So yeah...Kansas City Royals. Remember when they were really good? Like...2 years ago?
Hosmer and Cain are gone, yeah...but so is the intensity. So is the fire. It's clear that Ned Yost doesn't as good of a hand to work with, and the once monolithic, methodical bullpen has been whittled down to a couple of guys that are good and a bunch of people that get put in for lack of a better choice. I mean, Yost was putting legitimate thought and talent into that bullpen, and rotation for that matter, 4 years ago. And now it's all been depleted.
The lineup, as well, is made up of a few contracts, a few disappointing youngsters, and the last stragglers of the 2015 team. Some of those guys, like Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez, are doing pretty great. Some, like Alcides Escobar, have forgotten how to hit. The team is being carried by guys like Jakob Junis and Whit Merrifield, guys that are barely household names anywhere, let alone KC (cue the comment or two claiming that Junis already has his own brand of grass seed or something).
There's just not much to talk about. Everyone here is either too old, too young, or on the way out. It's not Yost's fault, either, as he's doing all he can with this group. The team won a World Series, then got old and dissolved. It happens to the best of teams, even the 2010s Giants. The only problem is that, after waiting so long for 'the big Royals team' to happen, there's the fear that there won't be much left after this one passes, and we'll be right back where we were in 2006.
Meanwhile, the bright side here is that they're not in last. They're in fourth, in front of the White Sox. So, until they grab 4th back, it's at least a reason to be thankful.
Coming Tonight: A rookie standout for a still-good-but-not-AS-good NL Central squad.
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