You Win Some, You Lose Some

Four games into the season I never would have thought that I'd be writing that the Royals finally lost their first game, ending their run as the only undefeated team in baseball. Oh well. You know it's a weird game when a sacrifice bunt followed by a suicide squeeze in the fourth inning ends up producing the game-winning run. But, like I said, oh well.

On that note, however, Kansas City is ready and waiting to be a baseball town again. We went to dinner last night and then did some shopping and everywhere I looked there was someone wearing a Royals hat, or a jacket, or a jersey. Oddly enough, that isn't always the case, not with the Chiefs being here. When we first moved to Kansas City, it always bugged me that that annoying red and yellow color combination was everywhere, even in the middle of baseball season. But, not last night. I saw some Kansas Jayhawks gear, but I can't really blame them – only hope for the end of the Final Four as soon as possible so the sports talk guys can start focusing on the Royals. Just on our way out of the restaurant I saw four different guys decked out in Royal blue.

After dinner we stopped at Target. From the time we got into the car at the mall to the time we drove across the street to Target, we had to wait briefly at two stop lights. When we started the car (and consequently, the radio) Billy Butler was at the plate with two outs and Mark Grudzielanek was on second base. There were probably eight or nine pitches thrown before we parked the car at Target, and Butler fouled them all off before earning a base hit up the middle to score the runner. While we were in Target a few minutes later, we overheard two kids. The taller one had a Royals hat, a pair of ears that jutted out from the sides of his head, and a cell phone. He was reading the text alert he had just received to his friend that Butler had singled up the middle and scored Grudzielanek before being tagged out at second base to end the inning. I couldn't help but smile.

Later, as we pulled into the Kohl's, John Buck was in the middle of an at bat. I cut the engine, but kept the radio going. Three more cars parked around us, but we were still glued to the radio and the sweet tones of Hall of Fame Radio Broadcaster Denny Matthews. And then, with a man on second base, Buck drove the ball to left-center for an RBI single. I clapped once, gave him an old, 'at a boy Johnny, and got out of the car. My wife noticed that another couple that had parked at nearly the same time as us also got out of the car at that moment. We can't be sure, but you have to believe they were waiting for the same reason we were waiting – we had to see if the Royals could get that run in with two outs. Another smile.

I have really enjoyed living in a baseball town. But, if the Royals can actually keep this up and contend in the division, I think I'm going to love living in a baseball town that has a team that's winning.