It's that time again, and if you're any person who talks baseball with me during the offseason, you get the same speech each year.
I have cried wolf enough for people not to believe me, but I think the Royals will have a pretty good season this year.
Looking at the acquisitions of Mike Jacobs, Coco Crisp, and just recently Juan Cruz, the Royals have improved. Last year the Royals had an up year for them and may have made the minor tweaks to the roster that will push them to the next level.
Jacobs may not be the biggest name out there, but he's a solid baseball player and should give a dramatic lift to the offense. Crisp is a good all-around player, batting well, stealing bases, and being a decent outfielder. Juan Cruz played decently in the Diamondbacks' bullpen last year and should have similar numbers in Kansas City.
Going past the new players, there's a lot of players from last season who I think will step up. Mike Aviles and Billy Butler are both great hitters, and both did not play the entire season. Both of those two young guys can hit consistently, and they should get quite a bit of RBI.
Pitching wasn't terrible for Kansas City and the rotation is looking good enough to take the team places. Joakim Soria is one of the best closers in the game and can do even better when he isn't asked to pull all the weight.
I had a big problem with the bullpen last year, but the Royals made moves to improve there. We had a lot of early leads and close games where the bullpen cost us, but the new players should help there hopefully.
We have seen teams like the Tampa Bay Rays come out of nowhere, and I'm not saying Kansas City will have that sort of year. I'm just saying that the AL Central is up for grabs and there is no big standout. Why not the Royals? We can be competitive and make a run for the AL Central pennant next season, like any of the other teams in the division.
The biggest word this season, like all times I write about the Royals, is consistency. Our success begins and ends with consistency. The Royals have proved they can be good at times. They would go on a nice streak like 8-2, but then go on a seven-game losing streak.
If they find a way to stay consistent, I got Kansas City winning the division.
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