A crowd of Kansas City Royals nearly reached home plate before Alex Gordon did last night. He was the winning run -- brought home on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Francoeur -- in a contest with the Baltimore Orioles that once again was decided in the bottom of the ninth.
The mob briefly engulfed him before swarming around Francoeur, who was then tackled by Gordon and summarily pummeled. The Royals' right fielder emerged from the celebration with a bloodied nose and a big grin.
As the Orioles left the field, the announcers remarked on the scrum near home plate. After a few hitches and starts, they settled on suggesting that Francoeur ... um ... likes to get guys "in uncomfortable places." Before there was time to process the revelation that he will give you a cup check for a game winning hit, post-game host Joel Goldberg was repeatedly asking him about his bloody nose.
And Francoeur was loving it. He talked about the final moments of the game while sniffling back blood, a small drop of which had fallen on his white uniform above the blue 'R' of the Royals insignia. The camera then cut away quickly as pitcher Bruce Chen delivered the customary shaving-cream pie of celebration. Eyes stinging, face red and nose bloodied, Franceour beamed with happiness.
"It's great," Francoeur said. That was when I started grinning, too.
I was living in Boston in 2004, when the Red Sox ended their 86-year drought and won the World Series. The team then was known as a band of lovable idiots, with phrases like "Cowboy Up" somehow appearing on T-shirts overnight. The easygoing dugout evolved into an overused sports cliche over the course of the 162-game season, but still its undeniable chemistry played a role in the Red Sox's ability to overcome a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees. The dugout shots and attitudes of the players showed a team that believed the other guy would deliver at the end of games.
It's hard not to see similarities between that group and a Royals team that has notched five walk-offs in 18 games. And those wins have come off four different bats: Francoeur, Kila Ka'aihue, Matt Treanor (twice) and Melky Cabrera.
Before we pencil in the Royals to topple the Yankees in the playoffs, keep in mind that the Red Sox also had a $99 million payroll, and that was in 2003 dollars. The Royals have a $36 million payroll, and that's in 2011 dollars (in 2003, the team's payroll was $40 million). The hitters may stop hitting, and the bullpen could stop throwing strikes, yet there's still hope heading into the second month of the season. For the first time in a long time, the Royals might actually have a clubhouse.
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