TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4.2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 9A
MLB
SPORTS
nts
Worst-of-the-worst Royals need a break
BY DOUG TUCKER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Being a laughingstock of the league, the Kansas City Royals naturally spawned plenty of jokes.
Some of the best ones even made the late-night comedy shows and brought a chuckle to Allard Baird, who found laughs hard to come by as general manager of the worst team in the majors.
Tough, but abundant. The Royals of 2005 — grittily sticking to a no-pain, no-gain rebuilding campaign — finished 56-106, an all-time low in the 37-year history of a once-proud franchise.
"Losses bother me," Baird said. "Jokes do not. The losses were tough."
They suffered through a team record 19-game losing streak while dropping at least 100 games for the third time in four years.
Jose Lima (5-16), the worst pitcher on the worst team, had an ERA of 6.99.
No one in baseball history with at least 30 starts ever had one higher. Runnelys Hernandez (8-14) led in victories despite going 0-5 with a 9.15 ERA in his final nine starts. It's the lowest club-leading total the Royals ever had.
And what about that unbelievable rally by Cleveland? Only two other visiting teams in baseball history ever scored 11 runs in the ninth inning.
Baird insists, however, that things are finally turning around. Phase I of his long-term reclamation project is complete, he said, with the arrival of young players such as catcher John Buck, third baseman Mark Teahen, shortstop Angel Berroa and pitchers like Zack Greinke, Mike MacDougal, Mike Wood and Hernandez.
Promising but inconsistent, they all struggled at times. Most were hurried through the minors and sometimes foundered while learning on the fly.
"People ask who our best prospects are. They're here. They're right here," Baird said. "Now we have a core group we feel are ready to move into the big leagues next season that were already here."
"I'd like to compete in 2007," Baird said. "That's what I've said all along."
Next comes Phase II — adding some veterans and freeagent finds to complement the developing youngsters.
"That's when we start looking for more results," Baird said. "We had this year to go full steam ahead. Next year we're in that next phase where we're looking for more results."
There'll be more money. Owner David Glass has said the payroll is going up from around $36.9 million to more than $50 million — paltry to large-market powers but an upgrade for budget-conscious Kansas City.
And Phase III?
▼ NFL
Panthers outlast Favre magic
BY JENNA FRYER
BY JENNA FRYER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brett Favre showed he still has some Monday night magic — just not enough to prevent the Green Bay Packers from getting off to their worst start in 17 years.
Favre threw four touchdown passes but couldn't overcome two early turnovers that the Carolina Panthers used to build a big lead and then held on for a 32-29 victory.
The Packers fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1988.
Rallying Green Bay from a 19-point third-quarter deficit, Favre threw two touchdown passes and for two 2-point conversions in the fourth quarter and had the Packers in position to possibly win the game on their final drive.
Favre threw the ball to Donald Driver past the first down line but Chris Gamble knocked the ball out of his hands and it fell incomplete.
But with running back Ahman Green on the sidelines with an injured knee and no timeouts left, Favre had to do it all on his own when Green Bay got the ball back with 1:58 to play. He completed two passes before Carolina (2-2) stopped the Packers on a fourth-and-2.
Favre, a 15-year veteran and future Hall of Famer who is possibly playing his final season, stood alone at the 44-yard line. Soon, Carolina tight end Kris Mangum, a fellow Mississippian, walked over and patted the dejected Favre on the helmet. Mike Wahle, the left guard who spent seven seasons protecting Favre before signing with Carolina, embraced him.
Chuck Burton/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme throws the ball as he is hit by Green Bay Packers' Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila during the first quarter in Charlotte, N.C., Monday. The Panthers held out for a 32-29 victory.
The Panthers let out a sigh of relief after nearly giving one away.
Jake Delhomme threw two touchdown passes and Stephen Davis ran for two more as the Panthers built an early lead and put themselves in position to ride out an easy win.
Perhaps that's just where Favre wanted them.
"I was just praying for our defense to get a stop," Delhomme said. "He was awesome tonight. I'm just honored to be on the same field with him."
what seemed to be an insurmountable lead.
But after a Packers punt, Delhomme fumbled the ball away when his arm was hit by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. Green Bay recovered and Favre made the Panthers pay for it one play later with a 16-yard scoring strike to Donald Lee.
Trailing 26-7 midway through the third quarter, Favre turned it up a level. He led by example on an 80-yard scoring drive, sprinting up the middle for a 12-yard gain on third-and-8 then finishing it off with a 26-yard TD pass to Driver.
His finest work, though,
came on the Packers' next drive.
Favre was 8-of-12 on a 90-yard drive, hitting Antonio Chatman on a 4-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.
Favre finished 28-of-47 for 303 yards and four touchdowns. It was his 19th game of four or more touchdown passes, second to Dan Marino's record 21.
Favre threw the 2-point conversion to Robert Ferguson to make it 32-29 with 3:07 to play.
The pass to Driver was Favre's 50 touchdown pass on Monday Night Football, second only to Marino's 74, and it cut Carolina's lead to 26-13.
The Panthers pushed it to 32-13 on Davis' second score of the game, a 1-yard run with 14:44 to play that gave them
The Panthers were suddenly hapless on offense, going three-and-out to give the ball back to Favre for one final chance.