Earlier this week, the Kansas City Royals announced that there is not yet any deal in place that would change the name of Kauffman Stadium. Of course, this announcement means very little. After five years of working to sell the naming rights, it’s only a matter of time before a deal is finally made and the name changes.

As a Royals fan, I am not at all OK with this possibility. I understand the need for any business to maximize revenue in any way possible, but sometimes it’s just too far. When the name of Kauffman is removed from the stadium, we will be removing something that honored one of the greatest men in Kansas City history. Ewing Kauffman made baseball great in this city, and that is something no fan should ever forget. Every time I go to the stadium for a game, I am reminded of that simple fact. When the name change is complete, that will no longer be the case and future generations will forget the importance of Mr. Kauffman.

As a fan, I see the constant changes as teams look to maximize on every ounce of revenue possible. I see signs popping up in every corner of every stadium. I see that everything is now sponsored by a corporation, including the box score and the seventh-inning stretch. At stadiums, we no longer vote by the loudest cheer, instead we text a number. Heck, at some point in the future some owner will realize that we could even paint a giant ad in the center field grass at Yankee Stadium.

These things are crazy, but I keep my mouth shut. I can barely afford to go to the games, but I keep quiet. Selling the name of my team’s stadium and removing Kauffman’s name from it though is too far. The worst part is the price tag. For $3-6 million a year, the Royals are willing to sell out. For most fans, this is a huge sum, but for an MLB team that’s a drop in the bucket.

I say the Royals should tell whatever corporation they are talking with to keep that money, its not enough to rename the stadium. Instead, put a winning team on the field and fill the stands. That will bring in a great deal more than $3-6 million, and it will honor what Kauffman would have wanted in the first place. If the team is that strapped for cash that it needs to sell out, maybe that center field grass could really be painted. It would be kind of neat to see the “Green Giant” painted out there.

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From this super-easy-to-follow Fox graphic about “Colby Lewis Travels” — which probably should’ve been Colby Lewis’s Travels, but he has traveled, so whatever — the map indicates he spent a sliver of 2007 in Kansas City, Kansas as a Royals pitcher.

The Royals home address is Kauffman Stadium, One Royal Way, Kansas City, MO 64129.

(H/T @fakenedyost via Noah H.)

(Sports Network) – After failing to record a sweep of Detroit over the
weekend, the Chicago White Sox get back to work tonight in the opener of a
three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

The White Sox outscored the Tigers, 13-2, over the first two matchups before
dropping a 4-3 decision in Sunday’s series finale. Philip Humber struck out
eight batters over 5 2/3 innings, but the four runs and seven hits allowed
sent him to the loss column.

Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham had two hits and an RBI apiece for the White Sox,
who had won three of four games following a four-game slide and will also
visit Cleveland on this nine-game road trip (2-1).

“[The Tigers] battled and had enthusiasm. They made the plays when they needed
to make the plays. Today, we just came up short,” said White Sox manager Ozzie
Guillen, whose club is four games behind both Cleveland and Detroit in the
American League Central standings.

Chicago has won each of Mark Buehrle’s last four starts, but the lefty is only
0-1 with a 2.10 ERA in his last five outings. The White Sox are 4-1 in that
time and will send him to the mound tonight in KC. Buehrle allowed three
unearned runs over eight innings of a 4-3 win over Minnesota on July 9 and is
6-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 18 overall starts this season.

Buehrle, who sports a 2-4 mark in nine road starts, is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in
two assignments against the Royals this season. He has faced the Central-rival
Royals 49 times in his career, going 21-11 with a 3.66 ERA in 47 starts.

Kansas City lost three of four contests at Minnesota this weekend and is
coming off back-to-back 4-3 losses. In Sunday’s version, Jeff Francoeur went
2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Melky Cabrera had two hits and
scored a run in defeat.

Felipe Paulino was dealt the loss for yielding four runs and seven hits in
seven innings of work, falling to 1-3 on the season.

“We’re just at a point where one mistake kills us,” Kansas City manager Ned
Yost said. “If it’s a pitch or missing a pitch offensively, it’s just one
mistake that is costing us the game. We’re just walking a thin line. We hung a
3-2 curveball and it cost us the game today.”

The Royals will begin a six-game homestand today versus the White Sox and
Rays.

Kyle Davies has been dreadful for the Royals and is 0-7 with a 7.25 earned run
average in his last eight starts — all Kansas City losses. Davies failed to
right the ship in a 6-4 loss to Detroit on July 6, when he was reached for
five runs and nine hits in six innings. It was his second start since coming
off of the disabled list.

Davies’ only win of the season came on April 13 at Minnesota in a 10-5
drubbing of the Twins in which he lasted five innings and gave up five runs
and 10 hits. He is 1-8 with a 7.74 ERA in 11 starts this season and 0-3 in
five trips to the Kauffman Stadium mound.

The right-hander has made eight career starts against the White Sox, going 3-2
with a 4.87 ERA.

Kansas City has won three of five meetings with Chicago in 2011 after the Pale
Hose had 10 wins in 18 tries a year ago in this series.

The Sports Network

(Sports Network) – The Minnesota Twins try to avoid a sixth straight loss this afternoon when they attempt to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

After losing by a run in Friday’s opener, the Twins were manhandled by the Royals on Saturday, as Alex Gordon belted a three-run homer to highlight an eight-run eighth inning in Kansas City’s 11-2 rout.

The Royals, who had lost six in a row entering this series, sent 12 batters to the plate during their eighth-inning rally, getting five of their 13 hits during the frame. Gordon’s second homer of the season was the big blow, a two- out blast deep over the right field wall.

“A really ugly inning where a lot of bad things happened — too many to even talk about,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

Sean O’Sullivan started for Kansas City, but didn’t factor in the decision after an up-and-down outing. Pitching on little sleep, he yielded just two runs and two hits, but walked seven with three strikeouts.

“In the bullpen I didn’t feel real strong. I spent most of the night bent over a toilet, a little bit of a food virus,” said O’Sullivan. “Things were pretty weak out there, so I tried to battle as much as I could.”

Nathan Adcock (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh and earned the win after Chris Getz tripled and scored on Mike Aviles’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Kansas City scored three runs — two earned — against Minnesota starter Brian Duensing (2-1), who went seven innings and yielded eight hits and two walks while striking out six.

The Twins committed two errors, went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight players on base. They’ve been outscored 44-11 during the slide and have plated three runs or less in five straight for the first time since August of 2007.

Hoping to avoid its first six-game losing streak since May 15-20, 2009, Minnesota will send right-hander Carl Pavano to the hill. Pavano defeated the Cleveland Indians his last time out, as he allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings to run his record to 2-2, while lowering his ERA to a still- lofty 5.12.

Pavano, who will be trying for the 100th win of his career this afternoon, has faced the Royals 13 times (12 starts) and is 7-5 against them with a 6.28 ERA.

Kansas City, meanwhile, will rely on righty Luke Hochevar this afternoon if they are to complete their first three-game sweep of Minnesota since August of 1998. Hochevar lost his second straight start on Tuesday in Cleveland, as he allowed six runs and 11 hits in 6 1/3 frames to fall to 2-3 to go along with a 5.68 ERA.

Hochevar is 2-2 lifetime against the Twins with a 5.32 ERA in eight games, seven of which have been starts.

Though these two clubs split a two-game set at Minnesota on April 12-13, the Twins have still won 22 of their past 31 versus the Royals overall and 13 of the last 19 played at Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City hasn’t swept the Twins in a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium since July of 1994.

The Sports Network