First - my apologies for not updating the game results yet. I started a new job, and things have been pretty hectic over the past month. I will make it a priority to finish out the season very soon.
Now, on to the other big Royals news. Trey Hillman was introduced this week as the newest Royals manager. Hillman is currently managing the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan, and his team is vying for their second straight Japan Series championship.
There aren't a lot of folks who know much about Hillman. In his brief visit to KC, he seemed like a no-nonsense baseball guy; a good communicator with a willingness to adjust his gameplan as needed.
I'm not going to pretend to know whether this is a good hire or not. Hillman has a lot of managerial experience, both in Japan as well as 12 years in the Yankees minor league system. He also took a struggling young team in Japan and guided them to a championship. That's what is needed in KC.
Hillman has already announced his coaching staff. Luis Silverio will stay, as will pitching coach Bob McClure and hitting coach Mike Barnett. Silverio will move to third base, and former third base coach Brian Poldberg will leave the Royals. Bench coach Billy Doran will also leave.
The only new coaches that Hillman will bring to the Royals are Dave Owen and Rusty Kuntz. Owen is Hillman's bench coach in Japan and will do the same in KC, and Kuntz will coach first.
It's pretty obvious how this came together. Dayton Moore told Hillman that the pitching coach is staying. He then asked Hillman if he wanted to bring any new coaches to the staff. Hillman tagged his buddies Kuntz and Owen, and Moore decided who to whack.
Spring Training is a long ways off, so in the meantime we'll cheer on the Nippon Ham Fighters.
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