Kansas City Royals

As we embark on another season in which the Kansas City Royals look to be competing for fourth place in the American League Central, there were only a few things that we Royals fans had to look forward to.

Last year the Kansas City Royals were the surprise of April. The team jumped out to an 18-11 start and led the American League Central by 3 games. The Royals then had some injury problems and faltered for the rest of the way, never contending after June 1st.

Kansas City hasn't been to the post-season since 1985 and has lost at least 93 games in seven of their last nine seasons. Let's take a look at who they have this year and what their win total is projected to be.

Pitching

When many non-sports fans think of Kansas City, they often think of it as a "cow-town" where people still live on farms, and as a home to some of the country's best barbecue.

At least they have the barbecue part correct!

Baseball fans around the country know Kansas City as home to one of baseball's most beautiful ballparks in Kaufmann Stadium, and the home to a once-proud Royals franchise in the midst of a resurrection.

First things first, I need to apologize for my month-long absence here. 

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

The Kansas City Royals got off to a very good start in 2009. After 46 games last season, they had a record of 23-23, placing them second in the ultra-competitive American League Central.

That success quickly came to an end, and the Royals went 42-74 the rest of the way to finish 65-97, tied for last in the division with the Indians.

Despite a horrible finish, the Royals were able to hang their hat on Zack Greinke. Greinke won the AL Cy Young Award going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA. He struck out 242 hitters and walked only 51 in 229.1 innings pitched.

Back in 2008, I was scratching, clawing, and doing everything I could to win my fantasy baseball league. That league was and still is a total points league and my buddy Odie and I were fighting it out to the end.

I was picking up guys like Ryan Raburn, Juan Uribe, and Mike Aviles. That’s how desperate I was to win. I actually won that year by one point and the real star for me down the stretch was Aviles.

Despite all the talk about pessimism and optimism regarding the Royals , their offseason and the 2010 players they plan to trot out on the field, there is one clear reason for EVERY baseball fan in Kansas City to get excited.

(Alternate Title: How to Beat a Dead Horse with a Keyboard)

Once upon a time, the Kansas City Royals were the class act of baseball. A consistent, winning ballclub with a group of great players, a beautiful stadium, and a fantastic fanbase. 

Fast forward to 2010, and it's something akin to I Am Legend. The stadium still stands, as pristine as ever, but it's almost devoid of life. The players who do inhabit it, are for the most part, hardly even qualified major leaguers.

The 41-year history of the Kansas City Royals is a story of a meteoric rise to contention in the franchise's first 21 years, followed by a titanic fall to baseball's cellar in the last 20 years.

As an expansion team in 1969, the Royals became a winner after just two seasons and was a title contender for two decades. In fact, all seven of the team's playoff appearances occurred during a 10-year stretch from 1976 to 1988, making it to the World Series twice, winning it once in 1985.