A quarter of a season down and low on hope,
I get the feeling that the Royals dropped the soap…

Chuck Platt
Chasing 85: My Season with the Kansas City Royals

I am here. Nine weeks into a roller coaster Royals season, with the real Royals still competitive, even if my virtual team is not. As I write this, the boys in blue prepare for a set against the Rays. The good news is that Joakim Soria and Tony Pena Jr. have been taken off the DL and should be available. The bad news is that the injury bug has bitten us hard. John Buck, Alex Gordon, and Coco Crisp, in many ways the core offense for the Royals are out, as is Mike Aviles. This catastrophe of injuries has left us shallow enough to start Tug Hulett. Now, this is no knock on Tug, but it does reflect on how pervasive injuries have been this third of the season. Thing is, I am still optimistic.

Bright spots for the Royals abound. First of all, David DeJesus is bound to get back into form. This has been an uncharacteristic streak of mediocrity for Big Dave, and I have all the confidence in the world he will be back to his old self soon. Second of all, Alex “By God” Gordon will be back after the All-Star Break, so there’s that to look forward to. Hopefully, he will be ready to hop back on the pony. Best of all, I expect that the Royals will find a way to win in the interim and the returning players will help a winning effort instead of having to raise a sinking ship. This might just be my excess optimism, but I think we are still in it.

My digital Royals have sadly sunk to 7.5 games back of the White Sox, even after taking two out of three in the last series. For some reason, I cannot get the runs I need. Ever. It is like a force of nature is trying to make me lose each game. I was so forlorn last week that I bought inFamous to salve the injuries. It is fun, but it has not helped me hit. Too bad Cole cannot suit up for my Royals.