Lewis: The apathy with fans of the Royals is starting to appear again. What does it take to maintain interest this time around?

He looked up at the sky and then down on his gauntlet, pulling on the blue strands of skin. He seemed to be looking for something: an answer, an explanation, some optimism.

Carlos Hernandez, the 25-year-old right-hand man from Venezuela who showed promise last season, had just allowed six runs in the half during Royals‘6-1 loss to Baltimore Orioles. The defeat capped another shameful streak in 2022. The royals have won only two out of nine this season.

It’s May 10, and the royal family is 9-17. Were it not for the militants Detroit Tigersmembers of the royal family will be bragging about the worst record in the MLS.

The numbers show the rotting start. On the board, the club ranks 28th in OPS (.601), 28th in walking (69), 29th in home runs (13), and 22nd in hardest hit rate (37.1 percent). The promotion seems to take these ratings personally – and it increases. The Royal Family is ranked 27th in ERA (4.62), 27th in WHIP (1.39) and 29th in strike-to-walk ratio (1.90).

It would be easy to refuse this if it was a one-off. But it is not. Not at all.

Since 2018, the year the royals began rebuilding, they have ranked 28th in the OPS (.700) and 27th in the ERA (4.85). This may explain why the Royal Family ranks 25th in terms of attendance (16,435 fans per game at Kauffman Stadium). Perhaps this is what reinforces the feeling that BD summed it up so well, hanging in the the athlete: “The only thing worse than generating frustration and anger in the fan base is stirring up what comes next: apathy. Once again this year, the royals are dangerously close to doing exactly that.”

If you need a reminder, the Royals lost 10 games in a row during the first two weeks of the 2019 season. They lost six in a row in the second week of the 2020 season. And they lost 11 games in a row last May. Although members of the royal family only played 16 per cent of their season in 2022, the concern is not limited to the fan base. Several players have expressed frustration with the state of things, which prompts the following questions: What does it take to maintain interest? What will give people optimism that the club will go running in the near future?

The questions generally evoke a scene from July 2 last year. Dayton Moore, the royal family’s head of baseball operations, sat in the bunker of the house before the game. A reporter asked how surprised he was about the royal family’s lackluster performance.

“You’ve heard me say this before, but you have to do a lot of things right to win Major League Baseball game,” he said. “When you have malfunctions in several areas, I mean, it makes winning almost impossible. But you can’t make excuses for injuries. At the end of the day, you have to look in the mirror as a general manager and evaluate your operations. But at the end of the day, I will believe in our players, in (manager) Mike Matheny and the coaching staff.”

What’s remarkable is how well that quote fits with this story a year later – the year the club is supposed to be closest to the feud.

Expectations vary. FanGraphs’ ZiPS sees royals heading for 94 losses.

Displaying ads is part of the reason. Chris Bobick, who was declared a starting player on the Brady Singer after Singer completed three disappointing spring training sessions, made 12 1/3 innings in five starts. The Royals picked Jackson Cowar after one outing in the major leagues, and he currently has a 10.18 ERA in five starts in Triple-A Omaha. Hernandez, who has seen a drop in pace and his fastball downhill form, has a 7.15 ERA in five starts.

It’s hard to watch these situations and not go back to the past year. on the side of the monument, Jacob Jones He proved to be one of the best bowlers in the royal family through six matches. He had a 3.47 ERA. Then members of the royal family demoted him to the center of the bulls. He allowed five runs on his first outing. Neither shooting coach Cal Eldred nor Bullpen coach Larry Carter seemed to help Jeunesse get his level.

This is important because Junis is now promoting San Francisco Giants. In 15 rounds (including one start), he had a 1.20 ERA. Dig deeper, and you’ll notice some interesting elements in his mix of tones. In 2019, Jeunesse threw 33.7% in four plungers, 29.7% in slides, and 17.3% in submersibles. This season, he’s thrown 54.9 percent of the slides, 22.1 percent of the plungers and 6.9 percent of the four plungers. Its slider is the best of it all. Its four seams have always been one of the worst. The volatile use has worked wonders. So there is a change. The Royals wanted Jeunesse to turn the pitch rather than throw the breakout. Given his stature, this was not an easy task.

Interestingly, Jeunesse is not the only bowler who has come forward and succeeded. Brad Boxberger He averaged 90 mph on the four-stud fastball in 2019, and the pitch was down an average of 20.1 inches. In 2021, after signing with Milwaukee Brewers, the Boxberger averaged 93.5 mph on his Fastball, and the pitch was down an average of 14.1 inches, enhancing the elevation effect and making it harder to hit. In 2019 with the royal family, Willy Peralta He wasn’t throwing the separator. Now with the Tigers, it’s his playing field more than anything else. Jorge Lopez He shoots nearly four miles per hour faster with the Baltimore Orioles this season than he did with the Royals in 2019. Tampa Bay Rays Savior Jason Adam He is one of the best baseball players this season. He throws the changeover most often (he only threw 7.9 percent with the royals in 2018) and uses the slider, which he didn’t throw with the royals.

It should be noted that the current major unions in the royal family are not aware of the strides others have made elsewhere.

In terms of hits, it’s pretty much the same. In 2021, Jorge Soler He was struggling hard. Matheny didn’t seem to have an answer. “It’s weird what he can do,” Matheny said last June. “We just keep looking for keys to unlock it.” Hitting coach Terry Bradshaw had a hard time finding them. Only when coach Mike Tosar showed up with a special assignment did Soler turn into the type of hitter who went on to contribute to the Atlanta Braves World Series.

Granted, the Royals have added former assistant hitters Keoni DeRenne to their big league staff this off-season to help change the work habits of hitters before games. still, Wait Merryfieldfor example, ranks last among all eligible hitters in wRC+. Salvador Perez It is only beating .204. Carlos Santanawhich the club did not trade on last year’s deadline, has 0.566 OPS. Adalberto Mondesi He hit 20 times in 50 rackets before he tore his ACL. Defender Edward Olivares – who was mentioned by a scout last year and asked: “Why doesn’t he ever play?” He was the club’s top hitter (172 wRC+ in 38 board games) before suffering a right quadruped strain this weekend.

As Moore said last year, the club cannot make excuses for injury. The fact of the matter is: Merryfield, Santana and Mondsey were held by members of the royal family in years past, rather than traded in. They have entrusted Eldred and Carter with sponsoring junior bowlers to the major tournaments since 2017, and the same is true with Bradshaw on the batting side. They have continued to operate with one foot in the present waters and one in the future. Both look more cloudy than ever. So, what can members of the royal family do?

Looking in the mirror, evaluating operations and believing in the menu and coaching staff was last year’s answer. This sounds exactly like the problem.

(picture Zack Greenk: Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images),