KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- We called for a Royals hot streak last week at this time, and it didn't really happen.
But the Royals did have a winning road trip (4-3), and you can make a case that they could have gone 6-1 or 7-0 on the West Coast swing. And they seem at least a little more stable now than last year at this time, when the Royals were hanging on at 18-16 but the real May swoon was about to hit them. By early June they were a season-high nine games under .500.
This team doesn't seem capable of that, despite its horrific offense.
The Royals have a nine-game home stand starting tonight and will play 12 of their next 15 at home. Winning nine or 10 of these next 15 would put the Royals in a solid position.
THE MOOSE QUESTION
The buzz around the Royals concerns the pending roster move today and the talk that struggling third baseman Mike Moustakas (.147/.215/.321) could be sent down to Triple-A Omaha.
Everything hinges on the condition of Omar Infante's back. If Infante is still bothered by the back spasms, the Royals can delay a decision on Moose and simply put Infante on the disabled list and recall a hurler. That keeps Johnny Giavotella on the roster. If Infante feels well enough to play, it gets more complicated because skipper Ned Yost wants a pitcher recalled to get to 12 pitchers overall. In that scenario, it would be tough to send Gio out after he delivered the game-winning three-run blast Sunday. (There also might be a fan revolt if they demote Gio.)
To make room for another pitcher, the Royals could send Moose to Omaha in hopes that he will relax and find some confidence in his swing. The problem there is that the Royals would be left to make either Gio or Danny Valencia the full-time third baseman. There are concerns from club officials that Gio is not good enough defensively to play third regularly and thus the drop-off defensively from Moose would be felt. (See: Seattle's defense Sunday in its sloppy loss.)
Another option would be to keep Gio as a backup to Infante, keep Moose up here, and jettison fifth outfielder Justin Maxwell. Yost adores Maxwell, but the truth is, Maxwell hasn't brought much to the table and he hardly plays anyway. But the Royals held on to him through spring and handicapped their roster construction (they went without a backup middle infielder) just to hold onto perceived value, so cutting him now would seem like admitting a mistake.
If the option is to send Moose out, it would hardly be unprecedented for a Royals prospect. Remember that Alex Gordon was sent down when he struggled years ago, as was Billy Butler. They both came back better for it.
I will say this, though, in the event the Royals do keep Moose with the big-league team and there is some subsequent fan unrest: This seems to be an inordinate amount of concern about a No. 7 or No. 8 hitter in the lineup. The Royals have far bigger issues about their pitiful offense than guys hitting that far down in the order.
THE RALLY BOYS
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What was impressive about Sunday's win was the Royals' ability to rally from a late-inning deficit, something they don't seem equipped to do. The Royals were down 7-5 going into the seventh and rallied to win 9-7 -- a very positive sign. For two years the Royals have pretty much accepted their fate when they trail late -- even Yost has admitted that sometimes a two- or three-run deficit seems infinitely more than that. The Royals have made such a rally -- coming back from two runs down after six innings -- only twice before this season. Last year, Royals players said often that a turning point in the season was when they came back from a 5-0 deficit to Cleveland on July 4 to win 10-7. That win gave them the confidence from then on that they never were truly out of games. Later that month, they started a streak of winning 19 of 24.
DANNY TO THE RESCUE
Those of us who cover the Royals all admire Bruce Chen -- he's a great guy and a go-to guy for quotes in the clubhouse. But it seems time for Chen to settle into his role as a long reliever when he gets healthy, though for that to happen, Danny Duffy will have to continue to pitch well as a starter. Duffy potentially gives the Royals another true weapon in the rotation to go with James Shields, Jason Vargas and Yordano Ventura. Duffy pitched very well in his last outing, giving up just one run and two hits in six innings in a 1-0 loss to San Diego. Duffy's next start likely will be this Saturday vs. Baltimore.
WHO DO YOU TRUST ON 3-0?
OK, I'm not becoming a freak about this 3-0 swinging. But I will point out that the best hitter in the game, Miguel Cabrera, really isn't that big of a fan of swinging at 3-0. In more than 300 opportunities, Miggy has green-lighted himself just 15 times and he has six hits (two homers) on 3-0 pitches.
Yost gives the green light to Butler, Eric Hosmer, Gordon and Sal Perez. It would seem Gordon and Hosmer are the best at taking advantage of that count.
Gordon is 3 for 7 lifetime with two homers and one grand slam. Hosmer is 5 for 8 with two triples. Perez is just 0 for 1. Butler is only 11 for 30, though he does have four homers.
But keep in mind that well over 90 percent of 3-0 counts to those hitters wind up in walks, which is sort of the point -- get on base.
A VERY BAD COMBINATION
If it seems the Royals often do exactly what the opposing pitcher wants them to do with men on base -- roll into a double play -- that is correct. Only three AL teams have hit into more DPs than the Royals (32), and that is a deadly statistic when you consider the Royals are 13th in drawing walks and dead last in hitting homers. When you can't come up with the big three-run bombs consistently and you don't have the discipline to draw walks, killing rallies with double plays makes it really hard to score, which is why only one team in the league (Houston) has scored fewer runs than the Royals.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
