Royals Come Up One Short

The Royals are 4-5 now under interim manager Bob Schaefer. For whatever reason, they have started hitting the ball and they are scoring runs. Maybe it's because they don't feel as much pressure to win right now—certainly they heard the calls for Pena's job in recent weeks and that might have added pressure to a line up that is already overmatched on most nights.

With all of that said, it looks to me like Tony Pena is still managing this club. Quick hooks for starting pitchers, bunts when bunts are not appropriate, and a never ending shuffle of lineups—that sometimes includes Tony Graffanino in the three hole—make me wonder if Bob isn't calling Tony on his cell phone and asking for advice. And Tony must have told Bob to put Marrero in center last night instead of Terrence Long who he put in left. What else would make sense?

But even with the team in disarray, I can't figure out why only 31,513 people show up for a game against the Cardinals on a beautiful night like last night. Especially when Mulder was matched up against Greinke. I'm not saying that we need to support bad decisions and a bad product at all costs. I'm just trying to figure out why a game like this doesn't attract more baseball fans.

Unfortunately, the fans who did decide to show up weren't treated to a well played game. Neither starter pitched well. Mulder was unMulder-like. He walked 5 in 5 2/3 innings. He never looked comfortable and never had command of his pitches. Greinke was rocked in the first inning by a John Mabry grand slam. He settled down after that and just when it appeared that he was in a rhythm, in Pena-like fashion Schaefer took him out after 75 pitches.

Abraham Nunez played third for the Cards and looked the part of a right fielder who was filling in for a gold glover. He dove when he shouldn't have and he isn't quick enough to handle balls smashed his way down the line.

In the end, the Royals came up one short. But they competed against one of the toughest teams in baseball. As hard as that is to take right now, that's the only thing we can take solace in. We've proven that we can compete. And we've proven that we don't quit. Now we need to prove that we can win. With a record of 12-30, we've got a long way to go.