KC Headline: Five Hour Rain Delay, Royals Win, GEORGE BRETT!

Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie lends a hand in preparing the field after the near five hour rain delay. Guthre started the game and received a no-decision.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT…

Royals 4, Cardinals 2

Where do we begin? Let’s start with this.

Yes, you are reading that right. After an hour long rain delay to start the game and then a four-and-a-half hour rain delay that lasted until a little before 3 a.m., the Royals managed to snap their eight game losing streak in dramatic style. The story of how we got to 3:14 a.m. was nothing short of ridiculous.

First, news broke early in the afternoon that the Royals had demoted hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David to different positions within the organization in the minor leagues. This wasn’t a surprise as Kansas City’s offense has been non-existent for the last three weeks.

What was surprising, stunning really, was who they tabbed to be the interim hitting coach along with Pedro Grifol:

George Brett.

You read that right, George Brett. He of the career 3,154 hits, 317 homers, 1,596 RBI, and .305/.369/.487 slash line. Hall of Famer, Legend, Icon George Howard Brett. Holy crap.

So Ned Yost and Dayton Moore’s attempt to get the Royals out of last place involves bringing in a Hall of Fame player to teach the younger Royals players not just how to hit but how to win. Will the experiment work? Who knows, but this season just got way more interesting.

In the wake of the George Brett move, the Royals set out to try to snap an eight game losing streak against St. Louis rookie starting pitcher Michael Wacha who was making his big league debut. It did not go well for the Royals as Wacha went seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out six and walking none.

Heading into the ninth, down 2-1, it looked like yet another game where Royals pitching would allow three or fewer runs but lose, and drop a ninth straight game in the continuation of an epic tailspin. Then Jeff Francoeur, who had entered the game late in a double switch and, as legend has it, had been sitting next to Brett for a good portion of the game, hit a solo home run to lead off the ninth inning to tie the game at two. It was Frenchy’s first home run since April 10 and the Royals first home run in 59 innings. FIFTY-NINE INNINGS!

Then in a matter of five minutes the flood gates opened in more ways than one. Alex Gordon walked and Alcides Escobar was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. David Lough laid down what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt but Cardinal pitcher Victor Marte rushed a throw in an attempt to get Gordon out at third who ended up being safe. This left the bases loaded for the struggling Eric Hosmer,  who doubled past a drawn in infield and down the right field line to bring in two and give the Royals a 4-2 lead.

Then the rain came. Monsoon rain.

Almost immediately after the tarp was nailed in place we learned that if the game was called, by rule, the game would end after the most recently completed inning – the eighth inning. This would mean the Royals ninth inning comeback would be for not, St. Louis would win the game 2-1 and the Royals would lose their ninth straight. So the longer the rain fell, the more chances increased the Royals would lose a game in which they were leading at the end of play. It would be the most “Royals” loss in history.

It continued to rain for what seemed like 40 days and 40 nights, starting and stopping a few times long enough for the Cardinals grounds crew to start the process of taking off the tarp only to place it back on the infield as the rain started to pick up again.

Midnight came and it was still raining.

1 a.m. came and it was still raining.

2 a.m. came and it was still raining.

It was beginning to look dire for the Royals.

But then a hero emerged from an unlikely place: Umpire and Crew Chief Joe West.

West, who is highly disliked by fans, players, and managers because of his antics on the field and quick trigger to toss players and coaches from games, decided the game wasn’t going to end this way. He waited until nearly 3 a.m. to resume the game even though his umpiring crew would have to drive five hours to Chicago after the conclusion of the game in order to ump a 1:10 p.m. Cubs game on Friday (or at that point, the same day).

Yost and Moore were seen pleading with West once the rain finally stopped to continue the game while the Cardinals grounds crew chief was trying to convince West the field was not in good enough condition to play on. Once West ordered the crew to start preparing the field St. Louis manager Mike Matheny and general manager John Mozeliak wondered around with West to try to convince him to reverse his decision. This while the Cardinals grounds crew took forever to clean up the field in what appeared to be a stalling tactic to either wait for the rain to come back or for Matheny and Mozeliak to change West’s mind about the field conditions.

West wouldn’t give in and was determined to play out the rest of the game. All of the Cardinals plans had failed.

The final six outs of the game were recorded, five ground outs and a fly out, and the Royals finally snapped their eight game losing streak by the final score of 4-2. Louis Coleman got the win and Greg Holland got the save.

This game ultimately means nothing if Kansas City goes into Texas this weekend and gets swept, but this could be a point where we look back and say this is where things turned around. The odds of Kansas City making a playoff run are basically nothing at this point, but salvaging a winning season is still a possibility. Hopefully this experience in St. Louis will help get the Royals back on track.

IN OTHER NEWS…

– #WeirdBaseball (Kings of Kauffman)
– #ApocalypseBaseball (KC Star)
– #ThingsFasterThanCardinalsGroundsCrew (Royals Review)
– #RoyalsRainDelay (Post-Dispatch)

ELSEWHERE AND EVERYWHERE…

– A look at the Chiefs’ opponents. (Arrowhead Addict)
– Alex Smith talks Junior Hemingway, offense. (Arrowhead Addict)
– Baldwin gets sick, offense has a better showing. (Arrowhead Pride)
– AS Roma will be the team the MLS All-Stars play at Sporting Park. (KC Star)

ONE MORE THING…

George Brett on brawls.