Inside the Royals locker room

Royals 5, Rangers 3
W-Gobble (1-0), L-Rogers (3-1), S-MacDougal (1)
Royals Season Record: 7 Wins, 12 Loses

Today I got to go inside the Royals locker room to conduct an interview with Joe Randa for a couple of articles I'm working on. I'll post a couple of the Q & A in the coming days from that interview.

Here's a run down of the days events . . . Jason Grimsley got things started in the clubhouse before the game by firing up his gas propelled scooter and making several laps. Maybe he was declaring war on the Texas Rangers. Maybe he was just letting off a little steam after several difficult loses. Maybe he's a little crazy. Whatever it was, it seemed to set the tone for the game tonight.

With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Ken Harvey smoked a ball down the left field line. The third base umpire called it fair. Showalter charged out of the dugout, the umpires met and the crew chief overruled the third base umpire causing Pena to charge out of the dugout. To no avail. Harvey had to come back up to the plate—where he smashed a line drive home run over the left field wall. This time it was called fair.

Gobble didn't pitch well. He gave up ten hits, but he fought hard and only gave up two earned runs. He had to leave in the sixth inning with muscle cramps. Grimsley and Shawn Camp picked him up and took the game into the ninth inning with the Royals leading.

Out came Mike MacDougal. What a welcome site that was. He was wild, but isn't he always? More importantly, he closed the game and got his first save of the season.

Way to go guys. Let's keep it going tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I'll be back in the locker room tomorrow afternoon and I'll bring you as many interviews as possible in the coming days.