Must Be A Contract Year
Jose Guillen is hitting .281 and belted his 14th home run (putting him on pace to break his season best record of 27 from 2004) on a pristine baseball evening as the Royals managed to cling to a one run victory against the White Sox. He’s been a (surprisingly) solid contributor this year. Trade rumors have been surfacing of late, but when you hear the talk, the names associated have been David DeJesus and Zack Greinke. Now you can add Jose Guillen’s name to that list. I couldn’t be happier that he’s pumping up his numbers in the final year of his three-year $36M deal – honest. Officially, I don’t know if the Royals are shopping him around, but I certainly am. I want him out of here, especially after some of the comments he made to Fox Sports Kansas City:
“This organization when I came here, it was not what I thought it was going to be,” he said. “The atmosphere. I was expecting a lot of fire and winning attitude. And it wasn’t any of that. None of that.
“I tried to say some things and do some things to change the atmosphere and then people went ‘Oh, here goes Jose Guillen again.’ But, hey, I don’t like to babysit guys. You try to tell young guys some things, they get their feelings hurt. That’s Little League stuff.”
The Royals’ biggest sin as a team?
“Fundamentally, this is one of the worst teams in all of baseball. This is true,” Guillen said.
“I’ve been here for three years. I know everything that’s going on . We’re one of the worst teams fundamentally. Why do we get 14 or 15 hits and we score one or two runs. How does that happen? Lack of concentration. Lack of being smart.
“Players think it’s all about hitting home runs. Drive in runs. That’s what will get them paid instead of moving the runner or getting the guy to second. I just don’t see that respect for the game, moving the runners.
“The team I really admire is the Minnesota Twins. They do that so well. I love when we play them because that’s what I want our guys to see. They (the Twins) are the smartest team in all of baseball. Them and the Angels. They do all the little things so well.”
Feel free to read the rest of the article here.
His frustration is understandable and I know many fans who have been frustrated for years – sometimes frustrated to the point of apathy. However, Jose has been more a part of the problem than the solution. How do you legitimately complain about fundamentals and then not hustle to catch a fly ball that the second baseman is clearly not going to be able reach, but you could? This is what opened the door for the five-run eighth inning Greinke surrendered. In the ninth inning, however, he busted his ass catching a fly ball – literally, he smashed into the wall and held onto the ball. Ahhhh inconsistency, Guillen is thy name.
With the Pirates when I was coming up, the veteran players told you things. You can ask Jason Kendall. You did everything the veterans said you did. These guys, you tell them to be outside on time or we need to do this together, they say “Nah, I do my own thing.’ Sometimes you want to just punch them but you can’t do that because they’re you teammates.
I wonder if he holds himself to the same standards and, if so, would he punch himself in the face the next time he doesn’t do something fundamentally sound. I am looking for a connection within the organization to get me footage of that should it happen. Until then, someone get me Minnesota’s GM on the line… have I got a deal for them!
