Would you please put a sock in this fire Trey Hillman thing!
Hillman's not the problem! OK, he's part of the problem but not all of it.
My solution? It starts at the top, baby, and his name is David Glass! The Royals Board of Directors needs to address the issue head-on. Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, that's Mr. Glass in case you didn't know who was being referenced.
You wanna fire Trey? Go ahead. Five years from now we'll have this same discussion. In 2015 it'll be time to say hasta la vista baby to the next guy. Guess what, Mr. Glass will still be here counting his money. The Royals will bring in someone else and now let's fast-forward to 2020, guess what? Let's fire the skipper! Who's the common denominator here if Glass stays and the merry-go-round of managers continues?
That's my point!
No, everything is not up to date in Kansas City and won't be until a change is made at the top of the Royals' pecking order.
Ewing Kauffman was a shrewd businessman, but he did what he had to do to bring a winning baseball team to Kansas City. He started the Royals Baseball Academy which produced Frank White, the best second baseman in Royals history. He oversaw the signing of a brash Southern California kid named George Brett, who flirted with the .400 mark in 1980 and ended his playing career in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Just seven years after the Royals were born, they were champions of the AL West. Four years later when the Royals won their initial pennant in 1980, only the Yankees had a higher payroll.
Are we asking the Royals to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Mets in the payroll department? No, but good grief the Minnesota Twins - another small-market team similar to Kansas City - are perennial challengers in the AL Central. Ditto with Colorado, which has played in a recent World Series. I'm asking myself here, what's wrong with this picture?
What picture do I want to envision? I want Al Michaels telling the nation that "Darryl Motley is there and the Royals are the champions of Baseball" as fireworks go off and George Brett and Bret Saberhagen embrace near the pitcher's mound. I want to relive George Brett hitting that mammoth home run off Goose Gossage in Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS in Yankee Stadium. "I've never heard 50,000 people be so quiet," Brett said afterward.
Oh baby, I've got goosebumps now.
There's another Ewing Kauffman out there. Let's find him, get him in here and then let's find that next Frank White and George Brett.
Royals fans deserve better! They deserve that owner who could be found waving to the fans from his box at then-called Royals Stadium. They deserve that passion that made this franchise one to follow proudly on a nightly basis. That passion that rubbed off from owner to manager to player.
So how about giving Glass the walking papers now. Bring in someone who knows baseball. Perhaps George Brett and his brothers might step up to the plate and make an offer!
Perhaps it's time to give Miles Prentice, who at one time worked for the Big Eight Conference when it was located in KC, the shot. Heck, he offered 25 percent more ($120 million) to buy the Royals than Glass ($96 mill).
Glass' results? They are averaging around 97 losses a year under his ownership! Sorry, Tony LaRussa probably couldn't revive this team.
Mr. Glass, better yet, just resign. Go back to Springfield, Mo., and teach some business and management classes in Glass Hall on the Missouri State University campus. You're great at business, I'll give you that. But you've had your chance at the big league baseball level. It's time for a change.
So Royals' fans what do you think?
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