Coco Crisp and the Seagull

Game Date: June 11, 2009
Kansas City @ Cleveland
Indians 4, Royals 3 (10 Inn.) / Box Score
WP: Herges (2-0), LP: Farnsworth (1-4)
KC Home Runs: Olivo (8)
Royals Record: 25-34 / Record in June 2-7

Lot’s of blame to go around. If only Zack Greinke hadn’t given up the single to Mark DeRosa in the eighth inning followed by a walk to Victor Martinez, maybe things would have been different. If only Tony Pena and Alberto Callaspo hadn’t made two throwing errors later in that same inning, maybe things would have been different. If Kyle Farnsworth could get anybody out when the game was on the line, maybe things would have been different. And if the flock of seagulls (no, there wasn’t an 80s retro concert in center field) hadn’t been squatting in front of Coco Crisp in the bottom of the tenth inning when Shin-Soo Choo singled and hit one of the aforementioned seagulls, thus deflecting the ball away from Crisp and allowing the winning run to score, then maybe things would have been different.

But let’s be honest. Greinke was out of gas, we pretty much expect Tony Pena and Alberto Callaspo to make an error in the big moments, Kyle Farnsworth has been blowing games all season long, and the flock of seagulls thing is just funny, and probably could only happen to the Royals. And does anybody really think Crisp could throw somebody out at home from centerfield anyway? No doubt, he was extremely shallow, but he would have tossed a rainbow somewhere in the vicinity of the plate and nearly anybody would have been able to score before it finally landed.

By now, YouTube is probably full of uploaded videos of the seagull incident causing people to laugh and just shake their head, because what else can you do?

Oh yeah, and the Royals are back in last place in the AL Central.