James Shields’ Tenure With Kansas City Royals Coming To a Weak Conclusion

By Bill Zimmerman on October 22, 2014

Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore knew what he needed. After the 2012 season, he knew his team was on the cusp of becoming a playoff contender, but he knew he needed a No. 1 starting pitcher if he was going to break the Royals’ postseason drought. Moore headed to the winter meetings planning to accomplish goal, and on Dec. 9 of that year, he pulled the trigger, sending their top prospect Wil Myers, as well as some other minor leaguers, to the Tampa Bay Rays for Wade Davis and James Shields.

At the time, Davis was a throw-in to pitch towards the bottom of the rotation and eat up some innings. Shields was the man Moore coveted, and he was thrilled to have reeled him in. Who knew two years later that it would be Davis who would have been the coup for Kansas City, not Shields.

It’s not to say that Shields has been a bust for the Royals. He has led the American League in starts each of the last two years. He’s been consistently solid for the ball club and stabilized the rotation. In his two years in Kansas City, Shields made 68 starts, going 27-17 with a 3.18 ERA and a solid 1.21 WHIP. Shields hasn’t been contending for Cy Young Awards, but he’s provided what GM Moore needed him to do; that is until now.

“Big Game” James has been nothing more than pedestrian this postseason. In fact, in Game 1 of the World Series, he was just plain bad. As the Royals play in their first postseason in 29 years, Shields has done nothing to inspire the ball club. It was the aforementioned Davis, as well as Greg Holland who have been turning heads this postseason, not Shields.

As the Royals’ No. 1 starter, Shields has posted a 7.11 ERA this postseason, he has failed to pitch into the 7th inning in any of his starts and opponents are hitting .329 against him. To put how bad his batting average against is into perspective, in the regular season this year, only Jose Altuve and Victor Martinez had better averages than the .329 Shields is yielding this postseason.

He has spent the last month throwing beach balls at the plate and has been knocked around like a piñata. When Moore brought Shields in two years ago, it’s a safe bet that these performances were not what he had in mind.

Shields is a free agent at the conclusion of this season. Despite his postseason, Shields will most likely receive a nine-figure contract. The Royals won’t even consider re-signing him, and he will be wearing another uniform come April. Shields has most likely pitched his last game for the Royals at Kaufman Stadium. As he walked toward the dugout in the top of the 4th inning last night, head down, staring at his feet, the crowd didn’t boo, but they sat in stunned silence. That was most likely the last time the Royals will see their “ace” pitch in Kansas City and the fans couldn’t believe their eyes.

Assuming the Royals do win a game in the next three contests, Shields will take the mound one last time for Kansas City in San Francisco in Game 5. He will have one last opportunity to redeem himself. Because as of right now, the Royals will remember “Big Game” James as the pitcher who came up small when it mattered most.

Bill Zimmerman is covering the World Series for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.