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'Twas the night before Christmas, at Royals Review
Not a reader was happy, the forum was blue;
Their tickets to Kauffman were purchased with care,
In hope a contender soon would be there.
But seasons of losing had the fanbase so beat;
The impending summer just smelled of defeat.
Wearing my Beltran shirsey and worn Royals cap,
I had just settled in to call the season a wrap.
Twenty-nine years had passed since a pennant;
The fans began thinking that they'd never get it.
With Glass cutting costs, and Baird making deals,
The Royals seemed forever to be spinning their wheels.
When all of a sudden, the team hired Dayton,
And it seemed they were reaching the end of their waitin';
He promised a team that was homegrown and pesky
But signed Meche and Guillen and got Yuniesky
The team still seemed headed down a losing road,
And to top it off, traded for weak-hitting Ross Gload;
But Dayton was upbeat while fans were still bumming;
He said "not to worry, the draft class is coming!"
The ties to old veterans, he finally did sever,
And built up "The Best Farm System in the History of Whatever,"
And when the hot prospects were ready for more,
They released right-fielder Jeff Francoeur.
Still, Dayton felt, the team needed an ace,
To pull the team close to contend for first place.
James Shields would provide a pitching upgrade;
Dayton called up the Rays and said, "let's make a trade."
They needed a skipper to play small-ball the most,
I knew in a moment they'd hire Ned Yost.
With a team built on defense, pitching wouldn't be hard,
So Ned whistled and yelled out his lineup card.
"Now Esky! Now, Aoki! Now, Lorenzo and Hos!
On, Butler! On, Gordon! Sal, have a quick toss!
Come Omar Infante! Come Mike Moustakas!
With a lineup this potent, they surely won't mock us!"
But mock them they did, for they couldn't hit dingers;
The "Curse of Balboni" is one that still lingers.
Yet with pitching and defense, the team could still win,
They fought for the playoffs and barely snuck in.
Down 7-to-3 to Jon Lester, their pal,
They clawed back to tie it! Then a hit from Big Sal!
The Wild Card was theirs, but more playoffs remained;
The excitement from Kauffman could not be contained.
In the ALDS, Hos and Moose won the game;
All the fly-balls were caught by Lorenzo Cain.
The Angels were swept in a thunderous roar,
The Royals were headed to Baltimore.
They fought through loud crowds and endless hypes,
Of "Seven Nation Army", by the band "The White Stripes";
Again they would sweep, and imprinted their stamp,
They could finally claim to be American League Champs!
In the Fall Classic, the faced San Fran;
And at times, it seemed as if they faced just one man!
Madison Bumgarner, through great talent and luck,
Had won admiration from Fox Sports' Joe Buck.
It came down to Game Seven, and the team never quit,
Down in the ninth, Alex Gordon smacked a hit;
The ball was misplayed! As it rolled towards the wall,
We began to believe - he might touch them all!
He held up at third - some fans assigned blame,
And Sal Perez would soon end the game;
Would he have made it? We'll just have to guess;
Just two runs short of being the best.
'Twas a magical season - such fun to cheer it,
And despite an off-season with critical spirits,
I heard Dayton yell, after heartbreaking losses -
"Merry Christmas to all, and please Trust the Process!"