It’s nice to focus on the playoffs in October instead of scapegoat season

Postseason or Silly Season? Glad we have the former

One of the perks of the Royals making the playoffs is that I don’t have to worry about wholesale changes to the team’s front office or coaching staff.

Sure, that may happen when if the Royals are eliminated (and even if they’re not), but right now, just days—not even a week!—after the regular season concluded, I’m looking forward to the ALDS against the New York Yankees, hoping that the Royals get to Game Four and that the Broadcast Gods make it a night game so I can attend.

Those are good problems to have.

Fans of other teams aren’t so lucky.

It’s time, everyone: silly season is here. Scapegoat SZN™ has arrived to organizations from north of the border to the desert to Miami to three-and-a-half hours (depending on how fast one drives) east of Kansas City.

I’m relieved I don’t have to deal with this right now, but let’s recap how bad other fanbases have it right now, just for fun.

In Arizona, the Diamondbacks owner attacked one of his own players, starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. After pitching well for the Rangers last year and helping them win their first World Series, Montgomery joined Arizona late in the offseason and had a rough 2024—but not so rough that his $22.5 million option for 2025 didn’t vest. That didn’t stop owner Ken Kendrick from ripping into Montgomery.

Did Kendrick forget that Montgomery was nearly certain to opt in for next year before making those comments? Or did he just not care?

Let’s move on to Ohio where the Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell right after the team finished the season 77-85, missing the postseason by a dozen games. This also comes just months after the Reds extended Bell’s contract.

But the Reds moved quickly in naming his replacement by hiring…Terry Francona?

Yes, the same Terry Francona who essentially retired from Ohio’s other team after the conclusion of 2023 season after managing the team for 11 years. I guess he’s feeling better?

How stoked can a fan be for a manager who left his last squad when they finished 10 games under .500 only to bounce back without him to win the Division, improving by 16 games?

On Friday, October 4, another disappointing National League Central team made a move. The Cardinals, who missed the playoffs for the second straight season, announced they were letting go of Turner Ward.

Note: Turner Ward is not their manager. He is their hitting coach.

SCAPEGOAT SZN EPITOMIZED.

The Cardinals are in a weird spot. Earlier this week, they announced John Mozeliak, their President of Baseball Operations, and Oliver Marmol, their manager, would return in 2025. Their general manager, Mke Girsch, was reassigned. Chaim Bloom, the former Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer, who was an advisor to Mozeliak last year, will take over for him after next season concludes.

Whew, that’s a lot to unpack, including, Why in the hell are there so many different terms for baseball executives? What’s a GM even do these days?

Boiled down, it looks like this: unless the Cardinals greatly improve from within, 2025 is going to be a slog. Good thing there’ll be a new hitting coach in town, though.

Speaking of the Cardinals, one of their former players is quite possibly the hottest manager name on the market after leaving the Marlins. Skip Schumaker managed the Marlins to the playoffs last year after they finished 84-78. This year, they dropped to 62-100, but they didn’t fire Skip. No, sir: Skip left.

Why did Skip skip town? (I’m not sorry).

After last season, Schumaker won NL Manager of the Year, and then he renegotiated his contract to eliminate the club’s option on his contract for 2025. Yep, you read that right: he changed his contract so he could get the hell out of Miami sooner than later, job security be damned.

The Marlins responded by letting go more than 70 (!) staffers, including the rest of the coaching staff.

Moving on to the American League, let me start with possibly the funniest news I’ve read: the Blue Jays fired their hitting coach (that isn’t funny, I hope the dude lands another gig) while stripping bench coach Don Mattingly of his “offensive coordinator” title.

Excuse me? He was their what? Offensive coordinator? Is this Canadian football? What does that even mean in baseball? Is that like when the Diamondbacks hired Tony LaRussa as their Chief Baseball Officer (CBO), a title that’s unfortunately stuck around? (See above: Bloom, Chaim.) Is it like when the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Denard Robinson and listed him as an Offensive Weapon (OW)?

Back to Don: was he on the bench drawing up plays like Al Saunders used to with the Chiefs? Like Mike Martz with the Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams?

The Blue Jays offense wasn’t great in 2024, so maybe it was more like Chiefs-era Brian Daboll. (That was 2012 for those who’ve blocked it from memory.)

Staying up north, the Twins let go of their general manager, Thad Levine, after eight seasons. During that time, the Twins only won one postseason series. The Twins have also fired several coaches, including their hitting coaches and assistant bench coach.

Problems solved!

Derek Falvey, the team’s President of Baseball Operations, and Rocco Baldelli, the manager, remain.

Also remaining, of course: the team’s owner, Jim Pohlad, who, uh, doesn’t like to spend money on the team.

If I were a Twins fans, those quotes and the firing of peripheral coaches/executives would make me feel all warm and fuzzy and super excited for next season to compete in a division that includes three of the remaining four American League playoff participants.

Gleeman, a wonderful writer covering the Twins for The Athletic, followed up with an article describing the team’s payroll woes in 2024 that are, of course, likely to bleed into 2025.

Lastly, another AL Central team.

Naturally, the worst one, the Chicago White Sox.

But wait, you might say if you’re, for some reason, a White Sox fan, the White Sox haven’t made any moves!

Therein lies the problem: the one team that should absolutely make a move, that should absolutely clean house, that should absolutely be looking for a new front office and a new manager, that should absolutely be looking to make a splash, that should absolutely be looking to do ANYTHING to give fans some hope…

Yeah, they’ve done nothing. But they’ll cut some payroll.

At least the White Sox have the best odds at landing the No. 1 pick in the draft. Oh, wait.

Damn, it feels good to be a Royals fan.