White Sox-Royals Series Preview With Kings of Kauffman
By Matt Adams
Oh those pesky Royals. Cy Chen and company are preparing to shatter the hopes and dreams of White Sox fans, and the White Sox themselves. Comfort can be taken in the 3 game cushion the Pale Hose carry into Kauffman, and the knowledge that the Sox are actually the better team. I took some time to ask Mike Vamosi from
Kings of Kauffman a few questions heading into the series to see what a Royals fan thinks about when his team is no longer a part of the race.
Matt Adams: I’m not going to beat around the bush here, you guys are spoilers. SPOILERS! How do you feel about that? Pride or “where was this all season long?”
Mike Vamosi: If you cannot win why not ruin someone else’s to put it politely. I’m sure if the shoe was on the other foot the same would be said, sure it’s more fun to be playing for something for players/fans but this might be the next best thing. Royals fans hope that a successful end of the season springboards into a good 2013 (this was the hope for this season as well).
MA: Quality catchers are tough to find. There aren’t many in the league at all and the Royals have one of them. They have one and they have him while he’s young and cheap. Do you ever stop to think about how overlooked he gets as a valuable piece of the Kansas City future?
MV: Me and a fellow Royals fan coined the nickname Sheriff Sal for Salvador Perez with how he controls the opponents running game and pitching staff. The front office is to be commended for locking up Sal to a friendly contract for years to come. To answer the question Perez is the backbone of the team and I do think he’s overlooked because he hasn’t played a full season plus players like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer etc get more pub but make no mistake he’ll be an All-Star sooner than later.
MA: I’ve been a fan of Lorenzo Cain since he came over in the Greinke trade, and I’m a little ashamed to say that my fondness was not dulled after he ran all over the White Sox in the last matchup. He appears to be done for the year now, but do you think he figures in strongly to the Royals plans, or do you expect him to end up a perpetually injured could-have-been?
MV: That’s the fear of all Royals fans is can Lorenzo Cain stay healthy for most of a season? There isn’t a doubt that when he’s healthy Cain makes things happen on offense and defense. KC was hit hard with injuries in spring training and the first week of the season, him being one so here is hoping that he stays healthy in 2013 because the team is better with the CainTrain in the lineup.
MA: The Tigers and the White Sox have been jockeying for control of the division for a bit now, do you have a preference of who actually takes it? I suppose the real question is, who do you hate more, the Tigers or the White Sox?
MV: Haha I honestly like this question and the post-Ozzie White Sox are easier for me to root for/see win the division than the Tigers. Compared to the Indians I don’t dislike either of these teams but I think Chicago beating the high spenders from Detroit would be my preference down the stretch so good luck to the ChiSox.