00:00And we're not going to spend a lot of time today talking about the Royals,
00:04but I felt very conflicted about what the open of the show was going to be today.
00:09I was between two things.
00:11I was between talking about Patrick Mahomes,
00:14and trust me, we'll talk about him enough today,
00:16but there really was no new information.
00:20Mahomes is ahead of schedule.
00:21He feels good.
00:23The plan is for him to participate in week one of the NFL season.
00:27I mean, you knew that already.
00:28Now, on the other side, what I'm going to tell you about the Royals,
00:32you probably also already know.
00:35But I was thinking this.
00:36I was wondering this.
00:38I am very unsure.
00:40913-586-7965 as we kick off the show today.
00:45Is this what rock bottom feels like with the Royals?
00:49Because I saw a tweet come across my timeline a couple of days ago.
00:53The Royals were 19-21, and they were a half game out of first place on May 10th
01:00with a chance to sweep their division rival Tigers on national television.
01:06They also were going to have 10 of their next 16 games at home.
01:11I remember it.
01:13People were so hopeful.
01:15People were so optimistic.
01:17We were having conversations about the playoffs.
01:20We were looking at the standings.
01:21There was an aura of confidence around the Kansas City Royals.
01:27Since that day, the Royals are now 3-12.
01:32They have been outscored 81-45, and they go on a 10-game road trip starting tomorrow.
01:42How did it get this bad with the Royals?
01:45Why are they this bad?
01:47Is this what rock bottom feels like?
01:50They got dominated by the New York Yankees.
01:54They got swept at home.
01:56They were outscored 26-4 against the New York Yankees.
02:01And I am sitting here, and I'm struggling to figure out how a team that finished over 500 last year,
02:08that won a playoff series two years ago, that returns the same nucleus, returns the core of this team,
02:16how they feel so far away.
02:18No one expects them to be better than the New York Yankees.
02:22I understand the financial disparity that exists in the game of baseball,
02:25but the gap between the Yankees and the Royals feels like it did in 2009.
02:32It feels like it did in 2011.
02:35It feels like it did in 2021.
02:38I'm talking about some dark days.
02:41I'm talking about an organization that didn't really have a whole lot of hope,
02:44didn't really have a whole lot of optimism.
02:46You didn't really trust the people that were in power.
02:49That's how the Royals feel right now.
02:52No, that's how far away they feel from the postseason.
02:57I promise you guys, I want to come on here.
03:00I want to be positive about the Royals.
03:01I want the Royals to perform at a high level.
03:04I want the Royals to matter.
03:05I want you to care about the Royals.
03:08I can't force you to do that because they haven't given you a reason to feel that way about their
03:14team.
03:14They're bad.
03:16They're really bad.
03:17This season has gone really, really bad.
03:22Vern said this not that long ago, and I'll find the audio cut from it,
03:26that he believed that this is the most disappointing Royals team,
03:30certainly during his time here in Kansas City.
03:33I can't tell him that he's wrong for feeling that way.
03:37This season was supposed to be about taking a step forward.
03:40This season was about to be about one of the young guys.
03:43This season was supposed to be about growth and development,
03:47but all we've seen the Royals do is find a time machine and not back to a happy time in
03:53our lives,
03:53not back to 14 or 15, or even the hopefulness of 2013.
03:58They have made a descend back into the dark ages and era of apathy, of disappointment, of frustration.
04:07Here is Vern on the morning show.
04:10This was 10 days ago, he said this, and all they've done is get beat around since then.
04:16Seven games below .500, to me, this has been the most disappointing season.
04:2247 games in, but the most disappointing season that I've been a part of.
04:28I haven't been here forever, but dating back to 2012,
04:32there was never this type of anticipation, these type of expectations,
04:38this type of talent, only to lay this large of an egg.
04:43So, yeah, seven games below .500, a one-in-five road trip.
04:48You are the worst road team in all of Major League Baseball.
04:52The tenor shouldn't be good.
04:53I'm glad to hear that the fans are not just disappointed, but angry,
04:59because the expectations in this city, not just from the Royals, but all teams,
05:05the expectations have been raised over the past decade.
05:07We expect more.
05:09It feels like there is so much growth that is happening in the city from a sports aspect.
05:16Salute to the Kansas City Current.
05:18The street car has expanded and now goes right in front of their stadium.
05:22That's growth.
05:22That's improvement.
05:24The Royals are getting a brand-new stadium in downtown Kansas City
05:28that is going to be a model that other American cities use
05:31for their downtown baseball stadium.
05:35The Chiefs are getting a stadium.
05:36The Chiefs have been champions.
05:38They've hosted parades.
05:40They've won Super Bowls.
05:41They have first-ballot Hall of Famers.
05:43It appears to be so much growth in Kansas City sports,
05:46and it is just incredibly frustrating.
05:49I mean, it makes you want to pull your hair out that the Royals have just quite simply
05:54regressed to the organization and the team of our childhood.
05:58That's how it felt.
06:00This week, it felt like if you wanted to go out to the stadium,
06:03you were going out to see the other team.
06:05That's how it was when we were kids.
06:07When you went out to see the Yankees and the Red Sox,
06:10or the Cardinals would come into town for an interleague matchup,
06:13and other teams would just take over the stadium,
06:16and when they got a hit or a home run, it sounded like you were at a road game
06:20and not at Kauffman Stadium.
06:22That's what this team has done.
06:25Now we sit here off day, nothing's going to change.
06:28I mean, they basically blame the Yankees series on Bailey Falter.
06:32That's the only thing that's different.
06:35So Macintosharo will be back tomorrow.
06:37J.J. Piccolo will be back tomorrow.
06:40Alex Zumwalt will be back tomorrow,
06:42and everybody will be out there just trying to give it a good old college try
06:46to turn this thing around.
06:48We'll get to the Chiefs coming up on the other side,
06:50but I don't care how dark it is.
06:52I don't care how grim it is.
06:53We have standards on this show.
06:57Rob, hit me.
06:58We're where you want to be.
07:01Baseball with the Royals.
07:03Carrington, a little peek behind the covers, the listeners,
07:05before we came on the air talking about the Royals with the boss,
07:07and he said, I need a nice 20 and 13 lineup.
07:10So here is your lineup from today in 2013 in Royals baseball history,
07:14where they did lose at home 4-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
07:18Let's get it.
07:19They also had two hits, so that feels familiar.
07:21Leading off in left field, Alex Gordon.
07:26Batting second, the shortstop, LCD's Escobar.
07:32Batting third, the center fielder, Lorenzo Cain.
07:37You could just get a sense that the tide was turning.
07:40They're building the foundation of a winner.
07:43By the way, I mentioned they had two hits today.
07:45They both came from the four-hitter, Billy Butler.
07:49The Royals don't even know what that's like in 2026.
07:51You can get production from that spot in the lineup.
07:54Batting fifth, the first baseman, Eric Hosmer.
07:59Here's the falloff.
08:01Batting sixth, that third base, Miguel Tejada.
08:05Miguel Tejada was on the Royals.
08:08I completely forgot about that.
08:11I want a Miguel Tejada Royals throwback jersey.
08:15Royals authentic.
08:16You guys got that?
08:17I'll go buy one right now.
08:19I want a Miguel Tejada Royals throwback jersey.
08:23By the way, third base, Miguel Tejada.
08:25Woof.
08:26Batting seventh, the right fielder, Jeff Francoeur.
08:31And Jeff Francoeur would fit right in with this team.
08:34Batting eighth, the catcher, George Kataris.
08:37I remember him.
08:39I do remember Big George.
08:41And batting ninth, the second baseman, Elliot Johnson.
08:48By the way, the Royals did lose today.
08:49But of course, that was not a shock.
08:52It's not the fault of Irvin Santana, who went seven and a third, only giving up three earned
08:57runs as the Royals lost on this date in 2013.
08:59We'll see you next time.
09:00We'll see you next time.
09:00We'll see you next time.
09:00We'll see you next time.
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