Royals hope Odd Couple can spur others

Ian Sherbaniuk showed why he might have a bright future in the Powerline Baseball League Tuesday night.

The velocity-mixing, knuckleball diving youngster in his second season kicked off 2011 with a nice performance on a perfect night for a knuckleballer in Bardo Thursday night. The wind was gusting in and the right hander was working the flutter ball like Tim Wakefield.

“I’d love to see Wakefield live.” Sherbaniuk said of his idol who would have most likely been impressed if he knew where Bardo was on a map.

Sherbaniuk surrendered only two earned runs and struck out six in a game where his infielders made four errors to make the night tougher on him. But the unflappable Sherbaniuk didn’t seem flustered.

“So much for two or three innings,” Sherbaniuk said with a grin after the game. “My arm felt great so I just kept going.”

His battery mate, also a youngster but in his fourth season with the Royals, was loose cannon and self-professed hot-head Kyle Ellis. 

“I called (Ellis) out in the media before this season and maybe the kid has learned a thing or two since breaking into this league and thinking he can talk the talk without walking the walk,” said associate player coach Jason Buzzell. “I liked what I saw out of him last night. We need more of that. We need Kyle to be an asset, not an ass.”

Ellis and Sherbaniuk could do a three-make of the movie odd couple. Ellis – passionate, loud, outgoing and full of vigor. while Sherbaniuk sits often docile, indifferent and quietly goes about his business.

Whether we’ll see other pairs of Royals step up and convert like Sherbaniuk and Ellis did Thursday night remains to be seen. But we all know they better if this team wants to make playoffs.

“I said it before the season, but I’ll say it again,” Buzzell said. “Our young guys will make or break us. If they play like they did last night we can hang in there on some nights and have a chance to win a few games”

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Jason Buzzell