Royals spoil things for Cards again
CHEAP CHEEP: From what I gather, fans of the Cardinals never get as caught up as Royals’ fans do in the teams’ interleague rivalry. Call it a superiority complex. Or more fitting word might be smug. So it wasn’t a surprise to hear one Card’s fan lament to a Royals’ follower after the game Friday night: “You aren’t making the playoff, and you are costing us our shot!” He got no sympathy. Actually, the Cards are only three games closer to first place than the Royals. The Royals haven’t made the playoffs in 23 years and likely won’t this year, but there was almost a post-season atmosphere to Friday’s game as fans stood on their feet in the ninth. This could be as festive as it gets at Kauffman in 2008. This has been an amazing run for the Royals, a team that earlier lost 12 straight. I’ve been out of town for their two recent winning streaks and was almost afraid of bringing them bad luck Friday. The team has a lot of energy and confidence we didn’t see before. What is also different, of course, is timely hitting, such as Alex Gordon’s three-run double Friday. That just wouldn’t have happened a couple weeks back.
YOU’RE OUT!: I heard on a radio talk show Thursday that the Royals tossed a fan during one of the Rockies’ games for being loud and profane. Bench coach Dave Owen complained about the fan, said Toby Cook, the Royals’ vice president of community affairs and publicity. Cook said the team tries hard to avoid removing fans for heckling but that the man in the case was unusually loud and abusive. The Royals should make no apologies. Everybody has a right to call out to players from the stands, but nobody should be allowed prolonged yelling and swearing. I don’t feel sorry for the players, but I do for fans who have to listen.
SHIRTS AND SKINS: Decorum is big in Washington, even at the Nationals’ game. When I was in Washington last week ,I read that the team has told people who take off their shirts at the game to put them back on. I’ve never heard of that at another park. The Royals have no such policy, Cook said.
BIG BANG IDEA: Friday night fireworks keep most fans in Kauffman until the game is over, which means big traffic backups when there are big crowds. If you don’t mind missing the last out or so of a game, a good idea is to head to the car and watch the fireworks from the parking lot. You get ahead of the pack, and the fireworks are almost as good.
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