How ’bout them Royals?
Honestly, when was the last time anybody could say that? In their last two games, the Royals have made the free-spending Yankees look silly, blanking them last night 4-0 and winning the night before 5-2. Even Alex Rodriguez, the all-but-crowned future home run king, struck out four times to the Royals relatively unknown staff. So how excited should Royals fans be over their 2008 club?
Simple answer: very excited.
For starters, the Royals have some outstanding young pitchers. Their ace, Gil Meche, scoffed at for the hefty 5-year $55 million deal he signed during the 2006 offseason, silenced some critics last year. Meche had a 3.67 ERA last year with 156 K’s, but his most impressive stat, and one that the Royals see as invaluable to have again in 2008, was his 216 innings pitched. Brian Bannister, who finished third for rookie of the year in 2007, can straight up pitch. He has a nasty 12-6 curveball that is sure to lead to a huge number of strikeouts. And Zach Greinke, a man who once left baseball because of social anxiety, has shown no anxiety so far in 2008. Armed with a plus fastball and an excellent curve like Bannister, he helped blank the Yankees last night, pitching 8 shutout innings. Joakim Soria, their closer, has great mound presence and a killer mentality that combines well with his fastball and slider. Heck, even Brett Tomko is a decent number 5 guy.
Their hitting is not that bad either. The Royals are stacked with some great hitters that you’ve never heard of simply because they play in KC. Third baseman Alex Gordon, a former minor league rookie of the year, can hit for power and average and is ready to look past his disappointing 2007 campaign. DH Billy Butler is a patient hitter who will hit for high average and get on base. Tie those guys in with great hitters like outfielders Mark Teahen and Jose Guillen and this club is going to be strong offensively and defensively.
But nobody gets excited about stats, unless they just play fantasy baseball all day. Fans get excited for wins, and the Royals are going to do plenty of that this year. Their top of the rotation pitchers in Meche, Bannister and Greinke are too talented to not help the team win. I could see each one winning 15 games, if they stay healthy, physically and mentally. Also, they are led by the best manager to have never managed a single game in Major League Baseball. I cannot say enough good things about Hillman, who spent the last 5 years managing the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Professional League. In 2006, he won the Japan Series (Nippon Ham’s first in 40 years!) and returned to the Series the following year, losing to the Chunichi Dragons. Hillman is a no-nonsense, play-til-its-over type of manager. He demands respect and consistent effort. The Royals have lacked that fire to push them to win every game in previous years, and Hillman will bring that back.
This team is going to be above .500 and that is just the minimum of what I see them accomplishing. You can quote me on this, the Royals will finish above .500 and not be the last place team in the AL Central.
But will they make the playoffs?
The short answer is no, but the long answer requires much more thought. The main roadblock to them making the playoffs is their division. In order to get even close to contention, they are going to have to win a lot of games against the Indians, White Sox, Tigers, and Twins. On paper, all of those teams, except the Twins (and possibly the White Sox), appear to be more suited for playoff contention. But Detroit has already shown that even the best offenses take time to click and Cleveland is going to need a lot out of Sabathia and Carmona again to win in such a tough division. Because there is no real pressure on the Royals and because they are winning under the radar, they could sneak in and grab a Wild Card spot of even the Central Division, but it would require more of a sputtering of the other teams than an enormous explosion from the Royals.
In all honesty, the Royals are at least two big bats away from the playoffs. Because they play in the AL, they are going to need to outslug the other AL teams sometimes, and right now, Jose Guillen isn’t the answer. Whether they go out and get those bats is up to the ownership, which has shown signs of a desire to improve, signing those big contracts to Guillen and Meche. Had the owners not still not shown the money by now, I would have a completely different viewpoint. Unfortunately in today’s game, you gotta have the green to make the scene.
So, the Royals may not make the playoffs this year. They may not have the star power of the Yankees or Red Sox or the huge wallets that accompany those teams. They may not have the media coverage of a big market.
But be excited Royals fans, be very, very excited.
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