Please Kansas City, Be Royal

Kansas City wants the Royals in the postseason, I want the Royals in the postseason and I think most of America (excluding Detroit, Seattle, Oakland and maybe Cleveland) want the Royals in the postseason. So why are they making it so hard on us?

After their second straight defeat to Detroit yesterday, the Royals now sit 2.5 games back of the Tigers in the AL Central standings and only have a .5 game cushion on the Seattle Mariners in the race for the second Wild Card spot.

This weekend was supposed to be the series in which Kansas City asserted themselves as the future kings (ha, puns!) of the AL Central. Instead, Detroit has reminded us all that they are still armed and dangerous as October looms. They are like predators waiting for the precise moment to finally pounce on their prey. After going back and forth all of September, they seem to have found their moment.

Kansas City’s postseason drought has been well documented, but for those that are unfamiliar, it was has been 29 loooong years since Royals fans have had a taste of October baseball. The longest drought in the majors.

As a Yankee fan, I have deep sympathy for Royals fans (our bloodbath rivalry during the late 70s and early 80s notwithstanding). I have been so privileged to watch continued success for such a long period of time.

I was born in 1995, so I grew up with the idea that the Yankees would make the playoffs year after year and that was that. Royals fans have had no such luck, and have been brainwashed to believe that their farm system would eventually take them to the promised land. This is the only way out for a small market team like Kansas City.

That is, until the 2013 offseason.

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After many misfires on the prospect front over the years, Royals GM Dayton Moore decided to flip super-prospect Wil Myers and others to retain the services of James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays.

The baseball world was shocked that the normally prospect rich Royals were straying from their usual tactics, but I loved the move because of the amount of gusto it put into the fan base. Kansas City finally had a bonafide ace that they could hang their hat on.

They rode the momentum of the trade to the tune of an 86-76 record last season. The first time they had an over .500 winning percentage since 2003.

This season they have flirted with first place in the AL Central for most of the second half and (barring a meltdown) should surpass their win total from last season with ease.

They possess the best bullpen in baseball (former Ray Wade Davis has been quite a find) and are one of the most exciting teams to watch thanks to their negligence to striking out and their speed. They resemble those old throwback “Whiteyball” Royals teams.

Now here we are, September 22nd and the Royals will be attempting to salvage the final game of their three game series against the Detroit Tigers.

Kauffman Stadium will be electric, but deep down each and every fan will be terrified. They fear that their team will come up short yet again because for 29 years, that is all they have known.

Please Kansas City, for the sake of your fans and adopted fans like me, make it to October.