If the entire season was thought of as a single game, then the Royals would be in the top of the second right now, with one man out.
Needless to say, they'd be losing.
Still, its just the second inning, and there's plenty of time to make a game of it. Getting back to .500 is probably out of reach (lets get a 3-game winning streak established before we start worrying about that). Ditto for finishing last in the AL Central. Hate to say it, but my prediction of 62-100 isn't looking too bad either.
Segolene Royal, the official French Presidential Candidate of Royals Review
But tonight we look faithfully to Odalis Perez (1-2, 8.64 ERA) to turn things around and snap the current mini-losing streak before it has a chance to get ugly. The Twins counter with Sir Sidney, who might actually be worse.
Sound familiar? It should. Just last week Odie "out-duelled" Ponson in an 11-7 war, which was, quite simply, the most magnificent baseball game I've ever seen. It was like being 15 again and seeing the trailer for Heat and thinking, "damn, Pacino and De Niro, thats so awesome its like indescribable".
So we know the pitching matchup will be tremendous, but what about the lineups? Considering how bizarre the Royals offense has been (the middle of the order not hitting at all, Buck being the best hitter, Shealy hitting 8th, etc) I'd really like to see Bell slot David in the leadoff spot, then draw names for everyone else. That makes about as much sense as anything else at this point. Did you know Bell has already tried 19 batting orders, in 20 games? Thats impressive as hell. And thats with the stability of Pena at the bottom (every damn game) and David leading off 19 times.
We shall remember tonight's rematch for the rest of our lives.
In the meantime, theres the somewhat oddly titled How Much For Your Women? diary to keep you occupied. Or, in heavier matters, balto's Culture of Losing post, which captures how many of us are starting to feel.