The Detroit Tigers have won this division each of the last four years, but the gap is clearly narrowing—most obviously by the fact that it was Kansas City who went storming through the American League playoffs. Detroit also has to keep an eye on the Cleveland Indians, who made the playoffs two years ago and posted a winning record last year under the leadership of Terry Francona.
This should be “the year” for the Kansas City Royals, to at least make it into the playoffs. Last year almost was. And maybe 2014 still will be—the Royals are only 2 ½ games out of the second wild-card spot going into their Saturday night game in Boston. But Kansas City is also only 48-47, they’ve been passed in the AL Central by the Cleveland Indians and both teams are still looking up at the Detroit Tigers. So what’s the deal, why can’t Kansas City get it done?
The Kansas City Royals just keep coming in the American League wild-card race. The Royals are 34-20 since the All-Star break, and within 2 ½ games of the playoffs in a jam-packed race that has six teams battling for two spots. TheSportsNotebook’s MLB coverage looks at how Kansas City has turned it around.
The Kansas City Royals weren’t expected to win the American League Central, and at 46-51, they’re still in reasonable striking distance of their first winning season since 2003. So it could be taken as unfair for today’s MLB coverage to tear into them as a disappointing. But coming into Wednesday’s games, I think this team should be in much better shape and the blame has to be pinned on the offense.
The American League Central is still like a packed horse race, as the teams jostle for position, but no one has done better jostling thus far than the new-look Kansas City Royals. Coming into Saturday, the Royals are 11-8 and lead the heavily favored Detroit Tigers by a game. After years of being a trendy preseason pick and then immediately flaming out when games started for real, there’s hope for the Royals. Just how much is our topic for today’s American League MLB coverage…
The Detroit Tigers will open the season as a top-heavy favorite to win the American League’s Central Division. The same was true at this time last year though, and the Chicago White Sox led the division by as many as 4 ½ games in September. Is there a darkhorse stalker lurking again in the AL Central? Let’s take a closer look at both the White Sox, along with a veteran-fortified team in Kansas City.