Still 160 games to go, yes, but scoreless KC Royals already letting air out of season
As he spoke Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium about the great vibes and palpable energy during spring training in Surprise, Arizona, Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman also conveyed his sense of the early impact of new manager Matt Quatraro.
Referring to Quatraro’s first meeting with players, Sherman recalled him trying to put players at ease and his use of the phrase: “if there’s anything we can do to help take the air out.”
While those last words were used in a different context, alas, they still came to mind during the Royals’ deflating 2-0 loss to Minnesota on Opening Day on Thursday before the first sellout at The K since 2018.
It was a fizzless letdown for a would-be fresh start that we tried not to overreact to and tried to remember still was merely one game of 162 and not necessarily defining.
But then came Saturday and, oof, a remarkably similarly dreary 2-0 loss to the Twins.
The cumulative effect has made for the longest season-opening scoring drought in Royals history (previously: 11-plus innings) and rendered them the only scoreless team in baseball.
Intellectually, yes, of course it’s still only two miserable games now instead of one … with 160 to go.
So, hey, we’ll cling to our premise that these are snapshots instead of the entire album until proven otherwise in the long haul.
But if back-to-back such duds doesn’t quite establish a trend, it’s certainly also distressing data.
And it’s eclipsed the vibes and energy and very much taken the air out of the start of the season.
At least for anyone who follows the Royals, a fan base whose already tenuous optimism and engagement after all the recent miseries was reflected with a crowd of just 16,633 on a bright 55-degree afternoon.
Simply put, this is no way to inspire faith or recapture their imagination.
As for within?
Afterward, the even-keeled Quatraro went as far as to say “I’m not frustrated with” the start even as he acknowledged that sentiment would be the mood in the clubhouse. Moreover, he calmly suggested that the Royals hit plenty of balls well that either were run down or hit directly at a defender.
Some of that, he’d say, meant the line (four hits, eight men left on base) “wasn’t as bad as (it) probably looked.” So, he said, it’s inevitable they’ll shrug off this funk.
“These guys, they’re working hard. They’re prepared. We’re going to break through,” Quatraro said. “We’re going to score runs. These guys can hit. It’s not a ‘team meeting’ thing or a panic thing at all.”
In a quiet clubhouse, MJ Melendez offered much the same perspective even as he lamented that “getting that first run across for some reason feels impossible.”
“It’s a part of the game,” said Melendez, who along with Bobby Witt Jr., designated hitter Franmil Reyes and Hunter Dozier remained hitless after two starts. “As frustrating as it is, I know it will turn around. It’s just unfortunate that we’re all kind of struggling with the bats all at one time.”
He added, “We just need one big inning. Once we break the ice, I think it will start rolling.”
All of which could be true.
But when, exactly?
Because for all the ebb and flow we understand to be part of the game, for all the patience we know we’ll need for a youthful team trying to emerge from five straight wretched seasons, the Royals have earned the skepticism of fans after their last four full seasons (not including the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) began with nearly instant skids.
They were 7-21 at the end of April in 2018 … and went on to finish 58-104. They were 9-20 in the same window in 2019 and finished 59-103. By July 2021, they were 33-46 en route to a 74-88 record. And last season they were 16-32 at the end of May and wound up 65-97.
So even if this team has its own DNA — only two players started in the same spot on Opening Day 2023 as they did in 2022 — the specter of the recent past hovers.
And producing the fewest Opening Day hits (two) in franchise history followed with four hits in the sequel — and going 0 for 14 with runners on overall — heaps on the “here we go again” sensation.
It also entirely obscures an otherwise encouraging point.
Behind starters Zack Greinke and Jordan Lyles, the Royals have given up three earned runs in two games. For its part, the bullpen hasn’t given up a run in 7.1 innings while striking out 11 — including the last two of the game Saturday with overpowering stuff from Aroldis Chapman.
But instead of that pitching being the signature of the first two games, the work basically has been written in invisible ink because of the offensive woes.
The Royals now are just the sixth team in American League history (and first in 51 years) to allow two runs or fewer in each of their first two games of the season and lose both.
None of this means the Royals can’t or won’t breathe life back into this season and revive the vibes.
It’s just that each passing day of it makes it harder to recover — and harder for discerning fans to take stock in the hope of the unseen.