KC skipper manages to make 'Yosted' a Twitter trend

After making the final blunder in a game full of them, Jarrod Dyson was succinct.

"I was going, and I got picked off," Dyson told the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough on Monday following the Royals' 7-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox. "Nothing special about it."

Nope, certainly nothing special. Just something especially bad.

But then, that was the general theme for the Royals after they spent the final eight innings blowing a five-run lead, squandering chances and making so many head-scratching decisions that fans aren't even thinking about Mike Moustakas' futility today.

Although cleanup hitter Billy Butler still had an at-bat with the tying run stationed at second base, manager Ned Yost basically labeled Dyson's base-running miscue the coffin's final nail. "When they picked Dyson off, that kind of put an end to it," he said.

Interesting take, but the reality is Yost spent a good portion of the night doing his own work on said coffin. The hashtag "Yosted" was trending locally on Twitter in the game's immediate aftermath, and for good reason.

Most KC fans focused their criticism on Yost's ill-fated decision to stick with starting pitcher Jason Vargas one hitter too long in the fifth inning. When Vargas served a hanging changeup that Paul Konerko belted for a two-run shot over the center-field wall, the White Sox had turned their seemingly insurmountable deficit into a 7-6 advantage the Royals refused to overcome.

Yost's decision was odd, especially considering Konerko has been a thorn for Vargas throughout his career, hitting over .400 against him (8 for 18).

"He struck him out the first time, got him on a flyball the second time, " Yost said. "Vargy's a veteran pitcher that knows how to get guys out. And I just felt real strongly that he could get us through the fifth inning."

In an era of advanced statistics, Yost continues to cling to old-school tactics. One example is that he believes in letting his starters work through the fifth so they can qualify for a win -- sometimes to the detriment of his team.

Monday night's move certainly was detrimental.

But as bad as that decision was, his moves in a disastrous ninth inning were every bit as curious.

The inning couldn't have started much better for KC. Nori Aoki led off with a single and -- after Dyson was inserted to pinch run for Aoki -- Alcides Escobar reached when reliever Matt Lindstrom injured himself while trying to field a sacrifice. Just like that, the Royals had runners at first and second with no outs and the heart of their order coming to the plate.

Didn't matter. Eric Hosmer struck out, Dyson was inexplicably picked off while inexplicably trying to steal, and Butler grounded out. Ballgame.

Now, I understand that second-guessing the manager is the easiest thing in baseball to do, but Yost's decisions in the ninth bordered on inexcusable.

For starters, why pinch run for Aoki, especially if you already have decided to instruct Escobar to lay down a sacrifice? It isn't as if Aoki is Butleresque on the base paths. He is, after all, the Royals' leadoff man. At best, that move seemed odd.

The moves that ensued seemed downright ridiculous.

Let's start with Hosmer. If you already have bunted once in the inning, why not also ask Hosmer to bunt? The benefits are obvious: You avoid the double play -- something that always is a concern with Butler coming to bat -- while moving the tying run to third and winning run to second with only one out.

Didn't Yost at least consider that? Or, as part of his old-school thinking, does he simply believe No. 3 hitters are run-producers and above sacrificing themselves for the greater good? Or is bunting simply a skill that Hosmer lacks?

All are legitimate questions. Unfortunately, we don't know the answers to any of them because Yost wasn't asked.

Secondly, after Hosmer whiffed, why was Dyson trying to steal third? Again, I understand the double-play concerns associated with Butler, but don't you have to trust your cleanup hitter to do his job? Dyson would have scored on virtually any Butler hit, and there's a good chance Escobar would have scored from first on a gapper.

It's really hard to imagine Detroit trying to steal third in a similar situation with Miguel Cabrera standing in the batter's box.

Now, in retrospect, Butler's grounder to second would indeed have resulted in a game-ending double play. But consider this: Prior to that at-bat, he was as hot as he's been all season, going 6 for his last 8. That should have been considered before giving Dyson -- who in spite of his incredible speed is not even close to the Royals' best baserunner -- the green light.

Apparently, the only thing on Yost's mind was the double-play concern.

Look, I'll be the first to admit that Yost is far from the Royals' biggest problem. Moustakas continues to be the whiff that keeps on whiffing. Butler, despite his recent surge, is still only hitting .252. The offense, despite scoring 14 runs the past two games, remains weak because the team lacks power, as evidenced by its last-place ranking in home runs.

All of those are real issues that are largely beyond Yost's control. But the simple fact is this: If the Royals, 22-22, truly have designs on reaching the postseason for the first time since 1985, their skipper must manage to avoid the myriad small disasters that cost his team so dearly Monday night.