bjournal::juxtapoz

8-2 over the last 10 games. 18-12 overall. #3 in ESPN’s RPI. 4th-best start in franchise history.

Here are the Top 5 in Run Differential to date:

1. (+51) LA Dodgers (I suppose that will change over the next 49 games, or so…)
2. (+43) Toronto Blue Jays
3. (+31) St. Louis Cardinals
4. (+30) Boston Red Sox
5. (+29) Kansas City Royals

Coincidentally, the best five records in baseball belong to the five teams listed above.

Royals go to 15-11, and Greinke is first pitcher to win six games. Not bad.

The Royals currently stand at .500 after going 4-6 over their last ten games. There are three reasons why we’re not worried just yet, and one nagging doubt.

1. The AL Central is pathetic. Seriously.
2. They still have a positive run differential, which is pretty decent indicator of performance (granted, +5 over ten games isn’t as impressive as, say, the +40 of the AL East leading New York Yankees Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays WTF?!), in spite of the fact that their hitting hasn’t really come around yet— their runs per game sits at 3.9, which is lower than last year’s 4.3, and given their young hitters, the average would seem likely to be higher than last years, which means there are a lot of runs to make up.
3. They have the second best team ERA in the American League and third in all of baseball!

but

1. They have the second best team ERA in the American League and third in all of baseball, and according to the logic in #2 above, their ERA could rise a bit.

I’m writing this prior to the Royals playing their 11th game of the season.

In spite of going 3-4 since the last update, the Royals find themselves above .500 and in first place in the AL Central. There are still a ton of games left, obviously, but things are going pretty well.

I also have a gentleman’s wager on the Royals finishing above .500 on the year.

The Royals are off the pace of their torrid 3-0 start from last season, but they did still manage to win their first game of the year in a 2-0, three-hit, shutout. Their total run differential for the season is zero (at this point last season it was plus-five).