Greinke's situation > Oswalt's

Roy Oswalt has had enough. Last week, after suffering yet another loss where his team's offense was shut out (against NO2G! favorite Ubaldo Jimenez), Oswalt went public with his request for a trade from the Astros.

Royals fans can certainly sympathize. Most of us have established an over-under on when the trade winds will start swirling around Zack Greinke. (Mine is at July 2011, I'm taking the under). But would Zack go down Oswalt's road and demand a trade? Chin up, Royals fans! Here's a few reasons why he may not:

He's the Man: The Royals are absolutely bereft of stars, and have been for quite some time; you don't wind up sending the likes of Ken Harvey and Mark Redman to the All-Star Game if that were'nt true. But Zack's breakout season in '08 and his headline-grabbing '09 campaign gave the Royals some presence in the baseball zeitgeist. Even for the foreseeable future, you can't imagine any Royal getting bigger cheers that Zack Greinke. And speaking of the future...

Help is in the pipeline: Two super prospects could make their major-league debut by next year - acclaimed southpaw Mike Montgomery (who's struggled a bit in AA, but is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA) and third baseman Mike Moustakas (who hasn't struggled a bit in AA; .395 with 12 homers), for whom I can't wait to hear the shouts of "MMMOOOOOOOOUUUUUSSSSS!!!"

He may actually like Kansas City: Having overcome struggles with social anxiety disorder, Greinke might actually feel very comfortable in the small-town feel of Kansas City. Do you think New York or LA or Boston would have been as patient and supportive during that difficult time?

Shedding some (dead) weight: A number of albatross contracts could come off the books as soon as next year (Guillen, DeJesus, Meche in case I had to spell it out for you), leaving some cash for Dayton Moore to flesh out the roster with some quality players, by which time hopefully Moore will have learned a thing or two about what OBP actually means.

Of course, none of these reasons could pan out. Roy Oswalt likely has had similar hope put before him, but with a minor league system that's ranked dead last in the majors plus sharing roster space with a considerable number of untradeable players, the Astros' light at the end of the tunnel is actually an oncoming train, and Roy wants off, can you blame him?

But we Royals fans have at least a little hope. Maybe Greinke does too.

For The Win! (Probably...)

Did you catch today's Reds-Braves tilt?

Do you need a Prozac if you're a Reds fan?

(from Fangraphs)

The Pirates really are cheapskates

So penny-pinching that they have one player manning two positions. Maybe they could just replace their entire team with Chuck Norris. Actually, they couldn't afford him. (from The Fightins)

1985, or A Fan Is Born

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985

And so am I.

Back in October of 1985, when Denny Matthews made his famous call "Motley going back...no outs to go!!", it was settled. Winning was cool. Watching the victory parade on KMBC channel 9 was cool...



...seeing the local black-and-white newspaper use royal blue ink for the headlines was cool. Most of all rubbing the game 7 victory in the faces of the abundant Cardinal fans in my 5th grade class was beyond cool (for me anyway). You know what else was cool about this? It was purely "George Brett is awesome!" vs. "Ozzie Smith is awesome!". No one my age cared one whit about Brett's triple-slash line or Ozzie's fielding percentage (.335/.486/.585 and .983 to lead the league among SS's, because you're wondering now). That was fandom at its purest. If only things were that simple again...thanks, internet.

Obviously, '85 was the beginning of my rocky (and admittedly one-sided) relationship with the Kansas City Royals. The winning, the blue KC caps, George Brett, Quiz, Dekinger's call, Denny Matthews on an old AM Radio/8-track console, the fountains, I loved it all. Royals fandom ruled.

Flash-forward 25 years later, I've moved to Los Angeles (the San Gabriel Valley, to be precise), where I've had the pleasure to meet but a few Royals fans scattered among los fans de los Doyers. I think on a cloudy day around some near-sighted Dodger faithful I could wear my blue Royals cap to Chavez Ravine, but not a good idea generally. On the flip side here in LA, you have the laid back OC vibe of the Angels, who've been the perfectly nice Major-League-Team- next-door.

In order to follow my Royals, I've had put the internet to good use, download some podcasts of the KC sports talk circuit, and put up with the ribbing from friends who are Doyers and Angel fans. But in their speech, I hear parallels of the same things that made me a fan. Kirk Gibson, the dulcet tones of Vin Scully, Dodger Dogs, Fernandomania, the Rally Monkey, that shapeless mass of rocks at the big A, "Light up the Halo!!". I come back on their arguments with Zack Greinke winning a Cy Young despite the poorest run support in the league. Doyer fan replies with the Dodgers' front office having the ability to acquire ManRam (getting that big of a superstar is just a pipe dream for a small-market fan). Angel fan jumps in the fray with "5 division titles out of the last 6 years." To which I reply "50-game suspension", and "Red Sox" respectively. And it goes on.

Yes, no matter where you are, fandom still rules.

That's what this blog will be about: how does your favorite baseball team make (and keep!) fans? What makes them turn away? Not watch? Or just give up? How can a normally rational man stay loyal to a team who trots out a lineup with Jason Kendall and Yuniesky Betancourt every night?

I can answer one of those questions: I can still remember 1985.