Flash: Are Royals brass charging players to launder uniforms? Despite victory, keeping the whites white seemed the base running goal

Don't want to spoil the party.

After all, the Royals won in thrilling fashion last night. One of the new hot shots came through and looks so far like the real deal. The fireman put out the fire and the fireworks went off.

But watching the final two innings or so, I found one thing really disturbing. Did you see the same thing?

The Royals scored crucial runs twice on throws to the plate. And, in neither case did the runner slide. Escobar, whose body language just looked really tired to me, kept looking back at the outfield all the way home from third and went in standing up. Then to close the game Aviles did the same thing, except he -- at least -- wasn't slowing himself down by looking back.

Both plays, from the couch perspective, were too close for comfort.

Maybe the Royals are charging the players to launder their uniforms now. That wouldn't exactly be out of character.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I saw a couple of players earlier go into second base on close plays without sliding. Getz on a steal and Cabera, I think, running from first on a hit to right.

A team always looks good in the middle of a hot streak like this, but not sliding across the plate with the game on the line raises some questions. You'd think every player would remember Jeremy Giambi not sliding home and being ignominiously tagged out on Derek Jeter's relay throw in game three of the 2001 league championship series.

But I guess not.

--Lofflin

Fine game photo by Michael Macor, San Francisco Chronicle