Royals Drop Home Series to A's - Francis Still Winless

The Royals finally hit a speed bump at home, dropping its latest series to the Oakland A's. Kansas City lost the final game of the series 5-2, dropping its record at the K to 15-8 this year. The Royals are 18-16 overall, and still remain in second place in the AL Central.

Jeff Francis yet again failed to earn a win, and the Royals starter might hit Independance day before he notches a victory at this rate. Francis isn't pitching terribly, and the Royals had an idea of what they were getting with the veteran. The lefty has a career ERA of 4.79 and an overall record of 55-54, and this season his ERA sits at 5.09. The Royals just need Francis to pitch decently and keep them in games, and he was able to do that in his last start. The Royals offense couldn't get anything going against the A's Tyson Ross, who is off to a solid start this season.

Kansas City is off today, and travels to New York to face the Yankees tomorrow. The matchup with the Yankees gives the Royals an opportunity to prove if they are for real or not to the entire nation. Don't hold your breath.

Royals Fall to A's

The Royals' offense was flying high, and fireworks Friday at the K seemed like a good omen that Kansas City's bats would remain hot. However, Gio Gonzalez had other ideas. The young lefty baffled the Royals all night, and Kansas City fell to Oakland 3-2.

Kansas City wasted a great effort from Sean O'Sullivan, who only gave up three runs in eight innings of work. O'Sullivan gave up all of his runs in the deciding fifth inning, but otherwise was just as good as Gonzalez.

Eric Hosmer made his much anticipated debut to mixed results. He drew two walks and stole a base early, but ended up striking out in his final two plate appearances. Hosmer, who led the minor leagues in hitting, likely needs some time to adjust to major league pitching - and he should eventually provide Kansas City's offense with a boost.

The loss dropped Kansas City to 17-15 on the season, and the Royals currently sit alone in second place in the AL Central - five games behind the surprising Cleveland Indians.

Royals Blast Orioles, Take Series

Kansas City's offense caught fire again last night, as the Royals humiliated the Orioles 9-1. The win gave Kansas City the series, and after losing six straight, the Royals have rebounded to win five of its last six.

Bruce Chen had yet another solid start, and has established himself as Kansas City's top starter this season. Chen improved his record to 4-1 for the season, and the lefty has brought some consistency to a rotation that has been up and down all year. Following the win, the Royals announced that top prospect Eric Hosmer will be called up from the minors, while the struggling Kila Ka'aihue will be demoted to Omaha. Hosmer will join an offense that has been one of the best in the majors this season, and his gaudy minor league stats have shown he is ready to take on the big league.

The Royals have gone 14-6 at home this season, and will look to continue its dominance in Kansas City tonight against Oakland. The Royals will face a talented pitcher in Gio Gonzalez, however the A's offense hasn't been anything to write home about this season. I expect Hosmer to give Kansas City a boost, and the Royals should have no trouble at least taking the series from the A's.

Missouri's Congressional Redistricting Plan Becomes Law

The Missouri Legislature's redrawing of US Congressional districts in the State have become law with Wednesday's override of Governor Nixon's veto. With it, a number of entertaining developments.

First, a little background. The Missouri Democratic Party as a whole was against the map because it drew out a Democratic Congressman (Russ Carnahan). Missouri's number of Representatives has dropped from 9 to 8, and the new districts create 6 strongly Republican and 2 Democrat districts - formerly there was 6 Rep and 3 Dem. The State's Legislative bodies are strongly Republican, so of course they are going to draw out a Democrat. Well, in doing so, they smartly strengthened their 6 districts and the districts of the two BLACK incumbents, namely the good Reverend Cleaver, and Lacy Clay of St Louis.

Now, enter the politics of race in the Democratic Party. Republicans in the Missouri House needed four Democratic votes to override Nixon's veto. Cleaver and Clay talked four Black State Legislators in their districts into voting for the override and against a majority of their party. Why? Because it would save their black asses if the veto stood and a Federal Court redrew the lines. Cleaver and Clay did all this while not taking Russ Carnahan's calls throughout the process. Carnahan is totally pissed, having confronted both Cleaver and Clay on the floor of the US House allegedly telling Clay "Fuck you, Thanks for the help".

Another sideshow here is the remarks of two of the black Representatives who voted for the override. Ignorant Ghetto Bitch Jamilah Nasheed stated "I'm black before I'm a Democrat" when asked why she backed overriding the Governor's veto, and Kansas City Representative and dumb as a bag of hammers Jonas Hughes stated that his "Congressman (meaning Cleaver) asked him to" vote for the override while holding back tears. What a pussy.

State Politics really are a lot of fun - They jus' keepin' it real!

Royals Win Fourth Straight, Beat Orioles 6-5

Charlie Sheen would be proud of all the winning going on in Kansas City these days. After sweeping the Minnesota Twins at home for the first time since 1994, the Royals kept the momentum going in a 6-5 win over Baltimore. The victory over the Orioles moves Kansas City's record to 16-13 on the season, and the Royals currently sit comfortably in second place in the struggling AL Central.

Kansas City has participated in several thrilling extra-inning contests this season, and last night's game was yet another nail-biter decided late. Jeff Francoeur ended up being the hero, tying the game with a home run in the sixth inning and hitting a sacrifice fly in tenth that gave the Royals the win. Francoeur is having a strong season, hitting for a .315 average with 7 HRs and 23 RBI. He was a very smart free agent pickup (I guess the Royals were finally due for one) who has helped spark Kansas City's offense while also providing much-needed veteran leadership.

Unfortunately for Kansas City, Jeff Francis continued to struggle. Francis is now winless in his seven starts this season, and has been shelled in his last couple of outings. If the Royals want to keep winning into the summer and make a surprise run at a playoff position, they will need Francis and other starting pitchers to consistently pitch well.