A New Day Rising

Another year, another missed playoff appearance. Well, not quite. Its just the All-Star Break, its just the middle of July and the Royals are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Hell, the Royals are not even in last place. However, I think its safe to say that an 11.5 game deficit and the complete inability to score runs, among other things, that the Royals are safely out of contention. In fact, a mediocre .500 second half from the Tigers still leaves the Royals on the outside looking in, barring anything fantastic from Kansas City's anemic offense. That being said, the season is not lost. There are things for every fan out there to take solace in. Tonight's home game against the Rays represents the start of the second half. It represents a fresh start for these Royals. Can the Royals improve upon a very pedestrian 37-51 record? More importantly, can Alex Gordon and Yuni Betancourt contribute? Can Dayton Moore make some moves to shore up a weak minor league program? Will Zack Greinke reach 20 wins? Will the offense, with added help pick up at least a little bit? Can Trey Hillman get Mitch Maier off the field? We're still waiting to see, but we think this all looks plausible.

Former NCAA Golden Spkies Award winner Alex Gordon hasn't busted out of the gates like lots of fans. You can't really argue his .250 career average is impressive. What is impressive is that from year one to year two he improved noticeably in nearly every offensive category. Batting average, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, and OPS all improved greatly from Gordon's first year to the second. His home runs and RBI totals were about the same because he played 17 fewer games in 2008. Here inlies the big problem for Gordon. Will he be durable enough to have a long, productive major league career? The third year at the big league level seems to be pivotal for major league prospects so his return should have a big impact on the ball club. If this goes poorly, Dayton Moore begin to think of Gordon as tradeable in 2010.

The Royals debut of Yuni Betancourt could also turn out to be huge for the Royals in the 2nd half and in the coming years. After a breakout rookie season last year, after which he was named Royals player of the year, injured shortstop Mike Aviles was hitting a horrifying .183 before his season ending injury. Willie Bloomquist has been serviceable at shortstop at best but nothing to Betancourt's capabilities at the position. Just a few years ago Betancourt was regarded as one of the best young shortstops in the game. He had one of the slickest gloves in the game and could hit alright. One knock on Betancourt is his poor On-Base Percentage, career .302, but don't you think most Royals fans will take a great defensive shortstop that has a career batting average of .280? Word is Betancourt somehow has been at odds with Seattle management for a few years. As a result, his offense and defense have suffered immensely. Here's to hoping the fresh start will bring Yuni back to his position in the top ranks of AL shortstops.

Mitch Maier might possibly be one of the worst centerfielders in the game. He has half Coco Crisp's range in center. Even worse, he seemingly has Crisp's power: 0 HR, 18 RBI in 103 career games. The return of Alex Gordon is huge. Teahen can move back to a corner outfield spot, Guillen can stay in a corner and David Dejesus can move to center. Utility man extraordinaire Willy Bloomquist cann bounce around as needed. Also, Betancourt and Gordon bring some pop back to the lineup that the Royals have been missing. They should give Jose Guillen and Billy Butler more of the lineup protection that they enjoyed last year.

As far as Dayton Moore making moves, we as fans really have no idea. The Royals hold all the cards when it comes to trade talks surrounding Joakim Soria. Soria would bring big time prospects. Gil Meche would bring prospects and unload alot of cash off the Royal's payroll. Other trade options like Mark Teahan won't really bring a whole lot back to the Royals. Nobody wants Jose Guillen's poisonous demeanor and his $12 mil a year contract. We here at the Steroid Era expect Moore and the Royals to stay relatively quiet, although a decent left arm might be nice.

As far as Zack winning 20 games, he should. The offense should improve enough to up his run support considerably. A few of his first half losses will become wins in the second half. Also, look for Brian Bannister to improve even more in the second half. His 6-7 record is deceptive because he currently owns a team second best 3.66 ERA. Look for a bit more run support to help his record out some too.

I guess we may be looking at the glass as half full. Or even 3/4 full. But the point is that there are tools in place for the Royals to have a successful second half. They have the tools to start to build something special for 2010. Either way, we'll be listening/watching every game whether the Royals even win another game or not.