Man, I Just Can't Get Enough of This!!

I could start my day off like this every day!

Go Royals!!

Royals success

I know all of you care ...

I just love looking a the American League Central standings these days. Seeing the Royals up top of the division is something that I cannot get enough of. For my birthday, I got a subscription to MLBtv so that I can watch all the Royals games. I've totally enjoyed seeing them be so successful, especially given their extremely poor track record the last 15 years.

Last night, Royals ace Zack Greinke tossed another* complete game shutout. His ERA is 0.40 ... he's allowed 2 earned runs in 46 or so innings pitched, and leads the league with 55 strikeouts. He is just insane right now!

*Yes, that's his second shutout of the year. In fact, here's the league leaders in shutouts:
Zack Greinke 2
Everyone else 0

I think it will be a great summer to be a Royals fan, and believe me, us diehards deserve it considering the quality of teams we've had to endure recently.

Tuesday is here

Wow, it's already Tuesday ... the weekend flew by, and now we're already well into the week. I'll just drop a few nuggets ...

• Had a crew over here last Friday for curry chicken to celebrate the start of Spring Break.
• Saturday we went to the Dancing Horse show (and bird show). The whole thing was surprisingly good. I was afraid it would be rather corny/cheap, but it was pretty well done. The coolest part was when we were sitting in the front row of the horse show, and the horses put their front legs up on the edge right where we were, and basically looked down at us. Hard to describe, but pretty magnificent to have those huge horses looking down at you. I think Cyndie got a picture.
• Sunday was church ... Cyndie wasn't feeling very well that day, so she stayed home.
• The kids had a swim party at the Y for a friend's birthday. Timmy (while I was still there) decided to chase his ball out into the middle of the pool, and then forgot that he could swim, so he had to get rescued. He was fine though.
• Monday we went bowling and got pizza (at the bowling alley) for our fun Spring Break event. We had a good time. One game of bowling is just right for our family. It was cool because we all (Cyndie, Emma, Timmy, and I) got strikes at one point or another.
• We spent some time yesterday setting up a theater in the basement for the kids movie that we're showing today ... we're inviting some neighbor kids and friends. We borrowed a projector and have a big screen on the wall ... good stuff. Should be fun. We're watching Bolt.

• It's opening day (it was yesterday, but got postponed for weather) for the Royals today!
  

End of the day

Well, I have nothing better to do, so here's a blog entry!

Today ended up being fairly productive. I got the new mulching blades on the mower and mowed the lawn as well as fixing the non-working garbage disposal (bad switch). Cyndie and the kids got in their daily (seems like) swim and picked up our allotment of vegies at the farm place. Now Cyndie's paying bills and I'm listening to a Royals game and mostly being lazy! What fun!

Because you care ...

I know that you have all be aching for me to devote more blog-space to the Royals, so for your reading enjoyment, a quick summary of their season to date.

They are playing about as they were expected to. They are several games under .500, in a division, the American League Central, which has no team really establishing itself as dominant. Their hitting is wildly inconsistent. The bright point on the offensive side of things is that, for the most part, their young, and (hopefully improving) players are having good years. The pitching is, for the most part, a bright spot. Zack Grienke is looking like a legitimate ace. Brian Bannister, while hit pretty hard the last couple of times out, is strong. Gil Meche had an outstanding outing last time out and appears to have put his early season struggles behind him. Rookie Luke Hocheaver has made three starts and looks ready for the majors. The bullpen is outstanding, especially now that Hideo Nomo has been dropped from the club. Closer Joakim Soria is 8 for 8 in saves and has yet to allow a run. The opportunity for the Royals to have a strong season is there if they grab it. I think the next month will be pivotal in determining if this is yet another "growing" year with disappointing results, or if, perhaps, the Royals will turn things around and actually contend late into the summer.

Go Blue, go Royals!

Royals Update

I'm sure you are all on the edge of your seats wondering what the Royals did last night ... well, let me tell you.

The Royals took game 2 of the three game set from the Yankees with a 4 - 0 score. Righty Zack Greinke pitched eight shutout innings to drop his ERA to 0.60. The victory moved to Royals to 6 - 2 and into sole possession of first place in the American League Central Division. The Royals look to complete the three game sweep of the evil empire tonight at 7:10.

The Decline

So Jane declined my offer of a Twins/Royals season record wager. I can live with that. But that just means that the Royals bandwagon is open to Jane since she won't have as much of a rooting interest in the Twins!

In the mean time Liverpool FC is locked in an epic showdown with Arsenal for a semi-final slot in the Champions league. At halftime, the two teams have played to a 1 - 1 tie. It should make for an exciting second half!

Oh yeah ...

I guess I shouldn't leave out that the Royals finished out their season opening road trip with a 4 - 2 record. Not bad for a team that many predict will dwell in the cellar of the American League Central all season. Given Jane's trash talking of late, perhaps this is the time to make a friendly intra-family wager on the final results of the baseball season. I'd be willing to bet that the Royal's will finish with a better record than the Twins this season. Care to wager Jane? And how can we make it interesting? Humm .... how about the loser buys the winner a t-shirt of their team? Stay tuned, we'll have to see where this goes!

Three games, three wins ... behold a Royals dynasty begins?!

Well my fair reader, are you ready for the powerhouse that is Royals baseball? Today, the men in powder blue rolled over the Tigers (again), this time for a 4 - 1 win. This completes a Royal's opening series sweep over the Tigers, a team many predict will win the 2008 World Series. There was another homerun from super soph Alex Gordon, and another outstanding pitching performance, this time from Zach Greinke. The Royals continue to be on pace for that mythical 162 - 0 season.

In other news, we had a nice time with our friends Aya and Kaz last night (and their little boy Makoto). It was fun to learn more about Japan and their histories. Tonight, it'll be more work on Emma's room!

New look

The blog's new look in honor of the Royals fast start ... enjoy, and bask in the glory and power that is KC Royals baseball.

Royals on pace for 162-0!

I just finished watching the Royals and Liverpool games simultaneously out of the corner of my eyes all while actually getting a bit of work done too. Streaming video on the web is great! The Royals shut out one of the most feared lineups in baseball and now stand at 2 - 0 after a nice four to nothing victory. Second year pitcher Brian Bannister pitched a masterful 7 innings for the win. On the LFC front, the Reds drew at Arsenal on the first leg of the home and away Champions League tie. A good result because the 1 - 1 scoreline gives them the advantage as away goals are the tie breaker if the series is tied on points after two games. Keep it up LFC and KC!

Spring cometh ...

It looks like spring may finally be coming. As I sit here at my desk, when I look across the road at the neighbor's lawn I can see a green tinge to it*. Perhaps this is because the start of the baseball season forces all the snow and bad weather away!

*I'm not too sure that I should get real excited since I've heard from a variety of people that there are often late snow storms around here. However, a quick scan of the 10 day forecast shows ever rising temps and fewer and fewer drops to lows below 32. I am ever hopeful!

The Royals picked up a nice season opening victory yesterday ... 5 - 4 in 11 innings. A nice start to the season for the boys in blue. Oh, and don't worry, I'll be sure to keep you up to date on their exploits as the season progresses.

Last night Cyndie and I finished the initial painting of Emma's room. It looks nice ... very bright and cheery. There's two tones of a fun green color ... darker (actually brighter) on top, and lighter on the bottom. Tonight I start constructing her bed.