than gross managerial incompetence?
Other criticisms are more big picture. He’s not an effective motivator. He’s too sensitive. He juggles the lineup too much. The Royals have regressed defensively and on the basepaths in each of the last two seasons.
On and on it goes.
Hillman hears it. Sometimes it gets to him.
He wants his side to be heard, to be understood.
sk: and he deserves a chance to state his side. But he needs to understand that when you are 19-43 in your last 62 games, people will -- and should -- thorougly examine and critique every move you make. Because when you're 19-43 in your last 62 games, you're doing something wrong. A lot of somethings.
Trey Hillman will tell you he’s self-critical. And he is. Before spring training, he listed a number of things he felt he needed to improve on from his rookie season in the big leagues.
He wanted to be calmer. Wanted to be looser. Wanted to enjoy himself more. Wanted to learn how to better communicate — with fans, with reporters, with players, with everyone.
sk: I feel I'm being set up here ...
The most important thing — in Hillman’s eyes — was that he needed to be in his Bible more. He got away from it too much last year, and with that, he thinks, got away from himself. He’s corrected that.
“Without me trying to inflict my beliefs on anybody else, that’s what I need,” Hillman says. “I’ve been more consistent with that. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been able to stay more balanced.”
sk: and boom goes the dynamite. (steve sighing in disgust) What in the hell does reading your Bible have to do with managing a baseball team? Look it, I'm not here to criticize someone's beliefs. I have mine (religion: the cause of, not solution to, 95% of the world's problems. Note that I said "religion", not "faith". There is a difference).
But again, what the hell does religion have to do with managing a professional sports team? I don't give a crap if my manager reads a Psalm before entering the clubhouse. I DO give a crap if he's read a scouting report. If he's filled out the lineup card to reflect a righty or lefty on the mound facing us. If he's fully aware of who's available to pitch in a jam. Those things matter on a baseball field. Knowing what some verse in John says doesn't.
Its really simple, Trey. If you were winning, you wouldn't face this criticism. Again, you are 19-43 in your last 62 contests. You are failing miserably sir. I'm pretty sure that Bible you're leaning on does talk about accountability, owning up to your mistakes, and most importantly, doesn't contain a single reference anywhere to the game of baseball. That's where your focus should be while you're managing this team, on the game.
Hillman and Moore each say there is a much better atmosphere in the clubhouse than last year. The general feeling among players seems to agree, though that may be a reference to how bad things got last year.
Hillman has, for instance, learned to avoid violating certain “codes” like turning down the music in the players’ weight room.
sk: again, why are we focusing on this? I don't give a crap if the players are more comfortable. I want to see them win. Which they aren't. At an alarming rate.
As the losses have mounted, Hillman has more frequently referenced the stack of injuries the team has incurred. Center fielder Coco Crisp and shortstop Mikes Aviles are each out for the year, opening gaping holes that the Royals’ roster and minor-league systems were unable to fill. Third baseman Alex Gordon’s anticipated breakout season has at least been delayed by hip surgery, and the bullpen went into flux when Soria was hurt.
This is not, as club officials point out, the team the Royals left spring training with. So how much of the blame can justifiably be put on Hillman?
sk: every team deals with injuries. The good ones know better than to use them as a crutch. And besides, at least two of the injuries the Royals have dealt with / are dealing with, were directly attributable to Hillman himself (Soria, Meche), the way he used and abused their arms. So spare me the excuses.
“That’s not for me to answer,” he says. “There’s a lot that people don’t know. I’m not going to bang my head against the wall defending things I do or do not do in trying to educate the masses about things that, quite frankly, I can’t educate. There’s just too much.
sk: wait, did our manager just say that the viewing public, the fanbase of this team, is too stupid to understand why he's doing what he does? Am I reading this right? He won't defend his decisions because we're not smart enough to understand what he's doing? Are you kidding me? This isn't rocket science! Its baseball!
And with all due respect sir, I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person. I am college educated and graduated. From a well respected private institution to boot. I have worked for 11 years as a reinsurance accountant, which is one of the most highly specialized accounting fields that exist. I'm pretty damned sure, sir, that I am capable of being educated when it comes to the nuances of the game. Ask anyone who's sat by me at a Chiefs game. Even pushing a .20 from tailgating, I can still identify a defensive scheme prior to the snap. And I can almost always identify where the weak spot is in the defense as a result. I am not stupid. I am perfectly capable of being educated.
And neither is this fanbase. We're not stupid. We just know a bullshitter when we see one. Don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining, as the great Judge Judy once noted. Don't tell me I'm too stupid to know basic baseball 101. Its not my intelligence in question here sir. Its yours. And rightly so.
“That’s not me getting my violin out. I don’t want people feeling sorry for me. I love my job. But there’s a lot of moving parts to being a major-league manager that people don’t get. … I understand that (we have) a losing record, and injuries we’ve incurred. I understand you’re doing your job and asking difficult questions. I understand. People are going to think what they want to think anyway.”
sk: again, are you kidding me? What part of OBP, OPS, pitch counts, working the count, plate discipline, basic fielding, basic base running am I or other fans incapable of understanding? Most EVERYONE who is a fan of baseball has played the game at some point. Even I played it, and I am anything but "athletically gifted". I've been screaming about pitch counts since at least 1999, long before it became fashionable. I even used to get made fun of at games because I tracked the pitch count back in the day. So, if I'm smart enough to be AHEAD of the curve on something as basic as "wait, you mean throwing 130 pitches each outing is a bad idea on our $55 million asset?", what makes you think I can't grasp the "moving parts to being a major-league manager"?
I love arrogant, condescending people. When they actually have a reason to be arrogant and condescending. And I honestly can't figure out what Hillman's reason is. Its certainly not success on the field. And I'm pretty sure that whole religion thing he's into preaches that "pride goes before a fall". But hey, we shouldn't worry, because Trey's in charge. The man too stupid to use his best reliever at any point in time in 3 one-run games this weekend, thinks I'm too stupid to understand his reasoning.
Actually what am I saying? He's got a point. If he's too stupid to get Soria into the game, I don't want to know his reasoning. Only an ill-advised idiot would look at the situation and go with an inferior reliever. Only someone in over his head would do the exact wrong thing consistently and repeatedly. So in hindsight, yeah, Trey's got a point. I won't ever understand his thinking. Because it makes no sense!
Moore’s lists of defenses for Hillman are as long as the criticisms. Hillman is accountable, Moore says, with “tremendous” leadership skills, good preparation and work ethic.
He’s smart and passionate, and those are two things Moore likes. Moore says he hopes Hillman doesn’t change anything, because “Trey has the chance to be one of the very best baseball men in a generation.” He then mentions that Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre each took harsh criticism early in their careers.
sk: yeah, they all took criticism .. and they all reached the playoffs within 3 years of taking on their first job! Torre won the NL West in 1982. LaRussa won the AL West in 1983. And Bobby Cox won the AL East in 1985. This is Trey's third year at the helm. Anyone see us playing beyond October 4th at this point?
And really ... to compare Trey Hillman to Tony LaRussa. Are you f*cking kidding me? Yeah, they're both arrogant and condescending. Here's the difference though. LaRussa's earned it. Multiple World Series championships and appearances. An insane number of division championships. What exactly has Trey Hillman done? Other than tell the fans of his team that they're too stupid to understand what being a manager entails?
The injuries are skewing the Royals’ win-loss record, Moore says, and with it the judgments of Hillman’s performance. Moore still believes in his guy, as much as he did the day he made the hire.
And no matter what anybody else thinks, Moore’s opinion is the one that matters most.
“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.”
sk: the script was there for a strong second half. We had the defending AL Champs on the ropes all three nights this weekend. And lost all 3 games without our best and only reliable reliever taking the field. That's not bad luck. That's not an issue with injuries. That's utter incompetence.
I was there last night. Megan's dad, sitting next to me, had a Steve-esque meltdown when Trey turned to Juan Cruz to open the 8th. "You watch! We've just lost this game!" 3 hitters later, we were heading to the parking lot, having seen his prediction come true.
Trey Must Go. And if GMDM continues to defend him, then maybe its time to call his baseball intelligence into question, as good buddy Heath has done at his site.
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