Flanny's Five: If you want to dream a little, how about a 4-2 trip?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Here we go, Royals fans.
The Royals embark on their biggest road trip in almost 30 years -- three in New York, and then a three-game showdown in Detroit.
The Tigers, by the way, at least will have a challenge this weekend with the San Francisco Giants, who are just two games out in the NL West and will have plenty of motivation to do some damage in Motown.
What would you take on this six-game swing? Conventional wisdom is a split, and I'd take that if anyone offered it right now. A 3-3 trip, especially if one of those wins comes in Detroit, keeps the Royals tight with the Tigers heading into the final homestand of the season, a 10-gamer.
Now, as the late Fred White used to say, "If you want to dream a little" ... a 4-2 trip with two wins in Detroit puts the Royals in fantastic shape, and places some serious concern in the minds of the Tigers.
FOCUS ON THE DIVISION
In early August, we kept pretty close track of the wild-card race. That was until the Royals took over first place on Aug. 11. The Royals have held onto that top spot since, and winning the division must remain their focus. (The players have said this all along anyway.)
The feeling here is that the Seattle Mariners are going to run away with the second-wild card spot (and they may even catch Oakland for the top wild-card spot).
The Mariners have a pitching staff that rivals the Royals', and their big three in the rotation -- Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton -- are as good as it gets. And they may be adding sensational prospect Taijuan Walker to the mix. Whoa.
THE BILLY ISSUE
The always affable Billy Butler didn't take kindly to being sat when Eric Hosmer came back from his rehab Monday, and waved off a reporter request for an interview that day. Manager Ned Yost explained that he simply was giving Butler a day off.
Butler, though, clearly doesn't want any time off, even though he has been scuffling (.174 in his last 13 games).
Here's the deal: Yost knows he needs Butler down the stretch, and I can't imagine him not starting Butler at DH regularly as well as once in a while at first base when a tough lefty is facing the Royals.
Butler shouldn't be concerned that he will lose at-bats with Hosmer back. However, on the flip side, Butler needs to start having better at-bats, as in right now.
This is no time for any Royal to be thinking about himself. It has to be team first, and Butler needs to put any anguish he has toward Yost's decisions on the back burner. Just hit, Billy. And win games.
GORDON MVP?
There has been talk in the past few weeks about Alex Gordon possibly being the American League Most Valuable Player. Gordon probably has no chance -- Mike Trout will likely run away with the award.
But there isn't any doubt who the most valuable Royal has been this year. Gordon (with help from Butler) has carried the Royals' offense since Aug. 7, posting a .299/.367/.639 slash line. And he has blasted 10 home runs in that span, almost every one of them crucial.
Gordon has gone on two-month terrors before in his career, and the Royals are banking their playoff hopes on him riding out his hot streak through September, at least.
HOW MUCH YA BENCH?
The September call-ups really bolstered the Royals' bench and probably helped them more than any other team in the playoff chase because of their weak offense. The Royals were able to add more speed with Terrance Gore (his stolen base turned into a big run Wednesday night) and Lane Adams, and another bat in Carlos Peguero. Yost also has Josh Willingham and Raul Ibanez on the bench.
And actually, Johnny Giavotella could help as well down the stretch as a possible pinch hitter in extra-inning games.
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The Royals struggle so much scoring runs that Yost finds himself constantly trying to manufacture runs with bunting and speed, and often the latter requires substitutions. Now Yost has the roster flexibility to do virtually anything he wants late in games.
HANGING OVER THEIR HEADS
When we look at the standings each day and check how close Detroit is, we must keep in mind that the Royals actually have another loss (most likely) not showing in the standings. It is easy to forget about that suspended game with Cleveland in which the Indians have a two-run lead and the Royals have one more time up to erase it.
So really, the Royals' one-game lead over Detroit is more like a half-game lead. Then again, maybe the Royals will pull off a miracle rally on Sept. 22 when the two teams finish that game. It's been that kind of crazy season.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
