Sam Mellinger

The Kansas City Star

Man, a lot’s happened since we last talked. I caught what the guide said would be one of the 10 biggest walleye out of a lake in Minnesota^, smoked some delicious cigars, sipped some delicious-er scotch, and even bought a house.

^ #NonHumbleBrag.

Big week.

I’m headed out to the K tonight to work on a few Royals columns while keeping an eye on whatever else might pop up.

In the meantime, we’re going to add a small feature to Twitter Tuesdays, a weekly food recommendation.

This week’s: the Wagyu burger at Tannin downtown.

Let’s get to it…

@informedblackmn Sam, while you were on vacation, there were numerous Zombie attacks in the county. Ironic huh? Solid alibi I hope.

I, uh…see what had happened was…

@RJonesing #twittertuesday Did you catch more fish than your Father-in-law? Did you cough when you smoked those cigars?

We didn’t keep track, but let’s just say he’s got a cooler full of my fish at his house right now. Or maybe just like one-fourth full. Either way.

This is a bit embarrassing to admit to you all, but it’s the first time I’ve really, actually, for-real gone fishing. I was 10 the last time I had a pole in my hands — stop giggling — and even then it was just off-the-dock kind of stuff, the kind of fishing where if you catch ANYTHING it’s a success.

This was legit, full days, good equipment, guides to help us find the fish and live wells full of walleye and perch and pike.

So it was fishing, beer, scotch, cigars and a bunch of guys making fun of each other. It was exactly as awesome as it sounds.

?@kent_swanson Do you like anyone BUT the Black Keys?

Here’s a good tip: check out Patrick Sweany at Czar Bar on Saturday. The Lady made plans for us that night or else I’d be there. He’s terrific.

I’m also into bigger acts like Springsteen, or rappers like Jay-Z or Lupe Fiasco, or weirdos like Kanye. Outkast and Tupac will always hold a place in my childhood. Other acts I’m into: Alabama Shakes, Gary Clark Jr., Arcade Fire, Citizen Cope, The National, The Roots, TV on the Radio, ZZ Ward, Mumford and Sons, Band of Horses, Young the Giant, Buddy Guy, Plants and Animals, My Morning Jacket, Tribe Called Quest, Jurassic 5, and TI.

@JamesKLight this Bowe “hold out” reminds me of Larry Johnson. LJ was >Bowe BEFORE the contract, then well you know..Hope they dont repeat.#TT

Dwayne Bowe may prove me to be naive on this, but I couldn’t disagree with you more. Larry Johnson was an entitled punk who never grew up. Dwayne Bowe was an immature and enabled punk who has grown up.

Bowe has earned whatever contract he ends up getting from the Chiefs, and I hope it’s a long-term one. Of course there are risks. There are no perfect situations, and whatever skepticism is out there, it’s been come by honestly.

But what has Bowe done in the last two years to earn that skepticism?

If he’s been artificially suppressing his inner “Show,” then he’s been awfully good at it.

There’s also a more practical reason to view these situations so differently. LJ played a position where guys have an incredibly short shelf life and had been ridden into the ground already. Running backs can be replaced.

Bowe plays a position where guys can excel longer and looks to be at his peak. No. 1 receivers are hard to find, and even if you’re stuck on all the possible downsides of giving Bowe a long contract, close your eyes and imagine the Chiefs’ offense (and Matt Cassel) without him.

@shaunk3000 Has there ever been a more telegraphed “shocker” then the, ahem, departure of Lane Pryce from Mad Men? #TT

I hate that what I’m about to say might come off pretentious, like one of those annoying artsy snobs who rarely shower and spend their days cursing big corporations at coffee shops but I’ve always been honest with you guys here so you deserve the truth:

I don’t watch much TV.

I wish I watched more. I love Breaking Bad, but that’s about all I have with current shows. I wish I was into Mad Men, for instance, because it sounds terrific. Or Game of Thrones. Or Boardwalk Empire. Or some other show I haven’t even heard of. Basically, my TV is spent between games and the residual, quid-pro American Idol with the Lady.

Here’s another embarrassing truth: I’m just now — a full decade after it debuted — finishing up The Wire.

So if you don’t mind, maybe come back in 10 years and I’ll be with you.

@Rheff7 #twittertuesday is it that far fetched that the Royals wind up going after Greinke since he will be a free agent???

Not far-fetched at all. I thought the Brewers would make a bigger run at signing him long-term last offseason, but so far Zack is having the kind of season that might get a nine-figure contract.

The Royals have a spending limit, of course, both in terms of what they can actually afford and what David Glass has shown to spend.

But Zack liked (likes) Kansas City, his wife loved (loves) Kansas City, they didn’t sell their place here…yeah, it’s definitely possible.

Actually, I’ve got more on this coming to a local newspaper or website near you.

@PowercatZac Thinking of changing careers. What career fields should I explore? Don’t want to do another 4 yrs of school though. #tt

Best advice I can give you, because it’s the best advice I ever got: pick something that you’re either going to make a lot of money doing, or you’re going to love doing. Don’t do anything in between.

From what I can tell, just from being so wise, is that you’re a little more likely to regret picking money than a labor of love, but I may just be using anecdotal evidence.

Either way you’re making a deal with yourself, and some sacrifices. If you pick the money, maybe you end up hating your job but you can look forward to going to Fiji or your beach house or whatever. If you hate the job so much you decide to do something else, well, at least you get to keep the money.

The upside of the labor of love is, if you’re lucky and good enough, you may end up making a lot of money anyway.

Obviously I have a helplessly biased perspective on this, but labor of love is where it’s at.

@TheFakeNed #TwitterTuesday Since you’re going to #Olympics2012 what would you ask if you met the Queen?

This:

@kcatthe_bat Has the Star set a date for changing DKTM to Can’t Stop the Flop(py haired ass-hatter)? #tt

This got in under the “If It Makes Me Giggle…” rule, but just for the record:

Yes, I know I look ridiculous. And especially so now because I haven’t shaved since before starting vacation. But a weird thing happened at some point. The Lady started liking the long hair.

Which means it’s staying, at least a little bit longer.

@MLLoring what is your dream Big 12 expansion outcome assuming all teams in the Big Four are off limits? #TwitterTuesday

Mitchel means the big four conferences — Big 12, Pac-12, Big 10 and SEC — so the dream expansion has to include Notre Dame.

For the other three, I’m going to take the word “dream” literally so I can grab North Carolina, Florida State, and BYU. That makes four national brands and allows me to cover three time zones^, two major religions and a lot of appealing demographics.

^ I’m obviously ignoring the logistic challenges for softball and soccer travel here.

Realistically, I do think Florida State will join the league at some point in the next year or two. All the familiar rhetoric we’ve learned to read lately is there. After that it’s just a matter of who the partner would be.

@ArrowheadPride #TwitterTuesday You have to live with one Chiefs player for an entire year. Who is it going to be?

I gave this a lot of thought, actually, and my answer might surprise you: Matt Cassel.

I’ve only talked to Matt away from the cameras and with my tape recorder off a few times, but I’m convinced he’d be a blast to hang out with. He’s hilarious when people aren’t listening, if you know what I mean, a raw sense of humor that can be appealingly self-deprecating. He’s also the richest guy on the team, so I know we’d live it up. The only downside is that he’s married with two young kids so he wouldn’t want to be out late.

If Matt didn’t want to hang out, my next choice would be Dwayne Bowe. I’m fairly certain that would be a scene.

@thillsman Ideal place to sit (or stand) during games at Kauffman? Arrowhead? Sprint Center? Is it the atmosphere or just the game for you?

For me, and for all three places, it’s basically just as close as you can get to the action with the exception of the outfield seats/standing at the K.

I have complicated thoughts about attending games, actually, and there are probably too many factors and not enough logic to get into deeply but…I’ll pay a LOT of money to go to an intriguing stadium for the first time, but after that it really better be worth the price because of who I’m going with, where I’m sitting, or what I’m watching because we are living in the future now, where the balance has shifted to the point that it’s so good to watch at home on a comfortable couch with a 50-inch plasma and beer/food that’s already paid for in the fridge.

@Goalder_Boy who gets more unfair criticism when they lose? Tiger Woods or Lebron James?

Maybe it’s just fresh in my mind from the other night, but I say Lebron. Guy went for 29-6-3 (though seven turnovers), fouled out on a bad call, hit the tying three-pointer late, forced a key turnover, and then passed (though it was a weak pass) out of triple-team and is crushed for it by too many people.

Seriously?

For whatever reason — the hype, the talent, The Decision — Lebron is being held to the Michael Jordan standard and it just isn’t fair. He’s not Jordan, never will be. But you know what else? Nobody will be. Lebron is simply the best player in basketball, and that still doesn’t seem like enough.

Tiger…I feel like people will always respect his game. He was so dominant for so long, we may never see anything like that again in golf.

@caleboverman CWS starts 6/15 I think it’s an underrated event that more people from KC should attend. Who’s your pick? #twittertuesday

Totally agree, though I haven’t been since they moved it downtown. Saw the location a few months ago when KU and Mizzou were in the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, and it looks fantastic. Friends who’ve been to both are split on whether it’s better downtown or at Rosenblatt.

Just going off their reasoning, I think I’d like it better at Rosenblatt, but either way it’s one of the best sports parties you can go to.

@bclaymoore Thanks for starting the annual Royals Excuses Parade early this year. Already looking forward to next year’s edition.

This is a complicated deal, and at some point it’s probably worth a column or at least it’s own blog post. I understand about the excuses thing, this organization is supposed to be past that point and at a place where they should be judged like big boys by wins and losses.

But, also, c’mon. They’ve lost their closer, catcher, centerfielder, two starting pitchers and setup man for either the season or extended stretches. Pick any playoff team in baseball and that’s going to make a big difference.

None of that means they can lose 95 games (or just, say, 12 in a row) and we all brush it off like no big deal. There’s enough still on the roster to expect a better record than last year, at least, and enough underperformance from guys who’ve been healthy that the team is open to fair criticism.

I know this isn’t just a simple, surface deal but that’s the way the world works sometimes.

@TheSmokingPun How do various people find the MLB draft exciting like the NFL, NBA and NHL draft? Hard to get excited about guys I’ve never seen

Preach.

Look, I’m enough of a nerd that I’ll always get into it. I’ll read about these guys, ask questions about these guys, and form opinions about who should go where. But I really don’t know, and with very few exceptions, neither does anyone else you might read or hear from.

Remember the hubbub when the Royals took Mike Moustakas instead of Matt Wieters back in 2007? Today, the Royals would be silly to trade Moose for Wieters straight up.

You just never know.

@jaredlaunius If a good offer is made for Broxton, all things considered, the Royals have to take it, right? Regardless of standings.

(Clears throat)…

@shelbythomas Would you trade Wil Myers for a top pitching prospect and a very good pitching prospect? #TwitterTuesday

…so you guys wanna talk trade, huh? I’ve told this story before, so I’ll make it quick, but it’s been a few years since I’ve spent much time dreaming up trade scenarios. A few summers ago, I spent WAY too much time researching and asking scouts about specific players because I had this idea in my head about proposing a few trades one July that would benefit the Royals and the trade partner.

In my mind at least, I came up with three. And I took these proposals to both Royals officials and scouts/personnel men from other teams. And on each one, I heard a list of three to five reasons I never would’ve thought of as to why these trades would either not work, be too lopsided on one end, or just flat-out be rejected.

The easy response is that I just came up with crappy ideas, which is surely part of it, but I spent enough time and thought on these things to come away with a permanent understanding of just how difficult trades are to pull off. Sometimes there is a small window, a day or so, and if a deal doesn’t get done or accepted in that time then it’s gone forever and each side is left to wonder what if.

But, all that said, absolutely, the Royals should be open to all possibilities, especially if a deal brings back pitching.

@markmksu What are the chances the Royals get more than one All-Star? And who would that be? #TwitterTuesday

At this point, I’d be surprised. But there’s a chance. Billy Butler has a good case. Mike Moustakas, too. Alcides Escobar has a decent one, but he’s at a tough position. Jonathan Broxton could get in. There’s a scenario where Felipe Paulino would be hard to ignore.

The good news is that within this group, there will not be a Mark Redman situation for the Royals. Whoever gets in will be deserving, and, since the game is here, a second candidate would likely get the nod from a manager.

What I’d expect is similar to what happened last year, where the Royals get one guy picked by the manager, and another in that fan vote thing for the last spot.

@mmMOUF Seems KU/MU fans r over/moved-on more than the actual school & conference officials r, it all ended well, y r they still jabbing?

Bunches and bunches of the ones I hear from aren’t over/moved on. Maybe some of that’s to be expected, since the ones who are over it aren’t going to be motivated to write or call, but from where I’m sitting the rivalry has just moved from the field/court to message boards.

The alliance between the Big 12 and SEC for that bowl game is symbolic of a working relationship, but the move by the Big 12 to effectively block the SEC from having its basketball tournament here is symbolic of a middle finger.

You’re absolutely right in that everything worked out terrifically for both KU and MU, but in some ways that’s just going to drag the back-and-forth on longer. There’s no clear or real loser in this, so both sides feel victorious.

@kcroyalsfann #TwitterTuesday Beer before Liquor, never been sicker, right?

If you do it right, either way’s fine. If you do it wrong, either way you’re effed.

@MathewBerger why is the peanut’s lee’s summit location so awful?

It makes me sad. The Peanuts I go to regularly are the ones downtown (my home Peanut) and by the Plaza (my next home’s Peanut). Stick with those. I’ve only been to the one in Lee’s Summit once and, well, yeah.

@HisDirknesS Sam, how did I get home on Friday night? #tt

Twitter Tuesday is a weird place.

Comments

No comments have been posted. Perhaps you'd like to be the first?

Sign in with Facebook to comment.