Royals battle rivals, road trip

The typical Pacific Coast League road trip? Seven or eight games over eight days, and that's a long one.

The road trip the Omaha Royals take every year when the College World Series comes to town? Try 16 games in 17 days.

Before returning on Wednesday, the last time the Royals played at Rosenblatt Stadium -- a 10-6 win over Nashville on June 10 -- Paris Hilton was still in jail, the Cleveland Cavaliers still had a chance at winning the NBA title and Brandon Watson's hitting streak stood at 36 games.

This year's odyssey took Omaha to Des Moines for four games, Nashville for four, New Orleans for three and ended Tuesday in Oklahoma City after five games with the RedHawks. They went 5-11 after losing seven of their first eight games.

Before the final eight college teams arrived in Omaha, the full-time residents of the Rosenblatt Stadium clubhouse had to clear out. Not only did Royals players pack extra bats, cleats and T-shirts for their trip, they had to pack another bag to take back to their apartments or store in the trunks of their cars.

It was a hassle, for sure, but for some, like first baseman Craig Brazell, it was an opportunity to do some midseason locker cleaning.

"I found some gloves and batting gloves down in the bottom of my locker that I thought I had lost," he said. "But I didn't pack up everything, I left some candy behind."

While Brazell and his teammates were busy packing up their gear, trainer and de facto road manager Jeff Stevenson had a more daunting task.

"We have to empty out our entire clubhouse," said Stevenson, a nine-year veteran of the Royals' long road trip. "We have to completely move everything out, and that includes the coaches' room and the training room. So when we come back, it's like coming back from Spring Training again. But instead of playing our first game four or five days later, we have to play that night and get ready in four or five hours."

Stevenson said he expected to head to the stadium as soon as the team landed at Eppley Airfield after their 6:30 a.m. flight back from Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning.

Speaking from his hotel room in Oklahoma City, Stevenson was focused on the upcoming 24-hour period. However, his combination road-manager/trainer duties required him to plan for just about anything the team might have encountered during the road trip.

"I probably pack an extra two bags [of training gear], but all the other trainers know what kind of trip we're on, so if I have to borrow something from them, I'll just replace it when they come to Omaha," said Stevenson, who also made sure to pack an extra bat bag filled with various pro models. But that's not his greatest concern.

"It seems like a lot of years, for whatever reasons, there end up being a lot of player moves," he said. "It makes it tough when you have guys coming up and down from Kansas City because you're juggling names on plane tickets and rooming lists."

Luckily for Stevenson, the Royals' jerseys don't have the players' last names stitched on the back, so he can get away with packing various uniform sizes and not sewing equipment.

Travel can be a headache during the near-three week voyage. Stevenson recounted one trip from a past season that had the Royals flying to Colorado Springs, flying to Nashville and then flying to Canada to conclude the trip. This year's schedule kept the team within the same time zone and included one travel day, between Nashville and New Orleans, which allowed Brazell a chance to stop to do some laundry at his home in Montgomery, Ala.

Both Brazell and pitcher Billy Buckner were able to spend some time with their families in Nashville.

"Nashville, for me, that's almost home, being back in the South," said Brazell, who had an eight-game hitting streak, including five homers in six games, that began in the Music City. "We got to hit the downtown area, went to the Wildhorse Saloon and listened to some country bands with my family, and got away from baseball a little bit."

Brazell raved about the Cajun cooking and the bustle of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. While in Oklahoma City, he and pitcher Kenny Ray ran into country music singer Toby Keith. So, as far as the action off the field went, it was a good couple of weeks.

According to Stevenson, the long trip also allows the wives and girlfriends of players and staff members to make journeys of their own.

"My wife would drive home [to Michigan] with our three kids and see both sides of the family," he said. "The good thing about baseball is that you get your schedule, and that sets out the next six months. Since we've been in Omaha, she could drive home and not feel bad about not being there when I was home."

Even though Buckner went 3-0 on the road, including a stellar outing on June 20 when he gave up just one hit in eight innings against New Orleans, he was looking forward to returning to Omaha.

"It seems like I've been moving all over the place this year," said Buckner, who opened the season with the Royals' Double-A team in Wichita. "It will be nice to get back and sit on my couch at home."

So far, the Royals seem happy to be home, as they've won the opening two games of their seven-game homestand. But almost before they unpack, they'll head back out for a five-game set at Round Rock, pushing their road game total to 21 of their last 28.

While Stevenson, Brazell and Buckner agreed that the long trip was a grind, Buckner quickly pointed out one benefit of being on the road.

"I haven't had to pay for gas in a while," he said with a laugh.

And with a gallon of regular going for $3.09 near Rosenblatt Stadium, that's not such a bad thing.