I still think the Division title is more in reach than the wildcard spot. We are 6.5 back from Cleveland and play them six times.

If KC can go 22-13 the rest of the way (88-74), I think the odds are good they end up in at least the second wild card.

Re: the Cubs, the only weakness I see is that it is a very K-probe offense. I could see a team with some great pitching getting hot against them and knocking them off in a short series, but they are - and should be - the NL favorite. By a good margin.


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We need some serious help for sure. It would certainly be better if we were chasing 2 teams instead of 4 or 5. I'd say, right now, we have about a 1 and 10 chance of nabbing that last WC spot. If we can keep wining series' and put together another 7+ game win streak - preferably with our next home stand against NY and DET, then who knows? I'm just glad the Team didn't roll over and die in August after that AIDS-like performance in July. It's fun just to be in contention this time of year. :)

I didn't even notice the 4 games back. At this point I just assume we will be getting at minimum the second wildcard. What stands out to me is that we are now just five back of the first wildcard.

I think the division is more attainable.




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Which means we are expecting an even larger collapse from the Indians than we are from the Teams above us in the WC.

I agree that it's much easier to chase 1 team vs 4 or 5, but I think it's reasonable to expect the Yankees, Tigers, HOU, SEA and possibly the Orioles to fall back. Those teams are much more flawed than the Indians, IMO.

Right now, we have an equal chance at winning the Central as we do a WC spot - 3%, according to MLB stats

royals baseball: love it!!!

By the way, I'm really hoping that smash Sac Fly that Ken Mo hit last night has woken his bat from the dead. We could really use one of those flaming hot streaks he had in June, early July.

If we can get the division lead down to 4 or 5 by Labor Day I'd feel a lot better about our chances. A 7 game division swing in a month isn't crazy. The 2014 Royals were involved in that situation about 3 or 4 times.

The Indians are a good team though. That's a big hill to go up. We'd need them to really get into a rut for a week or two. In the wild card, we're within 2 games of the teams between us and Baltimore, so if we can hop them I think it's very doable.

How much of a collapse does KC need to secure the second WC? Let's see:

For KC to secure the WC at 88 wins (22-13 the rest of the way) that would mean:

Baltimore goes 17-18 or worse
Detroit goes 19-16 or worse
Seattle goes 20-15 or worse
Houston goes 21-14 or worse

Cleveland would have to go 15-21 the rest of the way for KC to take the division crown at 88 wins.

I think the second WC is still more within reach than the division, regardless of the number of teams involved.

Long story short: the winning streak put KC in reasonable range moving forward. The Royals will need to play .629 ball the rest of the way or better, but it's possible.

How to get to 22-13
W Bos (2-1)
W NYY (2-1)
W Det (2-1)
W MN (2-1)
W CHIWS (2-1)
W OAK (3-1)
Split CHIWS (2-2)
L CLE (1-2)
W Det (2-1)
W MN (2-1)
W CLE (2-1)

So basically... Split with Cleveland the rest of the way and keep winning series.

Looking a little deeper, if the Royals can continue to blast the White Sox and Twins at the rate they have all season, KC would go 10-3 in those games, leaving it needing to go 12-10 in the other games.

Sweeping the Twins and Sox in early September would change the picture considerably.


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They are without a doubt the best team, but I have a legit concern that the middle of their bullpen could undo them in a playoff series. I think that's their weakness. If you can knock their starter out after 5 innings, you could cripple them. I could very easily see a team like the Cardinals doing this. They mash the ball and play the Cubs well.

Plus it'll be interesting to see how the Cubs respond to the pressure. They might have more pressure on them than any team in recent history.

Good break-down. That's kinda my point. The teams we are chasing in the WC have all had some pretty mediocre runs this year. I believe it's more feasible for those teams to trend back to their norm than for CLE to play at a .417 clip the rest of the way home. Their schedule includes a shit ton of MIN and WSox games as well (13 gms left).

holy crap, just went by RoyalsPlanet... I don't even know what to say...

Also, I'm a big Yankee's fan this weekend (puke!). They have a 3 game series in the Bronx with the Orioles. We get to thank the Yankees for their sweep of the O's by sweeping them in KC next week:D

Hopefully you did the humane thing and shot it in it's head.

That place is a Hootie Cum Fiesta