Today is my wife's birthday (Happy Birthday Honey!).
It is also the day Kansas City Royal's pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Royals had quite the fall last year. After losing many of the stars from the glorious 2014-2015 campaigns, KC plummeted to 104 losses for the season. Many prognosticators expected a drop off, but that was like walking into an empty elevator shaft.
The good news is that many of the older guys were shelved and the young guys got to play. They even had a decent last two months of the season. Some guys, like Mondesi, look like real stars.
So what's going to happen this year? The experts predict futility for this season and next. But optimists see some reason for hope.
The Royals are going back to emphasizing speed and defense. No other outfield will be faster. The infield will be young and rangy.
Getting guys on base will be a problem. Starting pitching might be okay. The bullpen last year was horrendous. They've added some guys to try to plug the leaky pen.
That was the recipe for 2014-2015. Dominating bullpen, great defense and speed on the base paths. If they can pull that off then they might have a shot at the division. Hope springs eternal during spring training.
