1899 Cleveland Spiders & Other Googlisms

Welcome to all of you new readers who are finding Royal Reflections by googling "1899 Cleveland Spiders" and "longest major league losing streak." I wish you were here under different circumstances, but I totally understand your desire to do a little research to find out how close the Royals are to being considered the worst team in the history of major league baseball. In fact, I had to do my own research so I could write about the same topic here a few days ago.

The Royals managed just five hits in Oakland last night (going 5-for-32 for a .156 batting average) and were shut out for the third time during "the streak." This time it was 4-0. Jose Lima didn't exactly pitch well (4 ER in 5 IP), but that hardly matters when you have the type of offense we've assembled. You can win games without scoring at least once.

The Royals official website is so pressed for highlights to show that they are actually showing Terrence Long throwing out Mark Ellis at home last night.

So the streak stands at 19 losses in a row and the descendents of 1899 Cleveland Spider players are hoping that Barry Zito (11-9, 3.65 ERA) extends it to 20 tonight when he faces Mike Wood 3-4, 4.25). I'm not a betting man, but I'd guess that the odds on that match up would be astronomically in the A's favor.