You can’t blame Ned Yost for trying. At least I won’t on this one.

He’s got a super athletic 22-year-old phenom, a rangy veteran with a great arm, and a run-producing doubles hitter. All of who were hitting relatively well at the time. Who wouldn’t want all three of them on the field at the same time?

And when you’re six to eight games below .500 and in danger of sliding into last place in your division, you could argue that there’s nothing you shouldn’t try.

I was nervous when the Royals announced that they would try Jeff Francoeur in centerfield, Billy Butler at first base, and allow the untested Eric Hosmer to learn on the job in right field.

I don’t think I was worried about the short-term results. What I was more worried about was that the position change would somehow unsettle Hosmer just as his bat was finally beginning to wake up.

I don’t know much about the psyche of big leaguers in general, or Hosmer specifically, but I was concerned that flailing around in unfamiliar territory would send the slick-fielding first baseman back into the funk that plagued him the first two months of the year.

Yost, on the other hand, overplayed his confidence to the media. He acted like the move was no big deal. He seemed to think that a few afternoons shagging balls in pregame would prepare Hosmer to play the position. Perhaps Yost thought, like all Little League coaches, that he could hide a poor fielder in right and he could somehow avoid having to make any plays.

But as the old saying goes, the ball will find you.

Pittsburg Experiment, Game 1: It didn’t take long for Hosmer to boot the first ball hit to him in right. “It was just a bad read on my part,” he said. That turned a single into a double, which resulted in the game’s first run.

Then in the third inning, Butler helped to botch a rundown, blindly chasing a base runner toward second while another snuck home. After the game, Yost tried to blame that one on Hochevar, but his analysis rang hollow.

Yost’s summary of the lineup after game one:

“I wouldn’t call it sloppy,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We’ve got guys playing out of position in a National League park and it’s going to take them a day or two to get acclimated.”

Pittsburg Experiment, Game 2: Ok, so on day two?  Well with the Royals leading and the bases full of Pirates, Hosmer allowed a seemingly catch-able ball to drop in, opening the floodgates to a five-run Pittsburg inning.

“I was playing pretty deep and got a bad read on it,” Hosmer said.

Pittsburg Experiment, Game 3: Stop now before we really embarrass ourselves.

The results of the experiment were so dreadful that Yost called it off a day early.

So you might argue that Yost shouldn’t give up on the alignment just because it didn’t work the first time out. After all, the logic behind it hasn’t changed, and Hosmer is certainly athletic enough to play right field.

Or you might argue that the results were so overwhelming that it should be scrapped without hesitation. Hosmer was bad in right. Butler shouldn’t be a regular first baseman. Francouer is a natural in right, not center. There’s no use trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

I’m not sure which is the right side of the argument. Yost will have six more games in National League parks to decide if the experiment is worth continuing.

All I know is that I don’t blame Yost for trying.

With Wil Myers, the prize prospect of the Kansas City Royals organization, much-anticipated promotion to Omaha last week, conversations began swirling about his future with the franchise.

An injury-plagued scuffle at Northwest Arkansas last season knocked Myers a bit off schedule. Instead of starting the season at Triple-A, he returned to Double-A to prove himself. Prove himself he did.

After a torrid 35-game start in Northwest Arkansas in which he hit .343 with 13 homers, he got the call to Omaha. There wasn’t much more to prove at Double-A. Myers had more homers in 35 games than he had in 99 last year, and he was driving in nearly a run per game.

But here is where his path grows uncertain.

Going into this season, the Royals’ corner outfield spots were settled. Those positions are currently manned by young but experienced team-leaders who hit with power, run well and play Gold-Glove caliber defense.

Might Myers’ future be in centerfield? Perhaps, but that’s where a position battle is shaping up between Jerrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain.

And to further confuse matters, the Royals tried Myers at third base before his most recent promotion, and some even speculate it might be his most natural position. The Royals justified the experiment by saying proven versatility would benefit Myers in the future.

Myers made the transition from catcher to outfield just last year. Would another position change be in his best interest? Or might the constant shuffling hamper his growth, as it might have Mark Teahen’s a few years ago? Some would argue a top prospect should just be settled into one position to simplify the matriculation process.

Developing Myers at third base would only make sense for one reason – to set up a trade.

It is absolutely no secret that the Royals are desperate for pitching help. If Myers proves a capable third baseman, would the Royals consider trading Mike Moustakas?

Or are they trying to put a little more shine on Myers in order to shop him around for pitching?

There are no sure things in baseball. But Myers’ bat appears to about as close to a sure thing as you can get.

The way Royals pitchers are breaking down, however, it appears that developing pitchers couldn’t be any further from a sure thing.

I personally would prefer the team not deal Myers (or Moustakas) for pitching help. Developing pitchers is too much of a crapshoot. There are just too many questions marks regarding the outfield, and Myers brings too upside to the table to justify the risk.

Myers is definitely on the move, but it’s up to the Royals to make the right moves on his behalf.

Offense puts them in the seats.  Pitching and defense gets them to come back.  Yes, if you score a lot of runs and have a lot of flashy offensive numbers the fans will surely come and watch your team.  But wins are what fans are looking for and that is what defense achieves.

The 2011 Royals showed vast improvement in their play on the field. Having such a young team will be a test for players who are stilling learning how to play at such a high level. But by all means having those players play a full season could have even a bigger impact in the field this season.

In his first full season in left field, Alex Gordon, proved that a position change may have been exactly what he needed to give his career the spark it needed.  In 1309 innings, Gordon had 20 outfield assists with only three errors, earning him a Gold Glove. Not only that, the outfield for the 2011 Royals as a whole racked up 51 total assists. Of those 51, 13 came from now San Francisco Giant, Melky Cabrera. So Lorenzo Cain has some shoes to fill in the monstrous outfield inside of Kauffman Stadium.

Now for the guys on the dirt.  First basemen, Eric Hosmer, showed not only last year that he can hit but that he as skills with the leather as well.  With such a young infield, Hosmer was able to save some of his compatriots a few errors of some wild throws.  Something that he will have to continue to accomplish throughout his career.

One of those young guns on the diamond is Alcides Escobar.  He proved to everyone last season why the Royals front office wanted him when they traded away pitching ace Zack Greinke in the winter of 2010.  He was everything defensively that Royals fans heard about.  Making stellar plays throughout the 2011 season as a whole.

The other two players in the field more than likely being, Mike Moustakas at third base and Johnny Giovotella at second base, need to be consistent defensively and not make many mistakes.

Behind the plate, Salvador Perez will not only need to continue to throw out runners attempting to steal bases but also become the defensive leader on the team.  With his ability to play the position and call games Perez will set the tone for the team in the 2012 season.

So who will take the Gold Glove bragging rights from Alex Gordon this season? Or will King Midas touch of few of the young players on the 2012 roster?

New number. New position. New life.

What a ride it has been so far for Alex Gordon.

From being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 draft, to being the Royals’ best player in 2011, Gordon has faced some extreme lows and some (recent) extreme highs.

He started his career as the most popular player on the Royals after being labeled the “next George Brett” right out of college. He kept the majority of his popularity after hitting 15 homeruns and 60 RBI’s in his rookie season. However, there were questions about his overall approach at the plate because of his .247 average and his 137 to 41 K to BB ratio.

A number change in 2008, from 7 to 4, didn’t bring any changes to his play on the diamond. His offensive numbers were almost identical and his defense raised some concerns after having 16 errors with a .955 fielding percentage.

Gordon’s numbers in 2009 and 2010 were much worse while he was dealing with injuries and a position change. Some fans gave up on Gordon and thought of him as another bust.

Slow development is not what Royals’ fans were told to expect. He was supposed to come in and turn the club around. He was supposed to carry the team to relevancy right away.

As everyone knows, those things did not happen.

This year was the perfect chance for Gordon to start from scratch. The Brett comparisons and hype from being a No. 2 overall pick were gone. Hosmer and Moustakas were the new names fans were looking at to carry the team to the next level. Billy Butler held onto his crown as Kansas City’s “Fan Favorite.”

Gordon was merely an afterthought in most fans’ minds. For once, he could go out and play baseball without facing such scrutiny every time he struck out.

He started the season flying under the radar, but it didn’t take him much time to turn that around.

He has been Mr. Consistency for the Royals all year offensively, and defensively. His popularity amongst fans is back to where it was his rookie year. He has completely reinvented himself.

Alex Gordon 2.0 has been in effect during the entire 2011 season.

In 2006, nobody could have imagined Gordon as the Royals’ starting left fielder hitting in the leadoff spot. He was supposed to be a power-hitting third baseman knocking in runs from the three-hole.

He has gone from a 22-year-old kid facing an immense amount of pressure, to a 27-year-old man who has figured out the ropes of the majors.

This complete 180 degree turn that Gordon has gone through is not at all a bad thing.

With 27 games remaining, Gordon has career highs in Runs (87), Hits (160), Doubles (40), Homeruns (19), BA (.305), OBP (.378), SLG (.506), and OPS (.884).

His defense has been nothing short of remarkable as well. He only has two outfield errors on the season and has an MLB-best 20 outfield assists.

His numbers have put Royals fans back on his side. The last two years Kauffman Stadium was scattered with “boo’s” every time his name was called. This year he gets the biggest ovation of any of the Royals’ players.

He came up just short in the MLB’s Final All-Star Vote, and probably should have been the Royals’ representative anyway.

The Royals’ organization has also shown their appreciation of what Gordon has done this year. They held Ballot Punch Parties to encourage fans to vote him into the All-Star game and named him the winner of the “Heart and Hustle Award.” They are also offering $4 tickets to this Sunday’s game versus the Indians to honor his breakout season.

Gordon was in the perfect situation coming into this year and seized what could have been his last opportunity with the Royals. He proved what he is capable of and everyone is taking heed.

He is only guaranteed to be with the Royals through next season. Hopefully the Royals are able to lock him up for years to come.

The Alex Gordon of 2006-2010 wouldn’t be hearing much talk about a contract extension…but Alex Gordon 2.0 definitely is.

More bizarre predictions have been made, but not many have been the butt of more chat room razzing than Alex Gordon’s proclamation last September that he’s “going to dominate next year.”

Now sure, kids use the word dominate very loosely these days. But for a guy who’s barely proven he belongs on a major league roster, domination would seem like a stretch regardless of your definition.

But now, “next year” is upon us. Time for Alex Gordon to put up or shut up. And after a few days of his flailing about like we’re accustomed to, he’s spent a few days doing just what he said he’d do.

He’s dominating.

It looked like more of the same from Gordon just 10 days ago. He started the spring with a .067 average. He had Royals brass talking about how hard he’d worked in the off-season and blaming his timing for the rotten start. But to the purveyors of the box scores, it appeared our beliefs were just being confirmed.

Alex Gordon is never going to get it. He’s never going to be even a good major league player, much less live up to his prodigious potential.

But something seems to have clicked. In the last seven games (as of Tuesday) he’s gone 10-17 with three homers and raised his average to .367.

Now that’s domination.

I know, I know, it’s just spring training. But for a guy who has as much talent as Gordon has, and who works as hard as he reportedly does, don’t you think there might still be hope?

Several factors might, just might, be working in his favor.

First, the expectations on him have been lowered considerably. There’s no longer the pressure on him to be the next George Brett. Right now we’d settle for the next Jorge Orta.

Second, there are new kids in town who are getting all the attention these days. All eyes are on Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer now, leaving Gordon to go about his business of just trying to do the job.

Third, perhaps a position change really did do him some good. While it didn’t make a lot of sense in the short term because it left the team trying to make do with the likes of Wilson Betemit and Josh Fields, it may make sense in the long run. It gave Gordon a chance to play without Moustakas breathing down his neck, and to use his athletic ability away from the hot corner. He’s said he can relax more in the outfield, so maybe it will make a difference.

Fourth, he seems to have really taken to Kevin Seitzer. The two are working hard to break down Gordon’s swing, much like Tiger Woods’ did his en route to “domination.” At least that’s the comparison manager Ned Yost made recently in the Kansas City Star.

“It takes time,” Yost said. “It’s like several years ago when Tiger Woods completely remade his (golf) swing. He was already the best player in the world, but he knew he had to change his swing to reach the next level. And that took time (before it worked).”

Gordon is a very hard worker by all accounts. A hard worker coupled with a good coach just might begin to coax out the type of results Gordon would appear capable of.

Fifth, he’s got a manager who believes he can succeed and is giving him every opportunity to do so. When Gordon was scuffling early on, Yost made sure Gordon got more than his fair share of at-bats, believing he could work through the issues. Yost never makes anything but positive comments regarding Gordon. Yost really seems committed to standing by him.

Sixth, Gordon isn’t exactly surrounded by entrenched outfielders. Jeff Francouer and Melky Cabrera are, in many respects, on the same short leash as Gordon. They are all trying to recover the sparkle they had as prospects. Mitch Meier is nothing more than a role player. So if the team decides to deal an outfielder at mid-season, or to give up on any one of them, Gordon wouldn’t be on any more shaky ground than the others.

Add to that that, there really aren’t any corner outfield prospects chomping at his heels. I doubt Paulo Orlando or David Lough are causing Gordon to lose much sleep. Wil Myers is still a year or more away. Why should the Royals give up on Gordon now, with nothing much on the horizon?

And last, Gordon has one thing in his corner that is easily overlooked – on base percentage. Every year of his career, Gordon’s OBP has been about 80-100 points higher than his average. While we’d all like for him to compete for batting titles, his walks could make him more valuable than meets the eye. When you consider his combination of power and speed on the basepaths, a .260 batting average is something you could live with.

I’ve contended for the last couple of years that Gordon’s success or failure will have a giant impact on the morale of the Royals franchise. I don’t say that anymore.

With our every hope and dream now pinned on the farm system, the franchise could survive the failure of one player, even if that player was the second pick in the 2005 draft. The franchise will move on, with or without Alex Gordon. But that might just be for the best.

If three years from now Gordon is batting sixth in the Kansas City lineup, hitting .260 and getting on base at a .340 clip, knocking out 25 homers and playing solid left field, I’ll bet the Royals will be playoff contenders.

In which case Gordon may not be the next George Brett, but he’ll be dominating nonetheless.