During our fifth episode of The Ballgame, we talked with 10 year MLB veteran, utility infielder and First Baseman, Pete LaCock. We talked with Pete about his time with some of the greatest Royals teams in history; his time with the Cubs and even inappropriate nicknames he’s had. Pete spends his time now working with Zinger Bats and golfing.
You can catch the entire episode here.
On the eve of one of the city’s largest snowstorms, the Ballgame was talking Baseball. Greg Pryor and Jeff Logan pinch-hit and captained the show. After the obligatory groaning about our potential fifth starter candidates Luke Hochevar and Bruce Chen, we talked about the Royals and Astros with the new voice of Houston’s club, Robert Ford. We talked with Robert about his time working with the Royals and what to expect from the Astros this year in this season of change as they move from the National League to the American League. Robert mentioned the resurgence of their farm system and a payroll that’s among the lowest in baseball. We also spoke to the new Clown Prince of Baseball Jon Warden about his time with the Detroit Tigers, his World Series and how he turned one year in the big leagues into a career making people laugh.
Join us every week live on ESPN 1510 AM in Kansas City for The Ballgame from 4-5 Wednesdays. Also take part in the discussion at facebook.com/theballgamekc or twitter.com/theballgamekc.
Jon Warden is the Clown Prince of Baseball and the “Dishonorable Judge” in the Kangaroo Court.
Robert Ford is the NEW play-by-play voice for the Houston Astros
Reprinted from the Rambling Moron Column at the Platte County Landmark.
PREDICTIONS: YOST GETS FIRED; TEAM FINISHES 80-82
Posted 2/14/13
Spring Training is here. No more talk of rushing yards or zone defenses. Talk now turns to “How does he look?” and “How fast is he pitching?” and “Oh, he’s put on some muscle.”
For the next several weeks, the buzz of Spring Training will mean very little. You can listen to radio hosts, and podcasters and read sportswriters who will empty gallons of ink and shred gigabytes of hard drive space and all of it — ALL of it — means nothing. Arguments on Twitter focus on the fight for the fifth starter. Arguments on Facebook focus on if Chris Getz has what it takes to take the starting second base position. But it will all, likely, be whizzing in the wind after a few more weeks.
The season won’t be won in the marketing room either. The new slogan “Come to Play” means very little, too. Unless you’re a player driving down from Omaha and actually need to use those as instructions.
The key to baseball is very simple. But it’s impossible to single out. It has been said that the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a round ball with a round bat squarely. And history proves that the heroes in baseball are most likely the underdogs and the never-heard-ofs. The Aaron Boone who has a nondescript career until he finds himself as a New York Yankee and hits one of the most historic home runs in the 11th inning of the 2003 ALCS to beat the hated Red Sox. Boone never again made much of an impact, but then again, he never had to.
Baseball is about screaming loud moments in a sea of quiet. Stories of Willie Aikens, a man who never made an All-Star Game and who would later be incarcerated for cocaine possession. Aikens hit two home runs in two games in the 1980 World Series, a series the Royals would lose, but not due to the lack of effort by Aikens, who was never again the same player. But only two players in MLB history have had multiple home run games in a World Series. The other being Chase Utley in the 2009 World Series. Something that names like Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson never did.
Success in baseball isn’t in being the best, it’s in being the most clutch. That’s why George Brett‘s career was such an anomaly. Someone who consistently hit above .300, but was also at his most successful, when the game was on the line.
So during this Spring Training, don’t pay attention to those who bark the loudest, or predict records, very little of that can be counted on. The success of this Royals club will likely be made in a weight room, or in a batting cage without the tens of thousands of fans looking on and cheering. Wins and losses in baseball are made in January, running hills in a sand dune, or doing that 1,000th sit-up. And you might not ever hear of the next hero for the team again, until that key moment on Opening Day, or game 163 when that key pitch or that key hit “Comes To Play.”
My prediction, that you should squarely ignore, is that the Royals will continue to struggle early and fire their manager by mid-May. The team will rebound due to Duffy and Paulino coming back at the All-Star Break and finish 80-82 and in second place in the division.
(Chris Kamler is active on Twitter, where he is known as @TheFakeNed. He hosts a weekly baseball-themed show on ESPN 1510 Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Reach him through his web site, ramblingmorons.com)
Reprinted from the Rambling Moron Column at the Platte County Landmark.
A TWEETALONG WITH PLATTE CITY POLICE
Posted 2/14/13
Over the past several months, the Kansas City Police Department has allowed Twitter-enabled citizens do “ride alongs” with them and describe the action that goes on in the patrol cars. These have been dubbed “tweetalongs” and they serve to increase exposure for the men and women who put their lives on the line, as well as show some of the action that happens.
Here in Platte County, things are a little bit slower, but that doesn’t mean Platte City’s Finest work any less hard. And those folks have had a rough last few months. I thought that the Platte City Police Department could use a similar PR boost, so I contacted the police chief and unfortunately, my requests were denied. But that’s not going to stop me from providing a “virtual tweetalong” for the benefit of the Platte City Police. Here are some of the tweets from that night:
#PCTweetalong - PC Police stopping by Casey’s Gen Store. Just to check in. Got to see the “Murder free since 2013″ sign.
Got to see the security camera room. Man, they have an excellent view of Foley’s home. #Tweetalong
These officers are fantastic. They don’t have a K-9 Unit here, but they did let me hold “Fluffy the Police Ferret.” #PCTweetalong
RT: @PCPolice Janet Smith, your kid is blocking the television. Can you ask him to move? #Tweetalong
Went with officers down to Cabelas to stock up on more “Game Cameras.” There’s apparently someone dumping their egg shells in the dumpster. #Tweetalong #SmileUrOnCandidCamera
Asked cops how they’re paying for the new cameras, both snickered and said “just add it to the radio system bill. What’s a few more in taxes?” #Tweetalong
Patrol car stopped off Myers Drive to pull what the officers called the “Flaming Poo Bag” trick on house of D. Peck. We all laughed. #Tweetalong
Platte City Police checked in on the old man who carried a bunch of guns to a Platte City bank. The old man thanked the officers for their service at Pearl Harbor #Tweetalong
Speedtrap Time along 92 Highway. Only person caught was a high school principal rushing to a “rendezvous” near the airport. #Tweetalong
DWI test near the square. Man kept saying he was a newspaper editor and was “drinking on a deadline.” No ticket issued since man was pantsless riding a skateboard. #Tweetalong
RT: @ivanfoley Man, justpflb dodddged a bullet thar. Also: need pants.
I want to thank the police officers for allowing me to tweet from their patrol car. It was an enlightening experience and one that gave me a better appreciation for these men and women… and ferrets.
(Chris Kamler is active on Twitter, where he is known as @TheFakeNed. He hosts a baseball related radio show Wednesdays at 4 p.m. on ESPN 1510 AM. Reach him through his web site, ramblingmorons.com)
Our original guest was unable to make it, so we talked baseball for an hour on The Ballgame, just Chris Kamler and Jeff Logan. Well, we mostly talked baseball. We also talked a little Big 12 Basketball for some reason, and then, somehow mixed in the phrase “shucky ducky quack quack” into the conversation. All the while, we touched on the gaps remaining in the rotation, the fight for second base and what to look for from the KC Baseball Historical Society in their February Monthly Meeting. Join us every week at 4:00 for lively baseball discussion and a few shenanagans on ESPN 1510 AM and 1510.com.
Join the conversation at Facebook.com/theballgamekc and at Twitter.com/theballgamekc. And join us every Wednesday at 4 on ESPN 1510 AM in Kansas City and 1510.com.
From Untitled Album, posted by The Ballgame on 2/15/2013 (1 items)
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