EudoraNews.com

Was that a collective gasp I heard Tuesday when news leaked that Royals super-prospect Billy Butler was being called up?

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  I did a double take.
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  Given the struggles of last month's super prospect, Alex Gordon (he of the .167 batting average), that is a gutsy move. Butler cranked out two hits in his debut, and I actually think Gordon will be fine without having to go back down to the minors.

Still ... wow -- gutsy move.

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  For those of you that missed it -- and I hope that was almost everyone -- the first inning of Tuesday's Royals game was something else. Zack Grienke gave up three-straight bloop hits to start the game. Then Vladimir Guerrero came to bat.
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  That's why they call it a clean-up hitter. I would assume the ball was still traveling had "Sportscenter" not gone to such great detail to show exactly where it smashed into the left field Jumbotron.
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  It was exactly one year ago that I was harshly critical of the Kansas City Chiefs draft. I can't do it again this year. I liked the Chiefs picks. Sure they needed more defense earlier, but it just wasn't available, and they've needed a legitimate receiver approximately as long as I've been alive.
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  That said, I have no idea if the team's No. 1 choice, Dwayne Bowe, is that guy. Picking a first-round receiver seems to be even more hit-and-miss than the rest of the positions. That idea seems to have scared the Chiefs off in the past, but it shouldn't. No matter how straight Carl Peterson wants to play it, you have to gamble sometimes.
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  I'd pay to see Peterson spend the next four months leading into training camp pretending Trent Green will be the starter at quarterback.
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  He should take me up on that -- at least they'd get something for Green then.
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  From my editor's chair and the tiny glimpses I get into the Eudora baseball world, I can only venture a few uneducated guesses as to why the team is struggling.

Here goes:

1. Last year's nearly perfect blitz through the regular season was really, really, really special. You don't win every game in baseball -- the sport's just not designed for it -- and that team pretty much did.

It's unfair to compare this year's squad to that standard.

2. I somewhat began to dismiss the quality of last year's Eudora High School senior class after this year's team achieved greater accomplishments in football.

That was a mistake. It's not that I ever thought those weren't great kids, more that I thought they were just cogs in a collection of excellent systems.

Again, I was wrong. Those guys made it look easy.

This team can still achieve, however. It's just got to get through some rough patches.

Coach Dirk Kinney summed it up best a few weeks ago: "It's not how you start the season, but how you finish."

The season is coming down to the finish now, but there's no reason to believe this team isn't capable of putting up a championship-worthy fight at regionals.