Royals' season torpedoed mostly by bad luck, not bad decisions

John made some terrific points about Trey Hillman's non-use of closer Joakim Soria yesterday. I wanted to apply a bit of a postscript to his thoughts.

Yes, General Manager Dayton Moore has made some bad decisions. Yes, manager Trey Hillman has made LOTS of bad decisions. Yes, several Royals players are performing well below their ability.

But for the most part, the Royals have just been plagued by an incredible string of bad luck and very little good luck.

Injuries have plagued a significant amount of Royals starters, including starting center fielder Coco Crisp (out for the season), starting shortstop and 2008 Player of the Year Mike Aviles (out for the season), starting third baseman Alex Gordon (just returned from DL), closer Joakim Soria (hurt earlier in the year), backup catcher John Buck (out earlier in the year) starting pitcher Gil Meche (15-day DL, but maybe longer) and others.

I can't think of a team in Major League Baseball that wouldn't struggle after losing the starting center fielder, the No. 2 pitcher and the left side of the infield to injury.

And the Royals as an organization can't be blamed for underperforming players. The bullpen has been atrocious, but it probably shouldn't have been. Moore traded away two key bullpen players in the preseason, but he signed two veteran relievers (Kyle Farnsworth and Juan Cruz) to replace them. That should have been an upgrade.

Moore traded for two position players that should have had a bigger impact. Coco Crisp showed signs of life early in the year before he got hurt. Mike Jacobs has not yet lived up to his promise and has been reduced to the role of bit player. (The jury is still out on Yuniesky Betancourt - although he was tried, convicted and sentenced by fans and the media before he ever put on a Royals uniform.)

Now, the Royals have had a limited amount of good luck. Zack Greinke has been something special. Miguel Olivo has been a fine starting catcher. Alberto Callaspo came out of nowhere to have a great season. Billy Butler is slugging. Mark Teahan is playing ball. And Willie Bloomquist - perhaps the bigges surprise of all - is perhaps the most important player on the team right now.

So... The 2009 season will hopefully be remembered for those bright spots. It's not over yet, but, well, yes, for the Royals it's pretty much over. I know I'm saying something that's said after every disastrous season, but hopefully the Royals can build on the small successes for the future.

--Matt Kelsey

Kind words from Keith Law about the Royals' new shortstop

Well-respected ESPN writer Keith Law ripped Yuniesky Betancourt to shreds in a recent post and criticized the Royals for making the trade. He says Betancourt "might very well be the worst everyday player in the majors."

Ouch. That's rough. But his criticism didn't end there:

Betancourt does nothing well on a baseball field. He can't hit and has lost bat speed since reaching the majors. He hacks at everything he sees, and even swings at pitches thrown to other hitters. He has next to no range at short. And he never hustles on anything -- not balls hit in his direction, not ground balls he might have a chance to beat out (well, before he let himself go physically). Other than all that, he's Honus Wagner.

Good golly, man, why don't you tell us how you really feel?

I'm not sure, though. No, I don't like the trade - two pitching prospects for a player EVERYBODY is down on? - but I don't think Betancourt is as bad as people seem to think he is. He's a career .279 hitter, which sure as hell is better than the Royals' average, and he's had three pretty consistent, injury-free seasons in Seattle until this year. On top of that, he's only 27, which puts him right at the beginning of his baseball "prime."

I'm hoping this is one of those deals where, in a couple years, everybody looks back and says, "You know, that wasn't such a bad trade for the Royals."

Let's just hope Yuniesky is not the next Neifi Perez.

--Matt Kelsey