KC Headlines: Blue Friday, Chiefs Open Tonight, Fountain Lady Speaks
By Ben Nielsen
Aug 8, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Bruce Chen (52) throws to first base for the out in the sixth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
ABOUT LAST NIGHT…
Royals 5, Red Sox 1
Okay, this is starting to get crazy. Bruce Chen silenced the best offense in the American League – if not baseball – by simply throwing changeups. Which, as it happens, is also his fastball. Chen is now 2-0 with a 1.14 ERA in his five starts so far this season. More insanity? Opponents are hitting .147 off of Chen in his starts. Beyond insanity? Chen has a 0.63 WHIP as a starter.
Holy crap.
KC has now won 14 of their last 16 games.
Holy crap.
With Texas being idle, the Royals are now within five games (4.5) of the second wild card spot, and 1.5 games behind Cleveland after they were swept by the Tigers.
Holy crap.
Going into the series with Boston, who have the American League’s best record, I would have been completely satisfied with a split, and I’m still good with that. But now with Ervin Santana going tonight and James Shields going on Sunday, one would think the odds of that actually are increasing. I won’t let my mind travel into the land of “series win” but that’s starting to look like a growing possibility, too. I have no idea who this team is anymore.
So, until the Chiefs play an actual meaningful game, every Friday from here on out is Blue Friday. The Royals are in a playoff chase, playing the best team in the American League, and are playing great baseball. Until Chiefs games start carrying equal or more weight, Fridays will be days where blue should cover the town.
SPEAKING of the Chiefs, they open up their preseason schedule tonight in New Orleans. We have a primer here for you as well as several things scheduled for today for you to ready to help make the time between now and kickoff go faster. Between the Royals and Chiefs games tonight, there is a lot of fun stuff going on in KC.
IN OTHER NEWS…
– What to hope for, and when to hope for it. (Kings of Kauffman)
– Royals minor league recap for Thursday. (Kings of Kauffman)
– Someone is not picking KU to finish last in the Big 12. (Bleacher Report)
– Now would be a poor time to ignore the Royals. (Eye on Baseball)
– Fountain Lady talks about her arrest. (KSN.com)
ELSEWHERE AND EVERYWHERE…
– The world needs more Johnny Manziel opinions. Here’s another one from Jason Whitlock.
– How to fix the NHL. Step one: More overtime.
– Luis Ayala caught a home run with his hat. Well done.
– West Virginia is ranking pretty low on this list if you ask me. The Dallas Cowboys were ranked ninth.
ONE MORE THING…
Jason Sudeikis as “Tot’Num’s” manager. Fantastic. “If you try to end a game in a tie in the United State… That might be in Revelations as the cause for the apocalypse.”