I feel like re-visiting something that kind of slipped under the radar when it first came to light.
Bill Bavasi did drop by to speak afterwards.
He was asked if he had any regrets, any moves in hindsight that could have helped the team.
“It’s really ironic that the personality we’re missing most is Jose Guillen,” he said. “He could do some strange things at times, but his agenda, at the top of his agenda, was to win.”
Bavasi feels Guillen would have helped some of the problems he’s seen in the clubhouse this season.
Offensively, Jose Guillen has helped the Royals by being eight runs below average, with a .284 OBP and nineteen walks. Among right fielders with at least 200 plate appearances, his .245 EqA ranks 30th out of 40. His BABIP is only slightly below where it ought to be given his line drives.
Defensively, Jose Guillen has helped the Royals by posting an RZR of .863, compared to a corner outfielder average of .892. Combined with his poor showing out of zone, he has so far been about 20 plays below average in the field according to THT, costing his team another 15-25 runs.
In the clubhouse, Jose Guillen has helped the Royals by (A) ripping into the young players for not giving their all, (B) ripping into the coaches for accusing the players of not giving their all, (C) arguing with pitching coach Bob McClure, (D) arguing with manager Trey Hillman, and (E) ripping into the fans for getting on his case after he didn't run out a grounder. The Royals have fed off of Guillen's winning personality by playing worse in 2008 than they did in 2007.
A year ago, we were celebrating Jose Guillen as being possibly the shrewdest move of Bill Bavasi's career. Now he is but an illustration of everything that was wrong with it.
Good God, I'm glad these guys are gone.