Royalties & Cardinalate

Time for baseball x 2

It makes little sense, but it has been in the low 70s all week in St. Louis, where a scorching August is the norm - as in any other Midwestern city. As a result, it has been increasingly difficult to settle inside at home for an early evening game. Besides, why not take some time to check out stuff like this? With TiVo, there is no need to arrange your whims and routines around specific game times anyway. Certainly a very cool thing, but it does create a type of sports-fan version of The Twilight Zone. Wednesday’s game began at 6:05 – or about six hours ago. I am still preparing to begin the game and just saw during the pre-game show that because of bad weather Thursday’s game will now be a nooner. Conceivably – and somewhat likely – I will fall asleep very late tonight after the game only to awake to yet another game. Time to get rollin’!

Berroa demoted

The Royals sent Angel Berroa to Class AA Wichita today. He will be replaced by Wrangler SS Andres Blanco, who was recalled. About damn time. Berroa has been a disaster this season, offensively and defensively. His offensive shortcoming have been driving me crazy all year. I wasn't as concerned with his defense but it's obvious that when Berroa struggles with the bat, he carries over to his glove. It seems like he has been making an error a game lately.

Hopefully, the demotion will serve as a wake up call. Perhaps Berroa will rediscover the modicrum of patience he displayed last season that enabled him to win the Rookie of the Year award. Perhaps he will relax and remember how to make the routine play. Routine play, hell. He doesn't make any plays anymore.

And, perhaps most important of all, hopefully the rest of the team will get the message, one that should have been issued about three months ago: shape up or get the fuck out of town.

Royal meltdown

You gotta love it. The Royals parlayed a pair of ninth inning wild pitches and, a throwing error which resulted in two runs scoring when home plate was left uncovered into another ninth-inning loss.

No news there but it sounds like it was quite a scene in the locker room after the game. Mike Sweeney came unhinged and pretty much begged management to trade every player on the team, himself included. Allard Baird gathered Tony Pena and the coaching staff into an office for a 'performance evaluation'.

Huzzah! Celebrate the good times! Things have come unhinged at the K.

AWESOME ANDERSON: Sadly, the ninth-inning meltdowns have overshadowed a couple of pretty good outings by Royals pitchers. Mike Wood tossed seven-plus solid innings on Sunday. Then Brian Anderson put up seven sterling outings tonight, allowing only one unearned run. And this on the heels of his stupifying two-hit shutout of the White Sox last Wednesday. Let's hope some pitching-starved contender has taken notice and Baird can parlay Anderson's two good outings into something useful beyond the dredge that is the remainder of this season.

Anderson's turnaround may be indicative of an overall improvement in the staff since Mike Mason took over as pitching coach from John Cumberland. Don't know. But it sounds like a good topic to probe.