No post-mortem of this season, one that for the Kansas City Royals will soon end without a second straight dose of postseason play, will lay primary blame for that disappointment anywhere else than on the club's troubling and too-frequently impotent offense. Weakness at the plate is an ill general manager J.J. Picollo must work hard this winter to cure.
The Royals' overall defense, though, is quite another story. Kansas City boasts one of the top defenses in the majors, and while improvements can always be made, acquiring better gloves isn't something to which Picollo needs to devote much time between now and next season's March 26 opener in Atlanta.