The Royals worry me. Not just because the Sox are coming off a sweep of the Tigers while the Royals are limping back from Cleveland, but because the Sox haven't played well against them all year.
Chicago currently holds an 8-4 record against the Royals, which would be passable if the Tigers weren't currently 11-1 against the Royals. What's tougher is that the Sox don't deserve to be 8-4 with the way they've played against Kansas City so far.
I see the Royals coming up on the schedule and am reminded of...
- Not capitalizing with a runner on third and less than two outs twice on April 9
- Needing an Angel Berroa error to kickstart the offense on April 18
- Scoring three out of four runs without putting a ball in play on April 19
- Kerry Robinson scaling the wall on a ball that bounced on the warning track, setting up the winning run on May 7
- Watching Jose Contreras give leads back in the early going on July 31
- Coughing up a two-run lead in the eighth-inning on August 1, and needing extras to win.
When only two of eight wins have been of the solid variety against the worst team in baseball, that doesn't inspire a whole lotta confidence.