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Tinkering with swing hurt Buck's production
By JEFFREY FLANAGANThe Kansas City Star
During the first two months of 2007, Buck was hitting .273 with eight homers and 18 RBIs. Then the bottom fell out, and Buck hit just .195 the last four months.
What happened?
One explanation: Someone, and Buck isn’t naming names, decided to tinker with Buck’s hitting approach. Again.
“It wasn’t Barney (hitting coach Mike Barnett),” Buck said.
Think of someone no longer with the Royals, someone who didn’t necessarily believe in Buck’s new, exaggerated front-leg kick to gain rhythm and proper weight transfer (despite the good numbers).
“In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t listened,” Buck said. “But suddenly I was competing again (with Jason LaRue) for a job I’d thought I’d already won. And you want to please the right people, so I tried (a different approach).
“Looking back, I should have just stuck with what I was doing.”
Buck isn’t making excuses. He’s just providing an explanation.
“The truth is, I sucked the last half of last year,” he said.
Now, the Royals have once more brought in another catcher who wants the starting job — Miguel Olivo. Of course, the theory is that the competition will bring out the best in Buck.
“I don’t know if that really happens,” Buck said. “They bring in someone new every year. I try hard no matter what. I want to get better every day no matter what, no matter who the other catcher is.
“If people want to believe that having another catcher like that brings out the best in me, that’s fine. Maybe it does. But I have enough pride to want to play my best regardless.”
Hi-def worries
Royals television broadcasters Ryan Lefebvre and Paul Splittorff already are worried about the Royals showing 88 games this year in high definition — meaning fans will see their images even more clearly.
“Can’t they turn the high-def off when they have shots of the booth?” Lefebvre said, joking.
Jackson driving?
Hard to believe, but George Brett’s oldest, Jackson, is already driving (Kansas restricted). Jackson recently turned 15.
Does Jackson getting a driver’s license make George feel old?
“Not at all,” he said. “I feel better than I have in years.”
Listening
Former Royal Jim Eisenreich was in uniform again as part of the Royals’ alumni coaching program.
“It’s pretty cool to have some of the younger guys ask you questions,” he said. “They do ask and they do listen, sometimes.”