Alex Gordon

Immediate gratification.

Prolonged success.

There appear to be two sides forming among Royals fans in the Kansas City Metro area.

Local talk radio is buzzing about the Royals (for a change), their recent encouraging performances, and the fact that good fortune has finally begun to shine on them.

When a franchise is as parched for wins as this one is, the assumption is that the fan base would be eager to jump on the bandwagon.

As seasons and almost more importantly aimless offseasons pass by, we Royals fans have had to adjust our expectations for contention, with the carrot on the proverbial stick predictably staying two years away. Not so long ago, we were looking to 2010 as the year that .500 would be attainable—the year that respectability would be ours.

Rather than watch the Royals offense not give Zack Greinke a win last night, I elected to head up to Round Rock (roughly 20 minutes outside of Austin, for you non-Texans) to see the Omaha Royals take on the Round Rock Express (the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, for you Royals-only fans).

What I’m Reading

• The Rangers are sticking with Neftali Feliz, Frank Francisco, and their two-closer system for the time being. Good. Because these situations alway pan out favorably.

It's been a fairly eventful two-plus weeks since I last posted here.  Having not grown up in the Kansas City area (unlike my father, whose fandom I unfortunately inherited), my in-person Royals experiences have been mostly limited to seeing them play the Twins at the Metrodome or seeing Omaha play the Round Rock Express.  While visiting my sister in Lawrence, I got to see the Royals where one is meant to see them: at Kauffman. 

What I’m Reading

The parallels between Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard continue, as Howard’s recent contract extension is bound to influence the market for Pujols’ cash-in day.

What I’m Reading

• Pedro Martinez is still out there. He’s available. He even threw a side session at Fenway on Opening Day. What’s in store for his future , though?

When it comes to fantasy baseball, there are certain teams—like the Yankees and Red Sox—where virtually everyone but the batboy will get selected in your draft. 

Fantasy owners build their teams around names like Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Albert Pujols, Jonathan Papelbon, etc.

They don't, however, build their teams around guys like Alex Gordon and Yuniesky Betancourt. 

Alex Gordon’s make-or-break 2010 season has been derailed .

Whenever your star closer breaks camp to have his surgically-repaired elbow looked at, all the excitement surrounding the start of a new year comes to a screeching halt.

The joy of finally having outdoor baseball in Minnesota again is replaced with the fear that they will suffer a similar fate as the Mets in their new ballpark.