THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE

I haven’t made a post on here about the Royals in a long time. Two months to be exact. I am not really sure why – I think it had to do with the Royals being so successful that everyone else is writing and blogging about the team, so my words felt pointless given that thousands of other words were being written and shared about the Boys in Blue. 

I watched last night’s game, in which new Royals ace Johnny Cueto gave up hit after hit and allowed 4 runs, which would have been enough to not take a loss had rookie pitcher Miguel Almonte not allowed a 2-run homer that essentially won the game for the Detroit Tigers. Not to mention the home plate umpire was total garbage, seemingly squeezing Cueto with a tiny strike zone and giving Detroit a strike zone as large as Jonathan Broxton. In case you forgot who J-Brox was, HE WEIGHS 310 POUNDS. That is a big strike zone. 

There's fat. And then there's Jonathan Broxton.

Anyway, since my last post on July 1, the Royals have rocketed up the standings, and currently sit in first place, 29 games above .500 with a 12-game lead on the division. It seems almost 100% certain that the Royals will return to the playoffs for the second year in a row. They have not made the postseason in consecutive years since…you guessed it, 1985! They were swept in the ALCS against the Tigers in 1984 before winning it all in 1985. Seems like a good year for a repeat!

The other AL teams in first place are the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros, with the Yankees and Rangers holding the two wild card spots. If the playoffs started today, the Royals would play the winner of the Yankees and Rangers. The Royals record against all of those teams combined is 10-16. Below is a team-by-team breakdown:

Royals vs Toronto: 3-4

Royals vs Houston: 2-4

Royals vs New York: 2-4

Royals vs Texas: 3-4

Barf. I am not incredibly optimistic about the Royals facing any of these teams in the playoffs, even if the Royals have home field advantage. First of all, the Blue Jays, Astros, and Yankees rank 1,2 and 3, respectively, in total home runs hit in all of the MLB (Rangers are #12). The good news is that the Royals have allowed the 8th fewest home runs, but that still scares me.

Secondly, the Blue Jays seem very primed for a deep playoff run after getting David Price and Troy Tulowitzki before the trade deadline. They rank in the top 5 in batting average, RBIs, walks, slugging %, on-base %, OPS and runs scored. The Astros have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, steal plenty of bases and have 9 players with at least 10 home runs (plus 2 more who have 9 apiece). The Yankees boast 8 players with at least 10 home runs and their pitchers have thrown the 6th most strikeouts in the MLB. Yikes.  That is some tough competition. Here is what the Royals are bringing to the playoffs: the fewest walks, fewest strikeouts, and the second highest batting average. Not a huge list of formidable stats. But somehow they have the best record in the American League. I sure hope my fears are pointless. 

By the way, THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. Let me repeat that for effect: THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE. THE DETROIT TIGERS ARE IN LAST PLACE.

 

No sentence has ever made me as happy. 

Go Roys.