What the hell has gotten into the Kansas City Royals?

If you were to awake from a coma, and someone told you the Kansas City Royals had won nine in a row; the latest a pounding of incumbent Cy Young Max Scherzer in Detroit, you would swear you were being lied to.

It gets better.

The Royals moved into first place tonight in the American League Central. We’re not sure that has happened since this blogs inception. It definitely hasn’t happened in June.

It’s fun, and it’s fun for more than a few reasons. It’s fun because the Royals aren’t annoying like the A’s. If the Royals ended up making the postseason (they won’t), they don’t exactly have a star-studded cast that captivates the nation. Television networks would be scrambling to get these guys in the afternoon time slot of the ALDS. They’re fun because you get the feeling watching them, they know it’s not going to last. And perhaps that’s why the Royals are so dangerous right now. They have nothing to lose. They’re absolutely day-to-day. No one thinks they’re for real, so there’s no pressure there.

Their leading OPS man coming into tonight was Alex Gordon (.816). Their leading home run hitter is Salvador Perez and Gordon (tied at seven). Lorenzo Cain is hitting .310, and Lord knows we have been waiting on Cain to do something for about five years now. Jason Vargas and James Shields are a combined 15-5, but no one is fearing a showdown with Vargas on the bump. They have a nice stable of out collectors, a dominant closer at the back-end of the pen in Greg Holland, and a bunch of rudimentary everyday regulars that no one would really want.

The Kansas City Plan drafted up by madman Dayton Moore is finally working – if even for a short frozen moment in time. As these guys slap hands night after night and climb in the standings, you realize just how crazy this whole ‘baseball season’ thing can be.