tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31299040043346360552009-07-05T22:22:37.472-05:00...where we need a break.Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-76420066337072625442009-07-02T18:12:00.003-05:002009-07-02T18:18:06.388-05:00

Well, it’s sure been an interesting day. I’ve fielded interview requests from national media and inspired a Twitterati revolution, all while seeing 20 patients and conducting a staff meeting at the office. Thank God it’s a holiday weekend. Thanks to my friends at 810 WHB, it appears that cooler heads have prevailed. The Royals have admitted that their threats to force other radio shows to

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-65343047653204136452009-07-02T11:39:00.003-05:002009-07-02T15:09:25.388-05:00

Whew. As those of you who follow me on twitter (@jazayerli) know, the Royals are PISSED OFF at me right now. Let’s just say you won’t hear anyone from the front office on my radio show anytime soon. I confess to being surprised that after years of being critical of the Royals when criticism was warranted – which, as their win-loss record shows, is most of the time – my last post should

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-21302337518505618422009-06-24T23:49:00.002-05:002009-06-25T00:40:12.910-05:00

Among the many things that have made the Royals’ long and almost uninterrupted stretch of futility even more exasperating is that it has occurred under the watch of so many different people. Since 1995, when the Royals began their stretch of 13 losing seasons in 14 years (soon to be 14 in 15), the Royals have operated under three different general managers; five different full-time managers; and

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-15542441243522658512009-06-21T23:21:00.002-05:002009-06-22T00:10:07.786-05:00

It just keeps getting darker. Maybe Disgruntled Reds Fan Caller was right. After bashing Cincinnati in three straight, and after Gil Meche threw a brilliant shutout (along with 132 pitches in sultry conditions) against Arizona on Tuesday night, the Royals looked like they were once again using NL competition as a springboard that would rebound their record towards .500. Then they lost, 12-5

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-81340337346862062202009-06-18T18:06:00.002-05:002009-06-19T11:13:39.246-05:00

With Luke Hochevar set to take the mound tonight, it’s a good time to ask, just how significant was his performance last Friday? It was significant, obviously, in the sense that it was the best start of his career by far – his first complete game, and his game score of 79 was 12 points higher than his previous career high (last July 11th against Seattle.) This was the Hochevar in the catalog

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-33316248071757037282009-06-16T23:53:00.002-05:002009-06-17T00:00:36.596-05:00

If you haven’t listened to this week’s show, please do so. Will Leitch stayed out of the range of bicycles only long enough to join us for 20 minutes, but we covered more material than you’d expect to hear in an hour-long show. Leitch is, apparently, one of the few men in American who talks faster than I do. We also had our first disgruntled caller of the year, as a Cincinnati Reds fan took

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-66708764188086566522009-06-12T12:16:00.004-05:002009-06-12T12:23:07.000-05:00

Stage 1: Denial “Let’s take a deep breath, everyone. Good teams lose six games in a row. The difference is they also win six games in a row.” “So don’t panic. This is the AL Central, where the Royals can lose six games in a row in mid-May and still hold on to a share of first place.” Stage 2: Anger “I realize that pride goeth before a fall, but this is ridiculous.” “Momentum

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-48493691568405283402009-06-10T13:18:00.003-05:002009-06-10T13:34:08.385-05:00

As those of you who follow me on Twitter (@jazayerli) know, my initial reaction to the Aaron Crow was, shall we say, less than enthusiastic. This wasn’t a reflection on Crow so much as it was a reflection on Grant Green, who thanks to the Pirates’ late decision to go cheap yet again and select Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez – probably the 20th-best player in the draft – at #4, the tumblers

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-16268874655722098652009-06-08T23:59:00.002-05:002009-06-09T00:44:56.689-05:00

I was hoping to do my usual long-winded draft preview, but time constraints this year force me to keep this rather short (well, by my standards). Given my complete lack of expertise on this subject, that’s probably for the best. Besides, if you want to get an expert opinion on the draft, I recommend you download the podcast of tonight’s episode, where you can listen to Kevin Goldstein break

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-43648422978664885382009-06-06T23:57:00.003-05:002009-06-07T01:44:28.354-05:00

Baseball is a funny game. The day after Zack Greinke channels his 2005 form en route to giving up seven runs in five innings, hurtling the Royals ever deeper into the bottomless pit they fell into four weeks ago, the Royals have close to a perfect day. The day certainly had a perfect start, when Dayton Moore decided that Horacio Ramirez’s contract was less unpalatable than his performance, and

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-82205799868369662982009-06-03T18:16:00.000-05:002009-06-03T18:17:07.524-05:00

Come with me, if you don’t mind, on a tour of recent history. May 21st: Zack Greinke allows two runs in six innings, departing the game with a slender 3-2 lead against the Indians. Horacio Ramirez, who comes into the game with a sparkling 5.84 ERA (his lowest at any point this season), starts the top of the seventh. He allows a leadoff single, and after a bunt and a groundout, surrenders

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-36925899919303171392009-06-01T00:19:00.001-05:002009-06-01T00:19:10.208-05:00

Alright, the intervention didn’t work. Time to call in Father Merrin. I’m writing this from the American Eagle flight back to Chicago, a flight that I came precariously close to being bumped from. So I’m calling the fact that I made the flight home a win. It’s pretty much my only victory of the day. We’ll get to the game later; I figure some of you will want my impressions of the park

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-75503269643394067702009-05-30T22:35:00.001-05:002009-05-30T22:38:19.043-05:00

I think it’s time I witness this carnage for myself. In a plan that was hatched late Thursday night, agreed to by exasperated wives on Friday afternoon, and finalized on Saturday morning, I am booked on a flight to Kansas City early Sunday morning with my friend Eiman and his ten-year-old son Yusuf. (Tragically, both father and son are White Sox fans. I can report that, at least judging

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-7703255788927663792009-05-26T23:39:00.003-05:002009-05-27T00:11:08.057-05:00

Well, it’s official now: Zack Greinke is off to the best start to the season by any pitcher since the Royals came into existence. He came into this game needing to allow no more than one earned run (in seven innings or less), or no more than two earned runs (if he went more than seven innings), in order to keep his ERA under 1. That possibility looked to be in danger when he gave up a soft

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-40229016496478005902009-05-24T13:06:00.004-05:002009-05-24T13:18:41.330-05:00

Alright, that’s it, I’m done – no more positive posts the rest of the season. If we’re not losing six games in a row immediately after I write Game On, we’re losing four in a row – the last two by shutout – after I write about the Game of the Year. I realize that pride goeth before a fall, but this is ridiculous. (As an aside: the next time someone talks to you about the importance of “

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-18099105907742976112009-05-20T14:40:00.002-05:002009-05-20T15:00:30.026-05:00

My patients can wait. I don’t know how long it will be before I can write about another game like this one. Now that we’re six weeks into the season, I’ve got a routine down with my kids, whereby I finish storytime with the older two and put them to bed by 9 o’clock, which usually affords me the opportunity to watch the last two or three innings of each game in peace. Last night my work

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-12107734556867243602009-05-19T18:30:00.003-05:002009-05-19T21:47:54.415-05:00

Never a dull moment in Royalsville. This intro was planned in my head ever since the Royals pulled Sunday’s game out, but obviously in light of recent events it may look conciliatory, or even like I’m sucking up. Rest assured that I was only entertained, not intimidated, by the remarks of our Fearless Leader George Brett*. Frankly, I’m a little disappointed that Brett didn’t call me out by

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-63435590028693470992009-05-15T17:33:00.002-05:002009-05-15T17:36:39.914-05:00

I know, I know. It’s all my fault. I knew I was risking some blowback with this article last week. But in my naïvete, I looked at the upcoming weekend series – MGD against a depleted Angels team starting a 30-year-old rookie and a 29-year-old journeyman, with their only legitimate starter going up against The Baseball Jonah – and said, “what could go wrong?” A lot could go wrong. The

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-41667906627944991142009-05-12T18:04:00.002-05:002009-05-12T18:11:05.379-05:00

I guess I should have paid more attention to Will Carroll. Carroll, you might recall, was the one saying “I don’t feel good about this one” when Hillman finally came clean about Joakim Soria’s shoulder even while downplaying the extent of the injury. It turns out that the injury was not something that would clear up with a few days of rest, which opens up a whole ton of questions. Like,

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-24188142369292853642009-05-10T23:59:00.003-05:002009-05-11T01:03:22.394-05:00

On the morning June 6th, 1968, Bob Gibson had a 1.66 ERA. Even in the Year of the Pitcher, this was a perfectly respectable performance, but his record was only 4-5 thanks to poor support from the Cardinals. That day Gibson threw the first of five consecutive complete-game shutouts. Then after surrendering a run the next time out, he threw another shutout, then another complete-game with

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-18322012031653512392009-05-07T17:33:00.002-05:002009-05-07T22:24:47.916-05:00

(Remember to tune in this evening at 7 PM; listen live at 810whb.com. Royals’ Assistant GM Dean Taylor is scheduled to be our guest this evening.) I’ve always felt that for all the advantages that come with having access to a team, in the sense of being a beat writer or a reporter or at least having graduated from J-school, the biggest advantage of my lack of access – of being an outsider –

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-46454089814591036252009-05-06T14:06:00.003-05:002009-05-06T17:15:18.066-05:00

With last night’s win, the Royals’ total of GWWNHWITP (Games We Would Not Have Won In The Past) moves to three in the last four games, and four for the season as a whole (I would add the April 12th game against the Yankees, when the Royals started a three-run rally with two outs in the eighth.) I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m having more and more trouble discounting the way the

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-3446972667595427032009-05-05T00:36:00.002-05:002009-05-05T00:40:04.258-05:00

I’m reasonably certain that when I wake up tomorrow, I will discover that it’s actually April 7th, that the season has yet to begin, and that I just had this really vivid dream about Zack Greinke that I’ll be embarrassed to mention to anyone. Something about six straight wins to start the season, two shutouts, a franchise-record scoreless streak, an SI cover, a first-place team. I know: I have

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-53115155304926802252009-05-03T13:51:00.002-05:002009-05-03T13:57:37.685-05:00

After last night’s epic win, I tweeted, “Looking for another reason to take KC seriously? There's no way we win tonight's game last year...or the year before...or the year before...” Then I read the game recap, where I learned that Zack Greinke was thinking along the exact same lines: “We never win these kinds of games here,” he said. “Along about the seventh or eighth inning, I was thinking, ‘

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129904004334636055.post-53234569921756567232009-04-30T14:41:00.001-05:002009-04-30T14:43:27.163-05:00

I don’t know how often I’ll do one of these, but hey, as long as Zack keeps setting records, I feel obligated to report on them. So while we wait to see if the Royals can pull off a winning April, enjoy these stat nuggets. Some of these you know, some of them you probably don’t. - Zack Greinke is the first pitcher in Royals history to go 5-0 in April. - Greinke is the third pitcher in

Ranyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09713226276377020284noreply@blogger.com28