I-70 Rivalry Renewed, Other Rivals Falling Apart

-St. Louis opened the I-70 rivalry last night with a 4-2 loss to Kansas City. While the rivalry has lost its luster over the years, it’s always exciting when it’s renewed during interleague play. Just not as exciting when the two met up in October with everything on the line. For that to happen again, the Royals would actually have to be good. And that’s not happening anytime soon, so a weekend in June is the best it gets. While Kansas City hasn’t had much to smile about since the ’80s, Royals fans get to spend a weekend remembering the good old days when they meet up with the Cards. They have the bragging rights. Kansas City won the 1985 World Series in a seven-game thriller that had a touch of controversy that may never go away. Cards fans know his name. The sting has died down, but when KC is in the opposite dugout for a few nights, it burns again. Some relief comes when reality sets in and it’s 2010. The Royals are terrible. Last night, though, the Royals had the last laugh. Zack Greinke took the hill for Kansas City. And he’s actually good. His 3-8 record doesn’t look pretty but that’s more a reflection on his team. He went eight innings and gave up one earned run to lead the Royals to victory in the opener. For a night, Royals blue was better than Cardinals red again. Today, that’s more likely to change.

–Some don’t think the Cards and Royals can be considered rivals anymore. KC hasn’t been good enough for any rivalry. The key to a rivalry is two winning teams battling it out when they meet. The Royals haven’t done that since George Brett and the gang were some of the best teams in baseball. Brett was intense and so were the Royals. Today, not so much.

-Another team that hasn’t had sustained success for quite some time is considered St. Louis’ true rival. The Chicago Cubs always cause a stir when they meet up with the Redbirds. While St. Louis is catching up with Kansas City this weekend, the hated Cubbies are falling apart. Carlos Zambrano is suspended indefinitely and may never wear a Cubs uniform again after blowing up on his teammates in the dugout during last night’s game with the White Sox. Rivalries are in full swing for these clubs. The Cubs are dealing with “rivalries” in their own clubhouse too. This feud is the worst in baseball this year.