Here&#8217;s a statistic that should encourage fans of low-budget teams, even if it doesn&#8217;t hold for the struggling Royals:</p><p>The lowest three teams in total payroll this year &#8211; the A&#8217;s, Rays and Marlins in that order &#8211; have a record of 147-116. The three teams spending the most &#8211; the Yankees, Tigers and Mets &#8211; are a collective 135-130.</p><p>In total, the payroll of the bottom three teams was $113.6 million, compared to $486 million for the top three, according to The Associated Press.</p><p>We&#8217;ve seen a contrast between spending and winning before, but I wonder if the bottom three spenders ever out-performed the top three, especially so dramatically.</p><p>The A&#8217;s and Marlins are in second place in their divisions and, of course, the Rays have the best record in baseball. The Rays&#8217; payroll was $47.9 million going into this season, compared to $209 million for the Yankees. The Tigers were second at $138 million.</p><p>The Royals rank 25th of the 30 teams in payroll this year, which is exactly where their record ranks. This is pretty typical of seasons past.</p><p>As has been written here and elsewhere, Royals&#8217; fans have a right to ask why other franchises can pop up with low-budget winners every so often while Kansas City hasn&#8217;t won anything in 23 years.</p><p>You could say this season has been especially tough as the Royals build hopes with winning streaks only to dash them with losing spells.</p><p>Going into today&#8217;s game with Tampa Bay, the Royals had lost seven of nine. That was right after winning six straight and 11 of 12 against National League teams. Of course, they lost 12 straight starting May 19, but had won five straight starting May 11.</p><p>Which Royals team will show up for the six-game homestand that starts tomorrow night against Chicago?