I think that it has been at least 10 years since I witnessed a Royals win at home, and unfortunately, the streak continued yesterday afternoon.  The final - Toronto 5, KC 2.  At least this time the Royals scored some runs.

I've branched out my good, bad and ugly to include pitching, hitting and defense this time around.  Here we go:

THE GOOD - Ross Gload went 2 for 3 at the plate and scored one of the two Royals runs.  In the field, he had a fantastic game as well.  Gil Meche, who was a previous target of mine, pitched much better this time around than he did when I saw him against Minnesota. 

THE BAD - Alex Gordon struck out 3 times, and grounded into a ninth inning double play.  I was unimpressed with Joel Peralta, who threw way too many first pitch balls.  Jose Guillen, who supposedly had a rocket outfield arm, had an opportunity to throw out what proved to be the Toronto go-ahead run and BLEW IT!!!  WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!!

THE UGLY - The Royals 9th inning defense.  In Little League games, when you'd see three infielders converge in a triangle "trying" to catch the ball, the ball would always drop in front of all three.  That happened in the ninth, and cost 2 runs.  TREY HILLMAN HAS TO BE FURIOUS!!!

Let's face it, folks.  The Royals are in a tailspin right now, although they did win 2 of 3 from Toronto.  Their next stop is Texas for three against the Rangers, and I sincerely hope that the Royals do find a way to turn this around.  Slumps don't last forever, right?

See ya down the road.

A lot of reporters here in Kansas City have tendencies to come up with excuses as to why certain teams are in the tailspins that they get into from time to time.  As far as this blog is concerned, that's not going to happen.  I'm a Royals fan, but I will not make excuses.  Target #1 - Gil Meche.

I'm starting to wonder whether the man is truly the #1 starter that the Royals paid $55 million for.  With last night's 15-1 home debacle at the hands of the Cleveland Indians, Meche's record stands at 0-3 with an 8.00 ERA.  He hasn't been consistent at all this young season, and quite frankly, he's not the current #1 starter.  Brian Bannister is.

I'd like to think that the reason for this start was only Meche's bad luck, but I'd be naive to think so.  I'd like to see the man do better and be the pitcher that he was at times last year.  He talked about what he had to do after the loss last night, but talking alone isn't going to get it done.  As former manager Whitey Herzog once said, "You have to go out and play." Don't talk about what you have to do.  Do it.

The man is a veteran, and knows how to bounce back.  I sincerely hope that he does.  If so, I'll recognize this in a future take.  Until then........

See ya down the road.

I have a riddle for you.  What do the presidential candidates, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals have in common?  They're all talk and no action.  They say the things that the press, local or national, want to hear, but don't do a thing about their problems.

When the Royals lost yesterday, 6-5 to Oakland, mlb.com quoted a player as saying that they were upset about being at the .500 level with a 9-9 record.  When I read this, I thought that they would actually do something to change their fortunes.  Today, their fortunes DID change - but for the worst.

Today, Oakland completed a sweep of the Royals with a 7-1 win, which left the team at 9-10.  The last time I checked, talking about winning and actually doing it are two different things.  Trey Hillman said that this Royals team would be better, but quite frankly, they haven't even come close to showing it, especially this past week.  Hopefully, their fortunes will change for the better beginning Tuesday against Cleveland here in Kansas City and I'll see some improvement next Sunday against Toronto. 

I'm still a believer, but last week was tough. 

This is the story of two pitchers - one now on the disabled list, the other now up from Omaha, who have had seasons in reverse and hit the brick wall at different times.

John Bale, who was a reliever last season for the Royals, was given a chance to start prior to Spring Training by manager Trey Hillman.  In Spring Training games, he pitched very effectively.  However, since the start of the season, due to bad luck and ineffectiveness, Bale's fortunes backfired, with an 0-3 record and 7.63 ERA.  In addition, he was the losing pitcher in Thursday night's 5-3 setback to the Angels.  He has since developed a "dead arm" and is currently on the 15 day disabled list.  In the spring, he pitched very well, but he now has hit his brick wall.

Joel Peralta, who was called up to take Bale's spot on the roster, was also a reliever last year and pitched very effectively.  However, during Spring Training, he hit his brick wall early, with an 0-2 record and 9.64 ERA.  Consequently, he was sent to Omaha, where he pitched very well.  He's now back with the main club, and has a second chance.  May it be a good one for him.

Brick walls hurt, but it's possible to recover.  In John Bale's case, I sincerely hope that he will recover and get back to the effectiveness level he was at in Spring Training.  As for Joel Perralta, projected by Trey Hillman to be used in long and middle relief, you have a simpler message - Best wishes.

Yesterday, as I was eating my breakfast, I was watching "Morning Express with Robin Meade," and heard a story that I wasn't totally aware of.  CNN's sports reporter Rafer Weigle reported about a pitcher who had social anxiety disorder and had come back to pitch a complete game 5-1 victory over Seattle.  The pitcher - the Royals' Zack Greinke.

In 2005, Greinke had left the team to deal with some personal issues in his life.  He had returned to the team very late in the season and pitched well out of the bullpen.  In late 2007, then-manager Buddy Bell moved him out of the bullpen and into the rotation.  It took a lot of time for him to regain his confidence, but if these first starts in 2008 are any indication, I think that he has come a long way.

I wasn't aware that Greinke had this disorder, because when he first came up in 2004, I remember that he was a little bit egotistical.  I guess that first opinions can be deceiving.

CNN got my attention about Zack Greinke.  He's doing fantastic, and I hope that he continues to get stronger physically and mentally as the season goes along.

Manager Trey Hillman made a believer out of me.  He said that this Royals team would be fundamentally sound, they'd play better catch, and would be a lot more competitive.  It obviously isn't going to happen overnight, but, despite what I witnessed at Kauffman Stadium last Friday night, the process is beginning.

The overall score was ugly - Minnesota 5, Kansas City 0.  The hit totals were even worse to me - Minnesota had 7 hits, the Royals had 9!!  In spite of this, the Royals did look aggressive at the plate and in the field.  To me, that is an encouragement.  Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, with the exception of Jose Guillen.  Defensively, there were two double plays.  The process is coming together.

A former radio sports reporter here in Kansas City had his lists of the good, the bad and the ugly from Chiefs games.  Here's mine from Friday night:

THE GOOD - Alex Gordon.  I've seen two games with him in the lineup, and he didn't disappoint.  On this night, he had a single and double in four tries.

THE BAD - Jose Guillen.  As of now, the free agent investment hasn't paid off.  I wasn't impressed.

THE UGLY - John Buck.  He bats at or near the Mendoza line.  I haven't been a fan of his since he's been in Kansas City.  His ninth inning double seemed to be a forgone conclusion.  Twice, the outs he made were the last in the innings.

Since Friday night, and a shutout loss last night, the Royals defeated Minnesota 5-1 behind Brian Bannister.  Perhaps the ship has turned.  In a post-game interview, Trey Hillman summed it up by saying, "We had a good game, but we can be better."  Currently, the Royals are 7-5, which is definitely an improvement from last year.  I truly believe that they will improve, and look forward to sharing my takes with you as the season rolls along.

I'll see you down the road.