+
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
PAGE 7
+
Royals attract Jayhawk fans for 'Night at the K'
DAN HARMSEN
@udk_dan
Supporter of the University of Kansas rallied to a sold-out Kauffman Stadium on Sunday to witness the first ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game in Kansas City since June 16, 1996, as the Kansas City Royals played host to the Cleveland Indians on "KU Night at the K".
Along with the meet and greet with Coach Charlie Weis and a few Kansas football players inside the stadium, the first 2,000 Jayhawk fans who brought their KU Night discounted tickets received a limited edition crimson, blue and white Royals cap.
Becca Dorsson from Prairie Village said she showed up at 4:30 a.m. to get a hat.
"But we like them." Dormson said about the hats. "It's nice having both of our teams (KU football and the Kansas City Royals) get better. We're hopeful for both."
Dorsson and her husband John, both KU grads, attended the game with their son Jake.
Mike Ament, from Denver, would not be outdone at KU Night. Even across the border on the Missouri-side of Kansas City, Ament bore a Jayhawk
+
across his face, completely unabashed, and optimistic for the start of football.
"I'm really excited for a winning season," Ament said of the Kansas football team. "My concern is no running back depth after those injuries. I think they need to convert (Tony) Piterson back, but I like that (sophomore quarterback Montell) Cozart kid a lot."
ESPN was on the broadcast, so the media room was filled to the brim, something Cummins and the Royals haven't seen since 1996.
Although the final outcome of the game was suspended until Sept. 22 due to rain, "KU Night at the K" was a special day for many Royals/jayhawk crossover fans. But even some Royals personnel got in on the fun.
It was a busy and stressful night but a memorable one, as well for Mike Cummings, Royals assistant director of media relations and former assistant director of communications for the Kansas football team from 2006 until 2013.
Few fans wanted to go on the record and put a number of predicted wins next to their name, but hopes are high for KU football and the first-place Royals.
ANNA WENNER/KANSAN
"It's cool that we got to fill the stadium for KU Day with it being Sunday Night Baseball," Cummings said. "I believe we ran out of hats in the first twenty minutes that the stadium was opened."
Mike Ament, a KU fan from Denver, sports a painted Jayhawk on his face during the "KU Night at K" in the Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday.
Cummings is still fairly new on the scene in Kansas City, Mo., but he is an old hand when it comes to the University.
memory in particular stood out most for the native of Fargo, N.D.
"I got the job at KU right after my internship with Virginia Tech," Cummings said. "I spent seven years with the program and worked with the baseball and football teams in the communications department." During his time in Lawrence, Cummings witnessed two Bowl game victories, a national championship in men's basketball and the rise of the baseball program. But one
VISIT KANSAN.COM TO SEE A VIDEO OF BEN HEENEY'S FIRST PITCH
"I was able to go to the Orange Bowl in 2008," Cummings said. "In my time there, that was, by far, the most fun team, and I always enjoyed working with those kids."
Things turned south a few years later, as athletic director Lew Perkins fired then-coach Mark Mangino after a player-abuse investigation, and the program took a subsequent nose-dive, losing nine games in 2010, 10 games in 2011, and 11 games in 2012.
Like the Jayhawks, the Royals find themselves in an uphill battle after years of losing. The Royals have not been to the playoffs since 1985 when the team won the World Series. In 1994, when the team was on the brink of a playoff-berth, Major League Baseball went on strike in response to the worsening financial situation of baseball, and the season was canceled.
"I think with both teams it's a 'we want to win now' attitude," Cummings said. "No more waiting around. The KU football team has been building, and it would be nice to see them be competitive."
the two teams, resources are not as plentiful as they are for some competitors.
Cummings concedes that for
"I think with both teams, the fans will understand the markets," Cummings said. "KU Football won't be able to recruit the best players in Texas all the time, and the Royals can't spend like the Red Sox and the Yankees, but they both can close the gap."
And even though Kansas football and the Kansas City Royals have often found themselves cast away in the shadows of the Kansas basketball and Kansas City Chiefs football teams, respectively. Cummings
believes the answer to that problem is simple.
"If you win, you'll get a team that draws well," Cummings said. "The media will come out — they like a good product. Kansas basketball, and I think the same with the Chiefs, they are not necessarily competitors. It all comes down to winning."
This may be the year that both teams get over that hump.
"I'd love to see Kansas make a bowl game and go 6-6, but I'll stay away from predictions on the Royals," Cummings said.
THE DAILY DEBATE
— Edited by Sarah Kramer
Will the Kansas City Royals make the playoffs this season?
"NO"
The Kansas City Royals have not made the playoffs since the
last time they won the World Series 28 seasons ago. Expect the postseason drought to continue this season and nearly reach the three-decade mark.
The 1985 Royals went 91-71, had a future Hall of Fame third baseman on the team in George Brett, and scored 687 runs during the course of the season. Now, for the Royals to make the playoffs, they are going to need to repeat those numbers. With only one month left to go in the season, time seems to be running out.
As of Aug. 31, the Royals are 74-61 and have only scored 554 runs, which ranks them 54.15 in the majors, meaning they may not have enough offense left in the tank to keep themselves in front of the second-place
Detroit Tigers during the final stretch.
Their first challenge seems to be playing better than. 500 because the three teams that are chasing them — Mariners, Indians and Tigers — will be able to knock them right out of the playoff race if they don't.
The Royals are notorious to break down and run out of steam during the month of September. In the last four years, the Royals are only an average squad with a record of 54-54.
Although it is possible for the Royals to pull it off, the final 25 games remaining on the schedule don't seem to be in the Royals' favor. They have 12 games left playing teams over a .500 winning percentage: a three-game road series with both the Yankees and the Indians, and two three-game series left with the Tigers.
In the last 10 years, the Yankees have dominated the Royals in head-to-head series. In 73 games, the Royals have only won 26, which is a .356 winning percentage. The Indians have won 101 games out of 178 against the Royals.
The Tigers have one of the best pitching rotations in the
league since acquiring fourtime All-Star pitcher David Price at the trade deadline. The Royals will have to face Price, Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer at least once, if not twice, during those six games, but expect the Tigers to throw their aces at the Royals to try and regain sole possession of first place in the American League Central division.
It has been a long wait for Royals fans to get the opportunity to fill Kauffman Stadium in October, and the end of the line will come soon, but this year is not the year they get will that chance.
- Edited by Sarah Kramer
"YES"
Hall of Famer George Brett was hitting line drives the last time the boys in blue headed
American League Central as long as we can remember. It's strange to see students actually paying attention to the Royals games at bars and checking their phones in classes for the latest score. Royals baseball is alive and fighting for the crucial spot to advance into the MLB postseason.
DAILY DEBATE RESULTS: AUG. 28, 2014 Will the volleyball team improve upon its 2013 Sweet 16 appearance?
to the postseason back in 1985.
The Detroit Tigers are now only a half game behind the Royals after the Tigers lost 2-6 against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. The Royals-Indians game was incredibly intense
"This group is different. This group is really talented. I'm telling you, these guys are more talented than we were in 1985"; Brett told the Kansas City Star.
NO: 14%
VOTE FOR THE WRITER WITH THE MOST CONVINCING ARGUMENT AT KANSAN.COM
YES: 86%
19 PEOPLE POLLED
"We've just got to find a way to battle through it and get a big hit."
NED YOST Royals manager
when Alex Gordon hit a homerun in the ninth inning that pulled them into a 2-2 tie. The conclusion to that game will be up in the air until Sept. 22 when the two teams meet at Cleveland. The game was suspended with the Royals down 2-4, midway through the 10th inning. This helped them secure first place in the AL Central over the Tigers.
The Royals have been one of the hottest teams in baseball
since the All Star break, but were on the verge of dropping four straight on Sunday night, just before a rain reprieve.
"We've been through these things before," Royals manager Ned Yost told MLB.com. "We've just got to find a way to battle through it and get a big hit."
The Royals are mixing it up, releasing long-time left-hander Bruce Chen on Friday, only a day after the 11-5 loss to Minnesota. Chen gave up six runs in the 10th inning alone.
"There just wasn't a spot for him," Yost said. "We needed somebody that could fill that role down there and be more accustomed to it."
Right-hander Louis Coleman from Triple-A Omaha will take Chen's place.
It's been a long time since Kansas City baseball dominated the fall season, and this could be the year. Kansas City has been on a 26-11 run. Now it's crunch time; time to live and die with every pitch. Get on board the Royals' bus, because Kansas City baseball is making history. There just might actually be a royal ending to this fairy tale.
Edited by Sarah Kramer
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS UNIVERSITY THEATRE PRESENTS
A reprise of the KU Summer Theatre in Greece performance at the ancient theatre of Oiniades.
September 6,2014 - 7:30 p.m. The Crafton-Preyer Theatre The performance will be followed by a talkback with the cast about the play and their study-abroad experience in Greece.
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices. University Theatre, 864-3982, Lied Center, 864-ARTS; and online at www.KUTheatre.com. Tickets are $15 for adults, $14 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for children under 18. KU Student tickets are $10 in advance. $15 at the door. All major credit cards are accepted. The University Theater is partially funded by the KU Student Senate Activate Fund. The University Theatre's 2014-15 season is sponsored by Truity Credit Union.
KU THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS University Theater
STUDENT SENATE
TRUITY
CREDIT UNION
KU SCHOOL OF BUSINESS The University of Kansas
+