Hosmer arrives in KC, Mellinger gushes, silliness and victory dances overtake fans

The silliness of baseball fans in this town never ends. Despite all indications, this has to be the most optimistic group of people on the face of the planet.

Eric Hosmer has been promoted to Kansas City from Omaha. People in baseball towns usually reserve such celebrations for pennants and World Series championships. One guy on a radio talk show this morning said he danced around the house when he heard the news and woke up this morning still dancing.

The future, the Star reports, is coming fast.

Remember last summer when the fans were crying and begging for Mr. Ka'aihue to be brought up from Omaha. We want to see the future up here now, they pleaded. They got their wish and apparently the future was not a .195 batting average.

I hope Hosmer pans out. I also hope Alex Gordon continues to pan out. His comeback has been nothing short of inspirational. But what fans so often lose sight of is the simple reality that this game is difficult. At the major league level it is damn near impossible.

So, be cautious when Sam Mellinger at the Star gushes: "Mission 2012 is real now, it’s legitimate, and if you don’t believe it, you can come out to Kauffman Stadium tonight to see for yourself." Not only is that shameless cheerleading (What DO they teach in journalism school these days?), it's also silly. Mellinger knows the numbers. He knows the real odds against any of these guys becoming a big time ball player.

It's a hard game. Ridiculously hard. If it was an easy game, they'd call it basketball and keep the rim at 10 feet.

--Lofflin