Trey Hillman Knew He Was Fired Before Thursday’s Game

Not only did the Royals manage to snap a seven-game losing streak with a win on Thursday. They also did it with a lame duck manager.

Hillman learned of his dismissal prior to the game but didn’t inform his players or staff until afterward.

“Nobody knew,” he said, “except my wife.”

I’m not entirely sure why the Royals allowed Hillman to stick around for one last game, fully aware of his inevitable fate, but in my head, I like to think they were just giving him a chance to go out on a high note. Nobody wants to go out on a slump, and with Zack Greinke scheduled to take on a lousy Indians squad on Thursday, it looked like a good matchup. The pieces were in place.

That, of course, is giving the Royals the benefit of the doubt, and ignores any ulterior and/or incompetent motives. I don’t know that they deserve that, but at least as far as Hillman’s concerned, anything’s better than going out on a 4-0 shutout loss to Fausto Carmona. Tonight, Trey Hillman gets to sleep the sleep of a winner.