Trey, one more time

Did your mommy beat you when you were but a wee child? Did the big boys bully you when you were a kid? Do you realize that your huge cry fest here makes little to no sense?

First two sentences of your idiotic rant read like this, "For years you guys have avoided criticizing a franchise run horribly wrong. You keep finding ways to apologize and excuse Hillman and you can't really identify anything he's doing right." - Who really runs this franchise? Oh...that's right, it is in fact Trey Hillman! He calls all the shots. I even overheard him talking to Swartz about making sure Aviles got on the DL this year no matter what. I'm pretty sure that Dayton Moore is just a cover for Trey to ascend to his proper place as Supreme Ruler of the Universe! If you're going to get mad about some personnel, make sure you aim your anger correctly...

"You use the injuries to justify the bad season (John Buck is pushing it) but you fail to examine how much the organization and Hillman are to blame for the injuries." - I've commented on this before, when players don't tell the management that they are hurt, how can you blame management? The Royals have had extreme bad luck this year with the DL. Gordon, Soria, Ponson, Crisp, Aviles, Buck, etc...And because of that, we've been playing with players that can't even be considered replacements. I'd use injuries to justify a bad season, especially when you have 6+ starters go out...

"You keep saying Meche's 132 pitch outing has nothing to do with his following performances becuase he's pitched well with 120+ pitch outings historically- ok but 120 is not 132 is it- what about BP's pitcher abuse points? what about Meche throwing the 2nd most pitches in baseball this year? What about Hillmans pushing for CG's?" - Well, Meche pitched well yesterday didn't he? He threw 132 pitches in his last start and followed it with another start of 121...He had a quality start! If the Royals would have won yesterday, would we be having this discussion? Probably not! What about Meche throwing the 2nd most pitches in baseball this year? What's wrong with that? Knowing the way Meche has worked earlier this year, he makes decisions on whether or not he pitches more innings.

Hillman pushing for more CG's? Can I get a reasonable explanation for that comment? I haven't once heard Trey say anything about making his pitchers pitch 9 innings. When Luke Hochevar can pitch a complete game on 80 freaking pitches, I would push for a 80 pitch complete game too!

Here's the list of Greinke's CG's with pitch count:
1. April 18th - 115 pitches
2. April 24th - 108 pitches
3. May 4th - 104 pitches
4. May 9th - 115 pitches
5. May 26th (my birthday!) - 116 pitches
Now, are you telling me that the 6 CG's that we've had this year is pushing our pitchers too much? Do you realize that these pitch count totals are very low for a CG? And yet, you say that Hillman is "pushing" the CG?

"not only was it insane to go 121 pitches with a guy with a dead arm but he has 2 right handers warming up with Twins left hand batter due" - Dead arm? What dead arm? If you have a "dead arm" and can throw your fastball at 94mph in the 6th inning after 100+ pitches, then you must be a god...Plus, the stats don't lie, Robinson Tejeda this year hasn't given up a single run to a left-handed batter, but I'm sure you knew that. I'm also sure that you knew that Juan Cruz, Jamie Wright and Roman Colon the other probable right-handers warming in the pen with Tejeda, actually pitch as well or better against lefties too...But, again, you probably already knew that...

"Yes GM gets some blame here but Hillman consistently has talked about what he wanted on his bench-?" - Yeah, and tell me what MLB manager would go to their GM and say, "Hey, I want these three guys on my bench at all times."? It doesn't matter who Trey Hillman wants on his bench, if GMDM can't get the players here, Trey's S.O.L.

"Hillman isn't the main problem with the Royals but he is a problem and is not equipped to manage in MLB- quit enabling this embarrassment of a team and hold them accountable for the crap they sell us as a major league baseball team

You tell me what does Trey Hillman do well?
You and the namby pamby suck up to the big league team sports writers have failed the fans in the last 20 years as much as the team has." - Listen man, I really don't understand what you're trying to say. First you tell us that Hillman isn't the main problem, but then your entire displaced rage is aimed right at Trey's fumanchu/handlebar moustache.

"Quit enabling this embarrassment of a team"...Yeah, you're right on this one. Sam, you need to quit your job. You too, Dutton. You guys at the Star just need to quit writing articles about how this team could be getting better. You're the problem guys. If you all didn't "enable" this team, they wouldn't be as bad. You need to write more articles about everyone on the 40 man roster sucking all the time. After that's written, you need to bash on Moore and Hillman. And after you're done bashing those two, you should probably go ahead and call up David Glass and let him know that, one, he's "enabling" this team, and two, he's the worst owner of a baseball team in the history of owning baseball teams, right? Is that what we're supposed to do ribman? How about you go ahead and write all the articles about this "embarrassment" of a team and tell us how bad this organization is. I'm sure you know pretty much everything that's going on up there. I'm sure David and Dan Glass are sitting right next to you sipping a gin and tonic as you are reading this. Go ahead, be the armchair GM, coach or player. But next time you think about writing a lousy post on a blog dissing players, coaches, managers and sports writers, make sure that your anger is aimed the right way and have a proof reader do some work...Fans like you make me sick...

JT

I am not going to rebut the multitude of made up things and wrong conclusions you threw out there hoping it would stick-just not going there with someone who isn't going to look at reality. I may make you sick but sadly it's fans like you that deserves the team you get.
The Royals are an embarassment to the city- from the owner to the manager to the players.

My family has been a season ticket holder since 1969 and I'm tired of hearing the same old bs from them, from writers afraid to offend the team (afterall banning is the new thing) and from apologist fans who think it's 1955. You don't like what I say - that's cool but I'm going to keep saying it because guys like Mellinger won't- there are others who will say it and many more who'se delicate sensibilites won't be hurt by someone saying what they think.

Get over yourself -guys like you don't have much pull with anyone

"I am not going to rebut the multitude of made up things and wrong conclusions you threw out there hoping it would stick-just not going there with someone who isn't going to look at reality." - Alrighty then. Go ahead and look up all the stats I threw out there and check them. Pick your website. SI.com, MLB.com, baseballprospectus.com. Everything I threw out there was completely factual. I believe your problem was that it did stick and you were offended. I look at reality all the time, my friend. The Royals are not a very good team, I understand that reality, but the "conclusions", if that's what you want to call them, that you drew were a little out of line, IMHO.

"You don't like what I say - that's cool but I'm going to keep saying it because guys like Mellinger won't- there are others who will say it and many more who'se delicate sensibilites won't be hurt by someone saying what they think." - Totally displaced anger...and you say all that as if something you say will change the world...write a letter to the President or Bud Selig or Santa Claus for all we care. Just leave your hatred out of here...

"Get over yourself -guys like you don't have much pull with anyone" - But I'm sure that guys like you have a ton of pull with everyone...

We need all the optimism we can get here in KC, so, not to be cliche, but, "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all"...
JT

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=kc&baseballScope=KCA&teamPosCode=all&statType=2&timeSubFrame=2009&sitSplit=lb&venueID=&Submit=Submit&timeFrame=1

Robinson Tejada vs LH batters 2009
10.2 ings 6.72 era 14 walks 2 hit batters (updating for tonights game)

R Colon 4.2 ings 9.64 era

now granted statistics can be used in many ways and you clearly did that- the other factors which you failed to consider are
how extreme are the batters splits?
the sample size - even if these 2 had great numbers this year AND THEY DON'T that would still not mean as much as their career splits- a trend of a few ings is better than a few at bats but pitchers generally reveal their strengths and weaknesses
also you could have looked at the Royals lh pitching options Bale and Mahay- we know SABR Trey has already gone on the record identifying Mahay as equally effective vs RH-LH batters (he's actually wrong -slight advantage vs LH) and he loves John Bale- so
John Bale of course has been horrible vs LH batters in a small sample size, outside of Soria our most effective pitcher vs lefties has been -drum roll please-----Mahay

anyway that was your argument but you went with the made up number thing so good luck to you buddy keep crying about what people think and consider a run for mayor

I don't think that 90% are underperforming expectations. I think it's more like 10%. The other 90% are performing right at expectations. Yes, I'm serious. That's how bad this group of players is. This is EXACTLY what we should have expected, given how many of the opening day starters are out for extended periods of time if not the entire season, and they're being replaced by - well, replacement-level players. Or worse. No manager should be judged by his results with this gang; it's not fair to the manager.

As for Meche...well, I suppose he told Trey he felt fine and could go another inning, and Trey generally listens to him. But this is one of those times he should have taken the decision into his own hands and pulled him anyway. There are no more off days until the All Star break and going easy on him just makes sense on a day when he clearly wasn't going to win.

Mike Jacobs has been below expectations. We knew his OBP was bad, but it has been worse than advertised. Dude did hit 32 bombs last year.

David DeJesus has been below expectations.

Tony Pena, Jr., who had no expectations, has still been below them, which is quite the feat.

Juan Cruz has been below expectations. Mahay has been below expectations.

Mike Aviles and Coco Crisp were below expectations, due to injury. Soria, too, for that matter.

Davies has been below expectations.

I don't think I came into the season with unreasonable thoughts about these guys, and they have all fallen well short of what we expected. Maybe it isn't 90%, but it is enough that it needs to be looked at seriously.

Who has met or exceeded expectations? Greinke and Butler among the guys we needed to have big years. Meche, too, I would say, though he has been more inconsistent due to his health issues. The catchers. And then role players like Bloomquist, Callaspo, and Maier.

....not meant to be taken literally, but that's my fault for writing it that way.

I see the same stuff everyone else is seeing. My point the other day -- what I should've made more clear -- is that firing him right now is reactionary. Once the season ends, decisions need to be made. There are obviously enough arguments against him right now (and a few more today than before this game started).

I'm not trying to offend you or rub your nose in some access that I get because of this silly job I have where I write about baseball and checks keep coming every few weeks.

I also hope this is always a place where any of us can disagree with anybody else, and nobody takes offense or makes personal attacks.

In summation, Kumbaya.

Well, the admission that you made a big mistake with your headline should be in another post, not in a comment reply. I'm not really sure what you mean by it was not to be taken literally. But, either way, it was an absurdly harsh thing to say about people who care about the Royals and aren't being, in any way, unreasonable in their evaluation of Trey.