I was against the Mark Teahen for Josh Fields and Chris Getz trade when I first heard about it. Teahen has a better career OPS (.749) than Fields (.718) or Getz ( .669). I like Alberto Callaspo better than Chris Getz, and I like Alex Gordon more than Josh Fields. It looked to me like we traded a starter for two back-ups. I like Teahen because he can play 3B and OF. Read the rest of this entry >>
George Brett saw the Pine Tar game as a blessing because people stopped remembering him as the hemorrhoid guy and began identifying him as the pine tar guy. The image of George Brett that comes to my mind is his mammoth home run in game three of the 198o playoffs against the New York Yankees. Read the rest of this entry >>
A recent baseball memory is when my children Blake and Rachel and I discovered Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, the oldest baseball field in the United States. The Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons played there. Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth played there. The gates were open when we arrived at the stadium. We asked a few men milling around if we could go in. One of the them said, “I guess so.” Blake noticed a sign that said, “Start your self tour here.” We walked on the field, sat in the dugouts, and took a lot of pictures. I was standing on the pitcher’s mound when a lady walked up and said, “Can I help you?” I thought she was going to ask us to leave. Read the rest of this entry >>
During a time of previous employment, I had regular access to free admission, free scorecards, air conditioning, game notes, free 7th-inning hot dogs, and (most importantly) free major league baseball. Being an ever-heady radio reporter, I also had the honor of regularly visiting professional and collegiate locker rooms. This is an “honor” for about 3 to 4 visits. Soon after, it becomes a plodding bore where you stare blankly as an athlete reaches into his trusty bag of sports cliches, giving neither insight nor any sign of intelligent life. Read the rest of this entry >>
Earlier in the week, the Royals continued their run at collecting every reclamation project in baseball by bringing in outfielder Rick Ankiel. For the time being, he’s being counted on to man CF and provide the club with the 25-homer bat that they did not have. Sure, he can’t hit lefties, but Ankiel can hit an easy 20+ homers with 130 games of health. What’s most interesting to me is how the tale of his career mirrors the stretch of interstate between his old home, St. Louis, and his new abode, Kansas City. Read the rest of this entry >>
Nothing seems to relate the bleakness of the past decade like the fact that our #8 Moment this decade has little to do with baseball. To cut to the chase, only seven moments beat The Father-Son Attack in Chicago at U-S Cellular Park in Chicago on September 19, 2002 … Read the rest of this entry >>
The signings of veterans Scott Podsednik and Matt Herges have caused more scratching than a bush of poison ivy. A light-hitting mid-30s, single category (at best) slap hitter? Yet another average arm for the bullpen? Read the rest of this entry >>
Way back in 2002, when the ‘lost decade’ was just a toddler, the Kansas City Royals made a draft selection that many argued would shape the franchise for years’ to come. If the team could get a “hit” with the number-6 overall selection in baseball’s June Draft, then the rebuilding under GM, Allard Baird, would be a success. Well, in a sign of how rotten things have turned in the ’00s, the Royals got their “hit,” but followed it up with little else. Read the rest of this entry >>
There were at least a few moments during the past 10 years when many fans wondered if baseball was going to be long for Kansas City. Remember the thoughts of contraction? Remember Commissioner Bud Selig being cornered about KC’s future every time he showed his face in town? Remember the ever-strong refusal’s from both the government and public when it came to financing a possible new stadium? Read the rest of this entry >>
The old adage in baseball states that good teams are always strong up the middle (catcher, shortstop, second base, center field). I suppose that the corollary to this is bad baseball teams are quite weak up the middle. It’s good to see that the Royals are keeping some of our strongest beliefs about baseball in circulation. Read the rest of this entry >>
The happenings of the Kansas City Royals.
Kyle is a Royals fan stuck in a blood red sea of Cardinal-faithful. This blog is dedicated to future Jose Guillen blow-up's.
