More on Billy Butler

Just one month ago, Kansas City fans were downright giddy over the idea of Alex Gordon playing every day at the major league level. But it's hard to stay that stoked when you look at his .167 batting average. I'm surprised that he hasn't performed at a higher level, and I think he'll turn things around, but shouldn't we be a little more cautious about bringing guys up before we planned to?

Yesterday I said that Moore's move to bring up Billy Butler was a reach for the panic button. Maybe Butler figured out how to play the outfield adequately in one month, I don't know. But I saw him play it in Omaha last Saturday night and he looked a little shaky to me. He got turned around on a ball and looked downright out of his comfort zone.

Then I read this quote in the Star this morning: “It’s not a panic move,” general manager Dayton Moore insisted. “We’re 8-18, and we need to get some offense in here...We believe Billy can add a spark and give us some punch in the lineup right now.”

Nobody doubts that he can hit. But that isn't the point. The plan was to keep him in Omaha to work on his defense. We only need to go back to March 18, to an article on the Royals website that said this: "The Royals want Butler to begin the season with Triple-A Omaha and work on his outfield defense. His bat looks as if it already is Major League ready."

Our current roster has six outfielders, including Ross Gload (who will be playing first base for a while until Ryan Shealy returns from the DL). Butler has been named the starting left fielder, which means that Emil Brown and Reggie Sanders have been relegated to pinch-hitting duties. Reggie Sanders is hitting .348. Couldn't he provide the offensive spark that Moore wants? Especially given that we are admitting that Billy Butler isn't really ready in the outfield yet?

Don't get me wrong. I'm rooting for Billy Butler every bit as much as the next guy and I'm anxious to see what he can do at the plate. But this move still doesn't make sense to me. Maybe we're on the verge of trading Brown or Sanders. If so, that would make more sense. If not, then I just don't get it.