To win, you have to spend (and hit)

     This Royals team is hard to decipher. On the one hand, they are characterized by an anemic offense, ranking towards the bottom in most offensive categories. On the other, their record sits at 20-19 and they have flirted around .500 most of the season.

     This was supposed to be a “Playoffs or Bust” season for the Royals, especially since their staff ace (James Shields) will likely be leaving at the end of the season. The Royals added a solid second baseman (Omar Infante, although he has battled injuries) and a decent right fielder (Nori Aoki), and both of those players also filled holes in the top of the batting order. So far they have been reasonable additions, with Infante leading the team in RBI’s and Aoki having one of the highest home batting averages in the MLB.

     Clearly, those two have not been a problem, outside of Infante’s injuries and Aoki’s defensive mishaps. The problem has been the homegrown talent, namely, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler (which reflects poor coaching and player development). All three of them had worse-than-expected years last season, but were expected to bounce back this year, which has not happened yet. Moose has  been hitting so inconsistently that there are rumors of sending him back to AAA; Butler is becoming a liability since he doesn’t play defense, and Gordon has been outright disappointing (1 HR and 16 RBI’s through almost 40 games). Eric Hosmer is barely doing any better, with only 1 HR himself, and the team as a whole ranks dead last in the MLB with only 18 home runs.

     When considering the statistics above, it is clear why the Royals’ fan base is becoming more and more impatient with the product that is being put on the field. And justifiably so. After almost 3 decades of not reaching the playoffs (which will soon become tied for the worst playoff drought in the history of pro sports if they don’t make the playoffs this year), it is completely fair to demand a team that is competitive and has a shot at October baseball.

     Interestingly enough, despite their offensive woes, the Royals have flirted around .500 all season long, and are currently in second place in the AL Central. There is little hope of catching the red-hot Tigers, who seem primed to capture a fourth straight AL Central crown. The Royals will need a massive surge, on the lines of a 10-15 game winning streak, to even consider winning the division, and if that doesn’t transpire they have to grab one of the 2 wild card spots. Currently, they sit tied with a few other teams for a wild card spot but it is hard to see them sneaking by the other teams in September, especially with their awful offense. The A’s, Rangers and Angels have more veterans and more high-priced talent and better coaching and are more likely to grab those spots.

     As I write this, Alex Gordon has gunned down another running attempting to score, and it reminds me of why the Royals have won half of their games: their defense and pitching have been above average. Can you imagine the Royals’ record if their offense was even just average? Or if any 2 of Hosmer, Gordon, Butler, or Moose was hitting near their expected numbers? The results might be scary. The Royals have played 9 games decided by 1 run, and they have gone 3-6 in those games. A more consistent offense might have won 2 more of those games. They have also played 8 games decided by 2 runs and they are 6-2 in those, an indication of their offense picking up the pitching. The majority of their wins have come with them scoring at least 4 runs. After a shaky start, their bullpen has been lights out, with stretches of 20 or more innings without allowing an earned run. IF ONLY THEY COULD SCORE RUNS THEMSELVES!

     I love the Royals and always will, but if they want to make the playoffs and truly become Kansas City’s team, they need a drastic improvement in their offense and their attitude towards scoring. They need to hit for power. They need to get base hits with runners in scoring position. They need to stop swinging at pitches outside the zone (those are balls, take a walk!!). And they simply need to start scoring more.

     I do not feel that I am a pessimist when I say that I do not believe that the Royals will make the playoffs this year. And after James Shields leaves through free agency, I don’t think the Royals will make the playoffs until they get rid of Ned Yost and Dayton Moore and adopt an attitude that scoring runs is what wins games (coupled with decent pitching and a competent defense, both of which the Royals have now). I feel that I have a realistic view based on evidence when I say that the Royals cannot hope to catch up to the Detroit Tigers (by the way, the Tigers payroll is $160 million. The Royals payroll is $92 million. If you want to win, you have to spend). I am tired of the lack of hitting power. We have not seen a Royals hitter hit 30 or more home runs since Jermaine Dye. We have not had a player make the All-Star game based on offensive production since Bo Jackson or George Brett. We have been forced to watch dreck like Chris Getz, Neifi Perez, Yuniesky Betancourt and Tony Pena, Jr. for DECADES. It is time to get a Frank Thomas, a David Ortiz, or a Chris Davis. It is time for homegrown talent to PLAY UP TO EXPECTATIONS. It is time for Billy Butler and his $8 million contract to leave town, for Mike Moustaks to be sent down, for Alex Gordon to change something, all in the hopes of waking up an offense that has slumbered for 30 years. It is time to produce winining streaks of more than 5 games in a row and to eliminate losing streaks of 5 or more games. 

    At this point, the Royals are about to lose a 2-1 game to the Orioles. In the grand scheme of things, this one loss is meaningless, but in the grand scheme of the 2014 Royals, it represents one more disappointment by the offense despite stellar pitching. Back to .500 they go, the playoffs becoming a dream that so many players will never achieve. Sigh.