Dayton Moore vows recent slide won’t cause Royals to panic

The question was simple and basic to Royals general manager Dayton Moore prior to Thursday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. What are the Royals going to do to get out of a 4-12 slide? Moore starts by saying what they won’t do.

Poll: What is your level of anger with the Royals' recent struggles?

There is a lot of apocalyptic talk from fans, and it all comes from an honest place. The Royals have taken their fans down this path many times before, a free-fall that either turns hope into hopelessness or twists the knife of suck a little bit more. Are you mad? Tell us how mad in our poll.

Here’s an eye-opener: Data show the K is a hitter’s park

Belying its reputation as a pitcher’s park, the math shows a trend toward the hitters at Kauffman Stadium. That ought to be good news for the home team, which has labored at the plate for much of this season. The Royals are scoring and allowing slightly fewer runs at home than on the road, but the advanced metrics indicate that Kauffman shouldn’t take the blame, or credit.

Moustakas hopes simplified approach helps him turn things around

Mike Moustakas termed it “a relief” when he broke a zero-for-18 slide with an RBI single Tuesday night, but he also recognized it for what it was. “One hit is not going to do anything. It’s not going to completely turn anything around, but it was a hit in a big situation for us.”

Salvy Perez and other players the Royals can't afford to lose

Sam Mellinger was relieved to hear that Royals catcher Salvy Perez only had a deep bruise to his hip after crashing into a pole at Houston on Monday. The thought of the Royals' greatest asset rehabbing again was scary, and it made him consider the other key players who really can't get hurt.

Tamba Hali expects he and Justin Houston will pile up sacks this season

Tamba Hali, who had nine sacks last season, one fewer than Justin Houston, isn’t ready to concede his Chiefs sack title permanently, but didn’t sound confident he would get it back this year, either. “As an athlete, I can’t compete with the kid,” Hali said of Houston. “He’s that much better.’’ But Hali also says the Chiefs as a whole will have more sacks this season.

Royals still need to improve their pitch selection

The Royals came out of Tuesday's eighth inning with a lead and won the game against the Astros 7-3, but this one could have gone the other way because of poor pitch selection. Too many times on this road trip, Royals fans have seen hitters take when they should be swinging and swing when they should be taking.