Breaking--Royals Fire Trey Hillman Today

Despite the team picking up a win for Zack today, the Royals decided to fire Trey Hillman. Greg Hall has the breaking details, including some media low down. Seems the flagship station 610 Sports did not break the news, but 810 did. Wow.

Link: Greg Hall at KC Confidential.

Ned Yost will replace Hillman.

It's funny, people keep saying that they don't care about the Royals, blah, blah, blah. Then explain to me why there are already 51 comments on the Kansas City Star article, which has been posted for a whole 43 minutes.

Don't care, my foot!

Fire Hillman!

The Trey Hillman watch is on, at least in the media. Greg Hall of KC Confidential blogged on the radio convos over the past few days, during this epic fail of a road trip that included the sweep of the Royals by the Texas Rangers. I'm not one to run around firing people when stuff goes bad, but I agree, Hillman and most of his staff need to go. Not seeing Josh Hamilton fail to tag up and advance on a fly ball is really quite inexcusable. More stupid baseball. I remember writing about stupid baseball last fall for crying out loud. Why in the world are we still playing stupid baseball?!?

Count me in: Fire Trey Hillman.

One fan provided this commentary last July in the comments section of Royals Review. I think fan patience is starting to run a little thin...

Reflections on the Game of Soccer

I'm no soccer expert, but I must admit I was disappointed in the skill level in the soccer played by the Hickman Mills and Ruskin girls yesterday. I realize, first, that it is hard to judge the state of soccer in the United States by one game, and particularly a game on the distaff side, and a game not in Johnson County, Kansas where I am sure the demographic is more agreeable to soccer. However...

Semi-informed ideas about what makes good soccer: 1. Ball skills--the ability to collect the ball, dribble the ball, and kick the ball accurately. 2. Spacing and smarts. The ability to realize that you don't aways need to be within 10 feet of the ball, especially on offense. 3. Speed and endurance. Not just running fast, but running fast when needed, and all game. Winning loose balls, especially after unforced errors.

The gal with the best ball skills, the best ability to stop a ball and collect it, to pass it and to dribble around opposition was a girl for Ruskin playing fullback, or defender. Interestingly, she was a big girl, much bigger then most of her peers. (OK, she was overweight.) But her ability to intercept a pass, control that ball, and start Ruskin's offense was superior to anyone else on the field. If she was of a normal weight, her skills would have had her playing halfback, the most important position on a soccer team. It also is the position that does the most running, so those of us a little undertall for our weights usually find ourselves playing forward or fullback.

There was also a lack of "soccer smarts". Maybe it's just coaching, but it seemed to me too often the girls were all bunched up around the ball. I can remember from my high school days our coach begging us to keep our positions and not clump around the ball. On offense we were taught to stay around the goal, especially if the ball was on the wing. A good centering pass from the wing often resulted in a score.

It was disappointing to see that it seemed that most players' skill levels hadn't progressed much since my high school days a million years ago, when girl's soccer was just getting started on the high school level. Especially in light of the youth leagues that have developed over the years. Makes a person wonder why. Just a few ideas: 1. Soccer does not keep the top level athletes as they get older. I think this is true for both sexes, but even more for boys. Basketball, baseball/softball and for males, football, snag the fastest and most coordinated in the United States. 2. The games just don't generate enough excitement for the causal fan. Soccer is as much about process as it is result. Internationally, it's call "The Beautiful Game" and the set ups and watching that is just as important as the scoring itself. Sped up versions of soccer, such as indoor soccer, which is almost more like hockey, have been more popular at times then the outdoor version in the US. 3. Pro soccer as a whole just hasn't caught on. When you as a kid see a sport played on the pro level, imitation takes place. When I was a kid, I watched Earl Monroe's spin dribble move on the NBA court with the New York Knicks. "Earl the Pearl" invented that move, and I spent time on the court trying to imitate that move. Generally kids aren't out at the park trying to imitate the local pro soccer players' moves. And we all know, if you want to get good at something, you have to practice and play it. Kids are still playing basketball, pick up baseball and touch football, not soccer, in the United States.

Soccer might someday become a major sport in the US. Since the Major Soccer League season started this spring, they've had some increased attendance. It's not quite there yet, however.

Ruskin and Hickman Mills girls vie for the ball in yesterday's contest. Ruskin, in blue, is on offense in this photo.

Hickman Mills won the game 2-0.

A Plea to the Royals' Braintrust

Please leave Alberto Callaspo at third base, and play Getz or Aviles at second. Third is a read and reaction position, with much less involvement with infield play and cutting off throws from the outfield. Also a third baseman has less responsibility for infield pop ups.

Alex Gordon? May be done, a first round bust. Or convert him to first base after Billy Butler becomes the full time DH after Gullen's contract is up. Any way you shake it, the less I see of Callaspo at second base, the happier I'll be.

The reason you find a place for Callaspo: He can hit for average, has some power and can drive in runs. (Kansas City Star)

Zack Greinke: No Wins Yet

Zack Greinke pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. He gave up one run, four hits in 8 innings, throwing just 87 pitches, striking out 6 and walking none. He lost the game 1-0. (Kansas City Star)

Sub three ERA (2.27 to be precise) and no wins? How do you do that?

1. No offense.

2. No bullpen.

The question becomes how do the Royals keep Zack Grienke without becoming a better ball club. The answer is they don't. Zack is signed through 2011, but if we know he will not renew, his last year is really a wash, since he'll need to be traded before the July 2011 trading deadline. The Royals must show some sort of progress this year or we will bid Zack good bye just as we bid good bye to Damon, Dye, Beltran et al. There looks to be help coming in the minors, but can it come fast enough?

There is also an immediate question: How does Zack make it through this season? If Zack maintains excellence throughout this season as he did last season (he did sag a little in the middle of last year, but it's a very long season and rare is the player that doesn't have a brief period of less than stellar production during the year), we will know that he is, in addition to physically durable, psychologically durable as well.

As for this year: keep fiddling and diddling around, and try to improve. What else is there to do? Shoot for .500 ball and just keep trying to get better. Sucks, doesn't it?

Martin Manley offers a take on the same problem over at Upon Further Review.

On Evaluating Drafts

First, a team's draft will not please everybody. Someone will always find a player that should have been taken or should not have taken, or was a "stretch" or blah-blah.

So in evaluating a team's draft, I would tend to look to see if they had done something completely daft--gone all Al Davis on their fans.

If they didn't and the draft is reasonable, then you can't really tell what will come of it for several years. Really. Seriously. Trying to figure out which ones of these 20-24 year old athletes will do well in the NFL is darn near impossible. The ones in the first round are more likely to succeed. The seventh rounders and free agents are less likely to succeed. But...you just never know.

None of my teams went Al Davis. Even Al Davis didn't go Al Davis. This deep talented draft will impact the NFL for years to come.

It will just take years to see it happen for your team.

I Like This Pick

Eric Berry poses with Chiefs jersey after being chosen in the first round last night.

Berry shows off his athletic ability during this INT against UCLA last season. He had 2 INTs total along with 83 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Eric Berry is a play maker and hard hitting safety, who should help the Chiefs secondary a lot. He will allow John McGraw to return to special teams and reserve duty. He is a good cover man who can break on the ball and make plays. Nice pick. Lots more to go over the next two days as the Chiefs have a plethora of draft picks.