Home is here I want to be

Yes, a long, long, long road trip will get me singing a Naive Melody. It runs in the family. My father, at the end of long trips would sing an obscure song (I believe by the Ugly Ducklings) called, “I Wanna Go Home.” Actually my father would sing a lot of songs ... one time, we played this game where you had to guess at lyrics from 1950s and 1960s songs. He knew every one. He knew like every word to "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

ANYWAY, I am finally through basketball and golf and bizarre coaching hires and can finally settle down to my real job, which means watching the Kansas City Royals season go up in smoke.

The first signs of that happened Sunday, when the Royals blew a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning when David Riske gave up a three-run homer to Pudge Rodriguez. It was the first heartbreaking loss of the season. More on that later … in celebration of the return home we’re going to try to do a sort of miniature version of a live blog during tonight’s Royals-Blue Jays game. We won’t be updating it every 15 minutes like that crazy Opening Day blog, but we’ll still try to have some fun as Odalis Perez and A.J. Burnett battle in “Baseball Night in Canada.”

See ya at 6:10 p.m. Central.

Obligatory Book promo: Oh, while you’re here, why not buy The Soul of Baseball, a book the Cleveland Plain Dealer (my hometown paper!) calls: “One of the best baseball book in years … Buy it for the inspiration inside, a perfect baseball book for spring.”

Royals watching in Augusta

There are only so many big baseball days a year in Kansas City. There's Opening Day. There's, er, well, Paul Molitor got his 3,000th hit in Kansas City. And there was that Game 6 of the '85 World Series. OK, the point is, there aren't too many big days.

So, it broke my heart to miss Thursday's Dice K-Zack Greinke pitching duel. I mean, OK, I'm exaggerating there ... I'm in Augusta, at the Masters, writing about golf and azaleas and birdies and bogeys, so I'm not actually heartbroken about anything. But I will admit that Thursday I wished I was back home -- where it was really cold -- and watching some big-time baseball in my hometown.

(I also wished I was back home to write about Bob Huggins bolting Kansas State for West Virginia -- and the semi-pathetic way the Kansas State officials cried and whined about it afterward. I love the movie the Music Man ... it's a flaw, I know. To me, those Kansas State officials complaining about how Bob Huggins didn't do the "right thing" sounded like the clueless Mayor screaming, "Where's the band? Where's the boy's band?")

In any case, here are a few thoughts about Thursday's game based on watching very small snippets between chip shots, emails from friends and guesswork.

Zack Greinke: I guess Dice K really was impressive, but in many ways Zack Greinke was even better. That's a terrific sign -- the Royals really need a pitching break. The thing I liked about Greinke all spring was that he really seemed to have this new sense of purpose. I don't mean in his life -- I have no idea what's going on in Zack's life. But when pitching, he actually had purpose to his pitches -- fastball in, slider away, fastball away, slider in, up and down, it's really good to see him pitching like that.

Greinke spent his first couple of years trying to trick people; basically he was just goofing off on the mound -- throwing 48 mph curveballs and quick pitching and all that. He was successful some of the time and as my friend Rob Neyer says, he was fun to watch. But unless you are Gaylord Perry you can't really trick people in the big leagues for very long.

Besides, it's now clear that he was pitching like that not because he thought that was the best way to get people out but because he didn't care if he failed. I remember once hearing a very perceptive comment from Martina Navratilova -- she was announcing a tennis match, and there was a player losing. She started going for a winner on every shot. She was hitting crazy shots, aiming for the line, charging the net with wild abandon. The play-by-play announcer said something like, "Well, you have to give her credit; she's not going into a shell. She's really going for it."

And Martina said something like: "You know, I hear that all the time. But I think that when a player goes for winners all the time, they've basically given up. It's like: 'OK, I'll just go for it, and if I make it, great, and if I don't make it, too bad.'" That's how Zack was pitching: If he got people out with his slow curveball and ever-changing fastball, great. If not, too bad. I think he has a new commitment to throwing his fastball hard every time, really breaking off his slider and battling. That takes concentration and effort -- and so far he's been showing that. Good sign on Thursday: He struck out seven in seven innings against the Sox.

Alex Gordon: He got his first big-league hit -- he's now 1-for-11 with five strikeouts -- and he made his first big-league error. You know, he hasn't really looked comfortable at the plate or at third base yet . He will settle down, there's no doubt in my mind. But it will be interesting to see how the Royals handle him in these tough early days. Will they just keep sending him out there everyday saying, "You'll be fine?" Will they rest him a couple of days? Will Mark Teahen go back to third base, even for a day or two? Will they overreact if he's hitting .197 in early May? Sorry, everyone in Kansas City has seen the Royals screw up with prospects before.

Bill James: Got this email from Bill after the game -- "You can quote me if you want. . .there is NO way this Royals team is going to lose 100 games or anything close to that. These guys are MUCH, MUCH better. " Got two capital "MUCHES" out of Bill -- that's not bad.

Emil Brown: He is off to his usual April start -- he's one for seven. I actually like Emil more than a lot of people -- he can mash a fastball and he'll take a walk now and again. But he's one of the worst early season hitters I've ever seen. The last two years in Kansas City, he's hit .178 in April (he's hitting .303 after April). Emil should feel quite a bit loyalty to the Royals -- it seems unlikely that any other team would keep playing a guy hitting .178 on May 1.

One golf note: Brett Quigley had a baby born on Wednesday morning and he was playing in the Masters on Thursday. He's been getting a lot of congratulations and peppy columns for that. But I can't help but think the guy is kind of a loser -- his wife had a C-section and delivered their first child, and 12 hours later he was on a plane heading to Augusta to play in the Masters. Apparently (according to the stories) she told him to go. When I mentioned this to my wife Margo, she asked: "Yeah, under how much medication."

Anyway, I've been spending the day rooting for Quigley to make bogeys so he can miss the cut and do the right thing -- go home to his wife and newborn baby. I was going to write this for my Saturday column, but now Tiger is four over par for the tournament, so I'm sure he will be the column focus.

Ohio with Jim Banks

One of the fun parts of this blog for me is when I can get other people to do the actual work. That Opening Day live blog was WAY too much work. So we had the "Preview with the Stars" during spring training -- let's keep that going all season long. You never know who will be interviewed on here. Bruce Springsteen? Natalie Portman? The cast of The Office? Blogger Curt Schilling? The American Idol winner? Anna Kournikova? Who else can I include in here so that it will come up on Google searches? The point is it could be anyone.

This time around we talk to my friend Jim Banks, now the deputy managing editor at MLB.com but for many years better known as "The guy who I would go to Indians games with when I was in town." The new gig probably pays better. Jim grew up as Indians fan in Cincinnati, and now he's a Skyline Chili fan in Cleveland, so he's obviously confused. He's an unabashed disco fan, believes (rightly, in my mind) that U2 was better than the Beatles and sets decent playground basketball picks, but never rolls. Part of his job is being the day-to-day editor on both the American and National League Centrals, so he's able to keep tabs on the two teams of his youth, and so we kick off the season by talking all things Ohio.

Start with the basics – you're high on both the Reds and Indians this year. Why?

I’ll start with the Reds because I think that’s a harder case to make. They play in a weak, wide-open division and GM Wayne Krivsky has really pushed the club in the right direction. The infield defense, with Gonzalez at SS and Phillips at 2B, should be very good. The OF defense, with Dunn working to improve and Griffey mercifully moved to RF, should be better, too. And they still have enough offense to score … if the pitching is middle of the road, that just might be enough.

The Indians were last year’s hard-luck team, outscoring opponents by 88 runs and yet finishing with a losing record. That won’t happen again. The bullpen was historically bad, and by default has to be better. With Foulke’s retirement, GM Mark Shapiro has $5M to burn in trade to go get the bullpen help he’ll likely need. The offense is stellar and I like the addition of Barfield at 2B. They have a loaded farm system to fill any injuries and maybe even will have a impact player come up in the second half, like RHP Adam Miller. I just think they’re poised to make this year their year, especially if Peralta returns to form. He had a good spring, both offensively and defensively.

OK, you grew up in Cincinnati, you live in Cleveland, you've loved both clubs. If they play in the World Series this year, who are you rooting for?

I’ve gone on record about this many times with many friends and family members: I would unabashedly pull for the Tribe. I started rooting the Indians on a lark back in the early-80s when someone gave me an Indians hat. It started as a joke and became an obsession. Then I went to college in 1984 and met my wife, a Clevelander, and just fell in love with the town (for the record, it’s a waaaaay better town than Cincy). I went to a game at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the summer of '85 and it was everything baseball was supposed to be – played on grass, opening out to Lake Erie, it just felt right. I grew up watching baseball in sterile Riverfront Stadium and there was just no comparison. That day firmly entrenched the Tribe in my heart and 23 years later they remain there.

Let's go Cleveland first. You watched the closely all year – the Indians scored almost 100 more runs than their opponents and finished with a losing record. How do you explain that?

It was pretty amazing, I’ll tell you that. It was almost comical after a while. They lost in every way imaginable. The bullpen, without question, was an abomination. So was the defense and they just seemed to have a knack for doing whatever it took to lose a game. They were young, and they got rattled, including the manager. Peralta struggled in the field and took it to the plate, and the criticism – from the media and the manager – really stung him.

A lot of Indians fans still bemoan the Coco Crisp trade, but that wasn’t it then and isn’t it now. They did gamble that Jason Michaels could play every day – a gamble I supported, for the record – and it turned out that he wasn’t up to the task. That hurt, as did the loss of Millwood somewhat. But the key loss, believe it or not, turned out to be Bob Howry. The Indians simply could not get the ball to Wickman, and Howry had been a rock in the eighth inning for them in 2005 and was exactly that for the Cubs in 2006. And these days, his contract doesn’t look so bad, either. If there was a big miss, that was it.

How bad a defensive shortstop is Jhonny Peralta? And what's the deal with the H in his name?

Well, I don’t have to tell you how frustrated I was with Peralta last year. He was an absolute statue at shortstop. His range was non-existent. It wasn’t the errors, which were about the same as the year before, it was what he didn’t get to, which was everything. If you look at the stats of Jake Westbrook, a groundball machine, over the past three years, his hits allowed and ERA jumped significantly after Peralta replaced Omar Vizquel. That’s no coincidence. So Peralta’s bad, but I’m not sure he’s as bad as he was last year.

I think there were a couple of factors involved in his abysmal year. First, he grew about two inches between 2005 and 2006 and that can mess a guy up. He put on some weight, too, and his legs just weren’t used to carrying the extra burden all season. Secondly, he has poor vision, but elected not to wear his contact lenses because he didn’t like how they felt (brilliant!). So he couldn’t see the catcher’s signs and had no idea what pitch the pitcher was throwing. That’s no small deal, as positioning is half the battle at short. And no doubt, he had trouble picking up the ball quickly off the bat.

He had Lasik surgery this off-season to correct the vision and worked hard to get his legs in shape. During Spring Training, it really showed. But he’ll of course have to prove that every day this season. As for the H, the story I heard first was that his dad misspelled it on his birth certificate. But I’ve heard since that Jhonny says his father spelled it that way on purpose. Who knows the real deal?

Best place to get a meal in Cleveland.

That’s a tough one. And to throw a bone to my birthplace of Cincinnati, which I dissed earlier, Cincy is a way, way, way better food town than Cleveland. You just can’t beat Skyline Chili, Blue Ashe Chili double-deckers or Graeter’s ice cream, and the city has much better fine-dining establishments, as well, like The Maisonette, etc. A big strike is LaRosa’s, which is the worst hometown pizza in America, but overall, it’s better than Cleveland on the food front.

That said, the variety of food options in Cleveland is better and that makes it a tough choice for best place to eat. With the diverse culture of Cleveland comes diverse food options. You could go Corky & Lenny’s for the corned beef, the Mad Greek for great Indian (the husband is Greek, the wife Indian), anyplace in Little Italy, and there are some good places downtown. You know my choice was crystal clear just a few years ago, with Ward’s Inn (fabulous duck), but they’ve since closed. I’ll go with the original Johnny’s on Fulton in Tremont.

True or false: Travis Hafner is the best hitter in the American League.

I think there’s little question about it, I’m just waiting for the self-appointed brainiacs in New York and Boston to wake up and realize it. My guess is, if the Indians cannot sign him to a contract extension (his deal is up after 2008), you’ll suddenly start hearing about how he’s the best hitter in baseball as the Red Sox and Yankees gear up to sign him.

Player..............Avg......HR.....RBI.....OB%...SLG%....OPS
Hafner.............308.....42......117......439......659......1.097
Manny.............321.....35.......102......439......619......1.058
Ortiz................287.....54......137......413......636......1.049
Mauer.............347.....13........84.......429......507........936
Morneau.........321.....34........130.......375......559........934

And that’s with Pronk missing the final month of the season. If he doesn’t, he ends up with 51 HRs and 142 RBIs and this isn’t even a discussion. He’s the best hitter in the AL. However, he’s not the best player in the AL, that’s teammate Grady Sizemore.

My sense is that Mark Shapiro is not overly popular in Cleveland though he made a remarkable series of trades – including one where he got potential MVP Grady Sizemore AND the pretty darned good Cliff Lee for what amounted to a half season of Bartolo Colon. How do you explain that?

It defies all explanation. This guy inherited a bloated payroll full over overpaid, aging malcontents and turned it into the burgeoning powerhouse it is today. The fans here in Cleveland quite simply are still in denial. They think the team can and should be run as it was in the 1990s and that’s simply not possible. Back then, a new stadium gave a team a huge financial advantage and they sold that place out for 455 straight games. But the economy is sinking here, quite frankly, and despite putting a team on the field that won 93 games and finished a single game out of the postseason in 2005, the fans didn’t come back. But somehow, they expect them to compete financially with the big dogs with attendance way down.

The expectations are ridiculous and they’ve just been unable to adjust to the new reality, which is that you have to win by doing exactly what Shapiro has been doing – making deals always with an eye toward the future, like dealing Crisp at his peak for a guy like Marte, who could emerge as a star. Trading Ryan Drese and Einar Diaz for Travis Hafner. And the Colon deal, as you mentioned. And Kouzmanoff for Barfield this offseason.

Shapiro's done some good affordable short-term fixes, too, like Wickman a year ago, and Millwood and Howry the year before. All of this, mind you, while running a clean, focused clubhouse with purpose and principles. This team does not get in trouble off the field, and if you do, like Sauerbeck, you’re gone. Fans say they want this, but then don’t give you any credit for it when you do it. Shapiro is bright, accessible and principled. As for me, there’s not a GM in baseball I’d rather have running my team.

C.C. Sabathia – Cy Young winner or perennial tease?

You know, a year ago, I would have said tease. And early last season I said exactly that on more than one occasion. But I’ll tell you, he really changed in the second half last year, I think. He’s matured and has avoided the meltdowns in big games that had plagued him. He’s more focused, more determined, and in better shape than he’s ever been. I think he’s a legit Cy Young candidate.

Who the heck is going to close games for the Indians this year? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Borowski?

It’s Borowski by default, but it won’t be him all season. Either one of two things will happen. One, one of the young guys (my bet is on Cabrera if he can throw strikes consistently) will step up and take the role. Or two, Shapiro will deal for the guy he needs. He’s got the Foulke money in his pocket to use if a guy like Benitez becomes available. I suppose a third option is that the bullpen melts down entirely and ruins their season for a second year in a row, but I’m trying not to let that thought enter my mind. A fourth option would be that Borowski delivers all season long, but I’m trying to stay rooted in reality.

Is there anything less fun for an Indians fan than watching Paul Byrd try to scrape and claw his way through with his stuff?

I think not. Especially with guys like Fausto Carmona and Adam Miller waiting in the wings. My guess is he’ll do his little magic tricks for a couple months this year and then the gig will be up and Miller will take his place in the rotation. He’s in the last year of his deal, so moving him to the pen or dealing him or flat out whacking him won’t hurt as much as it would have last year.

Don't you miss the old stadium? Just a little bit?

I think you can tell my by earlier answer about answer that I absolutely do miss it. It had its charms, and I had some really good times there, including watching an April game there in the snow sitting right next to you. Good times.

Another good story: My first summer in Cleveland, my dad wanted to come up and visit and see the stadium. He kept calling me asking if I got tickets. I’d say, "Dad, don’t worry about it." He comes up and asks if I have tickets and I said, “no, we’ll just walk up and get some,” and I could see the disappointment in his face. So we go down to the park, walk up to the gate and buy tickets about 15 rows right behind home plate about 15 minutes before first pitch. My mom, dad and I, along with about 5,000 other faithful took in the game on a beautiful summer day. The Tribe, of course, lost and my dad and I sat laughing about the game and the intimate crowd for nine fabulous innings.

What is the largest pothole you've hit in Cleveland?

I’ve hit some big ones, and you know I drive a Mini, so there are some that damn near swallow my car. The worst stretch right now is on I-90 eastbound between Rts. 306 and 44. Brutal stretch. That said, the roads up here are nothing compared to some of the roads in New Orleans. The water table is so high down there, and we’re talking pre-Katrina when I lived there, that sections of roads just buckle. I can’t remember how many times I had my car bottom out and scrape the road just in the routine course of driving around.

OK, you have Ricky Vaughn at the end of Major League facing Roy Hobbs from The Natural in the bottom of the ninth. What happens?

Oh, no question here: Hobbs hits a bomb. The guy just flat crushed heat, and Ricky’s heater was dead straight. I don’t care if it was 100 mph or not, Hobbs takes him deep, blowing up the lights at Cleveland Municipal (actually, it was filmed at Milwaukee’s old County Stadium) and circles the bases in slow motion with sparks flying everywhere. The Cleveland faithful walk home mumbling in disgust at coming so close and falling short again. That’s the most unrealistic part of Major League. In reality, Vaughn would have given up a homer.

Bottom line: How will the Indians do this year?

I’m calling them AL Central division champs – all the other clubs are flawed to one extent or another. Right now, the Tigers look invincible, but defending champs always do on Opening Day and yet they rarely repeat. They won’t have everything fall their way this year, and losing Rogers hurts a lot. The White Sox screwed up their rotation and I can see the Ozzie era getting ugly – his act is starting to wear thin, as we all expected.

The Twins rotation is a joke and I’m not a big Morneau believer, or Cuddyer, for that matter. They’ll trade Hunter at mid-season and that’ll be that. Your beloved Royals will be much better, btw. At least they’re being run professionally these days. Beyond that, it’s a crapshoot. Who can predict the postseason with 83-win teams like the Cardinals winning World Series?

Let's move on to Cincinnati, and the best story of spring: Josh Hamilton. How do you explain this guy?

It’s just a fabulous story. I mean, four years of rust and yet he’s playing like he never missed a day. It’s incredible really, and just goes to show you how incredibly talented he was in the first place. He’s damn lucky the drugs didn’t steal that from him.

That said, he’s going to have to prove it at the big-league level and he’s not someone who has dealt well with adversity in the past. If he gets hurt or slumps, or gets sent down … I just don’t know. But the good news is that the Reds have put a good support system in place for him and that manager Jerry Narron has a relationship with him going back to Josh’s high school days. And, there is opportunity there for at-bats, so it just may work. I’m really hoping that it does.

Eric Milton? Can this guy be a reasonable pitcher again?

Not in that ballpark he can’t. He was better last year than the abomination that was 2005, but he’s still a flyball pitcher and those guys, even good ones, don’t fare well in that bandbox. He’s starting the season on the DL, too, so he’s not off to a great start.

Jeff Conine? Really?

Let’s hope it’s a one-day deal. He’s a career .556 hitter against Zambrano, who gets the start for the Cubbies in the opener. There’s simply no other rational explanation. I’m guessing he’s the fifth outfielder, replacing Chris Denorfia, who’s out for the season after blowing out his elbow.

How far would you drive for Skyline Chili?

I’m hoping to God that I’ll never have to find out. My son, Ethan, and I have a tradition of grabbing some Skyline Chili after I pick up from school every Friday at the only one left in town on Mayfield Road. There’s never anyone in there. If it closes, that’d be bad news. The one in Toledo, which I usually hit when I visit my brother, went under. So that means the closest one would be on Polaris Pkwy just north of Columbus, about 2 1/2 hours away. Not that I’m addicted or anything.

What do you think: Is Edwin Encarnacion the real deal?

The kid can rake. Not sure if he’s ever going to be an acceptable third baseman. First base may be in his near future. And let’s be honest, how much more can the Reds expect to get from Scott Hatteberg over there?

You don't care much about the Hall of Fame but bottom line: Should Pete Rose be in there?

Man, I couldn’t care less about the Hall of Fame, so it’s really hard for me to say. It’s sacrilege for a Cincinnatian to say it, but I say no. He broke the rules. And, as you know, I don’t think he was that good anyway – he was easily the fourth- or fifth-best player on the Big Red Machine, an awful defender at every position, couldn’t steal bases and didn’t hit for any power. He couldn’t be more overrated as a player and was a brutal manager, too. That’s my two cents, although I do fully acknowledge that he has been treated unfairly. I know a lot of people say he was a leader and he drove that team and that Phillies team in '80, but my gut tells me most of those guys couldn’t stand him. And let’s be honest, he wasn’t the straw that stirred the Big Red Machine – that was Joe Morgan. Unreal player.

Favorite player from the Big Red Machine?

I’m going to say Johnny Bench. I loved Bench. In Cincinnati, you either thought Rose was the greatest Red ever or Bench was. And the Rose backers ripped Bench, and the Bench backers ripped Rose. I was in the Bench camp. The guy was the best catcher ever. And I mean ever. Neither Pudge nor Piazza hold a candle to Bench and I will not discuss it. I just won’t.

That said, both the Bench and Rose camps were wrong. Joe Morgan is the greatest Red ever and was the best overall player on that team – man, he was incredible. Even now in the era of inflated stats, his stat lines just jump out from those 1975 and 76 seasons. Plain and simple, the Big Red Machine took off when Morgan arrived on the scene. If he wasn’t such an awful announcer, I think he’d be held in much higher regard.

Prediction: Number of at-bats Junior will get this year.

I’ll say 400. He’s moving to RF, so that should help him stay healthy. But you know he won’t anyway, so I’ll say he’ll play about two-thirds of the season. Personally, I’m eager for the post-Griffey era to begin. I had enough of Barry Larkin, and I’ve had about enough of Griffey, too, who gets more surly every year as he produces less and less. Not a great combination.

Aaron Harang led the National League in wins, strikeouts and complete games last year, but didn't get a single Cy Young vote. I'll bet that's never happened before. How good is this guy?

He’s pretty darn good. He’s an easy guy to overlook because he’s not overpowering, even as he racks up the Ks. He doesn’t have one dominant go-to pitch, like a blazing fastball or a hammer curve or off-the-table changeup. He just knows how to pitch, knows what he can do and sets up guys and puts them away. He’s really good. A legit No. 1? I still think he’s a step behind the Oswalts and Carpenters in the NL Central, but not far behind.

Bronson Arroyo – that's pretty bad music right?

I’ve never heard his music, but I can only imagine that I’m not missing much.

OK, here's your musical chance: Five best songs from the 1980s.

Wow, now that’s a tall task, and you know I’ll blow it by missing some obvious songs, but here goes:

1. Suedehead, Morrissey: My favorite song of the decade and perhaps of all time. A classic.
2. More Than This, Roxy Music: Just one gorgeous song start to finish.
3. Two Hearts Beat As One, U2: Just explodes right out of the gate, the best band ever at their best.
4. Dream World, Midnight Oil: Classic Oil, with Peter Garrett spewing out the lyrics (btw, best concert I ever saw).
5. (Keep Feeling) Fascination, The Human League: About as danceable a song as there is.

My apologies to The Police, The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Fixx, Simple Minds, Men At Work, Pet Shop Boys, Madness, Violent Femmes, Split Enz, Billy Idol and Buggles, for the omni prescient “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

That National League Central really is wide open. Reds really have a shot?

Absolutely, everyone has a shot in that division.

Opening Day Blog ... Live!

While driving out to the ballpark today, I came upon an idea: Hey, I should do a live diary from Opening Day, Royals vs. Red Sox ... hey, Bill Simmons doesn't have exclusive rights. Of course, the problem is I have no idea how to actually do a live diary, so it could be incredibly lame. I guess we'll see. Oh yeah, buy a book, please.

6 p.m.: Well, we're going to wrap it up here -- this looks like the Royals most successful opener since an 11-2 stomping of Toronto in 1979. Wow. Gil Meche throws a beautiful 7-plus innings, the Royals get more than solid relief pitching, Tony Pena Jr. hits two triples and makes a dazzling play, John Buck earns his cheers with a monster homer, Mike Sweeney doesn't get hurt, the Royals beat the Red Sox 7-1 -- seriously how much better can you get than that?

What does it mean? Well, there are all sorts of good feelings in Kansas City for a couple of days, anyway. And we know one thing for sure -- the Royals will most definitely not go winless this year. They can't take that away.

5:43 p.m.: Well, Joel Peralta was able to work his way through, and so now the Royals lead 6-1 in the bottom of the eighth ... and the veteran Royals observers are saying, "The Royals could use two more runs." Octavio Dotel is not available today, so it looks like the Royals will rely on David Riske should there be trouble in the ninth. Yikes.

A reader asks: Why did the Royals start Ross Gload over Emil Brown. I think as a Royals fan, you might want to get used to that. Gload is a Buddy Bell kind of player. He gives you a professional at-bat. Plays pretty good defense at first base and isn't bad in the outfield. Emil is -- let's be kind here -- more of an all-or-nothing player, and Buddy really doesn't like those kinds of players much. He craves consistency.

OK, we have to interrupt this answer to say -- Tony Pena Jr. just hit another triple. That's two: He's just the 25th Royals player ever to hit two triples in a game. So there.

5:23 p.m.: Well, Meche came out to start the eighth, but I have a feeling he's just going to throw his warm-up pitches and then Buddy will take him out so he can get the applause. I hope he doesn't do that ... I've always thought that was kind of a bush league move.

Nope, Meche will face at least one batter -- Crisp. He forced the groundout 3-1. He still looks strong. He then gives up a single to Dustin Pedroia (David DeJesus almost came up with it), who this time did not try to stretch it into a double. That's it. Buddy came to get Meche, and the crowd gave Meche a huge cheer. Standing O. The $55 million day seems worth it for at least a day. It's the longest start for a Royals pitcher on Opening Day since 1988.

5:11 p.m.: Oh my gosh, REO Speedwagon is now singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" ... I mean this is getting to be like that Greg Norman collapse at the Masters in 1996. It was interesting for a while, but after a while you just couldn't watch anymore.

Gil Meche had another 1-2-3 inning -- he's now thrown what qualifies as a Royals gem. And it looks like he's done. Someone is warming up in the Royals bullpen -- Joel Peralta. He pronounces his first name Jo-EL by the way -- like something out of Superman. Well, wait a minute, Peralta is not warming up. They're all just milling around out there. Now he's throwing again. Now he's not. You know, Buddy might bring Meche out to start the eighth -- he's only thrown 95 pitches.

4:55 p.m.: Well, Kevin Youkilis runs into an out, Manny Ramirez hits into a double play, and Gil Meche is now through six innings having given up one run. He's thrown 85 pitches -- and it looks like he will come out for the seventh. And John Buck just hit a solo shot -- so the Royals now lead 6-1. And as one PBW said: This now has the making of a major disaster.

Schilling went just four innings -- and John Blake has come through again. This apparently was Schilling's shortest start since April 1997. Well, he had a shorter start in 2001, but that was because of a light failure.

4:33 p.m.: Mark Grudzielanek -- now 3-for-3 -- clubbed a double to right to score two, then he scored on Teahen's single. It's 5-1 Royals. And now we'll find out a little bit about Gil Meche. How will he respond after the Royals gave him a nice lead? People in Kansas City have grown used to watching pitchers give leads back.

He started off well, striking out Coco Crisp (postscript: I don't like Coco Crisp as a player at all and I never have. To me, he's one of those guys who puts up good enough numbers so that you have to play him, but never good enough numbers to actually help you win. Could be wrong, though).

And here comes Dustin Pedroia -- the best ploy here might be to let Pedroia single and try to strech it into a double. Meche threw a terrific power curveball to go ahead 1-2. Royals general manager Dayton Moore says he throws the best power curve in the league. I don't know who else throws a power curve.

Pedroia hit a slow roller up the middle -- and Tony Pena Jr. made one heck of a play, ranged to his left, throws off balance, gets Pedroia. Wow -- no Royals shortstop has made that play since, er, Fred Patek? Actually, Angel Berroa in his first year made quite a few nice plays over the middle. That was a different Angel Berroa, though.

Meche followed it up with a power curve strikeout of Julio Lugo -- that's three strikeouts for Lugo. Good decision to lead him off. Royals still up 5-1 going into the bottom of the fifth.

The Royals just had their Dance Off promotion -- and I hate the Dance Off. This is where to fans dance off to win some sort of lame prize. I only bring this up, though, because one of the contestants was a young guy, probably in his 20s, and the other was like a 10-year-old girl. I mean, seriously, what chance did that guy have? Why even bother?

4:17 p.m.: And Gil Meche threw another scoreless inning -- the Royals lead 2-1 in the middle of four. Meche has really shown some great stuff. You can see why scouts love him. Sure, I've heard from all the Seattle fans who say: "He will break your heart." Maybe so. But, like the coach says in "Heaven Can Wait" -- "He's looking awfully good."

The baseball talk is flying all around the press box. One guy says the Tigers will be lucky to finish .500 this year. Another says Schilling is finished. Another says Ben Sheets will win the Cy Young. One of the best parts of Opening Day is the wild speculation based on one game. It doesn't matter how many years you've watched the game -- you can't help it.

Tony Pena Jr. faced Curt Schilling again -- and he drew a walk. So far nobody has predicted a batting title for Pena, but the game is still young.

4:00 p.m.: One great thing about sportswriters: We LOVE obscure stats. So when Red Sox public relations man John Blake -- good man -- walked through the press box and said: "The last time Curt Schilling issued a bases-loaded walk was August 7, 2005" some Red Sox writer asked: "Do you know who was the hitter, John?"

Because of what the scout said, we are not obsessively watching Gil Meche's toe and heel. He just struck out Julio Lugo for the second time today ... he has retired five in a row. He just threw a dandy curveball to Kevin Youkilis and followed it up with a 96-mph fastball that barely missed the corner. You have to say this guy's got some stuff. And he retired the side in order.

3:54 p.m.: Baseball is such a great game. Everyone was spending some time mocking Tony Pena Jr., who has the reputation (and history) of not being able to hit at all. So what did he do? He crunched a triple off of Curt Schilling. It's like Joe Nuxhall would say during those Reds broadcasts: "If you swing the bat, you're dangerous."

Tony Pena Jr. has now hit Schilling better than his father. Tony Pena was 0-3 against Schilling.

And the Royals cashed in when Mark Grudzielanek had a classic Mark Grudzielanek single -- a grounder between first and second. Royals lead 2-1.

3:39 p.m.: Well, Ryan Shealy earned a bases loaded walk, and it's 1-1 entering the second inning. Curt Schilling apparently threw 33 pitches that inning -- youch. That's the talk of the pressbox now -- along with the fact that Gil Meche threw 27 pitches in the first.

Do you even remember what the game was like BEFORE pitch counts? It's like trying to remember the world before the Internet.

Dustin Pedroia just tried to stretch a routine single into a double and was out by about 40 feet. Is there anything more embarassing for a player than running into an obvious out?

3:28 p.m.: You know, it really doesn't matter where you are -- St. Louis, New York, Kansas City or Burlington, N.C. -- there is a large percentage of any baseball crowd that will cheer like crazy for a routine pop-up. I think that when you go into any ballpark, they should give you a pamphlet -- how to be a good baseball fan. This would include:

1. When seeing a ball hit to the outfield -- WATCH THE OUTFIELDER. He will tell you whether the ball is hit well or not.
2. Don't scream "balk" when the guy whirls around and fakes the throw to second.
3. Get the heck out of the way when the guy on your team is trying to catch a foul pop-up.

The Royals have a rally already against Curt Schilling. How about this: Alex Gordon's first major league at-bat is with the bases loaded against Curt Schilling. Let's go pitch by pitch, shall we?

Pitch 1: A 94-mph fastball -- taken for a strike on inside corner.
Pitch 2: A 96-mph fastball -- Gordon fouls it straight back off the screen.
Wow he has a pretty swing.
Pitch 3: An 85 mph splitter, Gordon checks his swing and fouls it off barely.
Pitch 4: An 85-mph breaking ball that looked a little low. A little. Wise guy PBW says: Alex has earned that call.
Pitch 5: A 93-mph fastball fouled back. It looked high, but he's not getting any more calls.
Pitch 6: An 86 mph slider, he barely got a piece of it. Now, Varitek goes and talks to Schilling. What a great at-bat.
Pitch 7: An 86-mph split, outside and low, maybe, Gordon kind of waved at it for strike three. Still one heck of a battle.

3:20 p.m.: A scout says that that the big difference with Meche is how he lands -- when he lands on his toe he's good, when he lands on his heel he's not so good. It's hard to tell whether he's landing on his toe or heel, but Manny Ramirez just hit a rope to center fielder (nice play by DeJesus) and he walked J.D. Drew. So I'm going to guess he landing on his heel. He did strike out Mike Lowell to minimize the damage.

Just before the strikeout, a fan got in the way when John Buck was trying to catch a foul pop up behind home plate. There is something that happens to people when a pop-up is coming their way. While it's in the air, they have this feeling: "Oh, I'm going to catch this. Look how softly it's falling. It will just plop gently into my hands." Then, as the ball gets closer, they realize it's falling really fast, and a baseball is as hard as a rock, and all of a sudden they panic. Anyway, the fans booed the guy. He deserved it.

3:09 p.m.: OK, Gil Meche started off by striking out Julio Lugo -- it's a new year. Meche has already hit 97 mph on the scoreboard radar gun ... though honestly I have absolutely no idea how much faith to put into that number. I have a feeling they use the same radar gun they use near St. Paul Nebraska, where I got pulled over for speeding.
OK, well Kevin Youkilis just rocketed a single, and then David Ortiz roped a double to left-center to score him. So, maybe it isn't a new year.

2:59 p.m.: It just occurred to me that the new blog items should actually be at the TOP of the blog. I told you I was new at this. It took me forever to rearrange the blog. Sorry. The Royals were just introduced. One of the best parts of hearing team introduced is trying to guess who gets the loudest cheer and the weakest cheer.

Loudest cheer: Zack Greinke. No doubt about it. Fans are really rooting for Zack -- and one of those press box wags is predicting 18 Zack victories this year. For his sake, I will not mention his name.

Weakest cheer: John Buck. There were no boos, just sort of a disinterested: "Yay, I guess."

Curt Schilling actually got a nice cheer too.

REO Speedwagon sang the National Anthem, leading a PBW to say: "Theyve still got it." I don't believe for one minute they're playing at Wal-Mart tonight, but I'll check it out.

2:43 p.m.: George Brett just walked on the field to do a nice tribute to Ford Frick winner Denny Matthews, the longtime Royals announcer. Denny waved from the press box. What he couldn't have gone down the field? It's a half hour before gametime. But he got a nice ovation ... it's really good to see Denny get some love and respect.

Then, they did a tribute to Buck O'Neil ... you know, this year they are having a special person in the community sit in Buck's seat behind home plate every game. It's really a neat idea. Today, it will be Warren O'Neil, Buck's brother.

As part of the tribute, they have video of Buck singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" on the scoreboard, and while I realize I'm pretty biased about this, I honestly don't think there is anything that says what baseball means more than Buck singing that song.

One idea that I'm not as sure about: The Royals will have cheerleaders this year. I guess they're not cheerleaders -- they're spirit squad women or something like that. It sounds like a BAD idea, but let's wait and see before passing any judgment.

Curt Schilling was just introduced. Apparently, the car missed him.

2:16 p.m.: They're chalking up the baselines now. The fountains are going. Cars are lined up on I-70. The Japanese Media is taking pictures of -- I don't know, something DiceK related. So we are obviously getting close to gametime. Opening Day is great.

Mark Grudzielanek just got his Gold Glove. Nice moment. What exactly will he do with that thing?

OK, we have our first questions from the readers. Instead of just answering the question myself, I'll do a little poll of press box wags -- other Star reporters. Here we go:

How many wins for the teams: Looks the consensus is about 70.
How many wins for Gil Meche: Looks the consensus is 13.
How many innings pitched for Gil Meche: Consensus is about 190.
How many homers for Alex Gordon: Wide disagreement here -- we had someone say about as low as 16 and as high as 25. We'll go with 21.
How many ABs for Mike Sweeney: Wide disagreement here -- someone went as low at 174 and another as high as 522. Let's say the consensus is 425 or so.

12:48 p.m.: Well, Buddy Bell is ready. There really isn't anything much less useful than a pregame interview session with the manager -- especially on Opening Day when there's nothing really to talk about -- but Buddy was charming. When he was asked what he said to rookie phenom Alex Gordon to calm him down for today, he said: "I'm staying away from him."

You know, Buddy Bell really was a good player, a borderline great player. He had 2,500 hits, hit 200 homers, won six gold gloves -- it's a pretty special resume for a third baseman. I was thinking: Which managers were the best players? I quickly rank them like this:

1. Joe Torre, Yankees.
2. Buddy Bell, Royals.
3. Willie Randolph, Mets
4. Ozzie Guillen, White Sox
5. Mike Sciosia, Angels
6. Lou Piniella, Cubs
7. Mike Hargrove, Mariners
8. Phil Garner, Astros
9. Bud Black, Padres
10. Terry Francona, Red Sox
11. Clint Hurdle, Rockies (only manager to make cover of SI as a player?)
12. Bob Melvin, Diamondbacks
13. Ron Washington, Rangers
14. Ron Gardenhire, Twins.
15. Bob Geren, Athletics
16. Jerry Narron, Reds
17. Brucy Bochy, Giants
18. Charlie Manuel, Phillies
19. Ned Yost, Brewers
20. Bobby Cox, Braves
21. Jim Tracy, Pirates
22. John Gibbons, Blue Jays
23. Tony LaRussa, Cardinals
24. Eric Wedge, Indians
25. Sam Perlozzo, Orioles

DID NOT PLAY IN BIG LEAGUES

26. Grady Little, Dodgers
27. Joe Maddon, Devil Rays
28. Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins
29. Jim Leyland, TIgers
30. Manny Acta, Nationals (figure he should get used to that 30 spot)

11:30 a.m.: Got an email from David Pinto at Baseball Musings ... some local radio station somewhere decided to do a gag where they "reported" that Curt Schilling wouldn't make the start for the Sox today because had been hit by a car and had broken his arm. Apparently this was some sort of April Fool's joke, even though it's not April Fool's Day today -- isn't this like pinching someone on the day AFTER St. Patrick's Day for not wearing green? Stupid. Plus it's a bad gag. Why didn't the car hit his foot and open up a cut or something that would have made sense?

You know, it seems like a lot of people in the business don't like Schilling because they see him as a self-promoter and blowhard and all that, but I like the guy a lot. One, I admire people who perform well on the biggest stage -- to me, that's the greatest thrill in sports. I don't know if clutch-performance exists as a grand concept, but it's fun to watch when it happens. Two, I like people who speak their mind whether you agree or not -- and he does that.

And three is personal ... For Game 1 of the 2001 World Series, I wrote a column about Schilling and his father. Woke up early the next morning in the hotel, had my coffee, went to check the email ... and there was a thank you email from Curt Schilling. I know, this really does not disprove the self-promoter theory, but I thought it was very nice. OK, heading downstairs to see what the boys have to say. Back soon.

11:01 a.m.: So you already know that REO Speedwagon sang the national anthem at the Cardinals game yesterday ... well, they're singing it here in Kansas City today as well. There are countless jokes to be made here -- as Vac pointed out, REO Speedwagon was done the LAST time the Royals won the World Series. But I bring this up now to show you one of the saddest/funniest things, I've ever seen:

The REO Speedwagon upcoming Tour Dates

April 21: Ladsdon, SC, Exchange Park Fairgrounds.
May 4: Norman, Okla., Riverwind Casino.
May 5: Thackerville, Okla., Winstar Casino.
May 12: Shelton, Wash., Little Creek Casino.
May 16: Victorville, Calif., San Bernardino County Fair.
Sept. 14: Cape Girardeau, MO, Southeast Missouri Fair Arena Park.

Two things come to mind. (1) When you're looking at your tour schedule, and Thackerville is a highlight, don't you think about cashing in those "Keep on Loving You" residuals and get a place on the beach. (2) Are there no County Fairs between May 16 and Sept. 14?

10:45 a.m.: Just got out to Kauffman Stadium -- there's a guy mowing the infield right now. He appears to be using some sort of manual mower ... I realize the Royals are a small market club, but come on.
Had an inspirational moment on the drive over. I was driving on I-435 and a car went blurring by in the left lane -- I mean this guy was flying. I looked over, and there was a blue Royals flag flapping out of the driver's window. Here was a Royals' fan really ready to get the season started. It's the magic of Opening Day.

Home Run Derby Part II

We continue with our look at the single-season home run record holders for every team in baseball:

Milwaukee Brewers, 45, Richie Sexson (2001 and 2003), Gorman Thomas (1979)

From 1978-1980, Gorman Thomas played 455 games (he played all 162 in 1980) – all of them in centerfield. I’m trying to think if there has ever been a slower man to play 455 games in centerfield. I doubt it. From what I can gather from memory and talking to scouts plus old Brewers fans, Thomas was actually pretty decent out there – he didn’t make errors, and he seemed to get to the ball well enough. But man, he was Gorman Thomas, he was huge, and he was slow, and it’s just hard to think of him in centerfield.

This actually touches on a point about today's Kansas City Royals. The Royals have David DeJesus in center, and he’s a very good centerfielder. One of the better defensive centerfielders in the American League, I would say. He gets excellent jumps on the ball. But DeJesus is genuinely slow – people don’t want to believe that. They want to believe his stolen base numbers (19 steals, 19 caught) are an anomaly. No. He's OK, once he gets going, but it takes him a long time to get going. In the words of one scout: “He can’t run at all. I saw him lay down a perfect bunt, absolutely perfect, and he got out of the box, and he ran hard, and he wasn’t even in the television picture when the ball was caught by the first baseman.”

DeJesus makes up for his lead feet with his jumps in the outfield and with his instincts on the bases (he was ranked fifth last year in baserunning by the Bill James Handbook). But the Royals – like all baseball organizations – value speed in center field. So last year they got Joey Gathright who is MUCH faster than DeJesus, and they put him in center. Trouble was, Gathright is not nearly as good a centerfielder as DeJesus. This spring, the Royals tried the superior athlete Mark Teahen in center. Well, DeJesus is a lot better in center than Teahen is too. Like I say, DeJesus really is a good centerfielder. But he’s slow, so you can bet the Royals will keep looking.

Minnesota Twins, 49, Harmon Killebrew (1964 and 1969).

Killer actually has nine of the Top 11 spots – Roy Sievers is the only other player to break through. ... Until last year, the Twins had a very similar home run streak to the Royal – they did not have anyone hit THIRTY home runs from 1988-2005. Then Morneau hit 34 homers last year, and everyone got so excited they named him MVP.

Washington Nationals, 46, Alfonso Soriano (2006)

You might not remember this – it has been a whole year now – but there were a lot of people (a LOT of people) who thought Washington trading Brad Wilkerson and Terrmel Sledge to Texas for Alfonso Soriano constituted one of the worst trades in baseball history. Brad Wilkerson! I guess there are a lot of people who do not like Soriano. I’ve always liked the guy. I agree with Unnamed Scout – to me, you live with his quirks, his defensive liabilities, his swings and misses, and you walk away with 40 homers, 40 steals, 100 RBIs, 100 runs.

New York Mets: 41, Todd Hundley (1996)

OK, I was trying to think: How many Major League fathers are better than their Major League sons, and vice versa? Let's take a look at a few:

Father/Son Comparison

Alomar: Sons. Roberto and Sandy Jr. are both better.
Alou: Son. Moises I think barely beats Felipe.
Armas: Father. Tony Sr. led league in homers twice.
Barfield: TBD. But father Jesse was an outstanding player.
Bell: Father. Buddy was one heck of a player.
Bonds: Son. Bobby was good, but nobody (not even the government) beats Barry.
Boone: Son. It's close, but Bret was probably the best.
Burroughs: Father. Jeff won an MVP award.
Cruz: Father. Jose Sr. was a vastly underrated player.
Fielder: TBD. But Cecil will be tough to beat.
Griffey: Son. Junior's better, but Senior's underrated.
Hundley: Son. Another close one. Todd did hit 41 homers one year.
Kendall: Son. Jason is better, but Fred is funnier.
LaRoche: Son. Adam hits homers, but Dave threw the LaBob.
Matthews: Father. Both All-Stars but Sarge could really hit.
Oliver: Father. Darren’s had a nice career, but Bob hit 27 homers for Royals in ‘70.
Perez: Father. Doggie wins by a landslide.
Spezio: Tie. They're almost the same player.
Swisher: Son. Nick wins big.
Wright: Father. Jaret has better stuff, but Clyde won 22 one year.

I realize this isn’t a complete list, but it’s complete enough. I’ve got nine for the sons, eight for the Dads and three that are ties or to be determined.

New York Yankees: 61, Roger Maris (1961)

I despise the Yankees, of course. That’s my birthright as a Clevelander who loves Kansas City. But I cannot begrudge their history. We’ve gone through this goofy home run surge the last 15 years or so, and yet there are no Todd Hundleys, Richie Sexsons or Brady Andersons in the Yankees Top 10. Nope. It still goes Maris, Ruth, Ruth, Ruth, Mantle, Ruth, Mantle, Ruth, Gehrig, Gehrig. Even A-Rod hasn’t broken into that Top 10. Bob Shepherd should be proud – God, America and the New York Yankees.

Oakland A’s: 58, Jimmie Foxx, (1932)

Can a record still count when the team has moved TWICE since you set it? I say no. I say Foxx has the Philadelphia Athletics record, Bob Cerv has the Kansas City Athletics record (38 homers in 1958), and Mark McGwire has the Oakland A’s record with 52 homers in 1996.

Here’s something about McGwire: He hit one triple in his last 5,330 at-bats. Never been a streak quite like it. Mac hit it off Trevor Hoffman in 1999 – a long fly ball to right field. I can only imagine where the right fielder was playing. McGwire hit six triples in his career – which is still the lowest total for anyone with more than 5,000 at-bats.

Philadelphia Phillies: 58, Ryan Howard (2006)

Did I tell you the story about Buck O’Neil and Ryan Howard? Oh, I did. You know you can still buy the book here. Just in time for Opening Day. Hey, this is supposed to be a promotional blog, you know.

How many home runs do we think Mike Schmidt would hit in this little bandbox of a ballpark they call Citizens Bank Park? I don’t know, but I was surprised to see that Veteran’s Stadium was, for most of Schmidt’s career, a good hitter’s park. By the way, Schmidt is pretty talkative these days, isn’t he? Now, the guy's a book critic -- I just got an advance copy of Frank Deford's new baseball novel "The Entitled" (excellent so far, 100 pages in) and there on the front, you see: “The Entitled is a baseball masterpiece.” – Mike Schmidt.

Odds on who from the 70s and 80s becomes the cranky veteran:

Joe Morgan: EVEN
Mike Schmidt: 3-1
Dale Murphy: 5-1
Tom Seaver: 10-1
Steve Carlton: 50-1

Pittsburgh Pirates: 54, Ralph Kiner, 1949.

Anytime you put a Ralph Kiner into the Hall of Fame, you pretty much open the door for about 500 arguments. You look at the 10 Kiner comparables on the Baseball Reference page, and one is in the Hall of Fame (Larry Doby – in the Hall for both his playing and his social contribution) and the other nine probably won’t get anywhere close – Darry Strawberry is his No. 1 comp. Rocky Colavito, Kiner's No. 6 comp, got two Hall of Fame votes in 1974.

Of course, you could argue that Kiner was unique. He had a very short career, but he led the National League in home runs seven straight years. He walked a whole bunch, so he had a .398 on-base percentage. He hit 40-plus homers, drove in 100-plus runs and scored 100-plus runs five straight years.

Still, you put a guy with 1451 hits, 369 homers and a .279 lifetime batting average in the Hall – and every player lobbying group from Albert Belle to Don Mattingly to Jay Buhner will show you 100 reasons why their man was better than Kiner. Oh well.

San Diego Padres, 50, Greg Vaughn, 1998

Wow. Greg Vaughn. It’s easy to forget that in the late 1990s, he was actually an offensive threat. The Padres have an odd homer list – Vaughn is No. 1, so that’s odd enough. Then you have Phil Nevin with his flukey 41 homer season in 2001. Then comes Ken Caminiti’s steroid-enhanced 1996, when he hit 40.

So, for me, the Padres record should belong to the tragically underappreciated Nate Colbert, who twice (1970 and 1972) hit 38 home runs for terrible Padres teams in a horrendous hitting ballpark. Both years, he 22 of those homers on the road; he also hit about 50 points higher on the road too. Back problems, sadly, ended his career at 30.

San Francisco Giants: 73, Barry Bonds, 2001.

The New York Giants record belongs to Willie Mays and Johnny Mize, who each hit 51. … I don’t really have anything to add to the Barry Bonds story, but there is something worth thinking about. If indeed this steroid thing does hang Bonds and keep him from going into the Hall of Fame, then the Baseball Hall of Fame might be without:

No. 1 guy in hits (Rose).
No. 1 guy in games played (Rose).
No. 1 guy in times on base (Rose)
No. 1 guy in home runs (Bonds, probably).
No. 7 guy in home runs (Mark McGwire)
No. 1 guy in walks (Bonds)
No. 3 guy in batting average (Joe Jackson)
No. 4 guy in batting average (Lefty O’Doul)
No. 3 guys in ERA+: (Joe Wood and Dan Quisenberry)
No. 5 guy in strikeouts (Bert Blyleven)

We're almost at the point where we could put together a better team of NON Hall of Famers than people in the Hall. And Buck O'Neil could manage it.

Seattle Mariners: 56, Ken Griffey Jr. (1997 and 1998)

I think, most people during the 1990s would have said that Junior was the best player in Baseball. The "Best Player in Baseball" is sort of an honorific title – it’s not exactly something you can quantify. It seems to be made up of some mixture of batting average, home runs, speed, defense and charisma. Junior never was much of a stolen base threat, but he actually hit more homers in the 1990s than Bonds, and he was regarded as a superior center fielder (there seems to be a feeling now that he was never as good in centerfield as his reputation – I think that is in large part because of the way he has broken down over the last few years. I remember him being pretty darned good out there).

Here, is a guess at the players who would have received that “best in baseball” tag for the last few decades.

2000-06: Albert Pujols
1990-99: Ken Griffey.
1980-89: Mike Schmidt
1970-79: Joe Morgan
1960-69: Hank Aaron
1950-59: Willie Mays
1940-49: Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial
1930-39: Lou Gehrig
1920-29: Babe Ruth
1910-19: Ty Cobb
1900-09: Honus Wagner
1890-99: Ed Delahanty
1880-89: Dan Brouthers
1870-79: Cap Anson

St. Louis Cardinals: 70, Mark McGwire (1998)

I like to kid Cardinals fans about that whole “Best fans in baseball” tag. Some take it well. Some don’t. Hey, when you’re the Kansas City columnist, it’s your civic duty to try and stir up something with St. Louis.

But there is a point here to be made: What constitutes a great baseball fan? To me, a great baseball fan is the one who has suffered through awful season after awful season but keeps coming to the ballpark. Maybe that's what comes from growing up in Cleveland.

This is not something St. Louis fans have had to deal with. Over the last 50 or so years, the Cardinals have almost never been bad. They were Gibson great in the 1960s. They were good in the early 1970s. They were pretty bad from 1976-80 – they had a losing record three of those years. But they weren’t death-defying, 100-loss, oh-my-God-the-world-is-ending bad.

They went to the World Series three times in the 1980s, and then they were bad in 1990 – that was the year Todd Zeile led the team with 15 home runs. They immediately perked up in 1991 under Joe Torre, and they were mostly good for the rest of the 1990s. Of course they’ve made the playoffs every year but one this decade.

This is not to downplay the passion Cardinals fans feel for their team – I think that’s obvious and has been, you know, fairly well documented. I’m just saying that the BEST fans in baseball might be the ones you saw at the ballpark in Kansas City in August last year, in the midst of a fourth 100-loss season in five years. They might be those people in Tampa who sit in that depressing Tropicana Nightmare to watch horrific baseball in a division where they have 0.00 percent chance of making the playoffs. They might be those Brewers fans who have now gone 14 seasons without an above .500 record.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 34, Jose Canseco (1999)

How, in the end, are we supposed to judge Jose Canseco’s career? He hit 462 home runs – 30th overall right now and eight of those players are active. He hit 30 homers for four different teams. He’s the first guy to have a 40-homer, 40-steal season. He actually scored above 100 on Bill James HOF Monitor, which is supposed to estimate how likely it is that a player will make it into the Hall (Bill apparently did not have a “Was this guy a complete goofball?” qualifier). He blew the doors off of steroids in baseball, he had a ball bonk off his head for a home run, he walked seven straight appearances, he once rescued a lost owl and he may or may not have dated Madonna. He is also Tampa Bay’s home run record holder – somehow that seems right.

Texas Rangers: 57, Alex Rodriguez (2002)

I was asking a friend of mine – an Australian sportswriter named Robert Lusetich – if Alex Rodriguez would be recognized in Australia. This came up because we were eating in a South Beach restaurant and A-Rod walked in, and it was quite the scene.

Robert told a great story about how he was once at a sports luncheon in America, it was quite a few years ago, and the master of ceremonies, apropos of nothing, said: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to introduce a great sportsman of the past, Mr. Garfield Sobers.” Well, this older guy stands up, and everybody applauds, and of course nobody in the room has any idea who this guy is – except Robert. Because (as you probably know) Garfield Sobers might be the greatest Cricketer (Cricketeer? Cricket player?) of all time.

Well, Robert was so excited to walk over and talk to him, and they talked for quite a long time, and nobody else cared.

“Of course, it’s different in Australia,” he said. “They’re aware of baseball. But not too aware.”

Finally Robert determined that people in Australia would definitely recognize Barry Bonds, they might recognize Derek Jeter, and they most definitely would not know A-Rod.

Toronto Blue Jays: 47, George Bell (1987)

Jose Canseco is second with 46 … When you look at the last 40 or so MVP awards, you could argue that the two worst choices were both in 1987, when George Bell was selected over Alan Trammell and Andre Dawson was selected over, well, about 10 people.

The Dawson choice is utterly inexplicable. Yes, a whole bunch of guys were better than him, but that’s not why it’s inexplicable, that happens all the time. Dawson hit 49 homers and drove in 137 – both league leading totals – and MVP voters are always seduced by those power numbers. No, what’s inexplicable is that the Cubs were awful, and voters always put a lot of emphasis on how team does. That’s just a weird one.

Bell over Trammell is more easily explained – Bell hit 47 homers and led the league with 134 RBIs and his Blue Jays were good. Trouble is, his Blue Jays were not as good as Trammell’s Tigers. And when you compare the seasons, you can see pretty clearly that Trammell was better.

Offensively, I think Trammell was better. Trammell hit .343 to Bell’s .308. His on-base percentage was 50 points higher -- tough to overcome that big an advantage. Yes, Bell hit more homers (47-28), drove in more runs (134-104) and scored more runs (111-109). But Trammell stole more bases (21-2) and played in a tougher hitter’s ballpark.

That’s just offense. Defensively, Trammell was a shortstop and a very good one. Bell was an outfielder and a lousy one (here’s an interesting thing … it says here Bell actually played a game at second base in ’87 – how did that happen?). There is absolutely no way that George Bell was more valuable in 1987 than Alan Trammell, and the sad part is that the effects are still being felt. Trammell seems to be getting no traction at all as a Hall of Fame candidate. But if Alan Trammell won the MVP award he deserved in 1987, people would see there really isn’t much to separate him and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.