The bright side(s).

by self loather on Jul 23, 2009 11:24 AM EDT

1. The Royals still have the sweetest uniforms in the majors, hands down. Royal Blue is, like, the best color ever.

2. As I've mentioned in the comments of some of the other posts, I think this team is more entertaining when they suck, though I obviously don't have anything in my adult life to compare this to. At least the fans are, anyway. As a lifelong New Yorker, I can tell you that we don't want to be Yankee fans. Ever.

3. I bought one of those customized t-shirts on MLB.com a few weeks ago, with Amos Otis' name and number on it. I'm a grown man who spent $30 on a customized t-shirt, and the lettering is really cheap and tacky, and will probably come off the first time I wash it, but the point is that the shirt is the aforementioned and totally awesome Royal Blue.

4. ....

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Comments

I'll add one

The vendors are friendly and polite, and quick to serve. They are potentially innocent victims of this regime, so keep that in mind when you are suffering thru another agonizing defeat at the K

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Jul 23, 2009 11:34 AM EDT reply actions

can you mail a BBQ sandwich to Ontario?

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't care how it tastes

as long as it was made and packaged with the right process

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

And even if it tastes like a turd...

There sure is some nice, new, fancy packaging around it.

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie

by Sweep_the_Leg on Jul 23, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Gates!

That’s totally a bright side. My bad.

Rangers, Royals, Raiders, Knicks...the man loves a winner.

by self loather on Jul 23, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

do they only sell Gates bbq at the new K, or can one get Arthur Bryants?

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Neither

the new vendor has its own BBQ. It’s not either of the above, but it’s pretty good.

Yeah, it was a stupid screen name.

by CentralChamps2009 on Jul 23, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I still can't believe it, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes so........

ehehh…..it is still unbelievable.

At Safeco it is really a lot of fun having Ivars’ seafood, and sushi at the ball park. It’s city specific, sure you gotta grab a hotdog, but it is really great.

That brat place over in Olathe needs to be able to sell its brats (at least) at the park, or it should be as many KC BBQ places that want to vend in the stadium. IT"S KC!!!!

soon to change name to, "The Not So Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt"

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Jul 23, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Was there any truth to the rumor about the vendor and his family member being fired

for badmouthing a Trey decision in front of his wife?

Unless I'm wrong...

by Top Ramen on Jul 23, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

It was an usher

and yes, several other ushers have confirmed this story to me. Supposedly, the comment was made in a normal speaking voice to a long-time season ticket holder, not shouted out loud. (The ushers generally work the same section all year long and often develop friendships with the season ticket holders)

Nobody I talked to seems to know the exact comment – but considering they are Royals employees, I guess you really can’t blame the team for this one.

If it were my decision, unless the comment was intensely personal or something, I might have just given the guy a stern lecture. But then, I’m just a food vendor in need of educating, not somebody who “trusts the process” or “doesn’t have time to educate every one”

Still think this is emblamatic of the extremely thin-skinned nature of the entire organization. If Mrs. Hillman offends so easily, she would be wise to watch from a suite or something, or simply stay home and listen to the lacky, Ryan L. – because it’s not going to get better for her husband anytime soon.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Jul 23, 2009 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 9 recs

and Rec'd!!!!!

soon to change name to, "The Not So Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt"

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Jul 23, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree

he is an employee and should watch it, but if that’s a first-time offense, I dunno. It’s pretty bad.

Totally right on your take.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Mrs Hillman

can go F herself as far as I’m concerned. She’s living high on the hog by the sucking of our lifeblood performed by her husband. Criticism comes with the terrritory.

Fuck This Team. Period.

The General Theory of Royaltivity

by kabrink on Jul 23, 2009 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions

wow

and I agree with your take — probably tell the usher to watch it, but not a dismissal.

Unless I'm wrong...

by Top Ramen on Jul 23, 2009 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions

so, watch yourself L2D

can’t have our favorite peanut vendor getting in trouble for saying the emperor has no clothes.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

and if you do, make sure it isn't because you videotaped Moore getting dressed in his hotel room with a hidden camera

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions

we need a much more embarrassing video of dayton to float around....

once that will give moore no choice but to fire him….

maybe one involving moore AND hillman….now what could it be?

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Jul 24, 2009 12:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Trey giving Dayton the secret massage

by Soria's Unibrow on Jul 24, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Happy ending?

by AxDxMx on Jul 24, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions

The renovated stadium is quite nice

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 23, 2009 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

The Vendors have...

Boulevard Beer !! That should not only be #4, but reasons #4-infinity!!!

soon to change name to, "The Not So Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt"

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Jul 23, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

totally

I went to Busch Stadium III in May to see the Royals embarrassed. It is a nice stadium but only has 3 shitty Bud products available.

Fuck This Team. Period.

The General Theory of Royaltivity

by kabrink on Jul 23, 2009 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions

new busch is not that awesome....

and not that different from any of the other new parks

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Jul 24, 2009 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Zack Greinke channelling vintage Tom Seaver is also "fun"

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions

no kidding

I’ve posted this before, but I grew up a Mets fan and used to feel just as bad for Tom Seaver as I do for Xaq. Great pitcher, no to negative support. I remember seeing Seaver lose a game 1-0, when a teammate dropped a foul pop up on what should have ended the inning and on the next swing, the game winning hit.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I Remember Orlando

Pena cried when he lost his 20th in ’63. He was no Seaver, but no way did he deserve to be in that elite club.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/penaor01.shtml

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 23, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

wow

I know not everyone cares for WAR, but Rally has Pena at 3.7 in 1963. around 2.0 would be an average player.

For perspective, Rally has Meche at 3.8 in 2008.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Jul 23, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

that was a truly awful team

much worse than what we are seeing now in Kansas City

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Hawk, Charlie Lau,

Dick Howser, Tony LaRussa………………..how could that go wrong?

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 23, 2009 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Choo-Choo Coleman behind the plate

pitchers who were like 70 years old
if I remember right, Ron Hunt playing infield
Marvelous Marv Throneberry
oh, there were ways to go wrong my friend

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Hunt Was A

HBP machine!

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 23, 2009 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions

for your reading pleasure

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1963&t=NYN

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Poor Duke Snyder

And Willie followed him. Only Mantle escaped.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 24, 2009 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Willie went to the World Series with the Mets

And that trade, according to Charles Einstein in Willie’s Time, was set up by Horace Stoneham mainly to shore up Mays’ finances, which for various reasons had become sketchy by the early ‘70s, something Stoneham couldn’t do on his own as he was verging on financial difficulties himself.

[Stoneham] was marking time so that we could seek out someone else to guarantee Willie’s future. That someone was two someones — chairman M. Donald Grant and president Joan W. Payson of the New York Mets…

..hear now the case for Stoneham. In the first place, he was doing the one thing Mays had wanted the most: ensuring Willie’s financial future in baseball over the long term. What Stoneham lacked the resources to do, the Mets could do: they guaranteed Mays a ten-year contract, under which they would pay him his existing salary as long as he continued as an active player, then for the balance of the ten years keep him as a coach at $50,000 per year — the highest coaching salary in baseball history.

Einstein goes on to say that Stoneham would have only made that deal with the Mets, because of Mays’ connection with New York.

Maybe there was money in Houston, but Willie Mays in a Houston uniform? No. It had to be New York or nothing.

Also, the Mets Mays joined in 1972 were lightyears removed from the Mets Snider joined in 1963. Well, they were playing their home games on the other side of the East River by then, anyway.

by 2X2L on Jul 24, 2009 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Poor Willie, World

Series ring or not.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 24, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Be that as it may, Willie’s Time is highly recommended. And it’s back in print. Worth seeking out.

by 2X2L on Jul 24, 2009 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions

I watched a lot of Mets games when I was a kid, most of them from 1970 through 1973, and not remembering that particular incident I decided to go looking for it on baseball-reference. I haven’t been able to find it, but that could be because the drop of the popup wasn’t ruled an error. So far I’ve found 6 games in which Seaver gave up the winning run in a 1-0 loss as a Met:

7/14/69, Cubs: Williams singled in Kessinger in the 6th.
9/16/71, Cubs: Pizarro homered in the 8th.
4/17/73, Cubs: Monday homered leading off the 4th.
8/25/73, Giants: Maddox singled in a run in the 1st.
8/30/73, Cardinals: Cruz singled in Brock with 1 out in the 10th
7/17/76, Astros: Cedeno homered in the 1st

I guess the likeliest one of these is 8/30/73, because it’s the only one in which the winning run scored on the last play of the game.

If you can remember more about that game, I can look some more. I’d like to find it.

by 2X2L on Jul 23, 2009 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions

possibly, but I seem to think it was earlier than 1973.

Perhaps the 9/16/71 game. It couldn’t have been th ‘76 game, as I wouldn’t have been watching that game. Let me think about it. I just remember how cranky I was about it.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 23, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions

There were also a handful of other Seaver starts that the Mets lost 1-0, with the game still scoreless when he left. None of them seem any more likely than the ones I listed above, however.

It would probably be more fun to recall a Seaver win anyway. I remember this one pretty well — it featured Seaver’s first career home run, which he hit when he already had a 5-run lead. He got the “silent treatment” when he returned to the bench and threw his helmet before everybody broke up and congratulated him.

by 2X2L on Jul 24, 2009 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Augie Donatelli working the plate

and Rusty Staub playing for the Expos. Ahh, takes me back…

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Jul 24, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Le Grand Orange

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Jul 24, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I second that the fans are more entertaining when they lose

At least around here. Anytime something bad happens in the game I’m pissed for a minute and then excited to read the hilarious posts in the game thread about it. Honestly, I can’t imagine being a Royals fan without this blog anymore. I don’t know how I ever did it before.

by Soria's Unibrow on Jul 23, 2009 12:42 PM EDT reply actions

Good point.

As someone else said, this site is becoming a support group. None of my friends or close family members are Royals fans, so a few years back — when (coincidentally) the Royals also sucked — I felt like I was suffering alone. Now I can share my pain with a bunch of other sarcastic smart asses, which is awesome.

by Black and Gold on Jul 23, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions