SEATTLE | Banny and Zack and … then what? Fade to black? The old Boston Braves could once yearn for two days of rain after Spahn and Sain. That works, too, even if it doesn’t rhyme.
SEATTLE | Gil Meche tries for the fourth time tonight to notch his first victory and, if history is any indicator, he couldn’t pick a friendlier venue than Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
Brian Bannister analyzes his own pitching more than you can imagine. He studies video, pours over stats, and risks carpel tunnel investigating which stats can help him do what better.
The Brewers’ Gabe Kapler, who managed in the Red Sox organization last season, homered for the second straight day, doubled twice and drove in three runs as Milwaukee beat the Mets 9-7. Not bad for a guy who was the manager for Class A Greenville at this time last year.
A year of experience has meant so much to third baseman Alex Gordon this season that the dreaded sophomore jinx may not come into play.
How would you feel about leaving millions of dollars on the table? That’s potentially what Chris Young and Fausto Carmona, two of the game’s brightest young stars, did last week.
White Sox starter Gavin Floyd lost a no-hit bid when Detroit’s Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth, but the White Sox and their promising righty wound up beating the Tigers 7-0 on Saturday.
Putting on powder blue uniforms for the first time in 17 years helped pull in the fans Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium but couldn’t rouse the Royals’ suddenly comatose attack in a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
It was bone-chilling cold Tuesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium after a steady morning downpour. Dark and damp. Raw and windy. Brutal stuff, really.
There are 40-some screens in here, most of them showing four smaller displays. Operating the Royals’ new $8.3 million Crown Vision scoreboard requires a staff of 17, a beautiful and hectic symphony of button pushing and barked commands and language you’d want to keep your small child away from.
Royals fans had to navigate a new parking system and more crowded concourses Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium but didn’t appear otherwise too hindered by renovations.
SURPRISE, Ariz. | He doesn’t stop. That’s what they notice about Trey Hillman. He doesn’t stop, never stops, ever ...
As Royals starter Brian Bannister struggled to get through the second inning against the Yankees on Tuesday afternoon, it definitely looked as if the bullpen would be in heavy use.
•ROYALS FIRST: Gathright led off and singled to center. Gathright stole second. Grudzielanek grounded out, shortstop to first, Gathright to third. Teahen doubled to center, Gathright scored. Royals 1, Yankees 0.
Aubrey Huff and the Orioles are certainly enjoying the new season. And surprising a lot of people. “We’ve already had more fun than at anytime last year,” Huff said after Baltimore’s sixth straight victory, 8-1 on Tuesday, ruining the Texas Rangers’ home opener.
For a split second, Joe Girardi’s eyes widened. A reporter had just asked Girardi, the Yankees’ manager, what concerned him the most about his team’s 5-2 loss to the Royals on Tuesday.
Former Royals pitcher and Kansas City native David Cone barely recognized his hometown ballpark when he arrived at Kauffman Stadium.
| 1969: Royals 4, Twins 3, 12 inn. |
| 1970: A’s 6, Royals 4 |
| 1971: Twins 2, Royals 0 |
| 1972: Royals 2, White Sox 1, 11 inn. |
| 1973: Royals 12, Rangers 1 |
| 1974: Twins 6, Royals 4, 11 inn. |
| 1975: Royals 8, Twins 3 |
| 1976: Royals 7, Angels 4 |
| 1977: Royals 5, Yankees 4, 13 inn. |
| 1978: Royals 4, Orioles 2 |
| 1979: Royals 11, Blue Jays 2 |
| 1980: Tigers 5, Royals 1 |
| 1981: Tigers 6, Royals 5 |
| 1982: Royals 4, Tigers 2 |
| 1983: Royals 5, Brewers 2 |
| 1984: Royals 4, Yankees 2 |
| 1985: Royals 2, Blue Jays 1 |
| 1986: Blue Jays 6, Royals 2 |
| 1987: White Sox 5, Royals 4 |
| 1988: Blue Jays 5, Royals 3 |
| 1989: Blue Jays 4, Royals 3 |
| 1990: Orioles 7, Royals 6, 11 inn. |
| 1991: Royals 4, Indians 2 |
| 1992: A’s 6, Royals 1 |
| 1993: Red Sox 3, Royals 1 |
| 1994: Indians 8, Royals 3 |
| 1995: Royals 5, Orioles 1 |
| 1996: Royals 5, Red Sox 4, 12 inn. |
| 1997: Royals 6, Orioles 5 |
| 1998: Orioles 11, Royals 7 |
| 1999: Red Sox 5, Royals 3 |
| 2000: Royals 10, Twins 6 |
| 2001: Twins 6, Royals 2 |
| 2002: Twins 8, Royals 6 |
| 2003: Royals 3, White Sox 0 |
| 2004: Royals 9, White Sox 7 |
| 2005: Mariners 8, Royals 2 |
| 2006: Tigers 3, Royals 1 |
| 2007: Royals 7, Red Sox 1 |
| 2008: Royals 5, Yankees 2 |
Joey Gathright knows a secret. He knows exactly what to look for when he’s trying to steal bases, when he’s trying to raise the blood pressure of the opposing pitcher and the heart rate of Royals fans.
MINNEAPOLIS | The Royals are heading home, finally, and feeling good about it after salvaging their weekend Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.
One of the biggest surprises of the young baseball season has to be the collective performance of the Cardinals’ rotation.
MINNEAPOLIS | It’s only six games, but the Royals’ bullpen shows signs of emerging as a bankable strength after a series of shaky performances by several relievers in spring training.
1969: The Yankees spoiled the managerial debut of Ted Williams by defeating the Senators 8-4 in the opener at Washington’s RFK Stadium. President Nixon and a crowd of 45,000 attended.
MINNEAPOLIS | The euphoria of the Royals’ three-game sweep in Detroit is fading fast after a second straight loss Saturday to the Minnesota Twins.
MINNEAPOLIS | Veteran right-hander Hideo Nomo completed his long-shot odyssey to return to the big leagues Saturday morning when the Royals bought his contract from short-season Idaho Falls.
1972: For the first time in history, the major leagues failed to open on schedule because of a player strike, which started on April 1. The traditional season opener between Houston and Cincinnati was canceled and a total of 86 games were lost before the strike was settled.
Toronto’s Frank Thomas figured out what was wrong with his swing: a bad helmet. A notoriously slow starter, Thomas struggled at the plate this spring and decided his helmet was to blame, demanding a new one from Toronto’s equipment manager.
AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle at Baltimore, 3:05 Minnesota at Chi. White Sox, 4:05 Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05
1. Red Sox. Fewest weaknesses of anyone. 2. Mets. Two words: Johan and Santana 3. Indians. Easy to forget they won 96 games last year.
If you were so inclined, you could probably spend an entire month, 24 hours a day, trying to understand all the baseball stats that are out there. So, what the heck, here’s one more.
•ROYALS THIRD: Gload led off with a single. On Hernandez’s balk, Gload to second. Callaspo tripled, Gload scored. Gathright hit a sacrifice fly, Callaspo scored. Royals 2, Twins 0.
•Scot Shields should return to the Angels soon, and rarely does a middle reliever’s presence mean this much.
DETROIT | Is there any doubt now that Royals pitcher Brian Bannister, after a stumbling start to spring training, really knew what he was doing in preparing for the regular season?
