What is the offense doing differently this year?

Not scoring runs, for one.

The Royals bats have been silent lately, with the team hitting just .149 over its last four games, with a total of three runs over that time. While that is just a small sample size reflecting a slump, overall the Royals offense is down from where it was last year when they won 95 games and a championship. Last year's Royals averaged 4.46 runs per game, good for sixth in the league. This year, the boys in blue are averaging just 3.91 runs per game, the third-worst offense in the American League.

The Royals maintained much of the core of their team that was so successful last year, losing just disappointing right fielder Alex Rios and infielder Ben Zobrist, who did…