The Royals and I (Part Two)

Being a sport fan is an odd experience. You hinge your happiness, joy, and attitude on the doings of a 20 or 30 year-old’s ability to do something you are incapable of – throw a 98 mph strike at the outside corner; read the defense and throw a 35 yard pass at the perfect time, at the perfect speed to another player who did a bunch of other “perfects” to make it happen; make a split second decision to pass it to your teammate in the corner instead of trying to make a lay-up with a 7 foot behemoth attempting to block your attempt and then your teammates ability to catch and release at the perfect angle and speed to make the shot. It is no wonder that non-sports fans question the sanity of diehard fanatics.

With that said, many of us very clearly choose to put ourselves through this. Or sometimes, it chooses you. And, more often than not, it does not go perfect, your team does not win, and that pit in your stomach grows. The more fervent the fandom, the more painful the defeat – and the longer you feel that defeat. I call that “sports-depression.”

But the possibility of euphoria keeps us coming back. And if you are lucky, all of the defeats and disappointments are vindicated with that one game that will forever live in your heart and memory.

When I choose to be a Royals fan it was almost to avoid the cold reality of “sports-depression.” If you have no expectations of greatness, you have no real chance of letting your mood be dictated by the abilities, or inabilities, of the world’s greatest athletes. But, over the course of time my fandom grew (check last-years post for more info on that) and the Royals started to be competent, and then good, and now they are great. Back-to-Back American League Champions trying to push one step further than last year and win their first World Series since ’85. And watching your favorite team go to the Promised Land is even more rewarding when you genuinely enjoy the players on the team. Here’s the basics:

Lorenzo Cain:

            Pedigree: ALCS 2014 MVP, 2015 All-Star started, best smile in baseball.

Background: Cain didn’t play baseball until he was a sophomore in high school. He’d been cut from the basketball team and his mom wouldn’t let him play football. He went to his first baseball practice in jeans, wore a left-handers glove, and later tried to dig out home plate.

Mike Moustakas:

            Pedigree: 1^st round draft pick, 2015 All-Star

Background: First round pick who couldn’t live up to his expectations, was demoted to the minors, couldn’t hit left-handed pitchers, changed approach before 2015 season, became an All-Star, lost his mom to cancer earlier this season and continues to play for her.

Alex Gordon:

Pedigree: 1^st round draft pick, 3 time All-Star, 3 time Gold Glove winner, man stranded on 3^rd in 2014 World Series game 7.

Background: Similar to Moustakas, but with more pressure, drafted a third-baseman, couldn’t live up to crazy high expectations, demoted to minors, changed positions, became the best left fielder in baseball.

Salvador Perez:

            Pedigree: 3 time All-Star, 2 time Gold Glove winner, top 4 interview in baseball

Background: Plays baseball like a 10 year old in his backyard, pranks his teammates (especially Cain), after every win he dumps Gatorade/water on a player being interviewed.

Luke Hochevar:

            Pedigree: 1^st pick in 1^st round of draft.

Background: Seen as a failed draft pick as a starter, adjusted to being a reliever and was great, needed Tommy John surgery, chose to come back to Royals and is pitching great in the bullpen again.

Alcides Escobar:

            Pedigree: 2015 All-Star starter, 2015 ALCS MVP

Background: By many baseball statistics one of the worst offensive players in baseball, loves to swing at the first pitch, so much so that the team believes they will win the game if Esky swings at the first pitch of the game. Despite being considered a terrible leadoff hitter by many analysts won the 2015 ALCS MVP award because of his offensive output.

There are many, many other players on the team (obviously). And many of them have great stories too, but you can do your own research if you are that interested. This team has been a joy to watch for the past two seasons and I can only hope they can bring me – and many other Royals fans – to experience sports euphoria at its greatest. Thank you Royals. 

The Royals and I

I became a Royals fan like anybody becomes a fan of team – at a Halloween Party. I was a freshman in high school and had been invited to a costume party at least 2 weeks prior to the event. The day of the event came and, in typical fashion for a 9^th grade boy, I still had not decided on my costume. And instead of thinking of a costume I was playing PlayStation. I was playing Triple Play 2000 and cannot remember which team I was controlling, but I do know which team I was playing against – The Royals. As I was playing I realized I had never heard of any of the players on the Royals. That is when I decided to go to the Halloween Party as a Royals fan.

My friend Aaron also did not have a costume so we decided to both be Royals fans. We walked to the store and bought blue shorts and blue body paint. I painted a giant “K” on my chest and he painted a giant “C” on his.

I did not anticipate being a Royals fan for more than one night – however since that night I have followed the Royals almost religiously. The catalyst of my Royals fandom was Max, a new kids who had just moved from Missouri and was shocked to see two people show up to a Halloween party as Royals fans.

I’ve never been to Kansas City, let alone Missouri or Kansas. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life. Prior to that night I had been a Mariners fan. After that night I changed my allegiances. The next season the Mariners won 116 games and the Royals won 65. I was still excited for the Ichiro Mariners, but the M’s were now my second favorite team. I did not watch any Royals games that season because the Royals were never nationally televised. I displayed my fandom by studying box scores and tracking games on ESPN gamecast. I began to study the Royals and looked up stats and names like Mike Sweeney and Carlos Beltran stood out, but I also knew about Paul Byrd, Blake Stein, Dan Reichert, Luis Alecia and more.

I remember sitting in my Math class before the first game in 2002 writing down the opening day roster for the Royals and telling myself how this team could succeed. That team lost 100 games. The next year however everything seemed to click. Runelvys Hernandez, Jeremy Affeldt, Angel Berroa, Lima Time, Ken Harvey  – the Royals were up 7 games at the All-Star break but ended up in 3^rd place by seasons end. They ended with a winning season and to optimistic fans it seemed to point to a bright future. At the time we did not realize it would be another 10 years before the Royals ended a season above .500.

However, at the beginning of every season there was blind hope. Mike Sweeney was feeling better than ever. Mark Grudzielanek and Doug Mientkiewicz (I spelled one of those names correctly without looking it up) were the veterans the team needed. The Gil Meche signing set a new precedent for how the team would operate. Jose Guillen wouldn’t be terrible. Ryan Shealy was the next Todd Helton. Calvin Pickering could really hit the ball. If only they would bring Justin Huber or Kila Ka’aihue or Mike Aviles or Johnny Giavotella up it would improve the team. Zack Greinke pitches every 5 nights. Joakim Soria is lights out. But every September the team played mostly meaningless baseball.

Since I became a Royals fan it has been part of my identity. I have always been a fan of underdogs and my Royals fandom was proof of this. Although there was hope every spring I knew realistically that the Royals had little chance to succeed. However, I continued to look up boxscores and watch gamecasts and follow the draft every June. Even though the team kept losing and kept playing Yuniesky Betancourt every day I continued to follow. The great thing about being a Royals fan for the past 13 seasons is that there was very little disappointment because there was very little expectation. As I would tell my friends who were Yankees fans “When the Yankees play you expect them to win and if they win it is business as usual, but if they lose it is a terrible day. On the other hand when the Royals play I expect them to lose and if they lose it is business as usual, but if they win it is an amazing day.”

That attitude is what makes this October so bizarre. When the Royals clinched a playoff spot my brother brought over champagne. He mentioned multiple times that I must be so excited and I was, but more than anything else I was in suspended shock. I knew that it was real but I was so used to following the beleaguered Royals that it never really sunk in.

I eagerly awaited the Wild Card game, but still had the expectation that they would lose and told myself I’d just be happy they made the playoffs. They won and it was amazing. It still did not fully sink in.

I anticipated the ALDS, but expected the Angels to make quick work of the Royals. The Royals swept them and it was amazing. It still did not fully sink in.

I awaited the ALCS, but thought the magic would end here. It didn’t and the Royals won and won and won and won again and it was amazing. They were going to the World Series. It started to sink in. The Royals were 8-0 in the playoffs and playing their best baseball of the year. The prospects of Moustakas and Hosmer were blooming under the bright lights, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler were coming up with big hits. Lo Cain was having great at-bat after great at-bat. And of course there was the bullpen.

As the Royals prepared to play in the World Series it seemed like the world was jumping on the bandwagon. I’d wear my Royals hat (like always, even in 2006) in public and strangers would congratulate me and tell me they were rooting for the Royals. Friends who were fans of the A’s, Angels and Orioles all told me they were hoping the Royals would win it all. I received texts and Facebook messages from friends I hadn’t talked to in years because when they saw the Royals win they thought of me.

As I prepared to watch game 6 last night I expected the team to lose and would be happy that they had made it so far and had exceeded expectations, but they scored 7 runs in the 2^nd inning and 3 more throughout the game and it was amazing.

Tonight – in just a few hours the Royals will host game 7 and I still haven’t been able to figure out my emotions. My natural inclination is to prepare myself for defeat because that has been “business as usual” for the Royals since I became a fan 14 years ago  and that I will be proud they made it this far, but maybe I will be wrong again and it will be amazing.

Go Royals!

Montero and the M's Future

The Mariners are in a bad place. That is not news to anybody. Saying their offense has been putrid the last two seasons is like saying milk is a dairy product. On the other hand their pitching (doesn’t hurt to pitch in Safeco) has been one of the best in the majors, which made them look much more competitive than they really were in 2009. They are not expected to be competitive next year and with Pujols and Wilson joining an already good Angels team, plus the back-to-back AL champs in the division it does not look like they will be competitive for a while.

The trade of Pineda for Montero surprised me because I did not think the M’s would trade Pineda anytime soon. I actually thought it was more likely they would trade Felix. At first glance I did not like the trade because Pineda has got great stuff and had a great rookie season. Montero has been a top prospect for a few years now and seemingly cannot play catcher at the major league level. But looking at this trade I think it is a good trade for the M’s and will make them competitive much sooner than if they stood pat.

Here is my reasoning – and I understand a lot needs to happen for this to be the case, but as a Royals fan I have to think optimistically to survive.

Although the Mariners lose a potential ace they gain a potential HR king, who knows how to get on base. They’re rotation takes a hit, but their offense improves a lot with this trade (potentially, of course). I think they strengthen their weakness more than they hinder their strength. With Montero added to their offense they have a solid offensive core for the future. Ackley could be a potential All-Star at 2B and a great #2 or 3# hitter, Montero has been compared to Miguel Cabrera and could be an All-Star and clean-up hitter. Justin Smoak has not been great yet, but he is still young and has shown potential as long as he can stay healthy. That could be a very formidable 2-3-4 or 3-4-5 for the next 4 years. It is not as deadly as the Rangers power hitters or Angles, but I honestly think it could be in 3 years.

This trade will not improve the Mariners chances next year or in two years. But for the long haul an everyday hitter is more valuable than a every fifth day starter.

The key word in all of this is potential, which truly means nothing until potential becomes reality. The trade could be terrible and put the M’s even further in the hole, but it could also give the M’s one of the best hitters in the majors. If M’s fans are patient, I think this trade will look good in a few years. It probably will not look good this season, so my word of advice is to not boo Montero every time he strikes out or makes an error in the field. Hope in his potential - and while you are at it  hope Pineda takes some steps backwards.

And if you really want to dream and can live with Montero behind the plate, then I think the M’s should go in for Prince Fielder. Before this trade I thought Fielder coming to the M’s would be a bad idea because he would not have enough offense surrounding him, but now I think it would be a great pick-up. A lineup with Ichiro, Ackley, Montero, Fielder, Smoak, Carp, Figgins, etc. is a huge improvement over what they had yesterday. Plus, they have one of the best pitchers in baseball with Felix and a bevy of other pitchers waiting in the wings to make this team actually competitive in the next few years, and potentially (yes, potentially) a team that could compete in the next two years. Picking up Fielder for the M’s could make the AL West one of the most competitive divisions in baseball for the next 5 years.

You might think I’m crazy (and I might be), but I think this trade will work out very well for the Mariners and that they should call up Boras and bring the Big Vegetarian to Seattle. 

Tebow and Sports Cliches

I started this blog a while ago and obviously have done nothing on it in quite some time (point of reference: last time I wrote anything I was excited about Greg Oden). Now, like everybody else in the world I've decided to write a little about Mr. Tim Tebow (the blog is called Sports and Theology after all, not sure if anything has ever fit the bill more perfectly).

I don't need to recount what St. Tim* has done to this point because everybody knows his back story and what he has done for the Broncos this year. Here is my basic premise for this post: Tim Tebow encompasses almost every sports cliche that I hate, but I can't help but root for him.

*I don't think Tebow wants to be called a Savior or Messiah, but I think he could be considered a saint. After all he has already completed three miracles: 1.) Chicago Bears comeback 2.) Beating Pittsburgh in playoffs 3.) Being drafted in the first round.


Before Tebow and Thomas went off on Pittsburgh this was the basic argument of Tebow supporters, "The guy is Winner! Capital W Winner! Say what you will about his throwing ability, he knows how to win! The guys works hard, has all of the intangibles, is not afraid to get hit, is a leader in the clubhouse, motivates his teammates and, oh yeah, is an amazing Christian! Did I mention he knows how to win!?"

Very few supporters that I encountered mentioned his actually football ability, besides his running ability and his amazing athleticism and it seemed like his limited ability actually made them root for him more.* He, in my opinion, is the most talked about and hyped-up underdog of my lifetime. It is not like other underdogs because we have known about him since his freshman year at Florida - he is no David Freese, who seemingly comes out of nowhere. The argument for Tebow was about his attitude, his charisma, his grit and, of course, his ability to win.

*Something I thought about this week: If Tebow had the football abilities of Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or even Philip Rivers would he be getting this much attention? Would his praise of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior seem more trite or scripted? Is it because of his obvious short-comings as a quarterback that his amazing faith and witness feel so sincere and warm? I don't have the answers - just something I thought about. 

The arguments in support of Tebow are full of my most hated sports cliches.

1.) He is a winner. In all honesty this is probably my least favorite sports cliche and the ever annoying Skip Bayless makes it more annoying every time Tebow wins. At what point does somebody become a winner or a loser? I'm sure that most players in the NFL, at one point, won more games than they lost. These are the utmost elite football players in the world and each of them were stars when they were kids. I think this cliche annoys me because winning and losing is not something people just choose to do, as if some people just choose to lose. It reminds me of when a baseball announcer says something along the lines of, "This hitter really wants to get a hit right here." Duh! Also, winning is based upon context and who you are playing with. If Tim Tebow went to the University of Washington and had to play with that awful defense would he still be a winner? If he was on the Dolphins would they be in the playoffs? If the Broncos were in another conference would they be in the playoffs? My bet is "no." Football is team sport, and Tebow is a winner because his team has been able to win, the Broncos aren't winning just because the quarterback is "A Winner."

2.) He is a hard-worker. You know when you are describing your boss to somebody else and you start the conversation with "He is a nice guy..."? That is usually a bad sign because you can't think of anything else positive to say about somebody besides "he's nice." That is how I feel when the first thing a sports analyst first talks about how hard somebody works. Trust me - every year the Royals sign somebody like Willie Bloomquist and justify the signing because he is a "hard-worker." However, Willie Bloomquist will not (and did not) help the Royals win more games. I would rather have somebody who knows how to hit a baseball more than 150 feet than the hard-working Willie Bloomquist any day of the month. Yes, Tebow works his butt off and I admire that, but when your defense of him becomes his hard work it seems like you are acknowledging his flaws.

3.) He has all of the intangibles. This is essentially the same as being a hard-worker. The Royals have been filled with players who have all of the intangibles. When I first hear somebody bring out the term "intangibles" it makes me think they are missing the "tangibles." I like tangibles. I like to see why somebody is a good player - not be told that somebody is really good at things that I cannot see.

4.) He is a clubhouse leader. While I think leadership is a great quality and would much rather have players with leadership qualities than say, Carlos Zambrano, it again is not the first defense I want to hear in support of a player. You can pretty much look at 2 and 3 again to see how I feel about this topic.

5.) God wants him to win. This one is a bit of a stretch because I honestly don't think Tebow feels this way. I don't think he believes God will just will him the Super Bowl and everything will be hunky-dory, but I do feel like some supports believe this. All I can say is - maybe God does want him to win, maybe he doesn't. Do I think God is too big to care about the NFL playoffs? Yes, absolutely. But, I also think God is too big to come to earth and become human. I'm not trying to compare the incarnation to football (talk about heresy!), but to point out that I have no idea what God is doing and for all I know his will could be for Tebow to win the Super Bowl.

God has been thanked a lot when it comes to sports. Gene Chizik said God was on their side when they won the National Championship last year and it made me cringe because it was said with such flippancy. I have a vivid memory of walking to school in 1995 when the Mariners were in the playoffs playing the Cleveland Indians and praying and believing that God was going to help the Mariners win. I remember telling God that they deserved it because they had more Christians on the team than the Indians (I only knew Dan Wilson was a Christian, but I figured they all must be). The Mariners did not win that series and for a time I thought God made a huge mistake. Usually when I see a celebrity thank God it bothers me because I don't see their actions as something God would be proud of and I think about how people shouldn't force their beliefs on others. That is why I put this as one of my least favorite cliches.

Tebow encompasses all of these cliches more than any player I can think of. His team is winning, he works his butt off, there is something "untouchable" about him, he is a great leader and his praise of Jesus Christ is unavoidable. These really are the main arguments for Tebow's greatness and typically if a player was described like this it would make me roll my eyes and root against them because, as I have repeatedly said, I prefer talent and tangibles more than leadership and intangibles, but Tebow is remarkable different. The sports world is full of talented athletes and the evidence is clearly presented to us about why these players succeed and are fun to watch. Tebow has talent, no doubt, but the narrative goes beyond what is clearly evident. This would usually bother me, but with Tebow I can't help but embrace the mystery and see how far it goes. Lastly, I think the Tebow narrative has been remarkable good for the sport of football and I pray he continues to live a life above reproach.

Why I am a Fan: Part 1 (The Blazers)

I decided to create a series of posts about how I became a fan of each team I like and why I continue to be a fan. I am starting with the first team I loved... The Portland Trailblazers.

When you are a kid two things determine who you cheer for: Where you live and who your family roots for.

I was born in 1985 in Salem, the perfect time to become a Blazers fan. Clyde Drexler was becoming the face of the franchise and Sam Bowie had a great rookie season.* Obviously I do not remember the first few years of my life, so I could not tell you much about the Blazers from 1985-1989. I briefly remember watching the Blazers in 1990 in the NBA finals against the Detroit Pistons, but I do not have any clear memories from that series.

*We all know how Bowie did after that... and about that one guy the Bulls drafted behind him. What was his name again?? Who knows... I think it started with an M and ended with ichael Jordan. He was a pretty good player if I recall correctly.

It was the 1992 season that I remember. Clyde Drexler. Buck Williams. Jerome Kersey. Terry Porter. Kevin Duckworth. Cliff Robinson. Those were a few of my childhood heroes. Especially Clyde. We went to the Finals again this year losing to that guy drafted behind Bowie and the Bulls. I cannot tell you any details about the series, but I remember it being close and I remember my older brother pacing the room shouting MY BLOOD IS BOILING!* The next year my family moved north of Seattle but I continued to cheer on the Blazers. A friend of mine bought me a Sonics shirt and Shawn Kemp poster. I put them both in my closet. In 2nd grade I had to write about a personal hero. While my friends wrote about Abe Lincoln and MLK Jr., I wrote about Cliff Robinson. In 3rd grade I wrote a Tall Tale about the Blazers and how they had super powers.** The next year I hated the Blazers.

*My quotation key does not work... and I cannot paste it in... any blogging advice??

**In this tall tale I put Chris Dudley on the team and his super power was long fingernails. I did not like Chris Dudley.

I hated the Blazers because ALL of my childhood heroes were gone. Kevin Duckworth was gone before anyone. Then Buck Williams and Porter left in free agency, Kersey was drafted by the Raptors, and then the nail in the coffin: Drexler was traded to the Rockets for Otis Thorpe. Even coach Rick Adelman was gone. For a brief while I became a Rockets fan because of how much I loved Drexler. I even threw a huge fit at Sports Authority because my mom would not buy me a Drexler jersey... it was the only fit I ever threw. The Rockets won the Finals with Drexler and he played a few more years with them before retiring.

My allegiance to the Blazers disappeared after the Drexler trade. As stated above I became a Rockets fan, but I also started to become a Sonics fan. I lived near Seattle and The Glove and Reignman were fun to watch... but I never became a big fan of either team. Drexler retired, the Reignman became fat and the NBA in general started to stink. And the worst team to be a fan of at the time was the Jail Blazers. They had no players you wanted to root for, if I were a parent in Portland I would not let them watch the Blazers because I would be afraid they would start to consider them role models... meaning their role models could be Isaiah Rider, Rasheed Wallace, Darius Miles, Damon Staudimire, Rueben Patterson, Bonzi Wells, Qyntel Woods. It was a bunch of talented players, but players you wanted to fail. Even if the NBA continued to interest me I do not think I could have cheered for the Jail Blazers... they were embarrasing.

From 1997-2004 I did not pay a whole lot of attention to the NBA. I think the Knicks won the Finals as a number 8 seed. Maybe I dreamed that... I dont know. I think Allen Iverson won an MVP or 2... maybe... I could check Wikipedia, but I dont care. During this time I was a college basketball fan and would tell everyone that college hoops was better than the NBA. And I was right. The NBA was in the dumps until it got LeBron, D-Wade, Melo, Darko (just kidding) and other skilled and likable players. They were interesting and I started to become a fan of the NBA again in general. Detroit beat the Lakers in the Finals and proved that in order to win you must be a team, not just a few good players.

Still my Blazer pride did not re-emerge. I became a fan of the NBA... it was not until the Blazers made a draft day trade with the Timberwolves to get Brandon Roy. I watched Roy light up my high school team in the playoffs for 40 points, I watched his career blossom as a Husky and I knew wherever he went I would root for him and he went to my childhood team. Roy was the beginning of the re-emergence. The Blazers also had hired Nate McMillan who I liked as a fan in Seattle and drafted Martell Webster, a high school player from Seattle. Then this happened. It was the first lottery I ever watched... and probably the only one I ever will, but it was huge moment in my fandom. The Blazers drafted Greg Oden with the number one pick and before the season started he was injured. But the young Blazers still exceeded expectation. B-Roy led the way after his Rookie of the year season and they won 13 straight in December. B-Roy was on the All-Star team and they were in the hunt for the playoffs for most of the season. I only watched a few games last year, but payed attention online. I read this article on ESPN and I knew the Jail Blazers were long gone. The Blazers were once again players I wanted to root for, players I wanted to succeed. Now I am back into full out Blazer fan mode. I admire those who continued to cheer them on during the Jail Blazer years and I know many people are jumping on the bandwagon because of the youth and likability of this team. I do not consider myself a bandwagon jumper because the Blazers are a part of my roots. Cliff Robinson was my hero in 2nd grade. I cried in Sports Authority for a Drexler jersey. Its good to be a fan again, even if it means the ups and downs of fandom... even if Oden does not become David Robinson... I am a Blazers fan.

Joining the Millions

I have decided to begin blogging. I am not sure how often I will write or what exactly I will write about. I love sports and I am interested in theology as well so I am starting with that. he two subjects may rarely merge into one topic and I will probably write about other topics as well... like my wedding that I am planning for... we will see what will happen in the coming days...