My daily morning routine is usually the same. I don’t like much variety in these kinds of things. Get up, make coffee, catch up on the twitter feed and head to the gym. This schedule rarely changes and, if it does, it is never by my own doing but rather because I’m told to do something different.

Monday’s morning schedule however, was thrown entirely off its rocker when, upon turning on some KC radio, I heard the following phrase:

“I think, right now, you could make the argument that Alcides Escobar is the best shortstop in baseball.”

Best. shortstop. in. baseball.

Photo credit: Minda Haas (www.mindahaas.net)

That statement is just full of head-scratchiness.

Hyperbole surrounds baseball like Ken Harvey could surround a tarp. As fans we’re subjected to it all the time. Whether it is on local TV and radio, or the national scene where every player in baseball is “great”, when it does comes along in a way that borders on the ridiculous, most times we all just gloss over it.

But this stuck with me. “…Alcides Escobar is the best shortstop in baseball.” Yes, the sentence was qualified with the ever definable “you could make the argument” phrase (so then make it, oh wait, you’re not going to) and the cop-out “right now”, but saying Escobar at any time, or in any argument, is the best shortstop in baseball brings a whole new meaning to the word “hyperbole”.

Royals fans are cursed. I think that point doesn’t need to be argued more than it already has been. And because of that they, we, often overreact one way or another to anything that is currently going on with the team. Maybe this is done to try and pull something positive away from a being a fan of a franchise that has been embarrassing for the better part of 25 years. Maybe it’s done to give everyone something, something, to talk about during another one of those embarrassing years. (more…)