A Pessimist’s View Of The 2014 Kansas City Royals
By Tom Fontana
Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore (left) and owner David Glass Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Front Office and Ownership
The Dayton Moore regime is in it’s ninth season. It’s safe to say the organization as a whole is in a lot better place than it was when he took the job. It’s a regime that is still looking for a consistent starting pitcher that its developed.
Maybe that changes this year. Bullpen arms he’s got down, he’s developed plenty, but Danny Duffy is the only starting pitcher drafted by Moore that has started a game in the big leagues. And he, like countless others before him has had to go under the knife.
Then there’s David Glass. He’s improved, he really has. But it’s still hard to trust him. If the Royals are in contention in August, will he sign off on a big trade and in effect the additional salary?
If you’re ranking the owners of Kansas City’s sports teams, Glass will always come in third. The Hunt family is regaining some trust after the Pioli/Haley disaster. Sporting Kansas City’s ownership group is the leader and it continues to widen the margin.
They just seem to get it. Fans respect them.
Sunday evening during the Grammy’s, there were four, really creative, yet simple commercials for Sporting Kansas City ticket sales and to just promote their brand. They used cell phone videos of fans in the stands during the MLS Cup Final in three of them, and in all four the central theme was how important the fans were to the title run. If there was ever a fan base that deserves to be told how important they were, it’s Royals fans.
It couldn’t have cost Sporting much to make those spots. Likely pennies on the dollar for what the Royals paid for their embarrassing “Our Time” campaign in 2012. Fans don’t respect Glass, if anything they loathe him.
It’s time for the Royals to give something back to the fans and the city that has suffered through so much. Spend a little extra money, even if it hurts the bottom line at the end of the year.
So there you go. There’s my depressing look at what could be the best Kansas City Royals season in 30 years. Which means it could also be the most disappointing.