The Sweet Smell of Mediocrity

Who are these Guys?

All season long everyone has been saying these Royals are better then last years Royals, but the record never showed. They were still dropping games and losing series, but no longer. The Royals of the last 5 weeks have showed that they are better and have played better baseball. In the Royals last 33 games they are 17-16 and that includes a 7 game losing streak.

During this stretch of good, solid baseball the Royals have removed themselves from the worst team in baseball and are now sitting as the third worst team in baseball, 1 game in front of Texas( 26-43) and 2 games up on Cincinati( 27-44). The Royals are also working their way out of the cellar in the AL Central. As of today, 6/19/07, the Royals are 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox for 4th in the AL Central. Baby steps.

Everything seems to be coming together at the right time. The starting pitching has been good, not great, but good enough. One starter has been outstanding in the month of June...Brian Bannister.

Brian Bannister's June Numbers; 4-0 1.60ERA 28IP 5ER 15K 3BB

And when the starting pitching isn't good *cough. cough- Scott Elarton* the offense has provided enough run support to help the Royals win, averaging 4.3 runs a game over the last month. John Buck and Alex Gordon have really started hitting the ball well.

John Buck's June Numbers: 10/37 .270BA 4HR 1 Double 7RBI

Alex Gordon's June Numbers: 17/55 .309BA 2HR 3 Doubles 1 Triple 9 RBI

Editor's Note: John Buck is only catching 3 of 5 starts so the question is should he be getting more starts? Or are his power numbers the result of getting more rest? Talk amongst yourselves.

The final piece of the puzzle is the bullpen. Wow...the bullpen. The most frustrating piece of the puzzle for Royals fans over the past 3 years has finally come together and slam the door for the Royals win. The combination of Grienke, Gobble, Soria, Riske and Dotel have been outstanding.

Bullpen Numbers for the Month of June:

2-0 2.34ERA 53 1/3 IP 14ER 48K 18BB 6SV and no! blown saves...

I couldn't believe those numbers when I saw them. A 2.34ERA, a k/bb ratio of 3.5/1. Those numbers are Anaheim Angel numbers not Royals numbers.

Lets hope the Royals keep up the good work and catch the White Sox and get out of the Central cellar.

-b

Royals 2007 Record: 29-42