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The Royals have an actual power hitter posted on 06/10/2008

Immediately after Alex Rodriguez’s two-run shot tied the game in the seventh inning, I was bracing for yet another stomach punch game.

How can one fan base keep coming back from so many of these kind of defeats?

In the past three weeks, we had endured a 12-game losing streak--Kansas City’s fourth in the past four years (the rest of the league had three such streaks combined). A streak that featured lowlights such as a no-hitter, the blowing of a five-run ninth-inning lead, and a complete game by Jesse Litsch.

Then there was Saturday’s brutal 12-11 defeat to the Yankees, which I thankfully was not able to watch.

Today’s game was looking like just another link in a near-impossible chain of collapses.

But in what ran counter to nearly everything that has happened in this horrific stretch, Jose Guillen hammered a Mariano Rivera cut-fastball to left to put the boys in blue up for good. It was about time one of his four weekend home runs led to a win.

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Lester no-hits Royals, ruins running diary debut posted on 05/19/2008

Welcome to the first and possibly most profane or obscure running diary ever created about the Kansas City Royals. I’ve always wanted to do this, so here you go live from a Gladstone living room: Royals at Red Sox.

6:05 - Looks as though the lineup is back to normal tonight, with the exception of Esteban German, a notoriously awful fielder, playing left field. This could be trouble.

6:08 - Facing one of those control pitchers (usually kill us) tonight in Jon Lester. This feels like the game last year when the Royals were on a roll and I got excited about facing Kason Gabbard, who had never started a game. This excitement was misguided as Gabbard pitched a four-hit shutout. Let’s hope things go a bit better.

6:10 - Splittorff is trying to fit in w/ the sub-35 crowd by uttering the phrase: “Manny being Manny.” Not a good sign for tonight’s broadcast or the phrase in general. If Splitty is using it, it’s on the verge of no longer being socially acceptable.

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Soria's setup crew pitching staff's driving force posted on 05/14/2008

This transformation is absolutely incredible.

Just two years ago, this bullpen was the laughing stock of the major leagues with a 53-percent save success rate.

Now, I’m tempted to change the channel when Soria toes the rubber in the ninth because I know the game is over.

The Wolf (nickname I’ve given Soria; let’s see how it goes) worked his magic again tonight, shutting down the Tigers’ last effort to preserve a 3-2 victory.

Wolf has been receiving the lion’s share of the credit, but his not-yet-household-name setup crew deserves just as much.

Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez are the heart of the bullpen. In short, this duo’s seventh- and eighth-inning success has been nothing short of surreal.

Think back with me, Royals fans, to 2006. We’ve got a 5-3 lead heading into the eighth inning. Andrew Sisco is on the mound, while Ambriorix Burgos warms up. How comfortable are you?

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Bannister saves team from humiliating sweep posted on 05/12/2008

When I interviewed Brian Bannister this winter, I felt like Chris Farley on “The Chris Farley Show.”

Had I known he would throw his season’s third masterful outing for my Royals by mid-May, I’m almost certain I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself.

I thought there was no way he could improve on what most experts called a “lucky” rookie season. Instead, he has been absolutely outstanding Sunday was the latest example, as his start helped salvage a lost week.

The 4-0 victory was the closest representation in a while of the team that controlled the Tigers in the season’s opening series.

Bannister was on his game and the bats did just enough, but by no means was this cause for immense celebration. But, after losing three in a row this week and 12 straight overall dating back to 2006 to Baltimore, I’ll take any sort of celebration.

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