\"A dim view of humanity\" -Lee Judge
There is a man close to my age who works at a grocery store in my neighborhood. Often, when the weather is nice, I’ll see him sitting outside his SUV during his lunch break playing his guitar. He’s not busking for tips; he’s just enjoying the sunshine and playing because he loves to play. Every […]
Jaylon Thompson looks at the ugly numbers this month. “I think we don’t hit a lot of homers, we don’t hit for extra bases,” Garcia said after the game. “So we have to figure out how to score more runs. (It’s) like playing the small game and trying to do something different. “That’s Royals baseball. […]
It was another tough day of Royals baseball. They were promptly swept for the third time in their last four series. They have lost 6 straight and 16 of their last 19. They are one of the worst teams in all of baseball. A four-run first inning, all with two outs, doomed Michael Wacha and […]
The Royals are in complete disarray. They have lost 15 of their last 18 games and are trying to avoid being swept for the third time in the last four series. I don’t really have many positive things to say, Michael Wacha starts today, he’s been one of the few bright spots this season. With […]
Just when you thought the Royals had run out of ways to lose baseball games. In case you’re too young to understand the reference in the headline, there was an old Newpaper comic strip called Peanuts by Charles Schulz. One of the running gags was that Charlie wanted to kick a football. Lucy would always […]
I don’t really know what to put here anymore. I mean, sure, I can preview the pitching matchup and offer some thoughts about the lineup. And I will. But I also like to contextualize the play of the team and the importance of the game. And… there’s just no context worth offering, and there is […]
The Royals are searching for answers, writes Anne Rogers. “We felt like there’s a core here that we could rely on for offense,” Picollo said. “Surrounding them with a deeper, better group and more balanced group was the goal. I think we did that. But I’m accountable, too. There are some evaluations made that haven’t […]
It has been said that when Stephen Kolek is getting ground outs in the first inning, you can tell it’s going to be a good night. Unfortunately, Kolek didn’t get a groundball until the seventh batter he faced in the first inning, and Nick Loftin turned that into an error. But let’s back up a […]
The Royals did not follow through after that Mariners series to do anything to the Yankees except scare them enough in that series opener to annoy the Yankees into grinding them into the dirt for two straight nights. The Royals don’t have a lot to play for in terms of wins and losses, but if […]
The Royals’ bullpen took another hit on Friday when the team announced Nick Mears has been placed on the Injured List with right shoulder impingement. The Royals recalled reliever Eric Cerantola from Triple-A Omaha to replace him on the roster. Mears pitched on Wednesday, giving up two walks and two hits among the six Yankees […]
The Rangers won their first championship in 2023, in part by spending a lot on free agents. But they had to pay the piper, and since then they have been a middling team around .500, missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Kansas City Royals (22-34) vs. Texas Rangers (25-31) at Globe […]
I went to my second Kansas City Royals game of the season on Wednesday night. I was in great company and just love being at a live baseball game, I was as depressed about the team leaving Kauffman Stadium after a 7-0 loss at the hands of the New York Yankees as I have been […]
The 2026 Kansas City Royals season has taken a difficult turn, and Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco are not pretending otherwise. This episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast navigates a bleak stretch of baseball with the honesty and perspective that have defined the show through the tough times. The episode opens with the latest roster […]
Hello, and welcome to my column about positivity. Please leave all negative feelings at the door as they won’t be tolerated. Lol, just kidding, I’m a super negative person. I’m Irish, an attorney, and a Kansas City sports fan. I never stood a chance. But sometimes I have these terrible bouts of optimism. They’re rare, […]
Oof. I thought we’d get something lighter after last Friday. I don’t think the last week made things better. Max covered the labor negotiations so I’m just going to link to that article here. I know there are a lot of opportunities for jokes here. But, in all seriousness, here’s a chance do good. Donate […]
With baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire this December, owners and players began labor discussions earlier this month. Today, the union made their first formal proposal to owners that includes several changes to the financial structure of the game. The union’s opening proposal would dramatically reshape revenue sharing, payroll incentives, and player compensation, changes […]
Ever wondered what it’s like inside a big league clubhouse like after a blowout loss? I can tell you: it’s quiet. At least, that’s what it was in the Kansas City Royals clubhouse after getting stomped 15-1 by the New York Yankees on Tuesday evening. Half a dozen or so players sat around a table, […]
Despite being on the Injured List, Matt Strahm is still mentoring Daniel Lynch IV. He stood up from the bench to go get his warmup bands and start his routine in case the bullpen phone rang. That is, until a hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Sit down,” Matt Strahm remembers telling Lynch. “This isn’t […]
The Royals were swept by the Yankees in the season series for the second year in a row, losing Wednesday evening 7-0. Tonight’s game was a pitchers’ duel through the first six innings. The 17th batter of the evening, Michael Massey, was the first hitter who managed to reach base when he hit a liner […]
After blowing a lead in the ninth on Monday and a drubbing last night, the Royals once again find themselves on the verge of a sweep at the hands of the Yankees. Kansas City has not been able to rebound from a slow start and now has too many pitching injuries. At least today they […]
After a blowout on Tuesday, the Royals announced that starting pitcher Bailey Falter has been designated for assignment. Falter gave up seven runs to the Yankees, recording just seven outs. Mason Black was recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Falter appeared in five games this year, giving up 15 runs in 9.2 innings for a 13.97 ERA. […]
It seems like a long time ago now, but the Royals were in the playoffs as recently as 2024. They vanquished the Baltimore Orioles, setting up a matchup against the Yankees in the ALDS. The series was quickly developing a villain for Royals fans – Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. He had a cocky attitude […]
With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) set to expire in December, MLB and the player’s union have begun initial labor talks. The last labor talks were five years ago, when players were locked out through mid-March, pushing the start of the season back a week, but avoiding the loss of any games. This negotiation […]
ESPN names Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. as the frontrunner for AL MVP. Witt has had a pedestrian start at the plate, posting a batting average and on-base percentage in line with past seasons but with an isolated power number that’s down — or at least it will be until he goes on […]
One of my pet theorems about the Kansas City Royals franchise and their fans is that nobody really knows what winning looks like, what good players look like. It’s a point of view naturally warped by decades of mediocrity punctuated by brief seasons of excitement. Tonight, the New York Yankees crushed the Royals 15-1 and […]