Fun fact to know and tell

The Royals are currently 12-12, which isn’t exactly the worst start we’ve ever gotten off to. Interesting fact: we’re 12-0 when we score more than four runs (and obviously 0-12 when we don’t).

Game 4 vs. Minnesota

"He looks like a deranged Easter bunny."

All three of us got to go to the game this time, and we didn’t even have to bundle up. Summer is nearly upon us. We even got some cloud cover, which was fortunate for me because I missed a spot when putting on my sunscreen.

Now all we need is a warm weather win. The game itself was a bit on the “meh” side. The Twins took an early lead. We made an attempt or two to get back into it, but we came up short. No particular player of the game.

The crowd was small, doubtless due in part to Easter obligations elsewhere.

Poor Frenchy

What’s worse: falling victim to one of the most elaborate pranks in baseball history or getting stuck playing for a team called The Chihuahuas?

Game 3 vs. Tampa

Our first night game of the year. In a way it was good that Amy had to miss it, as it got a little chilly. But the game itself was quite good.

Nori Aoki was the star of the first inning, saving an extra-bases hit with a spectacular catch and then hitting a lead-off triple. After that the game quieted down until the late innings.

The big shocker was Omar Infante getting hit hard in the jaw by a pitch. He was knocked flat, and later Ned Yost said he bled considerably. Nothing was broken, and he hasn’t been placed on the DL. But Johnny Giavotella has been recalled from Omaha.

With all due respect to Infante’s injury, the player of the game was Jason Vargas. He pitched eight shut-out innings, leaving in the ninth after giving up a lead-off home run. At that point he was up around 110 pitches. Though I hate to see a guy pushed beyond his limit, it would be really sweet to be able to avoid our bullpen as much as possible this summer.

The new season ticket caps

Game 2 vs. Chicago

Click the photo for a better view

Ah, now this is more like it. Temperatures ten degrees warmer, little wind and plenty of sunshine. So we actually got to see the whole thing.

Which was good, because it was a great game. Bruce Chen was terrific. What a shame Wade Davis blew his lead. Nori Aoki made an awesome catch that saved at least one run. And Salvador Perez broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth with a double that scored Alex Gordon.

I’d like to make some remarks about the new seats, but I think I’m going to hold off until we’ve gotten a bit more used to them.

Opening Day

A festive view of Lot FU

Opening Day is the most peculiar of occasions, an experience sort of like if Christmas Eve was considered the highlight of the holiday season.

Baseball is no doubt underway, but really it started four days ago in Detroit. To be sure, this is the first home game of the year. But then it isn’t like a normal ballgame.

For starters, there’s the parking. I expected a mess, but this was completely insane. The details needn’t be recorded for posterity, because who wants to read a long tale of parking woe in a blog that’s supposed to be about baseball? However, I was disappointed that with the thousands of cars jamming the lots, the stands weren’t full. That’s a lot of people tailgating or milling around in the Fun Zone.

As cold as it was, I can see why anyone who wasn’t inclined to watch the game wouldn’t sit still. It was cloudy, windy and 45 degrees, which may be the lowest temperature we’ve ever experienced at the K. We lasted through both team’s batting orders before beating a hasty retreat to the warmth and comfort of Sensory Experience of Asia.

So really it was like having a ballgame without actually having a ballgame. And that’s sort of okay. Today it was great to be out at the ballpark for the first time this year. Tomorrow it will be great to actually see a game for the first time this year. The day after that we can go back and watch the Opening Day game on TV. By the end of the month we’ll get the first night game, the first game where it’s comfortable enough to keep score, and so on.

That makes the start of the season less like Christmas and more like Hanukkah.

My two cents

Before I start chewing on the menu of choices, I want to profoundly thank the Royals, the Baseball Gods and whomever else might be responsible for the absence of “Sweet Home Alabama” and Toby Keith’s goddamn lynching song. That’s at least two entries from the forbidden list.

Though some of our choices are better than others, overall I’m not disappointed by the list. That said, however, some of this stuff has to go.

Garth Brooks: “Friends In Low Places.”
Problem: This is the problem.

Smashmouth: “All Star”
John Fogerty: “Centerfield”
Tom Petty: “I Won’t Back Down.”
Problem: All these songs seem like they were written specifically to be stadium anthems. I can't wait for “Awesome Catch” by the Dave Matthews Band or “Yay, I Got a Base Hit” by The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Bruce Springsteen: “Born To Run”
Bon Jovi: “Livin’ On A Prayer.”
Neil Diamond: “Sweet Caroline.”
Problem: Aren’t these already somebody else’s sixth inning songs? If not, shouldn’t they be?

Van Morrison: “Brown Eyed Girl”
Problem: “That song is a about buttsex.” – One of the SNL A-holes.

ABBA: “Dancing Queen.”
Gloria Gaynor: “I Will Survive.”
KC & The Sunshine Band: “Get Down Tonight.” (though I’d personally be happy with this one)
Problem: Way too disco for a ballpark full of drunken yahoos to sway back and forth to.

Journey: “Don’t Stop Believing.”
Problem: Glee. That crappy rock musical that came out a couple of years ago. Probably a dozen American Idol auditions. Is there a pattern emerging? Also, isn’t “South Detroit” actually Windsor, Ontario?

The Black Eyed Peas: “I Gotta Feeling.”
Problem: Goin’ downtown, gonna get me some tissue ...

The Beatles: “Kansas City.”
Fats Domino: “Kansas City, Here I Come.”
Problem: Kinda obvious choices. And what will they play at the end of the game?

The Kingsmen: “Louie Louie.”
Problem: Like Gary Glitter, this seems to exist primarily to allow drunks to sing along. As the lyrics are FBI-certified unintelligible, you can make up whatever you want.
A flaw! A law! A blah blah blah blah!
A cow! An owl! This hotdog tastes foul!
LOUIE LOUIE OH NO ME GOTTA GO NOW!

Bob Seger: “Old Time Rock & Roll.”
Problem: When Ken was serving on the Forrestal, one of his shipmates had a tape of SEEGAH! that he played over and over. One night it “accidentally” became the property of Davy Jones.

John Mellencamp: “R.O.C.K. In The USA.”
Problem: F.U.C.K. in the no. And while we’re dealing with Johnny Cougar ...

John Mellencamp: “Small Town.”
Problem: If we want to officially welcome visiting teams and their fans to Crackerville, why not just play “Cotton Eyed Joe”?

Queen: “We Will Rock You.”
Problem: See “Louie Louie.” Also, the best part of the song is the guitar solo, which they’ll never get to.

Johnny Cash: “Ring Of Fire.”
Problem: The first time the Royals load the bases, the song is “Crazy Train” by Ozzy. But they’ve also used this one. If it becomes our sixth inning sing-along, what will we use to mock the pitcher? “We’re the Meatmen and You Suck”? Perhaps we won’t load ’em up often enough for this to be an issue.

Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me.”
Problem: I can’t vote for something I’ve never heard.

Elvis Presley: “ Burning Love”
The Temptations: “My Girl.”
The Beatles: “I Feel Fine.”
The Beatles: “Twist & Shout.”
Kiss: “Rock & Roll All Night.”
Bryan Adams: “Summer of ’69.”
Problem: Just kinda meh.

And just so this isn’t all gloom and doom, I’d be absolutely happy with any of these:

Cab Calloway: “Minnie The Moocher” (the one I’ll actually vote for when voting opens)
Cheap Trick: “I Want You To Want Me.”
Dire Straits: “Walk of Life.”
Prince: “1999.” (in honor of George Brett going to Cooperstown, one of the most awesome baseball experiences I’ve ever had)

Let the debate begin

Smashmouth: “All Star”
Bruce Springsteen: “Born To Run”
Van Morrison: “Brown Eyed Girl”
Elvis Presley: “ Burning Love”
John Fogerty: “Centerfield”
ABBA: “Dancing Queen.”
Journey: “Don’t Stop Believing.”
Garth Brooks: “Friends In Low Places.”
KC & The Sunshine Band: “Get Down Tonight.”
The Beatles: “I Feel Fine.”
The Black Eyed Peas: “I Gotta Feeling.”
 Cheap Trick: “I Want You To Want Me.”
Gloria Gaynor: “I Will Survive.”
The Beatles: “Kansas City.”
Fats Domino: “Kansas City, Here I Come.”
Bon Jovi: “Livin’ On A Prayer.”
The Kingsmen: “Louie Louie.”
Cab Calloway: “Minnie The Moocher”
 The Temptations: “My Girl.”
Bob Seger: “Old Time Rock & Roll.”
John Mellencamp: “R.O.C.K. In The USA.”
Johnny Cash: “Ring Of Fire.”
Kiss: “Rock & Roll All Night.”
John Mellencamp: “Small Town.”
Bryan Adams: “Summer of ’69.”
Neil Diamond: “Sweet Caroline.”
The Beatles: “Twist & Shout.”
Dire Straits: “Walk of Life.”
Queen: “We Will Rock You.”
Tom Petty: “I Won’t Back Down.”
Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me.”
Prince: “1999.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/01/4929981/royals-release-ballot-for-new.html#storylink=cpy

Here we go again

I don’t intend to blog every game we watch on television, but this was Opening Day. We started the season in Detroit. And for the sixth year in a row, we started with a loss.

Verlander seemed to be struggling early on, and we got to him in the fourth. Actually it was more than a little sad to see a guy that talented have a Luke Inning. Things looked good until the bottom of the seventh, when a fading Shields and a less-than-stellar bullpen let the Tigers creep back into it. Then in the bottom of the ninth Yost brought Holland in with the winning run on third. One weak single later, it was over.

I’m sad about the loss, particularly because the number of stranded base runners in the early innings suggested that we’ve still got that problem to work on. But it’s great to have baseball back and fun to watch it on the big screen in reasonable quality (even if somewhat delayed thanks to the blackout rule).

On to the home opener, with supplications to the weather gods begging that the long-range forecast be mistaken about the highs in the lower 50s on Friday.