Do we like the way Baird talks? Yes, we do...

If you're even half the fan of Allard Baird that we are, you surely have noticed by now that he has an interesting way of speaking to the media. Without fail, any article that quotes Baird will always include at least one quote in which he both asks and answers his own question. For instance, today's Royals Notes article includes these two quotes:

"Probably there's more desire in our bullpen," he said before Thursday's game. "Am I willing to shop any of those players? No I'm not..."

"Our goal is to have our pitchers and hitters to come up unison," said Baird. "Do we want to give up a hitter who's two years away from hitting? No. So that's why I won't give up those relievers."

Do we love the way Allard talks? You bet we do, and in honor of RC's Official Hero, tonight's column will be largely written in Bairdspeak. If this is stupid, we promise to never do it again.

Are we disappointed with tonight's game? Of course. It hurts any time you give up an early five-run lead, and it hurts even more when you give up 10 unanswered runs, nine of which were charged to Kyle Snyder. Are we ready to remove Snyder from the rotation? No, there's nobody else, and Snyder didn't pitch quite as poorly as his line might indicate. His pitches had good movement -- especially his slow curveball -- but he left a few fastballs and changeups out over the plate, and the D-Rays didn't miss a single one. Is he going to be a good pitcher? Probably not, but we don't have anything to lose (except a few more games) by throwing him out there for a few more starts.

Is Chip Ambres for real? We don't know, but we hope he gets more playing time, because we already love watching him play. Ambres hit his first Major League homer tonight, a no-doubter to left in the second inning, and he drew two walks. And between him and David DeJesus, not many balls are going to find the ground in left center field when Ambres is in the game.

Is there anything that annoys RC more than Royals fans cheering for doughnuts even when the Royals are trailing badly? Yes, there is at least one, and it happened tonight. Folks, there is NOTHING that RC hates more than an incredibly ignorant and stupid-looking fan reaching over the railing and interfering with a ball in play. NOTHING! RC got so upset tonight when a fan did that on DeJesus's first inning double that we had to go lay down for a few minutes. Because D-Rays right fielder Jonny Gomes was playing DDJ way off the line, that moron's interference cost him a triple. And to make matters worse, when Ambres followed that at bat with a foul ball in almost the exact same spot, we noticed that the damned fan hadn't even been ejected!

What would RC do to fix this problem? We'd ban low fences down the lines, and the parks that currently have them would be required to place 3 ft. plexiglass barriers on top of the existing wall in the areas of the park where a fair ball could reasonably be expected to go. We don't care if the barriers aren't popular. RC's health is at stake.

Has RC calmed down yet? Yes, we have. Luckily for us (and probably for him, because we were considering driving down to Florida to find that guy and get some satisfaction), that stupid fan's actions didn't cost the Royals a run, as Mike Sweeney drove in both DDJ and Ambres with a double. Is Sweeney awesome? Yes, he is.

Is it safe to say that Billy Butler's slump is over? Of course it is, and may we say that was a pretty stupid question. Butler hit a three-run HR (24) in the fifth inning of tonight's matchup between High Desert and Visalia, and he just followed that up with an RBI double off the wall. Is the game over yet? Almost, so Butler probably doesn't have time to do any more damage, but he's already 3-for-4.

If we were Visalia's coach, would we ever send a runner against Mavs' catcher Adam Donachie? No freaking way! After another CS tonight, Donachie has caught 27 of 51 potential basestealers (53 percent) this season.

Are we ever going to take down that poll on the sidebar and declare who has become RC's #5 Royals prospect? Yes, tomorrow is your last day to vote. Chris Lubanski is holding on to his sizable lead, but there's still time for Luis Cota's fans to make their voices heard.

Do we have any news on Chris Ray's new son? Of course we do. Both Brett and Lisa are doing great, and they're all leaving the hospital tomorrow. Do we have any photos of the youngster? You bet:


Disclaimer: RC may have made a couple unauthorized changes to this
photo. For the original picture, click here.