Royals Final Record: 56-106 .346, 43 Games Back of Chicago.
ESPN keeps a great schedule of Royals upcoming games, and records from previous games. You can follow along here:
Visit these great Royals web sites and get all the latest poop on the boys in blue:
Topeka Capital Journal's Royals Zone
Kansas City Royals Official Team Website
Before we get started: I probably won't write about the Royals quite as much this year. It's been twenty years since the Royals won the World Series. As each year goes by the competitive balance of baseball gets more skewed to the advantage of big market teams. Every time the Royals develop a good player, he's gone the second free agency kicks in. First Johny Damon, then Jermaine Dye, now Carlos Beltran. And as the small market teams continue to be mired in second class citizenship, I find myself caring less and less about the game of baseball. It's hard to get emotionally invested when your team is mathematically eliminated by baseball economics before the season even starts.
This season the Royals start out with the next to the lowest payroll in all of baseball at $36 million. Only Tampa Bay is lower at $34 million. The evil Yankees have a payroll over $200 million. Worse, the MLB Commissioner's office and Fox Sports likes it that way, so every year they get nothing but major markets in the playoffs and World Series. Greed is ruining baseball. As long as Bud "The Tool" Selig, Rupert Murdock, Scott Boras and Don Fehr are wasting oxygen on planet Earth, nothing will change. That said, let's play some ball:
October 1st: Ding Ding Ding!! We have a winner, or in this case LOSER! The worst Royals team EVER. Losing 105 games after last night's turd in Toronto. Zack "Am I A Free Agent Yet?" Greinke stunk up the joint again, losing his 17th game of the season. Greinke will end the season with a 5-17 record and a 5.80 ERA. What's worse, that's not even the worst performance on the Royals pitching staff. Jose Lima set the record for the all time worst ERA in major league baseball history for pitchers with 30 starts in a season at 6.99 ERA. This picture on the front of the KC Star's sports page pretty much sums up this nightmare season. Three Royals stand there and watch a pop up to shallow center drop, opening the gates to a five run fourth inning and a 10-1 loss. Thank God this season is over.
September 18th: Today the Royals lost their 99th game, getting swept in Cleveland. In today's KC Star, Joe Posnanski was writing about how much it sucks that the Royals will lose 100 games in three out of the last four years. Joe Pos said the Colorado Rockies, California Angels, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nats) have NEVER lost 100 games. The Chicago Cubs have only lost 100 twice, and haven't lost 100 in forty years. The Royals have lost 100 three out of the last four years. It is truly baseball hell. This picture graced the article:
September 15th: The Royals are 41
frickin' games out of first. Mathematically eliminated in August. What a
pathetic bunch of losers. Even Joe Posnanski of the KC Star, who is usually
very patient and kind to the Royals, has lost his patience. Today he wrote
this story: "Baseball
so funny, it’s sad-Outfield gaffe symbolic of Royals’ sorry season"
BY JOE POSNANSKI
Well, that was new. You keep thinking that the Royals will run
out of ways to humiliate themselves. This is a team that in the last couple
of years has:
1. Dropped a pop-up to lose a game.
2. Started a game by batting out of order.
3. Had a player picked off when he fell off first base.
4. Lost a game when a pitcher slipped on the rosin bag.
5. Had a pitcher, on a routine play, throw the ball 5 feet over the catcher’s
head.
And this does not include the collected works of first baseman Ken Harvey — Harvey
gets hit in the back with a relay throw, Harvey gets tangled up with the tarp,
Harvey throws a ball off Jason Grimsley’s face. It has been a cavalcade
of errors, a parade of gags. What can you say? The Royals can’t do anything
right these days. Every trade backfires. Every free agent flops. Every pitcher
gets shellacked. The Royals don’t just
lose — they lose funny. If the Royals had invested in Microsoft stock
in the early years, the abacus would have come back. You figure that at some
point, though, the Royals will run out of comedy. Robin Williams did. But if
there’s one thing you can say about these Royals, they are resilient.
Tuesday should have been a nothing night. Rain delayed the start of the game
until 9 p.m. and then they started, and it rained again. The crowd was hardly
hardy at the start — the announced attendance of 9,535 was the lowest
of the season — but after the second rain delay it was about the size
of the Motley family reunion. That small crowd would be treated to perhaps
the funniest and saddest moment of the year, maybe the funniest and saddest
moment
in team history. Hey, you never know what you will see when you go to the ballpark.
Now, I’m not talking about a ground ball hit to shortstop that Angel
Berroa bobbled, picked up, and then fired toward first. The ball sailed over
first baseman Matt Stairs and plunked Royals bench coach Bob Schaeffer, who
was standing in the dugout. On another night, that would have been plenty funny.
On this night, though, it was barely good enough to be the opening act.
Let’s set the scene. Fourth inning. Two outs. Royals down 2-1. Chicago
catcher A.J. Pierzynski was on first base. And Juan Uribe hit a routine fly
ball to left-center. Royals center fielder Chip Ambres cruised over to catch
it. Royals left fielder Terrence Long cruised over to get it. We pause for
a moment here to say a quick word about Terrence Long. You know, he’s
a veteran player making almost $5 million this year. There is no chance the
Royals will bring him back next year. So, recently, the question
was posed to Royals manager Buddy Bell why Long was playing every day instead
of a younger player who might actually be part of the team’s future.
Bell acknowledged that this was a good question. He said you don’t want
to “give up the ship.” And he said Long has been “the team’s
best player the last month.”
This really troubled me. First of all: Give up the ship? What? That ship sank
months ago. That ship is so far under, all you can do now is send down one
of those explorer boats and search for lost treasure — like Jose Lima’s
bonus money. Secondly though, I was surprised to hear that Long has been the
team’s best player. I mean, I’m not anti-Terrence Long or anything,
but I can’t remember him being all that good. So I looked it up: The
last month, Long has hit .274 with zero homers, zero stolen bases and eight
walks. OK, back to the comedy. Here’s Long. Here’s Ambres. They
settle under the ball. They look at each other. And then they both start jogging
in.
End of the inning. The ball plops softly behind them both. It was astonishing.
It looked like something you would see in a bad baseball movie, one of those
things you would say, “Oh, that could never happen.” But
it did. These guys jogged to the dugout while the ball was still coming down.
I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’ve only watched baseball
for 30 years. I asked around. Denny Matthews, who has been calling Royals games
since the first game, has never seen anything like it. Al Fitzmorris, who won
77 games in the big leagues, has never seen anything like it. Let’s face
it. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. While the crowd gasped, Pierzynski
scored. The Royals lost by that run and one more. The jokes just keep on coming.
September 6th: We're
now in September and the Royals are 42 games out. That's hard to do. Sickening
stat
of the
day: The Royals
have lost 98 straight games when trailing after eight innings. I'm speechless.
August
21st: The Royals actually win
a game!! Royals win!! Hallelujah!! The boys
in blue stop the longest major league losing streak in 17 years with a gutty
pitching performance, squeaking out
a 2-1
win over
Barry Zito and the A's. Wood, Burgos and Wild Thang
MacDougal combine for four hits.
They also stop their road losing streak at 12 games. I guess for
at
least
one
night
there
can
be
some joy
in Mudville. Now
if
we
can
just
win
43
straight,
we'll
be
at
.500!
BTW:
if
the Royals lose today's rubber match in the Oakland series, they're mathematically
eliminated from playoff contention. Ooo...the drama is killing me! In the
shadow of this 19-game losing streak, the Glass family is starting to put
out feelers in the press about wanting mucho dinero from the taxpayers for
stadium improvements. Considering they just lost 19 games in a row, asking
for taxpayer money is pretty ballsy. Here's the story:
Royals Want $200 Million
for Stadium Upgrades: The Associated Press
Kansas City Royals owner
David Glass wants Jackson County to spend about $200 million for upgrades
to Kauffman Stadium, as part of an overhaul of
the Truman Sports Complex that also includes Arrowhead Stadium, home of
the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs' owner, Lamar Hunt, also wants
extensive
renovations to the sports complex -- including $312 million fixing up and
expanding Arrowhead. The
two teams are scheduled to begin lease negotiations with the county later
this week, as county officials weigh whether to put a stadium tax on the
April ballot. In the past, Glass has said he favored asking voters only
for enough money to pay for repairs and maintenance required under the
current
lease. "
I think we've got to do it long term," he said Friday, after officials
from both teams met with county officials. Glass said the team's architectural
firm had not set specific improvements and their price tags. He took the
$200 million figure from figures used in
last year's failed bistate tax election. The current leases expire in 2014,
but the county could be in default well before then because it lacks money
to make lease-required repairs. If the
county goes into default, the teams could move as early as 2007. County officials
say they would need new 25-year lease agreements in place by February to
place a tax on the April 2006 ballot. That would draw fewer
voters than a November election and some backers of a stadium tax say a low
turnout would increase the chances of passage. "We have a fairly short timetable
for developing a funding plan," said
Jack Holland, a financial adviser and lease negotiator for the county. "But
there is enough time. There is nothing like a deadline to focus people's
energies on a goal." Some, though, believe that waiting until November
2006 would allow supporters to put together a stronger campaign. Glass said
he would like to see an election as soon as possible, although he and Hunt
both said they would respect the county's decision."We tend to take too long
to do it," Glass said. "We need more a
sense of urgency."
August
18th: The
Royals are baseball's circus freaks, leading off Sports Center every
night with
highlights of their
losing. In yesterday's ugly loss to Seattle, Wild Thing MacDougal is
on the mound, bases loaded. Guy hits a one hopper back to the mound;
Mac throws
home for the force, standing about 30 feet from home. Problem is he
throws the ball about 10 feet over the catcher's head. Such as been
this season
of discontent. Today the Associated Press posted this story under the headline:
" Royals Slouching Toward Baseball Ignominy" By JIM COUR,
Associated Press
SEATTLE - A psychologist
might call it a simple case of denial. The Kansas City Royals, however, cannot
escape the harsh,
unmistakable
facts:
They are
on a losing streak with seemingly no end."
We don't want to think about the record," center fielder David DeJesus
said after the Royals were swept by the Seattle Mariners to run their
losing string to 18 games, three shy of the American League mark. Now, staring
the
Royals in the face is the record of 21 losses in a row set by Baltimore
at the start of the 1988 season. They also are closing in on
the modern major league milestone of 23 straight losses by Philadelphia
in 1961. The Royals open a three-game series
at Oakland on Friday night. If they are swept in their seventh straight series,
they would
claim a share
of the AL
record. They could break the mark Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium
against the Boston Red Sox. "It's not like we're incapable of winning," slugger
Mike Sweeney said. "We're
just in a rut right now. It's a big rut, though." The Royals are at
or near the bottom of the league in batting and fielding. But it's their
pitching that really has deserted them in their plunge that
began after a 6-5, 13-inning win over the Chicago White Sox at Kansas City
on July 27, their second straight win over the AL Central leaders. Since
then, their pitchers have an ERA of 7.46, leaving the team with a 38-81
record and headed for its second consecutive 100-plus loss season
and its
third season of 100 losses or more in four years. The Royals' overall ERA
has risen to 5.62, the worst in baseball. Kansas City lost 104 games last
season. After Wednesday's 11-5 loss in Seattle in a game in which they
fell behind 8-0 after five innings, the
Royals are
on pace to lose 109 games this season.They have the worst record in the
majors. Their record was 38-63 when the losing streak began with a 10-5
loss in Tampa Bay on July 28. In order,
they've been swept by the Devil Rays, Boston, Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit
and now
the Mariners. "Everybody wants it to end," said rookie catcher
Paul Phillips, whose first career homer — a grand slam with two out
in the ninth — was
the highlight of the Royals' lackluster Wednesday in Seattle. Against
Oakland, the Royals will start Jose Lima (4-11) on Friday night,
Mike Wood (3-4)
on Saturday night and Runelvys Hernandez (8-11) on Sunday. Manager Buddy Bell hasn't
announced his starter for the opener of the Boston series. Lima,
an All-Star for the Houston
Astros in 1999 when he won 21
games, would appear to still have the talent to end the streak. He
was 13-5 for
the Los
Angeles Dodgers last season and lost a 1-0 decision in the second
game of a doubleheader in Detroit last Sunday. "I've just got to do my
job and stay focused like the last game," Lima
said. Sweeney is the team's highest-paid player at $11 million for the
small-market Royals, but the 32-year-old designated hitter-first baseman
is suffering
as much as his younger teammates. "It's not fun," he said. "Try
going out there every day and losing. We have to turn things around. We
need to win, baby, win." Bell returned
to his team from Arlington National Cemetery, where he attended burial
services of his Marine nephew killed in Iraq this month by a roadside
bomb. On Wednesday, Seattle's Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam off D.J. Carrasco
in the first inning. Seventeen pitches and 15 minutes into the game, the
Royals were down 4-0. "We've got to give ourselves a chance," Bell
said. The losing streak by the '61 Phillies is the longest in the
majors since 1900. Bell, like DeJesus,
doesn't want to talk about records."There's
a lot of history I care about," he said. "But right now
I just want to move forward."
August
17th: Royals
lost their 18th straight game today 11-5, completing the sweep by Seattle.
Three more losses to go to tie the All-Time American
League
record for consecutive losses, 21 by Baltimore in 1988. Now they're off
to Oakland to get swept there and tie the record. I have but one thing
to say.
August
14th: After
two straight days of rain the Royals played a doubleheader with Detroit.
It was
World
Series 1985 Weekend, with the '85 Royals team returning to KC to induct
Bret Saberhagen into the Royals Hall of Fame. Sabes is only one of four
pitchers
to be a Worlds Series MVP, win a Cy Young, and throw a no-hitter. The other
three are Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Randy Johnson. The first two days,
rained out. The final Sunday of the weekend, double header. The current
Royals get swept by Detroit, for consecutive losses number 14 and 15. The
Royals
are now 40 games under .500, and 37 games out of first. This is so sad.
The '85 guys didn't even get to meet the current team, or talk to them.
Talk
to them about guts, and tradition, and not being losing pussies, which
they are. There's nothing else to look forward to in this season, except
how many
games the team will lose this year. It's all so sad and pathetic. The horror.
The horror.
August
10th: Perhaps
yesterday I spoke too soon. The Royals had their signature game of
the season last
night.
Not
only did they
lose their 11th straight game; they did it in historic fashion, taking
a 7-2 lead into the 9th, only to give up 11 runs to lose 13-7.
Joe Posnanski wrote this column in the KC Star this morning with
his
take on the loss
and
the historic losing streak: "Forget about winning. The Royals are never
going to win another baseball game. That’s clear now. They are going
to lose the last 50 games this year. They are going to lose all 162 games
next year.
After that, it’s hard to tell. Maybe they will win a game in May 2007.
What else can you say after that ninth inning Tuesday night? It was, without
question,
the worst inning of baseball I have ever seen major-leaguers play.
There should have been written notes of apology after that inning. For years
now, people have wondered when the Royals would hit rock bottom. Ken Harvey
got hit in the back with a throw home. A Class AA nobody named Eduardo Villacis
was called up to make his major-league debut at Yankee Stadium. A manager
quit in the middle of the year, at least in part because of a divorce case
he was involved with. All of that was just a prelude to Tuesday night.For
posterity, we offer the appalling details. The Royals were up five runs going
into the ninth inning.
They were up mostly because Cleveland manager
Eric Wedge decided, way back in the second inning, that it would be a good
idea to pitch to Mike Sweeney with runners on second and third and Joe McEwing
on deck. Maybe he felt sorry for the Royals. They had lost 10 in a row. They
have, by far now, the worst record in baseball. Maybe he felt like his team
should offer a handicap — tonight, they might have all their players
stand on one leg.They pitched to Sweeney, and he didn’t miss. His three-run
homer gave the Royals a lead. After eight innings, the Royals’ lead
was 7-2.Royals’ manager Buddy Bell brought in his closer, Mike MacDougal,
who had saved 14 games in a row. This, of course, wasn't a save opportunity.
But Buddy wasn’t taking any chances.And the ninth inning began. MacDougal
gave up a double to Casey Blake. He gave up another double to Grady Sizemore
(one run scored). He gave up a single to Coco Crisp (second run
scored). He then struck out Jhonny Peralta. The Royals still led 7-4.Travis
Hafner doubled. Victor Martinez singled (third run scored).Yeah, you could
feel it going bad. This is one awful Royals team. They came into the game
on pace to lose 107 games, most in team history. But it could
have been worse: Remember the little 11-4 run they went on when Buddy Bell
got the job. That was an important stretch. Take that away, and this team
is playing about as poorly as the legendary 1962 Mets. In other words, this
team is one good streak away from being as bad as any team in baseball history.
What followed, though, would embarrass even the 1962 Mets. Ronnie Belliard
lifted
a soft pop-up to shallow center field. It was an easy play for Angel
Berroa — only it wasn’t. Berroa dropped it (fourth run scored).
It was his second big error of the game. He did manage to throw the ball
to second for a force out. The score was 7-6. And then, Jeff Leifer lifted
a fly ball to left field. Well, it was scary, sure, but at least the Royals
would win. Chip Ambres settled under it and … oh,
yeah, he dropped the ball. It hit the heel of his glove and bounced away
(fifth run scored). The game was tied. On the next pitch, Aaron Boone ripped
a double (sixth run scored). The Indians led. Out came MacDougal, his save
streak still intact since this was not a save opportunity. In came Jimmy
Gobble. He could not throw a strike to Casey Blake,
who walked, but Gobble managed to throw a strike to Sizemore, who ripped
a single to right (seventh run scored). Naturally, the ball ricocheted off
of Emil Brown for the third error of the inning (eighth run scored). Gobble
then walked Crisp. And Gobble finished things off by giving up a long, long
home run to Peralta (ninth, 10th and 11th runs scored).There you go. Royals
lose 13-7. It’s their 11th loss in a row, one
short of the team record. It has to rank up there with the most humiliating
losses in team history. I promised the office before the game that I would
keep coming out to Royals games until they win. Sometime in that unbelievable
ninth inning, my wife called. She suggested I get a room at the Drury Inn
across the street. This team isn’t going to win for a long,
long time."
August 9th: Royals have been on a
historic losing bender, losing ten straight games: three games in Tampa Bay,
four in Boston, three at home against Oakland. The Oakland series was especially
ugly. Royals were outscored 32 to 5 in three games. Royal batters struck
out 70 times. Team is now on pace to lose 108 games.What did the Royals do
to right ship? Release back up catcher Albert Castillo, of course! First
Chiefs exhibition game is Friday night. Royals could finish the year 40 games
out of first in the AL Central. The Leonard Pinth Garnell death march kicks
into quick step. The brutal season got worse when it was learned that Manager
Buddy Bell's nephew Timothy was killed with other Ohio marines by a roadside
bomb in Iraq. What a totally crappy week.
July
31st: Believe
it or not, the baseball dog days are now upon us. It's August, and the Royals
are
31
games
out of first behind the White Sox. Last week the Royals were crowing about
how they finally beat, then took a series from, the Chisox. The Royals' 11-game
losing streak to the White Sox was their longest against any opponent since
they lost 12 straight to the Yanks from 1997-98. So on the heels of this
crowning achievement, they go to Tampa Bay to play the doormat Rays, and
get swept four games. The Bums in Blue are now officially the worst team
in the American League by two games, and almost the worst team in the Majors,
trailing Colorado by one game. Same old Royals. Training camp for the Chiefs
opened a couple of days ago. Soon the Royals will be pushed completely off
the front page of the Kansas City Star, as they simply don't matter anymore.
The Good News: Not much in a season like this. At least
Allard Baird hasn't traded off Mike Sweeney...yet. There's some rumblings
that the Los Angeles
Pretending to Be Anaheim Somewhere in Southern California or Whatever Angels
have interest in Mikey. And Mikey grew up in Southern California, so he might
jump at the chance to go back there and play for a contender. Baird did make
one trade, moving
Tony Graffanino to
the Red Sox for Chip Ambres and Juan Cedeno. Hopefully one of these guys
will pan out as a legit player. DeJesus is hitting .299 and playing a solid
defensive
center field. He only has three stolen bases, that's not good for a speedy
outfielder. On the pitching side, the only Royals starter who doesn't have
a losing record is D. J. Carrasco. Runelvys Hernandez is close at 8-9, and
both guys have respectable ERAs under 4.50. Royals relief pitching has been
overall pretty good since the All-Star Break, Mike (Wild Thing) MacDougal
has successfully managed 14 consecutive save opportunities. That's the longest
streak of his career as a closer. Wild Thing has converted 13
straight save situations since Buddy Bell became manager. The Bad
News: Angel
Berroa makes me insane. He's shown promise as a player, but he's
wildly inconsistent. He strikes out way too much. So far he has 75
Ks and
only 14 walks. That's
awful. And I still don't get Allard Baird's love affair with Catcher
John Buck. If any player ever deserved to wear number two, it's this
guy. He's
supposed
to be a big power hitter. I'll admit, he has awesome warning track
power. No doubt he's great at flying out, when he isn't striking
out. Buck has only six home runs, he's K'd 63 times and only walked
17 times
with an
anemic .228 average. He's as big an offensive liability as...oh,
EVERY catcher the Royals have had
over the last five years. Considering he's what we got for Beltran,
he looks like the second coming of the "Bret Saberhagen for Ed Hearn" trade.
Not pretty. Other Stuff: Rany Jazayerli wrote an article in the Topeka
Capitol-Jounal today looking into his crystal ball at the 2007 Royals. He
said the present
is hopeless, so we might as well look down the road a couple years at what
the Royals might possibly put on the field opening day 2007. Here's his projected
batting order: 1) David DeJesus, CF, 2) Ruben Gotay, 2B, 3) Mike Sweeney, DH,
4) Justin Huber,1B,
5) Alex Gordon, RF, 6) Billy Butler, LF, 7) Mark Teahen,
3B, 8) Angel Berroa, SS, 9) John Buck, C.
July
11th: We've come to
the All-Star Break, the un-official halfway part of the season. Royals
are on
pace to
lose 106 games this season.
It's been obvious that this has been another lost season since April, and
there's really little hope as a Royals fan. The team seems to have blinders
on; optimistic in the face of repeated and profound failure. Yesterday's
KC Star had a lead article by Joe Posnanski on the old Kansas City A's,
and how awful and pathetic they were for 18 years in Kansas City. Somehow
the
Royals have been even worse; irrelevant for ten years and pathetic for
ten years after that. It seems like the only goal this year for the organization
is to NOT lose 100 games. They treat a .500 season as a Holy Grail. There
is no hope for anything beyond that. The 1950's KC Athletics were a major
league farm team for the Yankees. The 2000-era Royals are a major league
farm team for free agency. So if anything, baseball in Kansas City has
gone
full
circle: terrible in 1955 to World Champions in 1985 to terrible in 2005. The
Good News: Mike Sweeney has
been his typical maddening self. He can't seem to stay healthy.
When he is healthy,
he's a great player.
The last week leading up to the All-Star break he was lights
out, ending up with a .318 batting average and hitting two homers
against
the Twins
in a
losing effort in the final game before the break. He is certainly
the only legitimate all star on this roster. Besides Sweeney,
DeJesus is
hitting
.288 and playing a solid center field. He is also an excellent
base runner, although
stealing bases is not his strong suit. Perhaps he'll get better
at steals as he matures .Nobody is better scoring from second
on a single.
Graffanino
is hitting .309 as a utility guy, and has managed to stay reasonably
healthy. Berroa
is an
enigma.
At times
he's God awful, at times he goes on hitting binges. He pushed
his average by twenty points in the last week to end the first
half
at .265. He
seemed to relax after being moved from the lead off spot to the
sixth spot in
the order. On the pitching side, DJ Carrasco is the only starting
pitcher with
a winning record
(4-3
3.69 ERA), and he was a mid-season plug in. Carrasco had the
only two Royals victories in a stretch from June 20th to July
5th. Mike "Wild
Thing" MacDougal has pitched better as a closer, he has
11 of the Royals 15 paltry saves, and has converted all nine
of his
save
opportunities
since
Buddy Bell became manager.The Bad News: As
usual, plenty. Let's start with some team stats. The Royals have
struck out 30 more times,
stole 17 less bases and have 22 less home runs than the opposition.
Opposing batters have walked 87 more times -that one is a real
killer. Opponents
are batting
.284
against
the Royals, and the team ERA is the second worst in the American
League. The Royals are 1-6 in extra inning games, 1-29 when scoring
fewer than
three runs, 0-52 when trailing after the 8th inning. Buddy Bell
started out with
an 11-4 record, then went on a 3-14 losing bender. In a game
against the Angels, Bell submitted an incorrect lineup card.
Leadoff Batter
DeJesus was listed as the number one and two hitter. That's a
KC Athletics type
of boner.
Worse, its not the first time he's made that mistake as a manager.
He did
the same thing in Detroit a few years back. John Buck is making
me crazy. The organization seems to love him, but he's such a
weak sister
at the
plate. He's raised his average about ten points in the last week
to a tepid .228.
Worse,
just
yesterday he got his first hit all year with the bases loaded.
This guy's biggest offensive skill seems to be stranding base
runners. And
where
is spring training's two-headed DH monster, Grimace & Pickles? That would
be KC's 2004 "All-Star" first baseman Ken "Grimace" Harvey
and Calvin "Pickles"
Pickering? Both are rotting away in the minors. Harvey hit .222 and Pickering
hit .148 in brief stints with the big club. Worse, KC's starting rotation
has been beyond horrible. "Run-Elvis" Hernandez has been decent
(6-9 4.53 ERA) coming off Tommy John surgery. Jose "Lima Time" Lima
is a wretched 2-7 with a 7.33 ERA. His last start against the Twins was
a win, so maybe he'll
pitch better in the second half. Then there's Zack Greinke, the "phenom."
Phenom is 1-11 with a 6.20 ERA. Congrats,
kid.
His
season went
in the dumper
after he homered in an inter-league game against Arizona, then started
grousing that he should be the Royals starting shortstop because "he's
bored." Here's
a quote from a story in the Associated Press following Greinke's last loss
against the Twins a couple days ago: "My
plan is to go away for the All-Star break, get away from Kansas City," said
Greinke (1-11), who came into the season considered the cornerstone of the
Royals' youth movement."Maybe some good things will happen in the second
half."Greinke gave up eight hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings, with
two walks and two strikeouts. The 21-year-old right-hander's ERA climbed
to 6.20, and his
.083 winning percentage is the worst any Kansas City pitcher has had at the
All-Star break. But Twins center fielder Torii Hunter is still impressed
with the slender second-year pro."
He's only 21 and that's scary," said Hunter, who had an RBI single. "Once
he learns it all, you better watch out. He's going to be nasty. I hope he's
not in this division." Yeah, I'm sure he'll be great when he's
a Yankee or a Red Sox.
Shit. In the mean time, the Royals have had their usual Macy's parade
of injured pitchers: Bautista, Anderson, Burgos, Snyder, and king
of the DL
Jeremy Affeldt.
Finally, as a final mid-season morale booster, Judd Choate of the
Associated Press ran
this
story
about
the
ten
worst
moments
in Royals history. Since being a Royals
fan seems to encapsulate wallowing in the pain and frustration
of disastrous year after disastrous year, I felt compelled to include
it. Enjoy,
and here's to finishing SIXTY games out! Hey, if you're gonna suck,
GO FOR IT!!
(By Judd Choate-The Associated Press)
It's a bad year, in a bad decade, in a bad century. What better time to
take inventory of the worst moments in Royals history.
10. June 1, 2000 - General Manager Herk Robinson resigns and owner David
Glass promotes Allard Baird to replace him. Thirteen months later, Baird
traded Jermaine
Dye for Neifi Perez, officially making the Royals the laughingstock of baseball
-- a title they retain to this day.
9. December 11, 1991 - The greatest starting pitcher in Royals history, Bret
Saberhagen was traded along with infielder Bill Pecota to the New York Mets
for Gregg Jefferies, Keith Miller, and Kevin McReynolds. Saberhagen never
pitched a full season after the trade and the Royals were left with two players
who
never found a position (Jefferies and Miller) and the biggest malcontent
in franchise history (McReynolds).
8. Following a 1979 season in which White Sox pitcher Ed
Farmer single-handedly gutted the lineup by beaning Al Cowens and Frank White
in one inning, Royals
Owner Ewing Kauffman sacked Manager Whitey Herzog. In four-plus years as
manager, Whitey led the team to three American League West titles and a .574
winning
percentage, highest in team history.
7. October 14, 1976 - Chris Chambliss hits a lead-off homerun to win game
5 of the American League Championship Series 7-6. George Brett's three-run
homer in the top of 8th tied the game at 6-6, before Mark Littell gave up the
game winner. Incidentally, in the top of the 9th, Al Cowens was called out
at second on a force play to end the inning. Replays showed he was safe, which
would have left the bases loaded with Brett up next.
6. October 24, 1983 - four current and former Royals, Willie Wilson, Willie
Aikens, Jerry Martin, and Vida Blue, who was released earlier in the season,
were charged with attempting to purchase cocaine. Each pleaded guilty, served
three months in prison, and were suspended for the entire 1984 season. The
suspension was later reduced to 25 games. Only Wilson remained with the team.
5. October 19, 1980 - With the World Series tied at two
games apiece and the Royals up 3-2 in game 5, Mike Schmidt led off the ninth
inning with a ground
ball single off George Brett's glove. Seldom-used Del Unser then hit a double
under the glove of Willie Aikens scoring Schmidt to tie the game at three.
Two outs later, little Manny Trillo dribbled a grounder up the middle, which
deflected off Dan Quisenberry's glove for a single, scoring Unser. Philly
reliever Tug McGraw walked three in the 9th, but the Royals fail to score.
The Phillies
went on to take the series 4-2..
4. June
25, 1975 - Manager Jack McKeon allowed Royals phenom Steve Busby to pitch twelve
innings in a game against the Angels. Busby threw a remarkable
203 pitches in facing 51 batters. A Frank White grand slam in the 12th gave
Busby the victory, but it would be one of the last of his career. Before that
outing, Busby was the brightest star of his generation, throwing no-hitters
in each of his first two major league seasons and racking up 59 wins at the
age of 25. Over the next five seasons, Busby won only 11 more times.
3. October 9, 1977 - The Royals lead the Yankees 3-2 in the deciding game of
the American League Championship Series. Inexplicably, Manager Whitey Herzog
calls on starter Dennis Leonard to open the 9th inning. Leonard gave up a single
to Paul Blair and a walk to pinch-hitter Roy White. Herzog brought in Larry
Gura, who allowed a single to Mickey Rivers, scoring White to tie the game.
The Yankees went on to beat the Royals 5-3 to steal another trip to the World
Series.
2. July 16, 1986 - Dick Howser is diagnosed with a brain tumor during the All-Star
Break. He attempts a comeback the following spring, but eventually succumbs
to the tumor and dies in June of 1987. The Royals have never truly recovered
from Howser's death.
1. August 1, 1993 - Ewing Kauffman dies of bone cancer at the age of 76. Without
Kauffman, Kansas City might never have won a team following the A's departure
in 1968. His death left the club rudderless, a seemingly perpetual state now
that David Glass has assumed control.
June 26th: Nothing spectacular happened today, except the Royals officially became the worst team in baseball again after being swept back to back on the road by the best team in baseball (Chisox) and the formerly worst team in baseball (Colorado Rockies). Getting swept in Colorado was especially distressing, as they play guys who suck so bad they couldn't even stick with the Royals (Desi Relaford & Jay Witasek). Also, Buddy Bell used to manage Colorado, so getting swept by his old team must have hurt on top of everything else. Royals are 25 games back and it's not even the all star break yet. Mike Sweeney, the 11-million dollar man, is back on the DL again with a strained wrist. Rookie Aussie Justin Huber brought up to play first. Other DL-list favorite Jeremy Affeldt is also back on the DL. Jimmy Gobble brought back up to be a bridge guy in the bullpen. Another wasted season continues to suck right along. Chefs start training camp in three weeks. Then the Royals won't even make the front page of the KC Star's sports section.
June 7th: After sweeping the Yankees, the Royals fell back to earth as their old selves, losing two of three to Texas, including a 14-1 ass kicking on Jose "Lima Time" Lima, and a 8-1 ass kicking on Zack Greinke. Neither one of these guys have pitched worth spit this year. Lima is 0-5 in 12 starts with a 8.39 ERA and has given up 17 dingers, tops in the AL. Greinke is 1-7 with a 4.91 ERA, his only win is against the Yankees. The final game against Texas was especially ugly; as in the ninth Ranger reliever Francisco Cordero hit Royal Rookie Outfielder Shane Costa in the back with a pitch, then struck out the side. After striking out the last batter, Cordero walked straight towards the KC dugout and grabbed his dick. Charming, especially since Sunday's game was a children's "Build a Teddy Bear Day" promotion, and there was about 15,000 kids in the stands. Both dugouts emptied, but since the game was over, everybody just went home. Manager Bell was pissed, and hopefully the Royals will remember this puke next time we play Texas in August and make him pay. Tonight it's back to interleague play with a three game set in San Francisco. Royals are 4-2 under Bell so far, but are still 21 games behind the White Sox. Ouch. KC had the second pick in the MLB draft today and took Alex Gordon, third baseman from Nebraska. He's supposed to be a stud, although we already have Mark Teahan up with the big club and Billy Butler in the minors, both third basemen. I guess if Gordon can hit, they'll find a position for him.
June 4th: The Royals return home to KC on Memorial Day 20 games behind the White Sox. Allard Baird whacks hitting coach Jeff Pentland, and hires Buddy Bell as the new KC Manager. Most KC fans were underwhelmed, as Bell had previously managed in Colorado and Detroit, and has a losing record as a manager (345-462, .428 pct). Bell has never been in a post season game, either as a player or as a manager. He seems to be a Bob Boone re-tread, except with no post season experience. To top it all off, the Yankees come to town. Expecting the usual disaster, the Royals amazingly sweep the Yanks, much to the displeasure of the NY Media and Boss George. After all, the Yankees out-spend the Royals by at least six to one. The three game sweep is the first time the Royals have swept the Yanks in KC since 1990, and is the team's first sweep in 78 straight series. The Royals managed to win a squeaker in the first game of the weekend series against Texas 2-1, for their fourth straight win, the longest winning streak of the year. Buddy Bell is undefeated. Royals still have the worst record in the majors and trail Chicago by 19 games.
May 28th: "I continue to be utterly amazed at the depth, breadth and complexity of the Royals ineptitude. They create a masterpiece of failure each game, incorporating unexpected and inventive new ways to fail. It's truly artistic, unique and completely and utterly revolting. What distinguishes this troupe of miscreants from your garden variety piss poor baseball club? Consistency. Creativity. Shock and Awe. For example, in last evening's effort against the Los Angeles Anaheim Orange County Greater Southern California Metroplex Angels, the Royals managed to seemingly break away, generating a four run rally in the top of the ninth to build a five run lead, 8 to 3; needing only three outs to secure a win. But in the true dance of horror that is failure art, they once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by starting the inning with a walk, and subsequently giving up a bloop single, then an error, then another bloop single, then a botched double play ball for yet another error, then another hit, and within the blink of an eye the contest is tied. Five runs on three hits. Then extra innings are in order. In true masterpiece fashion, the Royals meekly make three quick and quiet outs. Then the Angels come to bat, and subsequently deposit Mike "Wild Thing" MacDougal's offering about 450 feet from home plate over the fence in dead center field, handing the Royals a delicious 9 to 8 soul crushing hell on earth style loss.The stench of losing, the utter despair and hopelessness is unparalleled. Impeccably bad. Pants wetting at its zenith. Truly unmitigated wretchedness at its absolute pinnacle. BRAVO!! The awfulness is so profound, mere words can hardly do justice.I salute your beautiful, horrible loathsome orgy of failure. Sincerely,Leonard Pinth Garnell"
The Good News: John Buck is showing signs of coming out of his hitting coma. He's actually crossed over the Mendoza line and is now hitting .210 with four homers. He's struck out 33 times and only walked eight times, so that plate discipline thing still needs some work. Captian Mike Sweeney has his average up to .312, and if he stays healthy (and that's a big IF) could be the Royals lone All-Star...if he isn't traded to Texas, or Anaheim, or Boston, or Atlanta, or wherever. Junior High School phenom Leo Nunez has pitched well out of the bullpen with a 1.86 ERA, 7 Ks and no walks. That's amazing for a thirteen year old kid! The Bad News: Team's current record is 13-35, .271 pct, twenty games behind Chicago. That's the fewest wins, most losses and lowest winning percentage in the majors. The bumblers in blue have lost 13 of their last 14 road games. Damn, that's hard to do! Two Royal starting pitchers have yet to win a game. Jose "Lima Time" Lima is 0-4 with a 8.13 ERA and has given up a league leading 15 home runs. At least his wife has major hootage! Zack "When Do I Qualify For Free Agency?" Greinke is 0-6 with a 4.13 ERA. His record is a by-product of terrible run support. In spring training there was a big controversy over who would be the Royals DH. Should it be Ken "Grimace" Harvey or Calvin "Pickles" Pickering? It doesn't matter, they're the same guy. And neither is on the club right now. Grimace has a bad back and is on the DL with his .222 average with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. Pickles is in Omaha, being sent down in April with a .148 average with 3 walks and 14 strikeouts. The Royals have been swept in half of their season series this year, most recently being swept at Texas. They avoided being swept by our old I-70 Series pals the St. Louis Cardinals. Royals lost the first two games by one run each time. The final Sunday game I was in the "Crown Seats" behind home plate. I got a free ticket from my good pal Eric. Man, those seats cost $170 each and they wait on you like....well...like you're rich or something. We were in the second row right behind home plate. Sitting right in front of us was four Chiefs players including quarterback Trent Green. The Royals won in convincing fashion, and I could feel Daddy Don Denkinger's aura permeating the festivities.This is the first Royals game I attended this year and I'm sure this will be the high water mark of this otherwise putrid season. Still no choice has been made on a permanent manager. Names being rumored are: Jerry Manuel, Art Howe, Terry Collins, Buddy Bell and interim manager Bob Schaefer.
May 12th: We believe....Tony "Chico Esquela" Peña has left the building! May 10th game vs. Toronto was the pressure that popped the cork for Chico. That, and the fact that he's being subpoenaed in Clay County to testify in a messy divorce case. Chico was allegedly boinking the neighbor's wife. Messy Messy Messy. Tony didn't even say adios to his players. He packed his bag and boogied at 4AM for the Dominican Republic. The next day was a day game in which the boys in blue puked up a 9 run effort to lose 12-9 and be swept yet again. That's being swept 21 straight times since the last time the Royals swept another team. Royals are 17 games back and playing .235 butt ugly baseball! Bench coach Bob Schaefer takes over as interim manager. Names being tossed about as possible replacements include crusty yet benign Larry Bowa; fossils like Whitey Herzog, Art Howe and Jim Leyland; former Royals Mike "Spanky" MacFarlane, Hal "Throw the Phone" McRae, Bud "The Arsonist" Black,and Frank "Academy" White. You'd have to be nuts to want this job. My friend Duane said Peña was the perfect Wal-Mart employee: Green Card, questionable English, working for peanuts and quit unexpectedly with no notice. Stay tuned...
May 1st: Thank goodness the month of April is over. The Royals end up at 7-18, 11 games back of Chicago, and that's AFTER breaking a nine game losing streak by winning two straight on the road in Cleveland to win their first series of the year. That's after their first ever 0-6 home stand and getting shut out for the first time this year in Cleveland by C.C. Sebathia.The Good News: Last year's Royals All Star Ken Harvey was brought back up from Omaha to replace the anemic Calvin "Pickles" Pickering, who with 27 AB's had one dinger and 14 K's. Harvey hit a grand slam in his third game to help end KC's nine game losing slide. Sweeney leads the team in homers with four, RBI with 19 and is hitting .293. On the down side he's K'ed 12 times and only walked four times. Today Jose Lima had a no-hitter going into the 5th. Then he puked up a five run cushion, giving Cleveland five runs to tie and earning another no decision. Lima is 0-2 with a 6.40 ERA. Bautista leads the starters in wins -he's 2-1 with a 4.55 ERA- and he leads the starters in strikeouts with 23. Relief pitcher Andy Sisco is doing very well for a Rule Five draft guy. He's got a 1.00 era after pitching 18 innings in 12 games, 20 K's and only seven walks. The Bad News: There's been so much bad stuff over the past two weeks I feel like I'm turning into the Leonard Pinth Garnell of baseball.The Royals have been so pitifully wretched, it's a thing of abhorrent beauty. In one month of baseball, they're already eleven games out of first behind the White Sox. This is following a 16 game stretch of going 2-14. At the end of April they are officially the worst team in the major leagues. We're number one at being number two! Two relievers have already won free rides up I-29 to Omaha with Pickles: Nate Field with a 9.45 ERA, and Shawn Camp with a 12.15 ERA. 2nd baseman Ruben Gotay broke a zip for 17 streak today, to raise his batting average to .211. Fill in 3rd baseman Tony Graffanino is hitting a scorching .206. Royals catching corps Big Al Castillo and John "It Stops Here" Buck are hitting .190 and .194 respectively. Coming into the Cleveland series, the Royals were hitting .283 on the road and .214 at home. Go figure. Some local radio wanks are already calling for Tony "Chico Esquela" Peña and Allard "Youth Movement" Baird's collective heads. It seems to me if either gets fired, then hired by another club, it's an instant promotion! Other scuttlebutt has the Glass family moving the Royal's Wal-Mart Super Center to Las Vegas in three years, where family values reign supreme.
April 18th: Royals lost to Cleveland in first of three at home, 5-1. Royals now are now tied with Tampa Bay for the worst record in the American League, and are the farthest out of first place in the American League at five games back. This is the same team that lost 104 games last year and cut $11 million in payroll this year, to make things mo bettah. They're now 1-6 in the first homestand and have scored more than two runs only once in the seven games while batting .202 as a team. That's pathetic. The Good News: Not much. Sweeney is at .320, Terrence Long at .313. Starting pitching has been fairly decent, but bullpen has been dismal. The Bad News: Two players are already on the DL: Mark Tehan and Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt especially can't seem to stay healthy more than a week or two in any given year. In 13 games starting catcher John Buck is hitting .143 with no homers and no RBI's. You can see why they gave away 20,000 of his batting jersey's last Saturday. Because he's a team leader. Yep. He's the perfect poster child for this bunch of pathetic losers. We're not even out of the third week of the season and this club already has the worst record in the American League. Looks like another long long year.
April 14th: Royals swept in their home opening series with Seattle, getting whacked 10-2 in the final game. Royals have already lost twice as many games as they've won. Detroit comes in next. Saturday will be interesting. It's John Buck batting jersey day. Buck is batting .138 as the Royals starting catcher. What a pathetic role model for a major fan giveaway. Unbelievable.
April 11th: Royals home opener vs. Seattle. 41,788 turn out, which is the best attendance ever for a home opener, and the third biggest regular season crowd in team history. My pal Gary and I didn't go this year. It's the first home opener I've missed in probably twenty years. Royals wouldn't sell Gary tickets via mail, and that pissed him off after buying them for so many years in a row. So we didn't go. Probably a good thing, as it was also the most lopsided home opening loss in team history. The boys in blue gave up seven runs in the eighth inning to lose 8-2. Up to that point, the Royals had played pretty decent. Runelvys Hernandez went into the eighth inning, having struck out four and walked three. He gave up a two run dinger. In comes Nate Field from the bullpen to immediately puke up four runs to inflate his ERA to 11.25. He may be hearing I-29 and a condo in Omaha calling his name. The loss made for weird bookends, as the Royals lost their very first game of the year in Detroit, 11-2; so the combo of that loss and the home opening loss were the two worst ever on both important days in Royals history. The Good News: Four regular starting guys are hitting over .300: Gotay, Sweeney, Long and Graffanino. Long has a five game hitting streak. Runelvys looks like he's going to be a real battler on the hill if he can stay healthy. I love his attitude. He's a fighter, and that's what this team needs, badly. The Bad News: At 3-4, the Royals are tied for the worst record in the American League and being furthest out of first by two games. Who are they tied with? The YANKEES! A HA HA HA HA!!!!! We have to find little tiny rays sunshine whenever possible. Catcher John Buck is hitting .136 and is zip for his last fifteen ABs. Other Stuff: For the first time in Royals radio history, there will be no pre-game show with the manager. Tony "Chico Esquela" Peña's English is so bad, nobody can understand a goddamn word he says. Also there's some scuttlebutt that the Royals Radio Network couldn't find a sponsor. Who would want to pay to listen to that crap once the team is twenty games out at the All Star break? Home stand with Seattle ends during midweek, then in come the Tiger Kitties for the weekend. We may never see .500 again.
April 9th: Royals head to Anaheim to play the Los Angeles used to be Anaheim used to be California Angels. How are they going to get all that across their uniforms? Opening game of the series saw first major league win for Denny Bautista, 6-2. He threw great, pitched eight innings, gave up one run on only three hits and struck out eight. Affeldt closed in the ninth and didn't look too sharp, giving up the second run in one inning of work. Royals looked pretty decent on offense, pulling off a suicide squeeze with Tony Graffanino. Very cool. It was one of the most enjoyable Royals games to watch in a very long time. Good pitching, fun offense.
April 4th, 2005 Opening Day: This year the boys in blue opened on the road in Detroit. Everyone was expecting ice, snow, freezing temps. But as luck and global warming would have it, Detroit was sunny and 70 degrees. Too bad the sun wasn't shining for the Royals, as they were handed their worst opening day loss ever, 11-2. Jose "Lima Time" Lima got shelled, Tiger DH Dmitri Young had three dingers. Next day Runelvys Hernandez won his first start 7-2, going seven innings and only giving up five singles. This after being sidelined nineteen months following Tommy John surgery. In the rubber game Zack Greinke got hit on the pitching arm with a line drive in the third inning of his first outing. Nothing broken, but the Royals went on to lose 7-3 to drop their first road series.
Want to re-live the searing pain of the last three Royals seasons? OK Sparky, you asked for it!
