The season is more than half over. In a year in which the Royals needed to overperform a bit, though not nearly as much as usual, in order to make the playoffs they have underperformed their talent. The Marlins, Padres, Athletics, and White Sox are all in position to go to the playoffs but the Royals are behind even the lowly Tigers. And, in true Royal fashion, they’re still not bad enough to be in contention for the number one draft pick. If the season ended today the Royals would receive the fourth-overall pick.
Now that we’re halfway through the season I can say that Mike Matheny has, at least, not been the trainwreck I envisioned at manager.