KC Royals –– at it again
Phil Cobb
The Kansas City Royals got off to one of their worst starts in franchise history this season, losing 20 of their first 30 games and staking claim to the worst record in the American League for a while.
But somehow, that same team finished the first half of the season with a winning record, 41-40, and is tied for second place in the Central Division.
They’ve now started the second half of the season 2-0 and are 43-40 as of this writing, and find themselves within one and a half games of the division leading Cleveland Indians.
Going into this season the main topic of conversation among Royals followers was, “How soon is too soon to trade off a gang of players who will reach free agency at the end of this season.”
However, General Manager Dayton Moore never once indicated he was in sell mode.
On May 18 I published a column after I realized, despite the dreadful beginning of the season, that if the Royals had any chance at all of reaching the playoffs as of the All-Star break, there’s no way they would sell.
Here’s what I wrote on May 18:
“But to understand what will guide DM the GM through the difficult task of determining whether to sell off his team’s most valuable parts, you must think like a baseball executive.
You hear so much about the “window of opportunity.”
And I don’t think you need to know any more than that to guess what Moore will do.
Guys who are in baseball their entire lives will give everything to create a window of opportunity to win a championship — championships — and they will do anything within their means to keep that window open.
Believe it or not, the Royals’ window is still very much open.
And, if I remember right, it took a very long time to get that sucker open in the first place.
This year’s All-Star break begins on July 10.
If Kansas City is over. 500, especially if they are within a couple games of the division, at that time, there’s no way this team is selling.
As a matter of fact, they might be buying from what should be a smorgasbord of available talent.”
Nailed it.
In a candid on-air interview recently, legendary Royal George Brett indicated that the thing that was holding back the team early in the season was the realization by four guys that they would be free agents at the end of the season.
When you’re George Brett, you can say whatever you want in Kansas City — and get away with it.
George put it bluntly, inferring that some of the core members of the team had switched to a me-first approach, but now that they have started putting the team first, the results are much better.
I’m not sure if that’s what it was or not.
The team was certainly in a funk to start things off.
I blamed it on poor preparation.
They just didn’t look like they were ready to start the season.
But baseball is more of a marathon than a sprint.
And the Royals seem to have found their stride half way into the race.
Kansas City has baseball’s best record since June 1, 20-10, which exactly erases its horrendous start.
I don’t know if the Royals can overcome the Indians in the long run.
Cleveland, although it has underperformed thus far, is awfully good.
But somehow, someway, Kansas City is currently tied with Minnesota for the second Wild Card spot.
I don’t see the Twins hanging around down the stretch.
They’ve got some great pieces, but not enough to carry them in the heat of a pennant race.
The thing I like most about this team is that it is starting to show the same quality it had in 2015 — it’s never out of a game.
Plus, they achieved their most recent success without their second-best pitcher, Danny Duffy, who returned to beat the Seattle Mariners Tuesday evening.
Trinity, my youngest daughter, and I went to Saturday’s afternoon game.
Kansas City quickly surrendered the lead, 2-0, then trailed 5-1 after what has become a given anytime we play the Twins — a Miguel Sano bomb.
But homeruns by Mike Moustakas and the inexplicably hot Alcides Escobar brought the Royals to within one, 5-4.
It was hot that day, and Trinity has not yet realized that she’s a baseball fan, so we took a walk to the hall of fame to cool off.
At that point, I told Trinity, “believe it or not, the Royals have a good chance of winning this game.”
Here’s where I take credit for saving Brandon Moss’ career.
Following the two homeruns in the fourth inning, Moss stepped to the plate.
I may or may not have booed him.
When Trinity asked why, I said, “Because he sucks.”
That’s all it took to wake him from his slumber.
Moss had not homered since May 26 and was batting .177 for the season heading into the game.
He tied the game in the fifth, 5-5, with his 10th homer of the season and went on to finish the game 3-for-4, and the Royals stormed to an 11-6 victory.
He was 5-for-8 on the day, including the night cap of the double-header.
Whatever it takes.
Don’t get me wrong, I by no means think the Royals are a lock for the playoffs, but they have certainly put themselves in position to have a realistic chance.
The team still has too many players at or near the .200 mark for batting average, and the bullpen is far from its 2014-15 dominance.
Regardless, I’m looking forward to an entertaining second half of the season.
And for you St. Louis Cardinal fans who complain that I never write about your team.
Here’s what I know:
The Cardinals are in the middle of their worst season in recent history, currently 40-43, while competing in the clearly inferior National League (By the way, I’d gladly trade that for the Royals worst season).
But they are still ahead of the Royals in ESPN’s most recent Power Rankings.
So are the Twins, from which the Royals just took three of four, and the Mariners, which the Royals have a chance to sweep with a win tonight.
That pretty much sums up what it means to be a Royals fan.
Phil Cobb is the owner and publisher of the Maryville Daily Forum and The Post.
