Okay, things are really starting to get bad for the Royals. Things are getting so rough that the Royals are talking to themselves. Well, that might be a little bit of a stretch, but they did hold a players only meeting before they got lambasted by the Detroit Tigers 8-0 Monday.
Several veterans called the meeting to ensure that younger players kept their passion for the game and didn’t completely give up on the season. Realistically, the Royals are already playing for nothing but pride and it’s only the end of May. Kansas City has the worse record in baseball, 10-32, and Monday’s loss gives them 10 losses in a row. Twice this year they’ve lost double digit games in succession.
Starter Jeremy Affeldt dug the Royals a huge ditch early. He gave up home runs to Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson in a five-run second inning. Seeing as though the Royals couldn’t hit any better than Affeldt could pitch, Tigers starter Justin Verlander had all the support he would need. Just to ensure himself the win, Verlander pitched his first complete game shutout allowing five hits and striking out seven. He never seemed to waver or get tired. Verlander’s fastball clocked 99 mph in the ninth inning just as it did in the first. The only thing that looked tired was the Royals hitters.
Instead of having a Royals players-only meeting, they should’ve invited the Tigers over for some advice. Detroit owns the best record in the Majors, 30-14, and leads the majors with 17 wins on the road. That’s more wins on the road for the Tigers than the Royals have overall. The best team in the majors has also won 10 of its last 11 ballgames.