Major League Baseball

With Yost, Royals looking at better days to come

Published Jul. 15, 2010 4:37 a.m. ET

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The first thing Dayton Moore told Ned Yost was that his chances of becoming Kansas City's permanent manager would be considered at the end of the season, along with other candidates.

Now it must be tempting for Kansas City's general manager to change his mind. Since Moore reluctantly fired his friend Trey Hillman on May 13 and put Yost in charge, the Royals are 27-26.

Yes, it's a record that might have a Yankees manager cleaning out his desk. But for a franchise that's had only two winning seasons in 15 years and been shut out of the playoffs for a quarter of a century, 27-26 is uncrate-the-champagne success.

No one is saying there won't be additional steps backward before the next few laborious steps can be taken forward.

The Royals did, after all, end the first half with three blowout losses in Chicago. But right before that, Yost's team won 10 of 13 and beat some of the top pitchers in the league.

Fragile though it may be, there seems to be a new confidence among players and fans alike. Signs abound of better days ahead. Outfielder David DeJesus and first baseman Billy Butler have become solid hitters and dependable run-producers. All-Star closer Joakim Soria leads the majors in saves.

DeJesus is batting .326, four percentage points better than Butler. Jose Guillen seems to have found new life under Yost. He had a 21-game hitting streak and leads the Royals with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs.

The Royals - and this is something they never did for an entire season even in their glory era of 1976-85 - lead the majors in hitting.

In addition, some of the most promising young prospects in the minor leagues belong to the Royals, including infielders Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, who was 4 for 5 in the Futures Game.

As of today, at least, the Royals' lackluster 12-23 start under Hillman seems just an unwelcome reminder of the bad old days they're trying so hard to forget.

Yost, aside from getting rid of third base coach Dave Owen, granting the gimpy-legged Guillen's wish to play more defense and tinkering a bit with the batting lineup, has made few visible changes.

The difference in results may instead be due to a change in approach. Hillman was self-conscious about being the only manager without big league experience as either a player or coach. In his first spring training, he embarrassed his players by loudly chewing them out in front of an opposing team.

But the players like Yost, who seems smart, understanding and tough.

''He's got that edge,'' said catcher Jason Kendall, who also played for Yost in Milwaukee. ''He's very intense and at the same time, he lets you play. He's definitely one of the best in baseball.''

And the players have made a favorable impression on him.

''I like their intensity,'' Yost said. ''I like their desire to win.''

Before making any big changes, Yost wanted to get to know everybody.

''You've got to find out what makes them tick, things that you learn being with them day in and day out,'' he said. ''If you're perceptive and you're really studying and watching, you see which guys have the makeup to be a champion and a winner and what guys can do and can't do.''

The 53-year-old former Brewers manager also has a history in Atlanta, where he was on the coaching staff from 1991-2002. Royals fans are starting to worry that he could also be a candidate to replace retiring Braves skipper Bobby Cox.

But he seems to like it here.

''I might even enjoy (managing) more here (than in Milwaukee),'' he said. ''We've got a great group of players on this team that I like. I like the city. I love the stadium. There's nothing I don't like about being here.''

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