Trey Hillman Is Feeling the Heat

They're only one game into the season, but Royals manager Trey Hillman is already feeling the heat that comes along with raised expectations. As I'm sure you've heard about or read about already, Hillman decided to leave Kyle Farnsworth in to face Jim Thome during the eighth inning of Tuesday's season opener with two runners on and a 2-1 lead, even though he had Juan Cruz and lefty Ron Mahay warming up in the bullpen.

Well, long story short, four pitches later Thome was launching a fastball into the left-center field bleachers and giving the White Sox a 4-2 lead and an Opening Day victory. As you'd expect, a lot of Royals fans and media were wondering what the heck Hillman was thinking, and I'm not even sure he knows.

"I don't try to guess what fans think," he said. I felt bad - I was really just trying to get him to explain why he pitched Farnsworth there, a reason with a little more bite than, "He was throwing strikes." I was really not trying to trap him: Heck, this is only the first game in a long season. The Royals showed a lot of good signs. They really should be much improved.

"My thought process is you never really know what a relief pitcher is going to give you, especially on the first day," Hillman said. He explained that's why he had Juan Cruz and Mahay warming up while Farnsworth pitched. He just wanted to be sure Farnsworth was not wild. Once Hillman determined that Farnsworth was not wild, Cruz and Mahay sat down.

"Did you think about going with a lefty since Thome doesn't hit lefties nearly as well?" I asked.

"Ron Mahay is not a lefty specialist," he repeated. "He's really more effective in the sixth and seventh innings."

He paused: "I believe in Kyle Fansworth. This time, he got the pitch up. But I believe in him to get the out in that situation."

"I believe in Kyle Farnsworth." Five words that no baseball fan ever wants to hear their team's manager say. Hillman can come up with all the reasons he wants, but the fact is, leaving Farnsworth in to face Thome was a mistake, and one that cost the Royals a game.

Farnsworth is exactly the type of pitcher that Jim Thome loves to face, and though Mahay may not be a "lefty-specialist," neither is Thome. Over the last three years Thome has hit .223 with 22 homers against lefties compared to .292 with 89 home runs against right-handers.

Thankfully for Hillman and the Royals, it was only the first game of the season and he still has another 161 games to figure these things out.