I remember the date vividly: 3 weeks ago, May 28, Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals had just been swept by the worst team in baseball: the Houston Astros.
The vibes weren't good in this town. There was despair, there was no hope.
We pontificated at the time that the end was near. The Royals had failed to survive another turbulent month of May. The team was preparing to leave for Canada. They couldn't get out of town fast enough.
You could almost see steam radiating from the airwaves of sports talk radio.
The Royals were being blistered by every Tom, Dick and Harry who owned a jock strap or was worthy of wearing one.
Then, suddenly, things started to change when they played north of the border. The Royals split four games in Toronto against the red hot Blue Jays. They followed that up, taking 3 out of 4 from their hated rivals in St Louis.
Winning started becoming contagious.
They won a series from the Yankees and for the past week have been the best team in baseball.
Yep, better that Oakland, better than Toronto and better than San Francisco.
The Royals have beaten all comers.
They've won 7 in a row. Now, it's gut check time. Will they stay hot? Don't know. They're history would certainly not suggest that.
These are the same Royals we've been watching for the past 20 years. We think they're improving and now we're going to find out.
Four straight against Detroit, a team the Royals haven't been able to beat this year. A team that seems to win the division every year.
It's high time for the Royals to make a statement. It's time to go big or go home.
That’s Jack’s Smack.
