Finding A Silver Lining

The losing streak continues.  Make that 7 in a row for the Royals as they lost a close one last night to the Tigers by a final of 4-3.  It’s tough to keep an open mind when things are, seemingly, spiraling out of control.  There are, however, a few things that we can take away as positives even though they are caught in the midst of a 7 game losing streak.

The first and most important positive I have taken away from the streak are the performances by Danny Duffy.  Many have suspected for a while about what Duffy is capable of, but his first two starts this season have been very impressive, to say the least.  He went toe-to-toe with, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball and held his own.  Although he was on the losing end, he impressed many as he handled the Tigers lineup with relative ease.  Duffy is certainly showing us he has “Ace” stuff and it shows in his stat line which can be found here.

It’s also been very nice to see how well Bruce Chen is pitching.  He brings consistency to his starts, which can be very helpful for the offense.  Every time Chen takes the hill, we can almost expect 5-6 innings with about 2 or 3 runs allowed, so the offense has a grasp on how many runs they would need when he starts.  He hasn’t been rewarded for his efforts this season, but I’m willing to bet he still piles together 10-11 wins throughout the course of the season.

It might surprise some fans that Chris Getz has made this list of positives, but he has been a pleasant surprise through the first 12 games of the season.  I know I might get some grief for mentioning Getz, but he has not been to blame for this team’s poor start.  He has always brought speed to his game and now it seems he is stinging the ball with some authority, which is a definite positive.  Even some of his outs have been well struck.  Normally we might be blaming Getz, but he has not given us that ammunition at this time and hopefully he will continue to contribute.

While Bruce Chen is the consistent starter for the pitching staff, Billy Butler has been the most consistent hitter in the lineup.  This should come as no surprise, as Butler, for several years, has given the Royals a consistent showing season in and season out.  He is a doubles machine and already has 6 this season.  He is still in the process of turning some of those doubles into homeruns, but it’s a warming feeling when we know Butler will be the anchor in the lineup through thick and thin.

I would have liked to see Mike Moustakas jump out to an amazing start at the plate, but he still has provided us with some moments where he’s shined.  He does have 5 doubles and one homerun through the his first 10 games but has walked zero times while striking out ten.  The positive I see from Moose is his glove at third base.  He has made some dazzling plays while also playing errorless up to this point.  The knock on Moose was his glove, but it could be possible he is transitioning into an above average third baseman.

It’s definitely not easy to be positive when the team started out 3-2 and is now in the middle of a nauseating 7 game losing streak.  With a young team, losing streaks are bound to happen, but at the same time, winning streaks are going to be right around the corner as well.  It’s going to take getting over this hump, but I do believe it will happen especially with some of the positives I’ve just mentioned.

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