The Royals Should Beat the A’s

We all wanted Detroit to lose Sunday, so the Royals could have one last shot at them, and the American League Central Crown.   I was at Cellular Field, scoreboard watching like mad, hoping I could watch the Royals force a one game divisional play-off game. Well, the Tigers didn’t cooperate, and finally beat the Twins. What seemed like a buzz kill, was actually a blessing.

Not forcing a one game play-off with the Tigers was a blessing because it saved Ned Yost from himself. Ned was going to have James Shields pitch on short rest in Detroit. If the Royals had lost, Jason Vargas was going to pitch the Wild Card Game. Yep, the worst pitcher in the rotation right now was going to pitch in the elimination game. What type of chances would you have given the Royals with Vargas after taking another gut punch from Detroit?  Ned’s a country music fan, and I gotta wonder if he’s listening to Garth Brook’s song in his truck today, “Unanswered Prayers (Sometimes I thank God)”.

Good Lordy, I am thankful. Even when the Tigers won last week, the Royals won.  Maybe everything is breaking the Royals way.

Now the Royals clash with the Oakland A’s. It’s only fitting.  Great A’s teams of the 90’s consistently kept the Royals out of the play-offs.  The Royals had some very good teams under Hal McRae and John Wathan.  They had teams that would have qualified for the Wild Card, if there had only been one.  As we all know, there was no wild card until 1995, and those solid Royals teams were power-washed away by the drug crushing Bash Brothers of Oakland.  How about some karmic debt collection boys?

Back to real time.

Almost all of the national pundits are picking the A’s. Most sight Jon Lester’s past domination over KC as the key. They also say the lefty will neutralize the left-handed bats of Hosmer and Gordon. Some have constructed an argument that the A’s can finally relax. They say they dodged a bullet, and didn’t complete the most epic meltdown of the decade. Now the A’s can and will play loose.

There is no doubt that Lester has had a ball pitching against the Royals for his career, but his numbers against these current Royals is around league average. He’s actually, albeit in a small sample size, been bad against Alcides Escobar, Nori Aoki and Lorenzo Cain. (Our 1-3 hitters) These Royals have won most of the year without Hosmer’s bat, and have also weathered a few long slumps by Alex Gordon.

I also think they may be over looking Salvador Perez. Our righty catcher, due to the Tigers winning Sunday, finally got a day off. Look for a fresher Perez to take Lester deep or smack a double Tuesday night. You can also look for Lester to stress out if the Royals get any guys on base. Lester has had issues throwing to bases with guys on them this season. If the Royals run their way into a couple runs, and get a couple doubles, they can hand a lead to the best bullpen you have ever seen.  By the way, the Royals are starting James Shields.  James was acquired for this very game.  James will be a free agent after this season.  James will be at his best Tuesday night.

As for the pressure being off of the A’s? That’s a bunch of baloney. Much was expected of these A’s. They are already a disappointment and they know it. The Royals just ended a 29-year play-off drought, and, regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, is the team of a generation. The pressure is off of KC, not Oakland.   One more detail is being ignored. The Royals absolutely owned the A’s this year.  It’s going to continue.  Royals win it by a score of 4-2.