Sam Mellinger

The Kansas City Star

You guys know this Chiefs-Raiders game has a chance to set the NFL back five years, right? These are, by point differential, the worst two teams in “professional” football playing on a baseball field in an outdated stadium in front of what I assume will be hundreds of fans.

The Raiders have one cornerback who was with them in training camp, but that shouldn’t be a problem because they’ll be covering Chiefs receivers Terrance Copper, Jon Baldwin, and Jamar Newsome.

In other words, if you ignore your kids to watch this one on TV, then you really are a degenerate. No offense.

Absolutely loaded week, obviously, so let’s just get to it. This week’s food recommendation is the shrimp bun at Vietnam Cafe, and the reading recommendation is September Nights by new Royals pitcher James Shields.

I downloaded it after the trade and had enough time on an airplane and last night to finish the book. Honestly, there’s nothing earth-shattering in there, but it is a glimpse at the man the Royals just sacrificed some of its future for, and since its set in September of 2010 when the Rays were in the middle of a playoff push, it’s a look at what the Royals are trying to accomplish.

Anyway, as always, thanks for your help.

@mblaze524 can this trade be an excuse for not studying for my finals?

Look. If you’re looking for someone to condone not studying for finals, well, I’m not the guy to chastise you. I once blew off studying for a … um, something final because Kerry Wood was striking out 20 Astros on WGN.

@patronaut0709 #TT what would it take to make the #Royals #Rays trade a success? Winning season? Wild Card? AL Championship? World Series?

Playoffs. There is nuance involved here, but for the most part, the trade is a success if Shields helps the Royals into the playoffs and it’s a failure if he doesn’t.

My read on it is that the Royals gave up too much and made the move a year or two early, but I do respect the guts and understand what they’re trying to do. I’m also, obviously, happy to see David Glass green-light a bigger payroll but totally understand why a lot of fans are uncomfortable with this trade.

I wouldn’t have made the trade, and believe the Royals will come to regret it. But I do understand why they made it, and how I could easily be proven wrong.

In other words, I understand where this guy is coming from…

@ebelden Upon hearing the Myers/Shields news, I have a #TT request: something optimistic. Don’t care if it’s pandering. #Royals #please

… and also this guy…

@brentbeats May burn me later, but I’m ready to support local franchise making a big move that’s all about WINNING. Screw the what-ifs. #TT

… and think this is true…

@PhilGarver The bottom line is the Royals got better & the Tigers did not.

… and also this…

@MathewBerger Will #Royals and #Rays fans be equally angry for opposite reasons?

You saw how David Price reacted on Twitter. From the Rays’ perspective, they just gave up guys who’ve helped them win big league games for guys who haven’t helped win big league games. In the short-term, the Royals are the team that gets better from this.

But like I wrote in this morning’s column, being a Royals fan has long meant getting to know minor leaguers and believing that what’s coming is better than what’s here. If Wil Myers turns out to be a star, it will haunt the fan base for a long time.

Dayton Moore isn’t this kind of guy, but if I was in his position, I’d be hoping Myers turned into, say, Josh Willingham and that Odorizzi turns into a right-handed Bruce Chen.

@swedd24 KC inability to develop starting pitching is a problem. Why are #Rays so successful at it? Why are the #Royals so bad at it? #TT

You’re right that it’s a problem, and I’ve said this before, but the look of this franchise would just be SO different if they’d have drafted Chris Sale in the first round a few years back instead of Christian Colon.

You can use revisionist history to come up with others, most notably Luke Hochevar over Tim Lincecum, but the Sale-Colon pick is one that will hang over the Royals if this current push falls short. They’ve also had a disproportionate number of injuries, and weren’t ever able to harness Mike Montgomery’s talent. I also think the Royals’ pitching would look a lot better if they hadn’t won those meaningless games back in 2006 and were able to draft David Price first overall instead of Mike Moustakas second.

I don’t have a great answer for you. If I did, I wouldn’t be giving this blog post away for free. But Montgomery is a guy to keep an eye on, because if he fails with the Royals and then turns into something with the Rays, then that’s a direct comparison maybe we can use about what they did.

@bclarksp17 #TT With the most recent trade, best case and worst case seasons for the Royals in 2013?

Best case is a playoff push, that Kansas City becomes consumed with winning baseball in August and into September, and then the franchise’s first postseason since 1985 — the year Bo Jackson won the freaking Heisman.

Worst case is that Shields gets hurt, Myers wins AL Rookie of the Year, and the Royals lose 90 games again as Luke Hochevar gets 35 starts.

@TheRealEo aren’t you the least bit excited about the possibility of writting about a winning team all summer? #TwitterTuesday

Absolutely.

I’m telling you guys, Kansas City will absolutely light up if the Royals are winning.

@PhilGarver Didn’t you say that Glass needed to spend the $$$ he promised? (the easiest way to get in #tt is to ask about a previous column)

Why, yes. I did. Three times, actually.

And that’s actually not the easiest way. Check out this guy…

@RoyalsFreeOut If you had to choose between never eating wings at the Peanut again or never hearing the Black Keys again, what do you pick? #TT

You people know me so well. And for the record, I’m taking the Black Keys because the second-best wings I’ve ever had (probably the Watering Hole in Lincoln) would leave a smaller hole in my heart than never again listening to Next Girl with the volume cranked.

@buddytbrown Regardless of good/bad trade, at least we are all talking about something other than how terrible the Chiefs are, right? #TT

Well, Buddy, I hate to break it to you but…

@ApexToApex Pretty much my only thought is the Chiefs can kiss my ass. Tired of supporting losers. #Royals #Chiefs

Yeah, that’s a craptastic football team.

In some ways, that turd in Cleveland has an argument as the Chiefs’ worst lost of the season because the Browns are such a bad team, and, with the notable exception of Romeo Crennel coming far too close to claiming a 10-7 deficit as a moral victory, I’m just not sure you ever got the feeling the Chiefs would win.

@Dfitz29 What will the @kcchiefs look like next year top down?

I still think they’ll have a new GM, and a new coaching staff. I’m more convinced on the GM than coach, just because you don’t know if the new GM might wait a year to see how things play out.

The Belcher tragedy will change the lives of everyone who knew him well, and certainly the lives of the men who were in the parking lot when he turned the gun on himself. For what they did, Scott Pioli, Gary Gibbs and especially Romeo Crennel earned Kansas City’s eternal respect. But the Chiefs exist to win football games, and they’re not doing enough of it.

So, when you think about it, there’s a good chance the Chiefs have a new GM, head coach, quarterback and leading wide receiver next year.

@Yelix Would you rather the Chiefs take a chance on a QB in the draft who ends up being a bust, or take the best player available?

We’re far too early for me to put much passion into draft talk, but here’s a quick overview: somewhere this offseason, there will be a really good quarterback available for the Chiefs.

I don’t really care where they get the guy — just the other day a scout was telling me Alex Smith is probably better than anyone in the draft — as much as whether they get him. I don’t care if they take a mid-first-round talent at the top of the draft, because look where Aaron Rodgers was selected.

They just have. To. Get. A. Quarterback.

@tigerdan4 Who has a better chance of making the playoffs by 2014: Royals or Chiefs? #TwitterTuesday

Well, hell. I think it’s the Royals.

@HessKC Yeah. This lady in the quiet room won’t shut up. tell her to stop.

I appreciate you coming to me for help, but as a sports writer, honestly, my powers are limited. Sorry. Did you try a dirty look?

@BAP_KC What are your top 3 restaurant picks for a romantic holiday dinner with the wife? #twittertuesday

This I can help you with. My idea of “romantic” might be different than yours — if you have the Melting Pot in mind, I’m definitely not your guy — but here are the best times I’ve had when it’s just the two of us: Port Fonda, Justus Drugstore, Le Fou Frog, Osteria Il Centro and Extra Virgin.

But you asked for three, so: Frog, Osteria, and Justus.

@TheBeertree How much do you read into KU’s romp over Colorado? Is this the weakest Schedule the Jayhawks have played in recent years?

I read that KU is going to be really, really good this year. They should win the league by a few games, partly because the rest of the league isn’t very good — we’ll get to that in a second — and partly because I think they’ve still got a lot of room to improve.

The question is the backcourt. Bill Self’s teams have been so guard-driven, especially the kind of combo guards — Taylor, Collins, Chalmers, etc. — who can control pace and game. Elijah Johnson probably doesn’t reach that standard, but Ben McLemore might be the most explosive player Self has coached, Jeff Withey is a defensive force unmatched in college basketball, Perry Ellis is a solid and versatile power forward, Travis Releford is a winning player (with a plus staredown), Jamari Traylor is an energy guy with a lot of potential, on and on the list goes.

The temptation is to write Colorado off as a bad team, but I don’t think that’s right. They’re OK. The Buffs beat Baylor, for instance, and Andre Roberson is a sure-fire pro.

I just think KU is headed for another 1 or 2 seed in the tournament, and another Final Four run is absolutely possible.

@BrandanKC K-State alum here, but McLemore is amazing to watch. Most fun player to watch since __?

I don’t know. Robinson was a beast last year, for instance. If we expand to the area schools, Phil Pressey is mesmerizing (at least to me). Michael Beasley was fun, just because he was so much better than everyone else.

But he’s probably the best dunker since, well, I’d have to think about that one.

@brentbeats Freshman Pierce vs freshman McLemore. Who you got?

McLemore. And please don’t take this as a prediction that McLemore will be in the NBA Hall of Fame (like I expect Pierce to be). It’s easy to forget now, but Pierce was just so raw, at times out of place as a freshman. He never had near McLemore’s athleticism — he’s really a bad athlete by NBA wing player standards — so he couldn’t hide those warts. But he shot a low percentage, and turned it over a lot.

So I think McLemore is ahead of where Pierce was as a freshman, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way going forward.

@Brad_Hope How bad is Big 12 hoops? I got 3 teams making the NCAAs (KU, OSU, and 3rd place). I think the Valley will get just as many in.

Well, yeah. I’d add at least one or two from a pool of K-State, Baylor, West Virginia and Texas to that list but the league has taken some bad out-of-conference losses.

The best description of this league I’ve heard is that it’s Kansas and nine other teams — in both basketball and football.

@ksubmac If K-State had gone undefeated, (I know, huge IF), do you think Klein would have won the Heisman? #TwitterTuesday

Yes.

Absolutely.

Assuming that means he didn’t throw three interceptions in a national broadcast.

@crazydb3 I’m sure you covered this but the BO poster w shoulder pads n bat, best ever? Maybe Jordan wings…

I think when I did this before I had the Black and Blue poster and Wings as the best two ever, but, yeah, I forgot about The Ballplayer. So badass.

Although, the Jordan from the free throw line poster is also gangster.

@Prozaakk Bo Jackson, best athlete ever? If not, who? What’s your criteria?

Listen. I cannot be objective on this. I cannot be swayed on this. Bo Jackson is the best. Absolute best. Ten-year-old Sam is still enough of me that I can’t rationally consider anyone else, but mygawd, just look — and LOOK!

I’m convinced he would’ve been a Hall of Famer in either sport if he’d played only that sport, and probably could’ve been one of the best track athletes of his generation. I mean, he was so damn good they only gave him one play on Tecmo Bowl because anything more than that just would’ve been silly.

@Speck60 Can we go back to talking about Bo so I can be less depressed? I maintain he’s the best athlete ever. Thorpe closest? Thoughts?

Look. If you hear someone talk about Jim Thorpe being the best athlete ever, well, I want you to do two things. First, make sure this person is not 120 years old and saw Thorpe. OK? Did you do that? Great. Now slap him in the throat.

@benherrold When you travel to Chiefs games, do you get to go out to eat/see the town any, or just working? Favorite NFL road city? #TT

A little bit. Typically, I’ll try to find somewhere good for dinner Saturday and see the city a little if I get in early enough. That’s more of a priority in some cities than others, as you can imagine, and is always subject to whatever else is going on — covering K-State’s win in Norman meant I had to fly into New Orleans Sunday morning, for instance.

Oakland is now my favorite Chiefs trip, because my sister and her family just moved out there. Other than that, San Diego is hard to beat. Chicago is my favorite city in the country to visit, depending on the time of year. Love New York, too. On the suck side, you have Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix.

@Shauncore What is the meaning of life?

Tank 7, a plate of wings, and a dog convinced you’re a rock star is a good place to start.

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