The Changing of the Guard: Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

For many years now, whenever the east coast teams have come to town, I have diligently and faithfully attended at least one of the games between the Royals and the “Team Who Must Not Be Named.”  I have seen the line-ups that money can buy and goaded those who dared to enter the K wearing pinstripes.  I have watched the Bronx Bombers live up to their names, inflating ERAs and padding statistics.  And every year, I have this feeling that we’re just not as good as “those guys.”

Last year, I took a friend of mine, Kaleb, to the game.  Kaleb is a huge fan of Mariano Rivera.  At last year’s game, we watched Rivera make short order of the Royals in the ninth inning to secure one more save as he quickly approached Trevor Hoffman’s record.  This year, Kaleb wore his “Rivera—42” shirt to the game hoping to inspire similar results.

Brett and I have talked for weeks about taking Kaleb to tonight’s game.  Brett, who creates art professionally for Urban Outfitters on the Plaza, conspires with me to create art and writing projects.  Some of Brett’s best handiwork (in my opinion) is the cover he did for the Royals’ book I’ve been working on.  Kaleb and I met Brett at Chick-fil-A where we quickly ate and carpooled to watch the first game in the series against the beasts from the east.  As is our norm, we arrived at the stadium as soon as the doors opened and headed straight for the Pepsi Party Porch in right field.  Brett was quickly rewarded with a batting practice home run ball as a cheap souvenir.  We called out to Raul Ibanez and welcomed him home.  Ibanez acknowledged our greeting with a wave and a smile.  And then, appearing out of seemingly thin air, there was Rivera.

A fan of the “Evil Empire” immediately reminded me about River’s pending retirement, and that Rivera had been talking to management about playing at least an inning in the outfield.  It seems Rivera not only stays in shape chasing down fly balls in batting practice, but wants the chance to have his own “outfield experience.”  So, I was told, Rivera used batting practice as a time to “train” in hopes of getting into a game as a reserve outfielder.  We watched Rivera run from foul pole to foul pole, catching flies and throwing them back in to second base.  A contagious smile spread across his face.

And then, on a deep drive to left-center, the unimaginable occurred.  Rivera gave chase and jumped, landed awkwardly, and immediately fell to the ground.  Later reports would confirm what I immediately knew in my heart—torn ACL.

I, too, have experienced the joy and pleasure of tearing an ACL in a “freak” accident years ago and remember the burning pain.  With surgery and therapy, it took me a full year to return to “normal.”  Given that timeline, I fear that Rivera’s career may have ended on the warning track at the K.

The incident created space for conversation between fans of both teams.  It seemed that everyone in the stadium like Rivera, regardless of which team they supported.  No one wanted his career to end this way.  One man said, “I wanted to see him pitch tonight and watch our boys get a chance to beat the best.  I think we could take him this year.”

On this spring evening, change was in the air.  The boys of summer looked old compared to the young boys in blue.  We tried to calculate the average ages of the starting lineups, and had the Royals younger as a team by some six or seven years.  Steve Physioc tweeted, “@Royals 4 starting infielders have 7 years of #MLBexperience.  #Yankees have 50. #KC #ourtime will come.”  And youth led the way for the Royals.

Danny Duffy, whose age matches his uniform number of 23, struck out six and only allowed two runs in his six innings pitched.

Mike Moustakas, also 23, lead the way with a 420-foot home run to dead center in the bottom of the second inning, and plated two more in the fifth, giving the Royals a 4 – 1 lead at that time.

The young infield that Physioc noted turned an around the horn double play in the top of the fourth and out-hustled their opponents all night.  (Alex Rodriguez couldn’t get to a foul pop-up off the bat of Alex Gordon.  I bet money Moose would have made that play.)

“Breaks” and “luck” that money has bought for seasons finally fell in favor of the Royals.

The ninth inning serves as the perfect summary to the night.

The Royals were leading by a run and called for Jonathan Broxton to close the game.  Jeter, Granderson, and Teixeira were the scheduled hitters for “The Others.”  Derek Jeter did his best to spur on his teammates, fouling off three fastballs before getting his fourth hit of the night, a single to right field, boosting his average above the sacred .400 mark.  Curtis Granderson followed with a walk as the umpire appeared to temporarily lose track of the strike zone.

This was the point in the game when every Royals fan began to tremble.  We could read the signs.  We knew that, somehow, “luck” always favored the more expensive team.

Mark Teixeira ripped a ball and—miraculously—Chris Getz, Alcides Escobar, and Eric Hosmer turned one of the most brilliant double plays I have ever witnessed in person.

With the tying run now on third, Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate.  The fan in the navy shirt in front of me said, “It’s time to show these Midwest boys how it’s done.”  A-Rod fouled off the first pitch.  Strike one.  Everyone in the stadium was standing, screaming, clapping, and cheering.

The second pitch was a called strike, and A-Rod turned to argue with the ump.

If any Royals player had dared to do what A-Rod did, they would have been ejected immediately.  In fact, after each of the next six pitches, A-Rod either glanced or glared at the ump.  A-Rod tried to upstage the ump and worked the count full.  On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, A-Rod hit a dribbler of a ball toward third base.  Mike Moustakas charged hard to barehand the ball and throw on the run, beating A-Rod by half a step at first.

The Royals won.

Kaleb shook his head and smiled, “Deep inside of me, there is a Royals fan that is saying, ‘That was incredible.’”

“In order to be the best, you have to beat the best” the old saying goes.  Last night we caught a glimpse that maybe “Our Time” is closer than we think.

Thanks for visiting Kings of Kauffman. You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.  You can also send your questions to our mailbag at KoKMailbag@gmail.com.

After breaking down the weekend’s pitching matchups, we also discussed the state of the Royals, the nature of being a fan – regardless of market – and made our predictions for the series.

You can hear the full discussion on their podcast here.

*Though he also had 185 hits in the playoffs, which don’t “count” towards career milestones, other than playoff hit records and such of course.

I’m immediately reminded of the night George Brett, my favorite player growing up, reached the 3,000 hit mark.

The Royals were on the road at the end of the 1992 season.  Brett, 39 at the time, was at 2,996 hits and, after years of hustling, hard play, was clearly at the end of his career.  He missed two games in Anaheim but finally returned on September 30.  The Royals would head back to Kansas City for the final series of the year the next day, so it seemed as if he’d have opportunity to share the achievement with the hometown crowd.

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I’ve been anti Harry Potter from day one.  I’ve never read any of the books so my feelings are largely unjustified, but as a fan of the fantasy genre and the proud recipient of an English/Creative Writing degree the hype surrounding the books has caused me to bristle with frustration and anger.  There are so many truly great fantasy writers out there that are far more deserving of the hype than that which is heaped upon J.K. Rowling.  Three of my personal favorites are Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, and Robert Jordan.  All three have published many bestsellers, but I never recall the release of any of their works being met with long lines and hysteria in book stores at the stroke of midnight, but I digress.

There was a Sunday afternoon awhile back, probably over a year ago, that I was waiting for the boys to wake up from their naps so we could head to a family gathering.  I had nothing to do really and was terribly unmotivated, so I was flipping channels.  I happened across Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and due to the lack of viable alternative options I started watching.  I made it about halfway through the movie when the kids woke up and we had to depart.  I never saw the second half of the movie, and despite not being a fan or finding it all that interesting it bothered me that I never saw the end.

That all changed last night after I successfully got the boys tucked into bed upon the conclusion of another “boys night” since my wife was working the evening shift again.  In case you are wondering, boys night did not go as smoothly as Wednesday’s edition.  There was no Christmas in March for me this time.  Zachary was very cooperative and in a very good mood, but our oldest Justin was a roller coaster of emotions due to a cold and general lack of sleep.  Anyway, with the house quiet, I sat down on the couch to write and watch some college basketball.  None of the games piqued my interest and none of them looked like they were going to be very close, so I started flipping channels.

Then on the ABC Family channel, I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  Drawn like a moth to a flame, I grabbed a pillow and a blanket and settled in.  That my friends is why I did not publish a second or third article last night as I had planned.  It’s all Harry Potter’s fault, but at least I know how the movie ends.

Only problem is that now I feel compelled to watch the next five movies in the series.  ABC Family is showing the next four between today and tomorrow, and yes I have set the DVR to record each and every one of them … Damn you Harry Potter.

~~~~~

Now let’s move on to our weekly stroll around the MLB sites of the FanSided.com Sports Network.  A day late is better than never!  Before we get into the links, I want to mention a few new members to our MLB team here at FanSided.

Brett Miller has joined on as a contributing blogger to provide content for our Seattle Mariners site, SoDo Mojo.

Rayhawk Review, our Tampa Bay Rays site, is now led by Justin Klein.  Current staffer Dustin Staggers is staying on board as a contributor.

Andrew Carless is our new lead blogger on our Colorado Rockies site Rox Pile.

Birds Watcher: No posts this week, but we will have a new lead writer providing content for the site within the week!

Blog Red Machine: Meet the Reds Newest Addition

BoSox Injection: Beckett Struggles in Loss to Pirates

Call to the Pen update:  We’ve got our seven columnists ready to go and a schedule planned out.  Site should be launched by the end of next week!

Chicken Friars: Projecting Kevin Correia

Cubbies Crib: Put the Brakes on it – Cubs and Toyota Could soon be Partners

Deep Left Field: Indians Fantasy Primer – Pitchers (Read at Your Own Risk)

Frisco Fastball: Some Spring Updates

Halo Hangout: Rangers Decide to Stand By Their Man

Jays Journal: Sean Ochinko Gets a Look at 3B

Kings of Kauffman: You are here, but I wanted to take a moment to thank the people who have expressed interest in helping me provide content for this site.  In the next week or so I will be officially welcoming a new contributor so stay tuned.

Lasorda’s Lair: Dodgers Top 10 Prospect Report – 8. Trayvon Robinson

Marlin Maniac: Who is Clay Hensley?

Motor City Bengals: Miner Elbow Issues

Nolan Writin’:  Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the middle of last season

Rayhawk Review:  It’s About Time Pena

Redbird Rants:  Cards News and Notes – Pujols-Howard Trade Reaction

Reviewing the Brew is still in need of a lead,  email us if you are interested in covering the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rising Apple:  Looks Like Fernando Martinez is Ticketed for Triple A

Rox Pile:  Beer, Brothels and Baseball … and Huston Street may miss season

Rum Bunter:  Pirates Potential Milestones in 2010

SoDo Mojo: Suspicions Confirmed

Southside Showdown is our new Chicago White Sox site.  We have a lead writer lined up for the site and content should be coming soon.

Swingin’ A’s:  A’s Preview – Coco Crisp

That Balls Outta Here:  Philadelphia Sports Fans – 40+ Years of Being Total A-Holes

Teddy Never Wins is still in need of a lead, email us if you are interested in covering the Washington Nationals.

Tomahawk Take: No posts this week.

Twinkie Talk: Twins Sign Span

Venom Strikes:  Call it a Case of March Madness

Yanks Go Yard:  Jeter hurts hand, is fine

(Wally Fish is the lead blogger for Kings of Kauffman and FanSided’s MLB Director.  Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)