Thursday, April 19, 2012

Will ASG Television Audience See The K Through Mist?

Today's a day off for the Royals, so I'm watching a few games on MLB Extra Innings and figured I'd write something short about a topic other than the recent miserable results.

With today's press conference at Kauffman Stadium to unveil the ballot for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City, it got me thinking about a what-if scenario.

Many times when I'm watching a televised broadcast from The K, the picture from the center field cameras is obscured by mist from the stadium's fountains that blows in front of the camera platform. I think the wind has to be blowing a certain direction for this to occur, but the other night when it was happening during the game against Cleveland, it made me wonder what the national reaction from fans would be if it happened during the All-Star Game.

I think what needs to be done is to construct some sort of elevated platform that would raise the cameras up to a level where the mist would be below them. Either that, or they need to move the cameras to another location, but where? There aren't many options when you think about it.

The bottom line is this for the Royals - they want Kauffman Stadium to shine in front of what will likely be the largest television audience ever to view a game from the venue. It would really be unfortunate if one of the main things people remember from the game is that FOX had to go to a view from behind the plate because the outfield cameras were rendered useless.

That's all I have for tonight. Hoping the Royals are making good use of this off day to rest up and restart their season anew when Toronto comes to town tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Hey, Royals Fans...RELAX!

Think back to the start of the 2011 season for a moment. On May 23, the Cleveland Indians owned first place in the American League Central by seven games after jumping out to a record of 30-15. They were the talk of baseball, and the toast of the town.

The Royals had an off day on May 23, but on May 24 they were 22-24 and entered the opening game of a series at Baltimore a full 8.0 games behind the Indians.The point? Fast (or slow) starts don't always matter. From that point on, the Indians fell apart, going 50-67 and finishing the season at 80-82.

Last year's Royals were 6-4 through 10 games and sat in third place in the AL Central. This year's team has lost five straight games early on to start 3-7. The Royals are 4.0 games back of the Tigers, and tied for fourth place in the standings.

Because of lofty expectations heading into this season, Royals fans are acting like the sky is falling. One bad weekend against the Indians has KC "faithful" calling for Dayton Moore's job, booing some of the team's promising young players, and completely overreacting to every little thing.

Here's a classic example of fans' stupid behavior. After Luke Hochevar was drilled on the ankle by a line drive off the bat of Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana, I read a post on Royalboard.com where a fan was actually hoping he broke his leg or ankle to end his season. Really?! Come on, man.

Listen people, it's 10 games into a 162-game season. I've done this type of analogy before, but those ten games are the equivalent of one game in an NFL schedule. So, the Royals lost their first "game." They are very capable of bouncing back and being competitive within the Central.

Don't get me wrong, I'm among those who are frustrated with the disappointing start to the season. I expected a much better first 10 games. I didn't think Eric Hosmer (8-for-40) and Alex Gordon (5-for-39) would have combined to go 13-for-79 at the plate. I didn't think Cleveland would have seven-run, six-run, five-run, AND four-run innings during the three-game weekend set.

But it's baseball, and I'm certainly smart enough to realize that this is the youngest team in the game and stretches like this are going to happen from time-to-time. I'm not calling for Dayton Moore's head. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon after one crappy weekend.

After all, I've been riding this bandwagon since 1980, and I know it's a bumpy ride. Things WILL get better, so calm down and enjoy the ride.
 
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