It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times

How ironic would it be for the 1985 team to roll into town just in time to see the Royals lose a team record setting 13th game in a row? If we have nothing left to play for, then this is enough. It's all up to D.J. Carrasco (5-5, 4.29 ERA) tonight as he goes against Kevin Millwood (5-9, 3.12 ERA). If the Royals lose tonight, the fans on Friday night are going to literally be witnessing the best and worst of both Kansas City baseball worlds in one night.

At least Joe Posnansiki still has his humor. He had this to say about the losing streak in his column today, "The Royals have been outscored 105-44, which means they have lost, on average, by five runs. … Here’s one for you soccer fans: The Wizards have played three times during the streak. They have outscored the Royals all three times."

As funny as that line is, being outscored by five runs per game over this stretch is difficult to comprehend. I wish we could blame one aspect of our team, but even Bell acknowledges that we have problems in all areas of the game: "Pitching, hitting, fielding," Bell is quoted as saying in an article on KCRoyals.com. "I mean there are quite a few things that are not quite right right now."

The pitching staff has a 7.75 ERA during the 12 game losing streak. Of course for the season, they haven't exactly been lights out, posting a 5.56 staff ERA, which is 29th in the majors, just slightly ahead of Tampa Bay.

Hitters have a .248 average during the losing streak. Which isn't all that far off their .261 team average for the season. They are tied for 20th in the majors in team average. It's a miracle that we're ranked that high with so many guys being outmatched at the plate.

Fielding has been horrible, both during the streak and for the entire season. We've committed 12 errors in the last 12 games (only four of which were completely error free) and now have 88 errors for the season—putting us in 28th in the majors in fielding percentage.

In spite of it all, I'm going to be at the ball park this weekend, starting on Friday night. I'm anxious to see the videos of days long since gone—the days before cable television, RSTN, players who didn't hustle, and astronomical salaries that have pushed the game to the edge of ruin. I just had a transistor radio and an imagination and that was all I needed as I spent summer night after summer night in my bedroom listening to Fred and Denny call the action.

I'm going to Kansas City this weekend because I want to see the guys in powder blue who threw strikes, plugged the gaps, stole bases, ran hard, and earned the right to celebrate after winning the 1985 World Series. And I'm going to hope that as the festivities kick off, that everybody who is currently affiliated with the team, from the players to Allard Baird, will take it all in and with a few exceptions, for the first time, see how baseball is supposed to be played.