I don’t know what week it is. It’s summer, why should I be keeping track of dates? There is one date that I’m counting to, next Friday my second cousins visit, with five kids aged 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Suggestions, please!?

Now to baseball, where the Royals are playing the Pirates, and I am ashamed to say that we have a worse record than Pittsburgh. Yipe! That means, with respect to the Pirates, that the Royals are worse than I thought they were. Let’s see how we do in this series.

There is one Royal who is doing good as of recently, and that’s Luke Hochevar. According to MLB.com’s player search, there are four of him (seriously, try it!) and as long as the one that has shown up in the last few starts keeps the other three away, I’m fine with that. Imagine all four showing up to start a game or something. That would be odd. Anyway… he’s had some great starts recently, pitching an 80 pitch complete game against the Reds last week and getting a pretty good start in this week against Houston, despite having a no-decision thanks to our imploding bullpen. So, the start in the series finale against Pittsburgh, assuming I have the schedule right, is the one where he can either prove himself ready for the majors and possibly be a Zack Greinke in the future, or falls down like he did early in the season and have to be sent to the minors… again.

Next, (M/B)anny Ramirez. What was he doing playing minor-league ball? You would think that they wouldn’t allow to play any baseball, but apparently there’s a loophole or something. So I’m offering (of course) my take on what the rules should be:

“When a player is suspended for any amount of time by the league, that player will not be allowed to play baseball with the MLB or any of its affiliates, but should be allowed to participate in practices with the team, so long as he is not in the dugout, clubhouse etc. during a game. They will not be allowed on road trips, unless they are suspended for more than 15 games and will be reinstated during a said road trip, etc. etc. etc.”

I had more, but I have a feeling that was getting a little boring.

Finally, a topic that, as a Buffalo Sabres fan, I unfortunately know way too much about. Injuries! Coco Crisp is gone for the season after getting shoulder surgery, and that is a big blow to our chances. Coupled with other injuries that have plagued our team, including those to Alex Gordon at the beginning of the season and Kyle Farnsworth now, that’s not good. AND… breaking news from three hours ago (that’s what they call late-breaking) Sidney Ponson tests positive!?! Yipe! But what for? Read the article, but apparently it’s for a banned stimulant. He’s banned from international play for two years, but of course the WBC and the Olympics (which no longer have baseball) aren’t for three years. Nice going, IBAF.