By Mike Castiglione
In the past week, the Kansas City Royals have seen their closer leave town and their manager announce his impending departure.
Buried behind those headlines, however, is the news that the team has managed to string together some wins. Although the Royals remain at the bottom of the American League Central division standings, they have notched wins in five of their last seven games heading into this weekend’s road series with the Yankees.
Still, much of the talk in the last few days has revolved around manager Buddy Bell and his decision on Wednesday to step down at the end of the season. Bell, who took over the position in May of 2005, plans to finish out the remainder of the season and then become an adviser to general manager Dayton Moore.
Since recovering from a bout with cancer last year, Bell said his focus has now shifted away from baseball.
“A lot of things have happened to me personally since I’ve been manager of the Royals that have affected me,” Bell said. “When I did get sick, things did change the way I prioritized my life. I have grandchildren, I have a daughter that’s handicapped and needs a lot of attention and I want to spend more time with. And, quite frankly, I need to be at home.”
He added that he’s been in the game for 40 years now, so the choice to pay more attention to his family was a no-brainer.
Though the Royals are in last place, where they’ve finished each of the last two seasons, Bell said he wanted to stick around at least until he saw the team headed in the right direction. It appears he picked a good time, as Kansas City just wrapped up its second straight month with a winning record.
“It’s hard to walk away from my job because of that,” he said. “I see a lot of improvement, I see the progression, I see guys getting better on a daily basis, I see the chemistry in the clubhouse, I see the respect the organization is starting to get back,” he said. “It’s good to see that happening.”
The Royals players were supportive of the decision from their soon-to-be former manager, as was Moore, who now finds himself in the process of finding Bell’s replacement. Though he is not sure of who the next skipper will be, he is quite sure that he doesn’t want to go through the job screening process in the public eye.
“It’ll be something that remains very private about who we interview and who we hire,” Moore told the team’s web site on Thursday. “This is going to be a very much sought-after job. Many of the candidates may not be available until the end of the season and possibly even the postseason.”
Around Kansas City, a few names are already being thrown around as possible replacements. One is bench coach Billy Doran. Others include former Royals players such as George Brett and Frank White.
ROYALS GET YOUNGER WITH DEADLINE DEAL
Kansas City’s bullpen has been one of the few bright spots for the team this season. Perhaps that is what the front office was thinking when it traded away closer Octavio Dotel to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for starting pitcher Kyle Davies.
The 23-year-old Davies had made his two most recent starts in Triple-A after struggling with a 4-8 record and a 5.76 ERA with Atlanta this season. He has 45 big-league starts under his belt.
“(Davies is) a young pitcher who’s trying to establish himself,” Moore said. “I don’t pay much attention to young pitchers’ statistics. If you did, John Smoltz and Tommy Glavine never would have gotten off the ground.”
Dotel departs after converting 11 saves in 14 opportunities with Kansas City, and he posted a 2-1 record and a 3.91 ERA in 24 games. In his place, Joakim Soria will get another crack at the closer’s role while Zack Greinke is expected to be utilized as the setup man.
WHO’S HOT
After hitting .341 in July, designated hitter Billy Butler was named the AL Rookie of the Month. The 21-year-old added 24 runs batted in.
“I get a pitch, I am not missing it right now.” said Butler.
It’s that simple logic that has transformed Butler into one of the most promising young players in the majors.
Center fielder David DeJesus is also swinging a hot bat, having amassed 11 hits in his last 25 at-bats.
WHO’S NOT
Not many players are struggling right now, although right fielder Mark Teahen has never quite found his power stroke this season and was recently moved down in the lineup.
A LOOK AHEAD
Getting things started on Friday against the Yankees will be Odalis Perez (6-9, 5.73), who squares off against Chien-Ming Wang (12-5, 3.61). Davies makes his Royals debut on Saturday, and he will do so opposite Phil Hughes (1-1, 3.38). On Sunday, it will be Royals ace Gil Meche (7-8, 3.70) versus Mike Mussina (6-7, 4.75).
