“It’s a compliment from the league,” coach Buzz Verdasco said. “The league is tough regardless of where you start out. I think the little bit of experience that we have coming back, in addition to some new guys are going to make for a little better of a season.”

The Griffons finished last season with a record of 26-25 and went 24-19 in MIAA conference play. The Griffons are returning three starting pitchers and some key relief. Matt Bergin went 10-6 last season with a team-low 2.54 earned run average. Oliver Kadey went 4-5 after appearing in 13 games with 10 starts accumulating a 5.58 ERA and Nick Jarudo went 7-3 with a 5.94 ERA. Tyler Riddle had a 4.31 ERA in 19 relief appearances. All four players are returning this season.

“We are excited about the experience coming back, but you have to perform,” Verdasco said. “We have some guys who have been through it, and that sometimes helps.”

On offense, Western will have to make up for the loss of power hitter Isaac Rome, who led the team with nine home runs and was tied for the lead in runs batted in with 42.

“I feel like we lost a big power stick, but this year I feel like we are going to have more consistent power throughout the whole lineup,” Spencer Shockley said.

Shockley is the returning team-leader in home runs with five and RBIs with 42. He’s also the returning team-leader in average, hitting at .319 last season.

Outfielders Shawn Egge and Bubba Dotson, both JUCO transfers, are players that are expected to add power to the lineup.

According to Verdasco, the strength of the team is its overall balance on both sides of the ball.

“I think our offense is going to balance with some returning pitching that will be a little bit experienced,” Verdasco said. “Hopefully the run production will allow our pitching staff to pitch more freely and aggressively than in the past. Knowing that we could potentially score more runs than we did last year is going to boost their confidence as a staff.”

The team returns Honorable Mention All-MIAA catcher Tony Loeffler, who is confident that his senior season will be a good one.

“I think this team can be one of the best teams that Western has ever had and I’ve ever played on, so the expectations are really high,” Loeffler said. “We talk about how we expect to be good a lot. We try and stay humble, go out there with the right mentality and play as hard as we can.”

Western baseball starts its season at North Alabama, who went 37-14 last season with a NCAA Regional appearance. Its first home appearance is at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 against Nebraska-Kearney.

In game one of the series, the Griffons struggled at the plate. They were shut out through the first four innings of the game, with Jason Solma being the big hitter in the game with a two RBI double in the
fifth inning off Pitt State’s Ryan Sorell.

The Griffons had a chance in their final at bat to tie the game up, but pinch hitter Scott Groner hit into a game ending double play to seal the Griffons loss 6-4.

Nic Jurado put the team on his back in game two of the series as he threw his second consecutive complete game. Jurado gave up just three hits and struck out seven in the game as he improved his
record to 4-1 overall.

“I started throwing my changeup today and got guys out in front and was able to get a win,” Jurado said.

Matt Berig throws a pitch during his first collegiate start against Pitt State.

Solma continued his hot start from game one as he went 3-5 with three RBI’s. Western’s offense also came alive as they pounded out 11 hits in the game. The Griffons also scored four runs in the first inning with three of them coming with two outs.

Western would overcome four errors in the field to give Jurado the win 11-2.

Sophomore Brandon Simmons picked up his sixth straight victory in game three of the series on Saturday afternoon.

Simmons went 7.2 innings, throwing 98 pitches, 65 of them strikes. Tyler Riddle relieved Simmons and was able to work out of a two out jam with runners at second and third to earn the save and preserve Simmons’ win.

“I was still a little sore from Tuesday, but you just have to fight through it and give your team a chance to win,” Simmons said.

Kyle Peterson started the scoring for Western with an RBI single to left field to score Ian Atkinson. In the fifth inning, Andrew Pieper and David Chew executed a perfect as Peiper stole second and on the throw to second, Chew swiped home to give the Griffons a two run lead. Pieper later scored on a double by Ian Atkinson.

Behind a strong performance in his first collegiate start, Matt Bergin pitched eight shutout innings, struck out five and scattered seven hits to lead the Griffons to a 4-0 victory over the Gorillas.

“We expected him to go maybe five but for him to go as long as he did and keep them off balance, that was big for us,” Buzz Verduzco said.

Western’s offense did just enough in the game to give Bergin the win and take three of the four games in the series.

After the series, Western improves to 17-13 overall and 16-9 in the MIAA. The Griffons also currently sit fourth in the MIAA standings.

With the Griffons tied up with Northwest at two late in the eighth inning, head coach Buzz Verduzco put on a suicide squeeze that was executed perfectly by Andrew Piper. Piper laid down a bunt down the first base line that he was able to beat out on the play and allow Mac Collette to score and give the Griffons the lead at 3-2.

Jake Graham belts a pitch from a Northwest pitcher during their four game series this past weekend.

“I just had this feeling that we were going to be able to pull the game out, especially with all the momentum we had coming into this game,” Piper said.

One run was all Brandon Simmons would need to shut the door on the Bearcats as they take the game 3-2.

Simmons pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits and striking out 10 in the victory.

In a double header on Saturday, the Griffons would keep their momentum as they swept both games from Northwest.

In the first game of the day, Ollie Kadey continued where Simmons left off on Friday night. Kadey would go the distance in a complete game victory as he scattered five hits and gave up just one run.

In the second game of the day, Ian Atkinson continued his hot hitting as he went 2-3 with two RBI’s in the game.
Western’s Nick Jurado continued the dominant pitching as he went all seven innings in the contest as he shut out the Bearcats, giving up three hits and striking out four.

“This isn’t what you expect in a four game series,” Verduzco said. “We only used three pitchers in three games and you just don’t expect that.”

In the series finale, Northwest was able to avoid a four game sweep of the series with a 3-1 victory over the Griffons.

“From the first inning I could tell that we just didn’t seem to have it today,” Verduzco said.

Loeffler provided the lone bright spot for the Griffons as he delivered an RBI base hit in the second inning.

Western improves to 13-11 overall and 12-7 in the MIAA after the series.

The softball and baseball teams have to enjoy not driving off campus to practice and for games three or four days a week. For the money that is being spent on the project, it is a top notch facility.

Not many have been inside the complex to see everything just yet, but there is one very noticeable thing that any driver going by can see. The baseball field has a turf infield. Now it may not be uncommon for some places to have turf instead of grass, but this field has turf instead of dirt.
Now the question has to be raised of how this will affect the players.
Playing on a turf infield with regular dirt is a difficult task, but how will it be taking on an entirely turf infield?

I guess we will all have to wait for the season to start; but the athletic department is making a very smart decision. We get a lot of snow in the winter and sometimes even in the early spring. Basically, this translates to a lot of cancelled games.

The turf baseball field will cut down on the number of cancelled games and therefore make the season a little colder for fans, but also add a little bit of a home field advantage.

Coming into the weekend, Western needed to play better than they had and take at least three of the four games from Pitt State and did just that.

The first game started with Western sending freshmen pitcher Oliver Kadey to the mound and he set the tone for the rest of the series for the Griffons. Kadey threw a complete game shutout against the Gorillas in a 2-0 victory.

Senior Danny Conners eyes a pitch during a Western baseball game. The Griffons defeated Pittsburg State this weekend 4-0 and kept their conference tournament hopes alive. Photo | Sara Baum

Game two provided a little more offense as the Griffons took the game 9-4 behind Isaac Rome’s four RBI’s including his 11th homerun of the year.
Western finished the series in a wild game Sunday night which they won 12-11 in 11 innings. The pitching staff, as well as the whole team, were running on fumes by the time the series came to an end.

“Andy Hebrard came into the last game Sunday giving us everything he had and we were able to ride out the emotional roller coaster and win it in 11 innings,” head coach Buzz Verduzco said.

The Griffons fought back to tie the game in the eighth inning behind Hebrard. Hebrard gave up a three run home run to center field in the top of the 11th to put the Griffons down 11-8 going into their final at bat.

Western used three hits to score four runs in their final at bat of the 11th inning to score the comeback win. Atkinson delivered the game winning hit on a RBI single to left center field to cap off the win.

Hebrard earned the win as he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits but also struck out six batters in his fifth win of the season.

“This sweep was huge for us,” Hebrard said. “Pitching a long relief was something I wanted and so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Western knew they would have to sweep Pitt State in order to keep their post-season hopes alive.

“We were pretty emotionally drained after that series,” Hebrard said.

The Griffons will now take a few days rest and then face Emporia State on Friday and Saturday.in two double headers.

Billy Waldman catches a fly ball during Western’s game against Rockhurst last Wednesday. The Griffons lost the game 8-2 and struggled with errors during the game. Photo | Matt Fowler

Western could only answer with a single in the bottom of the first and would only get three hits over the first five innings.

“Kind of all year we’ve had a struggle with our at bats and tonight was really no different,” head coach Buzz Verduzco said.

On the mound Wednesday night was senior Blake Thomas, the veteran pitcher who went six innings and gave up eight runs. That seemed to be the problem for Western, because only three of those runs were earned.

“The errors kind of got us,” Verduzco said. “They kind of deflated us.”

On the hill for Rockhurst was Alex Seier. Seier went seven innings giving up five hits, one earned run and one strikeout. Leading Rockhurst at the plate was first baseman Ryan Porter. Porter went 4-5 from the plate with two big homeruns that really took the wind out of Western’s sails. Porter was the only player from Rockhurst with more than one hit in the game and a lot of that has to due with the way that Thomas pitched. If you take away the errors for Western, then you’re looking at a one run ball game.

Offensively for the Griffons, they struggled mightily at getting the bat on the ball. There was no Griffon with more than one hit and it wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Griffons were able to get a run across the plate.

In the game the Griffons left eight runners on base – when you do that it becomes very hard for a team to win baseball games. Western managed to get one more run in the eighth off a Scott Groner single.

“Hopefully we can take a few days off, regroup and get ready for the conference run,” Verduzco said. “But we don’t know what that’s going to be yet.”

The Griffons will play the University of Nebraska-Omaha in a double header on Wednesday, April 21 and then will have a double header against Pittsburg State on Friday, April 24.

The first game of the series started on Thursday afternoon in a close game that the Mules were able to take 4-3 in after an unusual error on the infield let the winning run score from second base. Western was able to take an early 3-0 lead on the second-ranked team in the nation as they capitalized on three Mule errors. UCM showed why they were the number two team in the nation, however, as the Mule pitching staff held the Griffons scoreless the rest of the game and only gave up two hits.

The second game of the double header was not as close as the Mules dominated the Griffons and winning the game 15-4.

Andy Hebrard bunts the ball during Western’s game two weeks ago against Northwest. This week when the Griffons played Central, they lost the series 0-4. Photo | Sara Baum

Freshman Scott Groner also chipped in with his first home run as a Griffon and also had three RBI’s in the game. Western committed three errors in the fourth inning that helped the Mules to tie up the game at three after the Griffons had taken an early 3-1 lead. Western also struggled with getting runners home in the game leaving nine runners on base.

“I was very happy with the performance we got from Brandon Simmons in the game and I think that we showed some fight in two of the games and in the other two they really showed why they are ranked second in the nation,” head coach Buzz Verduzco said.

Pitcher Andy Hebrard was disappointed with how the weekend went.

“This weekend didn’t go how we wanted it to,” Hebrard said. “We have to flush it out and keep working hard. We need to keep our heads up and know we have our chance to get ourselves back in it.”

Western falls to 13-15 overall and 7-15 in the MIAA. Western will continue their conference schedule on April 9-10 as they host Truman State University at Phil Welch Stadium.

After losing all four games against Fort Hays the weekend before, the Griffons were looking to turn things around and improve their record.

After getting the right mindset going into the games, everything else just clicked.

Senior Trevor Hannum prepares to bat during a Western game last year. This past weekend, the Griffons swept SBU 4-0. Photo | Marty Ayers

The games Friday ended positively for the Griffons when they won 4-2 and 8-0. The good start helped raise the confidence of the team and end the meeting with the Bearcats with a four-game sweep.

“The wins helped our confidence a lot, because you never want to start out conference 0-4 and it gives us a lot of momentum leading into playing the rest of our conference series at home,” said senior pitcher Corey White.

The Griffons just simply outplayed Southern Baptist the whole weekend, having stellar pitching performances by Andrew Hebrard, John Cochran and Chris Sundvold

They also produced their first errorless game as a team, which helped immensely.

“That was big for us as a team, the wins this week helped us get closer to finding our identity,” Hannum said.

The winning streak against Southwest Baptist continued on Saturday as the Griffons pulled out two wins: 9-3 and 6-2.

Both teams got close to an equal amount of hits all four games, with Western garnishing up 38 and SBU making contact 32 times. Yet, Western was able to take advantage of their hits and contribute more runs than the Bearcats.

“Our defense played a lot better than we did against Fort Hays,” White said.

The team expects to take the momentum of the sweep and turn it into positive play for the remainder of the season. After the successful weekend, Griffon baseball improved their record to 6-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play, while Southern Baptist dropped to 2-13 overall and 1-7 in the conference.

The Griffons finally will play ball in St. Joseph territory on Saturday, March 13, against Missouri Southern.

A new baseball stadium is planned to be built on the Missouri Western campus. The Griffons are thrilled about the opportunity to finally play baseball in front of a home crowd here on campus. 

“It’s always exciting to play in front of a home crowd,” Missouri Western baseball coach Buzz Verduzco said. “We don’t know much about it, other than we are enthusiastic and excited that it is going to happen.”

The Griffon baseball squad finished last year with a 28-23 record, and boasted a 21-14 conference record. They currently share a stadium with the minor league St. Joseph Blacksnakes at Phil Welch Stadium.

With a successful season and a playoff appearance under their belts, Coach Verduzco and the team are looking forward for what’s to come. 

“A lot of players from the past, present, as well as future will have put a lot of hard work and dedication into this program,” Verduzco said.

As the Max Experience recently finished phase two with the completion of the new basketball floor, the Missouri Western athletics program looks toward phase three. The Max Experience has already brought us admission to Western athletics, free food and drinks at athletic events, a new turf playing surface at Spratt Stadium and a new basketball gym floor.  Phase three will bring a new baseball stadium to Missouri Western.

Most of the baseball players are in the dark when it comes to the new stadium. Sophomore pitcher Jon Bond thinks having a new stadium on campus would be a great idea and help the baseball team become more popular.

“We have heard about it, but haven’t found out any details yet,”Bond said. “That would be awesome though.”

The timeframe for the building of the stadium is relatively unknown as well.

“We would like to get it going as soon as possible,” Verduzco said. “We’re very excited that we are at this point.  Hopefully it will happen soon.”

It seems that the process will be on hold until we find a new athletic director. Mark Linder, former athletic director was a huge part of the Max Experience. 

“It will become clearer after a new athletic director is hired as far as the timeline goes,” Verduzco said. Missouri Western hopes to have a new one in place by the beginning of October.

Phase four will involve upgrades to press boxes and student sections at the stadium. Phase four will also bring the addition of student success suites, an auxiliary fitness center, additional office space and a Griffon Zone (similar to ESPN Zone) in the Looney Complex.

The Griffons have no shortage of superstitions on their team. Some players get others involved in their superstition while others do their own personal thing. Even coach Buzz Verduzco has his share of superstitions.

Verduzco fills out his lineup card the same way for every game. He also posts the card in the same spot in the dugout. He doesn’t like guys getting individual media spotlight either.

“Anytime you get individual, a guy ends up 0-20,” said Verduzco. “We keep some of our up and coming guys away from the media out of fear they will go in the tank.”

One of the Griffons’ hottest players this season has a superstition of his own. Junior Tommy Bone leads the MIAA in batting average and has been a leader for the Griffons all year. That hasn’t stopped him from engaging in his own superstition.

“I refuse to touch anyone’s helmet but my own,” said Bone.

Some of these superstitions are normal in baseball, but some players on the team take part in truly crazy rituals.

Most superstitions are an individual thing.

Not for Sophomore Troy Landi. Landi likes to get other players involved.

The Spitbox is a ritual that some Griffon players get involved with. One person draws a square in the dirt to create a box for the event.

Then everyone stands in the same spot and spits into it.

“Everyone has to do it in the same order every time,” said Landi.

The award for strangest superstition goes to Drew Waller. Waller has a unique ritual that gets out of slumps.

When this Griffon goes into a slump he puts change into his right pocket. It’s always 37 cents. No more, no less.

“It’s called the Half Team,” said Waller. “It helps me get out of a slump or cold streak.”

Some Griffons don’t buy into baseball superstitions.

Willie Forrest is one such player.

He hasn’t ever really gotten into rituals and superstitions.

“Baseball has always had superstitions, but they just aren’t for me,” said Forrest.

Some players have different opinions on why guys have superstitions.

Bone thinks it’s a confidence thing. He says players repeat things they think help.

“If a guy does something one day and has a good day, he wants to do it again,” said Bone.

Landi has a different opinion on why players do such crazy things. He thinks it is a comfort thing.

“If someone finds something that works they want to keep doing it. I think it’s a matter of being comfortable,” said Landi.

Baseball players do some truly crazy things for hot streaks. They think they are doing what they have to do in order to win. After all, the baseball gods may be watching.

This spring has been one of the coldest in recent memory and it has had an affect on sports.

The average high temperature in April is 66 degrees. The average low temperature is 42 degrees. The numbers this year have been far below average.

So far this April the average high temperature has been 47 degrees. That is 19 degrees below the normal high temperature. The average low has been 31 degrees.

The below freezing temperature makes the ground hard and can change the playing surface of a baseball field.

The baseball team has suffered the wrath of Mother Nature. Wet field conditions have forced the team to restrict practice to the outfield many times this season. Coach Buzz Verduzco is getting frustrated with the weather this year.

“It has been really cold this year,” Verduzco said. “We never go inside to practice but it’s still hard to get into a game situation.”

These frustrations are reflected in the Griffons record. The baseball team made the NCAA National tournament for the first time last season, going 31-25.

The team is 15-17 this year and another bid to the NCAA tournament looks unlikely.

Defense has been a problem for the Griffons this year, which is something that can be linked to the weather. Not being able to get on the infield and get in some good practice has hurt the Griffons.

“We haven’t played defense, but we are pitching well enough to win,” Verduzco said. “We just have to keep plugging away.”

The team has hit the ball well enough to win games, averaging 6 runs per game. Errors and other mistakes have cost the team though, and that may prevent them from making back to back trips to the NCAA tournament.

“It will come down to pitching and defense for us, not hitting,” Verduzco said.

The Griffons took the first game of the series Friday. The final score was 19-6 in seven innings. The game was called because of a run rule.

Western pounded out thirteen hits in the win. 2B Willie Forrest and 1B Blake Bussman each got three hits apiece. Bussman helped the Griffons put the game away in the fifth inning. Bussman hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, helping the Griffons score six runs in the inning. It was his first home run of the year.

Junior A.J Huttenlocker got the win to run his season record to 3-2. Blake Thomas came on in relief to pitch the final two innings.

The Griffons won the second game of the series 9-7 Saturday afternoon. They scored the first three runs of the game, getting a solo homerun from Forrest in the first inning. They added  two more runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Truman scored two runs in the third inning, making it a 3-2 game. The Griffons pulled away until the end of the game.

Truman loaded the bases with one out and the score 9-6. They could only manage one run as the Griffons held on for the win.

Western pounded out ten hits, getting two solo home runs from Forrest. DH Tommy Bone and OF Brian Munson each had two hits apiece.

Junior Everett Saul went 5.1 innings to get his first win of the year. He gave up four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Kyle Grup got Western out of its ninth inning jam to pick up his first save on the season.

The Griffons improved to 11-9, 4-2 in conference, after the first two games of the series. Truman fell to 4-16.

The baseball team has an extra obstacle to overcome this season.

The Griffons haven’t been able to get out on the diamond because of the cold temperatures and snow. They will go straight from the field house to the field for their first game. Head coach Buzz Verduzco is a little worried about being stuck inside all winter.

“We’re dying to get outside,” said Verduzco. “The first groundballs we take on grass will be during pre-game infield.”

When the Griffons do get out on the field they will look to shortstop Sam Walker to step up and be a big contributor. Walker hit .348 last season and drove in 46 runs while earning first team all-MIAA honors.

Second baseman Willie Forrest also figures to play a big role in the Griffons season. Forrest led the team in homeruns last year and got honorable mention all-MIAA honors. Verduzco likes his dynamic duo in the middle infield.

“It’s nice to have those two guys out there,” said Verduzco. “They can make a difference.” Western made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time last year despite struggling with pitching all year. The team’s ERA was 6.30 last season. Injuries hurt the pitching staff last year but the team thinks that pitching will be one of its strength this season.

“If we can avoid injuries we should be better,” said Verduzco. “We have a deeper staff this season.”

Newcomer Tommy Bone will take over at first base for the team this year. He is a good player who may be able to provide some more power to the Griffons lineup. New catcher Tim Reed can also make a difference when he steps into the batter’s box. The team looks to get solid offensive production this season.

The team has higher expectations after making the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history last season. Western wants to improve from last season and make a run at the tournament again this year.

“We want to live up to those expectations and we understand what it takes,” said Verduzco.

The team thinks they can live up to those higher standards if they can stay healthy and improve their pitching. The pitching staff has another season of experience under  their belt and should be better this year. If the Griffons can shake off the rust quickly this season they think they can get into the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.

McGwire finished his career with 583 home runs, which puts him seventh on the alltime home run list. Normally 500 home runs guarantee a players spot in Cooperstown, which is where the baseball hall of fame is located in New York.

McGwire is a different story though. He is suspected of using steroids during his career, which has a lot of the voters saying they won’t vote for him.

Big Mac became a legend during the summer of 1998. His race with Sammy Sosa for the single season home run record was the biggest story of the year. Everyone loved both McGwire and Sosa.

McGwire gave an interview during which the supplement Andro was spotted in his locker. It wasn’t illegal then so nobody paid a lot of attention. Big Mac and Sosa were being credited with saving baseball.

Now in 2006, after Jose Conseco said McGwire used steroids while they were teammates, McGwire is going to be left out of the hall of fame. There is no proof that McGwire used steroids at all. There weren’t tests for steroids when McGwire played.

Even if there had been tests McGwire wouldn’t have been punished because the substances he was using weren’t illegal at the time. He wasn’t doing anything wrong according to the rules of baseball.

The voters want to make an example of McGwire because he is the first player from the “steroids era” to be eligible for the hall. In doing so they are keeping a deserving player from the honor he deserves.

Other players will be on the ballot in the future that carry the same suspicions as Big Mac. What will the writers do with them? Will Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Barry Bonds get in? All these players carry heavy suspicion of steroid use.

Bonds is in no matter what. Even if you credit 200 of his home runs to steroids and don’t count them, his numbers are still unbelievable. Sosa and everyone else will have a tougher time though.

What about players such as Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and Albert Pujols? Nobody really thinks any of these players used steroids but will they be punished for playing in the “steroid era?”

Ramirez and Pujols are two of the greatest hitters to ever play the game of baseball. We are talking about two of the top 10 hitters of all time. They have to get in don’t they?

I am not supporting the use of steroids. They do horrible things to your body. But how do you punish someone for using a substance that isn’t even illegal? The voters will have to decide if they want Big Mac in the hall of fame in the next few months. I, for one, am cheering for him.

Let me start by saying I agree with everything said in the previous Royals commentary. The franchise has been in some serious trouble for a while now, but in the seven seasons since David Glass took over, there have been six losing seasons, four of which were 100 losses or more.

So my question is this; why is David Glass still the owner of the Royals franchise when he has done nothing good for it since he took over?

I suppose a better question to ask first is how did David Glass become the owner of the Royals in the first place? After all, when he was bidding for the team he was outbid by Miles Prentice. And this was no small margin, Prentice and his group of 40 some investors outbid Glass by $24 million. I guess since Glass was the Chairman of the Board with the Royals after Ewing Kauffman’s death, he had a lot of pull when it came to deciding who would own the team.

My next question involves the money situation. The last commentary on the subject said the Royals had the fourth lowest payroll in the Major Leagues. How is it that a man that could afford to spend $96 million on a baseball team cannot to invest more money into his players? He’s not using the money to renovate Kauffman Stadium; he had to ask taxpayers for that money. Maybe he’ll invest in something else important, like a new yacht.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit unfair. Not every person to come out of Wal-Mart’s upper corporate structure is a money grubber are they? Glass does have a building named after him at Missouri State in Springfield, so he must have donated to the school from which he came. Sounds like a good guy right?

Take this into account, in an interview that was later terminated by Wal-Mart, Glass was asked about children in Asia working in sweatshop- like conditions. His response: “You might perhaps, define children differently.” Not only did he show his supreme intellect as CEO of Wal-Mart, but went on to say that because of Asian’s generally short statures, you cannot tell how old they are.

Maybe it’s not all his fault. Maybe he is just unable to keep up with the team; after all, managing a baseball team is a major commitment, not like keeping track of business in thousands of stores around the country. That must be why he hired his three children to work on the Board of Directors, to help him make important decisions about the team, like raising ticket prices after the tax increase.

To top it all off, during the baseball strike in 1994-95, Kauffman was one of the strongest advocates for bringing in replacement players to keep the season going as well as being strongly against a settlement with the players union.

Why is this man still the owner of the Royals? What good has he done? He’s lined his pockets and managed to drive a team into the ground. People blame the managers for not being able to put the team together and pull off a winning season, but without the right resources, what options do they have?

Perhaps the biggest question of all is can this team come back from the brink and prove themselves as contenders again? With a piecemeal roster the chances are very unlikely. But if an investor or investors came forward and actually put some work and money into the team, I think this team is more than salvageable. Kansas City is known more for its dedication to the Chiefs, but if a city can get behind that team even when they are going through rough times, why can’t they help get behind this team too? I just hope that Buddy Bell doesn’t have to cry to get KC behind him.

I, like many other fans, wonder how they manage to be so bad every year? The Royals’ ownership and management would have you believe the team doesn’t bring in enough money to pay big time players. That’s why they can’t compete.

You could make an all-star team from former Royals players. Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran, and Johnny Damon all made the allstar team last season. They all also left the Royals because they were offered more money by other teams.

Another former Royals player just helped lead the Cardinals to victory at the World Series Championship game. Jeff Suppan was a key pitcher for the Cardinals during their World Series run. Suppan is also a former Royal.

Why do the Royals let all of these players go? They say they can’t afford to keep them. The Royals’ payroll last year was $47 million. That was the fourth lowest total in Major League Baseball.

Other teams in small markets make the playoffs every year. The Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres all made the playoffs this year. They also all play in some of the smallest media markets in baseball.

All of these teams know that they must keep their best players in order to win. None of these teams spend tons of money on free agents. They scout well and resign their own star players.

Baseball practices something known as revenue sharing. Clubs in large markets such as New York and Boston, give money to teams in smaller cities to keep the game fair. Almost all the Royals payroll was paid with money that other teams gave them. So all the money made off ticket sales, merchandise, and parking is pure profit for the ownership.

The Florida Marlins had the lowest payroll in baseball last year. They were also in the playoff hunt until the final week of the season. How did the Marlins win so many games with the lowest payroll in baseball?

They kept both of their best young players. The Marlins traded away most of their starting lineup last off-season but they kept Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Willis had a very good year and Cabrera made the all-star team.

So who is the Royals best player? The highest paid player last year was Mike Sweeney. He made $11 million while hitting .258 with eight homeruns and thirty-three RBIs.

Remember Jermaine Dye, a player the Royals let go. He made $5 million while sporting a .315 batting average. He also had 44 homeruns and 120 RBIs.

The Royals continue to make terrible decisions. They need to trade Mike Sweeney. He takes up one-fourth of the payroll and doesn’t give them any production. He may be the face of the franchise, but he isn’t helping them win games.

The Royals were recently voted the worst franchise in sports by ESPN writers. That’s the worst out of every sports league, not just baseball. There isn’t a more poorly run franchise in any sport. There is new hope for the Royals though. They have fired former General Manager, Allen Baird, and hired Atlanta Braves assistant, Dayton Moore.

The first true test will be what the Royals do with outfielder David DeJesus. He is a very good player who is going to want to be paid like one in the future. Will the new Royals GM realize the need to resign him, or will he let him go like so many players before?

Next on the list; I don’t like Kenny Rogers, never have. Unless he writes me a big check, I probably never will. The camera man incident was just the icing on the cake for me. All because Kenny, a man that is on TV at least once a week during the regular season, didn’t want to be filmed during practice.

If it were to have ended there, maybe I would be content with never mentioning his name again, but Kenny couldn’t stay out of the controversy limelight forever.

Game 2 of the World Series started off pretty routine, and the first inning went on without incident, but then the second inning started, and suddenly everyone in the baseball loving world knew that Kenny Rogers had something on his hand. What was it? Kenny says it was mud, others say pine tar. Why didn’t Tony La Russa do anything about it? We may never know the real reason, whether his friendship with Tigers manager Jim Leyland influenced his decision remains a mystery and besides, it was gone by the second inning and Rogers went on to pitch scoreless innings. Issue resolved right? Well, not quite.

See, the next day ESPN’s web page posted some very interesting pictures, showing Mr. Rogers once again, this time in the American League Championship Series, and what did it show? A smudge, very similar to the one shown on his hand in Game 2 of the World Series, and it was in the exact same spot. If he would have just come right out and said “I did it” I honestly would not have such a grudge against him, but he has the audacity to sit there and say that he didn’t realize it at the time.

Put aside the ready-made excuses he had for him, it was cold. A lot of other pitchers supposedly do it, he went on to pitch his team to victory, do I agree with those statements? Yes. But to tell people that it was an accident is just ridiculous, the Cardinals even collected balls after the game that Rogers had allegedly been scuffing with his fingernails.

The worst part about it is that Major League Baseball is doing what it does best, turning the other cheek. Baseball has a lot of room for players to cheat and give them just enough of an advantage to come out victorious. Scuffing a baseball makes it rotate differently, corking a bat makes the ball go farther and we know it happens, but for once do something about it.

Fines aren’t going to keep multi million dollar athletes from trying to slip in their tricks. When you cheat in college you get kicked out, maybe that’s what needs to happen here. The buck stops with the umpires of a baseball game, if they catch a player cheating, they should do something about it, eject them and then let the higher ups dish out the proper discipline, hopefully a suspension. Or has the league become so infested with players gaining unfair advantages that there wouldn’t be anyone left to play Major League Baseball? I would certainly hope not, but I don’t think the possibility is that far out.