Three things about going to a Royals game
Posted on August 9th, 2008 – 11:20 PMBy Howard
A fine night for baseball with the Twins winning and taking over first place again in the AL Central. Delmon goes deep and then doesn’t take any garbage when Zack Greinke hit him during the five-run sixth. Greinke has a suspension pending for his role in last weekend’s White Sox dust-up and I’m willing to believe that he was just stupid enough to be throwing at Delmon in that situation. Delmon did a good job of riling things up and then the Twins did a nice job of keeping things from getting ugly — and making their ultimate answer with a bunch of runs that broke open the game.
But back to baseball in Kansas City.
*First off, they are very tolerant of beach balls here. They were floating all over the park Friday and Saturday night and the blind eye that gets turned was confirmed when a beachball came to rest in the lower-level walkway — and a “Fan Assist” employee lazily kicked it into the back of a fan’s wheelchair. Nobody ever got hurt by a beachball that I know of, and I find them rather low on the list of ballpark distractions.
*People don’t get all hyper about bobbleheads here, either. It was Larry Gura Bobblehead Night and the ’70s and ’80s era Royals pitcher was on hand to autograph the 20,000 that were being given away. From what we could tell, there were enough for everyone who wanted one and you didn’t have to sleep outside the gates to get one. Not hardly. I think people here, while they have a crummy baseball team to follow, have a healthy perspective on the ceramic doohickeys. We may leave our Guraheads along I-35 during the drive home. So if you want one, check a rest area or a drive-thru.
*The funniest thing the Royals do is show recap highlights late in the game that, if you used ‘em to figure out what was happening, the Royals would be undefeated at Kauffman Stadium. You could watch Greinke strike out and Olivo hit a home run, and a myriad of other small accomplishments by the home team. But the game recap offered nothing about anything that went against the Royals. Kind of like Chinese television, in a much more harmless way.
The day threatened rain but the night was a beautiful one and there were many more Twins fans on hand Saturday than Friday. It wasn’t like being in the Dome, but you didn’t have to look far to find your allies. There’s a lot of “Go Twins” stuff in the hotel lobby as I’m writing this.
One final baseball word. I know there’s a lot of Adam Everett skepticism out there, but seeing him in person gives you a sense of the range he has, even though it’s obvious that his arm still isn’t 100 percent. He made a diving stop with two outs in the eighth and almost turned a spectacular force play at second, and then made a very good rangy play to get the final out with a quick and off-balance flip to third.
Everett also smacked a nice hit-and-run single in the second and drew a walk from Greinke that was key to the five-run sixth. I don’t know what his status will be when/if Casilla returns, but I think he’s going to get nothing but better with more work in the field and more at-bats. I can see what the Twins were thinking when they signed him.
And finally: Nice to see the bullpen throw 3 1/3 shutout innings without having to use Nathan, Crain or Guerrier. Booooooooooooooooof!
29 Responses to "Three things about going to a Royals game"
Well Said Howard! Great game overall for twins and their Bullpen.. i was really happy with boofs proformance tonight! Everett Played an overall good game to much surprise. hopefully we can keep it goin tomorrow Afternoon!!
chinese television… love it.
was it just me, or should they have offered the car to greinke after delmon nearly gave it a healthy dent?
By the way, they are the FIRST PLACE Twins again! Can’t spell Twins without Win! Very good night for Boof (I was like what?!? when I saw his line). Hope he can turn it around and give us some good innings down the stretch to keep the bigger guns healthy. Even Everett had a good game - who will surprise us tomorrow?
RE: Beachballs-
It was the same way when I was in KC for the Twins game last year. Sat. afternoon and the beachballs were flying all over the place and no one seemed to mind. One landed in the Royals dugout, and Reggie Sanders picked it up and tried to hit it back into the crowd. I say “tried” because the wind caught it and blew it back onto the field. It was the only one that interrupted the game. He still retrieved it and hit it back into the crowd.
You’d never see that in the dome.
Everett’s range is what I saw in the first few weeks of the season. He must have better instincts than others as to where the ball is going to be hit.
A one year option for defense up the middle is why the Twins signed him. He should still improve as he gets more reps in the field.
He doesn’t hit all that well, but the Twins like that he’s able to take walks and get the bunts down. Take his game on Wed. 1-1, BB, R, RBI, 2 SAC. Seems like the production that the Twins were hoping for despite not always getting hits.
I see him as a situational guy come Sept.
Save the Gura-head for me!
BTW- how many Twins’ fans were there- from TV it seemed the cheers were louder for the Twins than the Royals.
I got to the game early to catch BP and the section of the lot I parked in looked like a football game-day with Twins tailgaiters all over the place.
Howard, not everyone who wanted a Gurahead got one… on my way to the car after the game I came across a young couple that appeared empty-handed. I asked where their bobblehead was and the guy said they “tried twice” to get one but had no luck.
My Gurahead made them happy and I’m happy to report it now has a happy home.
My Gurahead made them happy and I’m happy to report it now has a happy home.
…on eBay. No I kid. 
Crowned seemed like 70/30 Royals, which was fun. It was probably 40/60 when the home fans started clearing out.
ganderson, The Gurahead is your’s. Claim it on your next trip to the Cities.
Hats off to Boof for his performance last night. Loved it, but understand its just all part of the inconsistent Boof. Last night he pitches well, tomorrow he will pitch like doodoo. Hope not, but gotta be realistic. Nothing would tickle me more than Boof becoming a reliable shutdown type reliever. He unquestionably has the stuff. Good fastball, good late breaking curve. He just needs to put it all together on a consistent basis. Here’s hoping he does.
Re Everett: He’s rangy, in part because he plays deep. That was in evidence in the first inning when Avilla hit a weak grounder and beat it out because Everett was late getting to it and hurried his throw. Playing deep works if you have a strong arm and the speed to charge the ball. It’s not particularly effective if you don’t. That said, I loved that play in the hole. Not sure the ump got the call right, but it was a great play.
I hope Greinke’s antics yesterday result in a longer suspension. That was about as obvious as you get: The guy who hits the homer off of you getting plunked. But, as you say, the Twins got the best revenge you can get against him.
Great to see that Boof line aside from the BB’s. If he can have a few outings like that and improve his confidence and attitude I think we potentially solve some bullpen problems. He certainly has the stuff to be a good late inning guy.
am so disappointed in you, Howard. Beach balls are a major distraction when attempting to watch a game — individuals and groups all but hip checking others in their attempt to hit that #)$(#!!!! ball, getting hit by others, getting hit in back of head by balls, etc. Have an almost Pavlovian response now when I hear that “thunk” of one of those demonic items. So disappointed in you.
Howard–maybe time to retract your Adam E love? He errored us right back to second place.
Anne,
Maybe the idiots at the Dome are provoked by the fact they’re doing something that’s been deemed unsavory. There was none of that in Kansas City — that I could see. Just balls being swatted when they came to someone.
ew,
To hold Everett alone responsible for what happened today would be silly. He had many co-conspirators.
cmath,
There’s been a lot of irrational hate generated toward someone who hasn’t been able to show what (I think) he’s capable of doing. It’s not like Everett struck out four times and dropped a key relay throw in the 12th and was late getting to first base (according to the Royals radio crew) on Baker’s error.
Howard:
Agreed–there were plenty of people to blame, but his error was a clear-cut easy play that falls into the “would’ve won the game” category.
How about that Royals radio crew praising the Twins ‘doing the little things’ approach during the first few innings of the game? We can only wish it were true. . .
“There’s been a lot of irrational hate generated toward someone who hasn’t been able to show what (I think) he’s capable of doing. It’s not like Everett struck out four times and dropped a key relay throw in the 12th and was late getting to first base (according to the Royals radio crew) on Baker’s error.”
Howard…talk about irrational hate. I’m extremely disappointed that you would fan these flames again.
I Have a very rational hatred of a noodle-armed .245 career hitter’s skill set. I have no hatred of any specific person. Maybe Everett kicks puppies or boils kittens and I don’t know about it. If that is the case, i hate him as a person, too.
Are you saying all of this rampant Punto hate that’s spewed forth on these blogs is rational? I can’t believe you’re actually saying that. Hate is never rational….and hate directed at a ball player for failure to perform is certainaly not rational by any standard.
dknute,
not saying that at all. punto had a terrible series, but you’re misinterpreting me on that one. all of the “hate” i see in the comments is irrational. so we agree. sorry to get you stirred up there. could well have been my bad for the way i wrote that. sometimes being flippant isn’t the best way to go.
ew,
we were talking about the royals radio crew’s twins love in the car. as the game unfolded, i’ll bet they were taking credit for jinxing ‘em.
Howard
Thanks for clearing that up. I feel better now.
DK
I don’t know Nick Punto, the man. Could be a good guy. Looks like a toolshed and sounds like one when he’s pitching product unit. But could be a good guy. I certainly don’t wish serious harm on him and don’t sit up nights throwing darts at his face on a board or frothing at the mouth about him. But I and many others really are much more famliar than we could ever wish to be with Nick Punto, baseball player and toolbox. And I do hate the that he has a job for the Twins, since I want to see the Twins win and he does nothing to help them do just that. To the contrary. What’s hard to understand about this: It is incredibly frustrating as a fan to watch somebody so clearly, obviously inept get as much playing time as he does because the Twins’ manager is a red-faced fathead who doesn’t begin to display the mental chops to run a baseball team, notwithstanding his obviously invaluable ability to be a Twins-Type Guy and make The Traditional Move from time to time. It is incredibly frustrating as a fan to watch somebody so clearly, obviously inept be on the team at all because the front office is run by a man too stupid to claim Chad Bradford and his 69% groundball rate off waivers when the bullpen is in the state it is and so desperate to prove his worth Carlos Gomez is still playing big league ball. So the “hate” for these decisions (I’m speaking for myself, I suppose, when I make the distinction between decisions and the man — perhaps there are some who actually want to pummel LNP with a crowbar, but I didn’t see much evidence of that [at least from serious posters]), it tends to spill out of those of us who are actually the MOST rational in the first instance: those of us who understand what batted ball data means, what regression to the mean means, the negative run value of sacrifice bunting and when a very talented, very fast, very raw 22 year old center fielder is more-than-ready to hone his craft in AA.
toby,
That’s a fair summary of this weekend, but completely shortsighted looking further backward. Gomez and Punto HAVE contributed to the Twins success often this season and to deny their past contribution only verifies how your anger and hysteria has destroyed your long term memory and evaluation capability.
Yes, Everett’s throw was a critical error. But he also had two critical base hits… which is more than I can say for a couple guys in the heart of the order that are SUPPOSED to be generating some runs. Just sayin… if your studs can’t generate more than 4 runs in 12 innings off of Royals pitching, you deserve what you get. A big L.
After returning to Des Moines from Kansas City for the last two games, I left the Sunday game just shaking my head: How is this team 13 games over .500?
A few things troubled me: Concentration. Nick Punot going to second in the first inning on Saturday night, apparently thinking it was ball four to Mauer. Delmon Young trying to take a walk in the middle innings Sunday when the count had only become 3-2. …
The number of innings a runner was at third base and nobody out and the runner didn’t score, even when the Royals were giving up the run with infielders back. …
Jason Kubel doesn’t seem capable of delivering a key hit in late innings of a close game. I can’t explain it …
Carlos Gomez needs to learn how to shorten his swing. No excuse for getting picked off of second base, either.
I keep thinking, “Geees, maybe the best baseball has yet to be played?” …
Meanwhile, Kansas City has a beautiful ballpark. There’s hardly a bad seat in the ballpark’ the huge center field scoreboard is incredible, with all the detail it provides, the fans are tolerant of the opposition fans. A really wonderful experience. … Thanks, Howard, for the updates.
THE Larry Gura????
Returning from KC after Sunday’s debacle, members of my travel party scored a Larry Gura bobble head from atop the snack machine at the I-35 rest area just south of Owatonna around 11 p.m. Was that yours Howard?
[…] all for now. Day game today. I’ll be there, with a Gurahead for commenter […]
