St. Louis Cardinals players reported to Jupiter, Fla., last week to kick off spring training 2013, but that first week was full of contract talk instead of baseball talk, an unfortunate situation that has become the norm at Cardinals camp in recent years.

The Cardinals even went bigger than usual in the first week this year by having three contract announcements, but at least two of those were positive announcements. The organization picked up the option on manager Mike Matheny’s contract for the 2014 season, and it signed general manager John Mozeliak to a three-year extension.

The other announcement wasn’t so joyful. Adam Wainwright and the team said contract negotiations with the pitcher are not active at the moment, and there is not a timetable for when that situation will be put to rest.

All of these are necessary procedures for a Major League Baseball organization, but it takes away from the excitement of spring training and shifts the focus away from what we all want to enjoy: players on the field preparing for the upcoming season.

Unfortunately, early spring training workouts have been an afterthought in the past three seasons.

In 2010, Albert Pujols arrived at spring training camp in much the same situation Wainwright walked into camp this year. Pujols was headed into the final year of his contract with the Cardinals, and people spent an incredible amount of time talking and analyzing Pujols’ situation, nevermind the team was actually preparing for a season that would end with a World Series championship.

Spring training in 2011 wasn’t as bad, but that’s more because the result turned out much better for the Cardinals. Pujols had left the Cardinals and signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in December 2010, but the Cardinals had another important part of their team heading into the dreaded final year of a contract.

That important player was Yadier Molina. People were already speculating about him joining Pujols in Anaheim after his contract expired at the end of the year, but Molina and the Cardinals squashed that talk early in spring training when he signed a five-year, $75-million extension to stay with the club.

Then came this year, and the Cardinals are again stuck in contract negotiations with a star player. It’s anybody’s guess how Wainwrights contract situation will play out, but that’s what keeps people talking about it even though we are less than a week away from the start of actual spring training games.

Understandably, high-profile contract negotiations are part of the way of life for Major League Baseball teams these days as salaries rise to the next astronomical amount and the performance-enhancing drugs topic refuses to go away.

However, the quality of life for teams, players and their fans might be better if people spent more time talking about exciting new players or position battles instead of off-the-field issues.

Spring training is a seemingly magical time of year when teams go to the tropics to work on aspects of their game so they are ready to debut for an excited fan base when they return home for Opening Day.

Baseball is great when it is little more than those quaint storylines. It’s too bad much of that gets overshadowed by the modern realities of the sport.

St. Louis Cardinals ace starting pitcher Adam Wainwright announced Tuesday that contract talks between himself and the Cardinals have stalled for the time being. It’s not time to panic that Wainwright won’t come back, but the result wasn’t pretty the last time contract talks between the Cardinals and a superstar fell apart in spring training.

That last time was in 2011 when Albert Pujols arrived at spring training in Jupiter, Fla., with one year left on his contract with the Cardinals.

“I have made it very clear that I do not want any of this to be a distraction during the season, and it was for that reason, that we came up with a deadline,” Pujols said Feb. 16, 2011, the day contract talks officially ended until after the season.

Wainwright has not set that type of deadline, but time is becoming precious for him and the Cardinals to hammer out a new contract before the season starts.

Wainwright’s biggest concern is the same reason Pujols wanted to set a deadline in his negotiations: He doesn’t want the contract situation to become a distraction.

“There does need to be some urgency on both sides just to try to get this done if it’s going to happen before the season starts, just for peace of mind for everyone,” Wainwright said earlier in the week.

Unfortunately, the numbers aren’t adding up no matter how much both sides want to get a deal done. Sound familiar?

Pujols and the Cardinals both suggested they wanted to get a deal done quickly so Pujols would remain with the Cardinals for the remainder of his career, but it didn’t happen. Pujols is now set to enter the second year of his 10-year, $240-million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

As was the case with Pujols two years ago, Wainwright’s value is something of a mystery right now. He’s a Cy Young Award-caliber pitcher who is unquestionably going to be the ace of the Cardinals’ pitching staff this season. But, he’s also a 31-year-old pitcher who has already missed an entire season with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

Pujols was considered the greatest player in the game heading into the 2011 season. He had just come off of a season when he hit .312 with 42 homeruns and 118 RBIs, but people still asked the same questions about Pujols as they are currently asking about Wainwright.

Pujols was 31 years old, and a long-term deal could create many problems for a team if he gets hurt or simply doesn’t produce nearly as much as he ages. That’s the great unknown that factors into all contract negotiations with star players.

Still, the Cardinals would do well to sign Wainwright before the season starts. They signed catcher Yadier Molina to a five-year, $75-million contract before the 2012 season, nobody said a word about contract negotiations for the rest of the season and Molina had the best season of his career.

Pujols and the Cardinals didn’t get a deal done a year earlier, and Pujols had the worst season of his career. That was the first time he hadn’t hit at least .300 or had at least 100 RBIs.

Wainwright’s value will also likely increase, possibly dramatically, if he has a stellar 2013 season. The price of pitching rises exponentially each offseason, and there is little doubt the asking price for good pitchers during next year’s free-agent period will again produce eye-popping contract numbers.

These are anxious times as the Cardinals and another star player battle through contract negotiations in February. And with each passing day, the situation only gets scarier with the possibility Wainwright might not be a Cardinal beyond 2013.

For the first time in several years, the Royals lineup, starting rotation and bullpen is pretty much set, barring injuries. But opportunities exist for some players to get a spot on the bench.

It’s likely Manager Ned Yost will go with 12 pitchers and a backup catcher. Add the eight position players and the designated hitter and there’s only three reserve player spots available. How many players are vying for those three spots? Fourteen.

Of the fourteen, three of them are long shots. Infielder Brandon Wood signed a Minor League contract and is a non-roster invitee. A former top prospect with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Wood’s last stint in the Majors was 99 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011.

Royals Minor League infielder Anthony Seratelli is a non-roster invitee who provides Spring Training depth, but little else.

Non-roster invitee outfielder Luis Durango played 39 Major League games from 2009-2011 with the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros. He’s likely be in AAA Omaha’s outfield or could be released.

The next group could make the club, but a few things are going to have to go their way. Non-roster invitee Xavier Nady is an 11-year Major League veteran who’s played with several different teams. He’ll get an opportunity as a reserve outfielder or first baseman.

Former Royal and non-roster invitee Endy Chavez will see some time in the outfield during Spring Training, but barring a great spring performance or injuries to other players, Chavez has a slim chance.

The Player to be Named Later in the James Shields/Wade Davis trade is utility infielder Elliot Johnson, who played 123 games for the Tampa Rays last year. Being the Royals newest player, Johnson will get a long look as a backup to shortstop Alcides Escobar.

Non-roster invitee outfielder Willy Taveras provides some speed and seven years of Major League experience. If he has a good spring, he could be a reserve outfielder if Jarrod Dyson falters.

Royals infield prospect Christian Colon only has two seasons of pro baseball, but if he plays well, he might be in the mix for second base. But if the Royals think he needs more seasoning, he’ll go back to the Minors.

Outfielder David Lough played 20 games last year for the Royals, but Dyson will have to stumble for Lough to make the club.

And there’s longtime Royals farmhand Irving Falu, who played 24 games for the Royals in 2012. Seeing how few opportunities the club gives him, it’s likely Falu ends up in Omaha, even if he deserves a real shot of making the club as a utility infielder.

The next group is the most likely to make the club, due to their contributions to the Royals last year or their veteran status.

Whoever loses the second base battle between Chris Getz and Johnny Giavotella will end up on the bench, so that leaves two spots on the bench.

Outfielder Jarrod Dyson had a solid 2012 filling in for the oft-injured Lorenzo Cain. Dyson isn’t much of a hitter, but he’s got speed and plays a decent outfield. If Cain stays healthy, Dyson is a good fourth outfielder and will take the second spot on the bench, with one spot left.

So who gets the last reserve roster spot? I believe the Royals will give it to six-time All-Star and 2002 MVP infielder Miguel Tejada. He’s not the player he was ten years ago, but as a bench player in a limited utility role, he can play a serviceable third base, shortstop and even second. Perhaps “veteran leadership” is a baseball myth, but Tejada has the right attitude to provide guidance for a young team.

Sure, some fans might think the Royals have no business giving a roster spot to a 38-year old player whose best days are behind him. But he’s not taking the starting job of a younger player and you have to admit he’s probably a better player than Yuni Betancourt.

As another offseason of eye-poppingly large free-agent contracts begins to wind down, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in an unfortunate, yet familiar situation as one of their biggest stars heads into the final year of his contract.

It was Albert Pujols in 2011; it will be Adam Wainwright in 2013.

The Cardinals co-ace is headed into the final year of his six-year, $59.4-million contract. That number is almost laughably low for a  Cy Young Award quality pitcher with a career 80-48 record, 3.15 ERA. In the past year, pitchers with less impressive numbers have signed contracts nearly triple the size of Wainwright’s current deal.

The San Francisco Giants signed Matt Cain in April to a six-year, $127.5-million extension. That was, of course, before he had a career season that included starting the All-Star Game and pitching a perfect game June 13 against the Houston Astros. The Los Angeles Dodgers also recently signed former Cy Young winner Zack Grienke to a six-year, $147-million contract. And those are just the big-name pitchers.

Even mediocre pitchers got paid big bucks this offseason. The Detroit Tigers signed Anibal Sanchez, who has a career 48-51 record and 3.75 ERA, to a five year contract worth $80 million. The Chicago Cubs were in the hunt for Sanchez, but they quickly turned around and gave Edwin Jackson, a 70-71 career pitcher with a 4.40 ERA, a four-year, $52-million deal.

If those types of pitchers are getting around $15 million per year, a pitcher with Wainwright’s record could honestly be looking at the possibility of a contract that pays him closer to $30 million than $20 million per year. That’s one heck of an investment.

The Pujols situation blew up in Spring Training of 2011 when Pujols cut off contract negotiations, and that issue lingered throughout the entire season. Pujols, of course, ended up signing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 10 years and $254 millions the following offseason.

The Cardinals avoided a similar situation with catcher Yadier Molina when they gave him a five-year, $75-million contract extension in Spring Training before the 2012 season even began.

If the Cardinals and Wainwright don’t reach a deal before the 2013 season starts, the unrest in St. Louis concerning the team’s best pitcher will build and build whether Wainwright pitches great or pitches poorly.

The Cardinals have plenty of incentives to get a deal done quickly, but Wainwright could play the system and cash in at the end of next season. The Cardinals would likely be able to sign Wainwright at a cheaper price now because no other teams are currently able to offer him contracts, and if Wainwright pitches great in 2013, that will also drive up his price.

The team’s other co-ace, Chris Carpenter, currently holds the record as the highest-paid pitcher in Cardinals history. He signed a five-year, $63-million contract in 2006.

Like it or not, the Cardinals need to be prepared to shatter that record with Wainwright because the price for good starting pitchers continues to skyrocket. It’s not impossible to think Wainwright could sign the largest pitcher’s contract in the history of the game, exceeding the seven-year, $161-million contract the New York Yankees gave CC Sabathia before the 2009 season began.

Otherwise, St. Louis baseball fans might spend next Christmas bemoaning the fact that one of the best pitchers in franchise history moved on to take a huge sum of money somewhere else.

After Pujols’ departure in December 2011, that’s probably a Christmas story few Cardinals fans would want to relive.

Correction: a previous version of this article claimed Adam Wainwright was a former Cy Young Award winner.  That has since been corrected.

While much of the National League Most Valuable Player talk has shifted out West to campaign for San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, the catcher who should receive that award is in St. Louis.

No discussion about the NL MVP award should leave out Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, but most breakdowns of the MVP frontrunners inexplicably don’t include Molina.

For years, people could point to Molina’s offensive numbers as a way to keep him out of an award that honors what a player does at the plate much more than what he does with his glove. But this year Molina is hitting a career-best .332 with 19 homeruns, 66 RBIs and even 11 stolen bases heading into play Saturday. Each of those numbers is already a career-high, and there is still nearly 20 games left in the season.

Despite Molina’s numbers, Posey still surpasses him in every category except stolen bases. Posey would be a solid choice for MVP. His return to the Giants this year after missing most of 2011 after a horrific collision at the plate has made the Giants a better team. But Molina’s skills beyond the stat sheet should give him the edge.

Molina’s defense has always been his hallmark trait. He already has four Gold Gloves and has caught 47 percent of baserunners this year, which is substantially better than Posey’s 29 percent rate. But Molina has also allowed just 33 stolen bases compared to Posey’s 80. Baserunners don’t often steal against Molina because he has such a strong reputation as a great throwing catcher, a reputation that is well-earned. Molina also has a wins-above-replacement of 6.3 compared to Posey’s 6.0.

Molina is a force behind the plate with just his presence. When Albert Pujols left in the offseason to join the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Molina stepped in as the unquestioned leader of the team. Sure, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Matt Holliday are also team leaders, but Molina is the drive-train that has carried the Cardinals through the 2012 season.

Interestingly, Holliday is getting more MVP attention than Molina. Holliday is hitting .298 with 27 homers and 96 RBIs. Those are certainly impressive numbers, but they don’t stand out so much that he should be considered the best, or most important, player in the league this year. Holliday is an offensive force, but Molina is the complete package. There hasn’t been an area of the game Molina hasn’t excelled in this year.

Need to catch a baserunner? Molina has thrown out 29 this year. Need the pitcher to drop a pitch in the dirt with two strikes? Molina has just four passed balls. Need a hit in a clutch situation? Molina is hitting .337 with runners in scoring position. He has also played in 123 games, the fifth-most on the team.

He will also defend the plate even if it means getting hit by a truck. Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison mowed down Molina in the second inning of a game Aug. 28. Amazingly, Molina held onto the ball for the out. He had to come out of the game, but he was back in the lineup after missing just one game.

That’s not to say Posey isn’t as tough because he no longer blocks the plate. Posey’s ankle was destroyed in a collision early last season, and it would be stupid to ask him to risk another similar injury because he is an important part of the team.

The National League has other worthy candidates outside Posey and Molina. Pirates centerfielder Andrew McCutchen is having a great season, as is Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun. But, neither of those players play fantastic defense, and their position is not nearly as demanding defensively.

Many MVP races are decided by which team makes the postseason, but for some reason Posey is much more likely to win the award even if the Giants and Cardinals both make the playoffs. Maybe there is still a stigma against Molina’s hitting abilities.

Molina doesn’t play for a bad team, but voters have already shown they will vote for the best player regardless of the team’s record. They gave the Cy Young award to Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez in 2010 even though he went 13-12 and the team had a 61-101 record.

In any case, Molina is a deserving candidate for this year’s NL MVP award. Now it’s up to the voters to recognize his brilliance includes more than a golden glove.

After a rough start to the second half of the season that included five losses in six games to the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals woke up and are back to looking like the team that led the NL Central through April.

The Cardinals have lost just twice since leaving Milwaukee on July 18, and the upcoming schedule suggests they could go on a bit of a run. The Cardinals play the Colorado Rockies and the Brewers after they finish up Sunday with the Chicago Cubs.

Both the Rockies and Brewers are well below .500 and both teams have recently traded significant parts of their team. The Rockies sent starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to the Kansas City Royals and infielder Marco Scutaro to the San Francisco Giants. The Brewers sent starter Zack Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

After those two series, the Cardinals could look back and see one heck of a nice stretch. Unfortunately, the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates are playing just as well as the Cardinals. The Reds have won nine of their last 10 games, and the Pirates have won eight of their last 10.

Still, the Cardinals have shown progress of late. They took three of four games from the Los Angeles Dodgers last week in what could turn out to be a turning-point series for the club. Winning three out of four is a lot different than splitting the series.

The Dodgers are a good baseball team, and a split would have been an example of how the Cardinals have plodded through much of the summer, but winning the finale of the series Thursday showed they have a killer instinct and will play well enough to compete for a playoff spot.

Yes, the Cardinals have also fattened up on the 41-58 Cubs during this stretch by winning four of five heading into play Sunday, but the Cubs have won series against every other team they’ve played following the All-Star Break.

The Cardinals’ offense has kicked into gear of late, scoring three or more runs in all but one game against the Dodgers and Cubs, but as has been the case most of the year, the bullpen’s success has been a large factor in the team’s success. The bullpen has not given up a single run in any of the Cardinals’ last seven wins. It gave up two runs in the seventh inning Monday against the Dodgers, and that opened the game up enough so the Cardinals couldn’t come back.

The starting rotation has been good for the most part this season, and a consistent bullpen would make the Cardinals nearly a complete team. Those are the types of teams that make deep runs into the playoffs, and this team certainly has that potential.

Recently called-up reliever Brian Fuentes should provide a veteran presence in the bullpen, and that could make a big difference in the make-up of that group.

The Cardinals needed a veteran to take some of the pressure off of all the young guys in the bullpen, and Fuentes might be the right guy for that job. That could also allow General Manager John Mozaliak to look for a starting pitcher as insurance in case one of the current guys breaks down.

Regardless, a deadline deal is not nearly as necessary this year as it was last year. If the Cardinals can add somebody to the roster Tuesday, that’s great. If not, the Cardinals still have enough talent to make the playoffs.

The great unknown is whether or not that talent can play consistently enough to get the Cardinals into the postseason.

ALL-STAR GAME MLB.COM FINAL VOTE SPONSORED BY FIRESTONE ENDS
Freese, Darvish outlast contenders to win roster spots on All-Star Teams; First-ever Twitter vote attracts strong fan support, trending topics during final hours

NEW YORK, July 5, 2012 – David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals and Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers were chosen by fans as the winners of the 2012 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Firestone in online voting on MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, the individual Club websites and Twitter, where designated player hashtags counted during the final four hours of balloting today.

The National League winner, Freese, topped all vote-getters with 8.4 million votes and was followed by Michael Bourn of the Atlanta Braves; Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals; and Aaron Hill of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was removed from the ballot after being named to the NL All-Star team.

On the American League ballot, Darvish will make his All-Star debut after holding off a furious final day charge from Jake Peavy of the Chicago White Sox with a final tally of 7.3 million votes. Darvish, the third rookie to win the All-Star Game Final Vote, and Peavy were followed by Jason Hammel of the Baltimore Orioles; Jonathan Broxton of the Midsummer Classic host Kansas City Royals and Ernesto Frieri of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Firestone concluded this year’s program with the first-ever Twitter vote as tweets with a player’s designated hashtag counted in his overall total. This effort drew a sustained average of more than 2,500 tweets per minute, highlighted by a peak of 8,881 at 3:59 p.m. EDT, and accounted for nine percent of the total votes cast during the four-hour window. The leading Twitter vote-getter was #VoteBourn, followed by #FreesePlease, #VoteYu, #TakeJake and #BryceIn12 in the top five. All of the leading contenders had their hashtags trending in the U.S. and worldwide and all nine candidates trended in their local markets, ultimately leading to 50 million total votes cast.

Here is the complete list of previous winners: Paul Konerko (AL, 2011); Shane Victorino (NL, 2011); Nick Swisher (AL, 2010); Joey Votto (NL, 2010); Brandon Inge (AL, 2009), Victorino (NL, 2009); Evan Longoria (AL, 2008); Corey Hart (NL, 2008); Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL, 2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt (NL, 2005); Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).

The 83rd All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International’s independent feed.  Pregame ceremonies will begin at 7:30 p.m. (EDT)/6:30 p.m. (CDT).  ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game.  MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.  For more information, please visit allstargame.com or royals.com/asg.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost a huge part of their offense when Albert Pujols signed a 10-year, $240-million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but that also forced the team to build a more balanced lineup. Now every spot in the order consistently pushes across enough runs to put the Cardinals atop the NL Central as April comes to a close.

But, the margin for error is much slimmer without Pujols. There were times during the last decade when Pujols basically won an entire game with his bat. If it was a close game late, Cardinals fans always felt like the team had a chance to win as long as Pujols got another at-bat.

That’s no longer the case. The 2012 Cardinals have to string together multiple hits to score runs in bunches, but they have done surprisingly well to start the season. From shortstop Rafeal Furcal to centerfielder Jon Jay, each part of the lineup is contributing to give the Cardinals a .278 team batting average, which is the best in the National League.

Hopefully, the increased responsibility on each spot in the order will make this team more slump-proof than previous Cardinals teams. Pujols could mask a bunch of deficiencies in a lineup, but there were times when he would be the only hitter consistently producing runs. So far this season, Cardinals hitters have done an excellent job of picking each other up and getting base hits to keep the line moving.

For example, the Cardinals smashed the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night with 13 runs, but they didn’t particularly smash the ball. Instead, the Cardinals laced together 15 hits, and only four went for extra bases with no homeruns.

I’m not saying the Cardinals can’t hit homers. They sit second in the National League with 24 homeruns, but they also have the consistency to manufacture runs without the long ball. That, combined with the excellent starting pitching the team is getting from its starting rotation, could make the Cardinals quite a force during the course of the season in the National League.

All of those offensive topics are even sweeter considering Pujols is still searching for his first homerun as an Angel, going 21 games to start the season without a homer.

In fact, the Cardinals likely have the most complete team in the division despite preseason concerns that the Cincinnati Reds might have more firepower. The Reds’ pitching staff has some significant holes.

Johnny Cueto has been fantastic to lead the staff with a 3-0 record and 1.39 ERA, but he is the only starter in the Reds rotation to have more than one win. Mat Latos, Mike Leake, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey have a combined 3-7 record with a 4.65 ERA.

The Cardinals rotation, by contrast, has an ERA of 2.81, and that’s while carrying Adam Wainwright’s 7.32 ERA.

Cardinals fans could not have realistically expected a better first month to the season, and fortunately there is plenty to be excited about over the course of the next five months.

The Kansas City Royals began their season just seven days ago but it has been over two months since most of the organization has even sniffed their workplace at I-70 and Blue Ridge Cutoff. Six games in and the team is sitting at a comfortable 3-3, while taking the opening weekend series against the highly touted Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim then one out of three from the Oakland Athletics, a town that the Royals have never found much success in.  But as most fans would agree, a mark of .500 baseball is  exactly where the Royals want to be coming into Kauffman Stadium.  Yes everyone’s season started a week ago but now it is close to home and the early jitters are out of the way just in time for Kansas City to finally get to see their hometown team in person.

One thing both the fans and the organization can agree on is the lack of support from the bullpen in the first road trip of the season.  Known as being the strength of the team coming into the 2012 year, the pitchers in the bullpen showed a little anxiety and maybe were over throwing some in excitement for the season but over time they will settle down and get back into.  The problem with people evaluating the first six games of the season is that it is such a small sample size.  For example, left fielder, Alex Gordon, is not going to continue this beginning of the season slump he is in now.  If he was doing this in mid-June no one would be even talking about it.  Before his ninth inning single on Wednesday, Eric Hosmer was in an 0-11 struggle yet it was not given air time like the struggles of Gordon because Hosmer hit fine in Anaheim.  The sample size is just too small to begin to make assumptions about what will happen for the rest of the season.  By my math, the Royals still have 156 baseball games to play so assumptions truly will not matter once the bulk of the season is gone in late June into early July.

Staying on the same subject, the starting pitching so far has been a surprise to say the least.  Through six starts the Royals starters have a 1.85 ERA which is way under what was expected of them.  While they have thrown out there six quality starts just like the struggles of the bullpen, the success of the starting staff is such a small sample size that conclusions simply cannot be made.

I am not saying to not get excited about the Royals or to get to high on the team.  I am just simply saying let everything play out on the field.  All fans can do is wait and see what the results of the season will be.  But the fact that all us fans now get to watch it in person is so much sweeter.  Watching through the television or listening on the radio is almost like a tease to the season. For Kansas City the season starts tomorrow. Kauffman Stadium will be in rare form tomorrow afternoon as the excitement for the Royals is higher than it has been in years.  As much as fans are excited to see the Royals they are as excited to be able to show us all why this team is in it to win.  Never have I seen a fan base so excited for a team playing at the Truman Complex, or a team that is so excited to be in front of their hometown.  This year we have both and putting these two together could make for one heck of a summer.  Kansas City our team is home.

The Kansas City Royals are only 3 games into the season, however, they have already given fans much reason to believe things could truly be exciting in 2012.

Coming into this season, there have been a wide array of opinions on what the Royals record might be when the 2012 season comes to an end. The most optimistic of prognosticators predicted as many as 85 wins for the Royals on the high side, while some have picked them to show little to no improvement and still finish last. The first series of the season was sure to be an immediate test, heading out west to take on Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Not only were they going to have to deal with that extremely potent offensive attack, but they would have to face starting pitchers Jared Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana in succession. So while the world was watching how Pujols would perform on his new club, the Royals took advantage of the attention and showed the baseball world that it is time to take notice.

It is hard to not look at this series and wonder what the possibilities might be for 2012. Consider that the Royals won this series despite the following events:
-LF Alex Gordon failed to record a single hit
-3B Mike Moustakas recorded just one hit
-CF Lorenzo Cain recorded just one hit

Also, despite being shut out in the first game, the Royals responded with 6 runs and 7 runs respectively in the next 2 games, giving them an average of 4.3 runs per game for the series. This happens to be just under the 4.5 runs per game they scored per game in 2011. It definitely appears this team is going to hit.

So while one cannot reasonably expect Humberto Quintero and Chris Getz to hit close to .600 for the whole season, it is safe to assume their negative correction will be more than made up for by Gordon, Moustakas, and (hopefully) Cain’s positive correction. Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler looked to be poised for huge offensive years, and Jeff Francoeur looks to be picking up right where he left off in 2011.

So back to the question: is one series enough to begin raising expectations for this team? The answer is probably no. But when you consider that the biggest question for the Royals coming into the season was the starting pitching, it is difficult to not look at this first series of 2012 as being an extremely positive sign for things to come.