For the sixth consecutive year, the United Cardinal Bloggers, one of the premier organized blogging communities in all of baseball, will be conducting one of their signature projects, the progressive game blog.  This year, the organization has selected the May 4 game in Milwaukee for their focus.

As is the case every year, each blogger is assigned a portion (usually an inning) of the game.  The blogger will not only describe the action but will use what happens in that portion as a jumping-off point for other ideas and topics.  Each blogger will link to the previous portion and the next portion of the game, forming a circular chain that will allow people to see the game through various eyes.

Following the third inning over at Pitchers Hit Eighth, the fourth inning comes to rest here at i70baseball.

Ho Hum Pitcher’s Duel
The progressive game blog almost always begins with the excitement of a fantasy baseball draft.  The writers anxiously await the official press release from UCB founder Daniel Shoptaw to tell us what inning we have drawn.  The storylines flow through our heads ahead of time as we look forward to our inning and anticipate what we may be able to write about.

Imagine my thrill when I drew the fourth inning of a Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.  A game that pits Adam Wainwright against his counterpart in blue, Yovani Gallardo.  Drawing the fourth inning when two aces are taking the mound is not a desirable position as you would expect both hurlers to be settling in and a fairly easy inning to flow from either of them.

That’s exactly what happened.

The top of the inning would see the Cardinals send the heart of the order to the plate, with cleanup hitter Allen Craig due to leadoff.  The Fox Sports announce team was kind enough to remind the fans at home that Craig has not produced a home run this season, though his runs batted in should more than make up for the perceived lack of power.  Craig, who has been impressive with runners in scoring position, did not have that luxury when leading off the inning.  After two quick outs from Craig and Yadier Molina, a struggling David Freese stepped in and produced his second hit of the ballgame.  Jon Jay ended the inning with the next at bat and an uneventful top of the fourth came to a close.

Wainwright took to the mound in the bottom of the fourth finding a groove that many were worried wouldn’t exist today after a nearly disastrous first inning (you can read about that inning over at Aaron Miles Fastball).   Shadows were creeping in and Wainwright was taking advantage of it as it put the Brewers down in order.

Material for a blog post is hard to come by when pitchers are performing well and the game is simply moving along.  One of the biggest points to take away from the fourth inning is the fact that David Freese seems to be finding his stroke and driving the ball.  Over the last few games he has been hitting the ball with authority and you can tell that he is starting to come out of the slump and timing issues that have plagued the beginning of this season for him.  Additionally, seeing Wainwright settle in, especially after struggling early, and produce shutout innings to keep his team in the game makes it very apparent why he is the ace of this staff.

Stay tuned and check in with On The Outside Corner for the fifth inning of this year’s Progressive Game Blog.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

KANSAS CITY, MO (May 3, 2013) – This evening’s game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox has been rescheduled for Monday, May 6th at 1:10 p.m.  Tickets for tonight’s game will be honored for the rescheduled game.  The Royals have established the following policy for fans unable to attend Monday’s game:

Any fan holding tickets from the Thursday, May 2nd or Friday, May 3rd games who cannot attend the rescheduled games may redeem those tickets for any of the remaining 2013 regular season games excluding the following dates:  Saturday, May 11th, Monday, May 27th and Tuesday, May 28th.  Replacement tickets will be in a comparably priced seating category based on availability at time of exchange.

Unredeemed parking vouchers or parking receipts will also be good for the available games. This policy provides fans with an opportunity to select tickets from 65 remaining home games including the games this weekend vs. Chicago May 4th and 5th and the rescheduled game on Monday, May 6^th at 1:10PM. All exchanges must be made at Kauffman Stadium. Fans are strongly encouraged to exchange their tickets well in advance of the game they hope to attend. All seating is based upon availability.

The Kauffman Stadium Ticket Office is open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In addition, the Royals Charities and FOX Sports Kansas City have rescheduled the annual Broadcast Auction to the Friday, June 7 game against the Houston Astros.

Fox Sports has traditionally been a strong supporter of the United States Military.  Their annual presentation of “This One’s For You”, a special broadcast that is sent around the world to military bases both in and out of combat zones, has become a staple of the Major League Baseball season.  They continued that support during the first week of February this year when they sent a group of Fox Sports Girls, current and former Major League Baseball players and Hall Of Famers Rollie Fingers and Wade Boggs to U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr in Germany.

The following photos were provided by Fox Sports.  Use the navigation arrows below the photos to thumb through the 31 images.

Rollie Fingers Meets The Troops

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Rollie Fingers discusses the Wiffle Ball game with the troops on the sidelines.

photo copyright Fox Sports

The event was called “Spring Training To The Troops” and the group converged on the Army base to help brighten the day and lives of military members and their families that are stationed overseas.  During their visit, the contingent of baseball representatives spent time at the Wounded Warrior Center and schools that were on base, in morning work out sessions and meals with the troops and conducting a youth baseball clinic for children of the troops.  The highlight of the trip was the participation in a Wiffle Ball game between the 172nd infantry brigade and the Military Police.  The Fox Sports Girls, who each represented a different territory of Fox Sports coverage, and the current and former major league players each played as well, joining the different teams at various times during the game.

My grandfather was a World War II vet, he was stationed in Korea at the end of World War II.  I used to play with his army equipment when I was little, he still had his army canteens and helmets and everything in the basement.  To go over there, I mean obviously things have changed since World War II but troops are still making the same sacrifices as they were way back then.  But family is important to me and to go over there and see the sacrifices that these men and women are making every day, it really touches you. – Fox Sports Girl Kayla in an interview with i70baseball

Kayla, the Fox Sports Girl representing Fox Sports Midwest, was given some hats and jerseys by the Cardinals to take over to St. Louis military members.  She was able to connect with multiple soldiers from the St. Louis area, providing them with the new alternate jerseys the team will wear on Saturday day games at home.  She was even able to find a soldier that shared her alma mater with her and took a photo with him in his Mizzou hooded sweatshirt.

When asked about training with the troops, Kayla told i70baseball, “We were amazed.  We did this for two days while we were over there and I was like ‘I can’t believe you guys get up and do this every morning’.  We were in the hotel lobby at 5:30 in the morning to get on the bus to go outside in the snow.  By 6 a.m. they are on the ground doing situps, pushups, they just kind of do this circuit training.  We asked them if they were taking it easy on us and they said ‘yea, we are doing kind of a condensed version of our training’.  The second day we were out there running with logs on our shoulders, pushing 800 pound tires, running with gallons of water and after that we went and ran two miles with them in cadence.  That was probably my favorite part.  I’m not a big runner, but to be in those lines with them and doing the chanting, it  didn’t even feel like we ran two miles.  They go through so much and I have the utmost respect with them for that.”

Fox Sports put together an amazing 90 second video about the trip, which you can see here:

Make sure to follow Kayla and the rest of the Fox Sports Midwest Girls on Twitter - @FSMidwest_Girls

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 31, 2013) – The Kansas City Royals and FOX Sports Kansas City today announced a 142-game television schedule for the 2013 season, featuring two exhibition games and 140 regular season games.

The Royals and FOX Sports Kansas City are entering the sixth season of a long-term agreement in which FOX Sports Kansas City is the exclusive television home of Royals baseball.  The 140-game regular season television schedule features 67 road games and 73 from Kauffman Stadium.  Every game on FOX Sports Kansas City will be preceded by a 30-minute pre-game show, “Hy-Vee Royals Live,” and followed by the “Boulevard Royals Live” post-game show.  All 140 regular season telecasts will be presented in High Definition.

FOX Sports Kansas City’s coverage of Royals baseball kicks off with a Spring Training telecast from Surprise, Ariz., on Monday, March 25, when the Royals host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8:05 p.m. (CDT).  A second exhibition game will be broadcast on Wednesday, March 27, when Kansas City hosts the Chicago Cubs, also at 8:05 p.m. (CDT).

FSKC will air Kansas City’s Opening Day contest on April 1 at Chicago as well as the April 8 home opener vs. Minnesota.

Ryan Lefebvre will call 90 regular season games and one exhibition for Fox Sports Kansas City and Steve Physioc will provide the play-by-play on 50 games during the season and one exhibition.  Rex Hudler will return for his second season as the analyst and Royals’ Hall of Famer, Jeff Montgomery, will provide analysis throughout the season on Royals Live with host Joel Goldberg.

The complete season schedule with telecasts is listed on the attached schedule, which you can download by clicking here.  All game times and the TV schedule are subject to change.

FOX Sports broadcaster Tim McCarver uttered those words after David Freese won Game 6 of the 2011 World Series with a walk-off home run in the 12th inning. Here’s another one: “One Last Strike.” It’s the name of Tony La Russa’s book, referencing the Cards being down with two outs and two strikes on the batter in the 9th and 10th innings of that game before tying it up with hits. Those events seemed impossible both before and after they happened, yet they were real and the St. Louis Cardinals prevailed.

Friday night’s NLDS Game 5 win was not quite as dramatic for the Cards, but it really couldn’t get much closer.

They were down 6-0 early, and starter Adam Wainwright was knocked out of the game. He couldn’t even get through three full innings; things looked bleaker than bleak. And then the Cardinals started chipping away. But bad at-bats killed each rally before it really got churning. A run here, a run there…but the game was getting late and the stout Washington Nationals bullpen was looming. And then…

What? Daniel Descalso hits a home run to lead off the 8th inning, and the Cards are suddenly within a run of the Nats. Then Jason Motte comes in and allows Washington to get an insurance run in the bottom of the frame. Drew Storen is coming in for the 9th and the Cardinals are almost certainly doomed. It was a valiant effort; a noble battle fought this night. And then…

What? The usually steady Storen gives up a double to Carlos Beltran, gets two outs, and suddenly falters. The Cardinals are—wait for it—down to their last strike, twice…but both runners get on base via walk. And then…

WHAT? Daniel Descalso rips a grounder to short. The play should have been made by Ian Desmond, but it wasn’t. The ball skipped off his glove and bounded towards center field, and the game was tied as Beltran and pinch runner Adron Chambers scampered home. That’s how fast it happens. Sure, it was a four hour game and the final two innings seemed to take up an hour of that time. But the 2012 Cardinals seemed to carry over some of the moxie of the 2011 Cardinals, and the never-say-die attitude produced new life late in Game 5 of the NLDS. The Nationals then allowed Descalso to take second base without a throw, and Pete Kozma’s hit to right field plated two more. Another comeback was complete. An uneventful bottom of the 9th sent the Cards to the next round, and sent the Nationals home to wonder how it all came to this.

Truth be told, the Cards may not have deserved to win Game 5 at all—especially after falling behind 6-0 after three innings. The questions were being asked before the 4th inning even started: Should the Cardinals have swept this series? Did Mike Matheny cost them Game 1 by bringing in Marc Rzepczynski? Should he have gone with Motte or Trevor Rosenthal in the 9th inning of Game 4? Where are the holes in the Cards’ lineup that keep them from scoring more than one and two runs in two of these games? Was the bullpen used correctly in Game 5? Is bringing Motte in for the 8th inning waving a white flag? What if Kozma was intentionally walked, and Motte’s spot came up with the bases loaded and the game tied in the top of the 9th inning of an elimination game?

All of those questions were rendered moot with Kozma’s hit and Motte’s slamming of the door in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Nationals and their fans were too stunned to put up much of a protest. Everyone in the stadium knew this was the St. Louis Cardinals, and everyone knew what happened in 2011. But lighting is not supposed to strike twice. And then…it did.

What took place Friday night cannot be explained with anything more profound than “well…it is the Cardinals.” Somehow, this team has found something that allows it to never say die. They simply never quit. Last year was not a fluke—not anymore; it was who these guys are. Now maybe some more magical things happen in this postseason and postseasons to come, and maybe they don’t. Maybe their remaining wins and losses are completely pedestrian. But the bar has been set, and this team can never be taken for granted again. They are always dangerous; they are always one pitch away from completely ruining other teams’ nights, series, seasons, lives.

One last strike? No problem. How did this happen? This is Cardinals baseball, and this is exactly how it happens. The Cardinals will lose more playoff games, and they will lose playoff series. But until that 27th out is secured, they will always have a chance. And apparently a chance is all they need.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained.

Fox Sports Kansas City Records All Time High Television Ratings for Royals
Ratings on FOX Sports Kansas City increased 13 percent to 3.8 household rating, the highest season average ever for Royals cable telecasts

Viewership for Kansas City Royals cable telecasts reached an all-time high in 2012. The 140 regular season games televised on FOX Sports Kansas City averaged a 3.8 household rating in the Kansas City DMA, according to The Nielsen Co., up 13 percent from 2011.

Ratings increased over 2011 in every month of the season except August. Viewership in September increased 52 percent over last year, the most of any month.

The 3.8 household rating surpasses the previous season high of 3.4 established in 2003. Available ratings data goes back to 1997.

“This year again showed that Kansas City has great baseball fans,” said FOX Sports Kansas City Senior Vice President and General Manager Jack Donovan. “The city embraced the All-Star Game. Attendance was up. And the TV ratings show that fans are excited about what the Royals are building.”

Royals Seek Nomination For Military Veteran Tribute
Veteran to Fill Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat for Armed Forces Day Festivities

KANSAS CITY, MO (August 14, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals are inviting fans to nominate veterans for the honor of sitting in the club’s Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat during the annual Armed Forces Day celebration presented by Budweiser and the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.  The military-themed tribute is set for Saturday, September 15 prior to the Los Angeles Angels-Royals game at 6:10 p.m.

Since 2007, the club has paid tribute to the lasting impact O’Neil had on the game of baseball and the Kansas City area by filling “Buck’s seat” with a member of the community who embodies his vibrant spirit.  In conjunction with the Armed Forces Day celebration, the Royals are calling on fans to submit nominations for deserving veterans by visiting www.royals.com/buckseat.  A panel from the National World War I Museum will then select one lucky veteran as the honoree for Armed Forces Day.

The honoree, along with four guests, will enjoy the game from “Buck’s seat” behind home plate of Kauffman Stadium.  In addition, the veteran will be recognized during the Royals pregame ceremony and FOX Sports Kansas City telecast that evening.

The Royals invite fans throughout the Midwest to participate in the nomination process.  Nominations should include a description in 100 words or less of why the nominee should be honored as well as relevant contact information.  All nominations are due by Friday, August 31 at noon CDT.  The winner will be selected the following week.

Nomination forms are available online at www.royals.com/buckseat.  Completed nominations may be submitted online or mailed to: Kansas City Royals, Attn: Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat, One Royal Way, Kansas City, MO 64129.  For more information, fans may call (816) 921-8000.

In addition to saluting a worthy veteran in the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat, Armed Forces Day will also include a special pregame ceremony, first pitch and more to honor our service men and women.  The first 20,000 fans will receive a camouflage KC cap courtesy of Sport Clips.  For event details, visit www.royals.com/armedforcesday. 

July 13, 2012–The Baseball Bloggers Alliance today named Hardball Talk lead blogger Craig Calcaterra as the winner of the 2012 Joe Posnanski Award, honoring the top internet writer of the year.  Besides being the lead voice at Hardball Talk, the baseball blog of NBCSports, Calcaterra can also be found interacting with his readers via his Twitter account.

The Writer of the Year Award was created by the BBA to honor those writers who, beyond being exceptionally great at their craft, have taken to the internet in a full and vigorous fashion.  Voters were instructed to take into account not only the writing abilities of the nominees but also their online presense, whether via blog or other media, as well as how they interact with their followers and fans.

“It seems only appropriate to honor Craig Calcaterra, as he could be seen as ‘living the dream’ for many bloggers,” said outgoing BBA president Daniel Shoptaw.  “Calcaterra quit lawyering, began blogging and quickly rose to a place of prominence.  What blogger wouldn’t want to follow in those footsteps?”

Voters were allowed to vote for three of the five nominees, casting a first, second and third place ballot.  Those ballots were tabulated based on a 5-3-1 point scale.

Calcaterra received 276 points, which included 32 first-place votes from the 119 ballots cast.  Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was runner-up with 245 points and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus third with 209 points.  Dave Cameron of FanGraphs (208) and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (194) rounded out the ballot.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in the fall of 2009 to encourage cooperation and collaboration between baseball bloggers of all major league teams as well as those that follow baseball more generally.  You can follow the BBA on Facebook and Twitter or contact them at baseballbloggersalliance@gmail.com

For the first time this season, I will be in attendance for a St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

This Sunday, April 29, the Cardinals will take on division rival Milwaukee and I will be in attendance with a group of school kids and Angela Weinhold.  Why should you care?  Well that is simple.

Last year I started a tradition of carrying a messenger bag with me to all games that I was in attendance for.  You see, over the course of the almost two years that we have run the site, I have collected a fair amount of items that have been given to the site in one form or another for means of promotion.

Books, t-shirts, can coolers, and many more products have been sent in to the site to give away at various events.  Companies ranging from RinaWear Clothing company to Fox Sports Midwest have asked us to distribute cool gifts on their behalf, and we have happily obliged.  So before each game, I fill my bag with as much as it will hold and reward anyone who happens to come up to me and either recognize me or identify i70baseball.com with something from it.

This year, it gets better.

On Sunday, if you recognize me and mention i70baseball.com, I will have my normal bag of fan-centric stuff to reward you with.  If you are one of the first to come up to me, however, you are in for a treat.  In my bag this weekend will be one each of the following:

A BluRay/DVD Combo of the newest addition to the A&E Home Video Greatest Games set.  The newest addition?  Game Six of last year’s World Series.

“But, Bill”, you say, “Game Six was outstanding, but there was so much more to the World Series than just that game.”  You’re right, my friends.  Because of that, I will also have a box set of the entire World Series, also from A&E Entertainment.  This set is a massive eight discs and contains every game from the World Series and a ton of extras.

I will have plenty more to give away at the game Sunday.

Winning is simple:

- Follow me on Twitter (@poisonwilliam) as I will tweet updates on my location, my attire, and pictures to help you find me easier
- Find me at the game on Sunday
- Mention that you read i70baseball

See you at the ballpark!

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
Follow him on Twitter here.

ST. LOUIS (February 16, 2012) – The St. Louis Cardinals today announced their television schedule for the 2012 season.  FOX Sports Midwest (19^th season) is scheduled to carry 150 games in its second full season as the exclusive local TV home of the Cardinals.

Ten regular season games are currently scheduled to be carried as part of Major League Baseball’s national television packages with FOX (aired locally on KTVI) and ESPN.  The July 22 game vs. Chicago and the August 12^th game at Philadelphia will be carried by FOX Sports Midwest or ESPN.   The schedule is subject to change based on future Major League Baseball national television selections.

FOX Sports Midwest will also televise five Grapefruit League Spring Training games (March 17 at Detroit, March 19 at Atlanta, March 20 at Houston, March 22 vs. Washington and March 24 at the New York Mets), with each game carried live locally at Noon CT and replayed later that day during prime time.

FOX Sports Midwest’s offseason coverage will also include new Cardinals programming on Mondays in February and March, starting with a 30-minute special on Monday Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. chronicling the World Series champions visit to the White House.   Upcoming Monday night shows include La Russa’s Championship Insights, a one hour special, and roundtable discussions with Cardinals Hall of Famers and 1980’s stars.  FOX Sports Midwest will also produce a spring training report in early March, as well as 2012 season preview.

FOX Sports Midwest will also continue to produce the Cardinals Live pregame and postgame shows with Jim Hayes, Pat Parris and Cal Eldred for every regular season telecast on the network. Dan McLaughlin, Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton will again call the games this season from the broadcast booth for FOX Sports Midwest.

In 2011, Cardinals telecasts on FOX Sports Midwest generated the 2^nd highest local market television ratings in Major League Baseball, the 12^th straight year in which the Cardinals ranked among the top three teams.  FOX Sports Midwest-produced Cardinals telecasts are shown in nine states and available in millions of homes. A complete Spring Training & 2012 Regular Season schedule follows.