Eight not so great in Armena

Eight errors in one game? Behind the eight ball? Eight men out?

All negative No. 8 references.

And if you saw Thursday night’s game in Armena you’d think they all pertain to the Royals.

Oh, did I say Armena? I meant Bardo, the latest residence for the homeless and hobbling last place Armena Royals who seem destined for collapse yet so close to getting over that proverbial hump.

• Eight errors in a game and only lose by two runs?
• Now behind the eight ball sitting at 1-4 with 10 games left on the schedule and no home diamond yet to play on.
• Eight men out? It’s almost like someone is paying this team off to boot the ball around and make mistakes to cost them games.

Say it ain’t so Joe?

OK, we all know no one is going to bank roll or intimidate the Royals into throwing games – we can do that on our own. But Thursday night might have been one of the most frustrating losses since that fateful day on July 14, 2009, when the Royals blew a 9-2 lead to lose to the Athletics in a game that could have virtually clinched a playoff spot for the Royals. Another “home” game for Armena played in Bardo.

How ironic?

Jason Buzzell on the mound, throwing his typical soft crap that Bardo puts in play, gave up just three earned runs on the night. But inning after inning, the A’s got on with infield error after infield error to go ahead 7-3 after five.

Then the scary and not-so-friendly sixth inning rolled around. Last year’s nemesis.

Three errors later and three runs with two outs seem to put the game away.

“It’s never good when you have the same amount of errors as runs,” said second-year hurler and infielder Ian Sherbaniuk who was responsible for half the errors – a rough night for the Royals all-star who continues to be the best pitcher on the team after closing out the 7th inning unscathed.

So we’ve beat on the horse that is the homeless part of this team. Some could point to the fact they had no infield practice, no home base where their players can congregate and already they’ve lost a couple players at time due to their home games being in Holden and Bardo.

But we’re three weeks into the season!

Then the hobbling part. It’s almost like the team is cursed. Every day Clark Banack and Jason Buzzell wait for a phone call hoping someone on the team isn’t clinging to life.

List the injuries that have led to man games lost already this year:

• Chad Hooke – car accident
• Mark Walker – work accident
• Adam Johnson – hamstring
• Zach Kempf – sliced finger
• Nels – Concussion

This team is 1-4. The future looks bleak. Can they turn it around?

First things first – get their field ready so they can play at home. Quit making errors at costly times. Find a way to win in the next two weeks.

Easier said than done.

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Jason Buzzell