Disgusting

I was at the game last night and it was just about the most disgusting thing I've seen. Of course, I continue to say that as the season wears on, but it just keeps getting worse and worse for the boys in blue. Brett Tomko threw 7 shutout innings. You throw 7 shutout innings, you should get a win. Hell, even Gil Meche got a win with that line. But of course, the Royals got shut down again, managing just one runner in scoring position all game long. It was a pathetic showing that can only be characterized as pitiful. Well, I guess it can be characterized by a number of different things including disgusting, pathetic and pitiful.

The biggest culprit from tonight's game was, of course, Jose Guillen, striking out three times including in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. I've never been one to boo. Sure, I'll occasionally dislike a call and I'll boo the ump, but for the most part I stay pretty quiet. I've booed only a few people religiously: Albie Lopez, Angel Berroa, Buddy Bell and now...Jose Guillen. There is just nothing there when he goes to bat. I sure hope he gets hot because at some point, the Royals have to look at him for what he is this season and not what he has done in the past. Right now, he's a .160 hitter and .160 hitters don't hit everyday in the #4 spot. The problem then becomes that there is nobody in the entire lineup that is qualified to be a cleanup hitter.

Here's why the Royals are having problems:

1. Hot
2. Warm
3. Slump
4. Slump
5. Chilled
6. Slump
7. Never good
8. Usual performance, not good
9. Awful, terrible, gross, pathetic, disgusting, pitiful (hey, there's those words again!)

That's the Royals lineup right now. The top 2 hitters are doing everything they can to lead a winning and effective offense, but the last 7 are doing everything in their power to make sure they score about 1.8 runs per game. My best guess is that isn't their goal, but if it is, then at least they can say they have been wildly exceeding their expectations. Its time for a change. Its time for a big change. I'm prepared to wait until the end of this homestand because Dayton Moore has always said that he likes to wait until 40 games into a season to make evaluations, but I'd prefer to not wait. What is he going to find out in the next 9 games that he doesn't already know now? If he's hoping that Tony Pena will go 20-36 in his next 9 games, then he's crazy and is doing a terrible job. If he's sticking by his laurels, then I can respect that even if I disagree with it although being stubborn is not a good way to run a professional baseball team. Still, he knows more than I (I hope), so I'll defer to him on this 40 game stuff.

Anyway, Mike Barnett needs to be fired. The Royals have not had a league average offense since he was brought on and I was flabbergasted when I found out he'd be part of Trey Hillman's staff. Potentially great hitters have become good hitters or worse, good hitters have become poor-fair hitters, average hitters have become bad and bad hitters have become anemic. I understand that the hitting coach isn't the be all, end all, but somebody has to take the fall for the disaster that is the Royals offense. They've scored 107 runs in 31 games this season. That is under 3.5 runs per game. That number might have won a lot of baseball games in 1968, but in 2008, you've gotta be at 5 or more to have a fighting chance. The Royals have to average 5.3 runs per game just to get to 800 runs, which I outlined before the season is probably a good number for this team. Boy was I wrong.

Other suggestions:
I'm not one for lineup shaking, but it might be necessary here:
1. Callaspo, SS
2. Teahen, RF
3. DeJesus, CF
4. Gordon, 3B
5. Butler, DH
6. Grudzielanek, 2B
7. Gload, 1B
8. Guillen, LF
9. Buck, C

I know, it seems like that's a combination of drastic and not drastic enough, which is extremely tough to pull off, but, hey, I'm just that kind of guy.

Anyway, its reached a point where something has to be done. I'd be willing to try everything. Maybe the best solution for the offense for awhile is to trade a couple prospects for Adam Dunn and lock him up to a long term deal (4-5 years) and plug him into that 4 hole while moving Teahen to first. How would this look?

1. DeJesus, CF
2. Callaspo, SS
3. Gordon, 3B
4. Dunn, LF
5. Butler, DH
6. Teahen, 1B
7. Guillen, RF
8. Grudzielanek, 2B
9. Buck, C

The question is what would I trade for Adam Dunn? Well, I'd say that Rosa is off limits and so is Cortes, but the Reds are always in the market for pitching, so I'd start with an offer of three players: Julio Pimental, Kyle Davies and Chris Lubanski. While that probably wouldn't get it done, I think it'd be a good starting point. Maybe if they throw in Todd Frazier (SS prospect who I personally think can stick there with a good bat), I'd add in another player.

The point is that this is a team in need of a short term fix and a long term fix, and might be pitching rich very soon, so now's the time to use that surplus before it gets exposed. Let me know what you all think and how you plan to fix the Royals.