I could have hot takes on the fact that the Royals swept the Angels starting on Good Friday and ending on Easter, is that a consequence? I mean the Royals were one of the first teams to have a Faith and Family night. Or on the dead Royals bats that need to be revived somehow.
But instead I noticed this amazing hot take that is completely unrivaled:
Sorry but nothing I ever write will be able to cover how amazing this comment is. Sure it could be completely random ramblings of a Facebook dude, or it could be the truth that the Illuminati does not want you to know. Whatever it be you heard it from RoRetc!
Here's hoping the Royals bats catch on fire and we can have some wins to celebrate!
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Saturday, April 15, 2017
2 Game Winning Streak!
The Royals are on a two game winning streak behind the arms of Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy. Lorenzo Cain's birthday celebration, and the return of the Salvy Splash. Basically it took a little while but this is the Royals team that we have came to know and expect.
I mean the Royals now have four starters with a batting average above .200! So things are on the up and up!
I mean the Royals now have four starters with a batting average above .200! So things are on the up and up!
RACE AFTER BALBONI
Salvador Perez 5, needs 32 more to break
Mike Moustakas 4, needs 31 to break
Thanks for reading and here's hoping for a three game winning streak into Easter!
Sunday, April 9, 2017
NO WALKING
If I asked you what would be the worst way to lose a baseball game you may have a long list, because frankly there is no such thing as a good loss. Still if you were composing the list near the top would have to be a losing on a walk-off walk. I mean just looking at the way those words are formed in the English language is enough to turn even the strongest man's stomach.
Nevertheless that was the cruel fate that befell our beloved Royals in Houston today. Houston who for some reason decided to leave the roof closed today, on Palm Sunday! It's as if they did not want God looking down on the bag of tricks that they were going to pull. Am I accusing the Astros of cheating? Not at all. I'm just saying that no one who is not deeply involved in a Fitbit challenge with all their ex-high school classmates cares to walk that much!
I mean seriously! Let's hope that these awful bases loaded walks are a thing of the past for our bullpen. Like New Pepsi and Pepsi and Kendall Jenner it was only an experiment that just did not work out. But again it would not be right to lay all the blame for the loss on the team, alas I thought I could get by without a blog post yesterday. It's like that commercial on FSN Kc where the kid wears the dirty clothes and his mom can only afford to buy the McDouble from McDonalds, so everyone please pray that the Royals can turn at least one double play a game for them. But no this is totally on me guys and I will try and avoid screwing things up in future games.
Nevertheless that was the cruel fate that befell our beloved Royals in Houston today. Houston who for some reason decided to leave the roof closed today, on Palm Sunday! It's as if they did not want God looking down on the bag of tricks that they were going to pull. Am I accusing the Astros of cheating? Not at all. I'm just saying that no one who is not deeply involved in a Fitbit challenge with all their ex-high school classmates cares to walk that much!
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NO MORE WALKS ALLOWED |
I mean seriously! Let's hope that these awful bases loaded walks are a thing of the past for our bullpen. Like New Pepsi and Pepsi and Kendall Jenner it was only an experiment that just did not work out. But again it would not be right to lay all the blame for the loss on the team, alas I thought I could get by without a blog post yesterday. It's like that commercial on FSN Kc where the kid wears the dirty clothes and his mom can only afford to buy the McDouble from McDonalds, so everyone please pray that the Royals can turn at least one double play a game for them. But no this is totally on me guys and I will try and avoid screwing things up in future games.
Still the RACE AFTER BALBONI is heating up:
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The Legend is confident his record will stay |
Salvador Perez 4, need 33 more to break
Mike Moustakas 3, need 32 more to break
Cuthbert/Hosmer/Moss 1, need 36 more to break
So that is something that we can monitor for the rest of the season? Will it happen, is that even possible? Well the Royals won the 2015 World Series so at this point you should realize that every thing in the whole world is possible! That means that [redacted] might still fall in love with me!!!!
Okay, so maybe not EVERYTHING is possible 💔 😢. Okay, okay enough about your favorite perpetually single Royals blogger.
Royals are home tomorrow for the first time in 2017. This should be a fun time, but do plan to get emotional when the team honors ACE before the game.
Also it is worth pointing out that, Joakim Soria, Peter Moylan, and Chris Young are currently the best preforming members of the Royals bullpen.
Also is it time to worry about Matt Strahm yet as he has walked 6 in 1.1 Innings all without recording a strikeout.
These questions and more will all be answered as the season continues.
Friday, April 7, 2017
The first win
Did you light the prayer candles in the 7th
inning like I asked you to last night?
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Where you scrambling to get them all lit and that's why Houston scored a run? |
Because let us all be honest with each
other, things were getting more than a little dicey until the wonderfully
unique hero Peter Moylan arrived along with Travis Wood to save the day and
eventually lead to the Royals first win of the 2017 season. I mean, I know what you are thinking this guy has been out of the game for so long he doesn't know how Royals blogs even work anymore. Yet somebody lit the candles which stopped the 'Stros and not only that it led to a 3 run 8th inning and a WIN!
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The Royals said "no thanks" and banged out their 1st win of the season! |
I mean we had an amazing
catch from Lorenzo Cain, another Salvy home run and a dominating performance from Jason Vargas. Yet I
still noticed people complaining about Brandon Moss who had three walks in this game, comparing him even to Billy Butler. Quite frankly how anyone could compare anyone to anyone only four games in is anyone's guess; but it happened. I bring up those comparisons so that you can
know that the Butler family recently sold their home in Arizona to someone thatpaid in cash. See for people like me it is hard to imagine having enough money
to buy a house with cash, and that is just talking about the homes under $5,000in Detroit!(Some good deals there friends, but then every Royals game you saw in person would technically be a road game.)
Still if you want to make a little money I am going to say bet on
the Royals, because this is the first win of many more to come this year! And
worst case scenario you lose everything you own, but hey no matter what you were invested in this team and isn't that what really matters?
Thanks for reading!
Current Royals winning streak: 1 Game
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Is this thing on?
I have heard the legend. If you say bad baseball three games
in a row and are completely eviscerated by the 7th inning you will
be visited by the ghosts of Luke Hudson, and Mark Redman, Mike Maroth, and
Hideo Nomo. And maybe just maybe a really old Royals blog that was nothing more
than the late night ramblings of a total loser kid who had nothing better to do
then write about a really bad baseball team and his inability to find love…
Well some things never change because RoRetc is back!
Since this blog has not been relevant in six years I am sure
all the kids are going to just… uh do kid stuff? I do not know, I mean I was
only a 17 year old kid myself when I started this blog and now I’m 25 and have
80% of my Bachelors of Science completed. So I’m no longer relevant in that
regard. But holy **** the Royals won the World Series in 2015! I wrote a lot
about that but never posted here because I am still a baseball fan and thus
incredibly superstitious. But hey all the posts from now on will be written in
Microsoft Word so no more horrific grammar and spelling and enough of this
prelude lets dive in:
Greg Holland is a total stud and it totally sucks that he’s
not still a Royal. Wait can I still say sucks at 25 and not be written off as
irrelevant? Also Wade Davis is kicking butt, and Jorge Soler is so-injured.
Also I’m older than Jorge, is that mother’s basement trope still a thing in
2017 or is that something else that has passed me by? Wow this is getting confusing…
anyone else miss Matt Stairs?
It’s only three games and I have been around long enough to
know that there is still a lot of baseball left, for better or worse. So get
ready for a great season starting tomorrow in Houston, and for goodness sakes
can someone please light a prayer candle for our bullpen just before the start
of the 7th inning? I mean it could not hurt. (For real you better be lighting a prayer candle for the 7th if the game is close)
Also please; because this blog made a point of pointing out
great Royals merch (some people said it was the only good thing I did), please for the love of all things good and pure and holy
and awesome and other adjectives in this world; please buy theme tickets and
acquire this:
Because quite frankly it is the single greatest piece of
Royals merch I have ever seen, and yeah I know it's against the Central dominating Minnesota Twins but maybe we'll get lucky. Plus if you don't you WILL REGRET IT AND IT WILL HAUNT YOU UNTIL DEATH AND EVEN BEYOND probably, but maybe not.
Thanks for reading after all these years, and you did not
even have to donate to a Kickstarter or GoFundMe! How lucky can you be ? I’ll
see you soon with more Royals coverage.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Swept by the Sox, I get mad at you the fans who did nothing wrong
We are all realizing something for the first time. As a lifelong Royals fan I have no idea how to feel about these current events. I mean after making the World Series last year it has somehow spun us into an alternate universe. The Royals twitter has grown so much that I almost feel like an outsider, the long time barren waste land of Royals merch has suddenly blossomed into something of a cash cow merged with a cult. Just a quick look for "Kansas City Royals" on etsy gives you 53 pages of results. That is in sharp contrast to my last Royals Merch post when etsy revealed just 8 pages of Royals merch. And holy Snots the Dog, was my last Merch post really all the way back in January of 2012!?!?!?!?! That is why I started this post because I had originally thought about a new Merch series post because why not. Still anymore it seems with the new influx of fans, like Royals fans have become hipsters.
Does that bother me? Not really. I love the new revenue flowing into Kauffman Stadium and thus the Royals payroll and I love having all the new merch options. But...
Do I find the new stream of casual fans fairly annoying? Why yes I do. But hear me out on why I feel this way.
I have never been a bandwagon fan. I have stuck through the team through some awful awful seasons. So when I know that you did not care at all about the team then but now you are a die hard fan, well that ticks me off. Yeah it felt great becoming America's darlings during last years playoff and World Series run. But guess what? I am a jealous guy. Jump all over the Royals bandwagon, but do not act like you have been here for the long haul when you have not. Yes I am looking at all those people I have seen that like team X but now also like the Royals. I HAVE NEVER liked another team other then the Royals. I mean what seriously is the point of having more then one team? Does that defeat the whole purpose of having a favorite team to begin with? Why does the MLB app give me a chance to select favorite teams? No a fan should have one team, and only one.
But no this bandwagon jumping has much farther reaching consequences then just an influx of fans and lack of seat availability for any given day. (Which I love, I love not being able to get tickets and parking seemingly miles away somewhere in the wastelands beyond Arrowhead. Because that means we have a winning team and that is all that matters.)
No the problems lay with this new breed of fan who whines about stupid crap. Seriously today I saw someone complaining because:
I get it.
We expect to win now.
Which is still a bit of a funny concept for me. And I get about as mad as anyone when we get swept by the ChiSox at home. Especially with Toronto breathing down our necks for best record in the AL and Minnesota still hanging in there even if it is just barely. But seriously after years of losing big time can we just enjoy the games? I am not saying we need to not worry about these three telling losses because they were very unsettling after the Detroit slugfest. But let us not forget to enjoy the ride we are on because as our parents grandparents learned it may not last forever.
But going back to the one main reason why this new fan is fairly annoying is this:
Taken directly from Royals.com. Connect with other single Royals fans. If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know I have been single for a very very very very long time. (Also if you've been reading RoRetc for a long time please accept my apologies for all my awful posts you must have had to read. My sincere condolences.) But with this new breed of Yogis in the outfield (not that there is anything wrong with that.Some Christians say Yoga pants = the devil's favorite clothing piece but I do not buy that. It would probably be this or this.) it gets harder when you go on a date (not that I'd know) and your date does not know Tony Graffanino, Chip Ambres, Ken Harvey, Jose Lima or a single member of the 2004 - 2009 Royals. Well then all you can really do is look up to the sky and say....
Wader, check please!
Thanks for as always for reading, and go Royals!
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Possibly Royals fans hanging out before a game, in mid June maybe? |
Do I find the new stream of casual fans fairly annoying? Why yes I do. But hear me out on why I feel this way.
I have never been a bandwagon fan. I have stuck through the team through some awful awful seasons. So when I know that you did not care at all about the team then but now you are a die hard fan, well that ticks me off. Yeah it felt great becoming America's darlings during last years playoff and World Series run. But guess what? I am a jealous guy. Jump all over the Royals bandwagon, but do not act like you have been here for the long haul when you have not. Yes I am looking at all those people I have seen that like team X but now also like the Royals. I HAVE NEVER liked another team other then the Royals. I mean what seriously is the point of having more then one team? Does that defeat the whole purpose of having a favorite team to begin with? Why does the MLB app give me a chance to select favorite teams? No a fan should have one team, and only one.
But no this bandwagon jumping has much farther reaching consequences then just an influx of fans and lack of seat availability for any given day. (Which I love, I love not being able to get tickets and parking seemingly miles away somewhere in the wastelands beyond Arrowhead. Because that means we have a winning team and that is all that matters.)
No the problems lay with this new breed of fan who whines about stupid crap. Seriously today I saw someone complaining because:
"what kind of a lineup was That for a Labor Day weekend Sunday afternoon sold out game??!! No Hosmer, no Cain, Zob in right, Gordon DHing???? I can understand Gordo but like my buddy said after the game. " I shelled out $500 for my family to watch That lineup"??!!"See! Have we seriously gotten to the point off complaining about a Sunday afternoon lineup? I seriously understanding the grumblings surrounding Cueto's poor outings. He was brought here short term to win and he has done just about everything but so far. But to complain about the Royals lineup today. I mean seriously just look at the lineup from 5 years ago today.
I get it.
We expect to win now.
Which is still a bit of a funny concept for me. And I get about as mad as anyone when we get swept by the ChiSox at home. Especially with Toronto breathing down our necks for best record in the AL and Minnesota still hanging in there even if it is just barely. But seriously after years of losing big time can we just enjoy the games? I am not saying we need to not worry about these three telling losses because they were very unsettling after the Detroit slugfest. But let us not forget to enjoy the ride we are on because as our parents grandparents learned it may not last forever.
But going back to the one main reason why this new fan is fairly annoying is this:
Taken directly from Royals.com. Connect with other single Royals fans. If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know I have been single for a very very very very long time. (Also if you've been reading RoRetc for a long time please accept my apologies for all my awful posts you must have had to read. My sincere condolences.) But with this new breed of Yogis in the outfield (not that there is anything wrong with that.Some Christians say Yoga pants = the devil's favorite clothing piece but I do not buy that. It would probably be this or this.) it gets harder when you go on a date (not that I'd know) and your date does not know Tony Graffanino, Chip Ambres, Ken Harvey, Jose Lima or a single member of the 2004 - 2009 Royals. Well then all you can really do is look up to the sky and say....
Wader, check please!
Thanks for as always for reading, and go Royals!
Friday, April 10, 2015
Paulo Orlando, Brazil, and the Royals
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Brazilian Flag (Wikipedia) |
Before there was Paulo there was two other Brazilians to play at the highest level:
Catcher Yan Gomes and pitcher Andre Rienzo.
What might seem like a relatively non-important fact is really quite amazing. Because in baseball, like with God, there are no coincidences.
Yan Gomes, the Brazillian American who played college ball for Tennessee became the first Brazilian in the majors when he made his debut May 17th 2012 for the Blue Jays. Yan who now catches for the Indians seemingly has no ties to the Royals, but you'd be wrong. Yan Gomes hit his 25th career MLB homerun off of Danny Duffy July 6th of last year. But digging even deeper you would find that Yan is married to Jenna Hammaker, daughter of the Royals 1979 1st round draft pick, Atlee Hammaker. What is more impressive than that? The first Brazillian to ever play MLB married the daughter of a former Royals pitcher. Didn't I tell you there where no coincidences?
Still don't believe me, okay lets look at Andre Rienzo. On the surface he appears to be just another Chicago White Sock, but you would be wrong there. Recall that awful 5-2 Royals loss on August 21st 2013 and you'll see that, that was the night Rienzo won his first game. Becoming the first Braziallian born pitcher to receive a win and the only Brazilian born pitcher to ever beat the Kansas City Royals.
Still none of that has much to do with the speedy Paulo Orlando. No what has to do with Paulo Orlando is an obscure trade that happened on August 9th 2008 that sent reliever "HoRam" Horacio Ramirez to the White Sox for an outfielder who had spent the whole season in High Class A Winston-Salem and allowed the Royals to call up often forgotten pitcher Josh Newman who would go on to pitch in four games for Kc amassing a 7.71 ERA.
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Horacio set into motion the events that would transpire yesterday. (Fox Sports) |
From here time would take it's toll, and eventually people lost track of the trade. Ramirez would be out of the Majors by 2012 and retired after 2013. Josh Newman would be out of baseball by 2010. Yet time would not stop Paulo's dream. A ball in 2009 lead to him to AA in 2010. He would peak as high as AAA Omaha the following year before returning to AA in 2012. 2013 and 2014 both saw him continue to fight it out at Omaha but by now people had for the most part lost interest. In fact just last year South Side Sox in an article describing why the Sox should not fear trading within the division said this:
The Royals, though? That wall fell years ago, as they snapped a 14-year drought by making four trades from 2006 to 2009. Granted, none of those deals were worth remembering for either team:July 24, 2006: Tyler Lumsden and Dan Cortes for Mike MacDougalDec. 16, 2006: Ross Gload for Andrew SiscoAug. 9, 2008: Paulo Orlando for Horacio RamirezNov. 6, 2009: Josh Fields and Chris Getz for Mark Teahen
And although I take strong exception to the fact they think that anyone would not remeber Ross Gload, the fact remains the same. The White Sox had forgotten about the heart and drive of Paulo Orlando. A drive and a dream that was finally realized yesterday afternoon when Paulo went 1 for 3 with a triple and a walk. While one game does not make for something to get to excited about overall, for Paulo Orlando it made all the hard work worth it.
"It might not have looked like it," he said, "but I was nervous. There was a lot of emotions out there for me. Maybe next time I can control my emotions more."
~ Paulo Orlando (Royals.com)
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All smiles (Royals.com) |
After ten years Paulo certainly has something to smile about, and not only him but all who love baseball in Brazil and are proving that soccer is no longer, the only sport.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Mildly recapping the start of the 2015 season
The Royals (1-0) looking to continue to stay hot tonight after terrible Tuesday in which they had a day off. Seriously I cannot stand that. We have to wait all winter for baseball to get here and then boom. After one game you are immediately followed by an off day. I get that the players can probably use the rest after playing the first meaningful game of the season, but c'mon what about us fans? That wait is killer.
But after one game there where some really encouraging signs.
For starters the Royals roughed up the White Sox's new ace former Notre Dame Wide Receiver and ex-Princess Bride hero Jeff Samardzija.
So try to remember that before jumping to any conclusions on whether the plunking of Lorenzo Cain following the Moustakas home run was intentional. It would only stand to reason that someone with a history of violet sports and past movie roles would be prone to occasionally let the situation get the best of him. I mean we are only one game into the season... and oh forget it he plays for the White Sox. Still what was most important about the HBP was the way the rest of the team stood up for Cain from the dugout, which is something the Royals have not always been too keen at doing.
All and all it was a very solid effort in the 10-1 victory. From the three walks drawn by Morales to Alex Rios going 3 for 4 it was a most exciting Opening Day. The only moment of cringe worthiness was when Yordano Ventura fell to the ground with a cramp in his thumb. Definitely something you do not want to see from your ace who just signed a big extension. But luckily it was as they say just a thumb cramp.
Aside from the big victory, the other feel good story was the solid top of the nineth pitched by Ryan Madson. After being out of the big leagues since 2011 it was definitely a cool moment to see (or hear on the radio as I did) all of Ryan's hard work to get back being fulfilled.
Of course to see these rings and the AL Pennet getting raised were also very much feel good stories, many years in the making.
But ultimately the show must go on, and as we get set for tonight's game with Danny Duffy on the hill we can remember the past by voting for the franchise four,
True words of wisdom. However it is just a shame the White Sox will never have the cunning to outsmart the Royals, maybe in the days of Trey Hillman or Buddy Bell, but no one in the world has the smarts of Ned Yost. And certainly you cannot base your hopes on being better than the Royals because that is just something impossible. Enjoy the game and thanks for reading!
But after one game there where some really encouraging signs.
For starters the Royals roughed up the White Sox's new ace former Notre Dame Wide Receiver and ex-Princess Bride hero Jeff Samardzija.
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Forget what you've heard this guy is a baseball player. (USA Today) |
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Before growing a goatee and beard, Jeff played Inigo Montoya in the homeschool cult favorite, The Princess Bride |
All and all it was a very solid effort in the 10-1 victory. From the three walks drawn by Morales to Alex Rios going 3 for 4 it was a most exciting Opening Day. The only moment of cringe worthiness was when Yordano Ventura fell to the ground with a cramp in his thumb. Definitely something you do not want to see from your ace who just signed a big extension. But luckily it was as they say just a thumb cramp.
Aside from the big victory, the other feel good story was the solid top of the nineth pitched by Ryan Madson. After being out of the big leagues since 2011 it was definitely a cool moment to see (or hear on the radio as I did) all of Ryan's hard work to get back being fulfilled.
Of course to see these rings and the AL Pennet getting raised were also very much feel good stories, many years in the making.
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Royals’ 2014 AL championship ring. (JOSTENS)
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article17551247.html#storylink=cpy
|
So as the Royals get ready for tonight's game it is of the utmost importance to let the words of wisdom Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom ring through our heads:
"The Sox have the best hitter on the field in this series. They have the most to lose by resorting to some kind of fake-macho baseball. Being dumber than the Royals doesn’t help you get past a divisional opponent that went to the World Series. Being smarter and better than the Royals, now that helps a lot."
True words of wisdom. However it is just a shame the White Sox will never have the cunning to outsmart the Royals, maybe in the days of Trey Hillman or Buddy Bell, but no one in the world has the smarts of Ned Yost. And certainly you cannot base your hopes on being better than the Royals because that is just something impossible. Enjoy the game and thanks for reading!
Saturday, April 4, 2015
2015 Royals and beyond!
Let us face it, this blog probably has not held much relevance since sometime in 2009. Granted though I was 18 than and all the post show that very cringe worthy fact. However 2015 is a brand new spanking year, and the Kansas City Royals are the defending American League Champions. No back in 2008 I never thought I would ever write that sentence but I just did, and let me tell you it feels great. Are blogs still as important here in 2015 as they where in 2008? Probably not. People have twitter now. Or I guess I should say baseball has twitter. because seriously the best place to watch any baseball game is at the ballpark, however the next best thing is on your front porch drinking a sweet tea and spitting sunflower seeds while summer sun fades and the crackling voice of Denny Matthews comes over the AM dial on an aging radio. After that the next best thing is the same situation, only with an FM dial. But if you don't have that, well then you at the worst should have a TV and a twitter because that is pretty darn fun to.
I am like Brett Farve in a way, I just do not know hen to gracefully call it quits. An obvious sign to anyone reading this who is thinking, "geez a new post from Royals on Radio Etc, I thought that guy was dead or something'. And to be honest I have lost touch with quite a few of the bloggers pantheon who have sense moved out of the basement and into the real world. (Is that even a thing? The real world...) Anyway I now have 31 hours of college complete including an A in English 102 (after a B in English 101) and Microsoft Word so... hopefully these posts are not going to suck as much from here on out.
And you know what? California, Mo is back on the Royals Radio Network map baby...
So here's hoping for another exciting and memorable season of Kansas City Royals baseball.
And I think I'm going to bring the sexy back to Royals blogging in 2015.
As always thanks for reading and Go Royals!
I am like Brett Farve in a way, I just do not know hen to gracefully call it quits. An obvious sign to anyone reading this who is thinking, "geez a new post from Royals on Radio Etc, I thought that guy was dead or something'. And to be honest I have lost touch with quite a few of the bloggers pantheon who have sense moved out of the basement and into the real world. (Is that even a thing? The real world...) Anyway I now have 31 hours of college complete including an A in English 102 (after a B in English 101) and Microsoft Word so... hopefully these posts are not going to suck as much from here on out.
And you know what? California, Mo is back on the Royals Radio Network map baby...
So here's hoping for another exciting and memorable season of Kansas City Royals baseball.
And I think I'm going to bring the sexy back to Royals blogging in 2015.
As always thanks for reading and Go Royals!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Because It's not everyday your dreams come true
Not everyone can trace back to the moment they first became
a fan. For me though it had to be when I was 6 or possible 7. That’s when I received
to pair of elastic shorts from a garage sale. One was an awful red with an
ornate StL thing, the other was blue with a KcR inside of a crown.
With someone else’s outgrown garage sale junk I would forever be a Royals fan.
With someone else’s outgrown garage sale junk I would forever be a Royals fan.
It wasn’t easy really and for the most part I had no clue
what was going on. Being surrounded by Cardinals fans it was no walk in the
park being a Royals fan especially when you have no ties to Kansas City. In fact
one reason I think I never rooted for the Chiefs was because everyone was a Cardinals
and Chiefs fan. Like what’s up with that? Yeah as I said earlier I cannot stand
the color red. You better believe as the heat of the 1998 home run chase I
rooted heavily for Sammy Sosa in his battle against Mark McGwire much to the chagrin
of my classmates. I made a big Sammy Sosa cutout and a tiny McGwire in class,
showing Sosa’s superiority. Yet everyone knows even though I could barely name
any MLB players my heart belonged to the greatest slugger I who had ever lived,
the mighty Jeff King.
In 2002 I got my first real taste of Royals baseball, I had
always rooted for them but never had a way to follow the day to day operations
of the team. That year the local “Christian Tv” station would broadcast RSTN
games on Sunday afternoons. I remember the Royals game being on and seeing Tony
Muser the day I got online and eventually adopted my dog Flash from the Jefferson
City Animal shelter. Oddly enough it was also a Sunday Royals game the day he
got loose and almost attacked some teenagers walking down our road. We moved
from Jeff to California, Mo in the winter of 2002. We had to get rid of my dog
due to the move.
Flash |
But it’s 2003 that would forever alter the course of my
life. As an 11 year old kid I stumbled upon something on my radio. I had always
heard Mike Shannon and his rants on my great grandma’s radio whenever I would
come over. Which was every day since she lived next door to us in Jeff City. I
couldn’t stand Mike Shannon. His macabre ramblings and ungodly fascination with
the home run always struck a nerve with me. Something along the lines of “Ray
Lankford at the plate and he hasn’t homered in 2 at bats, he’s due for a jack
here!” No this was the opposite. A smooth voiced dream who called the games
perfectly. You were there and could feel it. I fell deeply in love with Royals
baseball because of Denny Matthews and Ryan Lefebvre. Occasionally Bob Davis
and Fred White. I fell in love with Tony Pena and the 2003 Royals, clipping out
newspaper clipping after newspaper clipping describing each game. Jose Lima!
God what a beautiful man, no one in the history of the world had ever pitched
as greatly as that man.
Me 2005 |
During this time my grandpa a Cardinals fan decided I the
family should go to a real MLB game. I can still remember him and mom looking
the computer going over possible dates in our basement. The only condition
grandpa had was it had to be a Cardinals game. We could go to a game right
away, but I wanted to go to a Royals game so we had to wait for what seemed
like decades. On June 20th 2003 I went to my 1st MLB
game. It was at Busch Stadium, Matt Morris against the greatest pitcher ever
Jose Lima. I refused my grandpa’s offer
to buy me a Cardinals hat and in something you don’t see any more he bought me
a Royals hat from a vendor inside the stadium. Even though I was just a fat kid
I received a lot of slack from the Cardinals fans around us. Looking at the box
score now I see that several Royals homered that day but I can only remember
one. Ken Harvey. It was the first homerun I ever witnessed live and forever
lives in my heart. The Royals would win the game 10-4. I was in euphoria.
The Royals would go on to acquire such mythical players as
Curtis Leskanic, Rondell White, Paul Abbott, Graeme Lloyd, Al Levine, and Brian
Anderson. Kevin Appier was still pitching. Somehow we just fell short of the
playoffs. It was awful.
In 2004 we would be graced by a crazy Royals team. Featuring
the likes of decrepit old sluggers Juan Gonzalez, Benito Santiago and three of
my all-time favorite Royals Matt Stairs, Tony Graffanino, and Jaime Cerda.
It was also during the Royals 2004 that the Royals Caravan
stopped in California, Mo. It was here at California Ford I would met the
incredible Jaime Cerda, Calvin Pickering, Dennis Leonard, and Ryan Lefebvre. Returning
at 11:10am to Cal’s Thriftway to swipe the poster….
2004 was also the first time I would ever make it to the
oasis that is Kauffman Stadium. I was 12 and it was crazy. I was given those
two tickets by a man from church named Chris. I’m not entirely sure he wasn’t
an angel. He came to our house for a 40 Days of Purpose study group and saw my
Royals flag and ended up giving us four tickets. RIGHT BEHIND HOME PLATE!!!! I
brought my favorite Royals baseball for some reason that day. I had hit it and lost
it in my grandpa’s field for over a month but one day they cut the field and I
found the ball completely unharmed. That was a miracle, and the fact I had
never damaged the Royals logo on the ball by hitting it was also a miracle. And on this day of miracles I met and got the
autograph of the legendary Buck O’Neil!
The only downside was Jimmy Gobble and the Royals lost to Johan Santana after one of my all-time least favorite Royals Ryan Bukvich blew the game. (Santana was on and we never had a chance but someone had to take the blame) And if you are wondering Rudy Seanez is my all-time least favorite Royal, looking back he really was not to terrible but I couldn’t stand the guy.
The only downside was Jimmy Gobble and the Royals lost to Johan Santana after one of my all-time least favorite Royals Ryan Bukvich blew the game. (Santana was on and we never had a chance but someone had to take the blame) And if you are wondering Rudy Seanez is my all-time least favorite Royal, looking back he really was not to terrible but I couldn’t stand the guy.
The next few years were filled with many losses and long
nights listen to Denny Matthews call the game as I lay out on our trampoline
with my brother and sister, or setting on the porch with a glass of mint tea and
a scorecard as the night slowly enveloped the Mid-Missouri sky. It was a time
of highs that to the casual baseball fan didn’t mean a lot but to me each win
was special. Every player was legend just waiting to turn the team around. Yeah
I got slack for being a Royals fan but when the Royals on Radio would come over
the crackling sounds of KRLL 1420 AM California, Mo it was pure nirvana.
And when I wasn’t outside I was in my room following along in front of my radio. I had a ton of tacks and kept my “broadcast” all filled out.
And when I wasn’t outside I was in my room following along in front of my radio. I had a ton of tacks and kept my “broadcast” all filled out.
I even had a magical Royals rally root.
And believe it or not when I would tap it on my clipboard when the Royals desperately needed a rally it actually worked more times than not. And every year I would make a book of players and keep stats.
In 2006 I was 15 and cutting grass. Rather than getting paid
for my work I received stamps from my parents. It started as an idea for a
school assignment to write to a couple MLB players and ask them what glove
company they used and maybe score an autograph if they weren’t too busy.
One man, Jim Thome would put an end to my index card campaign.
I sent him an index card and he sent me this instead of returning the index
card. A DH sending me and signing a card of him with his glove company visible.
It was truly something special. So that summer and the next I spent the year
writing to numerous ballplayers. Sending the most to One Royal Way.
Sometimes a player wouldn’t write back and that was to be expected.
But the only one that ever truly hurt was the one I wanted to get an autograph
for someone else, my sister. Mike Sweeney was her favorite player, once she
cried when some drunk fans in the outfield chanted “Sweeney Sucks”. So I wrote
to the captain and asked if he could please give me an autograph for my sister.
But that autograph never came, even as I received signatures from way bigger
stars. Eventually she stopped caring about baseball and go rid of her Sweeney
stuff. I kept her keychain though to remind myself that faith in the Captain
was unwarranted.
But on a positive note, I also wrote Ryan Lefebvre and got
this amazing card that made my whole month!!!
In 2007 I joined the old Royals Nation proboard that eventually led me to create this blog and the rest is history.
I write all this because I wanted to, I’ve felt the agony numerous
100 loss seasons, and a 19 game losing streak. But I’ve also felt the joy of
Matt Stairs grand slam in the Sonic Slam inning, and Zack Grienke Cy Young. The crushing loss of having KRLL 1420Am drop the Royals on Radio at the start of this season. Yet nothing can compare to the feeling I have
felt today. Never thought in a million years this team would make the World
Series. I write now because I have been afraid to all season, baseball by it's very nature is a superstitious man's game. honestly I didn't write because I was afraid it would mess them up. But I feel safe doing it now that they are in the World Series.
I owe a sincere heartfelt apology to Dayton Moore, Ned Yost,
Rex Hudler and even David Glass. Call me Aaron Thomas because I’m eating Crow
and doubted the process. But never gave up. You’ve got to remember that after
losing all the time and getting picked on by Cardinals* fans and others all the
time you get pretty angry and ready to just win already for Brett’s sake!!! *(Not
the classy ones that run blogs but the ones at your local grocery store or the
ones you find on twitter)
The day the Royals clinched the postseason for the 1st
time in my 23 years on earth I was running sound for a local theatre production
and could barely focus on the play I was so excited.
I so wanted to write a blog post then and again after me and
my brother went to the AL Wildcard game and watched the greatest game I’ve ever
seen in my life from Section 423 Row ZZ. Literally the top of Kauffman Stadium,
perhaps the closet to heaven I have ever been!
But now we are here.
I really want to put into words what this means to me, but
they seem so inadequate. The hours I’ve spent, the cheers I’ve yelled, the anger
I’ve felt and the tears I’ve cried all coming to this moment.
4 Wins away from being World Champions.
I still can’t fully understand it, like perhaps I am in a
coma or possibly dead and this is all a crazy dream. Perhaps Ebola already killed
us all and we just haven’t realized it yet?
I don’t know for sure but I can’t stop
smiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See the Royals are the closet I have ever been to a
relationship, I’ve only ever really fallen for one girl and that’s yet to take
off yet..... So the Royals have always been my “bae” as the kids now in days call it.
It’s been rough, but beautiful, and today every single loss, tear, and moment of
frustration and remorse are all so very worth it.
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My 18th Birthday Cake |
I don’t know if I’m going to
make it to a World Series game, it’s a bucket list thing to see the Royals in a
World Series game so we’ll see. I don’t know if I have an extra $700 or so
dollars, but I do have a kidney, so we’ll see……..
But in the meantime it’s champagne showers and smiles from
ear to ear. I’d be remorse if I didn’t stop to think the many Royals fans who’ve
been there with me the whole way, you guys I can’t believe this is happening!
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Me and my brother after the Royals won the AL Wildcard |
And as I close this for tonight I leave you with a partial list of past
Royals since 2003 that have forever made an impact on our hearts and made us who we are today:
Angel Berroa, Dee Brown, Adrian Brown, Emil Brown, Gookie
Dawkins, David DeJesus, Mike DiFelice, Carlos Febles, Aaron Guiel, Ken Harvey,
Mendy Lopez, Brett Mayne, Joe Randa, Michel Tucker, Miguel Asencio, DJ
Carrasco, Chris George, Jason Grimsley, Runelvys Hernandez, Darrel May, Mike
MacDougal, Kyle Snyder, Brad Voyles, Les Walrond, Kris Wilson, Jose Bautista,
Andres Blanco, Byron Gettis, John Buck, Tony Graffanino, Wilton Gurrero, Aaron
Guiel, Ruben Mateo, Abraham Nunez, Paul Phillips, Desi Releford, Kelly Stinnett,
Mike Tonis, Denny Bautista, Shawn Camp, Nate Field, Matt Kinney, Dennys “Big
Sweat” Reyes, Jimmy Serrano (Was at his MLB debut), Eduardo Villacis, Mike
Wood, john Buck, Mark Teahen, Chip Ambres, Shane Costa, Alberto Castillo, Matt
Diaz, Ruben Gotay, Dennis Hocking, Jon Huber, Terrance Long, Eli Marrero, Joe
McEwing, Jonah Bayliss, Ambiorix Burgos, Chris Demaria, Ryan Jenson, Leo Nunez,
Andrew Sisco, Steve Stemle, Paul Bako, joey Gathright, Esteban German, Mark
Grudzielanek, Jeff Keppinger, Mitch Maier, Kerry Robinson, Angel Sanchez,
Reggie Sanders, Ryan Shealy (We both call August 29th our birthday),
Doug Mientkiewicz, Steve Andrade, Chris Booker, Elmer Dessens, Scott Dohmann,
Brandon Duckworth, Scott Elarton , Seth Etherton, Luke Hudson, Bobby Keppel, Joe
Mays, Joe Nelson, Joel Peralta, Odalis Perez, Mark Redman, Todd Wellemeyer, Craig
Brazell, Fernando Cortez, Jason LaRue, Tony Pena Jr, Jason Smith, John Bale, Ryan
Braun, Kyle Davies, Jorge De la Rosa, Gil Meche, David Riske, Jason Standridge,
Jon Thomson, Kila Ka’aihue, Jose Guillen, Matt Tupman, Jeff Fulchino, Devon
Lowery, Ron Mahay, Neal Musser, Hideo Nomo, Horacio Rameriz, Carlos Rosa, Brett
Tomko, Kip Wells, Yashuhik Yabuta, Robinson Tejeda, Lenny DiNardo, Roman Colon,
Luis Hernandez, Willie Bloomquist, Tug Hulett, Mike Jacobs, Rick Ankiel,
Yuniesky Betancourt, Wilson Betemit, Jason Kendall, Bryan Bullington, Jesse
Chavez, Juan Cruz, Andrew Lerew, Victor Marte, Sean O’Sullivan, Josh Rupe,
Kanekoa Texeria, Phillip Humber, Lucas May, Josh Fields, Matt Treanor, Nate
Adcock, Ramon Ramierez, and many more!
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And that one time Garth Brooks was at Spring Training.... |
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