Royals spring into spring.

Spring training games are off and running. The Royals won their first two games. They dominated the first game and then had a walk off win in the second. I know it is spring training, I get it, but it is fun to see the team win. The Royals have been very, very good in the past few springs. They win, and they are right at the top of the league record wise. This year will be more of the same, I hope. I realize it is way too early to tell anything, so I'll make some predictions. The competition between Moose and Kouz will be a good thing. Moose will rise up and be the player we all are hoping him to be. Getz will push Gio at second. This is a very good thing. The line up will be better with Gio in it IF he is hitting 280 with pop. If he is hitting 230 then the team is better off with Getz. He will steal bases and play an OK second base. That is the kind of competition I like. Older guys pushing the young guys. The team is better with Moose, Escobar, Gio, and Hosmer. There is no question about that. The thing is they can't be handed anything. They need to earn the spot and keep earning the spot. Once the corner is turned their talent will win out and there will be no more discussion. This is a good thing. Yuni, oh man, what do you even say. Yost is saying how well he is playing at third and second. That's good because my recollection is that he pretty much stunk up the field at short. He and Frenchy are DM's guy's. I've stopped trying to figure that stuff out. Yuni is going to take a roster spot. I just hope he earns it by being a true utility guy. Backing up at third, short and second makes him valuable. A big injury and the team will suffer but not crash if you have legit backups. I don't think of Yuni as a legit anything. I just remember he had way more RBI per AB than Billy did in his last Royal season. Chew on that for a minute. The outfield is Gordon, Cain, and DM's boy Frenchy. Maier and Dyson and others have a shot. I like Maier but I've seen him play enough that he needs consistent plate appearances to be effective. Last spring he hit over 500. He won't hit that but I'd bet he would be 280 or better playing full time. He won't get that chance, and I'm not saying he deserves it, but I like the kid and hope he does well. Dyson is a wild card. His speed is a weapon. No player has figured out how to steal first. He needs to muscle up and become a threat with the bat. He does that then he may be the leader in the 4th outfielder race. Mitch can play D, but he doesn't have the base stealing capability that Dyson brings. Both are good on D. That will be a good contest to watch. We have to hold our breath with Cain. He does well and the Royals will be a force. They will be 500 and in contention. If Cain, Moose, Gio or Frenchy struggle there will be no sniff of 500 this year. The pitching needs to step up and improve. I have high hopes for Sanchez. I also think Paulino will be very good. If both of those occur that would be awesome. Luke needs to improve. Chen can just be Chen. 13 wins with a 4.00 ERA is good enough for a 4 starter. Luke, Sanchez, and Paulino need to step up to the 1,2,3 spots. Duffy and Dwyer can have a competition for the 5 spot. That makes for an interesting team this year. I'm not too excited about two spring wins but they DO count. This team needs to learn how to win. They need to build confidence. The AL Central isn't really that strong outside of Detroit. Detroit has the look, but the Royals always play well against them. Here is hoping that my optimism lasts. Go Royals.