Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Royals Win By Default

The Kansas City Royals are pulling their usual stunt of playing well and winning games once everyone's attention shifts away from them. But that is not the only way the Royals are winning this week which is where we start today. All it took for the Royals to claim the number one spot on Five-Orite Friday was someone else's gigantic misstep.

1. MELK SMASH!!

Apparently Melky Cabrera still has a soft spot for the Kansas City Royals fan base. He must because he sure did give the fans a giant kiss by getting suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for having high testosterone levels due to taking a banned substance. Royals' fans have had a giant middle finger raised this entire season as they watched The Melk Man play at a MVP level for the San Francisco Giants. The real kick to the groin for Royals fans was watching Melky collect the All-Star Game MVP trophy at Kauffman Stadium. When news came down that Melky had been suspended for taking a banned substance, fans wanted to proclaim this as a victory in the Jonathan Sanchez for Melky Cabrera trade.

Let's go ahead and pump the brakes a lot on that crazy talk. And by pump the brakes I mean stop the car, park it on the side of the road and set it on fire. Yes, the Royals were able to trade Sanchez to the Colorado Rockies for starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Yes, Guthrie currently has a 15 inning scoreless streak going. Calling the Sanchez trade a win for the Royals is totally forgeting the 3+ horrible months that were Jonathan Sanchez's pitching performance for the local nine. The only way this trade can be a win for the Royals is if MLB decides to take away the wins Melky helped the Giants amass and credit them to the Royals. I do not see that happening anytime this century.

I will say this one thing about Melky Cabrera and his suspension. I am shocked to see a professional athlete take responsibility for their actions. So many times (especially in MLB) players get caught with a banned substance and the excuses start flying. Case and point being Ryan Braun and what happened after he tested positive last off season. Melky knew what he was doing was wrong. When he was caught doing it he admitted that he knew it was wrong and took the high road. Well, as high a road as a cheater can take after he gets caught.

2. Can't-Stanzi-Ya:

We are only one day from the Ricky Stanzi Project (not to be confused with the Kyle Gass Project) being unleashed on the world. Did I say the world? I meant the the St. Louis Rams back up players. There are not many story lines or position battles with the Kansas City Chiefs but the back up QB position is getting a lot of headlines.

Earlier this week Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel announced that Ricky Stanzi will be the second QB off the bench for the Chiefs in their second preseason game against the St. Louis Rams. To completely over state what that means, this looks to be the most important game of Ricky Stanzi's NFL career. All we hear about Ricky Stanzi is how much the team and front office like him and his upside and arm strength and blah blah blah. The team keeps saying that , and all the while Stanzi continues to look really bad in training camp. This is put up and shut up time for Stanzi and a chance for the fans and the Chiefs to see if there is really a future for young Stanzi with this team.

3. WHY NO B-FLOW??!?

I have begun to worry about the health of Chiefs starting corner back Brandon Flowers. When Flowers was first injured early in training camp it was spun as a minor injury and that he is considered day-to-day. Well day-to-day has now turned into no days for Flowers. Apparently the injury is worse than even the Chiefs initially thought as they are now sending Flowers to different specialists around the city to find out what is exactly wrong with his foot.

Good thing for the Chiefs is being able to run and use your feet is not that important for a corner back. Wait...running backwards, then sprinting forward and having to change direction are important for corner backs? With the season opener vs. the Atlanta Falcons and Julio Jones and Roddy White lining up at wide receiver the absence of Brandon Flower is becoming the Chiefs biggest concern.

4. Busting Bad:

It would not be a Chiefs training camp without hearing an overreaction to anything involving the first round draft pick. Dontari Poe is no exception. The "Poe is a bust" freak out reached Threat Level Midnight this week when a few national football websites wrote stories about Poe running with the second and third team. The snowball started rolling down hill and one word started to be thrown around in conjunction with Dontari Poe...bust.

Is Dontari Poe a bust so far? Hell no! it is way ,way, way (yes, three of them) too early to call the drafting of Poe a mistake. If you are expecting a huge statistical year from Poe in his rookie season then you might want to get your house tested for radon. Poe might as well change his name to Project because that is what he is for the Chiefs this season. He is a lump of clay the Chiefs are hoping Romeo Crennel can mold into a defensive force over the upcoming seasons. Notice I said seasons and not season. Poe is very raw. It is going to take time for him to become the player the Chiefs think he is capable of becoming.

Now, all of that being said, Poe is not getting a complete free pass from me this season. I need to see at least a few flashes from him and some production throughout the season. I mean, he was the 11th pick in the draft so he needs to be able to have flashes. Speaking of flashes...

5. Bowe Show Teaser Trailer:

All of Kansas City was a-buzz last Friday when star receiver Dwayne Bowe boarded a plane in Atlanta that was bound for KCI. Speculation kicked into high gear that D-Bowe was in town to sign his franchise tag contract and stand on the sidelines for the Chiefs first preseason game. Well that was a giant let down. Bowe came and went from Kansas City and he never sniffed the sidelines of Arrowhead or the practice fields of St. Joe. Alas...there is always next week for us to see the real Bowe Show

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until we meet again next week, peace out.