Scott Dolan

Oh, I agree. Unfortunately that's how quarterbacks are judged, though. Think about the argument that Eli Manning is a Hall Of Fame QB because he has two Superbowl rings. (!!!!) The simple fact that is an actual argument is too absurd for words!

Yes. Seriously. And here are two excellent articles that help sum up why: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-royals-are-basically-the-best-contact-team-ever/ http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13173708/the-kansas-city-royals-defense-just-good-historically-elite

Dan Marino never won a Superbowl. I guess that means he wasn't a great quarterback.

Really? When I look at teams like that I see big market, deep pocket teams that grossly overpaid mercenaries that other teams had developed for years. Just so they could have their own little All Star teams. What the Royals have done has been extraordinary. And yes, they are a great team. They don't have to beat the Mets two more times to prove that. That's kind of a silly "oh yeah! Bet you can't do it again!" argument.

Yes, exactly. Moore specifically sought out those who pitch to contact because of the huge dimensions of Kauffman Stadium, and the outstanding defense behind them. That's why you'll never see great FIP numbers for most of our pitchers.

I told my son, early in the season while we were watching a game, to truly appreciate this defense because he may never see another like it in Kansas City. One of the reasons we manage the damage control as well as we do because Dayton Moore lined our bullpen with a ton of high caliber arms. So we can yank a starter early and not miss a beat. We lost arguably the best closer in the game last year over a month ago. Didn't matter one bit. We had three other arms who could close. Yes, you read that right. Last year it was the HDH show in the 7th-8th-9th. This year? Just mix and match.

I'd call being 90ft away from the tying run in game 7 of the World Series last year, having the best record in the A.L. this year, and being in back to back World Series is pretty air tight evidence of what the Royals are. You're kind of sounding like all those baseball "experts" who thought the Royals were a cute little story and a fluke last year. Pegged them to win 72-75 games this year and finish no better than third...in their own division! It's that kind of clueless disrespect that drives this team, and us fans. Yeah, they're good and bordering on great. I think teams and managers finally realize that, but pundits and fans of other teams still haven't gotten it through their heads yet. They think since we're not in LA/Chicago/San Fran/Boston/NYC, and don't absurdly overpay big name players, we're somehow something just short of fraudulent, or not worthy of playing with the "big boys".

I think the last pitcher we had that was a really good hitter was Greinke. But, one position in the lineup isn't going to dramatically change things.

??? You didn't think the Royals were a great team before?

Good question. My best guess would be that Kris Medlen starts game 4. Oddly enough, Young was slated to start game 4, but Medlen was slated to be our fourth starter in the postseason. There's still an outside chance they start Young on three days rest, but I don't think that will be the case. Where the Royals have a true advantage is the fourth starter/long reliever. We've got Young/Medlen/Duffy, and any of them can spot start if necessary. And with the nearly insane bullpen depth, it really wouldn't matter. Our fourth slot is fluid, and as long as Cueto doesn't bow out after three or four innings tonight, we've got the bullpen to take over at any given point in game 4 (considering the travel day rest).

If nothing else, last night's game was one of the more bizarre games I've ever seen. Overnight postseason superstar Alcides Escobar hits a in-the-parker off of the first pitch of the game. Then we get into the mind-bending we've lost feed, no I think we, what are we, are we heading back out to, Matt Vasgersian here, game halted because God forbid people in TV land miss any action, here in the studio I think we're, are we heading back out, OK, we're taking you back to Kauffman Stadium with JOe Buck on the call, Matt Vasgersian here… Stanley Kubrick couldn't have scripted it better. Volquez out there pitching a pretty goddamn good game, only to walk back into the clubhouse after the 6th inning to learn that his father had died that day, which his wife and manager kept from him... Either way, that was Royals baseball, folks. And the reason I thought this Series was going all 7 games. They're not the most talented team in MLB, but they don't possess even an ounce of quit.

Or as we call it around here, Royals baseball.

While I admittedly don't know of ALL the known logics, I would have to agree. Though Colon himself has been known to break the space/time continuum of logic at times...

That didn't really clear up your previous statement. ;)

I started to post that I got what he was saying. But, I've also gone back and re-read his post a couple of times since I started this post. That said, I can't really see a pitching advantage, overall, for either team. Their rotation is superior to ours, only a fool would argue otherwise. But, considering how lights out our pen has been, almost to a man, I think that advantage is negated. Either way, get ready for a possible rain delay tonight, gents. It's been a really dreary and rainy day here, and it doesn't look like it's going to improve that much prior to the game. And from what I've heard in the last few minutes, batting practice has been cancelled.

Middle relief was never a problem for us. Matter of fact, one (yes, I said "one") of our middle relievers was so good he's actually going to start game 4 in NYC. With Duffy and Medlen in long relief, Hochevar can go two or three innings, and our closer, Wade Davis, can also pitch two innings without issue. Herrera…Madson... Morales may be our weakest point, and even he posted an ERA of 3.18 with a 1.175 WHIP during the regular season. One of the reasons why our starters usually only went 5 or 6 innings is because our bull pen is loaded. And almost wall-to-wall lights out. That's not to say our rotation is as good as it was last year, but it's not as bad as you kinda made it sound there.

I certainly hope the Mets don't think as poorly of our rotation as you do.

I got out of the prediction business a long time ago. I'll leave those to Miss Cleo. Call her for your free reading' now! I just want to see a good, cleanly played, relatively well officiated World series.

I think the Cowboys overtook the Browns in finding new and inventive ways of losing...

Lack of soda and perhaps too much candy corn has obviously turned your brain into mush. Yeah, most of my most learned Royals fans are predicting this goes 7. I agree. These teams are very evenly matched from what I can see. And built the same way, for the most part (i.e. lots of farmhands that grew up together). If we don't win it again this year, I'll still be just as pleased as I was last year, so long as they put up a good fight. Correct. And those two things can become significant advantages. As for the matchup, it seems to be power vs. "power". Power = Mets starting pitching. "Power" = Royals don't strike out much and tend to get over on right hand fireballers.

Yeah, I usually do that whenever we go to a game at Busch III. There's a seemingly little known parking lot outside of Union Station, just two Metrolink stations from the stadium. Easy in, easy out. Lots of parking garages around the stadium, but the backup getting out can be unbearable at times. Kauffman is a slightly better situation because it's outside of the downtown area, and situated on an Interstate. But it can still be a pain in the ass to get out of. And park-n-ride options are pretty much nonexistent.

OK, but that still makes no sense. League pennants are won before the World Series starts, and have nothing to do with the World Series. Either way, Brad, KC had the highest postseason/World Series ticket prices in history last year, but from what I've read the Mets will surpass it this year. Last year our SRO tickets were going for $500, and our Diamond Club seats behind home plate were selling for $12,000-$15,000. Things get a wee bit exclusive once the Big Show starts.

Though seemingly a long, long time ago...I recall the Royals having the best record in the A.L. this past season. How does that make them the loser?

Tim, I just had to stop by and tell you, as I mentioned before, Giants fans (most them, anyway) that came to the Royals message board during the World Series last year were very gracious, knowledgable, and respectful. Well, even MORE impressive after last night's win to put us into the World Series this year, several of them popped in to congratulate us! Doesn't seem like much of a gesture, but after enduring the crybaby bullshit the Blue Jays trolls have been dumping on the site, it was really refreshing. Here you have fans of a team decimated by injuries and not even in the postseason, but thought enough of our interactions last year to take a moment of their time to congratulate us. Classiest fan base on the planet, IMO. There's a reason the Giants are my adopted second team. Just thought you'd get a kick out of that.

Or veteran experience? I can't believe they were swept. Would have never expected it.