Swept away

The White Sox swept the Royals again. They won despite having two hits for the entire game. Two bases-loaded walks were all they needed to ensure a sweep and a healthy 21-7 record. Note that in the three games Takatsu had two saves. The White Sox have 13 games left with the Royals. By the time they play the Royals again in June, manager Tony Pena will probably be gone. Pena was a loveable chap in 2003 when the team had their first winning record in nine years. Now that the Royals mirror the White Sox at 7-21, he'll probably be the first manager fired in the 2005 season.

I lived in Kansas City from 1989 to 1992, and while the team never won a thing they were competitive. Now they're hopeless. It's different in a place like Tampa Bay where they've never won. Before today's megabudgets the Royals were a great franchise. They were an expansion team in 1969 and made the playoffs in 1976. From '76 through '81 they made the playoffs five times. In 1985 they broke through and won a tough World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ever since George Brett retired, it hasn't been the same.

The Yankees were swept by the Devil Rays this week. It's a good thing this happened in Tampa, or Steinbrenner would have fired everyone. This would have been a better investment than the $71 million plus the Yankees are paying their pitching staff.