GO ROYALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mean]

A worse Royals team (albeit I believe it was with Grienke) started the season 9-0 a few years ago. These Royals teams have historically been streaky, it has just usually taken until May or June to get to the soul-crushing losing streaks. I'm not saying I have an abundance of hope for the season, but I don't think, say, a 5-game winning streak starting tonight is out of the realm of possibility.

[bobbyhawks]

A worse Royals team (albeit I believe it was with Grienke) started the season 9-0 a few years ago. These Royals teams have historically been streaky, it has just usually taken until May or June to get to the soul-crushing losing streaks. I'm not saying I have an abundance of hope for the season, but I don't think, say, a 5-game winning streak starting tonight is out of the realm of possibility.

Streaky, yes. In a way that balances out. Not even close. Also, our 2003 rotation that went 9-0 consisted of Runelvys, Affeldt, Asencio, and George. There were a few quirky gaps in the schedule where they were able to rest, and Runelvys had 3 of the 9 wins. THAT team was 83-79, so it actually did contribute to the best season we have had in 20+ years.

The more you dig, the more depressing it actually is. Here are a few stats quoted from Rany Jazayerli on Twitter last night.

"This is now the 9th straight season the Royals have had a six-game losing streak - by MAY 14TH."

"Seven times in the last 9 seasons, the Royals have had a six-game losing streak by the end of April."

"By comparison, in only 3 of the last 9 seasons did the Royals have a six-game winning streak at any point."

"One of my favorite stats ever: the Royals once went OVER FIVE YEARS (4/12/03 to 6/21/08) without a six-game winning streak."

"After starting the 2003 season 9-0, the Royals haven't had an eight-game winning streak since. They've had 11 eight-game losing streaks."

"Actually 12, if you count the 19-game losing streak twice. Which you should, because my God do you know how hard it is to lose 19 in a row?"

[mean]

I must be on crack, because I could have sworn that 2-4 years ago they had a similar 9-0 start. Looking back through the years, I can't find it, though. I want to say it started with a sweep of Detroit in the opening series. I could be imagining things.

[phuqueue]

You're probably thinking of 2009, when they didn't start 9-0, but they did look strong in starting 18-11 before, surprise surprise, the wheels came off. That was Greinke's Cy Young year and he was pretty much the lone bright spot. That year started with Kyle Farnsworth blowing the season opener against the White Sox.

You might also be thinking of 2008, the year the Royals did sweep the Tigers to start the season. They stayed above .500 for most of April that year but they didn't have a particularly hot start aside from the sweep.

[mean]

Ah, yeah, I think I actually merged '08 and '09 in my head, haha.

[KCRoyal]

0-6 at home, 7-game losing streak....and the beat goes on.

[AllThingsKC]

EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KCMax]

I'm usually not hypercritical of managers, and I actually liked the Yost hiring, but my god is he making some baffling decisions in the first two weeks of the year.

[mean]

I'm not prepared to call the season over. We know at least some of these guys are better than this. Did Gordon and Frenchie have totally fluke seasons last year? Frenchie I'm more willing to let slide, but I really thought Gordon had turned the corner. And what's up with Hosmer and Moose? I expect Butler to hit, but how is it that our two fill-in catchers, Chris Getz, and Yuniesky Betancourt are wiping the floor with Gordon, Hosmer, Francouer, and Moustakas? It's like I'm living in opposite world.

[AllThingsKC]

Predictions on the season? I say 78-84, but that's good enough for second place (15 games behind Detroit!)

That sounds about right to me, unless something magical happens with the rotation.

I don't see the Royals winning more than 70 games. The closing pitching as me worried.

83-79.

84-78

80-82

85-77

When I think of the excitement I had after reading everybody's predictions (not just on KC Rag either, as many others had us having a winning season), it really frustrates me how embarrassingly bad this team playing right now.

A triple play? Really?

[smh]

Shit happens. I stand by my 85-77. No, really.

[AllThingsKC]

And for all we know, you still could be right. Maybe they'll get their act together. But, I have a difficult time seeing this team go on a winning streak anytime soon to help balance this out.

Of course, I'm just saying that because I'm really pissed off at this team right now!

[macnw]

It's getting to be psychological at this point. Cannot throw a strike, muff a ground ball or get picked off base. Once they can win a few games, I think they will do better. I'm already getting shit from people who are apologizing for how bad the Royals are.

[phuqueue]

Six of their eight consecutive losses (seven of their ten losses overall) have been by one or two runs, two of those in extra innings, and four of them (five overall) in games where they gave up four or fewer runs. "Embarrassingly bad"? Granted, since the games are on at like 3 AM here, I don't get to see most of them, so maybe they actually look utterly inept on the field (I know occasionally they do, like that first inning against the Indians last week), but even if that's the case they're evidently playing well enough to lose low-scoring games by thin margins. Unless you were honestly hoping/expecting to make a playoff run this year, I just don't really see what there is to get so upset about. Long losing streaks aren't fun, but we've experienced far worse.

[AllThingsKC]

Yes. When the team in is last place in the MLB and 0-9 at home, that's "embarrassingly bad."

We have had worse before, but not with the level of talent we were suppose to have this year. That adds insult to injury.

As you can tell from the predictions in this thread, nobody picked the Royals to have be in a playoff run. But, nobody expected them to suck this bad either.

[chaglang]

Shit happens. I stand by my 85-77. No, really.

They would need to be 17 games over .500 from here on out.

[phuqueue]

The point is they don't really "suck this bad" just because they're losing a lot of close games. Realistically at this point they are probably not going to hit the wins marks that were predicted earlier in this thread, but I suspect that by the end of the year their Pythagorean expectation will be more or less in line with those predictions even if their actual record isn't. I don't get how you can be so unrelentingly down on a team that doesn't even have Mark Redman and Chip Ambres on the roster. Losing streaks are hard to watch but they are not in and of themselves a big deal unless you're actually expecting to win something. If the Royals lose a hundred one and two run games but we see some strong player development in the process, I don't really care that much about the losses. You'd like to see them actually win some damn games from time to time, especially insofar as the ability to win the occasional game is a strong indicator of said player development actually occurring, but W/L is basically irrelevant outside of a playoff race, which we didn't expect to be in anyway.

[AllThingsKC]

I wish I had your positive attitude, phuqueue. It's a breath of fresh air for discouraged fans like myself.

I'm just mad at this team because:

1. I hate David Glass.
2. I'm still bitter about the way the Royals handled Frank White.
3. We've heard all this "player development" stuff for years. But, I know the routine. Once they're developed, they're traded to keep the payroll down.
4. I hate David Glass.

It is really frustrating and discouraging to put up with this year after year.

I wish I could see things in a more positive light, like you seem to do.

[phuqueue]

Except for the fact that he probably told Moore "no you cannot sign Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Yu Darvish, etc" this offseason, Glass doesn't really have anything to do with it. Frank White also really doesn't have anything to do with it. I mean you can feel bitter about that and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's a totally separate matter from whether the team is "embarrassingly bad."

It's true that Hosmer and Moustakas will probably not last past the onset of free agency, but your complaint isn't entirely valid on that point either. Guys like Perez, Gordon, Butler, and Soria have signed. Once upon a time, even Greinke signed -- he forced his way out of town because he was concerned about being able to win during the life of that contract, not because he wanted more money. As for Hosmer and Moustakas, even if they don't sign they'll very likely be around through the onset of their primes. Unlike past guys, eg Carlos Beltran, they should have a legitimate team around them to give the Royals a real window. That window was most likely not going to be open this year anyway, but it may still open as early as next year, and their disappointing losing streak to open this season doesn't really change that. Once that window opens it's going to stay open for at least as long as they're on the team, and maybe longer if Moore can do an effective job of restocking the farm system behind them (Tampa is doing this as we speak, so it's not impossible). It is frustrating to watch a talent like Hosmer and know that he's inevitably going to end up on the coast, but that's still years away and we have a really great shot to reap the fruits of his development before that happens. This was not the case in the past when we'd only have one guy come up at a time.

Really though I just don't know how this can even be fun for you if you're just unrelentingly bleak and take every loss as a fresh humiliation. Even five or six years ago we only endured the darkest stretches through optimism for the future -- Justin Huber was going to be the solution at first base if only Buddy Bell would let him play, Denny Bautista shut out the Angels in his debut cuz his cousin Pedro Martinez taught him how to pitch, Odalis Perez might recapture his former fleeting success with a change of scenery, Mitch Maier and Chris Lubanski are going to be a deadly combination in the outfield, etc etc etc. The difference between now and then is we're not the only ones thinking this anymore -- all of baseball recognizes the talent the Royals have collected and validates this time as something more than yet another silly delusion. There are still hurdles, of course: the rotation is weak and the farm system is relatively short on guys who might arrive soon to shore it up, second base and center field are still question marks until we see what Giavotella and Cain can really do, injuries could derail the whole project, etc etc. But losing streak or not, this is still a young (youngest in the majors), talented team moving in the right direction.

Anyway that's the last I'm gonna say about this for now. I think it's crazy to overreact to each loss, but if that's how you want to watch this team, that's up to you I guess. Have a fun summer.

[MidtownCat]

Glass doesn't really have anything to do with it.

Glass has everything to do with it. In fact, one could argue he's the most important part of it.

The culture of winning expectations starts from the LEADERSHIP at the top in any major organization. And here in Kansas City we have none.

We can bring in all the young talent in the world. Until we have a visible, committed leader in charge of this this organization and a true culture of winning is instilled, the end result will never change.

Glass's absenteeism and complete lack of involvement and presence in the community and Royals organization, demonstrates a total lack of commitment from leadership standpoint and in turn fosters a complete lack accountability within the organization.

All you have to do is take a look at the Sporting Kansas City model and see the cultural difference that an active, involved, visibly COMMITTED ownership group makes on a franchise. This was the Kauffman way as well, and it's no wonder we have not sustained any level of success without it.

We are a rudderless ship and will be until the team is sold.

I'm personally sick of the excuses and have been for years. You want to know the problem? Look at the top.