Around the Kingdom: Jamaal Charles’ ankle, Eric Berry, Ned Yost, Charlie Weis

By John Viril | Sep 15, 2014

Sep 14, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

What a rotten sports day in Kansas City. First, the Chiefs lost a heartbreaker in Denver, falling 24-17 to the Broncos. While it was only the 2nd game of the season, the loss pretty much ends realistic playoff hopes. Since the NFL adopted its current playoff format, only 9 of 100 teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs.

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So much for Sunday’s gritty showing against Denver being a “moral” victory.

Next, the Royals dropped their final game against the Red Sox, losing a 4-game series to a last-place team. Kansas City squandered a 4-0 lead in the second after allowing 8 unanswered runs, highlighted Daniel Nava‘s grand slam against Aaron Crow in the 6th inning. The loss dropped Kansas City to 1.5 games behind the Tigers in the A.L. Central with Detroit’s 6-3 win in Cleveland.

The blow was particularly disturbing since manager Ned Yost let Crow pitch to Nava when the switch hitter was only batting .158 with an OPS of .393 against left handed pitchers. Gosh, and Ned just happened to have a hot, young lefty reliever named Brandon Finnegan that has struck out 5 of the 12 batters he has faced in his career.

Nedster ignored Nava’s platoon split and let Crow pitch to Nava—turning a 4-3 lead into a 7-4 deficit in one blow.

Great move Ned. No wonder you got fired by the Brewers in 2008 with your team in a playoff chase.

The Charlie Weis regime in Lawerence has come to a cross-roads in its 3rd season. After getting demolished 41-3 by the Duke Blue Devils in North Carolina, Weis’ program will need to turn things around quickly before his players, and KU boosters, lose faith.

About the only good news in KC sports comes from Sporting KC, which finally stopped its 4-match skid with a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Arrowhead Addict – About the only good news to come out of Denver was that Jamaal Charles only sprained his ankle:

"X-rays on Jamaal Charles’ ankle have comeback negative and he’s been diagnosed with a sprained ankle according to reports.Should the MRI come clean then Charles is saddled with a sprained ankle which poses a wide range or possibilities. High ankle sprains are the worst sprains because they take so much longer to recover from then the other types of sprains. Avoiding those two words would be a very nice thing to hear later this week"

Arrowhead Addict – Eric Berry also seems to have avoided long-term harm with a sprained ankle:

"Should Berry be able to return and play at close to full capacity then the secondary settles down a bit. The Chiefs have yet to play a full game where all four of their projected starting secondary players have been healthy. Getting that solidified should help the team."

Arrowhead Pride – Andy Reids says he still trusts new K Cairo Santos after 2 misses in 2 games:

"Reid was asked if it was time to bring in competition and he said, “When he settles down he’ll be he kicks it fine, he’s just got to do that. We have trust in him.”"

Kansas City Star – Chiefs are better, but there are no moral victories

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Kings of Kauffman – Royals lose miserable series to last place Boston:

"The Red Sox would tack on another run in the eighth for an 8-4 lead. The Royals loaded the bases in the ninth with two out, yet Ned Yost left his power bats (Billy Butler, Carlos Peguero, Josh Willingham and Raul Ibanez) on the bench, opting instead to go righty-righty with Cain (he of 16 career home runs in five years) facing Edward Mujica."

Rany on the Royals – Before Sunday’s game, Rany writes that maybe batting order doesn’t much matter:

"Lineups matter, but they matter a lot less than most people realize. And as silly as it might be to have Escobar leading off, it’s a lot less silly than letting the shell of Omar Infante’s body bat second night after night. Really, if you moved Escobar from leadoff to the #9 spot, that might be the ideal order of these nine players. That’s kind of a big change – moving a hitter from first to last – but the point is that the lineup isn’t nearly as crazy as it looks at first glance."

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

KUSports.com – Charlie Weis’ tenure at Kansas could be determined by their game against Central Michigan University:

"The start to this season, Weis’ third of a five-year, $12.5 million contract — a bill absorbed mostly by the generosity of deep pockets belonging to some who might feel slighted that Weis never let them close enough for a view into his extremely tight circle — has been so flat as to move up the calendar on decision day regarding the coach’s job security."

SPORTING KC

Reportinz KC – Sporting breaks 4-match skid with 4-0 win over Chivas USA:

"Sporting KC once again looked like the defending MLS Champions in its 4-0 destruction of Chivas USA. Dom Dwyer netted the club’s new season record of 18 goals in the process. It looks like he won’t have any trouble getting into 20 goal territory this season."

There you have it KC—the news Around the Kingdom.

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