Has success made the Royals less aggressive?

Before a nationally televised audience in Detroit on Sunday evening, with the Royals locked in a 1-1 game in the top of the ninth inning, Ned Yost found himself facing a bit of a quandary. Having finally rid themselves of Tigers pitcher Shane Greene, who after giving up twenty runs in his previous 11 innings pitched had put on a masterful Cy Young impersonation through eight innings, Kansas City found themselves facing a familiar face in Joakim Soria.

Needing a run to put the game in the hands of Greg Holland, the Royals had speedy Lorenzo Cain on first base with only one out. In that moment, Ned Yost had a choice: send Cain in an attempt to give Hosmer or Morales an opportunity to manufacture the go ahead run or place the confidence (and the burden) on the Royals hitters by not attempting to steal second base. Tonight, as the rain continued to fall and the ESPN broadcast crew continued to chatter on about nothing of consequence, Yost chose door number 2 and Soria induced an inning-ending double play from Kendrys Morales.

There is a perception that has been formed by many Royals fans that here in 2015 Ned Yost has been regularly choosing the second option and choosing to play a conservative brand of baseball unlike anything Kansas City has seen since at least before the 2014 All Star Break. Out of that perception has sprung a debate amongst Royals Nation if this new (old) Ned Yost is to the benefit or the detriment of the Royals in their defense of their American League championship. Royals fans will not soon forget the aggressive, go-for-broke style of play that propelled the Boys in Blue into the playoffs and into the hearts of millions of baseball fans across America. Let us remember that Billy Butler stole a base last October. Baseball "experts" raved about the Royals speed, aggressiveness, and willingness to take risks and many hailed the Royals approach as one that was breaking new ground and would set a trend throughout the game.

Sometimes, perception and reality do not see eye-to-eye, and despite the feeling amongst many in Royals Nation that Ned Yost has retreated back into a conservative shell, the numbers tell a slightly different story. Through the first 30+ games of 2015, the Royals have tallied twenty-three stolen bases, a mark that places them third in the league behind Houston and Detroit. The Royals are second in the American League in RBI's and they are second to last in the AL in walks. Put simply, the Royals have been anything but nonaggressive here in 2015.

So if Ned Yost has not suddenly become passive and timid, what is he doing when he chooses to keep runners like Lorenzo Cain firmly planted on first base in the late innings of a tie ball game? Simply put, he is putting trust and confidence in his hitters who have already proven on multiple occasions thus far this season that they are worthy of their manager's trust. While still displaying a penchant for aggressive baseball, Yost no longer feels the need to nickel and dime his opponents the same way he did a year ago.

The 2015 Royals are a different team than their 2014 counterparts as they possess a much more complete offense and through that completeness we are continuing to witness the evolution of Ned Yost. While the Royals are not a team that will ever be reliant on the home-run ball, they are a team that possesses the confidence that they can produce runs through a wide variety of means (their 2 runs on Sunday night are a classic example). We are going to continue to witness the Yost continuing to shift his approach from day to day and while Yost can rightfully be accused of many things, he should not ever be accused of being timid.

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