I would walk through fire for Dusty Baker over Hillman.

Yeah, I think you have been categorically defeated. IIRC Baker got owned by Wedge when the Indians played @ Cubs (so obv using NL rules). Can't exactly remember the players involved, but the Indians had a power RH bat hitting in a high-leverage situation, so Baker brings in their ROOGY to get the crucial out. Wedge promptly pinch hits with Travis Hafner (LH), who had been sitting on the bench in an NL game because he can't play the field. Hafner hits a 3-run bomb. lol dustaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy

Hillman bunted in the first inning yesterday. He has refused on multiple occasions to bring in Soria on like 5 days rest, with a one-run lead, 2 outs in the 8th, and nothing but dreadful middle relief options. Hillman left in an ailing Meche last year in a meaningless game until he hurt his back. He still hasn't recovered. Hillman kept pitching Farnsworth in big spots until he had given up like 5 blown saves (or holds) in his first 5 chances and totally wrecked his and the team's confidence. There are so many others. I've blocked many of them out or stopped caring at this point.

Do you read Rany on the Royals by any chance? This is from opening day last year, when he still cared too: http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/2009/...-come-off.html

But he coached in Japan and learned a lot about the game of baseball...

Yeah I love Rany's rants about the Royals. I especially loved when they banned him from the clubhouse or whatever it was. So awesome.

Hillman is a huge idiot. I'm not going to disagree with you there. But Dusty... is legendarily bad. Though Hillman may be worse at managing his bullpen than Dusty; his non-use of the Mexecutioner sticks out.

I admit I don't know much details about how bad Dusty is. But overall you have to like Dusty more just for motivation. Hillman is a moron and a flaccid turd.

I read it here http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/2010/02/reboot.html

the blog entry is from 2/26 though so maybe it changed? I don't follow this stuff much tbh but Rany is usually pretty reliable so I just take his word

"last update of Baseball Prospectus’ projections has the Twins winning the division – with 81 wins, just seven more than the Royals) – hey, anything’s possible."

lololol @ Baseball Prospectus

Yeah don't use PECOTA this year. Use CHONE. You can find it on Fangraphs.

david gassko did a study in one of the tht annuals that i linked before which showed that hitters have performed better under dusty than pretty much any other manager throughout history. of course it ignored in game decisions and lineup construction and other things dusty blows at (lol destroying young pitchers), but he does appear to have some value at least. hillman probably doesn't have any.

Thank you for the nittery. Feel free to post more comments here.

What I was trying to say was there weren't any Royals except for those two who really stood out from the team. You could draw your starting lineup out of a hat and from one day to the next and one wouldn't be any better than the other.

I truly think we'll be worse than last year. They didn't do anything to improve the defense or the bullpen and we were worst in the league in both last year.

It's not nittery. These words have concrete meanings in baseball. "Replacement" and "Average." They are not interchangeable.

nit·pick
   /ˈnɪtˌpɪk/ Show Spelled[nit-pik] Show IPA
–verb (used without object)
1.
to be excessively concerned with or critical of inconsequential details.
–verb (used with object)
2.
to criticize by focusing on inconsequential details.
–noun
3.
a carping, petty criticism.
–adjective
4.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a nitpicker or nitpicking.

Just because you don't understand that a team of very average players would most likely turn in 81 wins every year doesn't mean I'm a nitpick.

No, I do get that. I just phrased my statement poorly. I forget that people take everything they read on here literally.

When the Royals lose 15 straight and I say I'm going to blow my brains out, don't call the suicide hotline.

Sorry Jim, kyle is right. It was worded in a way that anyone who is remotely interested in sabermetrics, which is basically everyone here, would take it to mean exactly what kyle did. That isn't nitpicking at all. Obviously we can let it go as confusion over terms, but the terms "average" and "replacement" have very well defined meanings around here.

Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick....

I know what average and replacement mean. I admitted I phrased it wrong. I never meant to say that all the players on the Royals are exactly average in the league. I meant to say that all the players on the Royals are very close to each other in terms of talent. Butler and Greinke are the only ones who stand out.

I'm not one of those guys so obviously this is a false statement.

Please do. I just wanted to make a comment about my team without my post being gone over with a fine tooth comb.

[Nit] "Basically everyone" isn't the same as "everyone" [/Nit]

Lets get back to arguing about whether or not the Royals lose 100 games. Have to find something to be interested in this year.

I'm gonna go with no. In any other AL division yes, but not the Central.

Sweet. 93 losses. We can't even excel at losing.

didn't we lose the 2nd most games ever in a decade or something after last year? that's legit imo

sick timing on this post. now you'll probably never see it again.

I thought last night was supposed to be the pitchers duel.

I don't recall Hochever throwing as hard as he was tonight. He's got good stuff but he is so inconsistent, it's hard to know how his year will play out. Looked good tonight.

The way Soria started out I figured it was all over when he was up 0-2 on Cabrera. Too bad that big slow curve wasn't working.

Finally the top of the lineup produced when it mattered. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Ugly game, but a great effort to get our first win.

lol at the comedy of baseball detroit and kc have played so far