The Little Things

As is often the case during long losing streaks, every mistake the Royals are making right now is coming back to haunt them. Last night, it was Affeldt's four pitch walk to Mike Morse that moved Jeremy Reed to second base. After the walk, Affeldt didn't keep Reed close enough to second, and with two outs, Reed stole third base—easily.

Then the multi-hopper into the hole at short off the bat of Betancourt sealed the deal. Especially when you looked at who the Royals had hitting to lead off the ninth inning: Berroa (who popped out on the first pitch—imagine that), Teahen (who was overmatched again—imagine that), and Buck (who was down 0-2—imagine that—before flying out to center field). Royals lose 4-3.

Not to add any more pressure, but the 17 game losing streak needs to end today. Have you looked at the Royals next three opponents? They fly to Oakland for a three game series over the weekend. Then they come home to play Boston. And then they are off to the Big Apple to play the evil Yankees, who, I'm sure, would love nothing better than to turn the tables on the Royals for a little sweep of their own.

Oakland, Boston, and New York are a combined 201-153 (a .568 winning percentage) this season. And we've already been swept by Oakland and Boston this season. Can you imagine a 27 game losing streak? The longest major league streak of all-time is getting dangerously close. In 1899, the Cleveland Spiders lost 24 in a row.

Here are a few facts about the current losing streak:
--It is the longest in club history.
--It is the longest in the majors since 1988 when Baltimore lost 21 in a row.
--It is tied for the 19th longest losing streak in major league history.
--The Royals are just the 8th major league team since 1950 to lose 17 straight.

Now for a couple of frightening pitching statistics during the streak:
--Team ERA: 7.19 (115 ER in 144 IP).
--Opponents Batting Average: .317 (196-for-618, including 23 HR and 76 BB).

Here are a few more statistics of note:
--We currently don't have one hitter with more than a two game hitting streak.
--KC starters are 26-55 this season.
--The KC bullpen is 12-25 this season.
--When KC scores first, they are 24-26 this season.
--When KC opponents score first, the Royals are 14-54 this season.
--When KC is trailing going into the ninth inning, they are 0-72 this season.
--Attendance at home is down to 18,647 in 2005 as compared to 22,181 at the same time last season.