Wins don’t attract fans, T-shirt Tuesdays do!

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Hearing the “complete” picture of Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman over the past week or so makes me think this isn’t going to work.

I’m not one to demand someone be fired because I’ve been on the other side of that animal, and there aren’t words to describe the experience.  But, I do believe in comparing progress to expectations. And, if the two don’t add up for a considerable amount of time, then perhaps change is necessary.

Here’s what we know of Trey Hillman:

His soft side is too soft.  He flinches at the slightest hint of criticism.  He tried at the very beginning of spring training last season to call out a group of professional ballplayers by dressing them down on the field after a loss.  When that alienated long-time pros like Mark Grudzielanek, and eventually opened the door to a strained relationship with Jose Guillen, Hillman didn’t respond.

Well, he did, but in a manner that would have made former manager Billy Martin’s head explode like a guy in the old horror flick Scanners.  The Royals responded by not bringing back Grudzielanek, who wouldn’t be a bad guy to have playing second base everyday instead of “50/50” (might catch it, might not) Alberto Callaspo.

Trey withdrew.  He internalized everything, including dealing with losses.  He shelved the hard-***, I’m-your-boss-and-you’ll-like-it schtick and has since become a softer version of himself, if that was possible.  It is a complete swing of the pendulum where Hillman would have been best served to just come down a notch or two.

After inhaling and holding his breath for the remainder of last season, Hillman has fallen in step with the Royals company line (made popular by Mike Sweeney) and now claims faith in God as the reason he’s able to deal with the way this season has gone.

Let’s take him at his word and say he isn’t letting losses get to him like they used to.  Is that a good thing?  No.  Not for a team that has made losing a way of life.  For a team like the Royals, the group has to relearn what losses are supposed to feel like, individually, not in six and seven-game bunches.

Ahhhh, but then again, why trade the comfortable “I’m okay and so are you” atmosphere for the possibility of a few more wins?  Wins don’t drive fans to the ballpark, T-shirt Tuesdays do.

Having a manager who has “learned” to deal with losing will not change that.

Excuses are becoming more frequent. The past month has been especially hard in terms of listening to Hillman speak after games.  I say hard because I’m a Royals fan.  I’m done with sympathy for a not-so-new manager, so when he breaks out the injury card (like he did last week), I wanted to jump through the radio.

Have the Royals had some injuries?  Yes.  Have they been decimated like a couple of other teams, the Angels for example?  No.  To be fair, the injuries have shown how little depth the major league team has.  With Alex Gordon, Mike Aviles and Coco Crisp out, the Royals have chosen to fill those spots with a glutton of reserve middle infielders. 

That’s not Hillman’s fault.  That lies with general manager Dayton Moore.  But, where the fault does lie with Hillman is not utilizing the guys he does have.  When Hillman pencils Willie Bloomquist at short and “50/50” at second on days that Luke Hochevar (a sinkerballer) pitches, it makes a guy cringe.

I will refer back to religion one more time here as well.  I can not stand it when someone stands behind their faith as a deflection for something else not going right.  The fact that we are now hearing with increasing fervor about Trey’s personal turnaround – at the exact same time the Royals are hammering the last nails of this season’s coffin – makes it feel more like a public relations move.

How could we be so upset with such a solid human being? Trey the human isn’t the question.  Trey the big league manager is.

The respect isn’t there.  This began after the spring training dress down.  Here is a guy, a guy with no major league playing or managing experience, tearing down major leaguers in broad daylight.  We talked about it already.  I was reminded of it on Sunday night while listening to Torii Hunter’s pregame interview before the Dodgers and Angels game.

He gushed at the way the Angels front office runs the team.  He also mentioned how much he likes playing for L.A.’s manager, Mike Scioscia.  Hunter, if you recall, said it came down to two teams when he was looking for a new place to call home – Los Angeles and Kansas City.

I couldn’t help but think he would never gush that way about Trey Hillman.  Heck, the current Royals don’t gush about him as a baseball guy. Think about that for a moment.

Maybe I’m naïve, but had the Royals been the winning organization with Mike Scioscia running the team, Hunter is wearing blue right now.  Hillman being the manager in Kansas City didn’t help the Royals’ chances.  I say that because unless things have been drastically altered on the national landscape (and I don’t think they have), Dayton Moore holds respect among players.

If he were to leave tomorrow, I believe most of MLB would be grateful he got out of Kansas City intact.

Moore was the only baseball-related reason Hunter even considered the Royals.  Same is true for current Dodgers Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal.  Were the chances ever even good those players would wind up here?  Probably not.  But a little chance is better than zero, which is where it would have been without Moore.

My belief, again, is that Hillman’s name on the manager’s door didn’t help the Royals.

That’s a problem.

As for this season, the fans are done with it.  The most recent stretch of bad baseball sucked the last bit of life out of the year.  I spent my Saturday being a fan at the stadium, and for most of the game, I swore the rain delay had somehow magically whisked me to St. Louis. 

Of the 38,000 or so in attendance, at least 80 percent of the stadium was red, which means if St. Louis fans didn’t travel so well, the K would have been embarrassingly empty for a nationally televised game.  The wrong color was there, sure, but a full park still looks monumentally better than an empty one.  Ask Pittsburgh.

The point is Royals fans, including me, are tired, again.  I sure don’t want to spend another $50 at the park just to watch a 12-5 loss.  It isn’t worth it.

From here on out, I’m not sure Trey Hillman is either.

Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com.