I'm in!

A design engineer that works for me just came into my office and offered me two free tickets to Thursday's game. He bought one of the partial season ticket packages that gave him the option to buy playoff tickets. His son is playing in a football game on Thursday night so he can't go. He gets the father if the year award and I get to go to the Royals game.

I didn't realize the Cowboys game was at home. Yikes. Yeah that's going to be a mess.

Meh. That lot is MASSIVE. Not only that, but I'm sure they can probably use the Six Flags lot for overflow (another MASSIVE lot). It's all right next to each other.

Yeah I've been to the Ballpark in Arlington before. That's still going to be a lot of traffic.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to Blue Jays fans, who waited 22 years for the opportunity to bitch about playoff start times.</p>&mdash; Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) <a href="https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur/status/651154176764805124">October 5, 2015</a></blockquote>
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I could give 2 shits about Facebook. Twitter actually is informative.

The problem lies in that twitter can literally suck you into nonstop reading of it...

best thing about twitter is people only have so many characters to rant and blabber. this is good.

Might I recommend Tweetcaster Pro.

They have a free version, but the Pro version is a buck or 2 and worth it.

Plus, the guy that develops it is on his game. It's constantly updated and improved with new features better layouts or the ability to customize how you want things to look and how the app interacts with you.

There's tons of junk apps out there , but for the quality ones out there I try to give a few bucks in support for their work that entertains or enhances the utility

So jealous of all of you going! Please post photos of the happenings.

Willie Roaf of baseball?

I use the Twitter Snarl plugin so I get a notifier showing new tweets. That way you don't need to have a window open.

Called it yesterday. Only reason they're going Sunday night is because Fox/MLB are scared to death of SNF and would get beaten by it anyway.

Royals had #8 and #3 on SportsCenters top10 defensive plays of the MLB season. Can you name them?

Esky was probably involved in one. Maybe the bare handed pick and throw or the assist to Infante for the out at first.

Without having watched I would guess Gordon's dive into the seats and the Esky/infante DP.

Honorable mention would be the over the shoulder dyson catch/DP.

Yeah I was just going to say Gordon's catch in the stands.

Gordo jumping catch into the stands, Esky/Infante glove flip?

Gotta be this

Yeah I didn't fool you guys there. Gordon was 3

This is the first time you've seen them, isn't it? They don't look the same on fangraphs in number form.

I would flip flop them.
I thought the infante/Esky DP was much more impressive. Infact; I liked the dyson grab and throw more than Gordon's catch.

If you are talking about where Esky flipped it to Infante that wasn't a double play.

I would put Gordon higher (I forgot he body slammed some big goon on the way in which earns double points)....but IIRC the relay throw was a 1-run game I the 9th. Ballsy

Infante glove flipped it to Esky (who barehanded it) and spun and threw a 97 mph ball to first.

I forgot, was that not a DP?

I was thinking of the one Esky grabbed up the middle and glove flipped it to Infante who threw to first for the out. That wasn't a double play.

No double play ... Amazing nonetheless

Any Kevin Pillars on that list?

The 2nd seed did have the top 2 plays.

Welp, if the Skanks win, we won't have to face CC&7. Checked into rehab today

I'm sure the wall catch was on there.

We would actually want to face him.

“He drank every day last week apart from the day he pitched,” the source said. “The tipping point was Friday when he was at the stadium. He carried on drinking Saturday.”

http://nypost.com/2015/10/06/the-wee...as-rehab-stay/

Heading to the Yankees game tonight decked out in Royals gear. Hoping the good vibes bring the Boys in Blue to the Big Apple.

Why in the hell are the Cowboys not playing at noon as usual?

This Dyson grab:

<iframe src='http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=244909583&topic_id=11493214&width=400&height=224&property=mlb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>

Yes, that play.

It was right after Gordon got injured, so the team could have easily gotten "down" and had a pity party, instead Dyson stepped up and had a couple really nice plays to keep the Royals into games to win. The relay throw to the cutoff man was perfection.

Playing the Patriots, its CBS Big Game for Doubleheader day.

Royals Press Conference on 810 live.

Watch this! Great stuff.

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YAM3Ul90Gxo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ned should grab the mic at the pep rally and go, you know what baseball nerds..I'm if I could bad Esky TWICE per the order, I WOULD. And I would bat him 1st AND 2nd. Then drop the mic.

To the absolute surprise of no one:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yordano Ventura will start Game 1. Johnny Cueto will start Game 2. Gentleman Ed Volquez will start Game 3.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/status/651438819691102208">October 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ned Yost wouldn&#39;t say who his potential Game 4 starter is, but KC will consider bringing back Yordano Ventura on short rest.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/status/651448794417102848">October 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Moustakas just hit a HR in batting practice.... right-handed.

Wait no Jeremy Guthrie? He is our #2 pitcher /prison bitch

God, the wait to see our Royals back in the playoffs is killing me. Just get here!
It's been an amazing season, and I can say the 2015 season seemed to fly by and it's been a roller coaster. Looking back, it's sort of unbelievable this team ended up with the best record in the AL, and the 2nd best record in baseball for about 80% of the season.
We've had a starting rotation that was in a perpetual game of musical chairs. Our "Ace" was struggling so much he got DFA'd- only to come back due to injury and worked his way back into form to be named the starting pitcher for Game 1.

Then there was guys like Young, who came out of nowhere and stepped up to turn in some outstanding appearances to keep pace in the win column. The steadiest arm being Edison, turning in better numbers than Shields while in addition to Ventura, Duffy, and later Cueto would hit unexpected stretches where their mechanics were off and they really struggled with their control resulting in some ballooning era's.

A bullpen, not nearly as dominant, but even deeper than last year, and it was fortunate we had those fresh faces in the pen as we now know Holland was gutting it out all season injured and in pain until he finally was shutdown and had TJ surgery last week.

On the flipside, replacements like Morales and the late addition of Zobrist contributed to a major improvement in the lineup which now features very little weakness 1-9 with almost all sporting a healthy OPS, and a nice gain in power and homeruns compared last year.

Ned was Ned. A baffling genius wizard able to turn the most improbable decisions into a positive stroke of good luck.

Plus, I think we can all agree that Rusty Kuntz is a pimp whose also the best 1st base coach in MLB. On the flipside, Mike Jirschele needs to pack his bags and get out of town.
Yes, Mike, we're waving you through... to go away.

Here's to a season of complete joy, and come Thursday hopefully the 1st of 11 wins for the Royals in the 2015 postseason .

Cheers!

Won't be a game 4. Boom!

Yup!

Ventura was never DFAed, though. He was demoted for all of about 10 hours. Much different than being designated for assignment (which puts you on waivers).

It has been a valiant grind this year, boys. Let's sit back for a couple days and enjoy (not being in) the WC games.

He seems like a nice guy, but I have absolutely no idea if he's the best 1st base coach in MLB. How are you judging that?
Can't say I have any affection for Jirschele, but it seems like he has a much tougher job with tougher decisions that is easier to criticize.

The 1B coach's primary job is to help base stealers judge the pitcher's best moves/help all base runners get appropriate leads and know the situation.

If you look at how efficient KC has been stealing bases, you see Kuntz's impact, IMO.

Did you even bother to check the stats, or are you just saying that?
And I think you're giving 1B coaches a little too much credit for SB success.

It's not just about stats, but the stats back it up (the Royals are tops in MLB in SB percentage since Kuntz became the 1B coach in 2012, by nearly two full percentage points).

It's also about reputation and what you hear about a coach's work. Kuntz is regarded in baseball circles as a guy with excellent instincts, technique, and ability to teach the craft of stealing bases.

Stealing bases isn't just about raw speed. It's also about having good mechanics (to ensure an optimum take-off), picking the right spot, and reading a pitcher correctly.

Side note: Can you leave the bullshit, combative, DC-tone out of things? Royals threads are the one area of this site where things don't dissolve into petty pissing matches. And we like it that way.

Has the playoff roster been announced yet?

No, I don't think so, but those who wanted Orlando instead of Gomes on the roster are going to be pleased.

REALLY? Any details you can share on the Gome's thing?

I got no problem with Rusty.
Hey, sorry for questioning anything. I forgot that you're above being questioned.
And how was I combative? Someone made a statement. I didn't even disagree...I asked, "How are you judging that?" You chimed in without offering any stats, which is largely how such things are discussed.
So, you can go ahead and **** off.

But I'm sure that having a good SB percentage must be due to awesome 1B coaching. I'm sure putting him on another team would yield similar results.

Yankees are all righties, Astros burn Keuchel tonight they only have Kazmir as a lefty. That would be my guess.

And the roster can be adjusted from DS to CS... right?

I figured they'd keep Gomes just because of the threat of David Price, should they make it to the ALCS. Interestin

Yeah, but Keuchel could pitch game 3 of the ALDS in HOU, so it's not like we wouldn't face him

Yes.

Should be mentioned Rusty is the outfield coach and also handles the defensive alignments. That's on top of being the base running coach. He's much much more than a guy who stands out next to first base.
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No real details, just was told last night that Gomes will be left off the postseason roster. (And yeah, can change round-to-round or because of injury).

The bolded part is what comes across combative/DC. Can you see that?

A normal, non-combative way to say that would be: "On what are you basing that statement?"

-----^ This whole post, basically, is why we can't have nice things on most of the board.

Please stop going DC. Or YOU can **** off.

Rusty has been great at defensive alignments. GMDM hired a bunch of Ivy League grads to give him stats to help with the positioning.

I wish I was traveling this week. It would allow me to focus more during the day. Gadamnit, Thursday night! Get here soon!

No one said he sucked. I questioned how someone would come to the conclusion that he is the best in MLB, especially while saying our 3B coach should be fired.

Yeah, after you chimed in, offering nothing. I did ask the original poster what he was basing it on. Do you see how you were combative? You escalated it with the DC stuff.

ESPN experts picks:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2015/...s-mlb-playoffs

Their WS picks don't surprise me. The BJ's are a very fashionable pick - over 50% of the expert picks

I like the way we match up with Houston (Kuechel only once) or Yanks (righties), and think the rested Rangers will give the BJs a handful. Stealing the #1 seed in those last 2 games really improves our chances imo. And even if the BJs win - that one extra home game in the cold, spacious confines of the K will help.

Can't believe not a single guy picked the Rangers in that panel.

The Rangers' O has been just as explosive in the last month, their SP matches up really well with Toronto, and their bullpen has fewer question marks, IMO.

The Jays are a far better team than them (and match up very well against their multiple LH SPs). Of course, considering this is baseball, that only means they have about a 60% chance at best to win the series.

Only Jerry Crasnick loves us.

Royals have 3 of the top 10 FAs by WAR.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Most WAR by 2014-2015 Free Agents. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash">#Royals</a> have 3 of top 10 <a href="http://t.co/uz41C8TLnz">pic.twitter.com/uz41C8TLnz</a></p>&mdash; Dan Hirsch (@DanHirsch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanHirsch/status/651488468611141632">October 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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That is how you run away with your division.

Didn't a few posters make a bet about Volquez?

Hamas owes me $20 which he can donate directly to ChiefsPlanet

Don't bother. He doesn't understand MLB stats anyway. I tried to explain what offensive WAR was after he used it on me, and even after the 2nd run he was confused as ever. Pointless.

What was the bet?

I kind of forget ... but it was something along the lines of him having an ERA under 4 and over 150 IP

alnorth has the exact bet archived somewhere ... perhaps I'll google search it

I'd say that's a very sound victory for you, Hootie.

3.55 ERA, 200.1 IP

He had an awful September, but I think he'll bounce back in the Playoffs. If so, I'll be lovin' our top 3.