Hey, Royals Fans...RELAX!

Think back to the start of the 2011 season for a moment. On May 23, the Cleveland Indians owned first place in the American League Central by seven games after jumping out to a record of 30-15. They were the talk of baseball, and the toast of the town.

The Royals had an off day on May 23, but on May 24 they were 22-24 and entered the opening game of a series at Baltimore a full 8.0 games behind the Indians.The point? Fast (or slow) starts don't always matter. From that point on, the Indians fell apart, going 50-67 and finishing the season at 80-82.

Last year's Royals were 6-4 through 10 games and sat in third place in the AL Central. This year's team has lost five straight games early on to start 3-7. The Royals are 4.0 games back of the Tigers, and tied for fourth place in the standings.

Because of lofty expectations heading into this season, Royals fans are acting like the sky is falling. One bad weekend against the Indians has KC "faithful" calling for Dayton Moore's job, booing some of the team's promising young players, and completely overreacting to every little thing.

Here's a classic example of fans' stupid behavior. After Luke Hochevar was drilled on the ankle by a line drive off the bat of Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana, I read a post on Royalboard.com where a fan was actually hoping he broke his leg or ankle to end his season. Really?! Come on, man.

Listen people, it's 10 games into a 162-game season. I've done this type of analogy before, but those ten games are the equivalent of one game in an NFL schedule. So, the Royals lost their first "game." They are very capable of bouncing back and being competitive within the Central.

Don't get me wrong, I'm among those who are frustrated with the disappointing start to the season. I expected a much better first 10 games. I didn't think Eric Hosmer (8-for-40) and Alex Gordon (5-for-39) would have combined to go 13-for-79 at the plate. I didn't think Cleveland would have seven-run, six-run, five-run, AND four-run innings during the three-game weekend set.

But it's baseball, and I'm certainly smart enough to realize that this is the youngest team in the game and stretches like this are going to happen from time-to-time. I'm not calling for Dayton Moore's head. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon after one crappy weekend.

After all, I've been riding this bandwagon since 1980, and I know it's a bumpy ride. Things WILL get better, so calm down and enjoy the ride.

My Dislikes: Yanks, Red Sox, and Redbirds

This topic is almost sure to draw criticism from at least two of my younger brothers, who root for teams that I'm going to discuss in this post. But I'm really just fishing for some comments from readers in general, and a little increased activity on my site after months of being stagnant.

I'm wondering which team(s), or fans of a particular team, you most dislike, and why? Everyone is more than welcome to share their thoughts and opinions. Yes, even fans of the teams discussed in this post, or others. And, if you hate the Royals, for whatever reason, I'd sure love to know why.

For me, there are just three teams that stand out above the rest when it comes to a dislike for particular franchises, and surprisingly, none of them are in the American League Central (although the White Sox were close).

Among fans of small market teams, I think there's a natural tendency to dislike teams that have overwhelmingly large payrolls. Obviously, the New York Yankees top that list, with the Boston Red Sox a close second.

When Gil Meche signed as a free agent with the Royals in December of 2006, his five-year, $55 million contract equaled former Royal Mike Sweeney's deal for the largest in Kansas City's history. Zack Greinke's recent four-year, $38 million package now ranks as the second-largest in terms of overall dollar value. But those pale in comparison to what the Yankees have been able to do.

This offseason, New York signed C.C. Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million deal, then added A.J. Burnett for five years and $82.5 million, and still had enough in the coiffers to ink Mark Teixeira to an eight-year contract for $180 million. And, keep in mind that Alex Rodriguez signed on the dotted line for 10 years and $275 million prior to the 2008 campaign. That's sick, and it's a primary reason behind my hatred of the Yankees, which happens to be my brother Brian's favorite team.

The Red Sox didn't make any major splashes in the free agent market this winter, and Boston owner John Henry has even been calling for a salary cap after the Yankees' recent spending spree. But, even with a lower projected payroll for 2009, Boston still ranked second in 2008 by distributing $147.1 million in salary to its players.

By contrast, Kansas City is getting set to increase its 2009 payroll to an all-time high of somewhere around $74 million -- yes, that's about half of what Boston spent last year, and a third of the $222.5 million the Yankees dealt out in 2008.

In my opinion, the ability to spend money like that creates an arrogance and an "East Coast is best" mentality that just oozes from fans of either of those two organizations. They often scoff at the notion that teams like Kansas City should even be able to be on the same field as their teams.

It's a cockiness and bully mentality that is fed by the fat wallets of their team owners, who have endless cash to spend thanks to lucrative television deals with YES (Yankees) and NESN (Red Sox), as well as top-grossing merchandise and licensing profits due to the enormous population located along the East Coast.

And it just drives me crazy, when listening to MLB Home Plate on XM Radio, to hear seemingly endless talk about either of those teams. Man, it'd sure be nice if I could hear something more than just the occasional brief mention of the Royals. I think, as much as anything, this stokes the hatred I feel for the Yankees and the Red Sox. Well, that, and the fact that Reggie Jackson acted like an ass when I asked him for an autograph at the College World Series a few years ago.

Granted, with 26 World Championships and a rich history -- wow, that word fits so well -- fans of the Bronx Bombers have obvious reasons to gloat. Red Sox Nation seems to always be competing with, but chasing, its rivals from New York. Sorry, Boston, but seven titles will always keep you in that chasing mode -- not that seven titles is anything to turn your nose up at.

With that in mind, though, and knowing that the Yankees are about to make their 2009 debut in a sparkling new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, it really makes you wonder if venerable old Fenway Park's days are numbered.

Okay, okay...enough about the East Coast. I think my disdain is quite evident.

For most Royals fans, you simply have to look across the state of Missouri to find another rather obvious choice -- those Deadbirds...er, Redbirds, of St. Louis. Even though they play in the National League, I think, more than any other team, I feel a sense of satisfaction when the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

My brother Matt (NOT pictured...thank God) is a die-hard fan of the Cards -- even though I have a picture of him from elementary school wearing his Royals jacket -- and he will assuredly be e-mailing me after reading this post. We go back and forth all the time, although there is a prevailing brotherly respect to our debates, which probably wouldn't exist if either of us was talking smack about our teams to just any other fan.

Obviously, I love to bring up the 1985 World Series anytime Royals-Cardinals is discussed. Of course, he automatically claims that series should have an asterisk by it due to Don Denkinger's call during Game 6. But I always respond to that by saying that if the Cardinals really deserved that World Championship, then they should have been able to come back and be more competetive in Game 7. And we all know that Kansas City then went on to kick the crap out of St. Louis by a score of 11-0, and celebrated the organization's greatest triumph.

The thing that I really dislike about many Cardinals fans, though, is their sense of arrogance. I can deal with my brother's pride in the Cardinals, but if you talk to an everyday fan of the Redbirds, they'll probably claim that they're the best fans in baseball, and that they're also the most knowledgeable crowd in the game.

For the most part, I think those claims by St. Louis fans are in comparison to fans of the other team in the Show Me State, which is why it bugs me. Cardinals versus Cubs is probably always going to be more of a rivalry to fans in the Gateway City, but I think their second love is to hate the Royals.

So, I truly enjoyed it last year when the Royals went to St. Louis and swept all three games at Busch Stadium. God, it would have been so fun to have been wearing all of my Royals gear, and sitting among the throng of red-clad St. Louisans as the young Royals won by scores of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-1. Imagine how cool it would've been to have been waving a broom back and forth as Joakim Soria recorded his third save in three days to finish the sweep! And, of course, Kansas City won last year's series against the Cards, four games to two, so Matt owed me some beers in our annual friendly wager.

There is no arguing the fact that Cardinals fans are loyal, and Busch Stadium is almost always full. But would those fans keep coming out to the ballpark if they had had to suffer through what Royals fans have had to put up with for the past decade-and-a-half? I don't think so. In fact, I think Busch Stadium would be about as empty as Kauffman Stadium has been in recent years if the tables were turned.

St. Louis fans I run into (like this guy) always love to bring up the Royals' struggles over the past 15-20 years. I'm just waiting for the day when the Cardinals head into a similar tailspin that lasts at least a few years, so I can make a comment or two about the dwindling attendance at Cardinals games, and about how mismanaged that franchise is. Kansas City's change in ownership, and Allard Baird, gave Cardinals fans great joy and satisfaction for years and years.

I want to feel arrogant and cocky again. I want to be able to respond with confidence to comments made by fans on the East Coast or across the state. I'm hoping Dayton Moore and David Glass are successful in restoring that sense of pride in being a fan of the Kansas City Royals.

Kyle Davies is Key for Royals in 2009

I'm shelving the dream of Orlando Hudson-to-the-Royals for now, as it seems more and more likely that David Glass has really put a stop to Kansas City's offseason spending. I know, it's easy for me to sit here at the computer and figure out ways to spend Glass's money, but it just seems like adding Hudson, even at a "bargain" cost somewhere between $4 and 5 million, is not likely to happen. Dammit.

So, let's take a look at a player who's already in the fold for the 2009 season: right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Davies. I think the performance of Davies in Kansas City's rotation this season will go a long way toward determining whether this is a great season -- with the potential to reach the playoffs -- or simply another slight improvement for the franchise.

Davies is coming off a 2008 season in which he recorded career-best totals for wins (9), ERA (4.06), ERA+ (105), and WHIP (1.45) after being called up from Class AAA Omaha in late May. He finished with a record of 9-7, making 21 starts, and allowing 121 hits in 113 innings pitched.

In his second season working with Royals pitching coach Bob McClure, the 25-year old Davies finished with 71 strikeouts and 43 walks for a K/BB ratio of 1.65, the best of his career. And his 4.06 ERA was lower than the league average (4.27) for the first time in his four-year career at the Major League level.

Davies seemed to put things together late in the 2008 season, as he combined to go 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in five September starts. In those games, he allowed just 22 hits in 31.2 innings, holding batters to a line of .198/.246/.270 with 24 strikeouts and just seven walks. His WHIP was a solid 0.92 during that span, and he surrendered just one home run.

I'm sure there are those who will try to attribute Davies' impressive September numbers to the fact that many teams utilize players called up from the Minor Leagues late in the season. But if he can start the 2009 season with the type of confident mindset he honed during those late-season starts, Davies could be the type of #3 starter the Royals have been hoping for.

Davies was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the 29th pick (135th overall) in the 4th Round of the 2001 amateur draft.* A native of Stockbridge, Ga., Davies was acquired by Kansas City in a deal that sent closer Octavio Dotel to Atlanta at the trade deadline on July 31, 2007.

*The Royals had selected catcher John Draper with the ninth pick in that same round. In five Minor League seasons, none higher than Class AA, Draper batted .245/.311/.323 with just 12 home runs and 226 strikeouts in 1,357 at bats. With the fourth pick of the fifth round that year, just five spots before the Royals selected, the Phillies drafted a guy named Ryan Howard out of Missouri State. Thanks, Allard.

Davies always showed promise as a Minor Leaguer, combining to go 18-6 with a 2.97 ERA during 2004-07 in Atlanta's farm system prior to the trade to the Royals. Overall, in eight Minor League seasons (including time in Omaha during 2008), Davies owns a mark of 42-22 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 595 innings pitched, he has allowed just 498 hits, while fanning 576 batters and walking just 215.

But he's had his struggles facing Major League batters. In parts of three seasons with Atlanta, Davies was 14-21 with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.

Nevertheless, Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore knew what he was getting in Davies, and figured it was worth the risk -- and a little criticism from some Royals fans -- despite Davies' failure to stick around for long in the Major Leagues.

"He's a young pitcher who's trying to establish himself," Moore said after the trade. "I don't pay much attention to young pitchers' statistics. If you did, John Smoltz and Tommy Glavine never would have gotten off the ground."

Since coming to Kansas City, Davies' numbers have improved somewhat, resulting in a combined record of 12-14 over the past two years with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.

That doesn't seem like much of a jump, but it's his numbers during most of the 2008 season that have Royals fans hoping for something great from the guy who spent this offseason doing construction work for his father's company.

He began last season at Class AAA Omaha, where he posted an impressive record of 6-2 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. After his recall to the Royals, Davies got off to a sizzling start by going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his first four starts in Kansas City.

He then ran into a rough stretch of three starts -- versus San Francisco, St. Louis, and Baltimore -- in which he went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA. Take away those three games last season, and Davies was 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

Let me repeat that for everyone. Other than three straight bad outings between June 22 and July 3 last season, Kyle Davies had a 3.20 earned run average for the rest of the season, totaling 101.1 innings pitched.

That's not a bad sample size, and those are the kind of numbers that can hush the naysayers who think that Davies only pitched well in September last season. They're also the kind of numbers that could make him a very effective No. 3 starter for the Royals.

If Davies can continue to improve, and Kansas City gets the type of performances it expects from its top two starting pitchers -- Gil Meche and Zack Greinke -- then I'd argue this team can compete for the American League Central crown in 2009.

Kyle Davies Photo Credit: Gail Burton/AP

This Type of Disrespect Has to Stop

I live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, so obviously, things are very Minnesota-centric here in the middle of Twins Territory, as they claim.

But I was very excited to open my door Sunday morning, and pick up my copy of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, for I knew that it would contain a special American League Central preview section entitled "Grand Central."

So, I sat back on the couch, with ESPN anchors mumbling about something-or-other in the background, and dug through the paper, looking for the special section. When I finally found it, I opened it up and saw this picture (right) not exactly gracing the cover.

At first, I was angry because it looked like they had completely forgotten about the Kansas City Royals in this cute little piece of art by Tom Richmond. Then I took a second look, and saw the miniature Royals player cowering in the background, red-faced, boney-elbowed, biting his nails, and sweating as he peered up at the larger-than-life versions of Jim Thome, C.C. Sabathia, and (I'm assuming) Miguel Cabrera.

Are you effing kidding me?! The only thing that could have made this drawing worse would have been if Richmond had drawn the Twins player the same size as the three muscular-looking guys from Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit.

Well, now I'm already perturbed at the Star-Tribune, and that was before I opened the pages of the preview section, and saw ranking after ranking that listed the Royals fifth in the division! On every ranking that had anything to do with the players on the field, Kansas City was ranked last. Every single one.

So, I'm going to take the liberty to share these rankings with you, as well as to provide you with some commentary, which I think will be a little more fair, as Jim Souhan, La Velle E. Neal III, Patrick Reusse, and Joe Christensen mostly seem to be blind to the fact that the Royals are on the rise, and are no longer an automatic fifth-place filler for the rankings. You can see that I linked their names to their e-mail addresses, so that Kansas City fans can send them a message (in good taste) to let them know that we disagree with their assessments.

A.L. Central Lineups (by Souhan): 1. Tigers, 2. White Sox, 3. Indians, 4. Twins, 5. Royals. Souhan's Comments About KC: Stop me if you've heard this one before: still a work in progress. Billy Butler and Alex Gordon could be fun to watch at the plate, though.

Okay, it's impossible to argue against the Tigers in first. If this was a list of the best lineups in Major League Baseball, Detroit would more than likely be ranked first. But the White Sox in second? I guess I can see how the Royals are ranked fifth in this category to start the season, but as the year progresses, I think there will be more people who tend to think of the Royals' lineup as being more than simply Gordon and Butler.

The Hearts of the Orders (by Souhan): 1. Tigers, 2. White Sox, 3. Twins, 4. Indians, 5. Royals. Souhan's Comments About KC: Signing Jose Guillen helps, but Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Mark Teahen need to be the big sticks.

Again, I can see how the Royals are fifth, following a season in which they hit a mere 102 home runs. But I think the heart of Kansas City's lineup -- with Gordon third, followed by Guillen, Butler, and Teahen -- will prove to be more formidable than people think. I like having Butler bat behind Guillen, which will force teams to pitch to the Royals' new slugger, and Guillen will allow Gordon to see some better pitches, too. This group? I'd say better than expected this season.

A.L. Central Rotations (by Neal): 1. Indians, 2. Tigers, 3. White Sox, 4. Twins, 5. Royals. Neal's Comments About KC: Kansas City paid right-hander Gil Meche $55 million for five seasons last year - admittedly overpaying to get an innings-eater - and got nine victories out of him in 2007. If the Royals are going to get out of the division basement this season, righthanders Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke need to develop behind Meche. The rest of the rotation is in flux, but Minnesota players and fans will be relieved to learn Twins killer Jorge De La Rosa was designated for assignment last week.

I have to question the Tigers at No. 2 here. Yes, they have Verlander, and Bonderman, but Kenny Rogers is ancient and his arm is going to just drop out of its socket one of these days, and I have serious doubts whether Dontrelle Willis can return to his old form, or whether he's in for an eye-opening season facing much stronger teams in the American League than he ever did in Florida. I also have to question how in the heck Mr. Neal can seriously rank the Twins' young and inexperienced staff (other than Livan Hernandez) ahead of KC's trio of Meche, Bannister, and Greinke. I seriously don't think Scott Baker and Boof Bonser are everything they're cracked up to be, even with Baker's "almost" no-hitter against the Royals last season -- that is, until Mike Sweeney came off the bench to break it up.

A.L. Central Bullpens (by Neal): 1. Indians, 2. Twins, 3. Tigers, 4. White Sox, 5. Royals. Neal's Comments About KC: Joakim Soria is a talented closer. Jimmy Gobble is a good lefty, and righthander Joel Peralta was effective last season. Not a pushover here, but the group lacks name recognition and a track record.

Let's see, Zumaya is out until midseason, Fernando Rodney battled shoulder soreness in spring training, and Todd Jones will turn 40 years old in April, yet the Tigers are ranked third? I honestly think that pitching could cause the Tigers to finish not first, but second, in the division. Neal does get one thing correct, though, and that's that Soria is a talented closer. I'm hoping he can get to 30 saves this season, and I think this "no-name" bullpen (minus Peralta, who starts the year in Omaha) of Kansas City's is, once again, stronger than the folks at the Star-Tribune give it credit for.

A.L. Central Managers (by Reusse): 1. Jim Leyland, Tigers, 2. Ron Gardenhire, Twins, 3. Eric Wedge, Indians, 4. Ozzie Guillen, White Sox, 5. Trey Hillman, Royals. Reusse's Comments About KC: First season. Might be another Wedge - not much humor and obsessive about the job. He was successful in Japan. Then again, so was Bobby Valentine.

It's hard to make a case for a first-year manager with no previous MLB managing experience to be anywhere but fifth on this list. But I would lay a fair wager on Hillman not being listed last in this category again in 2009. Reusse is correct about Hillman being obsessive about his job, as most good managers are. Teams will come to discover just how obsessive he is when the Royals are showing vast improvement in their fundamentals -- running the bases and manufacturing runs -- but I've also sensed that Hillman has a lighter side that his players enjoy, and I think he'll do well in his first year at the helm.

A.L. Central General Managers (by Christensen): 1. Mark Shapiro, Indians, 2. Dave Dombrowski, Tigers, 3. Kenny Williams, White Sox, 4. Bill Smith, Twins, 5. Dayton Moore, Royals. Christensen's Comments About KC: Insiders generally believe Moore has put Kansas City on the right track since taking over in 2006. He gave Gil Meche a controversial five-year, $55 million contract last season. That deal looks OK now, but the three-year, $36 million investment in Jose Guillen is a head-scratcher.

Are you kidding me? Maybe I'm wearing Dayton Moore glasses that don't allow me to see his flaws, but I would list him at least third on this list. He's in the midst of taking what had been among the worst franchises in baseball for the first part of this decade, and is in the process of getting things turned around. Very few general managers would have been up to that challenge. He's also rebuilding the team's farm system, and has once again made Kansas City a presence in Latin America. It's still early in Moore's tenure, but how anyone could use Gil Meche as an example of a bad free agent signing is beyond me. And Bill Smith is a first-year GM. Delmon Young, Mike Lamb, Livan Hernandez, and other free agents Minnesota acquired in the offseason haven't done squat yet.

A.L. Central Owners (by Christensen): 1. Mike Ilitch, Tigers, 2. Larry Dolan, Indians, 3. Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox, 4. Carl Pohlad, Twins, 5. David Glass, Royals. Christensen's Comments About KC: A former CEO of Wal-Mart, Glass bought the Royals for $96 million in 2000, and last April, Forbes magazine estimated the team's value at $282 million. Yet, Glass has very little on-field success to show for it. The Royals did bump the payroll from $47 million to $67 million from 2006 to '07, so Glass is starting to reinvest some of his profits in the team.

I don't really know what to write here, other than it really says something when an owner as villified as Pohlad is in Minnesota can be ranked ahead of Glass. It must just be Christensen's way of kissing up to the organization he covers on a daily basis. Glass would certainly have ranked near the bottom of this list for all of MLB a few years ago, but I really think that Dayton Moore has helped to change his views on how to effectively operate a Major League Baseball team.

Preseason Rankings (by Christensen): 1. Indians, 2. Tigers, 3. Twins, 4. White Sox, 5. Royals. Christensen's Comments About KC: This is definitely a team to watch with designated hitter Billy Butler and third baseman Alex Gordon poised to blossom as second-year big-leaguers. New manager Trey Hillman spent the past five years in Japan, guiding the Nippon Ham Fighters, and his focus on fundamentals drew comparisons to Tom Kelly this spring. If the pitching staff comes together behind Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke and prospect Luke Hochevar, the Royals could bypass the White Sox and Twins. And if that happens, it might not be a one-year fad.

Wow, this Joe Christensen guy just might know what he's talking about, despite the fact that he still ranked the Royals fifth after writing that. I completely agree that the Royals could pass up the White Sox and the Twins, but I'll take that one step further, and predict that the Royals will win the three-way battle with Chicago and Minnesota for third place in the standings. In the end, Kansas City will continue to make strides, finishing the season with a record of 78-84 in a black-and-blue division thanks to having to play Detroit and Cleveland for almost 40 combined games.

A.L. Central Farm Systems (by Neal): 1. Twins, 2. Indians, 3. Royals, 4. Tigers, 5. White Sox. Neal's Comments About KC: You are already seeing the promise that third baseman Alex Gordon and DH-first baseman Billy Butler have. They are no longer considered prospects, but shortstop Mike Moustakas and righthanders Luke Hochevar and Daniel Cortes have scouts raving. The problem is that there's a dropoff after this trio of top-end talent. Not good for a team that's the caboose of the A.L. Central.

Well, he sure is off about that final comment, but at least there was finally a ranking that didn't list the Royals dead last. Considering the sorry state of the Royals' farm system near the end of the Allard Baird era, it's an amazing achievement to have changed the perception enough in two years to already rank third in this category. The system will get even stronger this June, when the next group of draft picks selected by Dayton Moore and his staff enter the fold.

A.L. Central Baseball Towns (by Reusse): 1. Detroit, 2. Kansas City, 3. Cleveland, 4. Minnesota, 5. Chicago. Reusse's Comments About KC: This is a town with both the heritage of the Kansas City Monarchs of Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Royals of George Brett. Give K.C. just a hint of success and Kauffman Stadium (undergoing a $200 million face lift) will be full again.

Reusse has this one right. Detroit might be considered his top baseball town this season, but when the Royals start winning again on a regular basis, there are no better fans in this division than those wearing Blue on hot summer nights in Kansas City. Royals fans are starving for a winner, and it's on its way, folks. I can feel the electricity in the air, smell the concessions at the K, and hear the roar of the crowd as great KC baseball is returning in the very near future. It will be fun watching all of the young talent on this team grow stronger together.

Come Back in Two Years (by Reusse): Patrick Reusse takes a sneak peak at the A.L. Central ballparks in 2010, when the $200 million remodeling of Kansas City's stadium will be complete, and the Twins' new facility will be open in downtown Minneapolis. 1. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, 2. (Unnamed Stadium), Minnesota, 3. Comerica Park, Detroit, 4. Progressive Field, Cleveland, 5. U.S. Cellular Park, Chicago. Reusses's Comments About KC: Still a great ballpark, and it's only going to get better with the face lift scheduled for completion in 2009.

It's amazing to me that the Minneapolis paper could do a category like this, which seems perfectly set up to be able to claim the Twins' future ballpark as No. 1, but Reusse takes a jab at his own readers by stating that Kauffman will still be the best ballpark in the A.L. Central despite the brand-new digs being built here in the Twin Cities. This just proves to all the naysayers and critics of the renovations at the K that people around the division, and the league, really respect the beautiful stadium Royals fans get to appreciate 81 times per summer -- and for a future All-Star Game, too.

That was it for the rankings, and I guess it's not too surprising to expect anything else from an opposing team's home newspaper. But the fact is that the Royals are getting better, and it upsets me to see a full-page picture of the Royals being portrayed as timid, scared, frightened, awestruck, or however you might describe the cover of the Star-Tribune's A.L. Central preview section.

It's just that I'm tired of crap like that, and it has to stop. This isn't 2002-06 anymore.

This gets written about fairly frequently on message boards and blogs like mine, but it's time for members of the media to take notice of the baseball resurgence that's taking place in Kansas City. The Royals could at least have been standing next to the dude from the Twins in that drawing, and I would have had the White Sox similar to the Royals and Twins. After all, most pundits seem to think that it will be a two-team race in the A.L. Central.

The season begins today. I think it will be better than many people believe -- at least those who work in the sports department at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. It's time for these young Royals players to stand up for themselves, take pride in their fundamentals, and play the game the way Trey Hillman expects them to.

The challenge of facing what might be the toughest division in baseball this season will be daunting, but there is plenty of talent on this team, and I've always been one to believe that the first step to winning is believing that you will. Royals players have talked about the change in attitude that has been present in camp this spring -- that the team now walks onto the field expecting to win. It needs to start today in Detroit, against what is probably the toughest lineup in baseball.

Yes, another season of Kansas City baseball is here again, and this year, Royals fans have a team they can really be excited about. Enjoy Opening Day, Royals fans!