Look at those Kansas City Royals round the bases!
Coming into the season, the Royals figured to be a team that was going to rely on pitching and defense to survive. Alas, staff ace Zack Greinke is winless, and the bullpen has looked at times as if it belongs in an oil drum buried underground in Nevada.
In spite of Greinke's mortality and bullpen toxicity, the club scratched out a 3-3 week. The offense did most of the heavy lifting. All but written off by Royals fans entering the last year of his ridiculous contract, Jose Guillen hit his fifth home run of the season in a 7-3 win over Detroit. Free-agent acquisition Scott Podsednik -- who in 2007 looked as if he was about to embark on the pre-retirement Pacific Coast League portion of his career -- is hitting .457, best in baseball.
Thirtysomethings Guillen and Podsednik seem unlikely to sustain their early success. But it's fun while it lasts. Especially while Luis Mendoza remains on the roster.
In other developments, Alex Gordon returned from thumb repair, Alberto Callaspo raised his slugging percentage to .500 and Gil Meche looks broken.
Guillen made exciting off-the-field news. The temperamental slugger told Royals beat man Bob Dutton that blood clots nearly ended his life during the off-season. Guillen said he spent 20 days at St. Luke's Hospital after surgery on his right ankle and lower back.
It was a fascinating if suspiciously uncorroborated story. The Plog sports desk isn't saying Guillen embellished his post-surgery complications. But it would have been nice to see a quote from a Royals official along these lines: "I sat at Jose's beside. Baseball was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to see the man walk again!"
Instead, later, G.M. Dayton Moore said the organization had been "aware" of Guillen's situation. Moore then hid behind the nearest HIPAA tree.
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