Random Royals Thoughts on a Winter Day

As far as I know, the only purpose of Winter is to allow us time to gather our thoughts from seasons past, discuss which players we want to pick up through trades or free agency, and plan our trips to Spring Training.  I believe Eric Hosmer agreed last Sunday when he Twittered, “Is it April 6 yet!?!?!?!”

Following are a few of my random winter thoughts to pass the time:

• It may be sacrilegious for me to say this, but I’ve never liked the powder blue.  No, I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it either.  I can’t imagine a powder blue uniform striking fear into the hearts of the opposing team.
• Back in the mid 90’s, I worked with a guy named Don Slaughter.  I couldn’t stop myself from calling him Don Slaught.  Nothing like an obscure Royals catcher preventing you from addressing your coworkers by their correct name.
• Have the umpires ever watched a recording of a game with Fox Trax to see if they were calling pitches accurately?  My guess is they don’t want to know.  And how does Fox Trax work?  Is it based on magic?
• Who is the greater player and who meant more to his team, both during his career and historically – George Brett or Len Dawson?
• Game 6 of the 1985 I-70 World Series is the greatest baseball game ever played.  Cardinal Nation – get over it.
• If Tony Muser signed up for his own Twitter account, would hell freeze over?  They don’t get any more old-school than the Muse.
• When Eric Hosmer was in grade school, did he get picked first to play on the kickball team?  If not, I’d like to see the kids who were selected ahead of him.
• Bunting is a lost art, with good reason.
• I love the suicide squeeze, not withstanding my last comment.
• Why does SportsCenter always show home run highlights?  Watching a ball sail over a fence is not a highlight.  Show me the great defensive plays, or the game winning hits, or the disputed calls, the stolen bases, the brushbacks – those are the highlights.  I think stretching a double into a triple is possibly the best play in baseball.
• I hate watching pitchers bat.  The DH is probably the best rule change ever.
• If you lead the league in Hit by Pitches, does this mean that you’re really tough, or does it mean you don’t have enough confidence in your abilities to swing the bat?
• I’ve always thought a baseball season was too long at 162 games.  And then during the offseason I can’t wait for baseball to start again.  I think that’s a contradiction.
• I hate the Yankees, always have hated the Yankees, always will hate the Yankees.  I hate Chris Chambliss more than any other current or former baseball player.  If you’re an old-school Royals fan like me, you’ll know why.
• Many years ago when he was still an active player, I ran into Frank White in a hotel lobby.  I was just a kid about 17-years-old, but Frank gave me his undivided attention and talked to me about baseball for nearly 15 minutes.  How many big league players would do that?  Probably not very many.
• I’ve been to several major league baseball stadiums and none of them are better places to watch a game than Kauffman Stadium.
• I didn’t want the Astroturf torn out of the stadium and replaced with grass, but now I’m very, very glad they did.
• I’m confident the Royals are going to end the 2012 season with more wins than losses.  I’ve lost track of how many years it’s been since I said that.
• Nobody has ever been able to fire up the crowd the way Al Hrabosky the Mad Hungarian could.
• When I tell baseball fans who don’t follow the Royals that 12 years ago our outfielders were Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran, and Jermaine Dye, they won’t believe me.  I can hardly believe it either.
• I believe the All Star game is arriving at the perfect time.  Baseball fans around the country will have a whole new respect for Kansas City and the Royals by the time this season is over.

Feel free to share any of your random thoughts in the comments below.

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