Kettering Royals

In lieu of the Royals recent shout out for some uplifting, Bernie Kosar Griffith came out to help the Boys in Blue take a bite out of the Sox!! With the Royals littlest fan in attendance, the team pounded out 13 hits to pickup the much needed victory to keep pace with the Rangers and Astros in the race for the top. Royals Rookie Scott Falkowski started for the Boys in Blue on the hill, but ran into a bit of trouble and was replaced 1 out before he could officially record the Win. However, his teammates and fans know he picked up the win their hearts... In relief, Brian Duffy picthed 3 2/3 of hitless baseball to preserve the lead for the Boys in Blue. The Royals have one remaining game left this Sunday at 10 AM against the Dayton Astros.

The Royals control their own destiny as a win secures the 1st place seed, and a loss would drop them to 3rd facing a possible opening weekend Double-Header in the playoffs. A lot at stake in the final weekend of action for the Boys in Blue in the 2007 Regular Season. Game time is 10 AM, be sure to show up early to stake your spot on the hill.

The Royals faced off against the Dayton Rangers Sunday at AIA. The Boys in Blue lost the game in the final few innings, but also lost another player. #11 Chad Campbell, who has been known to leave it all on the field for the Royals, did the unthinkable again!! **FLASHBACK to a Late night at Kettering a few years ago** They Royals found themselves with only 9 guys, when Chad suffered a broken nose making a leaping catch on a line drive shot, but with only little Eric Franklin on the Bench he gutted it out and finished the game... **FLASHFORWARD** In the bottom of the 2nd inning in Sunday's matchup, #11 fouled the 1st pitch off the instep of his left foot, but again the only ones on the bench were little Eric and Haley Franklin and their injured Skipper. Eric Jameson already stepped up to help out before his stint on the DL was up, so there was no one left to replace him... Over the next 6 innings Chad sucked it up and again left it on the field for his teammates. Following the game #11 made the teams 3rd trip to the ER, he got the special Kettering Royals ER suite, where the specialist informed him that his season was complete... Campbell suffered a broken arch and was outfitted with a snazzy, space-age boot... He was unable to get the one with spikes on the bottom? :) So as the regular season comes to an end the Boys in Blue are doing their best to limp through their lenghty absentee list due to injuries.

With just 2 games left in the regular season the Boys in Blue are still in control of their playoff seeding with the Rangers, Royals, and Astros all within 1/2 games of each other. Be sure to come out this Thursday night and Sunday as the Royals wrap up their regular season shooting for that #1 Seed.

The Royals homepage has become a page of doom and gloom with all the Royals injuries and hard luck lately. So I thought I'd freshen up the page with a picture of this cute little puppy! I don't really know whose puppy it is, but puppies always make people happy... Unless you're allergic to them and they make your eyes water and itch, then it's just more doom and gloom for you!! Anyway, here's to those happier thoughts... :)

Oh, by the way, Veteran Jason Griffith hit his 6th career homerun as a Royal a week ago making him the sole Homerun Career Record holder over former Royal Jason Errett. Congratulations to Griff.

As the season wears on some teams are plagued by injury. In the Royals case, only one player has been particularly plagued by injury this season. Only a few short weeks ago, #19 Eric Jameson, took a throw off the orbital bone which virtually left a small baseball size knot on his cheek. This past Sunday, 2 weeks healed, Jameson found himself the backstop for another pickoff attempt. As #19 led off second base, the Astros pitcher attempted the quick pickoff that caught the diving Jameson a couple inches up from the elbow. After shaking off the first courtesy runner offer from the Royals skipper, Jameson was replaced on the bag after returning following a foul ball in obvious pain. Upon reaching the dugout the Boys in Blue were in shock of the swollen mass that had formed so quickly on what seemed like such a small play... After a post-game trip, the Royals Director of Player Personnel found himself in a sling and facing a 15-day stint on the DL.

Tuesday night began as a beautiful night for baseball for the top two teams in the tight MVABL race. As the game began the Boys in Blue jumped out to an impressive 7-0 lead after the top half of the first inning. But for the Royals Skipper that was the last glimpse of excitement on the evening. As the bottom half began for the Sox, their first batter reached base on 4 straight pitches, and would move over to second 2 pitches later. Royals starter, Kevin Reyonlds was able to get the first out of the bottom half on a high infield fly hauled in by Griffith. The Sox's next batter roped a rug-burner between Schab and Rudegeair on the right side of the infield. As the ball entered the outfield, Scott Falkowski fielded the ball and fired a low-flying beam to the plate. As Young rounded 3rd and headed to the plate it was a foot race to beat the throw. As the ball flew closer and closer to the plate Young was also bearing down in an attempt to plate the Sox's first run of the game. No one could've predicted the events that would unfold as the dust settled at the plate, Young was punched out as the Royals Skipper fielded the ball just in time to apply the tag to record the second out of the inning. Following the punchout, Franklin called time as most assumed to dust off the collision, but as he was checked by the umpire the tables were quickly turned. As the fans watched, the Royals and Sox tended to their fallen teammate and competitor to assess the situation. No one expected the sight in front of them as the red puddle began to pool in the dirt, Royals medical staff, Skipper's wife Molly (RN), and the Sox's scorekeeper did their best to contain the 8 inch gash they were dealing with. The Sox's scorekeeper was able to apply a quick t-shirt tourniquet to apply the much needed pressure to the wound. Molly then transitioned to EMT medical transport as their Honda Ody was pulled up to the field to escort the Royals Skipper to the Valley for treatment. After a few happy pills, handful of painful lidocaine shots, 1 tetanus shot, and 22 stiches (5 internal, 17 external) Dr. Greg was able to piece the wound back together.

In his absence, the Boys in Blue worked hard to preserve the win in the game that their Skipper would not see the end of. Not sure if they got the win one for the Gipper speach, but it was bit of happy news on that sad night for thei injured Skipper.

**On a serious note, I would like to thank all for the calls, text messages, and emails from the guys on the team and around the league. The season is probably over for me. However, for me it has always been about more than the game, but rather the time at the field just hanging out with everyone and having a little fun in the sun and sharing that passion for the game we all love, and that's not going to stop... It'll take some time to recover, maybe I'll get a few at-bats before the season ends, but if not I'll return to the field in 2008. Thanks again for all your prayers and concern, I'll see you at the ballpark.