GO ROYALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[aknowledgeableperson]

Guaranteed this would've been a sellout crowd in a Downtown Stadium (as we all know it would be).

So you have a crystal ball.
What else in the future will you guarantee?

[dukuboy1]

How many Minnesota fans? I went to a Chiefs Vikings game at Arrowhead a few years ago and the whole upper deck was packed with Vikings fans. As a sports market, it's not one I ever assumed travelled well but It's an easy enough drive on i35.

There were so few Minnesota fans there that I saw more Cardinals jerseys on people when I walked around than Twins jerseys. Whenever the Twins got the Royals out, there were a few claps here and there.

I was at the game as well on SAT. There were some Twins fans but not like in the past. Now that they have an open air stadium for years now the appeal to journey to KC is not as big. They still show up as the K is very easy to navigate to especially if you have drove down to KC.

The game was super fast & dull for 7 innings and then in the 8th the Royals & the fans came to life. Please was loud and electric. Fans were into it and the boys responded. This was the first time my kids have been to game in the last 2 yrs to experience ant atmosphere like that. They have been before but it's either been a loss, blow out loos, or an easy win. They were excited to scream and shout with everyone else

[alejandro46]

Had a great time Friday at the game and my kid loved the Fireworks. It was a good crowd, not a sell out by any means. Having a Chiefs game the night before may take some people not want to come.

I'm hoping that the firework displays continue when/if they move downtown, if WSP is the site, outfield fireworks displays would be pretty close to Western Auto condos. I wonder if those windows are triple glazed for noise, considering how close they are to the rr tracks. The fireworks display was over by 10pm, so it's not like it would typically be super late night.

I agree that downtown location will improve attendance because it hopefully will boost season ticket sales. My dad has had season tickets since 2011 or 12 idr so he goes a lot. I agree with this article - season ticket sales are a 1 year lagging indicator, so the improved record hasn't directly increased those sales yet. Boosting season ticket sales by both a better team and a downtown stadium are good ways to set us up for success long term.

https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/8/21/ ... 4%20fans.z

[Chris Stritzel]

With the win last night, the Royals guarantee their first true winning season since 2015. They could lose all remaining games and finish with a winning record.

They're still 3 games back from 1st place in the AL Central. They're 2 games back behind Baltimore for 1st in the Wildcard standing (if we get to 1st, Wildcard games are played in KC) and 3.5 games ahead of Minnesota for the final Wildcard slot.

An amazing turnaround from last season.

For the offseason, news is going around that we might lose Wacha (which will be a loss in itself), but we do have a good foundation to build off of. The team made it far this year, so team ownership should build on that a bit.

[beautyfromashes]

For the offseason, news is going around that we might lose Wacha (which will be a loss in itself), but we do have a good foundation to build off of. The team made it far this year, so team ownership should build on that a bit.

Wacha will be a loss but you still have a solid starting rotation foundation in Hamels, Singer, and Lugo. They HAVE to improve their OF. I had no hope in any of them before the season after watching Isbel and Melendez last season and it was the worst outfield in baseball. The infield is solid. Bullpen is serviceable. A power hitting RF should be the priority.

[shinatoo]

For the offseason, news is going around that we might lose Wacha (which will be a loss in itself), but we do have a good foundation to build off of. The team made it far this year, so team ownership should build on that a bit.

Wacha will be a loss but you still have a solid starting rotation foundation in Hamels, Singer, and Lugo. They HAVE to improve their OF. I had no hope in any of them before the season after watching Isbel and Melendez last season and it was the worst outfield in baseball. The infield is solid. Bullpen is serviceable. A power hitting RF should be the priority.

Assume you meant Ragans, not Hamels.

[beautyfromashes]

Assume you meant Ragans, not Hamels.

Yes, my mistake, though they are kind of similar pitchers.

[dukuboy1]

Is Wacha's deal up? I can't recall if he was a one year deal or not. It will stink if he leaves but better to pay for good Wacha then maybe overinvest in guaranteed dollars. However I think they would be in favor of bringing him back for the right price. I agree they need OF help, and legit OF help not a "hope & see" type FA but something worth the money. I see them spending again this offseason and looking at it as not a :window to go all in" but players that can be good for several season so we can look to build a winner year in & year out. Plus what you spend to sustain winning is going to make getting your ballpark downtown a little easier for sure.

[shinatoo]

Is Wacha's deal up? I can't recall if he was a one year deal or not. It will stink if he leaves but better to pay for good Wacha then maybe overinvest in guaranteed dollars. However I think they would be in favor of bringing him back for the right price. I agree they need OF help, and legit OF help not a "hope & see" type FA but something worth the money. I see them spending again this offseason and looking at it as not a :window to go all in" but players that can be good for several season so we can look to build a winner year in & year out. Plus what you spend to sustain winning is going to make getting your ballpark downtown a little easier for sure.

I believe he has a player option for next year.

[Chris Stritzel]

Wacha has a 2 year contract but could opt out this off season if he wants. Baseball news sites think he’ll opt out.

[dukuboy1]

thank you, I was thinking their may be an opt out. Maybe he'll stick around. I mean his longest stint was STL so maybe he wants to stay around the general area in stead of bounce around year to year like he did for 4 season before going the Royals. Regardless should be an interesting offseason to see how we get better

[GRID]

By the looks of pre-sold tickets, the Royals will be lucky to average 20k for the last home stand. Even the final series against SF has not sold many tickets.

Come on KC.

[TheUrbanRoo]

By the looks of pre-sold tickets, the Royals will be lucky to average 20k for the last home stand. Even the final series against SF has not sold many tickets.

Come on KC.

My theory is, until the KC people literally see the official word saying "The Kansas City Royals will be playing in the playoffs" they will not get it or care. Even though you, me, and baseball fans all know they're a playoff team. The casual's don't get that in a town where all that matters is football.

But next year the gains will sink in, I would bet.

[phuqueue]

Bullpen is serviceable.

Hard disagree. The relief pitching has been atrocious all year and the deadline trades (plus Bubic call-up) have somewhat ameliorated but not actually fixed the problem. The bullpen has an overall 4.43 ERA, which ranks 24th overall and worst among playoff contenders (though in fairness, Arizona and Minnesota do also rank in the bottom third of the league and Baltimore is almost there). The starting rotation has an overall allowed OPS+ of 90, while the bullpen's number is 110, meaning the bullpen has been as bad as the rotation has been good (luckily the rotation throws a lot more innings than the bullpen, hence the team's winning record). That number is even worse (116) in save situations (I was genuinely surprised to look it up and see that they are not even top 10 in blown saves).

I do agree with your point (that I didn't quote) about getting better offensive production out of the outfield, and I've been periodically pointing out all season long that the offense doesn't look sustainable long-term, but the bullpen is this team's Achilles heel. They are inching closer and closer to the playoffs (95.7% per Fangraphs this morning), but they probably aren't going to last long if they have to rely on literally anybody except Bubic and Erceg. Lynch I guess has been strong out of the bullpen, but he's only had a handful of appearances. The bullpen isn't going to look so serviceable anymore when James MacArthur is on the mound with the whole season on the line.

This post brought to you by: frustration at another game blown by the bullpen last night (granted, a struggling Lugo didn't help).

[dukuboy1]

Bullpen is serviceable at best. However it really needs to be managed to perfection. They have a lot of arms, even some talented arms. However Q needs to be better at using that talent. Keep going to guys like McArthur and hoping they will do well is a fools errand. I never want to see someone get injured but hopefully his injury is minor enough. But short term it will force Q to make better decisions or at least use other pitchers.

But the story has been the same all season long, the bullpen is a liability. If they miss the playoffs it is because of the bullpen. Their impact on games we have a lead in the 7th or later is great. Unfortunately they have lost us enough games that if the margin comes down to it, those (and I'm being generous here) 3-4 games they lost us throughout the season could cost us. The AL is no joke and the margin for error is razor thin. The team has to play better overall, but last night the bullpen and management of it by Q reared its ugly head once again.

[beautyfromashes]

idk, Hernandez has been good. Erceg, Bubic... Long has been good until yesterday. Our OF has just been atrocious! I would wholesale replace them all. Isbel seems to be doing a little better lately and you need a solid defensive CF at the K, but everyone else can go.

[dukuboy1]

agreed, they need to get better in either LF or RF through free agency this offseason. Really I'm opening to filling any of the 3 spots with a better option and then going from there. But it is a must. This should be a fun offseason regardless. Keep investing and keep getting better.

[chingon]

Come on KC.

We'd prefer not to.

[chingon]

The Star doesn't even put Royals coverage on the front page of its website anymore. I'm kind of starting to hope they leave and go somewhere the sport is appreciated for a couple years.

[GRID]

The Star doesn't even put Royals coverage on the front page of its website anymore. I'm kind of starting to hope they leave and go somewhere the sport is appreciated for a couple years.

I know I'm beating a dead horse here but.

Cincy and KC are the same size. The reds are and have been out of playoff contention most of the summer.

Reds drew 41k, 26k and 35k this weekend, their final home stand.

It really does seem like KC is done with the Royals. And if they don't make the playoff this year, I think their attendance will drop quit a bit next year, even if they play 500 ball and are in the hunt most of the year. And even with attendance up this year, they are still one of the worst in the league.

The Royals "fanbase" has become pretty bandwagon. KC would have easily sold out any playoff games for example.

I just wonder if this constant attendance issue is something that concerns Sherman at all.

I'll keep being a fan as usual though. I hope the games we see this week in DC and Atlanta have meaning, but if not, oh well.