I woke up this morning thinking it was 2012 and Bruce Chen was long gone from the Royals rotation. I wrote this song to try to capture my feelings of appreciation. Don't wait until it's too late.
For the tune, please use this completely un-related and totally dissimilar song.
The Pitching Years
Every Royals rotation
Blames the one before
And all of their generic appearances
Come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner
To all that Bruce holds so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told Chen
In the pitching years
Crumpled printouts from Fangraphs
Filled with imperfect stats
Comps to Bryan Bullington and Kip Wells
Jokes about him being a former Brave
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say he can't sustain it
He says he can beat the odds
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talkin' in defense
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late, when he gets DFAed
To admit he aptly filled that space
So we open up another game thread
Filled with "C'MON CHEN" screams
We don't know why it's funny
Is it kinda racist?
It's the irony that lasts
So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
You might have a new perspective on Chen
On a different date
And if you don't give up on Chen
And don't give in
He may just be O.K.
Say it loud
Say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when Chen's DFAed
To admit that he was kinda ok
I wasn't there that morning
When the Royals released Joe Mays
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught Elarton's spirit
Sometime late last year
When Chen reeled off 5 decent starts in nine chances
I'm sure I heard Runelvys's echo
In Chen's postgame interview
I just wish I could have told Chen, in the pitching years
Say it loud
Say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late
When Chen gets DFAed
To admit that he was kinda ok
Say it loud
Say it clear
Don't give up
Don't give in
Chen is kinda ok