@JayHawkFanToo Yost's greatest criticism came between 2010 and 2013 when he played the young guys despite miserable results, letting them learn how to win. He was roundly denounced in Milwaukee for the same thing, and fired before they came back to make the playoffs.
That stubbornness paid off for the Royals in 2014-15. Unfortunately, he has been saddled with some crappy contracts like Gordon's and Soria's, where the investments have resulted in disproportionate PT preventing timely development of some outfielders (Boni) and pitchers (Junis doing the yo yo thing). Those contracts also resulted in dismantling HDH when injuries struck instead of allowing the Royals to persevere with the bullpen formula that made the team unique (a formula developed by Yost's own unique experiments).
The team has lost its sense of stability during the past 18 months. Perez being out has prevented the single most clutch player at the heart of the Royals (most since Brett, in fact) from being able to lead by example and from calming down the walk and WP happy pitchers during the recent slump.
Yost isn't responsible for the poor performances dragging the team down. What he is responsible for, however, is letting pitchers who are clearly out of sorts stay in after walking the bases loaded, throwing wild pitches with runners on, or throwing 9 straight 91 mph fastballs until someone manages to blast one.
I love Yost, and I think he is a great manager for developing young players who are learning to jell. Whether he is able to manage a shifting roster is the test of this season.
