Coming Soon: Opening Day

I really like this team.

Yeah, I know. They are playing in “baseball’s toughest division,” and they are made up of a bunch of kids who may or may not hit their sophomore slump. Things could go very badly this year. I would hope that all that talk about 100 losses is well behind us, but it could be another typical Royals season where everything seems to fall the wrong way.

But as we gear up for opening day, I can honestly say that I’m quite optimistic about this team. I’m guessing the lineup will look something like this:

DeJesus – CF
Grudz – 2B
Gordon – 3B
Guillen – RF
Butler – DH
Teahen – LF
Gload – 1B
Buck – C
Pena – SS

That’s not a bad lineup. When Grudz gets hurt, Alberto Callaspo has shown he can fill that role just fine, thank you. (Did you know he only struck out twice in 60 AB this spring?) German’s still around, and as long as he’s not playing every day, he seems to do fine. And then there’s Joey Gathright (The leaping one), so the reserves on the team are adequate. I think the 3-7 slots in this lineup look really good.

I’m not as comfortable with the pitching. The rotation looks okay with Meche, Bannister, Grienke, and now apparently Bale and Tomko. Tomko just didn’t impress me this spring. I have a hunch Tomko will be replaced by Hochevar by June 1.

But the bullpen really worries me. The Royals are trying to shore things up there, acquiring Ramon Ramirez from the Rockies. I don’t know. Maybe they’ll be okay, but they just don’t wow me.

In my mind, Soria is the big story here. What a gem. It’s almost just a case of blind luck that the Royals were able to grab him from the Padres in the Rule 5 draft last winter. He’s got the stuff to be an excellent closer, and perhaps even a starter. But, I’m a jilted Royals fan. He’s too good to be true. I just have a gut feeling that he’s going to get hurt. I hope I’m wrong. But these wonderful stories just don’t happen to our Royals. At least, they haven’t in the past.

As I travel around the country, I like to wear my Royals cap or sweatshirt. I always seem to get comments from the rental car guys or the flight attendants about those hapless Royals. Since Dayton Moore arrived on the scene, I’ve been pretty comfortable with rebutting those comments. I simply say, “It’s a new day. Thinks are looking up.”

I sure hope so.