MLB NEWS

Royals playing ‘one day at a time’

The Sports Xchange

September 25, 2014 at 8:06 am.

Sep 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Norichika Aoki (right) and first base coach Rusty Kuntz (15) celebrate a 7-1 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Billy Butler tried to be the man of clichés, talking about how his Kansas City Royals need to just take things one pitch at a time, one inning at a time and one game at a time.

However, the veteran designated hitter wasn’t very convincing. The Royals haven’t been to the postseason since winning the 1985 World Series and, upon further questioning, Butler said he and his teammates are getting a little impatient in looking to finally end that ignominious streak.

“You try not to think about it but it’s hard not to,” Butler said Wednesday night after the Royals lost 6-4 to the Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. “There are only four days left in the season. The playoffs are right around the corner. We know what’s going on. We know what’s at stake. We know what’s there for us and we just want to get it done and over with.”

The Royals missed a chance Wednesday night to get a step closer to ending their 29-year playoff drought, the longest in the four major league North American professional sports leagues. Their magic number for clinching at least an American League wild card berth did drop to two, though, when the fading Seattle Mariners were blanked 1-0 by the Blue Jays at Toronto.

However, the Royals’ hope of winning the AL Central title took a hit as they dropped two games behind Detroit after the Tigers notched a 6-1 home victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Perhaps a team that has failed to get to the playoffs in nearly three decades can be considered greedy in hoping to win a division title and avoiding the one-game wild card playoff game. However, Royals manager Ned Yost isn’t apologizing.

“The wild card is still Plan B in my mind,” Yost said. “I know it’s going to be a little tougher now to win the division but there are four days left. A lot of stuff can happen in four days.”

The Royals finish the season with a four-game series against the White Sox at Chicago that begins Thursday night, the same time the Tigers open a four-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins.
Eric Homser knows the Royals’ postseason history — or lack thereof in the 24-year old first baseman’s lifetime — which is why he is preaching the one-game-at-a-time approach.

“Just worry about today’s game, that’s all you can do,” Hosmer said. “That’s worked for us well all season and you can’t change that now.”

Yost was asked if he watches the scoreboard during games. The cool answer might have been no, claiming he as only focused on his team. Instead, Yost was honest.

“People have been scoreboard watching at this time of year ever since they put out-of-town scoreboards in ballparks,” Yost said. “Anyone who is in our situation and says they aren’t scoreboard watching isn’t being truthful. It’s part of the fun of the whole thing.”

AROUND THE HORN

Speculation swirled around the Atlanta Braves for weeks that big changes were coming to the organization and it happened Monday when general manager Frank Wren was fired with club president John Schuerholz citing the need for the organization to return to the “Braves Way” of developing young players and producing championship teams.

“Our overall goal is to find that Braves Way, re-invigorate it and make it better than ever before,” Schuerholz said.

However, don’t look for the Braves to stray outside their organization in trying to find their way. Highly regarded assistant GM John Coppolella will eventually replace Wren, though it won’t be until 2016 if special adviser John Hart takes Schuerholz’s offer and becomes the general manager for one year as a bridge between Wren and Coppolella.

Hart, formerly the general manager of the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, enjoys his role as a studio analyst with MLB Network immensely and is leaning toward sticking with his television job.

All signs point to manager Fredi Gonzalez coming back despite this year’s late-season collapse. Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, now a special adviser to Schuerholz, is a big Gonzalez backer and that carries clout within the organization.

When Joe Maddon took over as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2007 season, one of the first things he did was turn a negative into a positive. He started calling Tropicana Field, now the last remaining truly indoor stadium, “The Pit” and urged his team to consider their quirky ballpark to be a big home field advantage.

The idea worked as the Rays have gone from laughingstock to one of the most respected franchises in the game during Maddon’s tenure. However, the Rays will finish under .500 this year for the first time since Maddon’s first season and one of the reasons is because they were 36-45 at “The Pit,” their worst home mark since 2003.

“That’s the part that is really hard to understand,” Maddon said. “That’s where the season literally went upside down. We’ve made hay at home in the past. That’s how we became as good as we are. There is no explanation from me.”

With the season down to its final days, here are the obligatory picks for baseball’s major awards:

AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels — Miguel Cabrera is not in his way this year.

NL MVP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers — Not a fan of pitchers as MVP but the ace has had a season for the ages.

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners — Tops a very deep field despite his meltdown in Toronto this week.

NL Cy Young; Kershaw — Who else?

AL Rookie: Jose Abreu, White Sox — Has lived up to the great hype in coming from Cuba.

NL Rookie: Billy Hamilton, Reds — Speed and defense sets him apart.

AL Manager: Lloyd McClendon, Mariners — Has taken an imperfect team a long way.

NL Manager: Clint Hurdle, Pirates — Has guided his team around a number of potholes.

Senior writer John Perrotto is The Sports Xchange’s baseball insider. He has covered Major League Baseball for 27 seasons.