Ned Yost on Royals pitchers: 'We don't feel like they're sissies'
In trying to explain whether right-hander Kelvin Herrera would be available to pitch Saturday in Game 4 of the World Series following a relatively heavy workload recently, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost used a bizarre adjective to describe his pitching staff as a unit.
Herrera has thrown 59 pitches in two games over three days, so the Royals might hesitate to use him much, or at all, in Game 4. If he plays catch Saturday and feels sub-par, Yost expects Herrera to tell pitching coach Dave Eiland without fear of reprisal.
"The one thing we do really well as a staff is, we communicate, and our relievers and our starting staff know that we have complete trust in them," Yost said. "And if they tell us they can't go, we trust them. We don't feel that they're soft. We don't feel like they're sissies. We know that they know their body."
Ned, the 1970s called and said to stop using outdated words that could be misinterpreted as homophobic or sexist slurs. Who does he think he is, Pete Rose? Or maybe just Washington Nationals broadcaster Ray Knight, who apologized for using "sissy" in 2011. People who still say "sissy" probably consider it restraint. One could get meaner, more derogative and more profane — and probably would in private.
So we're lucky!
Just say, "They're not wimps." Or even, "They're tough." Everyone likes to hear how tough someone is.
At the same time, Yost prefaced his comments about trust by saying, "We're in the World Series. Everybody is available. But we don't want to be stupid, either. He may be available for an out, or he may not. He may just say, 'I need a break.' "
That's about as mixed of a message as can be sent. But they communicate well, so Herrera probably understands.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!
