Childhood Sports

My best sports memories growing up were with my friends in the driveway or backyard.  My neighbor and I played outside all the time as a kid,  I love the movie Sandlot because that was our life to some degree.  On a typical day we would wake up play baseball in the backyard with a plastic bat and tennis ball, eat lunch, then go hang out at the pool.  We didn't travel to a tournament on the weekend, we played when we wanted to.  Kids are just fine playing in recreation leagues or other small leagues.

Today kids and parents are being forced by the societal norm to play organized sports way too much.  Kids aren't playing pick up basketball anymore, they're not shooting baskets in the driveway and it's really depressing.  My generation just missed out on this trend but I can see the effects on my friends that are still in high school.  They are playing sports all the time, and to have any free time or a summer job, they have to choose their favorite/best sport and stick to that. I've talked to a lot of my friends that are still in high school and many are playing sports they tired of, or have just quit.  The summer used to be a break, a chance for kids to make a little money, but now it's more sports.

When kids are playing 6 games a weekend they start going through the motions.  They revert back to bad habits and create new ones. By playing so many games they lose the competitive edge they once had.  Also, make sure it's something they really want to do.  Too often I see kids playing just to play, it's a waste of money and time, get them involved in something they are interested in.  Another thing that frustrates me is that parents think their kids needs to start playing sports as early as possible.  My cousin has his 3 year old playing flag football.. 3 year old.  Playing in backyard once a week will benefit your child way just running around.  Hopefully parents will start to see that playing organized sports all the time isn't what's best for their kids.

Chiefs/Sporting KC

Chiefs

I've checked out, I really don't care about the Chiefs at this moment.  I want them to lose, get a better draft pick, and fire the coach and general manager.  I don't want to write too much about the Chiefs because my views don't really differ from most fans.  I don't see how you can keep Scott Pioli around.  He has hired two bad coaches, been unable to improve the team in free agency, and has drafted very poorly.  Tyson Jackson, Eric Berry, Jonathan Baldwin, and Dontari Poe are Pioli's first round draft picks, and none of them show much promise to become anything, Berry hasn't recovered from his ACL surgery.  It's just frustrating because these were the couple years the Chiefs were supposed to compete. Yet the inability to draft and develop players has killed this team, all the good players on this team are from Carl Peterson's drafts.  Teams can make excuses in baseball, and sometimes in basketball but football is a level playing field. No team has all the money, NFL stars aren't begging to be traded, most advantages in the NFL are earned, and the Chiefs aren't making the most of anything.  The Chiefs are really falling off my radar, two years ago they were my favorite team, now they're just blocking me from watching real football on Sunday's.

Sporting KC

It's good to have a team that knows what they're doing.  This offseason Sporting KC has been active, cutting players that didn't fit into their system and filling holes.  They recognize what players are replaceable, and those they need to build their team around.  They let two midfielders go, but then replaced the them with better options.  Right now they have a good striker in C.J. Sapong, and instead of saying "were good" they are looking to add a top of the line striker from Argentina.  In the year I've been following them I've been amazed how many good moves they have made.  Right now they have a young team with lots of potential, kinda like the Royals.  But Sporting KC is actually resigning their stars, not making excuses about payroll.  Sporting KC are making great business decisions, creating a winning atmosphere, instead being content and making excuses why they can't contend.  Sporting KC has the right mind set, they're making good things happen, instead of hoping. Its good to see one Kansas City sports team has it figured out.

One Step Sideways, 2 Steps Back

The Royals traded outfielder Wil Myers, arguably the best hitting prospect in baseball for an above average pitcher in James Shields, and an average pitcher in Wade Davis.  Yes James Shields has put together two really good years in a row, but a big reason for that was who he was pitching for. Tampa Bay has the best defense in the league and the best manager, two things that will change in KC. If I were to predict his year I would say 210 innings with an ERA of around 4.00. Wade Davis is a decent pitcher, who can hopefully help out the rotation next year but I'm not counting on much.  This trade upgrades the rotation for next year but I don't think they are much better next year with this trade, and for the future they are way worse.

The biggest factor that is getting overlooked is that the Royals have the worst right fielder in the game, Jeff Francouer, and we traded away Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, and other good prospects.  What really frustrates me is that if Jeff Francouer was making two million dollars he'd be replaced, but since he makes about 8 million he remains on the team. Sometimes teams have to realize they made a mistake and limit the damage, instead of determining playing time by salaries. He hit .235 with 49 RBI's last year and terrible plate discipline, and he's going to be our starting right fielder.

I don't understand why the Royals why the Royals don't utilize free agency.  Brandon McCarthy signed last week for a 2 year 15 million dollar deal with Arizona.  Yet every major deal the Royals have made recently has been through a trade. Yes you typically have to pay a bigger salary to free agents but you don't have to give up any prospects to do so.  And it's not like they are saving money with Shields and Davis, their salaries total 16 million dollars a year, while Myers costs almost nothing.  Why not put less money into Brandon McCarthy and keep Wil Myers, or make a bold move and sign Anibal Sanchez to a five year deal worth about 15 million a year?

The Royals are now in complete win now mode. I thought they needed to start winning this year, but I also thought they shouldn't mortgage the future to do so. I'm not completely done with this team, but if this trade doesn't work, I'm checking out.

Ugh...

Royals

The statements coming from Royals owner David Glass are so frustrating.  He wants us to feel sorry for him, stating that if the payroll is 70 million then he will break even, not make a dime.  When a businessman makes a bad decision he is left financially unstable.  When a sports owner makes a bad decision, he profits.  Sports teams in America are one of, if not the safest investment.  David Glass bought the Royals for 96 Million in 2000, (there was actually somebody who bid 120 million but he was rejected because his net worth was not high enough) since then, they have had one winning season (which was 99% luck, 1% Ken Harvey) and zero playoff appearances.  Now the team is worth over 300 million according to Forbes.  So he has made over 200 million by default, and according to multiple sources he has made another 20 million per year from ticket sales, parking, and paying players an average of 10.75 an hour, safely above minimum wage.

I feel hopeless with this team, I've invested time, money, and passion into the Royals.  They feed you this false sense of hope year after year, and I believe that without changes this year, things will change.  People aren't going to invest money into this bull shit again.  I really hope they move, I don't want to care anymore.  Just let Kaufman Stadium sit there, year after year.  Give us the Marlins Owner, at least he kind of tried.  David Glass said he was going to improve the pitching staff and the only difference from the end of last year to now is adding a pitcher who sucked last year, and retaining one that has sucked his whole career.  Shouldn't the fact that his team has never made the playoffs piss him off?  Shouldn't the fact that the Royals are the punch line of every baseball joke make fire him up?

Thank God for Sporting KC!