Sunday lineup

In the leadoff spot: 2-time CWS champions Oregon State

One of the ESPN commentators called the Beavers the "least likely" team to ever be repeat champions in the College World Series. They lost most of their lineup from last year's scrappy, determined, inspiring team. So much of the hitting, the pitching, and the gloves that led them to the title last year watched from the stands or from their homes.

"The team that almost did not make the field of 64 has now won it back to back."

I so called it.

Batting second: Kansas City can win in extra innings
Too bad I missed most of the game. Today I helped throw a wedding shower (yay!) for my brother and his bride-to-be, so I missed the afternoon shenanigans at Miller Park. Thank the Lord for internet access on phones; that's how we "watched" the game from the 9th inning on. It was cute the way my family members and a few friends gathered around, hunched over the tiny screen of my brother's phone.

The way KC loaded the bases in the 11th was refreshing to see. Nobody was trying too hard to bring in the winning run in one swing; the batters were patient and scrapped their way to a run. Having the winning run walked in may not be glamorous, but it shows a lot of patience and maturity from a team that's been struggling in every way the last few games. It's frustrating to have so many injuries and a field half-full of players who are not 100% healthy, but the players who are left out there need to show that they can battle. Maybe they could take a cue from Oregon State. Which brings us to our number three batter:

Best highlight reels ever
For the most part, I think it's sad how obsessed this generation is with highlight reels, and I wish more people had the patience to actually watch sporting events. Omaha is where I make an exception. The highlight reels shown at the very end of the College World Series are perfect showcases of why I love sports. The facial expressions of the ballplayers they show -- from the mixture of fear and sadness from players who are on the brink of elimination to the OSU pitcher's sheer exhilaration as he forced the last out -- are golden. They're perfect and pure and everything right about baseball. Even as a naysayer of the "Highlights only, please" mindset, I happily admit that I could watch those CWS montages over and over.

It surely does not get any better than Omaha in June...

Batting cleanup: Random tragedy in baseball
Rod Beck has died. Yes, the Rod Beck who was only 38 years old. Yes, the one with the flowing hair, the huge moustache. For a few seasons, he was a favorite of my brothers and me; we simultaneously loved him and were terrified of him. We were pretty sure he could chop down a tree with his bare hands, wrestle a bear, then come in and notch a save by simply scaring the batters he faced into calling themselves out.

Once, while Beck was sitting in the bullpen, a home run was hit right above his head. Many relievers tend to scatter or cower from the ball in that situation, but not Rod Beck. He didn't even move his head to track the ball's location. He calmly reached up and snagged the ball out of the air, bare-handed.

That kind of thing leads my brother and me to think the cause of this death was an overdose of aweseomeness.

Though he was no longer an active player, he was still one of baseball's truly memorable characters. The examples in the news story to which I linked show a man who knew how lucky he was to play baseball as his career. He clearly didn't take that for granted, and wanted to share his joy with as many fans and friends as he could. Please pray for his daughters as they wait to hear how their father could have died so suddenly at such a young age.

Watch Omaha on TV!

Two O-Royals games will be televised on RSTN this year. Watch!

I have a curse, but I got great CWS seats

College World Series: Beavers/Eaters
Do you want to know something crazy? In all my years as a lover of college baseball, I had never made it to a College World Series game. Only once have I even been in the city of Omaha during the series, and I didn't go to a game then because my dad had just had major surgery and was in the hospital, so we watched all the CWS action from his room.

I finally did get to go to tonight's game. I originally thought I wouldn't be able to make it to any, but Dad provided funding for tickets for my brothers and me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do all the walking, but with the help of a crutch I think I made it all right (I'll know for sure tomorrow how bad all the walking was for my stubbornly still-swollen ankle).

Aaaanyway, I said in the beginning that Oregon State was "my" team for this year's CWS. I wanted a team that came out from the woodwork last year to do it again. How cool would that be? But Irvine has really grown on me, with all their extra-inning heroics and fantastic team chemistry. So by the time I actually got to Rosenblatt, I had no idea who I wanted to win that game. (As an aside, I'd like to thank the people who didn't sit in their reserved seats so that we could. Right behind the OSU bullpen, maybe 10 rows back, excellent seats for the GA price!) After all the fighting that UCI has done so far, I was not entirely surprised that this was a lopsided game (in Oregon State's favor, in case you hadn't heard). There comes a time when even the hottest team has to run out of gas.

I guess that means I will go back to my original plan of rooting for Oregon State. Go Beavers!

The Supernatural in baseball
I'm a huge fan of superstitions in baseball. I have lucky shirts, lucky pants, even lucky unmentionables. (Oops, I mentioned them.) I do rally caps, I don't talk about no-hitters while they're in progress, I don't leave games early. I believe a game's first pitch shows a lot about how the game will turn out, I don't like to miss the starts of my teams' games. A win isn't complete until the last out is made; you will never hear me say "Our boys have got this one in the bag." I respect almost all players' decisions regarding hair and beards, as long as it helps uphold a good streak or banish a bad one. (I say almost all players because I still can not force myself to look at Scott Spiezio. Yuck!)

So I should know better than to talk about how the O-Royals could have moved into 2nd or even 1st in the PCL American North or how Fernando Cortez had hits in 8 consecutive plate appearances.

I think I may have cursed Cortez and the whole O-Royals team when I said those things. A few minutes after the post about Cortez, he was up to bat and didn't get a hit. And once the O-Royals started that series that I said would be so pivotal in moving up the ranks...they didn't do so well. Since that time, Nashville has been winning, and has edged Iowa for first place. Meanwhile, Omaha has slipped to 8 games out of first (still in third place, and still better off than they were in past years at this time).

If I had kept my mouth shut, or my keyboard untouched, or whatever, could Omaha be doing better? Maybe my words have the opposite effect of the Midas Touch. Everything I touch with my words turns to poo. However, the opposite is not true. If I bemoan Kansas City's struggles, they don't turn around and start doing better. But if I proclaim the wonders of a good week, they immediately get on the field and lose.

Maybe someone should pay me to keep my mouth shut about these things. :-(

A little look back

Last year:
On May 20, I wrote about how the Royals had lost Game 3 of every single series in which they had lost the first two. That post was on my MySpace blog, and I didn't transfer it to this one.

The Royals have a really bad attitude. Well, at least, that's how it looks from the way they've played in Game 3 of their various series' this year. Whenever they lose the first two games of the series, it's almost like they just give up. In every three-game series this year, if they lose the first two games, they also lose the third. Come on guys; I haven't given up yet, so can you hang in there too?

In that same post, I was horrified that Nebraska's baseball team wasn't going to be a Top 8 national seed.

This year:
The Royals have won three consecutive series, and have not yet lost a series to a National League team. In each of the last three series, they've lost Game 2, but then have come back to win each Game 3. That is something I can handle, unlike the "lie down and die" approach the team was taking at the time I wrote the bit above.

Meanwhile, Nebraska was not anywhere near the top 8 nationally, they lost hope of that idea long before May 20.

Maybe this makes me a bad Husker fan, but I'm actually okay with the 2007 version of things. I feel better when the Royals do well than I do when the Huskers do well while the Royals lose.

- I still can't get over how my outlook on Rosenblatt Stadium has changed this year. All my life, when I'd see the Blatt on TV during CWS games, I upheld it as a sacred place (as any good college baseball fan should do). But now, I see it on TV, and I see the place I work. In one respect, I can not wait until it's done with its annual stint of Holy Grail-hood so I can get back to work. Then again, I do enjoy this part of Omaha being proudly upheld as "the Cathedral of college baseball" to the rest of the country.

Cortez watch

In Fernando Cortez' last game with Omaha, he went 5 for 5. Tonight, in his first two KC plate appearances, he's 2 for 2. That would give him 7 hits in his last 7 plate appearances.

But wait, there's more:

In his 2nd-to-last Omaha game, he only had one hit, but it was in his final AB of that game.

Eight for his last eight. Pretty decent, Fernando. Let's see if he can keep it going throuhgout the rest of this game; the Royals will need it, as Florida has taken a 6-3 lead in the 5th.

IT BEGINS

I'm not at Rosenblatt right now. I should be.

But even watching on TV is fun...hearing replays of sportscasters proudly proclaiming their team is Omaha-bound makes me proud to be here. When ESPN2 shows shots of Rosenblatt Stadium, they call it the holy grail of college baseball. I call it my workplace. Life is good.

Oregon State, last year's CWS champion, is my team this year. What a story, and what a testament to the pure heart of college baseball, it would be to see them come out of nowhere to win two in a row.

Check out the Big O Sports Blog...as I thought yesterday, Ravi already has a ton of great CWS stuff. He tells an incredible story about how the CWS plays in him falling in love with baseball. Great stuff, definitely worth a read.

Now is the time. This is Omaha at its best. Welcome to the College World Series.

Grud's knee woes and more

-Mark Grudzielanek's meniscus is torn. Did I not call this? (towards end of post) What was the merit in his being in the Opening Day lineup? Wouldn't it be better for the team to have him 100% healthy now instead? Grud's a stubborn guy; we all know that. That's what makes him as good as he is. But every athlete (and for that matter, every MiLB promotions chick) who gets injured has to go through the entire rehab process, regardless of how soon they want to return.

Grud is a textbook example. He didn't give his knee enough time to heal the first time around, and here he is, only three months later, with another major injury to it. Could this one have been prevented with a little more patience at the season's start? It's entirely possible. KC's July schedule is meaty; they could surely use Grud's dependable defense and his recently hot bat, no?

- I feel awful. I know I jinxed Omaha last night by mentioning that they were ahead. Tyler Lumsden had his best outing of the year, allowing zero runs in eight innings against the first-place Iowa Cubbies, but Iowa ended up winning 4-3 in 11 innings. On a scale of 1-10, how frustrating is that for a starting pitcher? I'm guessing '50' is an appropriate estimate, and I'm guessing Gil Meche has a few thoughts on that matter.

Tonight in AAA action, Billy Buckner pitched 7 innings and gave up just one run. I don't want to say anything else about the game, because...well it's baseball, and I have my supersititions. But Omaha only has to make one more out to seal a victory...Just saying.

- Tonight was the opening ceremonies for the College World Series. My house is in very close proximity to a number of bars, all of which have to make special accommodations for the Series every year. This is the time when Omahans avoid going anywhere (unless they're going to games) and everyone else in the world takes over the city. But it's a happy time! I'd be having a much happier time if I got to actually go to games, but I do not currently have the means to do so. I fail at living in Omaha.

- Speaking of sports in Omaha, check out the Big O Sports Blog. It's a brand new blog written by a guy my age with lots of sports knowledge and passion, and I'm guessing he'll have some good stuff for us throughout the CWS.

- It's the Sonic Slam inning, and Mark Teahen just came oh so close to hitting a homer and giving one lucky fan a lot of money. Instead, he ended up with his second triple of the game. My apologies to the fan who didn't win the money, but I'd rather see two triples any day. The fans bowing down to Teahen have it exactly right. Anyone who triples multiple times in a game deserves that. A triple is the most exciting hit possible, and I wish more people (inluding -- or especially -- my beloveds at Baseball Tonight) would pay respects to triplers.

But what's truly ridiculous is that it's almost 10:00, and the Sonic Slam inning just took place. I can't decide if the fans in attendance are getting more than their money's worth, or if some of them are ready for bed already.

UPDATE: Whew, didn't jinx anything tonight! Omaha just won 3-1 to avoid a sweep at Des Moines.

Psychic infielders

Earlier tonight, I referred to freshly-promoted infielder Fernando Cortez as "reliable." What I forgot to mention was that in his last game for Omaha, he was 5-5.

Apparently, he is also a soothsayer. This I like:

"Maybe we should get him to say we'll be in a World Series," Gathright said.

Aside from Perez, tonight's KC game wasn't horrible. I knew what kind of history Albert Pujols has against Perez, so I braced myself for a loss. Gordo's home run was massive, but I never did hear exactly how far it was hit. Anyone know?

I-70

-This is the series that always does it for me. Oh, how I love it when the Royals play St. Louis! Shame on me for not writing about last night's game sooner. Last night...man, what a game. That is how a Royals fan should get to feel about a game. I love Brian Bannister; I'm glad his last three big-league starts have been as good as some of his AAA starts that made me so high on him.

-Tonight so far is a different story. Odalis Perez (a pitcher who I have yet to fully like; in the words of American Idol judge Randy Jackson, "He's just aight to me.") was pulled after yielding at least 6 runs in 4 innings (plus 2 batters). Brandon Duckworth was going to come along and save the day, but left with some pain after throwing only two pitches.

-What an unfortunate time for Mark Grudzielanek to be hurt. He's been hitting really well lately, with a glut of extra base hits and even homers, and has said he was really looking forward to playing a series against his old STL teammates. Now he doesn't get to continue either. Grud's injury has produced an interesting, back-and-forth string of moves between KC and Omaha. Reliable infielder Fernando Cortez, a guy who plays hard and doesn't take crap from anyone, has been called up to KC, while Shane Costa has been recalled to Omaha (much to the delight of female fans here). I thought this might happen, with Reggie Sanders getting closer to coming back to the game.

And as I wrap this up, the KC lineup is still seeking its first hit. This makes me wonder: Have no-hitters ever been thrown on back-to-back days?

- After two high-scoring (at least on Iowa's part) games to start the current series in Des Moines, Omaha has held the Cubs scoreless through 6 full innings and leads 2-0 thanks to homers from Billy Butler and Richard Lewis.

UPDATE: Oh crap, Mike Sweeney looks hurt. He fell down while running to first on a groundout, and came up hobbling. Injuries come in threes? Sixes? Dozens? Grand.

In case you missed it

Awesome profile of Joakim Soria.

Enjoy!

VERY briefly

- How about that Justin Huber? Pretty fantastic game all around (box), but I forgot my sunscreen so I'm hurting.

- Sadly, seeing the O-Royals meant missing the KC Royals beating the poo out of Jamie Moyer and company. It's not often that I laugh out loud when reading a wrap from a game, but Tony Pena Jr. cracks me up:

Tony Pena Jr. also rocked Moyer for a home run, a solo shot that was his first for the Royals.

"I got lucky, pretty much," Pena said.

Asked what sort of pitch the wily Moyer lobbed his way, Pena just grinned.

"I have no idea," he said. "I just swung hard, just in case."

Heh. Now it's time to gear up for the Cardinals. I don't know about you all, but I am pumped.

- I briefly considered making the trip to Des Moines today to see Matt Wright pitch against the division-leading Iowa Cubs, but then I realized that I despise that city. Guess I'll just listen on the radio.

This is RIDICULOUS

Gil Meche has received only two runs of support in his last six starts.

What the heck, guys? Some bats please? Didn't I already scold you guys for this once before?

Of the three hits KC scraped up tonight, I'm glad one belonged to David DeJesus. I'm a huge DeJesus fan, and it hurts to see him slumping. His three-hit game last night was excellent progress out of the depths of the slump, although I missed two of the hits because there was a birthday party at my house, and I didn't want to be "That Guy" who sits and watches an entire baseball game rather than socializing at a gathering in her own house. (The term "that guy" is gender neutral. I can use it to refer to myself, or an actual dude. But it should be noted that I live in fear of being "That Guy" in every social situation.)

- I have a burning desire for a Gil Meche t-shirt, but it would be fiscally irresponsible to make the trip to KC for one on Tuesday. If anyone is going to that game and is feeling generous, I wear a medium. Hook a poor blogger up?

- Omaha lost 8-5 tonight. The offense was completely frustrated until the 8th, when they scored all five of their runs. Prior to the game, the president of the Pacific Coast League presented Craig Brazell with the Topps PCL Player of the Month award for May, and the video guys unveiled a new graphic they display during each of his at-bats -- some mildly cheesy animated baseball bat graphic that alludes to his hitting ability -- but then he went 0-4. Oh, the pressures that come with success.

- Despite the loss, I found a few more in-Gibs. (Defined here)

Andres Blanco was not in the lineup tonight, so he was at the end of the dugout, just kinda hanging out. A kid approached the dugout area desperately wanting Jorge Padilla to sign a ball for him, but Padilla was unable to sign because it was the middle of the game. Blanco took the ball and pen from the kid, signed the ball, then went all the way to the other end of the dugout to track Padilla down and have him sign it as well. Against the rules? A little bit (although I'm pretty sure the rule against signing during games is for the players' benefit anyway). But it was also probably the highlight of this little kid's month, and something he will remember for a long time.

At some point before witnessing Blanco's kindness, I was sitting in the third row, directly behind the dugout and behind two rows of Little Leaguers who were on a team outing. After Padilla caught a fly ball to end an inning, the kids in front of me were screaming wildly, begging him to toss them the ball as he entered the dugout. I jokingly raised my hands too, but wasn't entirely serious in my request for the ball. He threw it to me anyway. Shame on him, though; the throw was a little short! But I still caught it*. Somehow, that was only the second time all season I've ended up possessing a ball (the other was when a fan threw one on the field during a promotion, and I snagged it and had Joey sign it for my dad). Not sure how I can be right be the dugout so much and still not catch any baseballs.


*For the record: I'm a grownup, for goodness' sake -- I did give the ball to a kid, but the child in me wanted to tuck it in my purse and keep it. Jorge specifically gave that to me, dangit! But the kid asked politely, so how could I not? I do have a piece of writing brewing about how too many little kids (and even adults) expect freebies all the time at games. It's a huge pet peeve of mine, and I don't know how to deal with it because I really want to lay down the law with those who feel so undeservedly entitled, but my version of laying down the law might not go over too well with my job security.

Justin Huber and Blanco asked how my ankle was doing. I actually haven't talked to either very much before today, but I had the sense that they were definitely not jerks, and it was awfully sweet of them to inquire...Huber stopped and asked on his way to the clubhouse, which amazed me because players are usually in an understandable hurry to get off the field after a loss. But Huber was very sympathetic with my 30-day DL stint, as he's been there all too recently. I meant it with all I had in me when I told him I'm glad he's back in the lineup!

- I'm sure you all already noticed this, but I have a new label for posts: Omaha Royals. So whenever you need your fix of Billy Butler, Justin Huber, Matt Wright, and the whole gang, check out posts under that label! I'm also considering a "Nice Guys" label... yea or nay?

- Lastly: I now own an O-Royals hat. It's really spiffy. Maybe my next profile pic will in some way feature this fine piece of apparel.

The O-Royals fared a little better than KC

Tonight brought perfect weather for taking in a baseball game, and the great weather, combined with the facts that school is out and it was dollar beer night, brought an unusually large crowd to Rosenblatt Stadium. The O-Royals were returning home from an 8-game road trip in which they were 4-4.

This home series, a 4-gamer against Nashville, is going to be huge. Nashville is in 2nd place in the PCL American North, and I see no reason why Omaha can't overtake them.

Tonight was a good start: In the very first inning, two Royals drew walks to join Richard Lewis, who had singled, on base. That brought up Justin Huber. Now I ask you... What do you secretly hope for whenever your team has the bases loaded?

Yep, that's exactly what happened. Huber absolutely crushed the first pitch he saw from Nashville's Yovani Gallardo. It had to have gone at least 420 feet -- it cleared the hitter's eye, which is marked 408. He hit another in the fifth inning to bring his season HR total to 7. This made him a natural choice for player of the game, but I don't want anyone to overlook pitcher Ben Hendrickson's performance. He threw 6.2 innings, allowing just 4 hits and one earned run. He walked only two and struck out four. Omaha won, 7-1.

I was thrilled to be back at Rosenblatt, even if I wasn't working. A lot of season ticket holders, all of my coworkers, and even a few players asked how I was, said they had missed me, and so on. Two little girls, who are part of a large family of season ticket holders, came over from about 4 sections over to see me. This amazed me because I wasn't wearing my work uniform, so they must have eagle eyes to be able to pick me out in a crowd. They chided me for getting hurt, and said I needed to get back to work soon so I could high-five them again. I guess they really value the level of fan interaction I display!

- Today at physical therapy, someone asked me if anyone saw me fall when I sprained my ankle. I had guessed that that night's crowd was between 5500 and 6000. It didn't occur to me until tonight, almost two weeks after the fact, to actually look up that night's attendance. I fell down the stairs in front of ... ahem ... 6,259 people. Smooooth move.

Bad 8th inning, but good free Dr Pepper

So my hurt ankle -- sprained two weeks ago tomorrow -- is not healing quite as quickly as I had hoped. I went to a doctor yesterday, and he wasn't the nicest person ever and I will not share those stories here, but he did recommend physical therapy. He also recommended that I start said PT as soon as I possibly could, so I called the PT clinic right away and scheduled an appointment for today, right after lunch.

What I totally forgot at that point was that the Royals played at 11:05 this morning in their series finale at Jacobs Field.

Silly me...why would I schedule an appointment for myself during a game?!? However, I am a woman of my word, so in the middle of the 6th, I hobbled out to my car. Sadly, AM stations around here don't carry day games, but I can kind of pick up WHB out of Kansas City. I could hear more static than voices, but I stuck with it through the whole drive as the Royals struggled to mount up some offense. Once I got to my appointment, I missed the top of the 7th through the middle of the 8th. But my therapist had a TV on hand, so I got to watch the game while they iced my ankle.

That, unfortunately, meant that I had to see the bottom of the 8th, in which Cleveland scored five runs against an unusually sloppy Kansas City defense. I honestly thought we had a shot at ending the inning when Mark Teahen caught a fly ball and ten threw to home (in pursuit of his 10th outfield assist of the season), but John Buck dropped the ball, and Cleveland went on to score and score and score again. Joey Gathright also misplayed a ball after that, allowing another run, but by that point I had given up most of my hope. (Yes, even I have a finite quantity of hope.)

I was surprised at Zack Greinke's lack of poise throughout that inning. After Tony Pena, Jr. misplayed a potential double play grounder, Greinke did not show his usual stone-faced command that would normally allow him to bounce back from something like that. Does that come from the difference in day-to-day preparation that came with his move to the bullpen?

It was frustrating to watch, given that KC went on to score two runs in the 9th. But I did see some positives in the game, namely Gathright and Alex Gordon. Gordon had not ever had more than two hits in a big-league game, but had four hits and was a homer short of the cycle today. Gathright continued to prove that his callup was a good idea, contributing three hits and stealing a base.

I greeted the news of Gathright's callup with mixed emotions. Firstly, I am happy for him. He worked incredibly hard in Omaha on all facets of his game, and has shown improvement in every area so far in this stint in the majors: he's five-for-seven so far at the plate and has two steals. His defense isn't legendary, but he certainly gets the job done. I really am glad to see him succeed, but I will miss seeing him upon my return to work! The man has a smile that could cheer up four impoverished African villages, and as I've mentioned before is a great hit with fans.

But if he continues to do this well, then Kansas City is once again faced with the conundrum of having up to 7 available outfielders (Teahen, David DeJesus, Emil Brown, Gathright, Shane Costa, or even Esteban German, plus Reggie Sanders when he returns from the DL) but only three positions out there. Brown can serve as the DH when Mike Sweeney has the day off, but what when Sweeney is in the lineup? Brown's defense is sub-par, but his bat is much more noisy when he does get regular playing time. So to bench him too often means silencing his bat, but to play him too often in left field could be detrimental to our defense. Costa is once again in a position where he might be better off back in AAA, where he'd get regular playing time again, unless he likes big-leauge bench time. (He doesn't.)

- On a completely unrelated note (because I love those so much):
Today after PT, I decided that I really wanted a cold 12-pack of Dr Pepper from Quik Trip. But when I got there, I could not find any 12-packs in the refrigerated section, and I was momentarily sad. Then I saw a sign that advertised 24-packs on sale for $5.99. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me, so I grabbed the last case and hobbled with it to the counter. The angel at the counter* informed me that he had a coupon I could use to save an additional dollar. So I basically got 24 cans for a bit over the price of 12. My day is complete!

*People don't work at QT. Only angels do.

Random round-up

- I'm not sure whether it's worth my time to write about Alex Rodriguez right now. I can't stand the man, and according to a Sports Illustrated Poll of MLB players, neither can many big leaguers. Anyway, I was thinking about his little yelling fiasco...things like this make it easy for me to dislike him so much. I'm not a pro player or anything, but even I know that you just don't do that.

I wanted to know what other bloggers thought about this childish move, and there were plenty who agree with me that it was a boneheaded thing to do. Then there was this one, which offered the suggestion that A-Rod was making a desperate move to move his struggling, (nearly) cellar-dwelling team toward victory.

Just as I started to think this may have been an almost acceptable theory, I stumbled upon Detroit closer Todd Jones' thoughts on the matter. He reinforced my idea that "you just don't do that," and refuted the idea that yelling at the infielders was a winning strategy. Thanks, Todd!

- My car is at the mechanic's garage, and I'm scared. Not scared that they'll screw me, because my brothers have had great experiences and friendly, fair service from these guys, but scared that my car might die. I like my Taurus; I don't want a new car at all. It gets me from A to B (unless I'm stuck in my house with an injury...), and that's all I want in a vehicle.

- Meanwhile, the Royals are behind on the D-Rays 3-0. A series win would be wonderful, as it would help us immensely in putting ourselves ahead of Tampa Bay (along with Texas and Cincinnati) for the MLB basement. However, I can take comfort in the fact that by this date in 2006, KC had only won 14 (as opposed to 21 wins going into today), and in 2005 had only won 17.

Hm. I can also take comfort in John Buck. He just homered, making the score 3-1.

- The O-Royals have played well lately, losing only three in their last 11 games. That span includes a 4-game sweep over Oklahoma, a series win (3-1) over New Orleans, a series split with Tacoma, and 2 wins so far over Portland. They're only 3.5 games out of first in their division. I don't want to jinx anything here, but if they continue to play well, they have a shot at overtaking first place (and definitely coasting into 2nd) within the next week and a half. They've done well at Portland, and will play 2nd-place Nashville in a 4-game series later this week. After that, they will head back to the road (but not too far) for a series with the 1st-place Iowa Cubs.

- Bake these. They're simple, and delicious. 8 minutes makes them perfect.

- I'll have more thoughts later, once the KC game is finished. After 5 innings, it's still 3-1.

Behold, indeed.

The subject of an e-mail my mom sent me this morning was "Behold!"

The body of the e-mail read simply "...the power of RSTN!"

On Wednesday I posted some research regarding the Royals' performance when their games are televised. My cousin, who works for the Royals, sent that information to the VP of RSTN. His response was, "That's good for us, then! We have 25 of the next 28 on RSTN."

So expect more of last night's play. Who would have thought that such good things happen when your starter doesn't walk anybody in eight innings?

I've mentioned how much I like watching Brian Bannister pitch before. I thoroughly enjoyed games that he started in Omaha; he always looked calm and professional, worked quickly, and mowed over pretty much everyone he faced. He was one of the offseason acquisitions about whom I was most excited. His previous big-league starts weren't horrible by any means, but I knew he could do tons better, so I was pumped to see him in his finest form last night against a team that (for some reason only God knows) we haven't been able to beat in quite a while.

For me, the best moment in this game -- aside from the more-rare-than-a-blue-moon Mike Sweeney triple in the 2nd inning -- was when Delmon Young popped out to Mark Grudzielanek in the 8th. On Bannister's previous pitch, Young had popped up in foul territory. It looked like Ryan Shealy was going to be able to make the play, as the ball stayed in play, but at the last minute he lost it in the ceiling. At that point it would have been easy for a young pitcher to lose it a little bit, to fall apart and then point fingers at his defense. Instead he forced another popup, got the out, and finished the inning by forcing a ground ball from Akinori Iwamura. That, in the words of the General Motor Company, is professional grade.

The 2nd inning was just excellent baseball on Kansas City's part. Scott Kazmir is an awfully good pitcher, and as Bob and Splitt pointed out, KC's offensive outburst in that inning wasn't entirely Kazmir's fault -- he did strike out two and force a groundout in the inning. But the Royals ran the bases aggressively and took advantage of every possible mistake, yielding three runs and a heap of confidence. That's what the 17 Royals fans left in the country need to see, after a week of watching their team lying down feebly and yielding run after run after run without answering with any offense. (And yes, there are precisely 17 good, loyal fans. I counted.)

UPDATE: My favorite person on the O-Royals' roster, Matt Wright, was named the Royals player of the day. His last two starts have been fantastic, but the offense wasn't there for him last Saturday. But they came through with four runs against Tacoma. From the article to which I linked:

His strong outing Thursday raised his record to 3-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.10 in 49 1/3 innings. Wright, a 21st round pick of the Braves in 2000, is pitching his first season in the Royals' organization.

I, for one, am glad he's on board with us.

Here we go again...

The other day I posted a quote from John Buck regarding the team's attitude:

"Rather than here were go again, it was now we are going to get the job done."

I loved the quote, and I loved that the Royals were taking a more ballsy approach to situations where they had fallen behind in a game.

Too bad they're back into the "here we go again" mindset. Before tonight, all the games in KC's current losing streak -- second in length only to Houston's 10-gamer -- were entirely made up of "here we go again" moments. Fall behind early, and never scrape up any runs in retaliation. Ever. Well, the 2nd part of that theme held true tonight, as Baltimore held KC scoreless in the series finale.

What a shame that Gil Meche's solid performance had to be wasted... 7.1 innings and 1 run allowed should be good enough, right? (It certainly was on Opening Day!) Greinke really wasn't too bad either, from the sound of it. (I am going NUTS during this long stretch without televised games. Come back to me, RSTN!!!)

Speaking of televised games...
- Does the Royals Sports Television Network (RSTN) make Kansas City win? It's entirely possible; check it out:

When Royals games are televised on RSTN (including games that are aired only on Channel 38 in KC), their winning percentage is .400, compared to a .214 winning percentage when they're not on TV and an overall .352 wpc. It took them until May 17 to win a game that was not televised. Tomorrow night's game will be televised, so I have some hope that the losing streak will end.

Here's some negative random stats, because I'm not in a good frame of mind like I was last week when I posted positive random stats:
- KC has been outscored 291-211 on the season. The way the last 7 games have gone, I'm left to wonder where we possibly came up with 211...
- The Royals have only won 3 games against left-handed starters
- The Royals have won zero games and have been outscored 44-10 since I sprained my ankle. How am I supposed to feel better when this is what my team does for me?

And lastly...I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad KC is going on the road. To have them play so much better on the road is about the last thing I expected to have happen, but there it is. Also, check out Buddy Bell's eyes in the picture in that article. That's about as scary as being 9-20 at home.

Locusts, frogs, boils, famine, darkness...

The good news about being injured is that I can stay home and keep better track of the Royals. The bad news is, I have to be at home to hear all the excruciating details. Let's take a peek at the key phrases in the royals.com headlines from the last few games:
Denied
Lopsided defeat
Falls prey
Not enough
Cannot...rescue


These are desparate words, more fitting of dying honeybee populations than my baseball team. What happened to those good Royals about whom I wrote last week? The Royals that would battle rather than lie down and die?

These last five games have been pathetic, and things need to improve NOW. I was rather enjoying having a better record than the Cardinals, but thanks to this awful streak, that joyous tidbit is no longer true.

Who put that crab there??

At about 2:30 in this video -- a clip from the fine movie Hot Shots! -- is what I wish I had been clever enough to say when I took a tumble off the dugout at work last night. Instead, I think it was more of an, "Ouch, that sucked. Ouch. Uhhh...paramedics, maybe?"

Allow me to back up a bit:
In my life, I've fallen up stairs a large number of times, with varying degrees of awkwardness and varying sizes of audiences. However, I almost never fall down them. But last night, as I was heading over to one lucky section to hand out coupons after a Joey Gathright double, I slipped on an oddly sized step and fell down. That was odd, and a fairly embarrassing thing to do in front of a good Friday crowd, but it didn't hurt.

A few innings later, my coworker Kaylee and I were messing around (unsuccessfully) with Hula Hoops on top of the Royals' dugout. After we were done making fools of ourselves (well, she was, but I had more up my sleeve in the fool-making department) we went to get off the dugout and into the adjoining camera well, which is our Base of Operations. There is a small set of steps next to the dugout that leads down in to the camera well, and I thought I could jump down on to those steps.

I was wrong.

Instead of making a graceful landing and entrance into the camera well, my left foot went one direction on the corner of a step, and the rest of my leg went the other way.

Okay, now we're back to where I started: the point at which I wish I was smooth enough to say, "Who put that crab there?"

Once again, I found myself in a position to find out who the Nice Guys in Baseball (prounounced in-Gibs for those of you who like to phoeneticize your acronyms) are. Because my little fall happened between innings, the entire Royals team was in the dugout right next to me. So yes, superstar players like Billy Butler and so forth totally saw my spazziest moment of all time. Talk about awkward. However, they were all kind enough to not laugh at me, and a few were terribly concerned for my well-being. Two players I've written about before for their extrime kindness toward fans, Gathright and Matt Wright, were about 2 feet from me and saw the whole thing. Though he couldn't offer medical help -- Rosenblatt has medics for that purpose -- Wright was immensely helpful in keeping me from passing out. He brought me a cup of water from the team's cooler, reminded me to breathe, offered me sunflower seeds, anything to distract me from my pain. I really appreciated that, because I'm well aware that if I had lost consciousness at any point, it would have added a lot of extra time in the hospital, and I really didn't want that!

After a short time, the stadium medics came down with some ice and an ankle-stabilizing brace. Then came the tricky part: How to best get me from the bottom of the stairs to the concourse so I could get to the hospital? I flat-out refused to try walking, because it looked like it could be fractured. So God bless these guys, they carried me up to the main walkway, where there was a wheelchair waiting. They wheeled me through the vomitory and to the first aid room. Because I'm only 18 and therefore incapable of any care for myself, my older brother had to come get me to take me to the hospital (my other option was riding in an ambulance, but that seemed kind of extreme and unnecessary). While I was waiting in the first aid room, I became very angry. You see, the O-Royals have been awesome lately, and are on quite a winning streak. They were behind by a few runs when I went out through that vomitory (ha! Twice in one paragraph!), but I missed the amazing comeback. I called my dad and opened with these thoughts:
-The good news is that the O-Royals mounted an awesome comeback to win it, but
-The bad news is I'm waiting for my brother to arrive and take me to the hospital. (Parenthetically, I confess that this might not be the best way to open a call home. But I digress...)

I watched the Friday night fireworks through the window of my brother's car as he, his fiancee, and my gentleman friend drove me to the nearest hospital. ER waiting rooms provide for some interesting people watching: The guy who came in shortly after I did had broken his arm in a Fight Club-esque fight, and had made a splint out of athletic tape and...a pizza box. After seeing that guy, I scrambled to come up with a more manly-sounding story for how my left ankle had ended up three times bigger around than the right one, but came up short.

Anyway, after a lot of waiting and some being poked and prodded (The answer to the question "Does this hurt?" is almost always a resounding "YES" when it is asked in a hospital setting), we learned that I suffered a pretty nasty high ankle sprain. Things could have been much worse. Sure, it hurts today, but the thing that makes me the most mad is that the red-hot O-Royals are playing at home the rest of the weekend and I will not be able to be there!

I have many DVDs and baseball games to watch, as well as the last few issues of Sports Illustrated to catch up on, so I will hopefully not be too bored. But I am kind of stuck in my apartment, as we live on the 2nd floor and the thought of crutching down stairs is kind of scary to me.

The moral of the story is, don't jump off dugouts on to steps. Find a flat land surface instead. Or if you're going to try the steps, make sure you do it around some in-Gibs.

Uh-oh

I mentioned the other day that if Mike Wood pitched against Omaha this week, it would be hard to root against him. Guess who is slated to pitch for Oklahoma tonight! (Hint: It is in fact Mike Wood.)

-I'm bummed that I missed last night's KC game. It's great to see the team able to come from behind and come through in the clutch like they have been in the last 10 or so games. And I love John Buck:

"Rather than here were go again, it was now we are going to get the job done."

That is exactly the attitude I want to see. Rather than getting flustered and resigning themselves to lose again, this year's team is able to push harder and make wins happen. I'm still concerned about the team's tendancy to hit into double plays -- they apparently did that four times last night -- but I think that's something that will start to disappear as hitters gain confidence and the team continues to build.

-Now, I'd like to put up some random Royals stats, because the team holds a lot of not-so-hot numbers in the league, and I'm sick of hearing about those. So instead, we'll look at some happier numbers:

David DeJesus - 5th in the Majors in runs, 1st in the AL in at-bats and total plate appearances.
Tony Pena Jr - 3rd in the Majors in triples
Alex Gordon - NOT 1st in the AL in strikeouts (he's down to a reasonably distant 4th)
No Royals players are in the AL's top 20 in caught stealing
Three KC pitchers have a 1.000 OBP, which includes Joel Peralta's 2-run double late in Sunday's crazy game against the Rockies, which leaves him with a healthy (AL-leading) slugging percentage of 2.000.
Predictably, Alex Gordon leads the AL in getting hit by pitches. Mark Grudzielanek is also in the AL's top 10 in that category.

-The Omaha Royals have been enjoying a burst of power hitting the last two days. Craig Brazell had 2 home runs Monday night, followed by 2 more last night. Mike Aviles of all people also hit 2 of them last night, both of which were well over 400 feet (I think they were 417.5 and 423, but don't quote me on that). They've won the first two games against the Oklahoma Redhawks, and have two more in the series before taking on New Orleans over the weekend.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

-My beloved roommate Steph moved out today, leaving the house frightfully devoid of furniture. It went from being a full, tastefully decorated space to a total bachelor pad in the space of one morning. I added the final bachelor-esque touch tonight when I stuck a George Brett poster up on an otherwise empty wall. But I think he deserves his own wall.

-Yet again the baseball world is chatting about the idea that Joe Torre may be the end of his days as New York's skipper. I was going to try and articulate why it might be the right time for that, but Jeff Pearlman totally beat me to it, and did a much better job than I could have.

To be honest, Joe Torre is the one thing about the Yankees I don't hate. He's a good Catholic, attends daily Mass, and seems pretty decent, despite the fact that he works for the Great Evil. But even the greatest men in the world couldn't make winners out of a roster full of selfish players. The Yankees are getting exactly what they deserve, and until they sack up and play as a team, they will stay far behind Boston, or Toronto, or any other team for the division's lead.

-Tonight at work I came across a familiar face, though he was in a visitor's uniform. The Oklahoma Redhawks, the AAA affiliate of the Rangers, were in Omaha for the start of a four-game series. I was jogging off the field after one of my promotions, and a player in the Oklahoma dugout was chatting with the kids who had been my contestants in the freshly-completed promotion, offering them advice on how they could have worked more efficiently and improved their performance (although how he knew so much about tossing and catching rubber chickens, I may never know). This player looked terribly familiar, but it took me a few minutes to figure it out: It was former Royals pitcher Mike Wood. The next inning, we ran a promotion that involved throwing water balloons, and there was one unpopped balloon left over. I had it in my hand as I left the field, and when Wood signaled to me that he wanted the balloon, I mindlessly tossed it to him -- it's pretty common for Royals players to ask for that kind of thing, so I'm in the habit of sharing the random fun crap with the dugouts. After I realized that this balloon would be coming back at me later, and from the arm of a professional pitcher, I regretted giving him the balloon but went about my business anyway. After another inning or two, the balloon came sailing out of the dugout towards me...and missed by a few feet! I would have expected better aim out of a pitcher, but whatever.

At the very least, I think I've met another Good Guy in baseball that I'm always seeking. If Wood pitches against Omaha this week, it will be hard to root against him.

-Speaking of good guys, I finally got my copy of Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition. (Available at the CoF website) It was awesome. I higly recommend this film to any Christian who likes baseball at all. It revolves around players who are Catholic but I think it could touch the heart of any Christian fan. Worth every penny!

-It is a beautiful night (the perfect weather for a 8-1 O-Royals win!) so we've got windows open in the house here. And the neighbors are enjoying the weather by skateboarding. The only slight problem with that activity is that skateboards hitting cement is really noisy, and it is 1:00 in the morning.

-Also...vomitories? This article about the (awesome-sounding) renovation project at The K taught me a new word. I already knew much of what the story entailed, but it was entirely worth reading for the use of that word alone. My challenge for you: Incorporate the word "Vomitory" into your conversation at least once this week.

Woohoo!

-I got to "have a catch" with two of my brothers and with my dad tonight. This was incredible for several reasons:
1) I can throw a baseball (a bit, though my freshly operated-on shoulder will be sore later)
2) My dad must be recovering miraculously from his ankle surgery to have been able to participate as well, and
3) We played on an empty lot that until very recently held this horriffic house that we wanted to tear down. We were recently able to buy it, and it is now just a ghost.

It's like having everyone come off the DL at once, and having a new ballpark in which to play.

-Kansas City is on a fantastic three-game winning streak. They took home a series win (3-1) over Oakland, and has now won the season against the A's. Then they went for some interleague action against the Rockies, which included some clutch hitting by middle reliever Brandon Duckworth. He looked strangely at home in the batter's box, and singled. Emil Brown has been heating up lately. Funny how having regular at-bats helps a batter find his rythm!

- One of my brothers is travelling to Rome next week. Please pray for safe travels for him and the family with whom he is going!

My Hall of Fame

I've created a new post label, called "Featured Posts" -- a label kind of stolen from my brother. I was going to call it "Hall of Fame," but I thought that might be a misleading suggestion that the posts with that label were about Cooperstown rather than what it actually is: some of my favorite/best stuff.

Aaaaanyway, if you're new to this blog, I invite you to explore the Featured Posts.

The Chronicles of Berroa

I didn't intend for this to turn into the Official Blog About Nothing But Angel Berroa. But it's about to get a whole lot more boring in the O-Royals dugout, as Berroa has been called back up to KC.

I'm happy for him, and I truly hope he does well. He's been playing all over the infield here in Omaha -- everywhere but first -- and while he does his best work at short, he will be suitable at any position.

But oh, how I will miss him!! What's really sad is that I was going to get an autograph from him TODAY for someone I know who might like it. Guess I should have gotten it yesterday...

Ouch, yay, and autographs

- Surely there was more to the conversation that produced this quote from Royals manager Buddy Bell:
"He just can't throw."

Bell was speaking about Luke Hudson, who was activated from the DL and pitched only one game -- a disasterous two-inning outing against Oakland a few days ago. Regardless of the context, that's a pretty painful statement. I hope Huddy didn't read it.

- Mark Teahen now leads the majors in outfield assists, with seven. Six of them have come in the last week, and on the evening of Cinco de Mayo, he recorded three in one game. Not bad for a third baseman.

- Since writing about the nice players I've met at work, I've been pursuing more stories about the "good guys" in pro baseball. I know they're out there, so if you have any stories about pro baseball players being...well, not jerks...please share. Eventually it will turn into some sort of piece of writing, but for the moment it's an idea onto which I've latched, but I do need help. I'm asking players whenever I can, but it's hard to get time with some of them. But I'm definitely nominating Angel Berroa, Joey Gathright, and pitcher Matt Wright of the O-Royals. They give a LOT of their time at the ballpark to some of their younger fans, and I truly appreciate it.

When I was younger (I won't tell how much younger, but certainly younger than I am now), I waited and waited for over an hour outside of Kauffman Stadium, waiting for autographs. I'm not a hound; when I pursue an autograph, it's because I'm a fan of that particular player. I'm not going to sell it on eBay or any crap like that. So anyway, back to waiting outside of The K. There was this one pitcher in particular I wanted to have sign my hat. He was a young guy with a world of pitching potential (I won't name names). When he finally did come out into the autograph area, not only did he not sign for any fans, he was quite rude to me about it. Since that time, I've taken a special liking to any players to give their time to kids and make sure they can sign as much as possible. Even though it can be a mundane day-to-day thing for players, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of kids, and something they'll always remember, for better or worse. I still have a bad taste in my mouth (metaphorically speaking) for that one talented pitcher who refused to care about his fans, but I love all players -- even the not-so-acclaimed ones -- who take the time to interact with fans, especially kids.

Why are autographs such a big deal? The signatures themselves might not be. But to a little kid, whose possible paths in life are as numerous as the blades of Bermuda grass in the outfied at The K, the influence of these big famous ballplayers taking the time for him, the little wide-eyed kid, could have momentous impact. That one warm smile as the player signs a ball or a hat could be enough to upgrade baseball from something the kid likes to something the kid lives. On the other hand, the big famous ballplayer with the inflated ego who squeals away in his overpriced truck could sour a kid on The Game for a tragically long period of time. Players shouldn't drive away their fans; without us, those guys might be playing stick-ball in an abandoned lot instead of living in mansions in an upscale neighborhood.

That is why I love players like the three O-Royals I mentioned above. The way some people see it, Berroa and Gathright have every reason to be all sulky. After all, they've had their time in the majors, and now they have to go back to the simpler life and smaller crowds of triple A ball. But instead, they are the ones who have the best attitudes of all; the ones who remember that they need their fans about as much as we need them to play for us every day. (And yes, baseball is a need. I try to go without it every winter, but it never works. I die a little every offseason, so I actually think baseball might be like vegetables and vitamins.)

Anyway, I'm not sure why the issue of autographs has been weighing so heavily on my mind lately, but there it is. But now, 'tis bedtime!

High hopes

Just a quick note, as I have to be at Rosenblatt pretty soon -- Spiderman is there today signing autographs for the wee ones, which will require extra staff a little earlier than usual.

Anyway, on to the topic at hand: High hopes.

Scott Elarton is scheduled to start for KC tonight against Mark Buehrle. It'll be his first big-league start since last July, and I pray that he does well. From a fan's perspective, of course I want him to do well because it will help the team -- and let's face it, the Royals need a LOT of help right now -- but I also want him to do well because he's coming off of labrum surgery, which I had a few months ago. But really, we need Elarton to come back strong, especially after Luke Hudson's disasterous start the other day against Oakland.

A lot is riding on the healthy and successful return of all of our hurt pitchers. It would be fantastic if Dotel's strained oblique would hurry up and cooperate, but but Soria has been a pretty dependable stand-in.

Brian Bannister has been brought back down to Omaha, and will throw here tonight. I'm pretty pumped; even if he didn't quite do well up in the majors, he usually looks like he has a handle on the AAA hitters. He is fun to watch.

The designated hitter

-My parents have been married for nearly 30 years, a phenomenal fact for which I thank God every day. They absolutely do not fight, ever.

"Okay," I can see you asking. "That's great, but what does your parents' long and fightless marriage have to do with the designated hitter?"

Oh darlings, it has everything to do with the DH. The only time I've ever heard them argue is over the merits and drawbacks of the DH. Some people think that's ridiculous, and that surely these two people have something bigger about which to argue. I think it's a perfectly valid thing to fight over, and have entered a number of debates about why the DH makes managing baseball too easy, and takes away some of the purity of the sport.

This has been an issue on the table for years in our household. It comes up from time to time, and we all have a merry laugh that something as seemingly trivial can cause such division in our otherwise harmonious family. But tonight, according to a commercial for the Missouri Lottery, this argument puts us among baseball's craziest fans. These commercials (which I'd link to, but I can't find yet; sorry!) feature some ridiculous show of ultra-fandom like "You haven't washed your lucky socks since 1985 -- Or removed them." or "You watched every game of the 1985 season -- consecutively." The punchline (if that's what it would be called in an advert) is that there are easier ways to show you're a hardcore Royals fan, like buying the new Royals-themed scratch tickets from the MO lotto.

One that my dad and I saw for the first time tonight reads like this:

"The DH argument has ruined two friendships...

...and a marriage."

Dad and I were talking on the phone when the commercial first aired, and laughed heartily for quite a while. Did they write that commercial about us specifically?!?

-Last night, the O-Royals took 13 innings to down the Sacramento Rivercats. They loaded the bases (on 3 walks, if I remember correctly) in the 10th but did not score, which was kind of frustrating. But then in the 13th, Mike Aviles of all people -- definitely more of a scrappy speed guy than a power guy -- smacked a home run to end it. I was impressed with our bullpen for holding the tie as long as they did; as a follower of the Royals for so long, I generally take the attitude that once we hit extra innings it could take a miracle for the bullpen to hold up.

Aaanyway, yesterday's game was pretty strange for me, as Nebraska alum Shane Komine took the mound for Sacramento. It felt so wrong to root against him after all the time I spent cheering him on in his Husker days! I ended up getting the best of both worlds, as Special K dominated for a few innings, but the Royals offense picked up in the middle of the game. So I got to see my team do well enough, and got to see a former Husker excel as well. I'm so spoiled sometimes!

-My extra access to various O-Royals players has made me think a lot about who they are, why they are in AAA Omaha, and what they are doing to make it to The Show (whether they've been there before or not).

For example, I'm one of many who has criticized Angel Berroa for his fall from grace after his Rookie of the Year season in 2003. It was easy for me to criticize, because I did not know who I was dealing with. He was just a guy who I had heard was goofy, but was ultimately more a compilation of statistics than a person to me. (That sounds really heartless now that I have finished typing it. But the thing is, I don't know many players personally, so I don't have too much to go on besides their numbers. I hope you know what I mean.) But this article in the Kansas City Star, combined with the fact that Berroa is my favorite player to be around at work, makes me feel bad about ever having spoken harshly about him.

Sure, he has his weaknesses on the field. From a strictly baseball standpoint, Berroa is a guy who swings at bad pitches, has a tendancy to ground out (often in DP situations), commits errrors a lot, and almost never walks. But he's a person. He's a person who works hard but LOVES baseball (and life) so he smiles and jokes all the time. He's a man of the people and signs autographs for almost anyone who asks -- he has a special weakness for his youngest fans, as he himself is a father. The guy mentioned in the KC Star article is someone I know; he's a season ticket holder and a pretty vocal heckler. But I'm pretty sure that Angel will still sign autographs for him, despite all the mean comments. (As an aside, I'm pretty sure I was about 2 feet away when the situation described in the story actually happened.) Of course Berroa wants to get back to the majors, but he's not a mopey guy. He is wise enough to know that being bitter about his demotion will do nothing to help him get back to the bigs.

In the article, Sam Mellinger describes Omaha as a place where fans only show up for "goofy promotions." As a member of the O-Royals' promotions staff, I almost take offense to that, but then again a lot of what we do is pretty goofy. But the people we bring on the field for promotions are that many more people for Berroa to pick on, joke with, or startle with his loudness. And as well as that goofy atmosphere does suit Berroa's personality, I hope for his sake he doesn't have to be in it for too much longer.

P.S. Tomorrow is, as mentioned in the article in the Star, Thirsty Thursday. Drink up, Royals fans!

UPDATE: Mark Teahen just got yet another assist, throwing out a runner at home to end the inning!! He had an astounding THREE assists on Saturday, and one more over the weekend, plus the one just now. I think it's safe to say he is adjusting pretty handsomely to right field, yes?

Also, I can not for the life of my type the word 'soul.' For some reason I always want to put a 'd' at the end of the word. I mention this because that word is in the name of my favorite baseball blog, Joe Posnanski's 'The Soul of Baseball.' If you're looking for some great reads on baseball from someone way more knowledgable than me, go read it. He's great!

I must be dreaming

Surely these words were not actually written about a Royals pitcher:

In addition to ranking among the best starting pitchers in the Major Leagues, [Gil] Meche has outpitched every big-name pitcher who signed a big offseason contract, including Daisuke Matsuzaka, Andy Pettitte, Jason Schmidt, Ted Lilly and Barry Zito.

Source

Normally on an off-day, I'd be all sad, bored, and despondent without the drug that is Royals baseball. But that story might contain enough happy to get me through till tomorrow night's game.

Billy Butler, O-Royals notes, etc.

So Billy Butler has been called up. I didn't see the game, so I didn't see how he did on defense, but my guess is he was...slow. I'm sure he's a nice kid and all that, blah blah, but the inescapable fact is that the brother can not run. Don't get me wrong: Of course I wish Mr. Butler the best of luck in The Show, but I'm not entirely comfortable with this roster move, especially since Shane Costa has been hitting as well as he has (17-game hit streak right now), and has proven he can play at the big-league level. As I told my dad, the good news in all of this is that Ryan Shealy will be playing at least one game in Omaha in 7-10 days. Here's the thing about Shealy: when I met him last winter, he personally promised me that he'd kick ass this season (his words, not mine). He hasn't done the best, so I feel the need to set him straight.

Alex Gordon was hit by another pitch tonight, putting him within one of Chase Utley for first in the majors in that category. Attaboy, Gordo!

As a good Royals fan, I'm supposed to have a strong distaste for the Cardinals. After tonight's game between the O-Royals and the Memphis Redbirds (the Cards' AAA team), it's harder for me to dislike them. Some teams that have come and gone from Rosenblatt stadium have been less than classy. Players on certain teams which I won't name -- but one might rhyme with "Sound Sock Wexpress" -- have been rude to my coworkers and me, to the point where I do not want to work near the visitor's dugout. The Redbirds were quite the opposite. They never laughed at us for the silly things we have to do on the field, such as the Chicken Dance. Instead, one player congratulated each of my contestants for a job well done, and shared the team's stash of bubble gum with everyone who passed by. The rest of the team lined up in the dugout and cheered on my contestants in each of our promotions: my rockin' air guitar girl, water balloon toss girls, balloon bust couple, and the kids I brought down to do the chicken dance on the field. It was adorable, and a refreshing reminder that there are still good guys in pro baseball. I don't know who the player was who shared the bubble gum and was so friendly, but I want to thank him for restoring my faith in The Good Guys.

Before the O-Royals/Rebirds game, I was doing my usual pre-game duties like locating contestants for the promotions and horsing around with the mascots. At one point, I glanced into the Memphis dogout, and was quite surprised to see David Eckstein in there! Again, I'm supposed to hate Cardinals but he is one of my exceptions for some reason. Maybe it's because he's short? Anyway, I guess he has been struggling mightily and was sent to AAA. I had no idea that was going to happen, and I was actually a little starstruck. I think it's because I watched this man on TV helping his team to a World Series victory, and there he was, five feet from me.

Harold Reynolds was in attendance at Rosenblatt tonight. I don't know why he was there, but I do know that we thought about asking him to do our air guitar competition.

One last note before I work on packing and studying for a few hours:
I know I've spoken somewhat critically about Joey Gathright in the past, but I must admit that he's pretty fun to be around. Plus, he always signs autographs for kids. During the 9th inning, Gathright scored from 2nd on a sac fly to tie the game at 4 runs apiece. When he slid home -- a great slide under a decent throw and tag effort -- he couldn't stand back up. He's now day-to-day after suffering a pretty nasty leg cramp. But while he's in the dugout and still hurt, he doesn't have much better to do than chat with me and my coworkers. He's a pretty funny guy, although he likes to give people crap about anything and everything as much as he can. He also threw sunflower seeds at us, but we probably deserved it.

The whole Gathright affair, while it has been entertaining, has made me wonder how well I want to know any of the players I work next to. Can I be as critical as I need to about a struggling player if I know he's a super nice guy? Or can I praise a player's great performance if I know he's a huge jerk? Fortunately, all of the Omaha Royals I've met have fallen into the "nice guy" category rather than the "huge jerk," so I guess we'll have to see if any of that clouds my ability to fairly assess their performance from an objective perspective.

I'm done rambling now; it's definitely time to work on packing all my belongings in preparation of moving Friday. I have a final tomorrow night, a final Thursday night, another test somewhere between now and Thursday as well. Then I'll move to Omaha so my commute will be five miles instead of fifty-five.

Gil Meche is the new Zack Greinke

This is sounding all too familiar:

It was his [Gil Meche's] third quality start in a row, but the right-hander didn't get a win in any of the starts.

Didn't we go through the same thing with Zack Greinke? Come on, bullpen; let's not waste another quality pitcher! Granted, Buehrle was coming off the no-no, which almost always means a win (or at the worst, a no-decision) in the following start. But here is the difference between the Greinke Curse and tonight's game: with Zack, the offense could never put together enough runs behind him. Tonight, the KC offense was certainly present -- four runs is enough to win a lot of games -- and the defense made some spectacular plays, but the bullpen was kind of embarassing. Kansas City had to call on five relievers, and none fulfilled their duties anywhere close to satisfactorily.

However, even after that rant, I'm still enthusiastically counting the hours until tomorrow night's game. Brian Bannister will make his first start for KC after starting the season in Omaha. Part of me is sad that he was called up (hint: it was the completely selfish part). The guy is FUN to watch when he's pitching well. I hope to see him light up the Sox the way he did opposing batters in AAA the two times I saw him.

On a tangentially related note:
I've long had mixed feelings about Mike Sweeney. In his earlier days with the Royals, I of course loved him, as it was fashionable to do so, and because he generally delivered on the fans' hype. Then as the seasons wore on, I got tired of his habit of swinging at the first pitch. Remember some of Nuke's early pitches in Bull Durham; the ones that would go five feet above the catcher's head or that far outside of the batter's box? I've been pretty sure at times that a pitcher could throw one of those pitches at Sweeney, and he'd swing at it, provided that it was the first pitch he saw in that at-bat.

Normally if a player did this sort of thing, I'd dismiss him and add him of my list of players about whom I'm not crazy. However, Mike Sweeney is a Catholic, and a good one at that. After spending all sememster wading through research about all the steroid-pumping jerks who populate the major leagues, it's always refreshing to hear Sweeney casually mention how he's going to head home, see his family, then go to Mass to cap off a great Sunday post-game. Hearing him say things like that -- and show his faith in other ways, like writing Bible verses with every autograph -- makes me more willing to be patient with his impatience at the plate.

Furthermore, he (along with many other players, including KC's own Mark Teahen and former Royal Jeff Suppan) is involved with Champions of Faith. I'm not going to say a whole lot yet because I haven't seen the film, but it looks like a rather awesome melding of two of the most important things in my life: my faith and my Game. I'm anxiously awaiting my copy.

I'll leave you with some videos related to Champions of Faith.

Woo!

I didn't jinx anything in my previous post; the Royals won 3-1 in a well-pitched game. Yay! I win a nickel!

Tidbits

I love it when a major league pitcher throws a no-hitter. It's the only time I'm assured that I'm not the only person who cares about something other than home runs (Pardon my being so slow to jump on that game, but I've been kind of busy this week!)

So I've survived my first homestand with the Omaha Royals. Omaha went 5-3 during their first stint at Rosenblatt this year. I'm amazed at how quickly I adapted to my job; I already feel completely at home at the Blatt and with my duties. My team's pre-game duties have been a fantastic glimpse into the ways in which we all subconsciously judge people based on their appearances. Before each game, my girls and I have to stand out by the gates and recruit fans to participate in our promotions.

We're supposed to look for certain "types" of people to fill the slots for each promotion. For the air guitar contest, we're supposed to find someone who looks like they could go crazy out there, and do something potentially inappropriate while they're at it. If I see some guy dressed in stylish clothes and lots of hair product, I immediately reject him for air guitar because he looks too self-conscious to be an entertaining contestant. But that disheveled guy in the crappy t-shirt who comes in behind the stylish guy? Perfect. The only people I don't have to stereotype are little kids. Almost all kids under about 10 years old (and most over that age) are willing to do anything for us, as long as it means they get to go out on the field and win a prize. That is why kids are great.

I spent most of the weekend in Omaha, and since I was working I didn't get to see Kansas City's games over the last few days. However, I did see a great play by Tony Pena Jr. chosen as the #1 Web Gem on Friday's Baseball Tonight, and Alex Gordon getting recognition in that segment in the same night. What a weird feeling that is; seeing national sports media say something about the Royals that isn't mocking. I think I like it.

Also, I hope David DeJesus feels better soon!

I don't want to jinx anything here, but Jorge de la Rosa is being kind of awesome today. Just think: once Scott Elarton and Luke Hudson come back up, KC will have a pretty respectable pitching staff from top to bottom. Sure, the rotation will look a little crowded at first, but that will breed some delightful competition amongst the hopeful starters. The creation of competition seems to be working in the catcher's slot, so it could potentially work wonders for the pitching staff too!

I have big money riding on today's KC/Minnesota game (which is currently in progress. My next-door neighbor, who is a big Twins fan, bet me a nickel that the Twins would take the series. I felt comfortable betting against her, despite the fact that losing such a bet would have a drastic impact on my tight college student budget...

One last note:
I can't find a frame to fit my awesome George Brett poster! It's 19x25, which sucks because one quite common frame size is 18x24. I guess I'll just have to get a huge frame and center the poster in it? Feh.

Prayers for Va. Tech, and Royals stuffs

My apologies for the lack of posts!! It's ironic, in a way: since I got a job in the Royals' organization, it's been harder for me to follow the Royals. On Friday, I started my fabulous new job with the Omaha Royals. My duties as a member of the Powerade Power Team are basically to give away free stuff, run the between-innings promotions, and make sure fans are having a good time. I LOVE the job, but it is time-consuming, which is why I'm losing track of how KC is doing and falling hopelessly behind on homework. I'm sure that once school is over and I cut out the hour-long (each way) commute to work, I'll be able to handle things better.

In the meantime, I offer you these tidbits:

Omaha is on a 3-game win streak. Three wins is a modest number, but the team should continue to get better. Brian Bannister pitched brilliantly yesterday in a 3-1 win, which justifies my excitement over him joining the Royals organization. Also, it's much easier to keep the fans happy when the weather is nice and the team is playing well! In Friday's home opener, the weather was a tad bit chilly and the O-Royals didn't play too well. It's not a surprise, then, that a lot of people were grumpy all night (except for during the fireworks, which were awesome). Sunday, on the other hand, was perfect. The weather was sunny and warm, and the game was tight and exciting, with Omaha scraping up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come out on the winning side.

Tonight's KC game was a train wreck from the get-go. Kansas City could hardly do anything right. However, Ryan Shealy snapped his 0-12 cold streak with a homer in the 7th, and Alex Gordon seems to have started making loud outs (or sometimes even getting on base) rather than striking out every at-bat. I suppose those are good things. The final score was 12-5, Detroit.

On a normal day, I'd be a lot more upset about a dismal Royals game. Unfortunately, tragedy has come upon the country and provided a harsh little slice of perspective. Sure, my team sucked it up today, but it could be so much worse. I can't imagine how it feels to be at Virginia Tech right now. How can anybody be capable of taking that many lives in one day? How will students ever feel safe in that dorm and that classroom building again?

I had a pit in my stomach all day today, because I know that this shooting happened a thousand miles from my campus, but the fact is that it could have happened anywhere. The fact is that I am a college student, living the same type of life as the 32 who were killed today. They didn't see it coming, nor should they have had to worry about that sort of senselessness.

I don't quite understand the rage over the lack of communication on campus. What were the U's officials supposed to do? Would it have done any good to bark out the news of the first round of gunfire over loudspeakers on campus? My guess is that if people had tried to flee, the gunman would have opened fire again anyway, regarless of whether he was in the building he intended to target. The whole situation is just awful, beyond my scope of comprehension. Please pray for not only the people who died today, but everyone on that campus who has to figure out how to go back to a normal life after this. Only God has the power to sort this tragic mess out.

Objects in mirror are more in need of a closer than they appear

Hmm. I can't really comment much on last night's game at Baltimore, because I only saw the 10th inning. The only thought I can glean from that inning is this: WE NEED A CLOSER!!!

I will also miss tonight's KC game, because tonight is the Omaha Royals' first home game, and so it is my first night of work for them. I'm psyched! Too bad it will be cold out, but I hope it at least stays dry so we can have our fireworks.

Go Royals!

One week down, a million to go

Happy 1-week anniversary to the 2007 MLB season! (Well, except for the Cards and Mets, to whom I say, "Sorry I forgot your anniversary. Better luck next year.")

My thoughts:
This string of relative successes for Royals starting pitchers...is it all too good to be true? Royals starters have thrown four quality starts so far, and have lasted more than 6 innings 5 times already. These kinds of numbers are, of course, odd for a KC staff. Tonight will be Odalis Perez's chance to show his stuff, as he did struggle a little bit in his start last Wednesday. Maybe it was just the cold weather that bothered him, so he can feel free to dominate in the climate-controlled Rogers Centre.

I'm kind of sad that Roy Halladay won't be pitching for the Jays in this series. Thinking about him pitching against KC at Toronto brings back fond memories of a game last year where Hallady and Runelvys Hernandez both went the distance, and the Royals ended up winning 2-0. Sadly, that game wasn't televised, but listening to it was one of my fondest baseball memories of last season. Thinking about that game got me thinking about how many long outings we could get from this year's staff. Could any of them go the distance the way Hernandez did in that game? My answer: a definite YES. Gil Meche and Zack Greinke will both have complete game wins before the All-Star break. I think that Perez could do it too, but it will take him a little longer.

As for the KC bullpen, they've really been impressive so far (knock on wood). The only slipups that come to my mind are the Boston game from last Thursday, and yesterday's 9th-inning loss to the Tigers. Give the team a few weeks -- and a healthy Octavio Dotel -- and both of those games would be wins.

Another thing I pondered this afternoon prior to sitting down to write (hey, I had a lot of time to think, as I have a boring 2-hour lecture on Monday afternoons) was how much the first week of the season affects fans' perceptions of particular players. Yankees fans' growing disdain for A-Rod has been well-documented over the last several months, but can his walk-off grand slam on Saturday and his first-pitch homer on Sunday spark some lovin' from NY fans? Does a walk-off grand slam in the first week create more excitement over a player than the same hit by the same player later in the regular season? Conversely, does a slow start by an otherwise good hitter (a la Ryan Shealy or Alex Gordon, who I'll get to in more detail in a moment) make fans think they are inferior hitters? Slumps suck for the players and their fans no matter when the hits dry up, but is an April slump more damaging to a fan's outlook on a player than a midseason dry spell? Are KC fans less excited about Gordon because he has only one hit and eight strikeouts?

Now, the Alex Gordon ponderings. So he's gotten off to kind of a slow start (detailed above). This has the Royals Nation wondering when he's going to pick up and start to live up to his tremendous hype. Oddly enough, I think the team's 9-game road trip, which starts tonight in Toronto, will be very good for him offensively. When he digs in for an at-bat in Kansas City, every fan knows exactly who he is and who he is supposed to be, and they expect the world from him at every AB. Gordo knows full well that George Brett -- to whom Alex has been compared by every sportswriter and his cat -- is probably in attendance, watching him carefully from upstairs. But on the road, he won't have all that personal pressure bearing down on him, and he might have enough breathing room to show his stuff. Your average Toronto fan will probably not know as much about Gordon as all good KC fans do, and might not have the expectations of him that a Royals home crowd does. (And that was NOT a knock on Toronto fans. It is absurd to expect everyone in the world to know all about our uprising phenom, no matter how big a deal he is to us.) When the fans in attendance aren't expecting a George Brett-esque performance every time Gordo steps up to the plate, he might be able to relax; to simply see the ball, and hit the ball.

Pop quiz

Quick, answer this question!
What happens when a last-minute addition to the starting rotation pitches an absolute gem against a frightening Detroit lineup and shuts them out for 6.2 innings?


ANSWER:
This.

Oh. My. BOOOO! We need a closer, and we need him NOW!

Don't get me wrong. I like Riske. He's a good guy, and can provide some stable innings of relief. But that's just it -- relief, not closing. He's not meant for the 9th inning, not with a game like this on the line.

(As an aside, I love Ryan Lefebvre. Today the Detroit pitcher - I think it was Bobby Seay - would NOT stop throwing over to check David DeJesus at first. It was boring. On about the 498574th throw, Lefebvre says, "And a throw over to first, and David DeJesus is TERRIFIED." Love it!)

Kansas City's starters have actually been pretty solid. It's a bit confusing to us as fans. What does it mean when the starter goes more than 3 or 4 innings? Does it means that Dayton Moore is the best thing to happen to KC in at least 20 years? I think so.

Opening Day thoughts and pics

Opening Day has finally come and gone, and I should have written this post yesterday. I went to Kansas City with two of my brothers and two of my friends, and it was the Best Day Ever. Here was the view from our seats:


And how can I mention the Royals without mentioning Alex the Great? I really did feel bad for Gordon; his first big league at-bat had to be the scariest situation he's ever been in. (Seriously, I think I'd rather face an armed Randy Johnson in a dark alley than step up for this at-bat.) The bases were loaded, 42,000 were on their feet expecting a blast to the lawn of the FCA building across the interstate, and he's digging in against a future Hall of Famer in Curt Schilling. I would have struck out too. Actually, I would have peed my pants and run back into the dugout in tears. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was concerned that Gordon, even with all his amazing talent, might be in over his head with only a season at AA Wichita under his belt as a professional player. He looks completely fine defensively, but has yet to get a hit (through 6 innings on Wednesday). I will give him time, because I do love him dearly, but I will wait a while to decide if I think he belongs in The Show just yet.

I would have been okay with it if Schilling had thrown a good game; I can understand the impact he's had on the game and can appreciate the fact that he'll be in Cooperstown before I have my degrees. However, it filled me with glee to see the Royals -- MY Royals -- knock him around a bit. What was more giggle-inducing for me was seeing Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz go a combined 1-7 against Royals pitching.

Speaking of, how about that Gil Meche? We spent a bit of time in the parking lot before the game speculating on how he'd throw; whether his performance would justify the $55 million the club sunk into him in the offseason. What a risk that deal was -- he's never been an ace, and we were sinking a significant portion of our modest (but growing) payroll into him and expect him to fill that new role. I was a little nervous as he took the mound in the first, and for the first few batters he did look a little shaky. Then he settled in, and by his departure in the 8th I was convinced he was worth the risk. Tonight before the game, he said he had chills as he walked off the field and was greeted by the most sincere standing O I've seen at the K in quite a while. I had chills too, and I wasn't even the guy getting the ovation!

I had to take a picture of the scoreboard after the game to convince myself that the game had actually happened. Sure enough, the camera doesn't lie:


Here's our whole group up in my cousin's booth (by the way, I'm super proud of what my cousin Chris does, and I brag him up frequently). Aren't we handsome?


Boston has a decent-sized lead so far tonight (end of the 7th, it's 6-1 Boston). DeJesus and Gordon are still hitless; that's so hard to watch. On the positive side, Ross Gload continues to contribute a LOT of bat to the lineup. He has 2 hits already tonight.

Now, about tomorrow. I may skip class for this one, as it's easily tomorrow's biggest MLB pitching matchup. One word (well, a word, a hyphen, and a letter): Dice-K. The Royals are sending Zack Greinke to the mound, which is probably the best pitcher KC could throw in such a game (besides ace Meche). Greinke was pretty awesome in Spring Training; he showed all of the awesome command and focus we loved about him, and none of the scary personal unsteadiness that worried us last season. Dice-K has whipped the international media into an absolute frenzy; Japanese journalists have spent all week in Kansas City in large numbers. They're crammed into every corner of the upstairs region of the stadium, and Dice-K hasn't even thrown a pitch yet. I can't imagine how crazy it will be down there tomorrow; I only wish I could be there, but skipping classes once this week to go to a game ought to be enough.

I actually think Greinke has the ability to outpitch Dice-K. To be honest, when he brings his A-game, he can outpitch anybody. The dude's got good stuff, and I think we'll see the best he has to offer tomorrow. Tune in at 1:00 on the Royals Sports Television Network; this is going to be EPIC.