This is my first Royals article in what feels like a century (really my first article in what feels like a century, vacation was great by the way thank you for asking.) and boy howdy do we have quite a bit to talk about. Royals president John Sherman announced today the firing of president of baseball operations and GM Dayton Moore. This comes after a tumultuous 2022 season in which the Royals underwhelmed and underachieved massively. This is not to say it was not all a bad year, we did get to see the young talent (That may or may not leave us as has been the case for years) strut their stuff. However, it was a bad year for Royals front office management. Fanbase apathy, lots of losing, and overall a sense of organizational ineptitude plagued the Royals in route to an extremely disappointing season.
With Moore out, the team will more than likely begin yet another rebuilding process, only this time there may actually be rebuilding going on instead of stagnancy. After 2015, the Royals plateaued and even descended back into mediocrity and dread. Lots of draft busts, failure in player development and retention, and to top it all of the increasing of stadium pricing as well as basically blacking out the TV audience with the Bally Sports deal was the story behind the Royals from 2016 to 2022. While Dayton Moore really only accounted for the first two, it was really the first two that developed that apathy. Who wants to go out of their way to watch a crap baseball team, let alone pay $70 a month to do so on TV? Dayton Moore did help the team make back to back World Series yes, however that is zero excuse for the amount of unexpectedly terrible baseball this city was subject to afterward. Firing one of your best pitching coaches and replacing him with a guy who has ZERO idea what he's doing, replacing Ned Yost with a guy whose management style is outdated and who got ran out of St. Louis, and just soiling promising prospects' careers by not giving them the proper minor league coaching and development turned this respected club into a club that is known once again as the AL's punching bag.
So what happens now? What does this mean for the Moore regime of Eldred, Matheny, and others? Well, if I am John Sherman I am firing Eldred next. Zero reason for him to be on the team anymore after the absolute disasterpiece he turned the Royals bullpen into. Next comes the Matheny question. Matheny signed an extension at the beginning of the year, which means contractually he's staying with the team. The only way to break the contract is to buy it out, which means a club that is already strapped for cash is in debt to a manager that all things considered, needs to go. In my opinion, and I hate saying this, you may have to bite the bullet and restart the rebuild. A fire sale of veteran players, probably seeing a couple young faces go, and overall doing what you can to conserve and build capital. Matheny is not this club's answer at manager, but it is a tough decision on whether or not to pull the trigger on firing him.
Finally (I told you this article was going to be a doozy) the fan apathy situation. Bally Sports needs to get their grubby hands off Royals baseball and realize that nobody in this city outside of bars and restaurants is investing in their product, and I guarantee you people are not going to these bars and restaurants to watch the Royals play. Give the Royals back to Fox Sports or another company that will give this team wider viewership and screw off. Then we have the issue of stadium pricing. Refreshments have to be cheaper for a small market team. The Royals have some of the highest prices in the entire MLB. It's inexcusable. Top that off with the parking dilemma AND THE FACT that you want a new stadium and you've got visible representation of an ignorant and disconnected ownership. If Sherman truly wants to improve his profits, this team as a whole, and his odds at getting a new stadium, he lowers prices and does his best to bring in more fans. Bring back Buck Night, realize that you aren't the Chiefs or the '15 Royals anymore, and get your head out of the clouds. Firing Moore was only the first step on a long list of things to do, and if this list is not completed the Royals will continue to be a charity case and one of the sick men of the MLB.
Burn Notice: 10/10 Gotta add kindle to make MOORE fire.
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