With another Royals season in the tank before Kansas Citians have even opened their pools, the lone drama left is at manager. Does Buddy Bell make it the entire campaign? Or does the hammer drop during another lost summer?
There are two schools of thought on the (atrocious) tenure of the Budster. A) Once again the team is losing, therefore it must be his fault.
B) He is saddled with another last-place roster, so it cannot be his fault.
Fair to say, listening to both camps has made for entertaining fare during an ugly opening month. First, the pluses of Buddy: He played the game. The losses obviously bother him. His players describe him as old-school and no-nonsense (although there seems to be plenty of nonsense on the field, so who knows).
His minuses? Well, he loses. A lot. All the time. With every team.
He is, well, a loser.
In the best definition of the term, of course!
Look, he cares about winning. He seems to care about doing things the right way. The players say they like playing for him. He is not an egomaniac, there is no pretense, he is not a slick-talking politician that needs to be liked.
But at the end of the day, you can only draw one conclusion. He loses. In every imaginable way. As a player with the Indians and Rangers in the 1970s and 80s, he lost a lot of games. But how can you point the finger at Buddy? He was a four-time all-star on some extremely pitiful teams. Some of the aces of those staffs included Fritz Peterson, Steve Comer and Charlie Hough. Lets give him a pass as a player.
But managing, woohee. He is one certified loser. Nine years, three franchises, 652 losses (and counting). His best finish was third-place in the AL East back in 1997 with the Detroit Tigers. That team was four games UNDER .500. His only winning season came in 2000, with the Rockies. That team was a whopping 82-80. Now, to be fair the Tigers, Rockies and Royals have not exactly trotted out legendary lineups for the guy. But his career winning percentage is .414, meaning he has lost approximately six of every ten games he has managed.
That is one heck of a loser.
He has steered the ship for three of the Royals longest losing streaks ever. The 11-game slide early last season, a 13-game skid one month later and the mother of all losing streaks, a 19-gamer in July of 2005. That last one was nearly an entire MONTH of losing. Buddy does not just lose. He loses BIG.
But until he manages a respectable team which plays below its potential, how do we really know his ability? Then again, he inspires confidence and optimism in just about nobody. His post-game press conferences are like eulogies. His pre-game conversations have been prescribed by Midwest doctors for insomnia. His body language on the bench is reminiscent of a guy sleeping under 435.
Upon his hiring in Kansas City, he attended his introductory press conference in a blue short sleeve shirt which should have stayed on the Tommy Bahama sale rack. He also admitted he had no idea what the Royals record was at the time of his hiring (sounds like he really wanted this job). He commonly answers questions with -I dont knows- and -We will just have to see- forcing one to wonder, if the heavens parted and he was in charge of a good team, would he even know what to do with it?
Buddy has not lasted more than three seasons in any of his managerial stops. This is year three for him in Kansas City and the Royals are a miserable 115-190 under Buddy. He will likely survive the season. This team was picked to finish last in a tough division anyway and G.M. Dayton Moore does not seem to be irrational or impulsive. Plus, the owner is, um, ancient. So he might not even realize the Royals are losing.
But is Buddy the long term solution? Will he be managing when this team finally turns it around?
Not likely, because that would mean they started winning. And that is not something Buddy does.
BEST OF: The Panthers Dancers stop by and don't stop talking for twenty minutes. Wait, you're home schooled? BEST OF: Heat legend Glen Rice in studio on dropping 56 on the Magic, Final Fours and MMA. BEST OF: "The Obama Guy" now has D.A.'s old job! He asked the Prez a question, then he joined the show. BEST OF: Phil and Chris Simms drop by the broadcast to rap about dad's career and son's future. BEST OF: Why so few minority college coaches? DA answers with one word: Boosters. BEST OF: When a Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Famer talks, you listen. The immortal Lynn Swann. BEST OF: TNA Wrestling's Traci Brooks on being blessed with, ahem, great dimensions. DA LOVES THE KIDS: After Marlins summer-camp day, the next gen of Fish Fans might be in trouble. DA LOVES THE KIDS: Part 1 Heat charity camp shows us D-Wright's defense needs a little work.
DA LOVES THE KIDS: Part 2 Not everyone is thrilled with the hiring of Eric Spoelstra. INSTANT CLASSIC: Free-agent Joe Horn blasts his old coaches and asks for Dolphins forgiveness, all live on the show! INSTANT CLASSIC: The man who took down Kimbo Slice: overnight celebrity Seth Petruzelli talks about the fight that stunned the fight world. BEST OF: Author Jeff Pearlman on the controversial Cowboys dynasty. Uh, ew. BEST OF: Heat rookie Mario Chalmers needs help hot-boxing. Cough, cough.. BEST OF: DA is named a Godfather. Can he handle the responsibility or will he sleep with the fishes? BEST OF: DA witnesses the greatest kids game ever. Rock, paper, scissors, space! STAR WARS GEEKS: Part 1 DA goes where no sportstalk host has gone before: Star Wars premier night.
STAR WARS GEEKS: Part 2 Will DA make it out alive or turn into an extra from the Cantina Bar? INSTANT CLASSIC: Legend of the MMA Dan "Hendo" Henderson on the circus attraction to Kimbo and the rise of UFC. BEST OF: New UFC Champ Forrest Griffin on the belt and bouncing out of fighting while the gettin's good. INSTANT CLASSIC: Zo's youth clinic brings us immediate joy: Heat Kids Say the Darndest Things BEST OF: Miami boxer Joey "Twinkle Fingers" Hernandez found himself on the streets. How he got his mojo back. BEST OF: CBS4 Weather Wizard and Miss Florida Lissette Gonzalez on the jet-stream and the wave. BEST OF: Marino delivers a commencement speech and DA's own graduation horrors. INSTANT CLASSIC: Cats winger Nathan Horton is married to a Playmate? Oops. INSTANT CLASSIC: What does JoePa really mean at pressers? Ask Penn State 101. INSTANT CLASSIC: St. Patty's Day means celebrating Irish sports legends: DA Show style. INSTANT CLASSIC: Canes Big Man Dwayne Collins has his Aladdin DVD stolen. The Horror! INSTANT CLASSIC: Dontrelle says peace to South Florida with DA. Here's his Top-3 movies of all-time. SUPER BOWL XLII: NYG's Lawrence Tynes stops by after the ticker tape parade. INSTANT CLASSIC: Is Shaq becoming M.C. Hammer Jr? Say it ain't so. INSTANT CLASSIC: DA melts down as his alma mater brings brings back the dimwitted Greg Robinson for more SU pain. INSTANT CLASSIC: This placed DA squarely on the Chiefs blacklist forever. DA and King Carl in THE Battle Royale. BEST OF: Where it all started: Herm
and Carl agree... Damon is a nice name. SUPER BOWL XL: D.A. does his best investigative work ever. It's the field turf press conference from Detroit. INSTANT CLASSIC: The Mark Mangino Montage tastes better than ever! INSTANT CLASSIC: The 2007 Herm-Gasm. 'Nuff said. INSTANT CLASSIC: The Chiefs Dept. of Misinformation is at it once again. Are the Chiefs wearing white or not? Don't ask them. INSTANT CLASSIC: Chicago's legendary Mike North joins DA to preview Chiefs- Bears. Da Bears! INSTANT CLASSIC : The annual DA Show NBA Mock Draft is here... with a return from Stormbot. FEATURED AUDIO: Royals legend Denny Matthews has bought his first cell phone. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as 6-4-3. FEATURED AUDIO: A fond DA Show farewell to Buddy Bell. He really was "Our Buddy." FEATURED AUDIO
: Lauren Nichole has made quite an impression with her traffic reports. Great or gross? You decide. The
one, the only, Zach Greinke from Royals Spring Training. The
2007 One NIT NIT Moment.
The 2006 Caller Hall of Fame Track One: Christopher Walken's legendary roast
of the new class
First the staff. Then listeners. Now LJ has the Herm-gasm? Crazy
Ray sings the Growing Pains theme song. The
Royals 70's jingle that puts a smile on your face during another horrid season
in KC. The
local TV anchors slip up on the broadcast and luckily the D.A. Show was rolling
tape. 6-6-06:
The Crypt Keeper's Holiday Crazy
Ray displays his talent for singing. Could he make a run at the next American
Idol? Oklahoma
takes it on the chin with this famous call from R.B. Missed
any of the NIT NIT action? Check out the recaps of the games and a special
edition of The One NIT NIT Moment. We
couldn't leave Alex the Intern out of the mix, check out the drunk dial message
Alex left for D.A. The
D.A. Show tribute to Alan Thicke.
Is
Crazy Ray really crazy? Take a listen to find out.
A
D.A. Show Investigation reveals color commentators handing out the pink slip
to local college coaches.
Quinner's
feeling a bit down. We ask, what's wrong with Quinn Snyder? Herm Edwards gave us quotable material right from jump street. He gets a montage based on his introduction presser. A
staple of any good office party. It's the Dick Vermeil montage XP: final edition.
Duh, ok.
DA's Hometown Hottie contest created controversy throughout KC. Radio superstar Johnny Dare stuck his nose in the middle of it. The
callers finally had their own chance to put their stamp on the Vermeil montage Why
do the sista's hate the show? It all started here: Yvette's call of the day The original D.A. Show parody of Jim Rome's smack-off (circa '04). The '05 D.A. Show parody of Jim Rome's smack-off, complete with a certain national columnist. The '06 smack-smack, which brought all the D.A. Show legends together for one fab event. You asked for it. We delivered. DA Show icon Alan Thicke's first appearance.
With another Royals season in the tank before Kansas Citians have even opened their pools, the lone drama left is at manager. Does Buddy Bell make it the entire campaign? Or does the hammer drop during another lost summer? 
