Royals May Be Singing the Blues In ‘08. The cellar dwelling Kansas City Royals have revamped and returned for another season in 2008. For a team that seems to be in constant rebuilding mode, the Royals feel like their youth may actually be making progress and could lead them on a climb in the division standings. Highly touted third baseman Alex Gordon has a full season under his belt and the signing of outfielder Jose Guillen marks the standard one big contract that the Royals offer every off season.

Bats. At a glance, this lineup looks starving for a recognizable name. Mark Grudzielanek may be the most recognizable triple word score in scrabble name in the lineup, though his importance to the team lies in his veteran leadership rather than his ability to rake. It’s time to sympathize with Grudzielanek, a guy who has bounced around and has played for the likes of the Expos and the Dodgers in their darker days and is now expected to lead a Royals lineup that, sans Jose Guillen, has only a few years more experience collectively in the Majors than Grudzielanek has racked up. Guillen will be stationed out in right field, taking over the veteran role that guys like Michael Tucker and Reggie Sanders used to fill. When Guillen isn’t calling Mike Scioscia a piece of garbage that should go to hell, he’s a pretty damn good player. And even though there are reports that Guillen “allegedly” used performance enhancing drugs in the past, a fresh start in Kansas City where he wont have to fight a coach or players for playing time will undoubtedly be good for the underrated slugger. Despite having the American League’s worst fielding percentage for an outfielder, Guillen belted 23 bombs last year and drove in 99 runs.

It’s unfair to categorize Alex Gordon’s first season as a bust in that he only hit .247 with 15 home runs, but it’s certainly a disappointment. Gordon was dubbed to be the new George Brett of the Royals, only without the pine tar incident. He’s got too much talent to duplicate the struggles he had last year and I think this year we should see Gordon evolve as a hitter into one of the better young sluggers in the American League. On the subject of young talent, designated hitter Billy Butler was a great surprise for the Royals in limited time. When he wasn’t stuffing his face with Kansas City barbecue, Butler was a consistent force in the lineup, hitting an impressive .292 in a lineup starved for protection of any sort. David DeJesus and Mark Teahan return for another season in the outfield, and both promise to bring mediocre numbers and questions as to why they haven’t improved over the course of their respective careers. At some point, DeJesus has to hit double digit home runs in his career because flirting with seven, eight, or nine home runs in a season has to get bothersome.

Pitching. Even though I took heat for it last year and placed the faith of my fantasy baseball squad in his hands, Gil Meche was a productive pitcher worth the fat contract he signed last year. Meche only went 9-13 last year but, in a game full of stats, it’s important to find the ones that are deceptive. Meche’s ERA was a pleasant 3.67 and there were plenty of games where he would take a 1-0 lead into the 8th (because asking the Royals lineup to score more than one or two runs is unfair) and then Meche would give up a two run homer and subsequently lose. In his last 10 starts of the season, Meche only gave up three runs in a start twice while during the span of the other eight starts, he allowed two runs or less. Over that span, Meche only won two games, lost four, and picked up four no-decisions. Now that my Gil Meche jocking rant segment is over, let’s take a look at Zach Grienke, a phenomenal talent with minor issues. When Greinke isn’t losing his mind or getting social anxiety on the mound, he’s a truly dominant pitcher. He’s got a fastball that he can crank up to 99 mph and an excellent change that can make hitters look silly. For Greinke, it’s a matter of having the “short term memory” that Rick Sutcliffe always loves to jock when he announces games and being able to forget bad outings or tape-measure home runs. Kyle Davies is a guy who came over halfway through the season last year from Atlanta and collectively had a forgettable year. There are people who believe Davies has the talent to win 12 to 15 games in the Majors. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people. I’m also not one of those people who think signing Brett Tomko was a good idea.

The Royals bullpen was surprisingly one of the best parts about this team last year. Most of the guys in the bullpen posted sub-four ERA’s last year and closer Joakim Soria was a pleasant surprise, saving 17 games last year. Jimmy Gobble Gobble Gobble has one of the best names in baseball and also had his best season in the majors last year, lowering his era two points from 2006 and finishing with a 4-1 record and a 3.02 ERA. Joel Peralta, who mistakenly ended up on my fantasy baseball team instead of Jhonny Peralta, my original draft choice, had a great season last year in a set-up role as well and should only improve on his 2007 success.

Outlook. It’s always fun to sugar coat teams in their previews and pretend like there are no flaws. Don’t buy into it with the Royals. This team is in the process of rebuilding, though finally we can see some of their talent that they’ve harvested in their minor league system. It’s hard to see this team climbing out of the cellar, but if the White Sox continue a downward spiral after their bullshit World Series run, the Royals may finish higher than last place.