Royals have their skeptics, but it’s safest to remain a believer

Baseball’s experts, who now include a bunch of people from Ivy League schools who should be curing disease and leaving this beloved game to dummies like me, are not being kind to the Kansas City Royals.

They can’t fathom how the Royals can duplicate what they’ve done in 2014 and 2015, which is to get to back-to-back World Series’ and to win in 2015 over the New York Mets. They study the data, chew on the statistics and see the Royals as a .500 team in 2016, despite what’s gone on in Kansas City recently.

What the eggheads in baseball don’t realize and what their formulas and spreadsheets can’t measure is the supernatual.

Did you see the Royals in the 2015 season? They’re managed by Harry Houdini in Ned Yost’s body. The Royals spent last October escaping jams and overcoming odds and there’s not anyone at Yale or Harvard who can come close to explaining how they did it.

Chances are, Kansas City is due for a letdown. But after seeing what I’ve seen the past two seasons, I’m not going to tempt fate by predicting so. And to those who have I say: Watch your backs. And be wary of black cats.

The Royals are not a tangible team. Their starting pitching has holes and they don’t pop many home runs. Teams with those issues are not supposed to involved in parades.

Kansas City wins because of a lock-down bullpen, speed and the ability to put the ball into play. And the sabermetrics crowd just can’t get behind all of that.

That’s why you see so many people picking Cleveland to win the American League Central. The Indians have strong starting pitching and some veteran hitters added to the mix and, well, it’s just time to pick someone different to win the division.

The Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins could even be threats to the Royals in what looks like a competitively-balanced division.

I just don’t think the Royals get enough credit for being harder to kill than The Walking Dead.

Remember the AL Wild Card game comeback against Oakland in 2014?

Well, that was just a preview to 2015, when the Royals rallied from behind in eight of their 11 postseason wins. That included coming back from four runs down in the eighth to stave off elimination in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros.

I can hear the experts’ words if I close my eyes.

“It won’t happen again because, according to our statistical analysis.…”

Please shut up with the statistical analysis. These are the Royals and they eat statistical analysis for lunch. They feast on logic for dessert.

What applies is Wade Davis at the back end of games, Lorenzo Cain scampering into the gap to rob an opposing hitter of an extra-base hit and Eric Hosmer making a mad dash for home in the World Series and Lucas Duda following with a bad throw to the plate.

The Royals are a tough team to figure, so their fans have just decided to enjoy the ride and not put much effort into worrying about the ride ending.

Despite the valid points made by critics, the Royals continue to churn, continue to defy.

They’re going with a starting rotation of Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura, Ian Kennedy, Chris Young and Kris Medlen to start the season, which begins Sunday night in a World Series rematch with the New York Mets.

That’s not a formidable group, to say the least.

But Kansas City’s bullpen is still stocked with Luke Hochevar, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria and Davis. Not to mention Danny Duffy, who hasn’t yet figured out how to make it as a starter but has the stuff to be another electric arm out of the pen.

There are a lot of familiar faces in the every-day lineup. That’s mostly good, but the Royals have to be antsy about veteran Omar Infante back at second base after losing Ben Zobrist to the Chicago Cubs and turning right field over to a group that will include Jarrod Dyson, Paulo Orlando and spring training standout Reymond Fuentes.

Players like Hosmer, shortstop Alcides Escobar, third baseman Mike Moustakas, left fielder Alex Gordon, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and catcher Salvador Perez are used to winning.

And used to overcoming deficits, skeptics and genius Ivy Leaguers who can’t seem to comprehend the Royals are impossible to quantify with statistical analysis.

They have spent the past two seasons exceeding everyone’s expectations, but not raising them. Once again, Kansas City is not the sexy pick in the American League or even in their its own division.

I’m no Ivy Leaguer and my statistical analysis of baseball is meat and potatoes. Until proven differently, though, I’m going with the Royals. To pick against them is to tempt fate and the powerful baseball gods. And I’m not about to do that.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Royals have their skeptics, but it’s safest to remain a believer."